From Cincinnati to the Colorado Ranger

The cramped and dusty riding hall of West Point Military Academy was an unlikely setting for a high jump record. Most of the cadets dreaded going there. The academy horses were notoriously hard, the saddles even harder and the riding instructor's tone was harsh and mocking. Yet on a pleasant May morning in 1843, a slender cadet on a large chestnut horse called York cleared a hurdle over six feet high in front of a small crowd. Although the spectators must have been impressed by the feat of skill and bravery they had witnessed, few could have predicted the remarkable career that lay ahead for the rider. For the giant leap had been about the only achievement at the academy that made Ulysses Grant stand out from his peers. Rich with anecdote, humour and humanity, From Cincinnati to the Colorado Ranger tells of the extraordinary collection of horses that inhabited Grant's world.The story of these horses more than illuminates the life and culture of a great American.