WESTMINSTER — Jessie Haas has been writing books about horses for many years, and has recently published a nonfiction reference book called - appropriately enough - Horse Crazy!
She claims that her love for equines has been with her since birth.
“I was born horse crazy. I get it from both sides of my family. We got a horse when I was six and have had horses on the farm ever since.”
Haas has a horse of her own at her home in Westminster West.
“I currently own a four-year-old Morgan mare named Robin, and am saddle-training her. She was bred by Cheryl Rivers, whom many will know as a progressive Democratic state senator and candidate for lieutenant governor a few years back. I've known Cheryl for around 20 years; I bought a young Morgan from her in 1990 or so, [who was] Robin's uncle.”
Haas is best known for writing horse-centric books for children and young adults. In addition to her previous awards, which include a Golden Kite and a Parents' Choice Award, Horse Crazy!: 1,001 Fun Facts, Craft Projects, Games, Activities and Know-How For Horse-Loving Kids recently received the American Horse Publications award in the Equine-related Books category.
“The research and writing of Horse Crazy took around a year - a fast year! But it's great when it's your job to read horse books, watch horse movies, play with crafts and attend horse events,” said Haas.
With so much equine-centric research going on, one would assume that Haas occasionally tires of writing solely about horses. Actually, Haas has written several novels on historical topics.
“My novels have explored clicker training, the Molly Maguire period in Pennsylvania coal country, local Vermont history, and lots of the deeper issues of the human heart,” said Haas. “I write about politics and issues in letters to the editor; probably there are people who know my letters and have no idea I write children's books.”
Haas said she is writing a history of Westminster for the Historical Society. “It is an enormous and very different project, although there are horses in it,” she said. “I did discover that Justin Morgan's lesser-known son, Revenge, stood at stud in Westminster West.”
She describes her well-known horse theme as “both a topic and vehicle, to take me and the reader somewhere. As with horses, I often imagine that I'm in charge, only to find out that the 'vehicle' has some ideas of its own.”
Haas said that her most challenging (and fun) writing project has been Hoofprints, “a history of horses in poems.” She has several projects - not all horse-related - that she is working on for the next two years.
“Right now I'm working on a second 'Bramble and Maggie' book for Candlewick [Press]'s Sparks series. These are easy readers, and my first with them, called “Bramble and Maggie,” comes out in 2012: A story about an opinionated riding school horse, Bramble, who gets a girl of her own (Maggie).”
“I'm finishing the editing on a small novel called Chico's Challenge,” she added, “which will be published jointly by Feiwel and Friends, and Breyer, the company which makes the extremely popular model horses. (I used to play with them as a kid.) Breyer is making a model of the main character, Chico, as we speak. I also have a book on clicker training for kids in the works with Storey [Publishing], the publisher of Horse Crazy! And there's the Westminster history as well.”
How does she stay inspired to come up with new stories?
“Playing with horses, reading wonderful books, the thrill of having an editor want a story from me - and having no other marketable skills is also a big help,” Haas said. “You want to eat? Get inspired!”