Pardis Mahdavi > Quotes

“I spent the next week learning the intricate details of what Louise called "horsewomanship". (...) Live and ride with the horses; be in unison with the horses rather than trying to control them; learn the language and cues so you don't hurt the horses or yourself; be in harmony. The true art of horseback riding was to understand the self, not to dominate the horse. That had to remain core.”
― Pardis Mahdavi, Book of Queens: The True Story of the Middle Eastern Horsewomen Who Fought the War on Terror

“Iran was the glamour and glitz of Tehran, Shiraz, Esfahan. (...) she was struck by the high fashion and opulence of the cities. Parties overflowing with champagne. Women dressed in the latest Paris haute couture. But when Louise left Iran in search of horses, the landscape quickly changed from high rises to the high peaks of the Alborz Mountains, and overflowing rice paddies replaced champagne parties. (...) This was Persia. Roads that ended in orchards. Mountains rising and rivers tumbling in white and blue. All shades of green contouring farming fields and jagged peaks. (...) Iran was politics; Persia was poetry.”
― Pardis Mahdavi, Book of Queens: The True Story of the Middle Eastern Horsewomen Who Fought the War on Terror