Vian Smith was an English author and horse trainer. Spanning fiction and nonfiction, his work focuses on the relationship between people and horses and prominently features the Devon moorland Dartmoor. Smith died at 49.
A poor farmer boy on Dartmoor raises a young racehorse and aims him at steeplechasing. This does not have a great ending so young people may be disappointed. Mainly it is a novel of changes and improvements in the farming community, and how meagrely people used to live. This was Smith's first horse book and later he wrote mainly for young people with some great stories.