On a hoof and a prayer - Polly Evans

At the age of thirty-four, Polly Evans decides to fulfil a childhood dream – to learn how to ride a horse. But rather than do so conveniently close to home, she goes to Argentina and saddles up among the gauchos. Overcoming battered limbs, a steed hell-bent on bolting, and an encounter with the teeth of one very savage dog, Polly canters through Andean vineyards and gallops beneath snow-capped Patagonian peaks. She also survives a hair-raising game of polo and a back-breaking day herding cattle.

Taking a break from riding, Polly delves into Argentina’s tumultuous history: the Europeans’ first terrifying acquaintances with the native ‘giants’; the sanguinary demise of the early missionaries; and the gruesome drama of Evita’s wandering corpse.

On a Hoof and a Prayer is the stampeding story of Polly’s journey from timorous equestrian novice to wildly whooping cowgirl. It’s a tale of adrenaline-fuelled trail rides, of the roadkillers and peregrinations that lead her not only across Argentina, but also into the country’s fascinating and turbulent past.