'Subbie and his mate' is a new children's book by Corinne Fenton and illustrated by Mark Wilson.

Subbie & his mate

By Corinne Fenton

This Melbourne Cup Day, it will be 30 years since Subzero, affectionately known as Subbie, won the Cup. My new book, ‘Subbie and his mate’, is in recognition of the immense goodwill that Subbie and his mate, Graham Salisbury, achieved together.

In writing true stories, I’ve often penned about animals I have come to love – Queenie the elephant, Lady, from The Dog on the Tuckerbox, Tertius the gibbon ape, Bob the Railway Dog, Trim – Matthew Flinders’ faithful cat, and Lennie’s pony – Ginger Mick, from To The Bridge.

I’ve met wonderful people like Queenie’s keeper’s grand-daughter; Ed Cooper, who only once met his father’s precious Tertius; and Beryl Ferrier, the little sister of Lennie Gwyther. But this story was different. With this story, I met, knew and loved both Subbie and Graham Salisbury, which made it so much harder. Although I read a couple of earlier versions to Graham, and to Subbie, in his favourite paddock, I was still writing when Graham passed away, and 10 weeks later when Subbie joined him. So, I struggled with those words and how to end their story…

Click here to read the full article FREE in the August issue of Equestrian Life magazine.

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