Author Natalie Keller Reinert is one of us—she has mucked stalls, wrapped legs and helped deliver foals. And she knows the horse business, from racetracks to show rings to three-day events. It’s no wonder, then, that her horse-themed fiction rings true to so many equestrians.

Now her books are reaching an even larger audience. Last year, Reinert signed a deal with Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers, to release “newly edited and re-imagined” versions of her self-published, eight-volume Eventing series and three-volume Briar Hill Farm series. The first books in the new arrangement were published in November 2024. In addition, Amazon MGM Studios has optioned the rights to the books, and a streaming series is under development.

Before she became a writer, Reinert had wide ranging equestrian experience. “I started out in a hunter show barn in the early 1990s, riding school ponies in short-stirrup classes, and made the move to dressage and then eventing with my first off-track Thoroughbred, a horse my parents bought me when I was 13,” she says. “I loved eventing and still do, but curiosity took me in many other directions.” She has groomed for an eventer, started youngsters headed for the racetrack, worked at Thoroughbred breeding and sales operations, and volunteered for a therapeutic riding program. She even patrolled Central Park and other parts of Manhattan on horseback for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Finding answers through writing

Reinert’s literary career began in 2011, when she self-published her first book, The Head and Not the Heart. “I started writing while I was trying to understand the chokehold horses had on me,” she says. “The truth is, I was having a crisis about it! There were things I hadn’t done in life because I’d always put horses first, and I wasn’t sure that was the right decision. The Head and Not the Heart is about searching for answers about what being a horse person is really all about.”

That first book is set in the world of horse racing, while Reinert’s other stories focus on other horse sports including eventing, hunter/jumper and dressage.

As important as horses are to Reinert’s books, she recognizes that her human characters are key to their appeal. “Book one of my Eventing series, Ambition, introduces a recognizable, realistic character that horse people understand immediately: She’s young, cocky, in love with horses, and certain that she’s going to be the best rider the world has ever seen,” she says. “I think people love that they can get inside the head of someone like this and join her on the journey to understand what horsemanship is all about. It’s not the ribbons or the sponsors or the medals but growing closer to horses.”

A bright future

So far, Reinert has written seven equestrian-themed fiction series: Ocala Horse Girls (five books), Eventing (eight books), Briar Hill Farm (three books), Catoctin Creek (four books), Grabbing Mane (two books), Show Barn Blues (two books), Sea Horse Ranch (two books), in addition to other works including Hidden Horses of New York. She also co-hosts the award-winning equestrian humor podcast, Adulting with Horses.

In addition, she somehow finds time to travel to major equestrian events to sign books and meet her growing cadre of readers.

“Every experience is an important piece of my writing career. I draw on my personal experiences in every book, whether it’s about eventing, showing or racing,” says Reinert, who lives in north Florida with her family, a cat and horses. “Riding and volunteering are still a big part of my writing process and I’m sure always will be.”