With the release of Heart of Hope just 1 month away, I wanted to pop on the blog today and share a little about the horses you’ll see on the page in Heart of Hope. As with the other books in the Hooves & Hearts Series, the horses are very much at the center of the story, and many of them have been inspired for the many, many horses I’ve been so lucky to have spent time around over the years.
First up is Isabel’s Dutch Warmblood mare, Cadence. Cadence is the first horse Isabel had actually owned, despite riding for her father, Rodger Martin, for years. Mares often get a bad reputation in the horse world for being difficult, something that Rodger definitely believes in, but Isabel knows that Cadence is a kindhearted and good-natured mare, so when Cadence starts acting difficult and out of character, Isabel isn’t willing to brush it off.
The second horse Isabel finds herself the owner of is Kaspar, a quirky young warmblood that’s come to River Green Farm for training. Kaspar is a pinto Dutch Warmblood and while pinto coloring isn’t super common in warmbloods, it does exist! I loosely based Kaspar’s appearance off of the beautiful Dutch Warmblood stallion, Art Deco, who stood at stud in Virginia for many years. Kaspar isn’t an easy horse to handle and somehow always seems to find new ways to get into trouble, but Isabel is determined to do the best she can for the young horse- even when things take some tough turns over the course of the story.
The third horse at River Green Farm who finds his way into Isabel’s life in Knight Errant. For readers who have read By Heart & By Soul, your might remember Isabel riding Knight in a clinic at Haven Hills Equestrian Center. In Heart of Hope, Knight is a good bit older and when his owner finds herself in the middle of some significant life changes, she ends up putting Knight up for sale. After having grown up riding Knight and being pretty bonded with him, Isabel makes the choice to step in and purchase Knight herself- something Rodger doesn’t agree with.
Last but not least is Esperanza! If you’ve read the previous books in the series, Esperanza will also be a familiar equine face. This sweet older Paint Horse mare is back to fill her role of helping Meg help her human clients. With Isabel’s riding burn-out, Meg challenges her to try some new things, and Esperanza is there to help Isabel on that part of her journey.
If you haven’t done so already, you can pre-order Heart of Hope in eBook here and in print here. Plus, if you pre-order the eBook from my online bookstore, you can get 15% OFF your pre-order with the code HORSEGIRLENERGY25. Heart of Hope releases November 25th, 2025.