Ivy is based on a combination of real horses I’ve observed and fictitious ones that I’ve read about. When I took riding lessons, there was a girl who had taken care of one of the stable horses for so long that the two of them had formed a strong bond. She would run around the pasture and play with this horse the way Daniel plays with Ivy in the book–although Daniel and Ivy play a bit rougher!
When I worked at Old Sturbridge Village, I became friends with a lovely gentleman named Gil Barons, who drove a horse and carriage around the village. Gil was in his seventies when I met him. He’d been around horses all his life and told me lots of stories about the horses he’d known. He had a wonderful bond with his horse Monty, whom he’d owned for more than twenty-five years. I’m sure I picked up a lot just watching Gil and Monty work together.