Gail Ruffus was one of thirteen children. Her father was a military officer, and her mother managed the household. The family moved a lot due to her father's postings. As far back as she could remember, Gail loved horses, and when the family moved to Texas and purchased a ranch, her dream finally came true when her parents offered her Spice, a beautiful horse.
Unfortunately the stay was too short for Gail, and soon the family was uprooted to move to Spain, so that her father could manage a military base there. Gail was forced to sell Spice. While living in Europe, Gail took dressage lessons, and learned to manage and train horses. Returning to the United States, Gail eventually found herself training horses. When she met a horse called Urgent Envoy, she immediately knew he was a race winner. Soon, Gail and Clayton, her lawyer, become co-owners of Urgent Envoy, and Clayton agrees to let her train him until he is ready to race.
However, Clayton soon starts thinking that Gail is taking too long to get Urgent Envoy ready, and through legal maneuverings he takes the horse away from Gail, and bans her from the race track. Urgent Envoy is raced, and is injured. Despite the doctor requesting months of recuperation, Clayton plans on racing Urgent Envoy again, which could lead to an even more serious injury, and possibly even death.
So, on Christmas eve, 2004, Gail broke into the race track, and she took Urgent Envoy. What followed became a legal and emotional rollercoaster, with Gail accused of stealing her own property, and brought in on charges of Grand Theft Horse, a statute that had not been prosecuted since the 1850s in California. Through heart-ache and dedication, Gail eventually triumphs over Clayton, but Urgent Envoy never races again.
A wonderful story, Grand Theft Horse tells the true story of Gail Rufus and Urgent Envoy, and explores the seedy side of horse racing. Beautifully illustrated and quick-paced, fans of graphic novels will appreciate this story of grit and resilience.
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