Mercury's Flight — Annie Wedekind

Life for Mercury, a stallion whose royal bloodlines can be traced to the stallions of the Hapsburg Empire, is a study in contrasts. Destined for a place at the famous Spanish Riding School, Pip (as he is known to his caretakers) lives a life of both discipline and freedom unique to the Piber stud.

Yet it is a life overhung with shadows -- rejected by his mother at birth, Pip always feels like an outsider. And as he starts his training for School, the clouds gathering over World War II Europe threaten to turn to the storm of war.

From the luxury of the Haute Ecole to the muddy battlefields of Czecholslovakia, the story of Favory Mercurio follows a royal orphan as he grows into a most majestic horse facing the battle of his life.