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= Muriel Anne Lennox = Muriel Anne Lennox (25 April 1942) is a Canadian journalist and best-selling author. Her

second book, Northern Dancer: the legend and his legacy, has been read by millions

world-wide.

Career: Descending from a colourful line of Irish storytellers and horse traders, Lennox has

spent a lifetime working with, learning from, and writing about horses: “Before I could walk I

knew I wanted to spend my all my days in the company of horses.”

The fates, it seems, conspired to support the dream - despite the protests of her academic

mother: “I not only inherited my paternal grandfather’s great love of horses, but his tenacity and

ingenuity.”

The story begins just prior to the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico when Lennox and two

friends started the Corinthian (now Horse-Sport) equestrian magazine. They knew absolutely

nothing about publishing a magazine. If they had, they likely would not have taken the leap.

The greatest influence in this turn of events was Jim Elder and his unrelenting desire to

fulfill his dream of Canada fielding a show jumping team at the Mexico Olympics. It was, at

best, an outrageous dream. Beyond local competition as Canadians had no real showjumping

experience.

“Jim’s passion was contagious and before long we were all helping raise money for the

cause. So when his dream was about to come true we all boarded a plane for Mexico and were

all in the stands cheering Jim and his extraordinary horse, The Immigrant. While more like a

scene from a rodeo instead of a sophisticated show jumping Grande Prix, The Immigrant eyed

each obstacle, unleashed a fierce buck, and launched himself into the air. At the end of the

afternoon Jim and his team members were proudly wearing Gold Medals.”

The experience of writing about the event paved the way to a career choice and a means

to spend her life in the company of horses.

Her passion for Thoroughbreds was ignited when hired to emcee the Paddock Club, a live

pre-race show at Woodbine racetrack. That fall she thought she’d get a sneak preview of the

horses in the Windfields Farm consignment at the Canadian yearling sale. Among the youngsters

was a majestic son of Northern Dancer and Flaming Page. He would be named Nijinsky for the

dancer who believed he would be reincarnated as a horse.

“I had never seen a more beautiful animal. I was smitten.”

The following year fate stepped in once again. The directors of Canadian Horse (now

Canadian Thoroughbred) racing and breeding magazine were searching for a new editor, they

didn’t have to look far.

“I had a falling out with my Corinthian partners and wondering what I’d do next. The

timing could not have been better. Here I was, at the helm of Canada’s leading horse racing

publication, right at the time Nijinsky, the greatest Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse, became

the first horse in 35 years to win the British Triple Crown and ultimately be crowned Horse of

the World.”

Lennox’s new-found fascination with the breeding of Thoroughbred champions took

flight during her years working for Eddie (EP) and Winnie Taylor on their Toronto estate, the

original Windfields Farm.

“It was like having coveted VIP passes to the greatest Thoroughbred farm on the planet.

The influence of Windfields bloodlines continue to have a profound influence on for countless

generations of spectacular Thoroughbreds.”

As rider-in-residence, Lennox accompanied Eddie Taylor whenever he chose to tour the

property and environs on horseback. An avid horseman, Taylor continued to ride until he was

felled by a severe stroke just prior to his 80th birthday.

During her Windfields tenure, Lennox often traveled with Eddie and Winnie Taylor: to

their farms in Maryland and Oshawa, horse sales, horse races, Jockey Club of Canada meetings

and other events. At the time the Taylor’s home-breds were lighting up the sky. Nijinsky had

galloped to British Triple Crown glory. Seven years later The Minstrel also won the English

Derby at Epsom.

Lennox’s first book, E.P.Taylor: horseman and his horses, chronicles the story of the

world’s eminent horse racing and breeding afficionado—from his initial fascination with the

sport, to Nijinsky’s UK Triple Crown glory.

In the fall of 1990 Lennox set out to write the biography of the Taylor’s most famous

horse, Northern Dancer. The first edition of Northern Dancer: the legend and his legacy rolled

off the presses in the fall of 1995. An instant best-seller, the book has been translated into

Japanese and Spanish and read by millions world-wide.

In 1996 Northern Dancer was serialized in Gallop, Japan’s leading Thoroughbred horse

racing and breeding magazine. The popularity of Northern Dancer led Kunio Serizawa, editorin-

chief, to invite Lennox to write a weekly series.

While working for Gallop Lennox suddenly was struck with a question: “Why was

Nearctic, the most regally-bred, Canadian Thoroughbred not entered in the Queen’s Plate, the

country’s most famous horse race. Searching for the answer led Lennox to write her next book:

Dark Horse: unravelling the mystery of Nearctic.

The Gallop series was titled Supreme and one of the horses Lennox wrote about was the

brilliant, however ill-fated, Ajdal. This story took her on a merry chase, one that eventually

became the foundation for her fourth work, The Horse and the Tiger.

The next book, evolved from an epic story she wrote for Thoroughbred Times, the weekly

US Thoroughbred magazine. Rivers of Gold takes the reader on an extraordinary journey back in

time as Lennox examines the age-old quest for excellence in Thoroughbreds. A fascinating

journey, the trail eventually leads to the headwaters of four distinct genetic streams—Canada’s

Rivers of Gold. Along the way readers are introduced to ancestors of the most spectacular horses

of this century. Envision ancestry.com or Burke’s Peerage for horses—providing an essential

guide to the genealogy of today’s equine aristocrats.

Next on the agenda, Secret Life of Horses, centres around her time at Windfields Farm.

Honours: Sovereign Award finalist six times

Sovereign Award winner three times:

1986 Best Feature Story

1997 Outstanding Newspaper Story

2001 Outstanding Feature Story

Bibliography:

E. P. Taylor: horseman and his horses ISBN 0-88768-069-0

Northern Dancer: the legend and his legacy ISBN 0-969025-0-6

ISBN

Dark Horse: unravelling the mystery of Nearctic ISBN 978-0-9699025-6-0

The Horse and The Tiger ISBN 987-0-9699025-5-3

Rivers of Gold ISBN 987-0-9

- photo of MAL and Northern Dancer -

Born: 25 April 1942

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Occupation: author, journalist, photographer

Languages: English, French

Nationality: Canadian

Notable Works: Northern Dancer: the legend and his legacy

E. P. Taylor: horseman and his horses

Dark Horse: unravelling the mystery of Nearctic

The Horse and The Tiger

Rivers of Gold