Showing results by author "Clare Balding" in All Categories

Puffin presents the unabridged downloadable audiobook edition of The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop, written and read by Clare Balding. Charlie Bass is a horse-mad nine-year-old who dreams of owning her own pony. So when her eccentric parents announce that they are going to buy a racehorse, Charlie is thrilled. The horse they buy, Noble Warrior, looks the part: strong, fit and healthy. There's just one problem - he won't gallop.

Life is slowly getting back to normal for Charlie after her reluctant racehorse, Noble Warrior, won the Derby and saved her family from financial ruin. But drama soon returns to Folly Farm when thieves break into the farmyard in the dead of night and kidnap Noble Warrior! With the police baffled and no trace of the prizewinning thoroughbred to be found, Charlie launches her own investigation but is soon distracted by trouble closer to home.

Spending time in nature is good for both our bodies and minds - but with our hectic lives (not to mention the unreliable British weather), it can be hard to get outside as much as we'd like. But fear not: we've selected some of BBC Radio 4's best nature documentaries to transport you to the great outdoors - and encourage you to take your own trip into the wild.

Charlie's racehorse has certainly earned the name Noble Warrior: he won the Derby against all odds and bested a bunch of nasty kidnappers. But now Noddy is facing his greatest challenge yet. Charlie's best friend Polly is still recovering from an accident that left her almost paralysed. But Polly has a real talent with horses - and she and Charlie are determined not to let it go to waste. Can the two best friends find a way to make Polly's equestrian dreams come true, and forge a new path for the racehorse who wouldn't gallop?

In Clare Balding's family, walking just took too long - she galloped through the countryside and she galloped through life. Then, in 1999, Clare took a call from a BBC producer looking for a presenter for a new radio series. "Do you walk?" she asked. "Well, I walk the dog...." That series, Ramblings, is still going strong - and Clare's caught the walking bug. Now she wants her family to share some of that pleasure. Her and her brother Andrew are determined to conquer the Wayfarer's Walk, a 71-mile route. What could possibly go wrong?

Clare Balding grew up in a rather unusual household. As her father is a champion trainer, she shared her life with more than 100 thoroughbred racehorses, mares, foals, and ponies, as well as an ever-present pack of boxers and lurchers. As a toddler she would happily ride the legendary Mill Reef and take breakfast with the Queen. She and her younger brother came very low down the pecking order. Left to their own devices, they had to learn life’s toughest lessons through the animals, and through their adventures in the stables.

Dogcast is, as the name suggests, all about dogs! In this podcast Clare and her Tibetan terrier Archie travel the UK, a nation of dog lovers, to meet dogs out and about. They will walk with dogs, talk about them and to their humans. Big dogs, small dogs, and special celebrity guests’ dogs. It’s a celebration of all things canine! Join Clare Balding and Archie to hear powerful, funny and moving personal stories about the many ways’ dogs transform our lives. Plus expert advice and information about choosing a dog, better dog health, improved behaviour and how to live your BEST life with ...

There's nothing the British love quite as much as their dogs. From hunting to our hearths, and from herding sheep to guiding humans, our dogs have accompanied us through centuries of change, and that special relationship is still evolving today. So, just what is it that makes our bond so special? In this fascinating adventure across Britain, Clare Balding explores our unique heritage of canine tradition and meets just some of the many people who live, work and innovate with their dogs.