“Fun Between Falls” is a compilation of stories about Martin’s life with horses, particularly during the 1930s and 1940s.
“They all used to tell me that I should write a book,” says Martin, who self-published 1,000 copies of the book.
She did her writing in pencil on a legal pad.
“My husband does the computer, but I don’t,” she says.
Martin, a longtime equestrian, and her husband, Gene, have been visiting the Southern Pines area for the past 12 years.
“I enjoy riding and he likes going to hunt out near West End,” she says.
The couple stopped here for a visit a few years ago while on a trip in their RV and were introduced to Virginia “Ginny” Moss at a party. Moss was instrumental in founding the Walthour-Moss Foundation.
“She took us out to see horse country and offered to rent us a cottage on her property,” says Martin, “so we decided to come.”
The couple now rent a place in town when they come.
“We’re usually just here for six weeks or so,” she says.
Martin says her love of horses dates back to when she was around 5-years-old and spending an entire summer in Colorado.
“I rode a horse named ‘Brownie,” she says, “and we’d go on all-day rides, so it’s been pretty much a lifelong love.”
While the couple is here, she “leases” a horse for a few weeks.
“I’m still riding, but not jumping anymore,” she says.
Prior to retiring, Martin and her husband operated a farm and for 35 years had a shooting club on their New Hampshire property.
“Our son, Randall, now runs the shooting club,” she says. “We have quail, chukker partridge and pheasant.”
Daughter Boo McDaniel and her family run a therapeutic riding horse program on 23 acres of the farm.
“She also has ‘Pony Farm,’ a summer camp,” says Martin.
Another daughter, Debbie, is an FBI agent in Washington, D.C. The couple has six grandchildren.
Martin will sign copies of her book at the Country Book Shop on Tuesday, April 8 at 6 p.m.
