HBRW 2026 - Wild Horses

Award-winning poet Marty Smith has a lifelong passion for horses. A rider, owner and breeder, she draws on years of experience in It Gets in Your Blood, her fascinating exploration of the world of horse racing. Marty is joined by Abby Letteri, author of Perfectly Themselves: Horses in the Human World, which explores the long relationship between horses and people, alongside Abby’s research into wild horses. Led by Catherine Robertson, this conversation brings together two writers with a deep fascination for horses, their histories and the extraordinary place they hold in our lives. A must for horse lovers and curious readers alike. About the Authors Marty Smith (Taranaki Tūturu, Te Āti Awa) has been part of the racing world for many years as a rider, owner and breeder — with the occasional fiver on a race along the way. A former teacher at Taradale High School, her debut poetry collection, Horse with Hat, won the NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry in 2014. Her 2026 nonfiction book, It Gets in Your Blood, takes readers inside the world of horse racing and was ten years in the making. Abby Letteri is the author of down they forgot: a memoir (2021). Her poetry, stories and essays have appeared widely in Aotearoa and the United States, including in Turbine | Kapohau and the Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books. Her 2026 book, Perfectly Themselves, grew from her PhD research at the International Institute of Modern Letters.