Would you ever believe it. What started out less than 9 months ago as a simple hope of getting a family story back into print has turned out to be something of a best seller. “Warrior, the amazing story of a real Warhorse” has been a rip roaring success. We originally printed 7,000 and now have 31,000 out there. Waterstones started by ordering 400 and have already sold 6,000.

In the last ten days I have had to write features for The Sunday Times, The Daily Mirror and the Horse and Hound. Last Thursday I was filming in the Isle of Wight for a “Real Warhorse” documentary to go out on Channel 4. Tomorrow (Wednesday Jan11th and Thursday12th) South Today will be showing a two part series on the two Warriors, ours and a huge white gelding who served through 1914-18 in the Artillery and returned to become a much love Southampton police horse. Next Tuesday Sky Arts are coming down to my home to return to the Warrior theme.

Of course it is all linked to the Spielberg movie but it was just because I was getting irritated by being used by film companies as the one of the few people with real “warhorse” connections that I got Racing Post books to take the gamble, and they certainly thought it was a gamble at the time, to reissue grandpa’s original 1934 book “My Horse Warrior” repackaged and reintroduced.

It is gratifying proof that simple things can still work. Even this morning I got a Tweet from a Richard Vickers reading @broughscott It describes more than the bond between man and horse. It is a frank yet uplifting account of war. I couldn’t put it down.

For me there has only been one snag. It has been a terrible diversion for someone who should not be diverted from his principal current task – which is to write his book about Henry Cecil. Off to Newmarket again later. More of that later here and on Twitter.