Book excerpt: Third-generation Maryland horseman Josh Pons chronicles the daily adventures, challenges, thrills, and sometimes sadness facing his family's small training stable of Thoroughbred racehorses. Merryland combines the immediacy of the author's evocative diary entries with thoughts on horses, racing, America, families, and life amid the uncertainties and pressures wrought by encroaching development, casino gambling, and political ennui. Join Josh Pons as he introduces readers to the rhythmic cadence of life on a lovely little farm called Merryland in Hydes, Maryland.