Book excerpt: In The Private Passion of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Vicky Moon illuminates just how vital a role horses played throughout Jackie's often tumultuous life. Jackie's mother propped her up on a horse when she was just a year old, and throughout her childhood Jackie turned to her pony Buddy to distract her from the stress of her parents' precarious marriage. As a woman struggling under the intense pressures of her role as First Lady, riding a horse through the countryside was a much-needed tonic. And later in her life, as a mourning widow and then a reluctant celebrity, riding offered Jackie peace and privacy. Whether cantering up and down the emerald hills of Ireland, galloping through the woods in New Jersey, racing cross-country, or taking long, quiet rides with her children down the dirt trails of Virginia's hunt country, Jackie's lifelong passion for horses was a mainstay during difficult years, a refuge from a life in the limelight, and a constant source of joy. Now, in addition to the elegant, stunning images from every stage of her life -- photographs taken while out riding to the hounds, at the steeplechase with Jack, with Caroline on her pony -- Jackie's story unfolds through Moon's fresh and engaging narrative, sprinkled with anecdotes and memories from those who knew Jackie not only as one of the most admired women in the world, but simply as a graceful and talented horsewoman.