Bitter Kalli's New book, 'Mounted,' explores the connection of Blackness and horses

Author Bitter Kalli first found their love of horses in "pony books" – fictional texts for youth, such "Misty of Chincoteague" and "The Saddle Club," where the animals are key parts of the narrative. But the Brooklyn native had their first real encounter while walking through that borough's Prospect Park neighborhood with their mom, which eventually led to riding at Kensington Stables.

"(Riding) sounds cute in a book, but when you're actually standing in the mud with a horse or trying to ride a horse with traffic and a billion noises going off in the background, it definitely shows you the reality of riding horses in the city, which is often pretty challenging and not pretty," said Kalli, who went on to ride in both high school and college. "But it always felt really fulfilling to me." MO