Sylvia Rideout Bishop Had A Way With Horses, by Vicky Moon
A Fauquier County author Vicky Moon, has just published this book about a trailblazing African American woman who trained race horses.

Sylvia Rideout Bishop Had A Way With Horses, chronicles a career that included preparing about 200 steeds for the track — primarily at Charles Town, W.Va., where she lived most of her 84 years.

Ms. Bishop’s clients included the late Nelson Bunker Hunt, a Texas oil baron; the late Edward L. Stephenson, a real estate investor with a home near Warrenton, and the late Tyson Gilpin, a Clarke County patriarch of Virginia’s thoroughbred industry.

The writer found Ms. Bishop’s success as a woman in horse racing more unusual than her achievements as an African American. Even today, one sees few women working in the business, Ms. Moon said.

Although Ms. Bishop transcended her time, few know about her story.

“That story’s known in Charles Town and no farther,” Ms. Moon said.

She hopes the book will help change that.

Hardcover, 198 pages