Our Story

TSB founders Caroline and Ted Robbins driving one of their Standardbreds in Vermont.

Trafalgar Square Books of North Pomfret, Vermont, is a small, privately owned publisher of fine equestrian books, eBooks, audiobooks, and videos, as well as craft books and selected other titles about dogs and the natural world of New England. TSB’s owners, Caroline and Ted Robbins, moved to a farm in North Pomfret—a rural community of around 200 residents, nestled in the hills surrounding the better-known (and larger) town of Woodstock—in the early 1970s, and established the TSB offices and warehousing facilities in part of the farmhouse and the barns on the property. The small publishing company of five employees still thrives, along with Scottish Highland cattle, on the farm today.

2025 will mark the 40th anniversary of the publication of Centered Riding, the now classic text by Sally Swift, which was the first "horse book" published by TSB. Centered Riding, the book, has sold a million copies worldwide and has been published in 16 languages. For many horse people—across riding disciplines and state lines and national borders—it changed the way practical riding instruction could be disseminated, marking the first contemporary “how-to-ride” text that moved away from the formal riding books of the classical masters. The book went on to inspire an international organization devoted to riding instruction that continues to flourish today.

How did Centered Riding the book come to be? Caroline Robbins, who came from the publishing world and was a lifelong horse person, took riding lessons from Sally Swift, and so it was in an arena that the idea of bringing Sally's novel ideas to print was born. Caroline's background and experience gave her a unique ability to prepare a product of a high editorial standard as well as ensure both the welfare of the horse and
the correct education of the rider.

In the years following Centered Riding’s release, Caroline would add two more dedicated horse people and bibliophiles to the TSB staff—Managing Director Martha Cook and Managing Editor Rebecca Didier. Together the three have worked with a particular focus on the acquisition and publication of books on horses, horse care, and riding, always with what has become their mission—"for the good of the horse"—in mind.

Since Centered Riding, many of TSB’s books have become bestsellers
across riding disciplines and in numerous languages throughout
the world, including:

Getting in TTouch

which helped launch the phenomenal career of renowned animal behaviorist and horse trainer Linda Tellington-Jones.

1995

That Winning Feeling!

by Jane Savoie, which was one of the first sport psychology books specifically for riders.

1997

Yoga for Equestrians

by Linda Benedik and Veronica Wirth, which introduced the idea of cross-training the rider for better riding performance.

2000

Bombproof Your Horse

a book that enabled mounted police officer Sgt. Rick Pelicano to show everyday riders how to make their horses safe in any situation.

2004

Tug of War: Classical vs “Modern” Dressage

by Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, which made public the controversial “Rollkur” practices that had dressage circles in turmoil all over the globe.

2007

Beyond Horse Massage

by Jim Masterson, which revolutionized DIY equine bodywork and launched The Masterson Method worldwide.

2011

7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman

a series of seven videos from director Cindy Meehl, featuring over 10 hours of instructional footage collected during the making of the award-winning film BUCK.

2012

Horse Speak

by Sharon Wilsie and Gretchen Vogel, the first equine-human translation guide devoted to decoding horse body language and showing humans how to understand and respond to it.

2016

Horse Brain, Human Brain

by brain scientist and horsewoman Janet Jones, PhD, which explains in plain language the differences and similarities between equine and human ways of negotiating the world.

2020

For many years, Trafalgar Square Books also helped produce and distribute hundreds of educational videos for equestrians. TSB worked side-by-side with Cedar Creek Productions and Director Cindy Meehl to produce the international smash 7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman (2012)—over 10 hours of instructional footage obtained during the making of the award-winning documentary film BUCK. 7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman, along with select other video programs, are now available to stream via
the TSB online bookstore.

Since the publication of Centered Riding by Sally Swift,
now almost 40 years ago, Trafalgar Square Books has proudly published
and distributed over 600 equestrian books, and regularly releases 16 to 20 new equine titles each year. TSB remains committed to upholding the highest quality editorial and production standards, and certifies that the content of its books are generated by human experts on the subject (not AI), and the content is edited, fact-checked, and proofread by human publishing specialists with a lifetime of equestrian knowledge.

TSB publishes books by horse people, for horse people,
with the good of the horse in mind.