The Greatness of the Valiant Heart- Seabiscuit and Humanity

Over the recent holiday break our family enjoyed viewing and reading the story of Seabiscuit. The subject book by Laura Hillenbrand is an inspiring story with its central character being an underestimated, troublesome, feisty, and unappreciated horse.

The main characters of this story overcome all sorts of circumstances. The horse is lost and so is its owner, trainer, and jockey. Their three different paths find purpose together in this amazing horse Seabiscuit. The owner was a calvary officer, bicycle mechanic turned car mechanic then an auto dealer magnate in California. The trainer was an old West cowboy who had been around horses his whole life. The rider was a Canadian whose family saw severe hardship that forced him to leave his family to make his own way as a young teen. Indeed, even the author Hillenbrand has had to contend with chronic fatigue syndrome since her second year of college.

Ms. Hillenbrand’s empathy is evident as she reveals each of the characters’ vulnerabilities and the times people lived. She describes the difficulties encountered during the 1930s depression, and how life’s challenges affected the principals and the life story of Seabiscuit.

We journey with the author as she describes the settings of the great horse races, and a still young turn of the 20th century United States, the growth of cities across the country, and the advent of the automobile that will soon supplant the role of the horse in private transportation.

A team of people helped a mysterious horse realize its greatness, and in so doing help people and even society find solace and a measure of healing. Because in Seabiscuit we all saw something of our humanity that was valiant, courageous, full of heart and potential, and of course finding something to love.

Peter Klinge, Jr. is growth executive who evaluates people, and organizational development to help companies gain profitable, revenue opportunities.

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