I learned the world is small and the horse world smaller, and connected with many people who Marguerite had befriended during the heyday of her author career. I began asking around at my barn, trying to find out if there were people who knew people who knew Marguerite. I had just moved back to Illinois and lived about a half hour from where Marguerite and Misty lived at Mole Meadow. It was then I realized how much love still existed for Marguerite and Misty, and I decided that would be a fascinating topic to explore.

One woman said she went to Chincoteague for her honeymoon! All because of Marguerite Henry's classic horse book. Within 48 hours, that post had over 2,000 likes! And it garnered over 200 comments, many of the women shared tender memories of writing fan mail to Marguerite Henry or visiting Chincoteague Island or even adopting a Chincoteague pony. I took a photograph of the title page and shared it in a Facebook group for middle age horsewomen. Several days later the precious kids horse book arrived in the mail. I held my breath and submitted my credit card numbers and the deed was done.

When I saw her response, I had no doubt in my mind I needed this special autographed copy of Misty. Horse Crazy author Sarah Maslin Nir said yes, even my fiscally conservative sister said yes. My fellow horse-centric friends on Instagram (should I say 'pushers') overwhelmingly responded with, 'Yes!' The peer pressure to buy the book was real. I snapped a screenshot and shared this Marguerite Henry treasure in an Instagram story on my Saddle Seeks Horse account, asking my fellow horse lovers whether or not I should buy this copy, even though it was expensive, even though I already had at least one copy of this beloved horse book by my favorite author. I did the math based on how many riding lessons I could have for that dollar amount, and thought about how I could buy a plane ticket for a sunny destination for $350. This special copy of Misty of Chincoteague was listed for $350, and that seemed like a steep price tag. Susan, that's a book autographed just for me!

The note from author Marguerite Henry was made out to 'Susan, with happy wishes from Misty and Marguerite Henry.' In June of 2021, I stumbled across a signed, first edition of Misty of Chincoteague on Etsy.

Misty of chincoteague first edition