By Kimberly Gatto
Portraits by Lindsey Long
Carrie Seim has loved horses and books for as long as she can remember.
Decades later, Carrie has parlayed both of those passions into a career as a successful equestrian author. Her debut tween novel, “Horse Girl”—which she describes as “Black Beauty” meets “Mean Girls”—was released by Penguin Random House in 2021, garnering a hefty share of accolades. Its highly anticipated standalone sequel, “Horse Camp”, hit the USA Today Bestseller list, taking Carrie on a whirlwind tour of stables and tack shops throughout the United States.
Born and raised in Nebraska, Carrie and her younger sister, Lindsay, first fell in love with horses while poring over the pages of classic books such as “Black Beauty,” “Misty of Chincoteague” and “The Black Stallion.” “Our parents were teachers, so we always had lots of books around, including all of the classic kids’ horse stories,” Carrie said. “Our love for horses just grew from that. Lindsay and I were both absolutely horse crazy from the get-go.”
It was the mid-1980s and the U.S. was in its heyday of show-jumping glory, with a plethora of real-life equine stars like Touch Of Class and Gem Twist galloping across the television screen. “Lindsay and I spent hours in front of the TV, repeatedly watching Olympic show jumping competitions on VHS,” Carrie said. “We just could not get enough. For years we begged our parents to let us go to a local YMCA camp where we could ride and spend time with real horses. It was nothing fancy—just a really small horse camp in the middle of Nebraska—but it was enough. We pleaded and begged so much that our parents eventually gave in.”
Horse Passion at a Distance
Upon arriving at camp, Carrie found solace in the soft muzzles and comforting presence of the equines stabled there. But on that first day, a heartbreaking discovery was made: Carrie was highly allergic to horses. Any instance of grooming or tacking up would lead to uncontrollable respiratory symptoms. As popular medicines like Claritin and Zyrtec were not yet readily available, Carrie’s stint as a young rider ended just as quickly as it began.
“I was crushed. I had to give up riding, and it was such a disappointment for me,” Carrie said. “I took piano lessons instead. Fortunately, Lindsay was able to continue riding and she rode at a stable in Omaha for many years. I would always support her from the sidelines as best I could and was able to get my ‘horse fix’ that way. I also loved hearing all of the stories of what was going on in the barn, and my passion for horses never went away.”
After earning a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University, Carrie achieved great success in her chosen career as a writer and editor. Her work appeared in numerous high-end magazines, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Cosmopolitan, The New York Post, Architectural Digest and Condé Nast Traveler. Carrie also found her niche in sketch comedy, serving as a staff writer for several of Nickelodeon’s variety shows, and more recently has written for “Blippi’s Job Show” on Netflix.
She also performed at The Groundlings comedy theatre in L.A., which served as the starting point for countless top comedians, including Will Ferrell, Lisa Kudrow and Melissa McCarthy, among others. “I had really found my place in the comedy world,” Carrie said. “The thought of writing children’s books had never truly crossed my mind.”
But that is exactly where fate led her. A chance meeting with an editor at Penguin Random House led to a discussion about children’s books. “A friend of mine had built a canoe and invited some friends over to paddle on the Long Island Sound. One of the other guests was an editor. During the course of conversation, he asked me what I did for a living. We talked about writing for kids and he asked if I had any book ideas,” Carrie said. “I thought of Lindsay and our days at the barn. That is how I eventually came up with the idea for ‘Horse Girl.’”
Comedy to Children’s Books
The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
“My idea was to write a book that recaptured the experiences that Lindsay and I shared as horse-crazy girls,” Carrie said. “I wanted to revisit that electric time between childhood and adulthood when everything feels possible and impossible all at once.”
Carrie says she wrote the book as a “love letter” to her beloved sister—now a successful actress and writer in her own right. In fact, Lindsay is the creator of the ever-popular “Hold Your Horses! Mad Libs”, a book of fill-in-the blank stories all focused on horses.
“‘Horse Girl’ was written out of the sheer love I have for my sister and was based on some of the experiences we shared at camp and during her riding career,” Carrie said. The story takes place in Omaha, with the main equine protagonist modeled after one of Lindsay’s favorite mounts—a Thoroughbred-Clydesdale cross gelding called Clyde Lee. “It is a story about two sisters, Willa and Kay, and how horses became a part of their family,” Carrie said. “Overall, it’s a book about friendship and sisters and horses, and the perils and unbridled joy that come with each of those.”
The book and its message resonated not just with horse-crazy tweens, but also with adult audiences. “Horse Girl” was an instant success, climbing to #1 on Amazon’s best-seller list in the children’s horse books category and earning a Winnie Award from the Equus Foundation. It was referenced in popular magazines such as Publishers Weekly, Young Rider and Rolling Stone.
Along the way, with the advent of medications such as Claritin—which temporarily relieved her severe allergy symptoms—Carrie was able to spend more time with real-life horses. Each year, she looks forward to her family’s newest annual tradition: trail riding through the scenic mountains of Jackson, Wyoming, with her husband, Clarke Adams, and stepchildren Paige, Colin and Tristan. “The rides are just magical,” Carrie said. “The scenery is other-worldly and we have real cowboys leading us through the paths.”
Clarke’s family had been riding through the hills of Wyoming for years before the couple first met. “My husband grew up with horses,” Carrie said. “Clarke’s two sisters both had horses growing up and he joined them for riding and jumping lessons. I always joke that he is a much better rider than I am.”
It was one of those scenic mountain rides that served as the inspiration for Carrie’s newest book, “Horse Camp.” “One time, the horse that I was riding began swimming when we crossed water,” Carrie said. “It was the best experience—so much that it became a scene in my new book.”
“Horse Camp” is a stand-alone sequel to “Horse Girl” and continues the adventures of the main character, Willa, and her friends. It includes a touch of mystery as well, when one of the horses disappears and Willa becomes a suspect. “I like to keep my characters real, as we all have flaws,” Carrie said. “I think it’s important to convey to young readers that all people make mistakes, but we can learn from those errors and should never give up.”
Sharing Horses Through Books
When “Horse Camp” hit the shelves it became as successful as its predecessor. It has taken Carrie on a book tour across the country, where she gives talks to horse enthusiasts of all ages. Unlike traditional book launches where all stops are in bookstores, Carrie is able to share her books within the confines of barns, horse shows and tack shops. It’s a lot less traditional—and a lot more fun.
“The response to ‘Horse Camp’ has been amazing,” Carrie said. “These books have taken me to numerous barns where I can sit down and talk to kids about horses and the many ways in which they enrich our lives.”
One of the best tour stops was at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. “I had the opportunity to speak at BreyerFest, which was a huge thrill for me,” Carrie said. “I felt like an absolute rockstar, surrounded by 30,000 young horse fans. One of the things I was able to do there was to host a workshop on how to create your own horse story for a book or TV show. The kids absolutely loved it—as did I—and it was absolutely wonderful to be able to share firsthand in their creativity and love of horses.
“Some of these kids will never have the means to own a horse, but they can still have horses in their lives through writing about them, as I did when I couldn’t be around them due to my allergies,” Carrie continued. “I feel so incredibly blessed that I am able to do this.”
The books have also brought Carrie into a sisterhood of equestrian authors. In her free time, she does events with organizations such as Gallop NYC, a city-based therapeutic riding program for individuals with disabilities, alongside her friend, fellow equestrian author Sarah Maslin Nir. “We have an amazing community where we can all help each other. The people I’ve met—and the friendships we’ve forged—through this horse journey have been incredible,” Carrie said.
In the meantime, Carrie has several projects in the pipeline. She intends to keep on writing and, of course, loving horses, indefinitely.
“Horses have an innate connection factor that brings us all together,” Carrie said. “Through them, we are able to connect to the innocence, tenderness and purity of our childhoods. But besides that tenderness, horses also give us power and strength. They are just the most incredible beings, and I am so grateful to have them in my life and share them with others through my writing.”
For more information, follow Carrie on Instagram @carriekseim and visit HorseGirlBook.com
