The Brat and the Bullfighter
A Love Story
Some horses don’t just change your life, they save it.
Artilheiro, a white Lusitano stallion with bullfighting in his blood, was born on a prestigious Brazilian farm and sold through an elite auction to a private ranch in California. There, his brilliance is overshadowed by human misunderstanding. Rider after rider mistakes his sensitivity for defiance, gradually eroding his confidence and trust.
Erin knows what it means to be misunderstood. As an Army brat, she spent her childhood in motion—always adapting, never quite belonging. Through it all, her love for horses remained her one constant. So when Artilheiro’s owner offers to sell him to her, she can’t refuse. What follows isn’t a fairytale but a slow-building partnership: fragile, challenging, and full of tiny breakthroughs. Then tragedy strikes, leaving Erin in freefall—and it’s Arty who catches her. In the wake of her devastating loss, he steps forward with quiet strength, showing her a path through grief.
Told from both human and horse perspectives, The Brat and the Bullfighter is a powerful hybrid memoir about trust, identity, and the bond that forms between two souls who, in finding each other, finally find home.
Praise
“A modern-day Black Beauty. The Brat and the Bullfighter is the horse book you didn’t know you needed—a story that carries us across continents and decades, through grief into healing, and deep into the complex, life-altering bond between horse and human. By turns funny, tender, and deeply honest, this is a love story that reminds us what it means to listen, to trust, and to be changed—by animals, by loss, and by love.”—Laura Munson, New York Times best-selling author and founder of the acclaimed Haven Writing Retreats
to suspend disbelief in order to acknowledge truth and insight can
be more clearly revealed through a perspective other than human.”
—Patricia Wood, author of Lottery
“The Brat and the Bullfighter is an exquisitely written ballad between
a horse and a woman that unfolds slowly and beautifully in two
parallel memoirs.”
—Carol Odell, LICSW, author of Girl, Groomed
“Erin shares how horses are the ultimate guides, shaping our creative,
emotional, and even love lives. They provide a unique framework
and lens through which to view life. A lens that is spiritual and, at
times, terrifying. But always, horses are a gift.”
—Christy Cashman, author of The Truth about Horses
—Lisa Cheek, author of Sit, Cinderella, Sit