Richard Edward Wormser (1908 - 1977)

Prolific American author of novels, short stories, film novelisations and film screenplays. Born in New York in 1908. After graduating from University he worked as an editor and writer for the famous pulp publishing house Street Smith. He later became more well known as a screenwriter. His fiction, as well as pulp, included detective stories and Westerns. Two of his Westerns were for children and featured horses as central to the plot. Both these won Spur Awards of the Western Writers of America for juvenile fiction. There is also a collection of 4 of his detective stories which were set on the racetrack.

Wormser knew about horses and ranch life, having himself lived on a ranch in California from the 1930s. He also worked as a mounted forest ranger during the early 1940s.

He wrote some books under the pen names of Conrad Gerson and Ed friend, however I don't think he wrote anything horse-themed under these names.

NB - Not to be confused with Richard Wormser, the author, photographer and director born in 1933.

Horse and Pony Books:

RIDE A NORTHBOUND HORSE
First edition MORROW [USA] 1964
First UK edition OXFORD UNIV PRESS 1964
ILLUSTRATED BY CHARLES GEER (USA editions)
ILLUSTRATED BY VICTOR AMBRUS (UK editions)
Reprinted in paperback by Scholastic.
Published in the UK in hardback by Oxford University Press in 1964
Reprinted in the UK in paperback by Oxford University Press in 1971
AWARDS: Spur Award Juvenile Fiction 1964
EDITIONS PICTURED: Scholastic paperback, First UK edition, UK paperback
SUMMARY: When his parents are tragically killed Cav decides to journey to Texas and throws in his lot with cattle drovers. He buys a beautiful bay mare called Belle but is tricked into giving her up when he is branded as a horse thief. Now he must catch up with the drover's hard and prove his honesty.

THE BLACK MUSTANGER
First edition MORROW [USA] 1964
ILLUSTRATED BY DON BOLOGNESE
AWARDS: Spur Award Juvenile Fiction 1971
EDITION PICTURED: First edition
SUMMARY: Historical story set in post Civil War era. When his dad breaks his leg, young Dan gets a job helping the mixed race Mustanger Will rounding up horses. Will has his own unique way of catching the horses, which involves almost becoming a horse oneself!

HORSE MONEY: THE CASES OF VAN EYK, RACE TRACK DETECTIVE (Adult Fiction)
First edition BLACK DOG BOOKS [USA] 2011
Originally published elsewhere (unknown), probably as 4 separate stories.
Paperback original
As of 2018 still in print and available as an e-book
EDITION PICTURED: First edition
SUMMARY: Adult detective fiction set in the world of American horse racing,. Collection of 4 stories/novellas featuring the different cases of Van Eyck, a hardboiled racehorse detective, who is not averse to a gamble or two himself.

Collector's Info:
Ride a Northbound Horse was published in the UK and is fairly easy to find here. Also easy to find in the USA. The Black Mustanger is hard to find in the UK, but quite easy to track down in the USA.
Horse Money was published posthumously. It features 4 adult novellas/long stories which were previously published elsewhere, possibly in magazine form, however I don't have this information. It was a paperback original and is still in print in the USA, and available as an e-book.