The horses' iron shoes scraped, metal against solid stone. Slowly they struggled upward, legs bent, lungs wheezing. Society Girl's halter rope tightened in my hand. I looked back. The old mare was really having problems. Groaning, she put her head down and lurched over one of the big rocks, his shoes slipping. Then, as though in slow motion, she crumpled to the ground. When Ambrose is forced to sell his horse because of an injury, he must find a new animal that can handle the rigors of the mountains while packing for his uncle's trail-riding outfit. To save an old lady's beloved companion from the meat-buyers, Ambrose buys a horse who would be better off in retirement than climbing the treacherous trails of the Rocky Mountains. The horse, Society Girl, almost dies on the trail, and Ambrose realizes she will have to go back to the meat-auction.
When Ryan, a misbehaving ten-year-old, takes the horse and disappears into the teeth of a dangerous mountain storm, Ambrose and Janice are forced to work together to find him. Will the young boy and the elderly horse survive a vicious hailstorm? Will Society Girl prove that she has a future? Will Ambrose be able to save the old horse from certain death?

Irene Morck is an accomplished author and trail-rider. Tough Trails is based on many of her adventures riding in the Rocky Mountains. Irene lives on a farm with ten mules, one horse and her husband.