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Summer Circuit
Kim Ablon Whitney - 2014
RECOMMENDED FOR AGE 16+ It’s the summer before college. Hannah Waer is on her own at the seven-week summer horse show circuit in Vermont. Her father wants her to learn independence and responsibility so she has to take care of her own horse—which might not be a problem if she’d ever picked out a stall, or prepared a horse for the ring. It also doesn’t help that her horse won't jump. When Hannah crashes (literally) into gorgeous and accomplished grand prix rider, Chris Kern, on her first day at the show, she’s certain her life is over. In fact, it’s just beginning. The summer becomes one Hannah will never forget—a time of first love, of hard choices, and of learning that life is what you make of it.
The Dressage Chronicles
Karen McGoldrick - 2011
You know what happens to all those girls who are just crazy about horses?Once they discover boys, the horses are history.Or maybe not.For Lizzy, and others like her, no boy, no man who knows what’s good for him, speaks the unspeakable.“It’s me or the horse.”It’s no contest.And so Lizzy snips the threads that hold her, however tenuously, to a conventional life, and begins her journey into the world of horse sports.She signs on as a working student for dressage superstar Margot Fanning, heading to south Florida with her six year old mare, for “the season.”She immerses herself in an extraordinary world of high-dollar horses and ambitious women and receives an education in more than just riding dressage.Welcome to The Dressage Chronicles.
Stay the Distance
Mara Dabrishus - 2015
From the ground, everything is a complete mess — her jockey mom ran off years ago and July’s certain she could come home at any moment. So certain she puts her life on pause, working with the racehorses after high school instead of preparing for college, like she’d planned. All to see a glimpse of her mother, maybe, one day.Although she’s taught herself not to get attached, July can’t help connecting with Kali, a hopeless filly that refuses to run when it counts. July is determined to save Kali from the claiming races, although with bankruptcy rumors swirling the future looks more uncertain than ever.July can’t stand losing one more thing, but when she finds herself facing what she wants the most she’s not sure what to do. Are you defined by what you have, or how you act? How can July have a future when all she can think about is the past?
Riding Lessons
Sara Gruen - 2004
Then, at eighteen, a tragic accident destroyed her riding career and Harry, the beautiful horse she cherished. Now, twenty years later, Annemarie is coming home to her dying father's New Hampshire horse farm. Jobless and abandoned, she is bringing her troubled teenage daughter to this place of pain and memory, where ghosts of an unresolved youth still haunt the fields and stables—and where hope lives in the eyes of the handsome, gentle veterinarian Annemarie loved as a girl . . . and in the seductive allure of a trainer with a magic touch. But everything will change yet again with one glimpse of a white striped gelding startlingly similar to the one Annemarie lost in another lifetime. And an obsession is born that could shatter her fragile world.
Mounted
Barbara Morgenroth - 2012
Talia Margolin's life has been marked by events completely beyond her control--her mother's death, her move to her father's horse farm, the retirement of her show horse. Now she faces the arrival of a new coach whose job is to get Talia's half-sister, Greer, qualified for the finals at the National Horse Show. Greer is brutal on trainers but Lockie Malone is different. Handsome, talented, and with a will of hardened steel, Lockie can be an immovable object. He also becomes the agent for change in the lives of everyone at Bittersweet Farm. For seventeen year old Talia, change has never meant anything but loss. Will this time be different?
Cut and Run
Amy Elizabeth - 2013
So when her unscrupulous boyfriend turns up without a pulse, she knows she needs to get out of Southie. Fast. She seeks refuge in the last place anyone would think to look for her – the picturesque town of Jackson, Wyoming. The locals in this small community live by a different set of standards, as Rebecca discovers when she finds work on a horse ranch. For once, she’s surrounded by people she can take at face value, with one exception – her snarky new boss, Alec Westin, who appears hell-bent on making her employment term as short as possible. With his self-righteous attitude, she’d gladly grant him his wish, if she wasn’t so desperate for the job – and if he wasn’t so easy on the eyes. But after a chance encounter with his crippled father, Rebecca learns the truth behind Alec’s callous façade. Suddenly he is no longer a tyrant, but a diligent man risking his entire livelihood to provide for his family. Moved by Alec's fortitude and his father's warmth, Rebecca finds herself increasingly drawn into their personal affairs – and to Alec. Just when she thinks her murky past is behind her, a series of sinister threats confirms her greatest fear – she’s being hunted. It’s only a matter of time before her stalker finds her. And when he does, she’ll discover just how much her friends are willing to risk – and sacrifice – to protect her.
Lucy's Chance
Brittney Joy - 2013
Only neither is hers. Lucy has never attracted much attention from boys, but she can't seem to ignore her blue-eyed co-worker, Casey Parker. A true cowboy, Lucy is fascinated by his gentle way with the horses at Red Rock Ranch. However, she is very aware that Taylor Johnson, rodeo queen extraordinaire, already has her spurs in him. And, there's no crossing Taylor. . . . Not until a mysterious horse appears on the ranch and pushes Lucy and Casey together. The two are willing to do anything to save the black gelding that doesn't want a thing to do with them or the human race. But, every step forward with the broken animal makes Lucy fall harder - for him and for Casey.***Saddle-up with a sweet, wholesome young adult equestrian series full of first loves, friendship, and horses. Get ready for a summer packed with trail rides, horse shows, rodeo, campfires, and kisses.
Dare to Dream
Kate Lattey - 2013
Marley has grand ambitions to jump in Pony of the Year, but every good pony she’s ever had has been sold out from under her to pay the bills.Then a half-wild pinto pony comes into her life, and Marley finds that this most unlikely of champions could be the superstar she has always dreamed of. As Marley and Cruise rise quickly to the top of their sport, it seems as though her dreams of winning the Pony of the Year might come true after all.But her family is struggling to make ends meet, and as the countdown to Pony of the Year begins, Marley is forced to face the possibility of losing the pony she has come to love more than anything else in the world.Can Marley save the farm she loves, without sacrificing the pony she can’t live without?
False Gods
L.R. Trovillion - 2014
Or is there? Cory Iverson has her sights set on riding in the prestigious Washington International Horse Show—a tall order for even the most experienced competitors. Problem is, she doesn’t even own a horse. But there’s an even bigger problem: she’s a quitter. Not a casual quitter, but a hard-core, serial, when-the-going-gets-tough quitter. This all starts to change, however, when the opportunity arises to rescue the perfect horse from slaughter and work with an experienced trainer who has the means to get her there. If she stays the course. But Cory discovers the road to qualifying for Washington is littered with roadblocks when she finds herself surrounded by problems outside her control: prescription painkillers appear in her mother’s purse; her ballerina sister wastes away before her eyes; her boyfriend is keeping secrets from her; and her normally opinionated trainer becomes strangely evasive. Worst of all, the horse show world proves to be full of dangers, including an unscrupulous trainer headed for the same show who will stop at nothing to win, including killing. Unless Cory quits.
Eventer's Dream
Caroline Akrill - 1981
A job in a private yard or livery stable seems a logical step but numerous unsuccessful interviews leave her feeling desperate. As a stopgap she accepts a position with the impecunious and eccentric Fane sisters, caring for their stable of pathetic, unsound, aged and often downright dangerous horses at their once grand but now ruinously dilapidated manor house in High Suffolk. But when the perfect job opportunity presents itself can she actually free herself from the Fane sisters? And can she bear to leave the stable of hopelessly endearing equines to their fate? Is this job really the first step towards achieving her ambition? Or is it the end, the absolute finish, of an eventer's dream?
The One Dollar Horse
Lauren St. John - 2012
When she rescues a starving, half-wild horse, she’s convinced that the impossible can be made possible. But she has reckoned without the consequences of her father’s criminal record, or the distraction of a boy with melty, dark eyes, with whom she refuses to fall in love. Casey learns the hard way that no matter how high you jump, or how fast you gallop, you can never outrun the past.
Defining Gravity
Genevieve Mckay - 2017
He controls her weight, her friends, and even her career path. And he doesn’t approve of anyone in their family thinking for themselves. When one impulsive decision ends in disaster, Astrid is grounded for the summer, forced to put her archery career on hold and take a menial job cleaning stalls at a posh dressage barn. It takes a little horse named Quarry and a quirky cast of characters to banish Astrid's unhappiness and show her that she is worth something. But when her father steps in, once again, everything Astrid has grown to love is threatened.
And We Danced
Toni Mari - 2013
Windsong had the breeding, training, and the flashy good looks to win medals at national competitions, but conservative, shy Jane wasn't sure she was up to the challenge of riding the temperamental beast. He may have been an imported Swedish Warmblood, and he may have had Grand Prix dressage training, but he was wild. When her spirited, new horse races out of control, help comes unexpectedly—unwelcomed—from a loathsome cowboy, a horribly mean-spirited, condescendingly brusque, gorgeous black-haired, azure-eyed reining champion, who is positive Jane is most definitely not up to the challenge. As these two from opposite ends of the horse world are forced to work together, tempers blaze and horseshoes fly, but something else begins to spark. Can Jane overcome her fear and preconceptions to win her goal of competing in the National Junior Rider Championships…and not lose her heart at the same time?
The A Circuit
Georgina Bloomberg - 2011
It's a world with its own rules and superprivileged lifestyles. Teens travel the circuit all year, showing horses that cost as much as some homes.Tommi, Kate, and Zara are all elite competitors on the circuit, but they come from totally different backgrounds. Tommi is a billionaire heiress trying to prove she has real talent (not just deep bank accounts). Kate puts the working in working student-every win has been paid for with hours of cleaning stalls. She's used to the grueling schedule, but Fitz, the barn's resident hot guy, is about to become a major distraction. And then there's Zara. She's the wild child of a famous rockstar, but she's ready to take riding seriously. Can a party girl really change her ways?Readers who enjoy peeking into the elite world of Gossip Girl or The A-List will feel right at home in this new series with its friendships, drama, and privilege set against the backdrop of competitive horseback riding.
Breaking Free
Juliana Haygert - 2013
To others, her family and her relationship with Eric is perfect. But she knows the truth. She lives it.After a fire takes her grandma's life and kills her horse, Hannah's immaculate life spirals out of control. Her father disapproves of her decision to run her grandma’s ranch instead of focusing solely on learning the family business; Animal Control brings her Argus, a mistreated horse that she can't turn away even though she's not ready for another horse; and her boyfriend, Eric Bennett, a world famous polo player, becomes possessive and authoritarian. Despite her best efforts to disguise it, Hannah grows wary of him.Then, Leonardo Fernandes struts onto the polo scene. A cocky rookie with a messy life of his own, he’s drawn to Hannah and isn’t afraid of showing it, even when Eric makes it clear she is his and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Hannah suffers for Eric’s jealousy. The abuse only gets worse when Leo steals the title of best polo player in the world from Eric.But the title isn’t enough for Leo. He wants Hannah too, and she can’t deny her attraction to him either. Somehow, she must find a way to break free from abusive Eric before he breaks every bone in her body.Author's note: this book contains scenes of domestic violence, mentions of animal cruelty, strong language, sex scenes (no rape!), and a HEA.The Breaking Series:Breaking Free (Book 1)Breaking Away (Book 2)Breaking Through (Book 3)Breaking Down (Book 4)*All books are standalone and can be read out of order.