Book picks similar to
Flight by Genevieve Mckay


horse-books
young-adult
other-fiction
1-tbr-soon

Kate and Holly: The Beginning


Maggie Dana - 2014
    In exchange for her riding lessons, she works at Sandpiper Stables where the other girls look down their noses at her as she mucks stalls, cleans tack, and grooms their European warmbloods. For comfort, Kate turns to Black Magic, the barn’s best horse. His favorite treat is watermelon rinds, which he slobbers all over her. But Kate doesn't care. She loves Magic’s attention and pampers him. Together, they're already making a name for themselves at three-day events, and Kate’s riding instructor predicts they will go far . . . until a tragic accident changes everything. * * * Holly Chapman hides her sadness and loneliness behind a cheerful smile. She grooms as much of her horse, Magician, as she can reach from her wheelchair and watches another girl ride him—winning the blue ribbons that Holly used to win. Determined to keep up with the other kids, even if she can’t walk, Holly takes risks. She gets her wheelchair stuck in the mud, stranded on stairs, and wedged into corners. Sometimes she falls out of it. Her mother advertises for a summer companion, but Holly doesn’t want a watchdog. She wants a best friend.

Born in the Saddle (Born to Ride Series Book 1)


Samantha Walker - 2020
     At age fourteen, she's a know it all teen living alone with her mum in London - not a horse in sight. Can a few weeks staying with her grandparents back at the stables change all that, or has she really put horses out of her life for good? Meet the whole Michaelson clan, and their four-legged friends, at the Quicksilver Stud in Book 1 – Born in the Saddle. Teen fiction for horse lovers, especially eventing fans. Ideal for fans of Claire Svendson, Amanda Wills or Samantha Alexander.

The Paint Horse (White Cloud Station)


Trudy Nicholson - 2015
    But Paintbox was taken from her by his spiteful former owners and there was nothing Lucy could do. Despite having Hope, Lucy never got over losing Paintbox. The worst part was, she had no idea what became of him until, one day, a mysterious letter arrives…. www.whitecloudstation.com A White Cloud Station short story.

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?

The Horses Know


Lynn Mann - 2016
    Her chosen person. A bond with the power to change everything.The human race has all but destroyed itself and those who remain know that they must avoid repeating the mistakes of their ancestors. But it’s extremely difficult. Without horses, it would be impossible. Amarilla is one of those chosen by a horse as a Bond-Partner. She looks forward to a lifetime of learning from her horse and of passing on the mare’s wisdom to those seeking help. But then she discovers that she is the one for whom the horses have all been waiting. The one who can help them in return.In order to give the horses the help they need, Amarilla will have to achieve that which has never been attempted before. Only her beloved mare can give her the motivation, the courage and the strength to believe she can succeed. If she does, a new era will dawn for horses and humans alike...The Horses Know is the first book of The Horses Know Trilogy. If you love horses and know there is more to them than meets the eye, this novel is for you!

Secret Rider


Claire Svendsen - 2013
    Her mother is terrified of them. Her dad left because of them. And all Emily wants is to ride them. But that isn’t going to happen any time soon unless Emily takes matters into her own hands and she’s been doing just that for the last year. The only trouble is that secrets are made to be broken and Emily has the biggest one of all. She works at Sand Hill Stables to pay for riding lessons and now she has the chance to prove herself at the prestigious Fox Run Farm show. With her best friend Mickey as her partner in crime, can she make it to show day without her mom finding out? And why do the girls who ride at Fox Run want to make sure that Sand Hill closes its doors once and for all?

Autumn Blues (Show Circuit Series - Book 4)


Kim Ablon Whitney - 2017
    It’s now fall—nearly a year later. Hannah is at college, making new friends and riding on the IHSA team. Chris is recently back from Europe and competing in the east coast fall shows in hopes of qualifying for the World Cup Finals. Both are trying to forget about each other. At first, they succeed in doing so as Hannah becomes involved with Theo, a basketball player, and also finds herself attracted to Nolan, the lone guy on the IHSA team. Meanwhile, what was supposed to be a European fling with the Princess of Denmark turns more serious when the Princess follows Chris back to U.S. soil. As the colors change and the colder weather sets in, forgetting about each other becomes harder and harder for Chris and Hannah. Will they be able to stick to their plans to live their own lives—or will they come back together?

Azarão: The Dark Horse (Austin Family Farm Book 1)


David Foster - 2019
    Follow as the rescue of a horse in trouble attracts many who would like to help him. Feel the energy in their attempt and the family that is created by the endeavor. I think Haley says it best: “No Heather it’s not like that. It’s just the opposite. I realized that I was no longer just a project. I’m a member of a team and a proud member of this family. We came together to rescue a horse and ended up helping each other. Every one of us has suffered a tragedy that crippled us for a time. We all know what happened to you. Cole lost his wife, Abbi her mother, although she’s still alive. God only knows what happened to Scott in Afghanistan. Bobby is an orphan being supported by his tribal council. Shattered people coming together to help a horse return to the land of the living. It’s like a piece of mosaic art. All broken pieces of glass put together to make a beautiful tapestry held together by a common dream. Azarão, may be the grout that glues us together, but the frame is made of love. Love for a horse. Love for all horses and for this business. Most of all love for each other. We may think that we rescued Azarão, but the truth is … he rescued us.”

A Horse Called Trouble


C.K. Volnek - 2011
    At thirteen she finds herself skeptic and suspicious, with no family, no friends, and forced to participate in horse therapy. Horse therapy “will teach trust, perseverance, respect and the value of teamwork,” or so says the program’s instructor. Tara is unconvinced. Trust only got her heart broken, perseverance only gets her put down, and no one respects or wants to team up with the misfit foster kid. At the stable, Tara meets Trouble, an angry horse bent on destroying everything and everyone around him. When Tara realizes he’s just as misunderstood and untrusting as she is, she pushes aside her fear and a special relationship is formed. Trouble trusts Tara, and Tara in turn finds hope and acceptance as well as the will to love and trust again herself. But Tara’s confidence is shaken as a great challenge looms ahead. Trouble’s manipulative owner is determined to have him destroyed because of his ‘dangerous’ nature. Tara must overcome her own limitations and fight to save the horse that has freed her heart and given her life value and meaning.

Comet in Summer


Grace Wilkinson - 2017
    Gentle and exceptionally bred, Comet is the kind of horse Rio has always dreamed of owning - a horse to take on hacks through the vines, ride bareback at sunset, and maybe even compete in an event or two. Comet seems too good to be true, and Rio soon suspects that his past involved more than standing around in a field… But Rio has more to worry about than Comet. With five sisters to deal with - including Clemmie the bestselling romance novelist, Lia the ten-year-old taxidermist, and carefree Susannah who came back from her gap year with more than could fit in a suitcase - and a summer of renovating an old house complicated by the arrival of numerous guests, her family isn’t as perfect as her mum’s blog about their life in rural France suggests. And there’s Comet, a horse with his own story, and Rio soon discovers he could change her life in ways she’d never imagined. Except she’s not so sure she wants it to…

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.

In the Middle Are the Horsemen


Tik Maynard - 2018
    A university graduate and modern pentathlete, he suffered both a career–ending injury and a painful breakup, leaving him suddenly adrift. The son of prominent Canadian equestrians, Maynard decided to spend the next year as a “working student.” In the horse industry, working students aspire to become professional riders or trainers, and willingly trade labor for hands–on education. Here Maynard chronicles his experiences–good and bad–and we follow along as one year becomes three, what began as a casual adventure gradually transforms, and a life's purpose comes sharply into focus. Over time, Maynard evolved under the critical eyes of Olympians, medal winners, and world–renowned figures in the horse world, including Anne Kursinski, Johann Hinnemann, Ingrid Klimke, David and Karen O'Connor, Bruce Logan, and Ian Millar. He was ignored, degraded, encouraged, and praised. He was hired and fired, told he had the “wrong body type to ride” and that he had found his “destiny.” He got married and lost loved ones. Through it all he studied the horse, and human nature, and how the two can find balance. And in that journey, he may have found himself.

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.

Golden Filly Collection Two


Lauraine Snelling - 1995
    With Tricia as jockey and her father as trainer, the two have big dreams of winning the Triple Crown. Tricia has other pressures, too, like declining grades, a strained relationship with her mother, and the constant worry about her father's failing health. But Tricia's faith in God always gives her the strength to push her limits. Collection Two includes Shadow Over San Mateo, Out of the Mist, Second Win, Close Call, and The Winner's Circle.

Ephemeral


Andie Andrews - 2017
     It’s into this white-gloved arena that Clarissa Stamos, a reclusive, midlife romance writer is thrust when she decides to write a country-western romance. The only problem is—she’s never been on a horse. Clarissa signs up for riding lessons and finds relief from her troubled marriage and her darkest secrets in the company of horses who offer an intoxicating sense of freedom and daring. Before long, she impulsively buys an ex-rodeo horse who spurs her to take charge of her own destiny—or wind up in the dust. Complicating matters is an intriguing, Argentinian dressage trainer with secrets of his own. One part romance novel, one part literary fiction, one part love-affair-with-horses, Ephemeral is told from the viewpoint of a quirky, old cow horse who not only invites you into his world, but also shares his sensible and soulful outlook on human hearts and the meaning of true horsemanship.