Post by rallycairn on Oct 7, 2014 17:06:16 GMT 1
Riding School Rivals by Susan Saunders
from the Treasured Horses Collection
Reviewed edition is the 2003 Barnes and Noble omnibus of four titles from the Treasured Horses Collection. Original copyright for Riding School Rivals is listed as 1996 by Nancy Hall, Inc.
IN A NUTSHELL:
Riding School Rivals is a pleasant, serviceable story worth a read for anyone in the mood for a standard tale of girls and their friendships and conflicts at a riding stable. Cassie and her friends enjoy their time taking riding lessons at Birchwood Stables, but the recent arrival of the condescending Hillary has dampened their fun. When Hillary proves willing to sabotage Cassie's riding of the new horse at the stable, the elegant and talented Lipizzaner, Majesty, the conflicts grow more serious.
A CLOSER LOOK (may contain SPOILERS):
Like the other titles in the Treasured Horses Collection, this book is aimed at middle readers, so there is not a huge amount of depth to the characters or a lot of detail about horse care and riding. Cassie is the stereotype of the talented and hardworking student, and Hillary the snotty antagonist. However, Cassie is not drawn as having excessive extremes of supernatural ability, and she is portrayed as putting the hours in the tack and time in the stall grooming and caring for the horses she rides.
The book also mentions of aspects of horse care and riding that are appropriate for the length and intended audience of the story. For example, there are a few sentences depicting Cassie and Hillary walking the jumping course with their trainer/instructor and noting the strides for each jumping line. Brief mentions, but accurate and lending a little richness to the story. Another detail is that the horses are all either school horses or are leased by the protagonists. Leasing arrangements are fairly common in the United States and can be a great way for riders without a lot of means to get more saddle time and develop a relationship with a particular horse, especially one suited to their riding skills, without having to outright purchase a mount. (The downsides of leasing are not mentioned at all, but are pretty much outside the scope of the story.) Finally, the rarity of having a Lipizzaner as a riding school mount, even as a special lease, is at least mentioned in the story. Presumably, the editors of the series wanted a book about a Lipizzan, but they are certainly not commonly seen as school horses. At least the author acknowledged this fact, and used Majesty's being of a rare breed as another reason for Hillary to be jealous of Cassie when Cassie gets to lease Majesty.
There are a few well-drawn interactions among the friends that add to the story, as well, such as this interchange between Cassie and her friend, Amy. Cassie has just finished a jumping lesson at which Hillary was oddly absent. Hillary's new leased mount, Thor, is too much horse for her, as Amy has been especially quick to deduce:
"Any trouble with Hillary today?" Amy asked as Cassie slid into the back seat of the Lins' car.
"She didn't show up," Cassie said. "She has the flu."
"And its name is Thor," Amy added. "I bet she didn't want to ride him, and I don't blame her."
"Amy, I don't know where you get these ideas," Mrs. Lin said. "You barely know the girl, and you're already imagining what she's thinking." [p.82].
Riding School Rivals is a pleasant, non-demanding read that holds interest well enough for those looking for a meat-and-potatoes riding school story.
Three horseshoes.
from the Treasured Horses Collection
Reviewed edition is the 2003 Barnes and Noble omnibus of four titles from the Treasured Horses Collection. Original copyright for Riding School Rivals is listed as 1996 by Nancy Hall, Inc.
IN A NUTSHELL:
Riding School Rivals is a pleasant, serviceable story worth a read for anyone in the mood for a standard tale of girls and their friendships and conflicts at a riding stable. Cassie and her friends enjoy their time taking riding lessons at Birchwood Stables, but the recent arrival of the condescending Hillary has dampened their fun. When Hillary proves willing to sabotage Cassie's riding of the new horse at the stable, the elegant and talented Lipizzaner, Majesty, the conflicts grow more serious.
A CLOSER LOOK (may contain SPOILERS):
Like the other titles in the Treasured Horses Collection, this book is aimed at middle readers, so there is not a huge amount of depth to the characters or a lot of detail about horse care and riding. Cassie is the stereotype of the talented and hardworking student, and Hillary the snotty antagonist. However, Cassie is not drawn as having excessive extremes of supernatural ability, and she is portrayed as putting the hours in the tack and time in the stall grooming and caring for the horses she rides.
The book also mentions of aspects of horse care and riding that are appropriate for the length and intended audience of the story. For example, there are a few sentences depicting Cassie and Hillary walking the jumping course with their trainer/instructor and noting the strides for each jumping line. Brief mentions, but accurate and lending a little richness to the story. Another detail is that the horses are all either school horses or are leased by the protagonists. Leasing arrangements are fairly common in the United States and can be a great way for riders without a lot of means to get more saddle time and develop a relationship with a particular horse, especially one suited to their riding skills, without having to outright purchase a mount. (The downsides of leasing are not mentioned at all, but are pretty much outside the scope of the story.) Finally, the rarity of having a Lipizzaner as a riding school mount, even as a special lease, is at least mentioned in the story. Presumably, the editors of the series wanted a book about a Lipizzan, but they are certainly not commonly seen as school horses. At least the author acknowledged this fact, and used Majesty's being of a rare breed as another reason for Hillary to be jealous of Cassie when Cassie gets to lease Majesty.
There are a few well-drawn interactions among the friends that add to the story, as well, such as this interchange between Cassie and her friend, Amy. Cassie has just finished a jumping lesson at which Hillary was oddly absent. Hillary's new leased mount, Thor, is too much horse for her, as Amy has been especially quick to deduce:
"Any trouble with Hillary today?" Amy asked as Cassie slid into the back seat of the Lins' car.
"She didn't show up," Cassie said. "She has the flu."
"And its name is Thor," Amy added. "I bet she didn't want to ride him, and I don't blame her."
"Amy, I don't know where you get these ideas," Mrs. Lin said. "You barely know the girl, and you're already imagining what she's thinking." [p.82].
Riding School Rivals is a pleasant, non-demanding read that holds interest well enough for those looking for a meat-and-potatoes riding school story.
Three horseshoes.