For anyone familiar with the idiosyncrasies of competitive dressage, this book is beyond hysterical. Judy Reene Singer narrates the journeys of spot-on stereotypes, the never ending search for the perfect seat, the horses that humble us and carry us, and while she gently pokes fun at the industry she also nails why- for some reason- the die-hards just can't stay away. I recommend this for all dressage queens, ages 18 and up!

I have probably read this book 20 times since I bought it years and years ago. There's something so fun and heartwarming about Judy's experience on a working horse farm. I love the details about day to day life and the chance to live vicariously through the pages. I'm not cut out for horse work this intensely and I don't even have a level!
Big take a ways: Remember that Germany always sells the bad horses.

I liked this book. I actually got this book through the Goodreads book swap when that function was still active. The book sounded interesting to me because I love horses and have ridden them for years. What makes the book even more fun is the fact that the author lives one county over from me. How neat is that!

I liked the character of Judy, and how the book begins, with her leaving her cheating husband. Throughout the book, the reader is able to watch Judy grow stronger and stronger. The book is funny, I wouldn't exactly say hilarious, and at times I did emit a chuckle. I liked the ending of the book and it actually started to bring tears to my eyes.

I found this book almost as a Saddle Club type of book for adults.

3.75/5

Excellent humour, witty language and I laughed out loud several times while reading this book. The story building was going steady and then... collapsed. And it got even weirder and felt rushed towards the end. Lost a star there. I'd still recommend it for someone who wants a cozy read with lots of humour.

Quirky but fun book.

just ok...

Light and a fast read. Slightly humorous.

An okay read. Nothing that will stick with me for a long time, but a light read that got me out of the depressing stories I was reading. This book had some funny moments. I've never been a fan of horses, so the storyline was not something that really interested me. I mostly just read this book because it was recommended to me.

I was really enjoying this book..... until around chapter 29 when things took a turn for the weird. I still found myself chuckling, but the story line just got a bit too unrealistic for my tastes and it basically stayed that way until the last few chapters. It ended nicely, but that didn't completely make up for the strange twist.
All in all, it was a nice book. It didn't have as much "horsey-ness" as I was hoping, but the characters were great and the story interesting enough to keep me distracted from the lack of horses. And it was nice to find a book pertaining to horses not written for or about 13-year-old girls. I have to say, this is one of few books that had me laughing out loud, and that's a huge plus. I found the writing clever, though at times it was a bit repetitive.
I wavered back and forth between 3 or 4 stars, but decided on 3 mostly because of the outrageous turn the story took towards the end, it was just too far out for me.

Actually a 3.5, but I will caution that I believe non-horsefolk may not get some of this book, especially a decent portion of the humor. And this book has quite a few totally LOL portions!

If you follow me you know I don't typically go to the trouble of typing descriptions of books which you can read by clicking on the title of the book above. I'm not a Twitter or Instagram user, so no # descriptors, but I will say - this is a VERY quick read. It's loosely set in the competitive horse world, the main character is a NY English teacher who is a very casual (doesn't know what levels are) riding lesson student has left her job and her cheating husband to take a riding working student job in NC with a German former Olympian.

If you're in the mood for something very light that will make you giggle a bit, you may enjoy this.

Recommendations below.

Love this book.

This author will have you rolling and laughing out loud. I used to show horses but you do not need to know anything about horses to enjoy this novel. Lots of playing on words...a mystery...a murder...German words mispronounced and a few accidents. Yep, it's all in there!