Riding Lessons

If you don’t know the difference between a bridle and a saddle but your child dreams of riding horses, this informative guide will answer all of your most pressing questions. Elise Gaston Chand provides informed and sensible tips on finding qualified instructors, the cost of lessons, safety concerns, and much more. Learn what to watch for as your child’s riding progresses, confidently steer your child toward rewarding competition experiences, and take pride in all of your child’s riding achievements.

As a world-class equestrian and Olympic contender, Annemarie Zimmer lived for the thrill of flight atop a strong, graceful animal. 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.

Bo Derek vaulted into the national spotlight in 1979 as the perfect fantasy woman in 10, Blake Edwards's sophisticated film comedy. Her otherworldly beauty and voluptuous figure captivated men everywhere, while her cornrow hairstyle launched a fashion trend among women. Bo has always remained intensely private about her personal life, especially with regards to her May-December marriage to director John Derek, creating an intriguing sense of mystery that has led to much speculation. Here, for the first time, she reveals the truth about the woman behind the glossy image. Born Mary Cathleen Collins and known as Cathy, she grew up in southern California, the horse-crazy oldest daughter of four. Her father, a public relations executive for the boat manufacturer Hobie Cat, and her mother, a hairstylist and makeup artist for a number of Hollywood figures, separated permanently while Bo was in her teens. During this time her mother was working for Ann-Margret, and it was backstage at one of the entertainer's Las Vegas shows that a theatrical agent approached Bo about pursuing a movie career. At one of her very first auditions the sixteen-year-old Bo met John Derek, a man thirty years her senior, with whom she would spend the next twenty-five years of her life. Theirs was a love affair of epic proportions, but it was one that was widely misunderstood by the press and public alike. John was dubbed a Svengali, and his influence over the young Bo was thought to be limitless. With great candor and an endearing humor, Bo comes clean on a relationship that has long intrigued provided fodder for American gossip mills, and the result is an account that is far from what we may haveimagined. Bo lays bare the intimate moments and madcap adventures that she and John shared, revealing in the process that she has never, even for a moment, relinquished control of her own destiny. Given her unusual story, her only-in-Hollywood childhood, her friendships with Ursula Andress and Linda Evans (both of John's ex-wives), her time spent living in a trailer home, her rumored relationship with Ted Turner, and her exhaustive work for the Republican Party, it often seems as if Bo has lived nine lives rather than just one. Whether spurning Life magazine or passing on the opportunity to work with legendary filmmaker Dino De Laurentiis, Bo has gone with her gut regardless of the consequences. And that's only fitting for the woman who has chosen to live life with no safety nets--and no regrets. But as Bo makes clear in Riding Lessons, it is her passion for John and her love of all things equine that have been the constants in her life. Sharing her hard-won lessons on life and love, she draws on her intuitive understanding of horses to offer surprising insights into the dynamics of intimate relationships. In this compelling memoir, Bo Derek writes openly of her growing self-awareness and of the coping strategies she has learned, whether faced with sudden stardom, the crazy and competitive world of moviemaking, or the death of her beloved husband. With Riding Lessons, she transcends her legendary physical beauty to reveal an inner wisdom certain to enlighten and enthrall readers of all ages.

The first book in a new horse trilogy from Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley starring a feisty young rider. Eleven-year-old Ellen is a spunky—and occasionally misbehaving—young riding student. Her teacher Abby Lovitt (who readers might recognize from The Georges and the Jewels) is a high school student who introduces her to jumping, dressage techniques, and most importantly, Ned. Ned is a colt who used to be a racehorse, until he hurt his leg and moved to Abby’s ranch. Ellen and Ned seem to understand each other, and their companionship is immediate. But Ellen is only allowed to go to riding lessons when she behaves at school. And with all that’s going on, from learning that she’s adopted to finding out her parents are adopting a new baby, it’s harder than ever for Ellen to pay attention and behave in class and at home. Will Ellen be able to spend more time on the ranch with Ned? And will her parents ever let her have a horse of her own?

A learning book written to be read by children to guide kids in the very basics of horse safety, horse handling and care, developing horse sense, and starting out with your horse-riding journey. This book is designed to be used in partnership with your horse and your coach as an interactive workbook and reference guide for everything you are learning. Practical and hands-on is the emphasis that theory alone cannot prepare you for to become a skilled horse person. This book is for children, especially between the grassroots age of six to thirteen, to be able to work through their learning experience with their instructor. It is written to help support the exciting pathway of a horse life in a simple and easy-to-understand format and language. The author, Debbie, has a lifetime of horsemanship experience, in-depth knowledge to share, and a passion for people of all ages learning safely; helping people starting out with the core fundamentals to support the future of sensible, confident, and capable horse handlers and riders. This book is every childs equine essentials kit to commence on a wonderful journey with horses and learn valuable life skills. Development of confidence, care, and communication is the blessing we wish you for a happy and healthy life.

The first book in a new horse trilogy from Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley, starring a feisty young rider. Eleven-year-old Ellen is a spunky—and occasionally misbehaving—young riding student. Her teacher, Abby Lovitt (who readers might recognize from The Georges and the Jewels), is a high school student who introduces her to jumping, dressage techniques, and most importantly, Ned. Ned is a colt who used to be a racehorse, until he hurt his leg and moved to Abby’s ranch. Ellen and Ned seem to understand each other, and their companionship is immediate. But Ellen is only allowed to go to riding lessons when she behaves at school. And with all that’s going on, from learning that she’s adopted to finding out her parents are adopting a new baby, it’s harder than ever for Ellen to pay attention and behave in class and at home. Will Ellen be able to spend more time on the ranch with Ned? And will her parents ever let her have a horse of her own?

"This book will walk the new (or established) riding instructor through advertising and marketing, horse selection, location, and contracts, how to teach students to handle the horse from the ground as well as instructing through the gaits of walk, trot, and canter. It will guide you through teaching your students how to jump, plus has lots of example less plans, hundreds of ideas for incorporating obstacles, ideas, and equipment into your lessons. Here we will answer many questions, as well as bringing up a lot of questions that you need to answer or consider." -- back cover

There is a time to move on, a time to let go . . . and a time to fly. “Sara Gruen writes with passionate precision about horses and their humans and the healing power of love.”—Maryanne Stahl, author of Forgive the Moon Anxiety rules Annemarie Zimmer’s days—the fear that her relationship with the man she loves is growing stagnant; the fear that equestrian daughter Eva’s dreams of Olympic glory will carry her far away from her mother . . . and into harm’s way. For five months, Annemarie has struggled to make peace with her past. But if she cannot let go, the personal battles she has won and the heights she has achieved will have all been for naught. It is a time of change at Maple Brook Horse Farm, when loves must be confronted head-on and fears must be saddled and broken. But it is an unanticipated tragedy that will most drastically alter the fragile world of one remarkable family—even as it flings open gates that have long confined them, enabling them all to finally ride headlong and free.