Product Description
Melissa's slim, delicate beauty belies her strength and determination to succeed in her job as assistant manager at a premier Connecticut equestrian facility. Suddenly having the romantic interest of a handsome man and her career on the fast track, her dreams seem about to come true until she enters a stall one morning to find the farm manager unconscious, lying in a pool of blood. Upon awakening, he has no recollection of what happened, launching a police investigation that brings long-kept secrets of the farm's history to the surface.Throughout this upheaval Melissa finds herself drawing closer to David, one of the trainers at the barn who has a reputation for avoiding relationships like the plague. But fate can't be denied and Melissa and David deal with their intense desire for each other as they are plunged into the turmoil threatening the farm to which they've both tied their futures. When David is placed under suspicion by the police and Melissa herself is attacked, they must weave their way through intrigue and danger to protect themselves and their dreams. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Professional proofreaders are your friend
...and I wish the author had used a better proofreader.Oh my.

I wonder just how many elite H/J barns would hire someone to be an assistant manager, and then have to teach them how to count strides?

Totally unrealistic.

A fantastic setting, romance, mystery, and suspense!
A DANGEROUS DREAM gives the reader suspense, mystery, and a fabulous setting to enjoy as love weaves its way into the lives of Melissa and David.

At the elite Deer Creek Farm the reader sees behind the scenes of the glamour and glitz of horse shows like the Grand Prix to the hard work, skill, and talent that makes grand equestrian shows possible.

Melissa's life is forever changed when she goes to Deer Creek Farm as an assistant barn manager. Early on the reader senses something is unusual about her being hired by such an elite stable. While she is not a part of this rarified world, she loves horses and is determined to use her considerable talent and skill to build a life for herself in this unique arena of life. When she encounters the reticent horse trainer David, who is just as career-oriented as she is, a subtle awareness begins to simmer.

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A fantastic novel for horse lovers
A Dangerous Dream by Mary Paine is an amazing book.I couldn't put it down.I've been looking for a novel about the horse show jumping world for a long time and finally found a wonderful one!Author Mary Paine obviously has a deep loves of horses and showing and shares her knowledge and experience in an exciting story wrapped up with romance and mystery.I couldn't ask for more!

A Must For All Equestrians & Those Who Want To Be
All Equestrian and non-Equestrians will not be able to put A Dangerous Dream down.
Mystery, romance, and a beautiful story line that keeps the reader
captive. I read A Dangerous Dream from beginning to end
with no break. All readers, Equestrian and non-Equestrian will learn,
enjoy and love this book.

Sizzling!
A Dangerous Dream

A racy and romantic mystery set against a backdrop of Connecticut's elite equestrian world. A page turner with twists of the heart and breath-holding excitement. Highly recommended!
... Read more

Product Description
This sequel to Cherry Hill's top-seller 101 Arena Exercises presents step-by-step instructions for unique patterns in the most popular classes of English and Western competition. The book's comb-bound format allows it to hang in the barn or lay flat on a barrel for easy reference. Full-page arena maps for every pattern make this the perfect in-the-saddle workbook for riders of all abilities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great for beginning instructors and for beginning riders!
This book is very comprehensive.There are enough "lessons" to
get the beginning instructor and the beginning-intermediate rider through a geat year of riding and teaching.

An excellant book!
This is an excellant book for anyone practicing for shows or just wanting to improve their riding skills. It has patterns for beginning, intermediate, and advanced riders. It also explains how to work thepatterns. I strongly recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
In & Out is a horse tale like no other. A sprawling narrative filled with romance, intrigue, and excitement, it also provides a clear-eyed and wholly realistic view of the equestrian world, offering the kind of authentic details about horses, riding techniques, and business practicesthat only an insider could provide. At the center of the story stands Jericho Brandeis, an ambitious yet untamed man who seeks glory on his own terms. An intriguing cast of characters surrounds him, including the wealthy patron Bob Marx, the only man who can help Jericho realize his dreams,Marx's sexy young wife, Darien, whose illicit love could become Jericho's downfall, U.S. Chef d'Equip Chuck Frankel, the closest thing to a father figure Jericho has ever known, hunk bartender Trevor Braeden, Jericho's friend and rival, and the indomitable stallion Chasseur de Lion, an alluring yet potentially fatal challenge to Jericho'sconsiderable horsemanship. Jericho must maneuver his waythrough a hazardous maze of violence, corruption, and seduction if he is to fulfill his aspirations at the World Equestrian Games. The adventures of Jericho Brandeis, full of passion, promise, and turmoil, will thrill all loversof horses and of adventure and romance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Nice horsey read!
But I want year 2!!Keep on looking, and hope that soon there will be one. Very nice book, fun and easy to read. Enjoy!

Fun, but unnecessarily graphic...
Meh. The first half of the book read like a Harlequin romance novel, only those are better written. I plugged on through because I loved the horsey bits, but then it started picking up the latter half and then I was hooked. If the author could stop using sentence fragments and leave out about 90% of the sex details, this would be a GREAT summer read. I wish that authors who wrote about horses understood that you do NOT need explicit sexual details to make a good story.

Engaging story but...
This book had an engaging story however the author delighted in using curse words liberally throughout the entire book. The main character seems too unbelievable as well, a superman who women throw themselves at constantly. That theme got rather tiresome after a while. So between the cursing and the sexual excess this makes a book that may entertain some people but turn off a great many more. Would I recommend it, no probably not.

Good read even though not well written
OK.If you only want to be entertained this book is interesting.But don't expect good literature.It is quite badly written.The story is good and revolves around the horse show world quite accurately.Very captivating.

Great Equestrian Novel
One of the best books I've read in a long time.I couldn't put it down. Definately for an adult as some sexually graphic parts with frequent use of four letter words.Ms. Moss' characters are right on.She gives a very real view of equestrian competition at the higher levels while weaving a great story along with just a little romance thrown in. She definately knows horses, competition and how the game is played. ... Read more

Product Description
Equestrian book that covers jumping from the perspectives of both learning & teaching. The book has 25 chapters divided into two parts: The Education of the Rider and The Education of the Horse. There is also an extensive glossary. ... Read more

Product Description
Gives the history of show jumping and describes the course, obstacles, classification, awards, and rules. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Success = Success
For any show competitor (especially those exhibiting Arabian Horses) this book offers great advice on fine tuning their performance.From evaluating your horse, to selecting the right trainer/instructor, to putting on those special final touches that put the spot light on you and your horse - whatever the discipline.A book I make a point of reviewing at the beginning of every show season! ... Read more

Product Description
Everyone is looking for that somewhat elusive special mount that will bring them fame and fortune in the Grand Prix ring . . . a horse for Sunday afternoon , a horse that can be found at the bargain rate of $1500 or more than $1 million. Following the US national horse show and Grand Prix jumping circuit, Vicky Moon starts in Palm Beach with the Wellington Winter Equestrian Festival, moves on to America’s oldest shows in Upperville, Virginia, and Devon, Pennsylvania, then to the Indio Circuit in California, to Long Island for the classy Hampton Classic, down to the prestigious Washington Horse Show, and finishing at the National Horse Show. Just like "Best in Show," you’ll meet the riders, trainers, owners, judges, and the personalities such as "The Carrot Man," "The Masseuse," and the other fascinating characters who follow the horse show circuit. Big names and big money are all part of this intriguing world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Just a bunch of name dropping and celebrity worship :(
I am a horsey person and was hoping this would have more content related to the actual horses and the actual show jumping!

Instead, it was a breathless, and not particularly well written, run through a long list of celebrities and tedious accounts of how much various things cost.Yawn.

Did you know that Bruce Springsteen and Glenn Close go to horse shows because their kids ride?Big deal.Having spent plenty of time traveling the East Coast horse show circuit as a junior rider, I know that most horse people are singularly unimpressed with celebrities and name dropping...who IS the target audience for this book?Not horse people.

An absolute mess
In the hands of a talented writer backed by good content and copy editors, this book really could have been something. Instead, it's a disjointed mishmash of name-dropping (an earlier reviewer's assessment of Moon's style as breathless is right on the money) and rambling attempts at folksy storytelling, riddled with grammar problems, non sequiturs, and typos. Let's just say I'm glad I bought it used.

sure could've used a red pen
A Sunday Horse suffers from a lack of editing. The first chapter is terrible and the second is boring. Vicky Moon is a charming writer but somebody should've convinced her to either cut these two chapters or combine them into one. The book doesn't get fun until chapter three when she tells the story of a bizarre horse kidnapping. After that the book takes off with stories of grooms, writers, vets, carrot sellers, braiders, riders, and all the people who make the grand prix circuit run. One thing I really liked about the book is how Moon makes it clear that a person may not be a great rider and may never win the big shows but with talent, detrmination and flexibility they can still have a career that keeps them "in" horses.

I almost gave up during the first chapter but decided to keep reading because hey, I'd already spent my money, and I'm glad I kept going. Hopefully Vicky Moon will come out with a new edition that is packaged better..

A Sunday Rider
The book gave a lot of inside information on riders and owners and would be good for someone just getting involved in showing because it gave data on average prices, etc.Good insight into the showjumping world.

Finally a good book on an often overlooked sport which
Finally a good book on an often overlooked sports which deserves to be written about with the care that Vicky Moon has provided in these pages. The book has covered not just the riders and the trainers, but the grooms who work so hard. I loved the stories about the carrot man. It brings together the glamor, the glitz and yes, also the darker side. The first book to really tell it like it really is. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The de Nemethy Method
Bertalan de Nemethy was coach of the US Equestrian Show Jumping Team for 25 years.His approaches work. This book is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to know how to start a horse in jumping training and get good results. But it is far more than that.In less than 170 pages de Nemethy explains how to sit a horse correctly - and why - how to work the horse in the various gaits, how to start a young horse so that he will be supple and balanced, how to do ground work, and how to start and work successfully with a young or a more experienced horse over jumps.Many more pages have been written on all of these subjects, but de Nemethy manages to say it all clearly and briefly.The key to ones success in using this book is that it contains numerous wonderful photographs as well as diagrams and exact information on what exercises to use, what distances and heights to work with, and how the horse is likely to react to each phase of the schooling.Every element in the experience of the horse and rider is detailed and explained.It is a shame, for both riders and horses, that this book is not available at a reasonable price; in the last month I have advised three people to buy it, and I can think of several more whom I would give it to, if the base price were not upwards of $300!Thank goodness I had the sense to buy it when I did!

This provides a wonderful method for riding and jumping.
If you want to do it right and classically, de Nemethy's methods are the way to go.Try to get your hands on this book - it helps you correctly teach the horse to jump and sets him up for success.

De Nemethy emphasizes the basics and has a systematic approach to training the horse to jump reliably and confidently.The book is not complex and not filled with lots of esoteric stuff.It is clear, practical and sound.Do it right so you won't have to do it over ... ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

good practical guide
This is a good guide, with info like the importance of warming the horse up, and even more important, how to know when the horse has become fatigued while jumping. The philosophy of the book is centered around the well-being of the horse, which I appreciate. The chapter on evaluating the horse's jumping style and fault correction was one that educated me, and would benefit just about anyone new to free jumping. This book brought more to the realm of free jumping than I had ever thought about, and because of that the book was a learning experience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Owner of In the Irons
this book is a beautiful book. Gary Benson captures the beauty of Show Jumping, Dressage, and Endurance riding. This is a must for any horse lover! He also gives usefull information.

Handsome coffee-table picture book
This is a beautiful book. The author is a photographer, and it consists almost entirely of large photos from competitions all over the United States. What is most unusual about the photos is that many of them are of ordinary riders, not just the frequently photographed superstars, and that his work frequently includes the rider within the entire setting - so rather than just a horse and rider, you get some context, both for the scene and for what competing is all about. ... Read more

Product Description
This autobiography of Oliver Skeete describes how he progressed from a wild life of partying and petty crime in the backstreets of London to being Britain's first black showjumper, even though he did not begin to ride until he was 35 years old. ... Read more