I started with "The Dressage Chronicles" by Karen McGoldrick. The two books follow working student Lizzy on her journey into the 'inner sanctum' of life in the dressage world. The stories are very entertaining, and easy to assimilate. (Who hasn't met a dressage queen yet?) There are some nuggets of good advise and excellent observations. It gives you a glimpse of the hard work/low pay/politics/dependencies in the dressage world. Some episodes are rather far fetched (a rival trainer is trying to kill the horse of Lizzy's boss and Lizzy herself and his punishment is being sent to China to train dressage horses??). But again, it's fun entertainment.
The other book had me shaken and bothered almost all the way through. It is a novel based on a true story "Mares Nest" by Lesley Kagen. It is based the mother/daughter journey in the Hunter/Jumper world, and what a crooked world it is. The sad part is, it is easily believable, from abusive trainers, drug addictions, horse show moms that try to sabotage other competitor's chances, to horses that get 'Ace'd' (given Acepromazine, a tranquilizer) every time before they are ridden. You name it, it's there. Luckily there is a silver lining all through the story, the strong mother/daughter bond. And yes, there is a happy ending!
And to top it off, not horse related but "Must See" nevertheless - at least in my (not so humble) opinion: "The Dallas Buyer's Club". That is a movie not to be missed, and I do hope that Matthew McConaughey gets the Oscar he so deserves for portraying Ron Woodroof, an electrician and rodeo cowboy, who is diagnosed with HIV in the 1985 and given 30 days to live. No happy ending here (I cried) but VERY powerful.
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