The Dressage Chronicles

This is a great 4 book series about a young woman who becomes a working student at a top dressage barn and the hard work, grueling hours, and amazing equine and human beings she encounters along the way. The series paints a very realistic picture of the challenges and rewards of being a working student, as well as the principles of dressage through the levels. Highly recommend to anyone who is interested in horses, horse training, riding, dressage, etc.!

A great read that kept me up late reading, always wanting to know what happened next. I enjoyed the characters and the horse world realism.

I found this book pretty darn amazing. Not so much for content but for the reality of that content. I am leary of telling you, reader, that even if you don't know anything about dressage, you'll lOVE this book as I have seen in some reviews. I know lot about dressage and the beginning chapters made me feel that there was no story coming. Just more with terms that only a person dealing in this Classic form of riding would understand! But then, lo and behold, the story started to emerge. Then I did LOVE it. :) I do believe however, that you had better like/enjoy/ have a feel for... horses if your going to like this book. The fact that the author lives, breaths and is in a career with horses should tell you that. In this review, it is hard for me to separate the fact that Lizzy ( our main character) is now living in a world that I did way back, many years ago, sucks me in more than the average reader. Karen takes me right back into that world with her story. The smells, the feel of leather in my hands. Horse smell is like no other. Warm and wonderful . Alfalfa was the most wondrous smell of all to me. It meant "horse" and all things connected which I had loved since the age of 5 when my parents bought me a pony. So I feel I am a bit prejudice . But others without my memories love the book also which means you just may love it too. I really loved her characters. Many faceted and often fun to laugh with and at. I think one of the main attractions for me was while entertaining the reader, Karen also imparts a lot of basic belief in how one can live their life to the fullest and live it well. Understanding that what you put into something is what you get back. Old saying but in the horse world, quite true. Dressage is the thinking riders game of choice. Not to say all the other disciplines are not but I think it is more tiny small movements create a huge connectedness between animal and rider. It is hard but so rewarding when it works. Karen shows this AND includes romance slowly building throughout the pages. Well written and fairly fast paced after the first couple of chapters, I was pleased that the second book was already out so I could go back to people I had become fond of and their horses too.

I have to be honest, if I didn't know Karen I probably would not have picked up this book. I have to say I'm ashamed to admit that because I would have been very wrong. Let me explain, I am a dyed-in-the-wool show hunter rider. However, I can appreciate dressage, its value, and the hard work it entails. A number of friends growing up and friends today were or still are dressage riders. I also had the pleasure of being Karen's working student (fresh out of college) and she helped me tremendously with my green "hunter to be" by laying down a basic dressage foundation. I cannot speak highly enough of Karen "the trainer and rider". She knows what she's doing. Now, I have an opportunity to speak of Karen, the author. I loved this book and I loved the way she wrote it. I almost never have time or make time to read anything more involved than the show stats in The Chronicle of the Horse. I MADE time to read this book. I looked forward to stealing time away to get to the next chapter. Her candor and wit had me giggling out loud. Her straight to the heart experience had me choked up in the end. I look forward to the sequel to see how the characters continue to evolve and what experiences they encounter. It's refreshing to read a novel about horses and showing by someone who knows what they are talking about. I have read other horse-themed books in the past that left me thinking I'd wasted my time because the author wouldn't have known the difference between a leg yield and a leg wrap. That is definitely not the case here. This is a novel for horse people about horse people and some of the nuttiness that we all whine about, but wouldn't trade for the world. So, if you're a hunter rider who turns up your nose because you don't think you'd enjoy a book about the "D" word, you are seriously missing out. The same goes for any other equestrian disciplines. This is a novel to be enjoyed by everyone because it's relative in so many ways. Somewhere in these characters is someone we've loved, hated, simply known, or really wished we hadn't.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Dressage Chronicles." I enjoyed it so much that I read the rest of the series. Some of the characters are unnecessarily irritating but so are some the people we have to deal with every day. The book gives some insight into the sheer grit and hard work required on the journey from novice to expert as a rider and horse person.

I've been getting a bit cross with all the five star rated books on amazon which you buy based on the reviews, then find are shocking and haven't even been proofread and presumably the authors have therefore just asked their friends to review them.However, this one thoroughly deserves every five star it's got, it's bloody brilliant. Made a long plane journey fly past (pun not intended). The characters are engaging and interesting, the storyline is fab, everything is relatively realistic and it captures well what it's like to get wrapped up in a yard and competition scene. I wish it was longer! Will definitely be buying the second one for my journey home, the only problem will be stopping myself buying it beforehand.

After reading about your book on Horse and Hound Forums, I knew that I had to buy your book when I received a kindle as a christmas present, having worked on a number of yards, I found it easy to relate to your characters, I look forward to reading the next installment of Lizzy's story with winsome, i would highly recommend this book to any one with an interest and passion with horses, it is beautifully written from lizzy's point of view and shows exactly how hard work and determination pays offi very much look forward to the next installment...hoping that there is one

I really enjoyed reading this book after hearing about it on the British Dressage forum.It follows a young American rider who leaves her friends and home behind to go to train with a GP rider at her winter base in Florida.It gives you an insight into what it takes to make the most of these working student positions (and how hard they have to work) at the same time contains a lot of useful training information and an interesting view of US dressage shows.It doesn't have a complicated plot and the characters will probably develop further in the sequels, which I understand the Author has planned, but I'm sure anyone who loves dressage and reading will not be disappointed with this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought the descriptions of riding dressage very insightful. Some of the dialogue and characterisation was a little superficial, but it didn't distract from a page turning read. I thought the comparison of Lizzy, rushed off her feet and getting grubbier by the minute, and the immaculate wealthy owner were spot on.

This book is a fantastic pick me up whether you are an advanced rider or a less advanced rider looking to move forward and perhaps feeling a bit disheartened. Karen has that rare gift of letting her reader live the life of her characters. I loved it I couldn't put it down.