Lipizzan Association of North America
Lipizzan Lover Gifts and Merchandise
Horseplay Book
Horseplay
This is a funny book filled with delightful caricatures of people in the competitive world of dressage. The author is a regular contributor to Dressage Today and The Chronicle of the Horse.
The main character is a middle-aged, naive beginner, getting away from a controlling husband, who becomes a working student of a Teutonic dressage champion living in North Carolina. There are appearances by a Spanish new age dressage horse whisperer, named Master Gabriel-Rafael Valderone de la Valderone, and an eccentric Hungarian Countess who has magnificent, well-cared for, fully-trained Lipizzans that she keeps for the sole purpose of admiring them.
A debut novel full of sparkle and wit, Horseplay is a story of the animals that touch our hearts... and the men who try our souls.
When Judy Van Brunt finally decides to leave her cheating husband, she makes immediate plans to quit her teaching job, take the money she inherited from her mother, and run off, leaving a note on her husband’s pillow. There is only one problem: Where is she going?
During her weekly riding lesson, her instructor makes a suggestion just crazy enough to work--and before she knows it, Judy has a position as a groom at an exclusive North Carolina horse farm. There, she shares an apartment with three remarkable women who also work at the farm, and she puts in long hours caring for the horses in addition to learning the demanding sport of dressage from the farm’s owner, a former Olympic champion. Exhausted but fulfilled, she learns for herself that a horse in the barn is worth far more than a husband at home. Her housemates gladly supplement her education with lessons not found in the riding ring, such as how to avoid the farm’s snootier patrons and weed out unsavory suitors. Her devotion to horses is far more rewarding than her marriage ever was--after all, horses never lie or cheat, and even the most hot-blooded stallion won’t kick her when she’s down. Nevertheless, her new life doesn’t keep her away from men entirely. She finds her early vow of chastity and cheeseburgers weakening as she is drawn to one especially eligible bachelor. But after a few escapades with studs of the two-legged variety, is she really ready to be with someone?
Set against the alternately glamorous and grimy world of competitive horse shows, Horseplay is a jubilant ride.