Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen

 

Annamarie Zimmer had been a teenager on her way to the Olympics the last time she rode.  That was the day her horse broke his leg in competition, throwing Annamarie.  Her horse, her love was put down and Annamarie was left paralyzed, in a coma.  When she emerged, it was to months of paralysis and physical therapy until finally she was able to walk again.  But she has never gotten on a horse since that day.

Now Annamarie is in her forties, going through a divorce.  When she hears that her father had a fatal disease, she takes her daughter, Eve, with her.  Eve has been affected by the divorce and has turned into a sullen teenager who is not shy about her anger.  Annamarie's father has ALS and is losing more bodily function each day.  Annamarie decides that she and Eve will stay and run their riding academy so that her mother can concentrate on helping her father.

But she isn't the manager her mother is.  She is still torn about her ex-husband and seeing her high school boyfriend, Dan, who is now the local vet doesn't help.  She forgets to order hay and feed, alienates the stable hands and clashes with the customers.  All that is nothing once she sees a horse that Dan rescued from a kill pen.  The horse, damaged, looks so much like her former horse that Annamarie believes he has to be a brother to her horse.  Can she find out about the horse and can she find a new life on her childhood stable home?

Sara Gruen has centered her writing on stories about animals and how they affect the lives of the humans who care for them.  Readers will remember her big hit, Water For Elephants, and she has written numerous others.   This novel is the first in a series of two.  I'm not sure I really liked Annamarie who seemed to alienate those around her and was still in a battle with her parents in her forties but it was interesting reading about her journey.  This book is recommended for readers who enjoy novels about family relationships.