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Let's Try Horseback Riding
Rebecca is so excited. Her fondest wish has finally come true! For her birthday, she got a gift certificate for riding lessons. There are so many horses at the stable--""big ones and small ones, brown ones and white ones, and there's the most delicious smell of hay! After Lucy, her riding teacher, has shown her how to saddle a horse, the big moment arrives and Rebecca gets a boost into the saddle. Join Rebecca at the stable as she learns all about riding and horses!
24 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 30, 2025
This was originally published in German. The translator for the English edition was by Marisa Miller. As with any translation, there were problems. A grey horse was referred to as white -- don't get me started on that. Just trust me. A round dandy or body brush was referred to as a "mud brush." As anyone who has a horse knows, that round brush pictured will in no way remove mud. A Thoroughbred was referred to as an English Thoroughbred ... because fuck all those Thoroughbreds from different countries.
(Actually, one of the names for a Thoroughbred in the 1700s and early 1800s was English Thoroughbred, but the English was dropped in English speaking countries. Even German names for Thoroughbred usually do not include Englisch.)
After the story, there is an amazing painting of a pony with thick stripes in ten different colors. I understand that this was supposed to be a fun way of showing different horse colors. It was startling as all hell. I kept picturing pony and horse breeders aiming for this to be a new breed standard.
[SHUDDER]
The story itself is standard "getting your first proper riding lesson" fare. There wasn't much here, except that a student getting a vaulting lesson is in the next ring, and Our Protagonist's instructor states that she should make a good vaulter. No competent instructor would say that, because you just can't determine which equestrian discipline a rider would be best at during the first lesson.
There is a running gag (which got old fast), of Our Protagonist's little brother running amok at the stables. This behavior is not allowed in good stables.
For me, I thought the story was sad since Our Protagonist was only promised ten lessons. How her world is going to be destroyed when the tenth lesson is finished. Nothing like being given paradise -- and then having it all taken away.
The full color illustrations were miles better than the text. Although most of the horses and ponies were kind of Playmobil first generation blocky, there was a very good Norwegian Fjord at the very end. Unfortunately, all of the other breeds had the exact same conformation. Believe it or not, an Arabian looks a lot different than an Andalusian, a Lipizanner, or an "English Thoroughbred."
(Actually, one of the names for a Thoroughbred in the 1700s and early 1800s was English Thoroughbred, but the English was dropped in English speaking countries. Even German names for Thoroughbred usually do not include Englisch.)
After the story, there is an amazing painting of a pony with thick stripes in ten different colors. I understand that this was supposed to be a fun way of showing different horse colors. It was startling as all hell. I kept picturing pony and horse breeders aiming for this to be a new breed standard.
[SHUDDER]
The story itself is standard "getting your first proper riding lesson" fare. There wasn't much here, except that a student getting a vaulting lesson is in the next ring, and Our Protagonist's instructor states that she should make a good vaulter. No competent instructor would say that, because you just can't determine which equestrian discipline a rider would be best at during the first lesson.
There is a running gag (which got old fast), of Our Protagonist's little brother running amok at the stables. This behavior is not allowed in good stables.
For me, I thought the story was sad since Our Protagonist was only promised ten lessons. How her world is going to be destroyed when the tenth lesson is finished. Nothing like being given paradise -- and then having it all taken away.
The full color illustrations were miles better than the text. Although most of the horses and ponies were kind of Playmobil first generation blocky, there was a very good Norwegian Fjord at the very end. Unfortunately, all of the other breeds had the exact same conformation. Believe it or not, an Arabian looks a lot different than an Andalusian, a Lipizanner, or an "English Thoroughbred."
October 24, 2011
translated from German
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews