Horse Riding Camps In Equine Literature

In the real world, horse riding camps are for the really rich. They are an unaffordable luxury unavailable to most horse loving kids. I was one of those kids. My family could never afford any kind of summer camp. I was lucky enough to get lessons once a week. But I did go to horse riding camps through books and magazines. The best fiction books about young horse crazy girls at horse riding camp were a great comfort to me. The best ones also helped me learn more about horses.

Young Adult Series

One of the most lucrative, popular and easy to find forms of literature is the series aimed for young adults (an age bracket from 10-16). These series consist of the same young, plucky kids who go from one wacky situation to another. Sooner or later, they wind up at horse riding camps good and bad. If you are looking for accurate information about horses and riding, steer clear of young adult series that do not focus on horses. Young adult series are often ghostwritten and churned out by a myriad of writers with varying levels of equine knowledge.

However, those young adult series featuring horses or horse-loving kids tend to strive for accuracy in order to keep their readers coming back for the latest book. Two of the young adult series that featured books set in horse riding camps include the Linda Craig series and The Saddle Club. The former series is more fabulous Linda and her mind-reading palomino solve mysteries wherever they go. The Saddle Club, on the other hand, involves four girls who get into more realistic adventures at horse riding camps that readers can more identify with.

A Horse For XYZ

A standout book set in a horse riding camp is A Horse for XYZ, by Louise Morei (Scholastic, 1977). In it, a young girl dodges the bus home to sneak a ride on the mystery horse that no one was allowed to ride. She rides into a lot of trouble. She and the horse are alone against the elements, and a ring of horse thieves. Sounds like a tired plot, even for the 1970 s, but what makes the book so special is the horse. This character is three-dimensional; dangerous, unpredictable and enchanting. Unlike many of the four footed characters in horse books , the author took the time to include real horse behavior and facts in a book designed for all children, horse-crazy or not.