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It's already been awarded 5-star reviews on Amazon and follows on from Leaving The City... a best seller in numerous Amazon categories, it's received consistent 5-star reviews and called a 'Must Read' from Horse & Hound. If you like 'coming of age' or horse stories, you'll like this book!   About Tabby's Big Year:
After Tabby’s father vanishes, a deep rift develops in Tabby’s family. Tabby’s mother is focused on being a star performer in her pharmaceutical sales career, while Ava, Tabby’s older sister, is living with grandparents in Cornwall. Tabby feels neglected by her mother and jealous of Ava and although outwardly diligent and responsible, she’s like a kettle about to blow its top… bottling things up until it’s nearly impossible to keep a lid on her frustration and sadness.Tabby finds solace with her best friends Cate and Violet at Sweetbriars Farm where she is nursing her dream horse Bliss back to peak performance, to be able to participate in the try-outs for the British Young Riders Squad.Tabby also finds herself facing other challenges – saving her beloved horse Nancy from the knacker’s yard and finding the courage to tell her friends the truth about her family. Will Tabby be able to save the horses she loves and be brave enough to tell people how she really feels? Here is our new cover star, twelve-year-old Sia Reiss with her eighteen-year-old pony Frankie in a photo shoot by the talented photographer Katie Amos. Here are some of my favourite pics from the photo shoot that Sia won. Also in Sia's own words here is her winning entry, "My pony Frankie is 18 years old and has arthritis. His glory days are over. He is a one in a million pony and I love him so much. To me, the best way I can think of celebrating Frankie is having him on the cover of a wonderful book."    Words by Amanda: "When people ask me what I love about being an author, I usually tell them it’s the ability to go to work in my pyjamas and kill off people who annoy me. But actually, one of the things I enjoy most is the research involved in writing about a subject I know little about. For example, I learnt all about quadrilles when I was writing The Thirteenth Horse and its sequel Trophy Horse, and even designed my own routines for the four main characters, Kristy, Norah, Sofia and William. For my latest novel, The Mystery of Riverdale Tor, the eighth book in the Riverdale Pony Stories, I have been getting to grips with an equestrian sport that seems to be growing in popularity all the time – TREC. TREC originated in France and is based on the skills needed for hacking, testing a rider’s navigation skills and their horse’s ability to tackle different terrain and natural obstacles. The competition is divided into three phases – orienteering, control of paces and an obstacle section, which recreates some of the natural hazards you might meet out hacking, such as gates, steps, a river crossing or a fallen log. Think handy pony meets a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition and you’re almost there. TREC seemed like the perfect new discipline for my pony-mad heroine Poppy McKeever and her best friend Scarlett to try their hands at – and hopefully enjoy! Before I started writing the book I scoured the TREC GB website and watched endless videos on YouTube to get an idea what it was all about. But I figured there’s no better way to research something new than to have a go yourself, and so I did! Luckily one of my friends at the yard where I ride is a big fan of TREC and regularly competes. When she set up an obstacle course in the outdoor school and invited me to have a go I jumped at the chance. Dobbie, the dark bay 15.1hh Connemara I ride every Friday, looked slightly askance when he saw the various obstacles, which ranged from pretend rivers and roadworks to bending poles and a rope gate. Neck reining, reining back, jumping and standing perfectly still for mounting and dismounting are all skills that need to be mastered if you are going to score highly at TREC. But Dobbie’s an easy-going, unflappable kind of chap and he took it all in his stride. To complete my research, I went along to watch a local TREC competition taking place and began to get to grips with the complicated scoring system. Armed with all the information I needed, I was able to start writing my book, confident that all my research would make the TREC scenes both accurate and believable. Along the way I discovered that TREC is a really fun discipline to enjoy with your horse or pony and can improve both your horsemanship and your horse or pony’s manners. One of the things I love about the sport is that it doesn’t matter if you ride a glossy show pony or a hairy cob and at any TREC competition you’ll find native ponies competing side by side with re-trained racehorses or retired hunters. This is because the emphasis is on horsemanship rather than horse power and well-trained, calm horses and ponies will always do best. If you’re wondering how Poppy and Scarlett got on when they gave TREC a go… you’ll just have to read the book to find out!"
Thanks Amanda for a great blog post! The eighth edition of the Riverdale Series is out now - The Mystery of Riverdale Tor and I am looking forward to checking it out!
It's available in eBook or paperback on Amazon here. Hollie x Sweetbriars Equestrian book series will soon be looking for a new cover star! A lucky girl aged between ten and fifteen years old will win a photoshoot with her pony, and grace the next book cover! To learn more, follow Sweetbriars on Facebook or join the Sweetbriars mailing list from this website.  Sweetbriars Leaving The City reached 50 ratings on Goodreads, with almost 5 stars! Check it out ( :12/19/2018
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AuthorHollie Anne Marsh Archives
November 2020
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