What do you think?
Rate this book
Thoroughbred #50
Team Player
Ages 8+
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2001
263 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Read
August 14, 2008It is about a boy who is trying to fullfill his dream of going t o the olympics and he is about a day away from it
July 5, 2013
A unique read that steps away from the usual racing scene in this series. More at http://equus-blog.com/team-player/
June 14, 2014
My favorite part was when parker made it over the jump. The worst part was when his horse got too too hot. My favorite character was his horse. There was no worst character. Auryn 10 years old, 2014
August 27, 2024
The Parker Townsend storyline added nothing to the Thoroughbred series, except a whole lot of stupid. Alice Leonhardt, a frequent ghostwriter for the series, was not a ghostwriter that was liked by the series' original author, Joanna Campbell (real name Jo Ann Simon). Campbell/Simon left the series early due to burnout. Although HarperCollins gave her half the copyright to the series, she was not allowed any input after delivering her last book.
But, just how much of this joke of a book's plot was from Leonhardt and how much was HarperCollins is unknown. In a Campbell/Simon online interview in 2014, she noted that she did not create the concept for the series. HarperCollins did. They had an outline, which she said she "rewrote", and gave no more specifics.
In this book, Parker and his longsuffering horse of a lifetime, Foxglove, are just about to make the Olympic eventing team. But first, they have to compete in the most prestigious three day event in America, the Rolex at Kentucky.
Since his wealthy parents cut off the cash, Parker has been working at Samantha and Tor's stable, and trying to find a sponsor. He's also still dating Christina, who is obsessed with Wonder's Star and his prep for the Kentucky Derby. We do see Sterling, the horse thrown over for Star by Christina, doing well at Samantha's barn. We also get to see Lyssa and Blue again. Oh, joy.
The only significant addition to Parker's story arc is that he meets The Wizard of Oz, or Ozzie, a one-time champion on hard times.
Parker's story arc is not completed by the time the series ends, so there's no real reason to read them. Campbell/Simon said HarperCollins' decision to stop the series was sudden. She has no idea why the series not only stopped, but were taken out of print. Well, one of those reasons was to STOP PAYING YOU half of their dwindling profits, you silly moo.
A minor character with an American name remarks that he rode in the 1980 Olympics. How interesting. I wonder which Iron Curtain country he rode for, since the 1980 summer games was the infamous boycotted Games. America didn't go, to protest the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan.
This book ends on a cliffhanger, but it's not worth hanging onto this cliff.
One more point as to how bad this book is -- the events in this book come AFTER book 56, Hoofprints in the Snow. Thanks for making this even more confusing, HarperCollins.
But, just how much of this joke of a book's plot was from Leonhardt and how much was HarperCollins is unknown. In a Campbell/Simon online interview in 2014, she noted that she did not create the concept for the series. HarperCollins did. They had an outline, which she said she "rewrote", and gave no more specifics.
In this book, Parker and his longsuffering horse of a lifetime, Foxglove, are just about to make the Olympic eventing team. But first, they have to compete in the most prestigious three day event in America, the Rolex at Kentucky.
Since his wealthy parents cut off the cash, Parker has been working at Samantha and Tor's stable, and trying to find a sponsor. He's also still dating Christina, who is obsessed with Wonder's Star and his prep for the Kentucky Derby. We do see Sterling, the horse thrown over for Star by Christina, doing well at Samantha's barn. We also get to see Lyssa and Blue again. Oh, joy.
The only significant addition to Parker's story arc is that he meets The Wizard of Oz, or Ozzie, a one-time champion on hard times.
Parker's story arc is not completed by the time the series ends, so there's no real reason to read them. Campbell/Simon said HarperCollins' decision to stop the series was sudden. She has no idea why the series not only stopped, but were taken out of print. Well, one of those reasons was to STOP PAYING YOU half of their dwindling profits, you silly moo.
A minor character with an American name remarks that he rode in the 1980 Olympics. How interesting. I wonder which Iron Curtain country he rode for, since the 1980 summer games was the infamous boycotted Games. America didn't go, to protest the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan.
This book ends on a cliffhanger, but it's not worth hanging onto this cliff.
One more point as to how bad this book is -- the events in this book come AFTER book 56, Hoofprints in the Snow. Thanks for making this even more confusing, HarperCollins.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2026
I enjoyed the book for the most part, though Parker not always taking advice can be a little annoying. Also the end was…rushed? And not really an end? Felt like it needed another chapter or two. Hopefully a future book will fill in what happened but knowing the track record with these books, I’m not holding my breath on it 😅
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews