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Sandy Lanes Stables #1
A Horse for the Summer
Tom is elated when his cousin agrees to lend him Chancey, her chestnut gelding, but he is disappointed when he realizes it will take a lot of hard work to get the horse ready for the summer shows.
100 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Michelle Bates
55 books12 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 19, 2007
I can always relate to this book, especially from a true horse rider I can undertsand the constant ache in a horse lovers heart for a horse of their own.
September 24, 2015
pretty good. kinda written in the saddle club style but only about one kid. kinda reminded me of myself wiht my first horse. trying everything in my powere to keep him.
July 24, 2023
Sweet story but probably written for a younger audience; my saddle club-obsessed 12 year old self would have loved it!
December 1, 2017
Personal Response: I thought A Horse For The Summer was pretty good. I was a little confused with what was going on during the start of the book. After a few chapters, though, it all started to make sense, and I was able to picture the whole book while I was reading.
Plot Summary: The main event in this book was all about the life of a teenage boy who gets to take care of a horse for a summer. There are some problems that occur throughout the book though. Tom, the teenage boy, was lent a horse to take care of over the summer at Sandy Lanes Riding Stables. He was so excited to work and help out around the stables and then get to ride and take lessons. His plan didn’t turn out the way he thought it would though. The horse that was lent to him was called Chancey and he was a champion jumper. Unfortunately, Chancey’s jumping career started over that summer. Tom had to start in square one with Chancey because he would get scared just before a jump. Nick, the stable owner, wasn’t very happy with Chancey because he knew he could do better and he knew Chancey loved to jump. Nick promised Tom that he could still ride Chancey, but if Tom wanted to compete with Chancey he had to take lessons. There was bad news about that though because Nick didn’t want Tom to practice with Chancey without supervision. The first few weeks of practice were fine and Tom got to ride everyday. That all changed after a few weeks. Nick became very busy with other work around the stable, so he wasn’t able to watch and help Tom everyday. Tom started to get mad then, so he started to sneak out in the middle of the night and practice with Chancey even though he wasn’t suppose to. Tom did that every night for a few weeks without getting caught. Chancey started to improve a lot. Then one morning Nick asked Tom if he wanted to practice and Tom did, but that meant Nick would find out about the sneaking out at night thing. The last time they practiced, Chancey still wasn’t able to jump, but know he could and if he would in front of Nick, Nick would wonder how Chancey was able to make the jump. Tom ended up getting caught a few nights later while he was tacking up Chancey to go practice. Nick wasn’t happy at all. He banned Tom from riding and banned Tom from competing in the Benbridge Competition. Tom was very upset, but he was going to find a way to compete. He worked hard day and night trying to earn his privileges back, but all that hard work was a waste. Georgina, Tom’s cousin and Chancey’s owner, came back from vacation earlier than expected so Tom had to give Chancey up. That made Tom very upset, but it didn’t stop him from getting into the competition. He wanted to show Georgina that just because she came back early, doesn’t mean that she is going to take the victory away from Tom. A few days before the competition Nick gave Tom his privileges back. He was able to enter into the Benbridge Competition. He was not able to enter with Chancey. He had to enter with Feather. He continued to work his tail off because he didn’t want Georgina to beat him. Finally, the big day arrived, and Tom was so excited to compete. Georgina was one of the first riders to go and she did pretty good, but Tom could still do better. He ended up making it into the jump off with nine other riders. To find out how the jump off ended, read the book.
Characterization: There are quite a few characters in this book, but the main one is Tom. His life becoming a horse lover began that summer. He got a job at the stables and was then offered a horse to ride as a privilege from working. Tom was so excited, and he always wanted to ride and enter big competitions. He was a very hard worker and smart rider. His life got hard and tough throughout the book. He lost his privileges and lost his horse that was lent to him as well. That didn’t stop Tom, though, and he wanted to compete and win the Benbridge Competition. He was a very determined character.
Setting: A Horse for the Summer obviously took place during in the summer of a teenage boy’s school life. It never said where Sandy Lane Stables where, but most of the book took place at the stables. Another place that was brought up a few times was the beach and then wherever the competitions where. The main competitions took place at the Benbridge show.
Recommendation: I recommend this book to young teenage girls and maybe boys. It is about a boy’s summer life at a riding stable, but when I was reading it I thought it was more for a girl. I gave this book a four out of five stars because it was interesting, but it was a little hard for me to get into it.
Plot Summary: The main event in this book was all about the life of a teenage boy who gets to take care of a horse for a summer. There are some problems that occur throughout the book though. Tom, the teenage boy, was lent a horse to take care of over the summer at Sandy Lanes Riding Stables. He was so excited to work and help out around the stables and then get to ride and take lessons. His plan didn’t turn out the way he thought it would though. The horse that was lent to him was called Chancey and he was a champion jumper. Unfortunately, Chancey’s jumping career started over that summer. Tom had to start in square one with Chancey because he would get scared just before a jump. Nick, the stable owner, wasn’t very happy with Chancey because he knew he could do better and he knew Chancey loved to jump. Nick promised Tom that he could still ride Chancey, but if Tom wanted to compete with Chancey he had to take lessons. There was bad news about that though because Nick didn’t want Tom to practice with Chancey without supervision. The first few weeks of practice were fine and Tom got to ride everyday. That all changed after a few weeks. Nick became very busy with other work around the stable, so he wasn’t able to watch and help Tom everyday. Tom started to get mad then, so he started to sneak out in the middle of the night and practice with Chancey even though he wasn’t suppose to. Tom did that every night for a few weeks without getting caught. Chancey started to improve a lot. Then one morning Nick asked Tom if he wanted to practice and Tom did, but that meant Nick would find out about the sneaking out at night thing. The last time they practiced, Chancey still wasn’t able to jump, but know he could and if he would in front of Nick, Nick would wonder how Chancey was able to make the jump. Tom ended up getting caught a few nights later while he was tacking up Chancey to go practice. Nick wasn’t happy at all. He banned Tom from riding and banned Tom from competing in the Benbridge Competition. Tom was very upset, but he was going to find a way to compete. He worked hard day and night trying to earn his privileges back, but all that hard work was a waste. Georgina, Tom’s cousin and Chancey’s owner, came back from vacation earlier than expected so Tom had to give Chancey up. That made Tom very upset, but it didn’t stop him from getting into the competition. He wanted to show Georgina that just because she came back early, doesn’t mean that she is going to take the victory away from Tom. A few days before the competition Nick gave Tom his privileges back. He was able to enter into the Benbridge Competition. He was not able to enter with Chancey. He had to enter with Feather. He continued to work his tail off because he didn’t want Georgina to beat him. Finally, the big day arrived, and Tom was so excited to compete. Georgina was one of the first riders to go and she did pretty good, but Tom could still do better. He ended up making it into the jump off with nine other riders. To find out how the jump off ended, read the book.
Characterization: There are quite a few characters in this book, but the main one is Tom. His life becoming a horse lover began that summer. He got a job at the stables and was then offered a horse to ride as a privilege from working. Tom was so excited, and he always wanted to ride and enter big competitions. He was a very hard worker and smart rider. His life got hard and tough throughout the book. He lost his privileges and lost his horse that was lent to him as well. That didn’t stop Tom, though, and he wanted to compete and win the Benbridge Competition. He was a very determined character.
Setting: A Horse for the Summer obviously took place during in the summer of a teenage boy’s school life. It never said where Sandy Lane Stables where, but most of the book took place at the stables. Another place that was brought up a few times was the beach and then wherever the competitions where. The main competitions took place at the Benbridge show.
Recommendation: I recommend this book to young teenage girls and maybe boys. It is about a boy’s summer life at a riding stable, but when I was reading it I thought it was more for a girl. I gave this book a four out of five stars because it was interesting, but it was a little hard for me to get into it.
December 22, 2008
this has been a very good book so far! i LOVE horses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 4, 2022
obviously doesn't hold up as much as when I was a kid (like a lot of kid's books, everything sort of happens all at once) but I can't help but be charmed by sandy lane
February 24, 2024
For a children's book it was a good read
July 13, 2023
Prompt #18: Read a book from your favorite Children's series.
My favorite childhood series was actually the Magic Tree House Books and the American Girl books. However, I don't own any of them and I have already read some of them this year. I did recently acquire a few of the "Sandy Lane Stables" books and I remember enjoying them as a young girl. This was still a fun read as an adult who was once horse obsessed. This story reminded me a bit of "The Saddle Club" and of the Felicity series from "American Girl" overall this was a good horse book for some nighttime reading and a fun reread.
My favorite childhood series was actually the Magic Tree House Books and the American Girl books. However, I don't own any of them and I have already read some of them this year. I did recently acquire a few of the "Sandy Lane Stables" books and I remember enjoying them as a young girl. This was still a fun read as an adult who was once horse obsessed. This story reminded me a bit of "The Saddle Club" and of the Felicity series from "American Girl" overall this was a good horse book for some nighttime reading and a fun reread.
January 20, 2024
I grew up loving everything equestrian, and Sandy Lane Stables was no exception! This was so charming to read even as an adult.
January 8, 2026
This is a nice story. It's aimed at younger readers (the characters are about 13 years old), but I just wanted a short and easy read, so this was good.
January 30, 2020
good lord i loved these books when i was younger. i can't remember what age i was (9-13?) but these were right on up there with those Marguerite henry books. good for horse crazy kids.
Want to Read
September 5, 2017 I really like this book so far because its a mystery and a heart feeling book.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews