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Treasured Horses Collection
Colorado Summer
The story of a Paint named Georgia and the city girl who strives to make champions of them both.
Treasured Horses Collection is a series of stories about girls from different historical periods who learn about heroism, sharing, respect, competition, and love. With the help of her beloved horse, each heroine faces and resolves a crisis with which any young girl today can identify.
Treasured Horses Collection is a series of stories about girls from different historical periods who learn about heroism, sharing, respect, competition, and love. With the help of her beloved horse, each heroine faces and resolves a crisis with which any young girl today can identify.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
1 person is currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Larry Bograd
24 books10 followersLarry Bograd has published more than two dozen books, primary for children and young adults--and now his first eBook original, "The Enemy."
He is also a playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He is president of Roundtable Media Group, which produces documentary films, Web shows, and events.
He is also a playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He is president of Roundtable Media Group, which produces documentary films, Web shows, and events.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 20, 2023
I really enjoyed this book .but I did predict the end 😊
February 19, 2026
An unexpected but well-deserved five stars to this one! Co-authored by Larry Bograd (the only male contributor to the Treasured Horses Collection) and Coleen Hubbard (who will write all the subsequent additions to the series), Colorado Summer is probably the best book in the whole series. With two very likable leads and a well-placed plot that doesn’t lean too hard into the drama, Colorado Summer is an entertaining story with an excellent setting and lots of heart.
Eleven-year-old Carrie Gordon arrives from New York City to spend the summer with her great-aunt Mildred Wilson, a former barrel-racing champion who lives on the Western M Ranch outside Denver, Colorado. Carrie has been dreaming about Mildred’s beautiful Paint mare Georgia ever since she saw her picture, and while Carrie has experience riding English-style, she is thrilled when Aunt Mildred offers to teach her to barrel-race with Georgia for the upcoming youth rodeo in Sterling. Carrie soon realizes, however, that Mildred is hiding a deep-set worry: the ranch isn’t making enough money for her to keep running it on her own, and she knows it’s just a matter of time before she has to sell it. As Carrie works to prove that a city girl can excel in a western sport if she puts her mind to it, she schemes ways to help her aunt and the horses she’s grown to love.
Bograd and Hubbard capitalize on their modern setting and their fish-out-of-water storyline; the Western M Ranch is like a whole new world to Carrie, and it’s both engaging and very important to the plot. Bogard and Hubbard emphasize western ranch life, the differences between western and English riding styles, and the barrel-racing sport. It’s lovely to have such a female-positive story — all the main characters are women, in keeping with the mostly-female sport of barrel-racing, and Mildred is even revealed to be one of the (fictional) founders of the sport. Sandy Rabinowitz’s illustrations, mostly focusing on Carrie’s bonding moments with Mildred and Georgia, are delightful as always. Bograd and Hubbard incorporate some themes about having a sport in your blood and excelling in something through determination and hard work. I loved the recurring theme of “it’s important to finish what you start, even when you don’t feel like it.” Side plots about artwork, stargazing, and rodeo schools bring the whole narrative together perfectly.
Our protagonist, Carrie Gordon, is a little on the generic side but manages to be very likable in her stalwart devotion to Mildred and the Western M Ranch. Mildred is seventy years old but as stubborn and feisty as her great-niece, which makes for a delightful bond between them. She sees Carrie as someone with the grit, skill, and willingness to become a great rodeo star like she once was, and she becomes an excellent role model as well as companion to Carrie. Mildred’s strength and regal pride takes a major blow when a twister destroys half her farm, Carrie’s relationship with Georgia takes a backseat to her bond with Mildred, but it feels appropriate for the storyline; still, Carrie spends a lot of time training with Georgia, getting to know her personality, and becoming a natural team with her. The ending of the story is a bit predictable , but it’s still a great resolution.
Colorado Summer feels a bit like a modern successor to the earlier book Kate’s Secret Plan, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Carrie is a descendant of Lucy Gordon, the protagonist of Changing Times. Carrie’s heartfelt determination to bond with Georgia and win the barrel-racing tournament is fun, but it’s her love for Mildred that really puts this book in another league.
Link to Colorado Summer on Internet Archive
Eleven-year-old Carrie Gordon arrives from New York City to spend the summer with her great-aunt Mildred Wilson, a former barrel-racing champion who lives on the Western M Ranch outside Denver, Colorado. Carrie has been dreaming about Mildred’s beautiful Paint mare Georgia ever since she saw her picture, and while Carrie has experience riding English-style, she is thrilled when Aunt Mildred offers to teach her to barrel-race with Georgia for the upcoming youth rodeo in Sterling. Carrie soon realizes, however, that Mildred is hiding a deep-set worry: the ranch isn’t making enough money for her to keep running it on her own, and she knows it’s just a matter of time before she has to sell it. As Carrie works to prove that a city girl can excel in a western sport if she puts her mind to it, she schemes ways to help her aunt and the horses she’s grown to love.
Bograd and Hubbard capitalize on their modern setting and their fish-out-of-water storyline; the Western M Ranch is like a whole new world to Carrie, and it’s both engaging and very important to the plot. Bogard and Hubbard emphasize western ranch life, the differences between western and English riding styles, and the barrel-racing sport. It’s lovely to have such a female-positive story — all the main characters are women, in keeping with the mostly-female sport of barrel-racing, and Mildred is even revealed to be one of the (fictional) founders of the sport. Sandy Rabinowitz’s illustrations, mostly focusing on Carrie’s bonding moments with Mildred and Georgia, are delightful as always. Bograd and Hubbard incorporate some themes about having a sport in your blood and excelling in something through determination and hard work. I loved the recurring theme of “it’s important to finish what you start, even when you don’t feel like it.” Side plots about artwork, stargazing, and rodeo schools bring the whole narrative together perfectly.
Our protagonist, Carrie Gordon, is a little on the generic side but manages to be very likable in her stalwart devotion to Mildred and the Western M Ranch. Mildred is seventy years old but as stubborn and feisty as her great-niece, which makes for a delightful bond between them. She sees Carrie as someone with the grit, skill, and willingness to become a great rodeo star like she once was, and she becomes an excellent role model as well as companion to Carrie. Mildred’s strength and regal pride takes a major blow when a twister destroys half her farm, Carrie’s relationship with Georgia takes a backseat to her bond with Mildred, but it feels appropriate for the storyline; still, Carrie spends a lot of time training with Georgia, getting to know her personality, and becoming a natural team with her. The ending of the story is a bit predictable , but it’s still a great resolution.
Colorado Summer feels a bit like a modern successor to the earlier book Kate’s Secret Plan, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Carrie is a descendant of Lucy Gordon, the protagonist of Changing Times. Carrie’s heartfelt determination to bond with Georgia and win the barrel-racing tournament is fun, but it’s her love for Mildred that really puts this book in another league.
Link to Colorado Summer on Internet Archive
September 17, 2021
Turtle just re-read and said: great! Return to library.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews