Full Description
It is 1984 and a small town somewhere in the east of the Czechoslovak
Socialist Republic is in the firm grip of totalitarianism. Unruly and
sickly Karolína is growing up in an all-female household including
her hot-blooded, knife-wielding grandmother.
Repelled by her mum's serial love affairs Karolína runs away and
stumbles upon a riding school on the edge of town. There, she
befriends Romana, a girl with one leg shorter than the other and
Matilda, a rider and trainer who helps the two girls overcome their
physical limitations. Together they found a successful trick-riding
team and soon it seems that half flags, mills and scales are not the
only tricks flashing like blades up her sequinned sleeve as Karolína
explores Pink Floyd and smoking, and discovers her knack for seeing
deep into others' souls.
The fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 and the subsequent arrival of
capitalism threatens to destroy the riding school. The team has to
turn professional. But in a sport of perfect scores is there still room
for Romana and Karolína...?
The Equestrienne is a poetic, caustic coming-of-age novel about the
desire of one young girl to realise her dreams before and after Velvet
Revolution; it is a celebration of friendship between women and also
a bitter acknowledgement that greed and the desire for power can
destroy any relationship.
