Customer Reviews

Life In The Galloping Lane

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book when it was first published, and I didn't post a review then, but I feel compelled to do so now, in response to the negative review from May 2, 2006.

Yes, okay, this isn't a great book. It's very much an "as told to" kind of effort. But it isn't a bad read, and I didn't get the sense at all that the O'Connors are talking down to the reader. Just the opposite, in fact. Perhaps it depends on where you're coming from. I still consider myself something of a new rider (I started in my 40s), and I get a lot of inspiration from the O'Connors. Maybe if you're a three- or four-star eventer, you'll find this book a yawn, but I thought it was interesting, and I knew quite a bit about the O'Connors before I bought it. So there!

Happy reading--and riding!

This book reads like a series of junior high "who is your hero" essays. Karen and David are an incredible duo and a force in the equestrian world, but their story would have been better told by a biographer. The writing is peppered with "i was like:" and unexplained comments tossed out about the O'Connor family, and generally runs in a: this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened etc. The authors come off as simultaniously humble and holier-than-thou. All in all, this book is very awkward to read and makes it difficult to care for the couple with their constant talk about how it is their duty to associate with us mere mortals who look up to them. As if, in their attempts to be more accessible, they only place themselves further away. For a much more engaging read, i recommend "In Service to the Horse", of which the O'Connors are major players in the cast, and far more interesting than in this attempt.

I went into this book with Mary's May 2nd review on my mind. While I can see her point, I was able to get past the holier than thou/humble part. This might be due to the fact that I was expecting it?? Anyway, I loved the book. Besides being an interesting read (and getting to ride all the fences and meet the who's who of the horse world through the O'Connors),It comforted me in the fact that I am not the only one who has experienced catasrophies in the horse world. I am grateful that the O'Connors shared the good stories along with the bad, and I am positive that their heart was in the right place in trying to share their experiences with the rest of us. They have truly earned their place in the horse world. Buy the book.

I thought this book was awesome! It started out at the age of 11 for both Karen and David. David and his Mother and Brother went on a trip across the world when he was 11, on horseback! They traveled with sleeping bags and food along the way they stop at people homes. Most people insisted that they stay inside but they preferred the barn. Along the way David and his mom's horses went lame and two owners of horse let them use their while they housed the lame ones and sent them back when the trip was over! David states that ways the turning point in his career because he really got to know horses! When Karen turned 11 her parents bought her first horse. Many people would refer to it as a push button pony because it did everything she had asked it to. So as she rode different ponies it became a challenge for her. Later Karen and David met each other at horse shows. They begin to date later on. One show Karen had a bad day and did not do very well and they decided to break up. They both continued to show horses and saw each other at shows but did not talk to each other. When they were on the Olympic team training in England the started dating. Later they were at a party in Ireland and one of there friends also named Karen stood up and said now would be the perfect time to celebrate the engagement Karen Lende and David O'Connor.(At the time they were not engaged yet)So David ask Karen to marry him she said I will think about it. So David went to another lady there and took her hand and Karen said yes. Now they are married and Both Olympian horseback riders. They have done many things to make there barn sucssful both of there staff work for them and made them into a tema called the OCET O'Connor equestrian team. They treat all there staff as a team instead of there workers. This was one of there main goals when they got married for there barn to be successful and everyone to get along and they have worked very hard to accomplish it.


BY EMILY