The Equestrienne

It is 1984 and a small town somewhere in the east of the Czechoslovak\r\nSocialist Republic is in the firm grip of totalitarianism. Unruly and\r\nsickly Karolina is growing up in an all-female household including\r\nher hot-blooded, knife-wielding grandmother.\r\nRepelled by her mums serial love affairs Karolina runs away and\r\nstumbles upon a riding school on the edge of town. There, she\r\nbefriends Romana, a girl with one leg shorter than the other and\r\nMatilda, a rider and trainer who helps the two girls overcome their\r\nphysical limitations. Together they found a successful trick-riding\r\nteam and soon it seems that half flags, mills and scales are not the\r\nonly tricks flashing like blades up her sequinned sleeve as Karolina\r\nexplores Pink Floyd and smoking, and discovers her knack for seeing\r\ndeep into others souls.\r\nThe fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 and the subsequent arrival of\r\ncapitalism threatens to destroy the riding school. The team has to\r\nturn professional. But in a sport of perfect scores is there still room\r\nfor Romana and Karolina...?\r\nThe Equestrienne is a poetic, caustic coming-of-age novel about the\r\ndesire of one young girl to realise her dreams before and after Velvet\r\nRevolution; it is a celebration of friendship between women and also\r\na bitter acknowledgement that greed and the desire for power can\r\ndestroy any relationship.