Well, this is certainly no Pride and Prejudice! This is Cooper's debut book; a naughty romp through the elite world of show-jumping from local shows to the very top of the sport - the World Championships and the Olympics. Our main characters are Jake Lovell, a Gypsy underdog, and the first showing of Rupert Campbell-Black (who will appear in future books by Jilly Cooper), the good-looking rogue of the horsy set who jumps in and out of beds with no thought to the consequences.There are masses of other characters that people the pages of this huge tome. Despite this, they are characterised simply and well, with distinctive traits and values. Unfortunately, it is hard to be sure who to root for! In the beginning we are firmly behind Jake - his tough start in the sport, his sympathetic treatment of horses, and his courageous win of the World Championship in the face of almost-impossible odds ensure that we feel certain he is the hero of the piece. We cheer when he finds Macauley, a horse that Rupert mistreats, and then uses this horse to beat Rupert in the Championship. We adore his family of Tory and Fen and his two adorable children. However, key events in the book lead us to firmly throw our weight behind Rupert - despite all his many, many faults. We find the behaviour of Jake and Helen - Rupert's wife - abominable.My least favourite character is definitely Helen. I dislike her mismanagement of Rupert, her neurosis, her brittle perfection, her inability to stand up for herself. I think she is weak and end up believing she deserves everything she gets! I love Billy - he is one of the few characters who, despite flaws, is consistently a person to have sympathy for.The book is long and rambling and could do with a little more structure, although Cooper's research is excellently done. It follows a now tried and tested formula of taking a gossipy approach to relationships and sex, but we should remember that Jilly was one of the first to tread this path. Riders was a genuinely naughty book when it was first released, with swear words and steamy sex scenes that are now included in books as a matter of course.Certainly Jilly Cooper's writing is not to all tastes - her books are often considered lowbrow trash, only suitable for holiday reading. I, however, adore her books. I love the doorstop bulk of them, where you can really become invested in the characters and the story. I especially enjoy the fact that the horses and dogs are as big characters as the people themselves - in this book Sailor, Macauley, Revenge, Desdemona, Badger include some of those animals who simply leap from the page.Altogether I would recommend this book to horse lovers who have no issues with a naughty slant; readers of "chick lit" and people who want a slyly funny and very good-natured read. Extremely enjoyable.
Ho ho. So much to enjoy about Jilly Cooper's Riders - the definitive bonkbuster from the 1980s.I read Riders for the first time in the summer of 1995 because I wanted to be a writer, and I wanted to read as many different types of blockbuster novels as possible. I felt embarrassed to read it, to be honest. I had assumed that Jilly Cooper books were written mainly for girls, rather than boys. Maybe they are.Another reason why I didn't expect to like the book is that it's about showjumping, which has never really got me going. But I just loved this book. I've re-read it numerous times, always in the summer, and it still feels exciting, fresh, funny and pacey. Some books really draw you into their world. They make you want to be part of it. And they make you want to be able to write something that is as entertaining and engaging. For me, this book is one of them. Always makes me want to have a drink, too.The characters are very memorable. They may be larger than life, but they do feel real, presumably drawn from Jilly Cooper's social circle. They all have aspirations, wit, motivations, fears, ambitions, victories and setbacks. Even if you don't like showjumping, the setting is exciting. Like any sport, in order to succeed, the sportsmen and women have to make many sacrifices and dedicate their lives to a pursuit of excellence. Rider's captures all the exciting ingredients of that world, showing people living their lives to the full, in order to reap big rewards. And that sums up the essence of the book. It's a distillation of people living life full throttle. I might have to go off and read it now. Probably with bottles of wine, or an enormous whisky.
Do You like book Riders (2007)?
This must be the tenth time at least that I've read this novel since my teens and it never disappoints or get's old - I'd hit a bit of a reading slump so picked this up as a tonic and it worked an absolute treat. I'm now going to move on to the rest of the saga- next up Rivals.Riders is just simply a glorious romp set around show jumping, with some perfect characters (Rupert Campbell-Black, now a fictional icon, is still JUST as brilliant no matter how many times you "meet" him), this book is funny, sexy, exciting and SUCH a marvellous reading experience that I'm sure that before I'm done with life I shall have read it a few more times.Following our cast through the ups and downs of local shows, national shows, international shows and culminating in a spot on perfect finale at the Olympics, it is entirely compelling, the intricacies of the love lives and riding lives of everyone you meet being so beautifully done.I adore this series and always will.Happy Reading Folks!
—Liz Wilkins
Sadly, I wasn't particularly thrilled with the book. The biggest problem I had with it was that there was very little build-up to any of the relationships. Characters jump into bed with little pretense and marry after just a few dates. There was very little of the agonizing "Will they end up together?" suspense, and while some readers may find that refreshing, it's what I most relish in a romance read.Overall I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. I was 2/3 of the way through the book before it started to draw me in, and I had trouble identifying with or rooting for any of the major characters. In fact, throughout the book I found myself continuously annoyed with them. Also, many of the characters sway back and forth between very different personalities, one of which tends to be redeeming while the other one struck me as simply vile.
—Meg
Original thoughts: I read this in my teens in the 80s and loved it. Rampant Rupert stole my innocence, but it was beautiful Billy who stole my heart!Today's thoughts:25+ years later, I couldn't wait to meet Billy again as I buddy-read this book with my good friend Jemidar, but discovered that what the teenage heart and the 40-something heart want are two different things. Billy just didn't do it for me this time round, and even worse, he actually began to annoy me. Gutted that a teenage crush came to such a sudden end :-(On the plus side, this 40-something heart was very happy to get reacquainted with Dino. I liked him as a teen, but now, mmm mmmmmm. The heart doesn't break, it just moves on ;-p But the real star of the whole show for me this time was feisty adorable Fen, who took on the boys and won. Go 'Fiona' ;-)The book itself was just as much fun as I remembered it to be, with sex, scandal and skulduggery all served up with large dollops of wit, one-liners and downright silliness. 4 stars then, 4 stars now.
—Anna
