Emily is finally figuring out that you don’t need to own all the horses in the world to ride and compete as much as you want. Showing is expensive but she’s started to make a name for herself as a catch rider, picking up rides at shows on other people’s horses. It’s got her noticed by Walter Grey, a prominent trainer on the jumper circuit and now he wants her to ride more of his horses. In fact, he wants her to come and train at his barn, an offer she can’t refuse.
But Emily’s father wants to keep training her himself. He doesn’t want to lose his daughter again, to have her slip away to another barn and trainer. So he offers her the one thing he knows she wants, Harlow. And now she’ll have to choose between the horse she loves and the life that will further her career.
And she has another choice to make too. Walter thinks she should quit the team. He promises her that he can fast track her to not only the individual Junior Olympics but the real Olympics too. But Emily isn’t sure she wants to leave her new friends behind. She likes being part of something that is bigger than herself and she’s come to realize that having friends you can count on is more important than going it alone. Her father thinks Walter should understand that but Emily doesn’t want to believe that Walter could have anything but her best interests at heart. But is the big name trainer hiding a dirty secret? And will Emily abandon the horse she once loved just to get ahead?