Fourteen-year-old DJ Randall wants nothing more than to compete as a show jumper in the Olympics. The challenges that stand in her way only spur her to work harder toward her dream. Whether it's mucking out stalls and hosting pony parties to earn money to buy her first horse or navigating the changing family dynamics at home, DJ relies on her faith in God to see her through the most daunting obstacles. Collection One includes Olympic Dreams, DJ's Challenge, Setting the Pace, Out of the Blue, and Storm Clouds.
Fourteen-year-old DJ Randall wants nothing more than to compete as a show jumper in the Olympics. The challenges that stand in her way only spur her to work harder toward her dream. Whether it's mucking out stalls and hosting pony parties to earn money to buy her first horse or navigating the changing family dynamics at home, DJ relies on her faith in God to see her through the most daunting obstacles. Collection Two includes Close Quarters, Moving Up, Letting Go, Raising the Bar, and Class Act.
This boxed set contains volumes 1-4 of the series, High Hurdles. Readers who love horses will cheer DJ on as she strives to overcome the obstacles of life in and out of the show-ring in her thrilling quest for Olympic gold.
Matt feels right at home when he’s running track—a lot different than he feels at his real home! Matt is accepted and encouraged by his teammates and coach, but at home his mother’s drinking is taking its toll. How long can he keep those two parts of his life separate? Exciting sports, intense competition, inspiring stories . . . Game On! is a sports fiction series that presents true-to-life stories of young athletes who must overcome obstacles on and off the field. The characters aren’t always the best athletes, but they aren’t always underdogs either. As these athletes work through intense personal struggles, how will their faith change them—and impact others?
America's most successful Grand Prix rider, Margie Goldstein Engle is the star attraction at any horse show in which she competes, as well as a role model for a generation of young equestrians. Despite her parents' objections, young Margie worked odd jobs at stables in exchange for riding lessons, then proved her ability in the show ring on ponies and, later, on horses. Her first Grand Prix victory came in 1986 on Daydream, and was followed by such notable blue-ribbon successes as the prestigious American Invitational, the Budweiser AGA Show Jumping Championship, and representing the United States in Nations Cups. She is the American Grandprix Association's only eight-time Rider of the Year, and the first rider ever to place first, second, third, fourth, and fifth in a single Grand Prix class. The route to the top was not an easy one. Margie had to overcome financial challenges and a series of bone-breaking injuries that threatened to end her career. But thanks to her courage and tenacity, and the love and support of her family--especially husband, Steve--and her sponsors and fans, she rebounded to increased prominence at the international level. In addition to telling this extraordinary and inspiring story, the book offers many of the horsemanship tips and techniques that have given Margie and her students the winner's edge. Written by someone who has known Margie best--her mother--No Hurdle Too High will appeal to everyone, rider or not, who thrills to challenges and triumphs at the highest level.
In September 1972, Rodney Milburn of Opelousas, Louisiana, won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 110-meter high hurdles. Raised amid segregation and poverty in the 1950s and 60s, Milburn honed his skills on a grass track over wooden hurdles. In a career that spanned more than a decade, he established himself as the greatest hurdler of his era and one of the greatest athletes in track history. This biography chronicles Milburn's rise from poverty to international athletic stardom. Loved ones, as well as track legends Renaldo Nehemiah, Dwight Stones, Tonie Campbell, Brian Oldfield and Bill Collins, relate Milburn's remarkable achievements and humble nature.
A sudden cancer diagnosis finds a wife, mother of three and full time employee of the local university with an unexpected life changing decision. The reconstruction of her current job position forces her to choose to travel three weeks out of each month or return to the college classroom to complete her undergraduate degree. The many HURDLES all the way will pull at your heart strings, cry with laughter, challenging your spirit and fill your soul with joy. This memoir will take you on a journey to the core of author’s true self, while understanding the importance of her family and friends. On her five year cancer anniversary, this runner in her own race will hopefully encourage you to become a better spouse, parent, child, friend and leader to all. Some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent and the few guilty.
Over It is a high-octane dose of encouragement, storytelling, and hard-won advice from Lolo Jones, three-time Olympian and world champion hurdler and bobsledder. Lolo is perhaps better known today not for all the races she’s won but for the millisecond mistake that cost her an Olympic gold medal over a decade ago. With stunning authenticity about her own struggles, longings, and losses, she shows us how to face our challenges head-on and keep working to overcome them. Lolo challenges us to: handle failure while pursuing our dreams; recognize the difference between achieving a goal and experiencing success; turn our most painful moments into the most successful; use thankfulness and faith to develop healthy hindsight; and give and receive forgiveness as the path back to life. Growing up in a broken home, Lolo learned to shoplift at a young age just to eat at night and sometimes slept on the basement floor of the Salvation Army. While her father was in prison, her mother worked multiple jobs, and Lolo realized she needed to be self-motivated, singularly focused, and unwilling to quit if she wanted to succeed. Reflecting on her own challenging spiritual journey, Lolo invites us to rest in God who can make all the difference in overcoming obstacles with both strength and joy.
Larkspur Nielsen is ready for a change. Her parents have passed on, and her older brother is successfully running the family business. She bristles at the small-mindedness that permeates life in her small Ohio community, and she sees little chance of a satisfying future there. She has a little money saved, and after turning the tables on a crooked gambler who had fleeced several locals, including her younger brother, she can stake a new start for herself and her three sisters. As the gambler's threats of revenge echo in her ears, she and her sisters head to Independence, Missouri, to join a wagon train bound for Oregon. Knowing that four women traveling together will draw unwanted attention, Larkspur dons a disguise, passing herself off as "Clark" Nielsen, accompanying his three sisters. But maintaining the ruse is more difficult than Larkspur imagined, as is protecting her headstrong, starry-eyed sisters from difficult circumstances and eligible young men. Will reaching their goal prove too much for them?
