Merrick Academy

Welcome to Merrick Academy! This exclusive, private boarding school specializes in equestrian sports- show jumping, dressage, three day eventing, gymkhana, reining, endurance, and polo. The small school welcomes students from all over the country and all different kinds of backgrounds. The newest freshman class brings together four unlikely friends.Danica arrives at the school with two horses, celebrity parents, and a goal of landing a spot on the Olympic team for Three Day Eventing.Beatrix brings her fiery chestnut mare to Merrick Academy from Montana. They hope to switch disciplines from western riding to show jumping, though they've never had formal training.Melody has spectacular dressage skills, but she does not have a horse of her own. To make things worse, a former rival from Maryland also attends the school, and they end up on the same team.Sarah leaves a modeling career in New York City to attend Merrick Academy, but she's never ridden a horse before tryouts.As these four girls adapt to life at a boarding school, they must conquer the struggles of academics, sports, and typical teen social dilemmas.

Freshman year is off to an exciting start for Danica, Beatrix, Melody, and Sarah. The classes and competition teams prove to be as challenging as promised, but the girls are certain they can handle it. But everything changes as friends and foes distract them from their goals.It only takes a few days at Merrick Academy before Danica realizes she's taken on more than she can handle. She must decide which responsibilities she's willing to give up, because she cannot do it all.Beatrix wants nothing more than to prove herself and her horse. Harmony, her challenging chestnut mare, prolongs their chances to do that when her bolting issue disrupts every activity.Melody's first week at school is easy. She can handle her classes with the same ease that she rides. But her childhood bully is unrelenting, and rumors spread through the school about what she's actually capable of.Sarah knows so little about horses and equestrian sports, but she perseveres through it all to grow as a rider. Yet she cannot succeed on the jumping team until she finds the courage to learn how to jump.Find out how each girl survives at their new school in book two of the Merrick Academy series.