Very Good book, it is a page turner, you have to keep reading to find out what happens to every character in the book, story line flows.

Jilly Cooper writes extraordinarily well. Her characters are well drawn and, at first, worth the time. The horse world scenes are well-done and are what drew me to the novel in the first place. At last, an adult horse novel! Unfortunately, it became too "adult". Midway through the book are 300 pages of increasingly graphic and obscene sex, which continues until the author completely abandons plot and character, then tacks on an ending to what was an interesting story. The book involves a considerable investment in time and money. Before one spends either of these, be warned: "Riders" should come in a brown paper wrapper.

Almost as soon as you open the book you'll be able to tell that "Riders" was written in the 80's - it's the type of melodramatic, trashy novel that was very popular during that decade. But don't let that put you off. Behind the clichýs is a book with an amazing plot and likeable characters.

The book focuses on three men, all connected through the exciting sport of show jumping, and the women who love (or hate) them.

Rupert Campbell Black is rich, mean, and ruthless. He treats his horses badly and his women worse. His wife, Helen, is a young, respectable American, who finds herself unable to deal with Rupert's sex drive and infidelity.

Rupert's best friend, Billy, is the nice guy of the show-jumping world. He loves his horses, and treats them like friends. Most people seem to feel that he doesn't have the drive to win that can propel him to true greatness.

Jake, an orphan gypsy, is Rupert's polar opposite, or at least he seems to be. He treats his horses like people, and loves them more than anything, even his poor wife, Tory, who he only married for her money.

The paths of these men cross again and again as they compete against each other, sometimes with disastrous results. The book has its share of tragedy, although the incredible triumphs make up for any sadness the characters have to deal with. It covers an incredibly long period of time, which means you get to see characters grow up and change, something that makes the reader very attached to them.

Some of the writing, especially in regards to sex, is very crude. Readers used to the more flowery writing of today may not like it very much. But the wonderful plot made up for any flaws in the writing. This is the first book of Jilly Cooper's wonderful series, and an excellent introduction to her writing.