Ride On

Ride On, written and illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks, though coloured by Kelly Fitzpatrick, is a lovely and heartwarming graphic novel about friendship, loss, changes, and perseverance. Ride On is about a young girl, Victoria, who loves horses. She has been riding since she was about six- years-old, and she and her best friend, Taylor, have dreamed of owning their own horses together. They both ride at a prestigious stable called Waverly. Everything is idyllic for about six years until Victoria and Taylor’s lives start drifting apart. Taylor’s parents buy her a horse, a happening about which Victoria is excited and supportive, but Taylor wants Victoria to invest more time and money into her riding so they can compete together. Taylor, though she loves horses, is not as interested in competitions and does not have the money to support riding lessons full time. Victoria has held a job in the past and helped at the stables to earn extra money and lessons, but, even though she loves horses, she also has other interests and wants to devote some time to those things as well. These differences, among others, create a rift between Victoria and Taylor, and Victoria leaves Waverly Stables and stops riding altogether.

Ride On actually begins with Victoria’s taking up riding again at a new stable, Edgewood. The regular riders at Edgewood Stables – Norrie, Hazel, and Sam – notice the new arrival, and Norrie is suspicious and reluctant to welcome a new rider from the ‘rival’ stable ,Waverly. When Norrie puts on a friendly front and approaches Victoria, Victoria’s hurt feelings from her falling out with Taylor has her rejecting Norrie’s interaction by stating she’s not there to make friends; she’s just there to ride horses. Norrie becomes angry, vows to shun Victoria, and convinces her friends to shun Victoria as well. The anger becomes mixed with jealousy when Victoria is chosen to train up the new horse, Winter. Victoria seems fine with this arrangement, as she can avoid getting close to others and, therefore, avoid further heartache, until her older sister inadvertently convinces Victoria to make an effort with her new ‘horse friends’. Victoria attempts to mend the bridge with Sam and, eventually, the other girls through a mutual interest in a sci-fi series that is coming out with some new episodes.

Ride On will, of course, appeal to horse lovers, but to many others as well, including those who love sci-fi or those who have troubles with friends. The ideal age range for this book would be about grades 3 to 7; there is a slight hint at some crush interest in the book, but nothing is confirmed or acted upon. Hicks, who has also written and/or illustrated many well-known graphic novels, including Friends with Boys and Avatar, presents a beautifully simple story that speaks of the uncertainty of newness, the challenges of making new friends, troubles with siblings, overcoming fears, and being yourself.

Hugo award-winning colourist Kelly Fitzpatrick creates inviting scenes that bring the story to life. Fitzpatrick is skilled at capturing the tone of the scenes with her colours. The rich, earthy feel in the stables conjures the warmth and comfort Victoria draws from horses, and the pinks in the flashback scenes speak to former friendships and experiences fading into the sunset. Vibrant yellows bring across Norrie’s intense emotions and exuberance, and Victoria’s blue hair highlights her uniqueness but also her uncertainty and quiet calm.

The only downside to Ride On is that it feels somewhat rushed. The story moves quite quickly, and character conflicts are resolved without much fuss, which is welcomed for this feel-good story but is somewhat unrealistic. Additionally, there are elements that seem to be forced into the story. One example is the passing mention of Victoria’s parents fighting and eventually divorcing, events which clearly have an impact on the influences in Victoria’s life, but there is no time devoted to the exploration of this theme. Perhaps the underlying complaint about Ride Onis that it is such a good premise for a story that it would have been welcomed as a multi-book series with the friendships and additional storylines being expanded upon!