Riding the Distance: An Equestrian journey of love, trust, and becoming who you are

TRUST ISN'T GIVEN. IT'S EARNED-ONE STRIDE AT A TIME.Tristan James grew up in the quiet countryside of Connecticut, where a shy boy and a stubborn pony formed the bond that would shape the rest of his life. What began as a childhood escape became an obsession built on discipline, sacrifice, and the unspoken understanding between horse and rider.As Tristan rises through the fiercely competitive world of elite equestrian sport, he discovers that talent alone is never enough. Under the relentless pressure of Olympic-level training, every weakness is exposed-especially the fear and self-doubt he's spent years trying to outrun.Then he meets Eclipse, a powerful black horse who refuses anything less than complete honesty.And Mateo Alvarez, a guarded rider whose quiet intensity challenges Tristan in ways no competition ever has.As ambition, love, and loyalty collide, Tristan must decide what kind of rider-and what kind of man-he wants to become. But when a devastating setback threatens everything he has worked for, he learns that greatness is not measured by medals alone.Sometimes the hardest thing to risk is trust.A sweeping LGBTQ+ equestrian novel about identity, resilience, ambition, and the life-changing connection between horse and rider, Riding the Distance is a deeply emotional story of learning how to belong-both in the saddle and beyond it.