The Gates to Brilliance - How a Gay, Jewish, Middle-Class Kid Who Loved Horses Found Success

An authentically honest and self-reflective promise of how a life lived with purpose and passion can yield greatness. “The gates to brilliance are surrounded by a cloud of sweat and tears.” That is what Olympic dressage rider and coach Robert Dover’s mentor, the revered Swedish equestrian Colonel Bengt Ljungquist, told him. It is a lesson that stuck—only with great passion and determination can one achieve success, and just maybe, happiness, too. In a fascinating book that reads like a potent elixir, three parts memoir and one part inspirational self-improvement guide, readers are ushered through 15 “gates to brilliance”—keys that Dover discovered as he made his way through his own life, from gawky, horse-crazy child to influential Olympic coach and entrepreneur. Sharing deeply personal stories that were fundamental to his evolution, Dover is candid about the path he took on his way to becoming one of the most successful equestrians in the world. Paperback ‏ : ‎ 296 pages. Publisher ‏ : ‎ Trafalgar Square Books (November 9, 2021)