Racing Against Time

by Suzanne Weyn

  Plum looked away from her. “Some of them. But Shafir was ready because she’s taking to my training.”

  In a flicker, a look traveled from Mercedes to Daphne to Taylor. Plum could simply not admit that she was succeeding because of all the advice she was getting from Daphne and Mercedes.

  “Who knows how to play bandanna snatch?” Eric called to them as he rode into the pasture on Jojo.

  “I do,” Daphne replied.

  “Daphne showed me how to play, but I’ve only done it once,” Taylor answered. She pointed to Cody. “I was riding that guy at the time. Daphne, didn’t you tell me Cody already knew the game?”

  “He’s played a bunch of times that I know of,” Daphne agreed.

  “What’s the prize if we win these games?” Plum asked.

  “Mrs. LeFleur is at the printer’s having ribbons made up,” Daphne told her. “They say Wildwood Stables on them.”

  Eric took a red bandanna from his back pocket and tucked it in the cheek strap of Jojo’s bridle. “Daphne and I will show you how to do it, and as you get the idea, you can join in.”

  Eric flicked his reins, and Jojo loped away into the pasture. In a minute, Daphne rode off after him. Taylor could tell neither of them was riding full out since this was more of a demonstration than a real competition. Daphne directed Mandy alongside Eric. As she rode, she reached out and pulled the bandanna from Jojo’s strap.

  Daphne raised the bandanna triumphantly in her hand. “Score!” she sang out. Tucking it into Mandy’s bridle, she rode a wide circle in the field.

  Shafir whinnied and gave a low buck, kicking out her back legs.

  “Whoa!” Plum shouted.

  “She’s just excited,” Taylor defended the Arabian. “She saw this game when Daphne and I were playing, and she wanted to join in so badly.”

  Plum glowered at Taylor. “Well, now she can play,” she said, leaning forward. “And she’ll win!” Plum kicked Shafir’s sides as she loosened her reins. “Giddyap!”

  Shafir took off fast, galloping toward Mandy.

  Without even thinking, Taylor sat forward in the saddle, pressing her heels into the stirrups, and flicked her loosened reins. “Come on, boy, let’s get ’em,” she shouted, gripping Prince Albert’s sides with her knees.

  Prince Albert headed out fast in the direction of the other horses. Taylor stayed forward, pressing Prince Albert on faster and faster.

  From the corner of her eye, Taylor saw Mercedes ride Cody out. Soon all the riders were galloping in pursuit of Daphne and Mandy.

  Daphne stayed in front of them. Taylor knew she and Prince Albert couldn’t outride these more experienced competitors. The only way to win this game would be to outmaneuver the other riders.

  Peeling off from the group, Taylor galloped in a circle as if to cut Daphne and Mandy off. Seeing this, Daphne veered right. Plum was the first one to follow her out, riding toward her at a diagonal.

  Mandy and Shafir were riding neck and neck, thundering across the pasture. Plum reached forward, poised to grab the bandanna.

  To break the deadlock, Daphne pulled Mandy into a quick left turn, which put her directly in Taylor’s path. Taylor shouted, putting on a burst of speed. In minutes she’d reached Mandy and snatched the bandanna!

  Taylor’s heart hammered as she twirled the bandanna in the air, hooting with victory.

  “All right!” Eric cheered.

  Mercedes and Daphne applauded. The only one not cheering was Plum, who was riding off to the other side of the pasture.

  “Where are you going?” Daphne called after her.

  “Shafir and I are going to work down in the paddock,” she shouted back. “Shafir’s a winner, and she’s going to win this. But she has to work harder.”

  The girls looked at one another warily. “I’ll go work with her,” Mercedes volunteered, riding after her.

  “You think she’s going to be too hard on Shafir?” Eric asked.

  “To be honest, yes,” Taylor replied.

  Eric nodded thoughtfully. “And she’s determined to take home all the ribbons, too.”

  Taylor twirled the bandanna. “Well, she might not get her way this time.”

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Taylor was mucking out Pixie’s stall with a rake when Mrs. LeFleur approached down the center aisle with Lois beside her. “Taylor, we need to talk to you,” said Mrs. LeFleur when they were close.

  Taylor leaned the rake against the wall. “What’s up?”

  “It’s good news,” said Lois. “The Rotary Club is sponsoring a horse show for children with special needs, and we’ve entered Dana in the Walk/Trot Division, which is the category with the most entrants.”

  “Cool,” Taylor said. “Dana must be super excited about it.”

  “She’s completely thrilled,” Lois confirmed. “I’ve never seen her so over the moon about anything. Working with Prince Albert in this short time has brought her out of her shell like nothing before. She’s more focused, more social. I’m so pleased.”

  “Prince Albert is a really great horse,” Taylor said, looking out of Pixie’s stall to the next stall over, where the gelding stood watching them. Taylor petted Pixie’s mane. “Pixie could tell you that. She’s a big Prince Albert fan, aren’t you, girl?”

  Pixie realized all eyes were on her and sputtered.

  “So what I came to talk to you about is using Prince Albert on that day. We’d pay the ranch, of course. We’d also need a horse handler, and we’d like to hire you for that job. We could pay you seventy-five dollars for the day.”

  “Wow,” Taylor commented.

  “You’d handle Prince Albert during the trip and lead Dana around the course. He was great with Dana the other day, but I’m sure he’d be most comfortable with you there. I don’t want him to be scared and think we’re taking him away from his home.”

  “That’s true,” Taylor agreed. “He might think that if we hauled him out of here in a trailer without me.”

  “So, is it a deal?” Lois asked.

  “Sure, when is it?”

  “Saturday.”

  “Tomorrow? I can do that.”

  “No, next Saturday,” Lois corrected Taylor.

  “Oh, dear,” said Mrs. LeFleur.

  “Next Saturday is our big games event,” Taylor said. “I couldn’t miss that.”

  “Oh, no,” Lois said. “Dana will be so disappointed.”

  Taylor looked to Mrs. LeFleur for some kind of advice or help. What should she do?

  “It’s up to you, dear,” Mrs. LeFleur answered the question in Taylor’s eyes. “You have to decide.”

  There will be other shows for Dana to be in,” Travis said on Saturday morning, speaking over the banging of his hammer. They’d gotten to Wildwood early that morning because Mrs. LeFleur had asked Travis to build some wooden booths from which they could sell refreshments and raffle tickets.

  “I know,” Taylor said as she sat beside him under the maple and handed him another bunch of nails. “But there will be other game events for me to be in, too.”

  “There might not be if this game event isn’t a success,” Travis pointed out. “Isn’t Mrs. LeFleur counting on this to raise money and bring in new customers?”

  “Yes, but I have all this week to help her set up. I don’t have to be there on the actual day. A lot of people have signed up to compete, and even more have called for directions so they can come down to watch. Plus there’s another thing to think about.”

  “What’s that?” Travis asked, resting his hammer on the wooden board beside him.

  “Wildwood now has two horses to use for lessons, Mandy and Cody. I don’t know yet if Prince Albert will let anyone but Dana and me ride him. If I don’t keep Dana as a customer, then he’ll just be taking up space at Wildwood, and Mrs. LeFleur can’t afford that.”

  “Do you really think Dana and Lois would stop coming if you don’t let them ride Prince Albert next weekend?” Travis questioned.

  “
Maybe they’d still come, but if Dana can be convinced to use another horse, she might stick with that horse afterward.”

  Just then, Alice’s car pulled into the ranch with Dana in the passenger’s seat beside her mother. Surprised to see them, Taylor stood, brushing off her jeans. “I didn’t know you had a lesson today,” she said to Alice as the woman got out of the car.

  “We don’t, but Dana wanted to visit Prince Albert,” Alice explained. “I hope that’s all right.”

  “Sure. He’s in his stall right now.”

  Dana heard what Taylor had said and abruptly ran for the main building. “Don’t run, Dana!” Alice called to her.

  Dana slowed for three steps and then resumed her race into the building. “She just adores that horse,” Alice said. “Children with autism find it so difficult to make social connections. And they can’t always empathize with someone else’s feelings, either. Even though Prince Albert is an animal and not a person, she’s still connected with him. Working with Prince Albert has been a huge step in the right direction for her. When Lois suggested horse therapy, I admit that I was doubtful, but now I’m a total believer.”

  “She does seem happy when she’s with him,” Taylor observed.

  “Happy, plus focused, self-confident, and in charge,” Alice added. “Prince Albert is so good and patient with her. What a perfect horse for this kind of work.”

  “I could saddle him up and lead her around the corral,” Taylor offered.

  “Oh, would you? She would love that! Her helmet’s in the trunk.”

  “Sure. I’ll go tack him up.”

  In the main building, Taylor stopped at the tack room across from the office and picked up the light, all-purpose saddle she liked to use most, a bridle with a snaffle bit, and a saddle pad. Loading them all in the wheelbarrow parked in the corner, she wheeled them toward Prince Albert’s stall.

  In a minute, Taylor could see Dana at Prince Albert’s stall, tenderly stroking his muzzle. Prince Albert had his head tipped down, enabling her small, delicate hands to reach him better. There was a gentle, unspoken communication between the little girl and the sturdy black quarter horse; somehow Taylor was sure of it.

  Taylor came up on them quietly, not wanting to startle either one. “Hey,” she said quietly, leaning toward Dana. “Would you like to ride him?”

  Dana’s eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly.

  “Come on, you help me get him ready. I’ll show you how,” Taylor said, opening the stall door and leading Prince Albert out by his halter. “You stay right next to me. You don’t want to stand behind Prince Albert, do you understand that?”

  Dana nodded. “He might kick me,” she volunteered.

  “That’s right!” Taylor said, impressed. “How did you know?”

  “I’ve been reading every book about horses. I’m learning a lot.”

  “Good for you!” Taylor praised Dana as she placed the saddle pad on Prince Albert’s back. “This pad cushions Prince Albert’s back. You’re not very heavy, so I picked a lightweight pad.”

  At every stage, Taylor explained to Dana what she was doing, and the girl listened with rapt attention. After Taylor demonstrated how she adjusted the stirrups, she let Dana try the second stirrup. Dana was a quick learner and accomplished the task with ease.

  Taylor clipped on a lead line and offered the other end to Dana. “You lead him out.”

  Dana reached for the line but then hesitated nervously.

  “You can do it,” Taylor encouraged her. “You led him in the corral.”

  “But what if he runs when I get him outside?” Dana asked.

  “He won’t run. He knows you’re in charge. Plus, he likes you; he doesn’t want to run away from you.”

  Smiling, Dana patted Prince Albert. Then she took the line from Taylor and began walking forward.

  Taylor opened Pixie’s stall to let her out.

  “Does she always have to come?” Dana asked with a note of complaint.

  “She likes to be with Prince Albert,” Taylor replied. “She feels safe with him, I think. You don’t want her to be scared, do you?”

  Dana considered the question for a moment.

  Taylor recalled what Alice had said about Dana’s difficulty understanding what another person might be feeling. Could she sympathize with a pony’s fears?

  “No. I don’t want her to be scared,” Dana finally decided. “Pixie can come with Prince Albert.”

  “I’m sure she appreciates that you understand,” Taylor said.

  Outside, Alice put on Dana’s black plastic school helmet. Taylor helped Dana mount from the picnic table and then walked her into the corral with Pixie trailing behind. “Look, Mommy. I’m riding!” Dana shouted to her mother as Taylor led her around, following the fence.

  Alice waved back, smiling. “You’re doing great!”

  “I’m going to be in a riding contest with Prince Albert,” Dana told Taylor.

  “Are you excited?” Taylor asked.

  Dana nodded. “And scared, too. But with Prince Albert there, I can do it.”

  Taylor looked up at Dana sitting so tall and proud in the saddle. When she turned back, Taylor saw Eric propped on the lower rail of the fence outside the corral waving to her. “Ready for some poles practice later?” he asked.

  Taylor shook her head. “I’m not going to compete in the games.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ll be with Dana and Prince Albert at the Rotary’s special event.”

  Eric looked at Dana on horseback and then back over to Taylor. “Are you sure?” he asked doubtfully. “You were doing really well. You could have won some ribbons.”

  Taylor sighed wistfully. There was only one choice she could make and still feel good about herself — which meant there was really no choice at all.

  “Yep,” she said. “I’m sure.”

  We have to get every stall ready with fresh hay. People aren’t going to want to keep their horses in trailers all day, especially after they’ve participated in events,” Mrs. LeFleur told Taylor on Monday afternoon. “Plus we want them to see how nice everything is so they’ll want to board their horses here.”

  Taylor felt a little like Cinderella, sweeping the outside stalls with the sounds of thundering hoofbeats and peals of laughter in the background as the others practiced. Looking out to the empty paddock across from the stalls, she could glimpse her friends in the farther paddock where they were riding. Occasionally, she watched Eric on Jojo raise his hand and signal the riders to begin.

  But an hour later, Mercedes and Daphne were with her, pitching hay into the stalls. Travis was also there, hammering down or pulling out any dangerous old nails that were protruding from the stalls.

  “Plum is riding Shafir too hard,” Mercedes complained.

  “Did you say something to her?” Taylor asked.

  “Yes, and she accused me of wanting her to slow down just so I can win the events,” Mercedes revealed.

  “That girl can really make you want to scream,” Daphne remarked as she spread the hay in a stall.

  “Ha!” Travis cried as he slammed a nail with a bang. He looked up and grinned. “It’s fun to hit things while discussing Plum.”

  “That’s terrible, Travis,” Taylor scolded mildly, throwing a handful of hay at him.

  Travis just shrugged and yanked out another nail with the claw end of his hammer.

  “I’m glad we told Eric what we think of Plum’s riding,” Mercedes said. “I hope he talks to her.”

  “Plum doesn’t listen to anybody,” Daphne said. “She lives in Plumland, a place where she is the supreme dictator and does exactly what she wants to do.”

  “No, she’s Plum the Merciless, an evil supervillain who terrorizes the planet Middle Schoolarus,” Travis imagined.

  “She’s a giant pain in the neck, if you ask me,” Mercedes said. “Whether she listens or not, I’m going to talk to her about laying off Shafir.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Daph
ne said. “I can’t stand the way she yanks on the bit. Poor Shafir’s just getting used to a bridle.”

  “That’s how horses turn nasty,” Mercedes agreed. “They’re ridden by people like Plum until they grow to hate all people.”

  “She didn’t cool Shafir down or anything,” Daphne added. “If I hadn’t stopped her she would have put her in her stall without even brushing her down, and she was about to give her a bucket of ice-cold water.”

  Taylor was reminded again of how all the horses Plum leased got sick or lame. “We can’t let anything happen to Shafir. She’s so friendly and playful. It would be horrible if she started hating people.”

  “Worse things than that could happen,” Mercedes said darkly.

  “Maybe we should tell her she can ride Shafir hard during the event, but only then,” Taylor suggested.

  “It’s too bad Eric can’t tell her these things for us,” Daphne said.

  “He wouldn’t,” Travis commented. “He’s Plum’s cousin. What makes you think he’s any better than she is?”

  “He’s not like Plum,” Taylor defended Eric.

  “Yeah?” Travis scoffed. “We’ll see.”

  * * *

  On Tuesday, in addition to her usual Wildwood cleaning and grooming chores, Taylor sorted through the box of old horseshoes Norman the farrier had donated. She was searching for shoes that weren’t too bent for a horseshoe toss. Then she helped Travis hammer in the metal posts for the game.

  The first part of Wednesday afternoon, Taylor told Alice, Dana, and Lois what to expect on Saturday. Taylor had never been to a horse show, but she had searched online. “What should she wear?” Alice asked.

  “Well, what I read was that she should have on a riding jacket, breeches, and any color button-down shirt. She doesn’t have to wear riding gloves, but she could. You can buy a velvet cover to fancy up her helmet. Dana’s hair won’t fit in a bun, but maybe you could get it into a ponytail or pin it up at the sides.”

  Alice beamed affectionately at Dana, who sat atop Prince Albert, stroking his neck. “I can’t wait to see how she looks in her riding gear!”

  “She’ll look adorable,” Lois agreed. “I’ve rented the trailer for Friday evening so we can get it ready. That way there won’t be any confusion in the morning. We need to leave by seven.”