“How did that girl even make the team?” Rose asked.
She was sitting with us. We’d laid out a blanket in front of the stalls and were lined up like guards, protecting Bluebird and the other horses.
“Her father is rich,” I said. “He buys her way onto everything.”
“But that is ridiculous,” Rose said. “She’s not even any good.”
“She’s actually not a bad rider when she puts her mind to it,” I said.
“And when she doesn’t let her temper get in the way,” Andy added.
“But she ruins horses. I have one of them back at my barn now. He used to be an amazing jumper but after living with Jess, he’s lost his nerve.”
“Poor guy,” Rose said.
“I know.” I sighed. “And I don’t know what to do with him because we don’t have room for a horse that won’t pull its weight at shows and it is a shame because he still likes to jump, just quietly and calmly. He’d clean up in the hunters.”
“My sister rides in the hunters,” Rose said. “She might be interested in him.”
“Really? That is great,” I said. “Give us a call.”
I pulled one of our business cards out of my breeches pocket and gave it to Rose.
“Look at you.” Andy laughed. “All fancy with your business cards.”
“Well it pays to be prepared,” I said. “We have to make our own luck now. I just hope one of you two gets to ride Bluebird this afternoon because I’ll just die if Francesca gets him. She’s almost as rough as Jess is.”
“I hope one of you two get Noelle as well.” Rose sighed. “She’s really a very fragile mare. She likes a light hand.”
“Good to know,” Andy said. “And Mousse needs a lot of leg.”
We sat in the sun and ate our food, telling each other the little quirks that made our horses tick just in case we got to ride them. I wasn’t sure if it was cheating or not but it didn’t really matter. Knowing a horse’s quirks was one thing. Being able to ride through them was something else altogether.
CHAPTER FORTY NINE
We all gathered round Duncan who stood there with a helmet in his hands. It had folded pieces of paper inside with the names of our horses and we were meant to pick. If we got our own horse we had to put the paper back and pick again.
“I don’t like this,” Rose whispered.
“I don’t like it either,” I replied. “But I guess we don’t have a choice.”
Technically that wasn’t true. Of course we all had a choice. We could quit. But I couldn’t. Duncan had stuck his neck on the line for me. He’d told Jess she couldn’t ride so that I could and that meant that Jess wouldn’t be able to ride my pony. Whoever else did, I’d just have to put up with it. And maybe close my eyes while they were riding because I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to watch.
Scott went first. He didn’t seem to care who he got and didn’t even rummage around before picking out a name. He got Francesca’s horse. I was kind of glad. He looked like a monster to ride and Scott was pretty heavy handed so I wasn’t really sure I wanted him riding Bluebird either. Francesca stomped up next and she got Scott’s horse in return. I let out a sigh of relief.
“That means we get each other’s horses,” Andy said excitedly.
“I’m so relieved,” Rose replied with a grin.
I went up next, swirling my hand around until I pulled out a piece of paper. I unfolded it to see my own pony’s name staring back at me.
“Guess I get my own.” I laughed.
Duncan shook his head. “You know you have to pick again,” he said, taking the paper from me.
“I know.” I sighed.
I picked again and got Noelle, Rose’s horse. I was kind of hoping for Mousse. I knew him better. I’d seen Andy ride him a lot at shows and clinics and I was pretty sure I could get a clear round out of him. I barely knew Noelle and I’d only seen Rose ride her twice.
Rose went next and got Mousse, which meant that Andy had Bluebird. I was almost hoping that Rose would get my pony. She had really quiet hands. But she was also a timid rider and I wasn’t sure she would have been able to get my pony over the purple jump and a refusal would cost us and would let Bluebird know he could get away with things like that. Andy would make him go over it. I just hoped that he wouldn’t scare him in the process.
“You all have thirty minutes to ride your new horses and get used to them,” Duncan said. “I’ll help you where I can but this is mostly about you figuring out how to ride a new horse and doing so quickly.”
“I hate this,” Rose moaned. “I don’t like to ride other people’s horses.”
I knew I was lucky. I’d already had the opportunity to ride more horses than most people and I was good at figuring out horses relatively quickly but as I went into Noelle’s stall she snorted and backed away from me. I wasn’t so sure that this was going to be so easy after all.
CHAPTER FIFTY
“Tell me again how to ride this pony?” Andy said as he barreled past on Bluebird.
We were all in the warm up ring, looking like some sort of act from the circus. We could barely flat one another's horses. I wasn’t exactly sure how we were going to jump them.
Noelle had allowed me to groom and tack her, with much snorting and hoof stomping to let me know that she wasn’t sure she liked me. So far I’d managed to get her to walk and trot but when I asked her to canter she threw out a massive buck.
“That is not very lady like,” I told her as I patted her neck and tried to get her to like me.
“How is something this small so strong?” Andy said as he came past me again.
“Give up on the reins a bit,” I called after him. “And less leg.”
Bluebird had his neck arched and his head tucked, trying to evade the bit and run through the bridle.
“Also you need to tighten his noseband,” I yelled.
Duncan stood there looking at us all failing. He shook his head before calling us over.
“This isn’t working,” he said.
“No kidding,” Scott replied.
He’d actually managed to get himself thrown off Francesca's horse, which had given her a look of smug satisfaction until his horse did the same to her. At least the three of us had managed to stay in the tack but that was probably because Andy and I had really good seats and Rose was so scared of Mousse that all she’d done was walk him on a very loose rein and pat his neck a lot.
“Okay,” Duncan said. “One by one I want you to canter around the ring and then jump that cross rail. If you can’t even do that then we might as well just give up and go home now.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Rose said with a sigh.
“You can do it,” I told her. “Mousse is sweet.”
“He doesn’t seem very sweet,” she said as the gray horse turned his head around and tried to bite her boot.
“You just have to show him who is the boss,” I said. “He’s not timid like Noelle is. You’ve got to have strong legs.”
“I don’t think I have strong legs,” she said.
I could tell she’d given up already. And of course she was the first one that Duncan singled out to go around and jump. She managed to get a trot out of Mousse but he wouldn’t canter and then he slid to a stop in front of the jump.
“Don’t let him get away with that,” Andy cried.
“See,” I told him. “It’s not easy watching someone else ride your horse, is it?”
“Be quiet,” Duncan said.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
Duncan went over and spoke to Rose, moving her legs back and shortening her reins. When she went around again she managed to get a ragged canter and Mousse did jump the fence. It just wasn’t very pretty.
“Next,” Duncan called out.
“We are doomed, aren’t we,” Andy said, shaking his head.
“Well I can’t imagine that the other teams are faring much better,” I said. “If we are all bad, then what is the difference?”
But Andy pointed to one of the other teams over by the cross country logs that I had jumped earlier. They had already swapped horses and were popping over the logs one by one. They did it with precision and accuracy like they’d been riding their team mates horses their whole lives.
“You are right.” I sighed. “We are doomed.”
CHAPTER FIFTY ONE
One by one we rode our new mounts over the cross rail. Noelle was sweet and I could tell that she was really trying but that she was also confused about the stranger on her back. She kept looking over at Rose on Mousse and I kind of wished that Bluebird was doing the same to me but he wasn’t. He didn’t even know that I was out there. He was too busy trying to be naughty.
“Don’t let him get away with that,” I told Andy as Bluebird bucked.
It was like all our horses were the most unruly and untrained bunch that had ever been to a show. The fact that we were all really good riders on our own horses but couldn’t do anything with each other’s was kind of sad.
“That will have to do,” Duncan said, calling us over.
We had all finally managed to go around a few jumps and everyone had stayed in the tack so we were making improvements but there was no way we were ready for the show ring.
“Maybe we’ll do better when we get in there,” Andy said.
“Don’t hold your breath.” I told him. “And don’t let my pony run out at that purple jump. He’s going to back off at it. You’re going to have to use your leg and lots of it.”
“I will,” Andy said, sounding annoyed.
I think he was getting sick of me trying to tell him how to ride Bluebird. I knew I should just let him get on with it.
“I was only trying to help,” I said.
“I know.” He nodded but he looked nervous. At least he wouldn’t think that Bluebird was some kids pony in the future. He was just as willful and strong as any horse.
“I think I am going to be sick,” Rose said.
“Anyone who is going to throw up can do so after the class and not before, understood?” Duncan said.
Rose nodded, her face looking a bit green.
We stood by the ring watching some of the other teams go first. They didn’t seem like they were having as many problems as we were but it turned out that it wasn’t a walk in the park for them either. A couple of people fell off and there were several refusals and rails down.
“See?” Andy said. “Everyone else sucks too.”
But I didn’t want us to suck. I wanted us to be awesome.
CHAPTER FIFTY TWO
Noelle floated into the ring. She was light and airy and made of clouds and light. She was soft in the bridle and just the mere brush of my boot against her sides sent her forward. I was glad that I’d taken off my spurs.
“Easy girl,” I said, stroking her neck. “Let’s just take it easy.”
We trotted a circle and then cantered towards the first jump. It was the same course we had ridden over earlier but the jumps had been lowered. I think they were just trying to be kind and save us and our new mounts from any more embarrassment.
Noelle had a soft and easy jump. She popped over each fence with a light spring. I stayed soft and quiet in the tack and tried not to get in her way. She knew what she was doing and she didn’t need me to interfere with her. However she was timid and I did have to encourage her a couple of times on the course where I felt her starting to back off. She didn’t like the purple jump either and I applied my leg a little too strongly and she surged forward, missed the take-off spot and had rails down. We had the next jump down too because Noelle was still flustered about it. The mare obviously didn't like to touch the jumps.
“Easy girl,” I said. “It is okay.”
I gave her neck a soft stroke and she seemed to settle and we finished the course with eight faults.
“Thank you,” Rose said with tears in her eyes as we came out of the ring. “Thank you for taking it easy on her.”
“I just tried to ride like you,” I said.
And I hoped that Andy would do the same. Try to ride Bluebird the way I did because otherwise things weren’t going to go well. They were already butting heads, both as stubborn as each other and one of them was going to have to give in and I knew that it wasn’t going to be Bluebird.
CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
Bluebird took off with Andy as soon as they got into the ring. There he was, being pulled around by my chestnut pony like a beginner. He pulled on the reins but obviously hadn’t tightened the noseband like I told him to and Bluebird was taking full advantage of that.
“Please settle,” I whispered but Bluebird didn’t.
He jumped the first fence like a stag, arrived at the second in an impossible spot and took off anyway. Andy clung to his neck, clearly now just along for the ride and my pony knew that. He took over and from then on Andy was just a passenger. After all, we’d jumped the course once. Bluebird knew what he was doing. He probably would have jumped it all by himself with no one on his back.
Andy seemed to have figured that out as well. He started staying out of Bluebirds way and doing well, until they came to the purple fence. Bluebird was the one in charge now and he decided that he’d rather just not jump the stupid purple rails and frogs so he didn’t. He went one way and Andy went the other. Then my mischievous pony pranced around the ring like he was king of the show.
“I do hope he is okay,” Rose said.
“Me too,” I replied, though I was thinking more of my pony than Andy.
Part of me thought that it was kind of funny but the other part was worried that Andy might be hurt and also kind of embarrassed that my pony seemed to have a mind of his own.
Andy sat up and took his helmet off, rubbing his hair. Then he shook his head and laughed. He wasn’t mad that a pony had outsmarted him. I think maybe he’d known that it was going to happen all along.
I gave Noelle to Rose to hold and went to catch my pony, who was trotting around three people, refusing to be caught.
“Bluebird,” I said, my voice stern. “Come here right now.”
My pony suddenly realized that I was there. He stopped, put his head down and walked over to me like a naughty puppy.
“You bad boy,” I said, grabbing his reins before he broke them. “I can’t believe you did that.”
But in a way I did because I knew that he was a pony and not a machine and he wasn’t that easy to ride either. Andy had just proved it.
CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR
We came away from the show with zero ribbons, a disappointed trainer and some grumpy horses. Except Bluebird. He was pretty proud of himself. I had taken him in the ring after the class was over and made him jump the purple fence just so that he didn’t get any ideas in his head about running out whenever he felt like it.
But even though we didn’t place, I felt like we’d all learned a lot and Rose had surprised us all by managing to get Mousse around the course with only four faults, the best round of our team.
“How did you do that?” I asked her.
“I don’t know,” she said, looking as surprised as the rest of us.
Jess had mumbled under her breath that if she had been allowed to ride we would have placed but none of us believed her.
Dad showed up with the trailer and Rose, Andy and I stood there awkwardly, saying goodbye.
“See you at the next show,” Andy said.
“Yes, see you at the next show,” I replied.
“But I’ll see you sooner,” Rose said. “You live really close to me now. We are practically neighbors.”
“That is right.” I nodded.
I didn’t add that in order to get to her house I’d have to ride through the creepy woods. Maybe there was another way but to be honest I was too tired to find out right now.
“Ready to go home?” Dad asked after we’d all embraced in a kind of messy group hug.
“Yes,” I said. “Most definitely.”
CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE
Dad took me into town and I picked up odd gifts here and there but I felt like somehow I couldn’t find the perfect gift for everyone and it made me feel a bit miserable.
Back at our farm we had several people come and look at the place for boarding and one lady signed up to bring her horse in January.
“What was she doing here?” Molly asked as the woman drove away.
“She’s going to bring her horse,” I said. “For training.”
“Oh,” Molly said with a huff, her face sour.
The more people that came to look at our farm, the worse Molly got and I was afraid that Dad was right. Because she had helped us out in the beginning she now thought that our farm was as good as her own.
“Should we be worried about Molly leaving?” I asked Dad as he was fixing one of the old boards in the back paddock that had fallen down.
“Why?” he said, looking up and wiping sweat off his forehead because it was eighty five degrees even though it was almost Christmas.
“I don’t know,” I said. “It is just every time someone comes to look at our farm she gets all huffy.”
“I told you,” Dad said. “We can’t rely on the good graces of Molly Sugden. What she has given us she can freely decide to take away.”
“That is not fair.” I sighed.
“That is life,” Dad replied. “Now hold that end up.”
I helped him fix the fence but all the while I couldn’t help thinking how this boarding business was precarious stuff and how one client who got mad and decided to leave could ruin us for good.
Second Chances (Show Jumping Dreams ~ Book 25) Page 10