Take the Reins

by Jessica Burkhart

  “Let’s start with something easy,” Mr. Conner called. “Do a posting trot.”

  I squeezed Charm’s sides until he trotted. We made sweeping circles around the arena—posting was second nature by now. I stared between the tips of Charm’s ears. I rose and fell with his inside shoulder. His hooves thudded evenly across the arena dirt. He trotted easily—I knew we’d nailed the first task. “Great job, boy,” I whispered.

  “Slow canter,” Mr. Conner called.

  I tapped my boots against Charm’s sides and he eased into a rocking canter. I sat motionless, keeping my butt glued to the seat. We swept around the arena.

  “Flying lead change across the diagonal,” Mr. Conner announced.

  My stomach dropped.

  I had only been doing flying changes since the summer. The move was one of the trickiest tasks on horseback. They had to be done just right. I had only performed a few and most of them had been on Kim’s much more experienced Danish Warmblood. While cantering, I had to signal Charm to switch lead hooves. All four of his legs were supposed to leave the ground for a split second as we hit the center point of the arena. Most riders couldn’t correctly command the horse to do flying changes—the horse would canter though the diagonal and end up on the wrong lead.

  I wondered if Heather had been able to do the flying change.

  “Okay, boy. We can do this,” I said. We headed for the far end of the arena. Charm cantered toward the center. When we reached the middle, I shifted my weight and pulled slightly back on the reins. I moved my outside leg behind the girth and put my other leg just at the girth. I tried to reposition Charm with the reins, but he pulled against my fingers and awkwardly cantered on the wrong lead until I slowed him to a trot. I tried not to look over at Mr. Conner. “Please, Charm,” I whispered to him. “Work with me here!” One of his ears swiveled back to my voice.

  Charm quickened his pace. We headed to an imaginary X in the arena’s center and we crossed over the middle. I asked him again for the flying lead change. Without hesitation, he switched leads and for a nanosecond, he suspended in the air. “Yes!” I whispered. “Yay, boy!”

  Mr. Conner didn’t tell us to stop, so I turned Charm around and pointed him to the middle of the area. We cantered to the center and he did another flying change without a hitch.

  “Take a break while I set up a few jumps,” Mr. Conner called from the sidelines.

  I pulled Charm into a walk and he mouthed the bit. Foam specks flew from his mouth and landed on his chest and legs. “You’re doing great,” I said to Charm. “Maybe Paige and I will bake you an apple pie when we’re done.” Charm walked in slow circles. I let the knotted reins rest against his neck while I reached my hands to the sky in a stretch.

  Mr. Conner set up four jumps consisting of red and white plastic rails, each increasing in height up to about three feet high. He waved me over, clipboard still in hand. “You’re going to jump the course twice: once clockwise and once counterclockwise. If you hit a rail, keep going. I’m going to take notes on your form and approach, as well as Charm’s behavior. After this, you can cool him down and you’re free to go.”

  Charm tugged the reins and scratched his knee with his teeth. Walking in circles bored him when he saw jumps up ahead.

  Eight rails. That’s all that stood between the advanced team and me.

  “Ready?” I asked Charm.

  He bobbed his head.

  “Let’s go.”

  Charm thudded over the last jump in the clockwise round. I turned him sharply to take the jumps counterclockwise. We didn’t even come close to touching a rail in the first round. My legs had begun to shake from fatigue and white froth formed at the front corners of Charm’s wool saddle pad. Charm was getting tired, but he managed to pop over each jump with the same power.

  I pointed him toward the first jump and he took it like a pro. One down, three to go. The second jump didn’t faze Charm either. He tucked his legs neatly as he sailed over the third rail. Charm took an extra circle before we headed for the final jump. I was barely even aware that Mr. Conner was in the ring. We were strides away from finishing when a light flashed. The door swung open and slammed against the arena wall.

  “Mr. Conner!” a shrill voice called. Heather strode into the arena and headed right for Mr. Conner.

  Charm shied violently and almost tripped as he crab-stepped the last jump. My foot popped out of the right stirrup as I started to fall off Charm’s left side. I was not going to fall off in front of Heather and Mr. Conner!

  “Easy, easy!” I said. My thighs hugged the saddle and I pulled myself upright. I grabbed his short mane and settled myself back in the saddle. Charm was anxious. He started to gallop to the final rail, his ears swept back in fear. His gait increased with every step and he acted like he didn’t see the jump in front of us. I couldn’t let him crash into the rail! Charm, slow down! I stood in the stirrups and used a pulley rein to circle him just before the jump.

  I glanced over and saw Heather hurrying over to Mr. Conner.

  “I am so sorry—the door got away from me! I was just coming to tell you that the grain delivery is here.”

  Mr. Conner glared at Heather and called out to me, “Sasha! Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” I called back, my hands shaking so hard they could barely grip the reins. Charm could have tripped or hit the jump. I bent over Charm’s left shoulder and noticed his leg wrap was starting to come undone. “Heather?” I called. “Would you fix Charm’s wrap for me?”

  “Of course, Sasha.” Heather walked over to Charm and slid her hand down his leg to tighten his leg wrap. Charm tried to walk off when he saw Heather coming, but I held him still.

  “I know you did that on purpose,” I whispered, keeping an eye on Mr. Conner.

  Heather continued to tuck the stretchy fabric into the wrap as she spoke. “Oh, please, it was an accident.”

  “Stay away from me and Charm,” I said.

  Heather gave Charm’s shoulder a firm pat and clasped my boot-clad ankle. “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day.”

  Mr. Conner finished scribbling on my chart and, when he looked up at us, Heather’s face morphed into an angelic smile.

  “Be more careful next time, Heather,” Mr. Conner said. “Sasha, thank you. You can go walk Charm until he’s cool.”

  I dismounted and tugged on Charm’s reins to get him away from Heather. Mr. Conner didn’t even let me do the course again.

  We’d failed.

  27

  A WELL-DESERVED WALK

  THE NEXT DAY, PAIGE SAT ON THE EDGE OF my bed and pulled down my comforter.

  “Sasha?” she said. I burrowed deeper into my flannel sheets. “You have to get up sometime.”

  “I didn’t make the team,” I grumbled, trying to cover my head with my bedspread. “I’m not getting out of bed.”

  “You don’t know that,” Paige said. “Besides, Mr. Conner knows what happened.”

  “I should have said something,” I said.

  “You were the better person by not ratting her out.”

  I didn’t say anything. Paige deserved one of those cheesy “world’s best roomie” mugs.

  “Sash, it’s Sunday afternoon. You haven’t seen Charm since yesterday. Get up, get dressed and go see him.”

  “Fine,” I said.

  “You better not be here when I get back,” Paige said, grabbing her messenger bag and heading out the door.

  How could I face Charm? If I had been paying more attention to the arena instead of focusing so much on the jump, maybe he wouldn’t have bolted. He had been counting on me to guide him and I’d failed.

  My phone rang and I answered it.

  “How’d you do?” Kim asked excitedly.

  I told her the whole story.

  “Sasha,” Kim said. “Mr. Conner knows what competition is like! He knew exactly what Heather was doing. If, and it’s an unlikely if, you don’t make the team, it’s because you and Charm aren’t ready.
Not because of Heather. You gave your best ride and that’s all you could do.”

  “Charm did great,” I said, thinking back to how he had roared over the jumps. “He listened to all of my commands. He was really centered.”

  “Then think about that and be happy with your ride! Charm did everything you asked,” she said. “That’s the best kind of ride!”

  My eyes filled with tears—not because I worried about not making it, but because while I sulked in bed, Charm was all alone in the stable. “I’ve gotta go.”

  I tossed on a pair of yesterday’s jeans and left for the stables. There was no excuse for leaving Charm alone for an entire day.

  The stable was quiet when I arrived. “Hey,” I said, peering inside. Charm had his head down by his water bucket. He turned his head toward my voice. “You okay?” Both ears pricked forward. His big brown eyes locked on mine. “I’m coming in.” Charm stepped back and made a tiny space for me to squeeze between him and the door.

  Once inside, I put my arms around his neck and hugged him. I stroked his mohawk mane. “I never should have run out on you after testing. You did great yesterday. I should have at least brushed you and made sure you were okay.”

  Charm stamped his hoof.

  “I’m going to groom you, like I should have done yesterday, and then we’ll go for a walk.” Charm bobbed his head. Smart horse.

  I took the side of Charm’s halter and led him to the crossties. He stood still in the aisle while I clipped the ropes to his halter rings. I grabbed his tack box and started on his forelock. His mane was too short to be combed, so I tackled a couple of tangles in his long tail. Using one of his no-tears wipes, I wiped off his muzzle and eye area. The stiff dandy brush took the tough bits of dirt out of his coat and I finished by running a soft brush over his barrel, legs and neck. Next, I pried dirt out of his hooves.

  In the time since I had started grooming Charm, my anger and sadness had begun to slip away. He had that effect on me.

  I unclipped him from the crossties. We headed down the aisle.

  Nicole had her gelding, Wish, on a lead line. Wish stretched his muzzle out to Charm.

  “We’re going for a walk,” I said to Nicole. “Want to come?”

  “We’d love to,” she said.

  Our horses’ hooves clip-clopped down the aisle as we led them outside for a well-deserved walk.

  28

  ONE BIG QUESTION AND A LITTLE PARTY PLANNING

  PAIGE MADE ME HELP HER WITH THE FOOD for the party to keep my mind off testing. I wouldn’t care if I didn’t see another cupcake for the rest of my life! It was only Tuesday, but Paige was in full-out baking mode.

  And this afternoon, I was going to the stables to decorate for Saturday’s party.

  Before I left my dorm, I logged in to IM and sighed with relief when I saw GamerGuy’s icon was dark. If Jacob had been online, I might have been too nervous to ask what I wanted to ask.

  SassySilver: hey, jacob. the stable party is on sat. if u having nothing planned and u want to come, it might be fun. let me know! ttyl.

  I logged out before he could get online and ran on nervous energy all the way to the stable.

  Nicole and Callie had asked if they could help decorate, so I’d organized a decorating party at four.

  “Hey, where’s the party?” Callie asked.

  “We have to outdo Heather,” Nicole said, pulling off her purple scarf.

  I laughed, whipping out my heavily scribbled-on to-do list.

  I began divvying up the duties. “Nicole, could you hang lights? You’re the tallest. Callie, can you do the streamers? I’ll start setting up the banquet tables.”

  While Callie and Nicole went off to tackle their respective tasks, I grabbed a box of snowflake window clings and started sticking the blue and white snowflakes to the windows.

  Three hours later, it was almost seven and everyone was still going strong.

  “Do you like the tree?” Nicole asked, nodding to the artificial tree she had set up.

  “Perfect,” I said. Callie unfolded a stepladder and held it so that Nicole could climb up and hang popcorn, beads, and sparkly glass balls on the tree.

  Nicole and I had decorated the outside of the arena with clear twinkly lights. They looked amazing.

  I started spraying faux snow around the arena windows since the forecast was still officially undecided for Saturday. When I was done, I covered the banquet tables with crystal-like confetti and white-frosted candles. The table glittered and the confetti sparkled in the light.

  “It’s was just a dusty arena a few hours ago,” Callie said. “Now it’s a party palace!”

  “Are we outdoing Heather yet?” Nicole asked.

  “By far,” Callie said, grinning.

  But, looking around at my friends and the beautiful Winter Wonderland we’d created together, I realized I wasn’t even thinking about Heather. It was a good feeling.

  29

  LISTEN TO OTHER PEOPLE’S CONVERSATIONS MUCH?

  IT WAS TOO EARLY ON A WEDNESDAY MORNING when my phone jolted me awake.

  “What?” I grumbled.

  “Grumpy, grumpy!” Mom said in that singsong voice that drove me crazy.

  “I’m not grumpy. Just tired,” I said, groaning.

  “I’m excited you’re coming home this weekend, hon.”

  “Me too,” I told her. I realized that over the past couple of days, I hadn’t even thought of home—or Mom and Dad—once! If someone had told me two months ago I’d be at boarding school and not missing home like crazy, I’d have thought they were insane.

  “I just wanted to remind you to bring your laundry home,” Mom said.

  “Um, okay,” I said, looking guiltily at the heap of dirty clothes spilling out of my hamper.

  “Are you all set for the dance?” she asked.

  I smiled, thinking about how much my friends had helped me with all the planning. “It’s going to be really fun, I think,” I told her.

  “Well, have fun, sweetie. We’ll see you soon.”

  I pulled myself out of bed. There was a ton of packing to be done before Sunday. But first, I logged onto my IM. Immediately, a message popped up.

  GamerGuy: hey! that sounds like fun. i’ll b there if my parents don’t come early 2 pick me up. c ya ltr.

  A smiley face!

  “Yes!” I screamed, causing Paige to open one eye and sit up in bed.

  “That better be something really, really good,” she said, rubbing her eyes.

  “Jacob wants to come to the party!” I said, hopping up and down.

  “Sasha!” Paige jumped out of bed and read the IM. “Oh, my God! He’s totally in love with you. I know it.”

  I laughed. “Let’s see if he shows up to the dance first.”

  After a quick shower, I slipped into a sweater and flared jeans on loan from Paige and headed to Livvie’s office.

  “What’s up?” Livvie asked. She motioned for me to sit on her desk chair.

  “I wanted to let you know that my parents will be here by five on Sunday.”

  “Thanks,” Livvie said, marking the time off on her clipboard. “Do you feel ready to go home?”

  “It feels kind of strange,” I admitted. “But I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again.”

  “Do you think you’ll visit your old stable?” Livvie asked.

  Briar Creek. With all that had been going on, it hadn’t even crossed my mind. “I don’t know,” I said, thinking of B.C.’s new rider—Lauren.

  Livvie seemed to know what I was thinking. “It’s okay to go back. I bet your old instructor would love to see you.”

  “Maybe,” I said, realizing that was probably true.

  Livvie checked her watch. “You better get to English.”

  As I headed for Mr. Davidson’s class, I spotted Julia and Alison up ahead on a picnic bench.

  “She thinks her dad’s going to make her leave because of her grades,” I heard Julia say. “She said she may not even
be here for—” Julia stopped and turned around. “Um, can we help you?” she asked me.

  “Yeah, hello! Listen to other people’s conversations much?” Alison added.

  “Whatever,” I said, walking away. But I was too distracted to be mad at their snarks. Maybe they weren’t even talking about Heather. Canterwood classes were notoriously tough—it could have been any girl they were talking about.

  But if Mr. Fox did make Heather leave, he was more awful than I thought. Even Heather didn’t deserve to be yanked out of her home.

  I slid into my seat next to Callie. Mr. Davidson was bent over his desk.

  “We’re getting test grades back,” Callie whispered.

  Mr. Davidson started calling out names and passing back papers. “Jen. Erika. Cole. Sasha.” He handed me my paper. It was folded over. I closed my eyes and pictured the letter A.

  I let the paper unfold and opened my eyes. A.

  I did it!

  Callie got her paper and checked it. She smiled and slid it off the corner of her desk so I could see. B+.

  Maybe I was finally getting used to Canterwood classes after all.

  30

  BITTERSWEET ALMOST-VICTORY

  “HEATHER’S WORSE THAN EVER!” I SAID TO Callie in the tack room later that afternoon.

  We were sorting laundry for Charm and Jack. Leg wraps, sweat sheets, and saddle pads needed to be washed before we went home on Sunday.

  “I thought she’d be in a good mood because she’s so sure she made the team, but she’s being awful,” I said. “But I guess she would be, if her dad’s threatening to make her leave.”

  Yesterday, she had blocked the aisle with Aristocrat and had refused to let anyone go around her. She made such a fuss that anyone who needed to get out of the stable went around the back and walked through the frozen mud. No one had dared argue with her.

  “She does seem nastier,” Callie agreed. “Maybe her dad said she’s definitely going.”