The Winning Summer

by Marsha Hubler

  “Thanks, guys! But Champ did it all. He was great!” Skye slid off her horse.

  Chad took the prize from Skye’s hand and held it up in front of the boys. “Okay, guys. See what you’re shootin’ for? You can do it too.”

  “And your classes are coming up soon,” Mr. Chambers said to them. “We need to get you and your horses ready. C’mon.” He turned to walk away.

  “Okay, Mr. Chambers!” Joey trailed after the man. “I’m gonna win!”

  “Me too,” Sam said. He and Leonard followed Joey.

  Mrs. Chambers gave Skye some last-minute instructions. “I’m going to help Morgan dismount; then I’ll be busy with the boys. After you cool down Champ, would you help Katie get ready? Barrel racing is next.”

  “Yep,” Skye answered. “I’ll do my best to get her motivated. Where is she?”

  Mrs. Chambers pointed to the nearest exit. “She’s waiting out there in the hallway with Boomer. But she needs to be at the other end of the arena at the entrance gate when the barrel racing starts.”

  Skye glanced at her watch. “That’s in about ten minutes. I’ll have her there.”

  “Great,” Mrs. Chambers said. “If you don’t see us, we’ll be with the boys at the horse trailer, going over last-minute details.”

  “I’ll help get Katie ready,” Chad said, stroking Champ’s nose. “You know, Skye, some time I’d like you to teach me that trail class routine. It looks like a lot of fun. Would you?”

  Would I? Thumpity thump. Thumpity thump. Skye’s heart was up to its old tricks. “I’d love to. You can even ride Champ. It’s easy with a horse trained like him. Sure.”

  “Thanks. Maybe when I have a Saturday free?”

  “Just call and let me know what time.” Skye’s face turned fiery hot. “I’ll warn Champ to be on his best behavior.” She tugged her horse’s bridle. “C’mon, Champ.”

  With Chad by her side, Skye led the horse toward where Katie waited. “I sure wish she’d snap out of it,” Skye said. “She’s missin’ a lot of fun.”

  “Yeah,” Chad said. “Mr. C. told me what happened with her dad and all. It seems like she doesn’t care whether she wins or loses today.”

  “She doesn’t,” Skye said, “but maybe you and I can—”

  “Skye! Hello!” Amid the commotion, a voice yelled from somewhere to Skye’s left. Stopping short, Skye scanned the boisterous crowd packed in a dozen rows of bleachers. “Chad, who’s calling my name?”

  Chad pushed his hat back and studied a sea of faces. “I don’t know, but I heard it too.”

  “Skye! Chad! Over here!”

  Chad pointed toward the main entrance. “Look, there in the doorway. It’s Mrs. Thomas! Skye shifted her glance and saw Mrs. Thomas waving in the forefront of the bustling hallway of horses, contestants, and show attendees. “Hi, Mrs. Thomas!” Skye yelled as she and Chad waved back.

  “We should tell her that Katie’s event is next.” Skye click-clicked her tongue, prompting Champ to follow.

  “Skye,” Chad said, grabbing Champ’s bridle, “if you’d like, I can take Champ and cool him down while you talk to Mrs. Thomas. And don’t worry about Katie. I’ll get her and Boomer to their entrance gate.”

  Skye handed Chad the reins and started toward Mrs. Thomas. “Thanks. I’ll see you after Katie’s event.”

  Skye hurried to greet Mrs. Thomas. Just as she reached the doorway, Mr. Thomas came rushing to his wife’s side.

  Skye’s face lit up with surprise. “Mr. Thomas, you’re here!”

  “Yes, we’re here—together. I just parked the car—I think in the very last parking place in the lot,” Mr. Thomas said with a chuckle.

  Mrs. Thomas’ smile now freed her face of the worry that had been her trademark. “I’m sorry we’re late. Did we miss Katie’s event?”

  “Nope.” Skye glanced at her watch and smiled back.

  “I’m so glad we made it in time,” Mr. Thomas said.

  “My business tied me up again, but that will be changing, thanks to you, Skye.”

  “Me? What did I do?”

  Mr. Thomas looked affectionately at this wife. “Skye, you and Mr. and Mrs. Chambers—well, your entire Keystone Stables ministry—helped me realize what’s really important in life. I’ve been doing a lot of serious thinking since I visited the ranch a few weeks ago. And with God’s help, I’m getting my priorities in order. I know Katie and her mother need me now more than ever.”

  Skye beamed another broad smile. “Wow! That’s the best news ever! I guess you know Katie’s been a mess over what’s happened with your family. We couldn’t even convince her to do her best today. She didn’t care about the show at all when she thought you weren’t going to be here, Mr. Thomas.”

  “And I’m real sorry about that,” the man said. “I only decided to come this morning after I prayed with our pastor. He also helped me see things more clearly.”

  “And when we get home, we’ll be counseling with Reverend Kline on a regular basis.” Mrs. Thomas’ tone was filled with hope.

  “Hey,” Skye said, “we’ve got to let her know that you two are here—together.”

  “Attention, ladies and gentlemen,” the loud speaker echoed. “The Special-Needs Barrel Racing starts in five minutes. We have six entries this year!”

  Skye glanced at the other end of the arena where Katie would soon enter. “That’s Katie’s event. I don’t have much time, but I think—”

  “Barrel racing?” Mrs. Thomas seemed stunned. “All Katie ever told me was that she was riding in the show. But barrel racing? That sounds dangerous.”

  “Sounds like she’s got something to prove,” Mr. Thomas said as he touched Skye’s shoulder. “Skye, don’t worry about it. Let’s surprise her.”

  “But . . . she hasn’t been practicing—”

  “Sorry, folks.” A man in a black uniform approached Skye, the Thomases, and a small crowd of onlookers now gawking in the doorway. “Unless you’re waiting for a rider to come out, you need to move on. We gotta keep this open. There’s lots of horse traffic coming through here.”

  The onlookers melded into the crowd, shuffling in all directions. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas started to walk away.

  “Sir,” Skye said to the security guard, “we are waiting for a rider.”

  “That’s fine, but please step away from the doorway.” The guard pointed inside the arena. “You can stand along the inside wall.”

  “Thank you,” Skye said. She and the Thomases slipped inside, joining others who were waiting.

  “Attention!” the loud speaker announced. “The first barrel racer is number twelve, Katie Thomas, on Boomer!”

  Skye pointed to the center of the show ring. “Katie and Boomer are going to race around those three barrels full speed ahead. If they have the fastest time, they win!”

  “Oh, my!” was all Mrs. Thomas could say.

  At the other end of the arena, Chad led the Katie/Boomer team into the ring. A roar of applause shook the building.

  “There she is!” Skye said. “See that thin wire stretched in front of Boomer? When he runs through that, the clock starts.”

  “I had no idea that’s what she was up to,” Mr. Thomas said. “Now that takes guts.”

  “Oh, my!” Mrs. Thomas’ voice was high-pitched.

  An anxious silence settled over the crowd. Every eye focused on the starting team as Chad led them to the starting wire and backed away.

  Boomer was raring to go!

  From her far corner of the arena, Skye watched as Katie fought to restrain the powerful animal. Neck arched and eyes wild, the horse’s body tensed as he focused on the race before him. He tugged at the bit and pranced. Katie tightened her hat string, took a deep breath, and kicked Boomer in the ribs.

  The pinto’s ears pricked, every muscle tightened, and with one mighty surge, he lunged forward, tripping the wire. Off he went in a mad dash toward the barrels, just as he had trained to do so many times before.

  “And they’re off!”
the loud speaker blared. The crowd went wild.

  Skye glanced at the huge wall clock that ticked off each second.

  “C’mon, Katie!” Mr. Thomas joined the screaming crowd. “You can do it!”

  “Ride ’em, cowgirl!” Mrs. Thomas joined in.

  Skye glanced from Katie, to the clock, back to Katie, whose sloppy riding around the first barrel was only too obvious to Skye.

  Lean forward more! Skye wished she had a megaphone. Your cut was too wide!

  Again, Skye glanced at the clock. Fifteen seconds. “Too slow,” she said out loud.

  The team rounded the second barrel. Out of the turn, Katie reined Boomer tight instead of giving him his head. He trotted to the third and final barrel.

  Twenty-eight seconds, the clock flashed.

  Katie, way too slow! You’re blowin’ it! Skye became more frustrated by the second!

  “C’mon, Katie! Faster!” Mr. Thomas yelled.

  “Go, Katie, go!” Mrs. Thomas’ voice was getting hoarse.

  A wider turn around the last barrel and off toward the finish line!

  Now you can make up time! “Go! Go! Go!” Skye yelled.

  Again, and for no clear reason, Katie held Boomer back.

  Instead of running at top speed, the horse cantered. The team crossed the finish line like they were out for a Sunday afternoon ride.

  Lazy applause matched Katie’s sloppy effort.

  “Thirty-four seconds,” the loudspeaker announced. “There’s lots of room here for you other riders. The blue ribbon is sayin’, ‘Come and git me!’”

  “That time won’t win a thing unless the other riders are on mules,” Skye mumbled, but then she remembered Mr. Chambers’ words. Wisdom. Patience.

  Well, I’m glad she didn’t get hurt, Skye told herself.

  “Her heart just wasn’t in it,” Mr. Thomas said.

  “Well, at least she didn’t quit,” Mrs. Thomas replied. “That’s more than we’ve done lately.”

  Katie slowed Boomer to a walk as they left the ring and approached the exit door.

  “I’ll bring her out.” Skye started toward Katie. “I have a feeling she’ll be sorry she didn’t do her best this time.”

  At the starting line, a new racing team approached the wire.

  “Next contestant, number forty-three, Ian Weirick, on Cobalt!” echoed through the arena. Encouraging cheers erupted from the crowd.

  Skye hurried to Boomer’s side, grabbed his bridle, and touched the blind girl’s arm. “It’s me, Katie. I’ll lead you out!” She had to bellow to make herself heard.

  “Okay, Skye,” Katie yelled and pushed her Stetson back. “At least I didn’t lose my hat. That penalty would’ve been two seconds more. Not that it mattered!”

  You weren’t going fast enough to lose anything but the race! Skye bit her tongue before the words could fly out. “At least you finished the course, Katie, and you didn’t get hurt. That’s saying something.”

  In the hallway, Katie slid off a horse still raring to go. “Easy, Boomer.”

  “Thirty-four seconds is not exactly ribbon speed,” Skye said as she grabbed Boomer’s bridle to steady him. She glanced over her shoulder at the Thomases. Both held their index fingers to their lips. Sh-h, they mouthed silently.

  “Yeah, I heard the man. No biggie,” Katie snapped. Reaching toward the saddle, she hooked the stirrup over the horn and started to loosen the cinch. “Who was here to see me anyway?”

  “Final time, twenty-seven seconds!” blared from the arena. “That puts Ian Weirick and Cobalt in first place!” Another round of applause split the air.

  “I was here, Katie!” Mrs. Thomas tried to make herself heard over the din.

  “Oh, hi, Mom,” Katie replied without turning around. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”

  “And I’m here too.” Mr. Thomas’ voice cracked.

  Katie stopped dead in her tracks.

  Skye could only imagine what was going through the blind girl’s mind.

  Turning toward her father’s voice, Katie glowed. “Dad!”

  Mr. Thomas wrapped his arms around his daughter as though he hadn’t seen her in years. “I’m so sorry, Katie. I’m so sorry.” Eyes moist, the man waved his wife toward him.

  “Oh, Dad,” Katie said, “I’m sorry too, for not trying harder in the race. I want you to be proud of me.”

  “Katie,” Mrs. Thomas cried, embracing the two, “we are proud of you, for what you’ve accomplished. And we have some good news for you. Your father and I are, well, we want to start over. With the Lord’s help, we’ll do it—together!”

  “Oh, Mom,” Katie said, her eyes watering. “I’m so glad!”

  Skye stroked Boomer’s chin, basking in the scene unfolding before her. “Wow! How cool, God,” Skye whispered. “Thanks for answering prayer.”

  Katie gave a tender hug to her mom and dad then slowly turned. “Where’s Skye?” she asked, wiping the tears from her face.

  “Right here,” Skye said.

  Hand in hand, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas moved to the side.

  Katie reached in Skye’s direction. “I just wanna say thanks, Skye. Thanks for being my favoritist friend. You’re the best!”

  Skye took Katie’s hand then slipped an arm around her shoulders. Her heart filled with the satisfaction and pride of a job well done, Skye now knew that God had used her for something very special.

  She thought about the summer, an exciting summer that had taught her one important truth. “Winning” came in ways as different as the colors of horses. And winning with God was even better than winning a blue ribbon. Of this she was very sure.

  “Nah, I’m not the best,” Skye said with a winning smile. “God is. I’m just here to help.”

  Glossary of Gaits

  Gait–A gait is the manner of movement, the way a horse goes.

  There are four natural or major gaits most horses use: walk, trot, canter, and gallop.

  Walk–In the walk, the slowest gait, hooves strike the ground in a four-beat order: right hind hoof, right fore hoof, left hind hoof, left fore hoof.

  Trot– In the trot, hooves strike the ground in diagonals in a one-two beat: right hind and left forefeet together, left hind and right forefeet together.

  Canter–The canter is a three-beat gait containing an instant during which all four hooves are off the ground. The foreleg that lands last is called the “lead” leg and seems to point in the direction of the canter.

  Gallop– The gallop is the fastest gait. If fast enough, it’s a four-beat gait, with each hoof landing separately: right hind hoof, left hind hoof just before right fore hoof, left fore hoof.

  Other gaits come naturally to certain breeds or are developed through careful breeding.

  Running walk–This smooth gait comes naturally to the Tennessee walking horse. The horse glides between a walk and a trot.

  Pace–A two-beat gait, similar to a trot. But instead of legs pairing in diagonals as in the trot, fore and hind legs on one side move together, giving a swaying action.

  Slow gait– Four beats, but with swaying from side to side and a prancing effect. The slow gait is one of the gaits used by five-gaited saddle horses. Some call this pace the stepping pace or amble.

  Amble–A slow, easy gait, much like the pace.

  Rack–One of the five gaits of the five-gaited American saddle horse, it’s a fancy, fast walk. This four-beat gait is faster than the trot and is very hard on the horse.

  Jog–A jog is a slow trot, sometimes called a dogtrot.

  Lope–A slow, easygoing canter, usually referring to a western gait on a horse ridden with loose reins.

  Fox trot–An easy gait of short steps in which the horse basically walks in front and trots behind. It’s a smooth gait, great for long-distance riding and characteristic of the Missouri fox trotter.

  The Western Saddle

  Chapter One

  I should’ve gone to Aunt Dot’s in Charleston for the summer!” Skye made her point perfectly c
lear as she shampooed her horse in the Keystone Stables paddock. “I’m really not looking forward to a summer with Joey Klingerman again.”

  “Well, why didn’t you go to Charleston?” Morgan shot back. “I’m sure Champ would’ve had a simply marvelous time here without you.” From her wheelchair, Skye’s foster sister busied herself polishing a saddle on a sawhorse just outside the barn door.

  Skye threw her arms around Champ’s drenched neck and clung to him like a wet rag. “But I can’t get along without him, Morgan. Not for a whole summer. I’d just die!”

  The sorrel quarter horse nickered and nodded as though in agreement with Skye’s dramatic words.

  Skye kissed Champ on the nose and then sighed as she wiped his neck with a dry cloth. “I know Joey can’t help it that he has Down syndrome, but he just won’t leave me alone. Mom’s been helping me to try and understand, and I found a neat website that explains all about kids like him, but—”

  “And, Skye,” Morgan teased, flipping back her long red locks, “what about Chad? You’d die without him too, wouldn’t you?”

  Skye’s face flushed red-hot and she giggled. “Cut it out. You know I’m going nowhere but here for the whole summer. Mom and Dad need both of us, I guess. And Chad? Well . . . I . . .”

  “Did I hear my name?” A teenager in a dark brown Stetson, plaid shirt, and jeans led a buckskin horse out of the barn. “What can I do for you ladies?” Brown eyes flashed in Skye’s direction.

  Although Skye was soaked and fairly cool from Champ’s bath, her cheeks flushed hotter than ever. She threw a quick glance at Chad and returned to her hosing job. “Oh—ah—nothing,” she stammered. “We’re just discussing the summer.”

  “Yeah,” Morgan added, “and all the work that’s ahead of us.”

  “But working with the horses is fun—most of the time.” Skye positioned herself so she could eye Chad.

  Chad led the buckskin into the paddock, tied him to a fence post, and started to brush his shiny tan coat. “Yeah, even though Mr. C. pays me for helping, it is a lot of fun. The money goes into my college fund, and I get to play with horses and kids all summer. Now in my book that’s one super job. Are all the summer students here?”