The woman blushed and held up the brown bag. “I’ve got it here. It was at the leather shop being repaired. Sonny knew, but I guess he didn’t tell you.”
Terry took the girth and quickly finished tacking up the chestnut. When she had finished, she hurriedly began grooming the sixth horse on her list. Working at top speed, she managed to have the big, bay gelding ready on time.
The gelding’s owner patiently shook her head as she walked down the aisle to get her horse. “Sorry to tell you, but you’ve got the wrong bridle. He goes in a snaffle on even days and the Pelham on odds.”
“Oh, no,” Terry moaned. “I’m so sorry, but it wasn’t on the list. Sonny’s sick today, so I’m filling in. Everything seems to be happening at once.”
The woman smiled. “I understand. A new job can be very confusing. Take you time to change it. I can wait.”
Terry hurried back to the tackroom to exchange bridles, thankful the woman had been understanding. “This job isn’t as easy as I thought it would be,” she admitted when she returned with the snaffle bridle.
The woman’s gray eyes sparkled with amusement as Terry struggled to get the gelding’s large head into his bridle. “Don’t worry. You’re doing just fine.”
When the woman finally led her horse out of the aisle toward the arena, Terry wearily took a moment to sit down on a wooden stool to check her list. “Only one more,” she yawned. “Ming for Mrs. Nash.”
Just then Mrs. Nash, shadowed by Cynthia, appeared in the aisleway. “Where’s Ming?” she demanded impatiently. “I’ve been waiting in the ring for ten minutes. He should have been ready at three o’clock.”
Terry scrambled to her feet with alarm. I’ll get him ready right away.”
“There’s no excuse for this,” Mrs. Nash snapped. “If you have time to sit around on that stool, you certainly should have time for good customers.”
“I’m sorry,” Terry apologized, hurrying to Ming’s stall to get him ready. “There was a mix-up earlier that put me behind, but I’ll get Ming ready right away.”
“Don’t bother,” Mrs. Nash said impatiently. “Go find Sonny. He’ll do it right, and fast.”
“Sonny’s sick,” Terry tried to explain. “There’s no one but me today to help you.”
Mrs. Nash hesitated. “Then I suggest you get moving. Have Ming ready in ten minutes or you won’t have a job.” She snatched up Cynthia’s hand and stormed out of the aisle.
“Please…,” Terry still tried to explain, but she was gone.
Working as fast as possible, Terry had Ming ready in less than ten minutes. She gave his gleaming black coat a satisfied pat. “That’ll show her. I’m ready and she’s not here to get you.”
Static crackled over the intercom at the end of the aisle. “Terry, bring Ming to the indoor arena,” Captain Riskin’s voice barked through the speaker. “We are waiting.”
Sensing she was in trouble again, Terry quickly led Ming to the arena, angry that Mrs. Nash hadn’t told her where she wanted her horse.
Without even a thank you, Mrs. Nash snatched Ming’s reins from Terry. “I’ll be finished in half an hour. Come get the horse then.”
“Walk the horse to loosen up,” Captain Riskin told Mrs. Nash as he helped her to mount. “I will be back in a moment to begin the lesson.”
He took Terry firmly by the elbow and ushered her from the ring. “I’m so sorry,” Terry apologized when they were out of earshot. “Everything happened at once today. A missing girth, the wrong bridle, then…”
Captain Riskin cut her off. “I know.”
“How?” Terry asked with surprise.
“I left the intercom in the aisle on all afternoon to hear how you managed,” he told her with a smile. “I have not heard such confusion in a long time. But, despite it all, you have not done badly.”
Terry stared at him in disbelief. She had expected to lose her job, but instead he had almost complimented her.
The Captain patted her shoulder. “You have done enough for today. Billy will finish with Mrs. Nash. Why don’t you go graze Tic-Tac in the pasture until Karen is ready to drive you home.”
“Really?” Terry exclaimed. Excited at the prospect of spending the rest of the afternoon with Tic-Tac, she eagerly ran toward his stall.
“TERRY!” Captain Riskin roared after her. “No running in the barn! When will you learn to use your head?”
Chapter Four
On the third Monday of Summer Club, the class assembled in the outdoor arena grandstands. In the ring, Bobby and Paula were busily warming up Red Sunset and Shady Lady. Terry wondered what was to come as she watched them canter their horses in big circles.
Bobby and Paula pulled to a halt when Captain Riskin entered the ring. “Today we discuss two types of jumping – the hunter and the jumper,” he told the class. “Bobby and Paula will demonstrate. They represented Briar Hill at the Westfield Horse Show last summer and did very well.”
He nodded toward Bobby. “First, we will watch the hunter. In this style, the horse moves with a relaxed, even pace and jumps in a smooth arch that is a natural flow from his canter stride. The hunter’s style and way of going are judged more important than how high he can jump.”
As soon as Captain Riskin described the course to be jumped, Bobby trotted Red Sunset toward the first fence, a white frame filled with evergreen brush. Before reaching the obstacle, Bobby calmly circled his horse to the right.
“The courtesy circle is important when beginning a course,” the Captain explained. “It wakes up the horse and lets him know he is to jump.”
As Red approached the fence a second time, Bobby urged him into a canter without circling away. Two strides before the brush box, Red surged off the ground with a powerful thrust from his hindquarters. Bobby closed his hip angle and released his hands along the horse’s neck in perfect equitation form as they cleared the fence in a graceful arch. Red pricked his ears when he landed and continued jumping the course in the same flawless form.
“Wow!” Terry whispered to Liz when Bobby had cleared the last fence. “Wonder if Tic-Tac and I will ever look like that?”
“A very nice performance,” Captain Riskin complimented Bobby. “That is how a classic hunter should jump.”
He turned his attention to Paula and Shady Lady. “The open jumper is not judged on his style, grace or beauty. It does not matter how he looks, only that he clears the fences which are set higher and wider than the hunter course. However, the better the form, the better the chance of having a clean round.”
“Whitney, Jerry, Greg … raise up the fences four holes,” he directed.
“I think Shady Lady will surprise you,” he told the class while the course was being adjusted. “The fences will now be set at four feet, but these are just twigs to her. Last summer she was the Open Jumper Champion at Westfield.”
When the boys had finished raising the fences, Captain Riskin signaled Paula to begin. She trotted Shady in a circle in front of the brush box then urged her into a forward canter. Shady’s breath was thick and throaty with excitement. Frowning with concentration, Paula struggled to control the mare. Four strides before each fence, Shady seemed to explode. Snapping her head in the air to grab the bit between her teeth, she would take three powerful strides then launch herself over the fence with inches to spare.
Shady jumped all the fences in the same aggressive style until the last, an artificial stone wall topped by two poles. When she tried to charge it, Paula checked her with the reins. Angrily shaking her head, Shady wrenched the reins from Paula’s hands and took an extra long stride, putting them almost on top of the fence. The mare twisted acrobatically as she took off, nearly unseating Paula.
The students gasped as horse and rider struggled to remain upright. Miraculously, when Shady landed, she found her footing and cantered off with Paula still in the saddle, leaving the fence untouched.
“Why do you not release the horse in front of the fence.” the Captain demanded when Paula pulled up in front of him.
“I’m sorry,” Paula apologized. “Shady felt too strong, but I should have corrected her sooner.”
“Three strides before the fence you are committed to jump,” Captain Riskin reminded her sternly. “Do not play with the horse’s mouth right in front of the fence or you will be in trouble as you just found out.”
Paula nodded. “I understand. Should I try it again?”
He nodded. “But, this time we try some height.” He motioned to the boys in the grandstand. “Let’s have the ring crew raise up the wall to five feet.”
Terry couldn’t imagine how Shady or any horse for that matter could clear such a high fence. But, Paula didn’t seem to share her concern as once the wall was set, she urged the mare forward in a confident canter.
“Now you will see what a true Open Jumper is made of,” Captain Riskin proudly told the class.
When Shady saw the fence, she flipped her tail in excitement, increasing her pace. This time Paula sat quietly, not interfering with her horse’s mouth in front of the fence. As a result, Shady took off at the proper place, tucking herself into a tight ball as she launched skyward. She folded her hoofs close to her body and sailed over the huge fence without even a touch. The class jumped to their feet cheering as she cantered back toward them.
“Much better, Paula,” Captain Riskin approved. “That is the way to present the horse to the jump.”
Paula’s cheeks were flushed with excitement. “Shall I jump it again?”
“That is enough demonstration for today,” he told her. “The mare has more than proved herself.”
“What harm can it do?” she argued. “You haven’t let me jump high for a long time.”
“I said enough,” the Captain repeated, his tone leaving no room for discussion. “Will you never learn to stop when you are told?”
Paula didn’t try to hide her disappointment as she walked the mare to cool her out. The Captain returned his attention to the class. “Fifteen minutes of grooming then tack up. Today we’ll see how the Hunter group gets along with the fences.”
“Us?” Terry blurted out in disbelief. “Jump? Today?”
Whitney poked her. “Haven’t you ever jumped?”
“Just some small stuff at the Martins,” she explained. “But, we didn’t have to be good and never over jumps like these.”
“Don’t worry,” Liz assured her. “Captain will start us slow. He doesn’t believe in pushing riders if they’re not ready.”
“I know some of you sign up for practice rides outside of class,” the Captain said. “It is good you want to prefect your skills, but I remind you there is never to be any jumping during practice without supervision by Karen or myself. If anyone is caught jumping alone, no matter your skill level, you will be immediately expelled from this stable.
“Why do you just sit there?” the Captain demanded when the class remained motionless. “If you want to jump, get moving. Quickly!”
The students scrambled from their seats, hurrying toward the barn to groom and tack up within his timetable.
When Terry reached Tic-Tac’s stall, he gently nuzzled her pockets, searching for the carrot he had learned was always there. “Darn,” she muttered, realizing she had left the carrots in the grandstand.
“I’ll run back and get them,” she promised the gelding, heading back down the aisle. “But you better jump well today!”
Paula was still mounted on Shady Lady in the outdoor ring talking to Captain Riskin when Terry returned for her carrots. “Terry, come here,” he called when he noticed her.
“Paula is very interested in working with Tic-Tac this summer,” he told her. “Would you be willing to switch with her for the rest of the class?”
A knot formed in Terry’s throat at the thought of parting with Tic-Tac. She knew in her heart that for her no horse could ever replace him.
Paula smiled down at Terry. “As you saw, Shady’s a great mare. She’s not as hard to ride as it looked today. Besides, she could teach you a lot.”
“Do I have to switch, Captain?” Terry asked hopefully. “I know I haven’t been riding him a long time, but Tic-Tac has become very special to me.”
“Of course you don’t have to,” Captain Riskin assured her. “Paula was just –,”
“How can you let an inexperienced rider like Terry risk wrecking that nice young horse?” Paula interrupted impatiently. “He needs a trainer on his back, not a beginner.”
“That is enough, Paula!” Captain Riskin sharply cut her off. “The decision is Terry’s. Tic-Tac is hers to ride for the summer if she wants him.”
Terry listened to Paula’s outburst with disbelief, resolved to never let her ride Tic-Tac if she could help it. “I wouldn’t think of switching,” she assured the Captain. “Maybe I’m not the best rider in class, but I’d never do anything to hurt Tic-Tac.”
Paula scowled at Terry, and then walked Shady Lady away without further argument.
Fifteen minutes later, the six Hunters assembled in the spacious outdoor arena. Terry fingered the smooth velvet of the hard, black crash helmet on her head. Even though the stable made loaners available to all students that didn’t have their own, she decided to ask her parents for one for Christmas. But, she knew that, for the time being, she would have to be satisfied borrowing a helmet from the stable.
On Captain Riskin’s command, Terry filed out to the rail taking her usual place behind Bobby and Red Sunset. Terry still had trouble restraining an eager Tic-Tac from the hindquarters of the horse in front of him in line. But Red Sunset usually agreeable, only flicking his tail in annoyance to back Tic-Tac off with a friendly warning.
More than once Tic-Tac had charged up on the haunches of another horse and received a warning kick, always followed by an angry lecture from Captain Riskin or Karen. But, today there was no hint on nonsense from the horse as he obediently responded to all Terry’s signals.
As the class walked, trotted and cantered, Terry concentrated on pushing her heels down and pulling her shoulders back until the muscles began to cramp. Despite the discomfort, she was certain she was improving. She could feel it. Even if Captain Riskin didn’t comment directly on her form, she knew he would see and remember.
“Line up in the center of the ring,” the Captain commanded when the class had warmed up their horses.
While the six riders filed back into the middle of the ring, Captain Riskin with Billy’s help set six green and white stripped poles on the ground, carefully spacing them four feet apart.
“What’s he doing?” Terry asked Bobby. “Do we ride over those?”
“The poles are called cavalletti,” Bobby explained. “Captain uses then as a gymnastic training exercise. You cross them at a walk or trot. Be sure Tic-Tac only takes one step between each pole. If he takes too many steps, hits a pole or tries to jump them, you’ll never hear the end of it from Captain.”
“This is an important basic phase in training the horse and rider,” Captain Riskin told the class before Terry question Bobby further. “It teaches balance, relaxation and suppleness. It the cavalletti are done correctly and quietly, then later the fences will also be correct and quiet. A good horse and rider must meet a four-foot fence as easily as a two-foot fence.”
“I will explain how I want it to be done,” he said walking over the poles, taking care to step only once between each pole.” You will take the forward seat position over the cavalletti. Let us review it so there will be no mistakes. Paula, please demonstrate the position.”
Bending forward from the hips, Paula raised her seat out of the saddle. With chin up, she arched her back and dropped her chest toward Shady Lady’s neck, moving her hands forward along the sides of her neck in a straight line from her elbow to the bit.
“Very correct,” Captain Riskin approved. “The chin is up, the back hollowed and the heels down. See how she looks straight between the horse’s ears. Always focus above and beyond the jump. Go forward with the hands as the horse jumps so his movement i
s not strangled.
“Class, single file on the rail to your left,” he commanded. “At the walk, please!”
Terry followed Bobby to the rail. As Tic-Tac neared the cavalletti, she tried to remember everything Captain Riskin had instructed. To her delight, Tic-Tac walked calmly over the poles without ticking any while she maintained her jumping position. She gratefully patted his neck as he crossed the last pole.
Behind her, Terry heard hoofs rap sharply against three of the poles. “Jerry!” the Captain scolded. “There is no reason to hit the poles. Position! Use the legs! Collect the horse!”
When the class had crossed the poles several times at a walk and a trot, Captain Riskin added a low cross rail jump to the end of the cavalletti. “This exercise will help you feel the rhythm of the horse when he jumps. This time take a half seat over the polls and wait for the jumping position until you go over the fence.
“If you lean forward before the horse takes off, you will get ahead of the horse’s motion and he may take a short stride or refuse because your weight unbalances him,” Captain Riskin warned. “If you need help getting your dignity out of the saddle, grab a handful of mane for support.”
He motioned the class forward. “Trot, please! Spread out. Do not start over the cavalletti until the person in front of you has completed the fence. If your horse refuses, circle to the end of the line and try again.”
Paula trotted Shady Lady easily over the poles, but behind her, Liz got ahead of Warrior who promptly refused the fence. Following too close, Jerry let Irish Mist trot over the poles instead of waiting for Liz to move out of the way. As a result, Irish crashed broadside into Warrior. Unsure of which way to go, Whitney and Terry piled up behind Jerry.
“What are you thinking?” Captain Riskin roared. “Why did no one circle? If you do not use your minds, how can I teach you? We try again. This time see if you can avoid hitting each other. I know it will be difficult, but THINK!”
The first four riders repeated the exercise without confusion, clearing the way for Terry. She tried to steady Tic-Tac as he approached the poles, but he stubbornly ignored her commands. In his eagerness to jump the fence, he forgot the earlier lesson of trotting quietly over the cavalletti. Taking two bounding leaps over the poles, he landed on top of the fourth, stumbling to his knees. Undaunted, he scrambled to his feet and took a bold leap that carried him over the fence.
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