“Not if they turn out to be like Sarah,” I said.
“Hay doesn’t grow on trees Emily,” Esther said. “I’m barely hanging on. You know this. It’s been tough for a while now.”
“I know,” I said.
“And I don’t like to burden you with this stuff but it’s all our fates at stake, not just mine.”
“Well, just keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” I told her before hanging up.
If the news crew came and filmed our hunter pace then I knew it would be good for business. But if my mother happened to turn on the TV and see me taking off over the fields and jumping fallen logs, she was likely to have a heart attack and then Mickey wouldn’t be the only one who was being forced out of riding. So I was just going to have to make sure that didn’t happen.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I lay awake listening to the rain and then at some point drifted off to sleep and when I woke up it had stopped. But everything was wet. Drops hung suspended from cobwebs like jewels as I rode my bike to the barn in the pre-dawn light. Esther had done a really good job of preparing everything in the days leading up to the hunter pace. The barn was spotless and there was a sign up table for the competitors. Food for the after party was in giant red coolers in the office and she had bottles of water and all the supplies for the half way check point lined up and ready to go. A few of the lesson moms had agreed to volunteer, for which I was very grateful. It made me feel not quite so guilty about leaving Esther and going off to ride.
“It’s a miracle,” I said, pointing to the sky.
“It’s something all right,” she said. “But the course is going to be really sticky. Who knows what the takeoff and landings of the jumps are going to be like now.”
“Well at least they are optional,” I shrugged.
“True but that doesn’t mean people aren’t still going to try and go over them anyway. People tend to get carried away when they are out in the wilderness.”
“It’s not the wilderness,” I laughed. “It’s just like a trail ride only more fun.”
“That may be,” Esther said. “But I want you guys to go last. That way you can scrape up any stragglers and call for help if you find someone plastered into the ground or something.”
“Nice,” I said.
“Is your cell phone fully charged?”
“Of course,” I said, sounding indignant.
After what happened at Black Gate, this time I wasn’t going to take any chances. I plugged my phone in last night and sat there watching the battery bar increase until it was full. There was no way I was ever going to ride again without making sure I had full power.
“Good,” Esther said. “This whole thing still makes me nervous.”
“Just think of all the new clients you are going to get,” I told her.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said.
Ethan and Faith were in the barn grooming Wendell and Princess. Faith was on her best behavior, sharing her brushes with her brother and acting all calm and mature. I slipped into Bluebird’s stall and scratched behind his ears as he nuzzled in my pockets for treats.
“What do you think boy?” I asked him. “Want to go for a gallop today?”
He pricked his ears. In the next stall I could hear Fury digging about in her shavings. Despite settling into the routine at Sand Hill, she still had some remaining bad habits that were proving hard to break. I felt kind of guilty that I had been neglecting her and putting all my attention into the hunter pace but there would be plenty of time to ride her when it was over. And Fury needed time to relax and figure out what it was like to be a pony instead of a jumping machine. She didn’t need daily rides and all the pressure to perform that came with them. I almost wished that I was taking her out on the hunter pace as I knew she would have enjoyed it but deep down I knew that it would have been too much for her delicate brain to handle.
“So is Mickey coming or what?” Ethan hung on the outside of Bluebird’s stall.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I shrugged.
“But you are her best friend. Aren’t you supposed to know these things?” he said.
“Friend,” I corrected. “I’m not sure about the whole best friend thing.”
“Still not back to normal then?” he asked.
“No,” I shook my head sadly.
“Girls,” he said. “Why do you have to make everything so complicated?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
I’d put a lot of pressure on myself to host the hunter pace as a band aid to fix everything. To bring in more clients for Esther, to get Mickey back in the saddle again and to keep Ethan from leaving Sand Hill and going off to some eventing barn. I think that was the real reason why I’d decided to ask Faith to ride with us. If she was having fun then she wouldn’t want to leave here and I knew that Ethan’s parents wouldn’t want to ferry their children back and forth between two barns. But even I knew that it was a lot of pressure to put on one lowly, local hunter pace.
I’d finished with Bluebird and was helping Esther organize the numbers for the riders when I saw a familiar car come down the drive. It was Mickey’s dad, dropping her off. She got out of the car and waved as he drove off.
“You made it,” I said.
“My dad talked my mom into it,” she said.
“I’m glad. Willow is a good horse. She’ll take care of you.”
“I know,” she said. “But I still miss Hampton.”
“He’ll be back before you know it,” I said.
And as soon as the words had come out of my mouth, I caught sight of the Fox Run trailer coming down the drive. I knew that Hampton would be inside. After all, Jess was part of their team. And I knew that I should have told Mickey but I didn’t want to risk her chickening out at the last minute and saying that she wouldn’t ride. I wanted her to face her problem head on. I just didn’t know what kind of reaction I was going to have to deal with.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Don’t tell me they are riding,” Mickey sighed.
“Of course they are,” I said. “Why wouldn’t they be?”
“Oh I don’t know, I just figured they would be too afraid to scratch up their precious show ponies.” Then her face fell. “Oh no,” she said.
And I knew then that she had figured it out.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
Mickey looked pale. I didn’t want her to freak out and make a scene in front of everyone. I wanted this hunter pace to be all professional and mature. But I knew she’d be justified if she did. Jess had other horses. Her black mare Beauty and the jumper from New York. She didn’t have to bring Hampton and rub him in Mickey’s face. It wasn’t really fair.
“You should have told me,” Mickey said, before turning and storming off to the barn.
Esther walked over with a handful of release forms. She was wearing her good breeches and a hunter green bandana around her hair that matched her polo shirt. She gave me a dirty look.
“You didn’t tell, her did you?” she said.
“I just couldn’t,” I sighed. “I guess I was hoping that they would pull out at the last minute. Go off to a real show. Why on earth would they be interested in riding in our stupid little hunter pace?”
“Why do you think?” Esther said.
“I know, I know,” I shook my head.
Fox Run was always out to prove that they were the best. They had the biggest barn filled with the most expensive horses in the area. They were out for blood. To prove that we may have been hosting the thing but that they were the better barn. The place people should go if they wanted to ride. If they won, it would totally defeat the idea of hosting the hunter pace to get Esther more clients because everyone would just go to Fox Run instead.
“You’d better go in and make sure Mickey isn’t doing anything stupid,” Esther said.
“Right,” I nodded as Esther directed the trailer to the designated parking area on the grass.
&n
bsp; Mickey was in Willow’s stall, sobbing quietly into the mare’s mane. She was standing there patiently, a look on her sweet face that said she could provide far more moral support than I ever could.
“I really am sorry,” I said.
“It’s okay,” Mickey’s voice was muffled. “It’s my own fault.”
“It’s not just your fault,” I said gently. “Some of it was out of your control, like your parents money. They used you not wanting to ride after your accident as an excuse to get rid of your horse and make some quick cash.”
“You really think it wasn’t my fault?” she said, looking at me and wiping her eyes.
“Trust me,” I said. “I know all about the facts of life when it comes to money. You’ve always had it but I’ve never had any and I know the lengths that parents will go to when they are strapped for cash. Money makes people crazy.”
“But she’s going to ride him in front of me,” she said. “It’s going to be awful.”
“It’ll be hard,” I nodded. “But you’ll get through it. You have this super sweet mare who is practically made for you and you are going to go out there and hold your head high. Got it?”
“I don’t know,” she said forlornly.
“Yes you do.” I went into the stall and squeezed her arm. “Because I am going to be right there beside you. We are going to do this together. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said.
“Besides,” I added. “You have to help me keep Faith on the back of her pony. If I don’t bring her back in one piece then we’ll lose both her and Ethan to some eventing barn.”
“What are you talking about?” she said.
“I’ll tell you later,” I said. “Now come on, let’s get ready.”
We hustled to get our horses and ponies ready. It wasn’t a show so no one had to be spotless but as Esther was always reminding us, we were still representing Sand Hill and we weren’t exactly going to go out there with manure stained horses.
“Are you doing okay?” I stuck my head into Princess’s stall to check on Faith and found her braiding pink ribbons into the black pony’s mane and tail.
“Oh yes,” she grinned. “We’re fine.”
“But what are you doing?” I asked, feeling a little horrified. “This isn’t a dress up parade or something. We are going to be galloping over fields and ditches.”
“I know,” she said, tying another ribbon. “But that doesn’t mean that Princess can’t look her best.”
From the look on the pony’s face, the pink ribbons were as far from looking her best as she could get. Princess may have had a girly name but when it came down to it, that pony would rather roll in the mud with the boys than play dress up.
“Well just make sure you tie them in tight,” I said. “If they trail on the ground and snag on a branch or something, Princess isn’t going to be too keen on having chunks of her hair pulled out. In fact she’ll probably dump you off in retaliation.”
“No,” Faith shook her head sounding confident. “Princess would never do that. We have an understanding now.”
“Okay,” I shrugged.
An understanding between a girl and her pony was one thing. Spending the whole ride making sure that Princess didn’t end up swinging from a tree by her pink ribbons was another altogether. But more people were arriving and I didn’t have time to argue with Faith. The hunter pace was due to start at ten. There were riders to sign in. Numbers to hand out. And there was Jess, striding into the barn like she owned it.
“I have to say that Hampton really is one of the best horses I’ve ever ridden,” she said loudly to the girl who was with her. “I really can’t wait until my father buys him for me.”
And as I heard a straggled sob escape from Willow’s stall, I knew this hunter pace was going to be a lot harder than I had anticipated.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I told Esther that Fox Run should go first. That way Mickey wouldn’t be subjected to watching Jess ride Hampton. She agreed but it wasn’t that simple. Andre, the Fox Run trainer, had other ideas. He wanted his team to go last.
“The team from my barn goes last,” Esther told him.
He was standing in front of the sign up table with his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face. I’d never really liked him but that was beside the point. All that mattered today was making sure that everyone had a good ride and that Mickey didn’t have another meltdown.
“Your team?” he scoffed. “Don’t you think it’s a bit unethical to have a team from your own barn competing? You are running the thing. Your riders have probably been over the track a million times. How exactly is that fair?”
He was a small, skinny man with angular bones and a crew cut. Esther wasn’t that big but she puffed herself up in indignation that he question her ethics.
“My team are out of the running for the cup,” she said, pointing to the gleaming trophy we had all spent hours polishing until we could see our faces reflected in the brass. “They will be going over the course last to make sure no one gets left behind.”
“I see,” Andre said. “Well in that case, I want my team to go second to last.”
“I don’t think that is a very good idea,” Esther said.
“Why not?”
“Well for starters one of your riders has a horse belonging to one of my students. A horse she loves very much and wants back. How do you think she is going to feel following behind them for two hours?”
“If she wanted to keep the horse then she shouldn’t have given him up,” Andre said. “You know how this business is, she’s lucky she didn’t lose him for good and she very well still may.”
“So you understand then?” Esther said.
“No,” he shook his head. “Your student needs to grow up. This is a tough business and it’s time she figured that out. My team goes second to last.”
By now some of the other trainers had come up to the table and there was a mad rush to rearrange the schedule to suit everyone. Esther was trying to do her best but it was hard when five people were yelling at you. In the end she raised a piece of paper and her voice.
“This is the final order of go,” she yelled. “I won’t be changing it again so don’t ask. If you don’t like it then you can just go home.”
I held on to the hope that maybe Andre would pack up his students and leave but no such luck. He stomped off to the trailer where their horses were tied. I could see Hampton standing there. I wanted to run over and hug him. It seemed like ages since I’d seen his stoic bay face and inhaled his sweet scent. He was standing next to Belle, the black mare who belonged to Amber, Jess’s twin sister. She was obviously part of the team. She was standing there running a brush over Belle’s hind quarters when she saw me staring at her and waved. I waved back. Things with Amber were complicated. Sometimes she liked me but only when her sister wasn’t around. I wondered how she felt about Hampton being in their barn, a constant reminder of her sister’s devious ways and the fact that her father idolized Jess more than her.
“He’s out there, isn’t he?” Mickey said as I came back into the barn.
“Yes,” I said. “Do you want to see him?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I want to forget about him until I get him back.”
“That’s not going to be very easy,” I said. “They are riding second to last.”
“Then they’d better hope they gallop,” Mickey said. “Because if I get close enough to Jess, I’m going to yank her out of the saddle and shove her face in the muck.”
“You really think that will help?” I asked her.
“No,” she said. “But it will make me feel better.”
I wasn’t so sure about that and I was just about to tell Mickey so when there was a commotion out in the driveway. A white van with satellite dishes perched on top was stuck in the mud that had been left behind after all the rain. Its wheels spinning and churning until the van finally lurched free.
“What is it?” Ethan stuck his head out of Wendel
l’s stall.
“I think it’s the news crew,” I said.
“News crew?” Mickey stuck her head out as well. “What news crew?”
“The Channel Seventeen news crew,” I said. “Esther told me they might come but only if they didn’t have any other stories to cover.”
“And now you know why Jess is here,” Ethan said. “She wants to make sure her face is plastered all over the TV.”
“How do you think she’d look on the TV with a face full of mud?” Mickey grinned.
“Please,” I told her. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I won’t,” she said but I didn’t believe her.
And with the news crew here to film our hunter pace, it was more important than ever that everything go off without a hitch.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
The news anchor had puffy blonde hair and ridiculous high heels. Totally inappropriate for a barn. She was trailed by a big guy that had a giant camera on his shoulder. I ducked into Bluebird’s stall, hoping I could avoid them altogether but then I heard Esther calling my name. I thought for minute about pretending I hadn’t heard her but I knew I couldn’t ignore her forever. I trudged outside where horses and trailers now filled the grass parking area and excited girls were giggling as they checked their hair in mirrors and applied lip gloss. It seemed everyone was excited that the news crew had arrived. Everyone except me.
“The hunter pace was all Emily’s idea,” Esther said, shoving me forward.
The news anchor woman had a big fuzzy microphone which she shoved into my face.
“This is Candy Renniger from Channel Seventeen news, reporting here live from Sand Hill Stables where today they are holding a hunter pace. An exciting event where horse and rider take on a challenging course through the local woods and fields. Tell us Emily, why horses are so important to you?” she said.
“Um,” I mumbled.
I knew I should say something eloquent and smart like the fact that horses had been around since the dawn of time and our relationship with them had been forged over centuries but instead all that came out was a mumble about how cool they were.
Hunter Pace (Show Jumping Dreams ~ Book 7) Page 6