“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
Then she grew tired and her eyes closed so we rode away, back to the barn with tears in our eyes and our hearts heavy, knowing we would never see Granny Mae again.
Sally said she died that night in her sleep but I didn’t feel sad. It was her time and for a change I had done something good for someone else. It hadn’t been about winning or being the best or getting to the Olympics. It had been about doing something nice for someone and expecting nothing in return and this time it hadn’t backfired, unlike the hunter pace.
It hadn’t brought any new clients and only two people had signed up for the summer camp. It was a disaster and although it was Esther’s disaster, I felt like it was mine too because without her I wouldn’t have a place to keep Bluebird. And when she gathered us all together at the barn, I knew it wasn’t to tell us something good.
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
I knew it had to be something bad. Esther hadn’t seemed right since the hunter pace. I thought it had just been the stress of the news crew snooping around and running the story but that had all died down now. At least I thought it had.
“Most of you know that Sand Hill has been having a rough time lately,” she said as we gathered around her. “I was hoping that business would pick up but that just hasn’t happened.”
My heart started beating faster and faster. My palms got all sweaty. Was this it? Was Sand Hill closing?
“It’s getting harder and harder to make a living in this business and I know that doesn’t really mean very much to you right now but when you are older you’ll understand.”
“I understand now,” I said. “What can we do to help?”
“I can pick stalls,” Faith said. “And tell the kids in my class to take lessons.”
“That would be nice,” Esther smiled at her sadly. “But it’s beyond that now. I’ve had to make a hard decision.”
“You’re selling,” I said, trying not to feel sick.
“No,” she shook her head. “But I’m going to be renting out one half of the barn to another trainer.”
We all looked at each other. That didn’t sound too bad. Another trainer to ride with and go to shows with. It actually sounded like a good thing.
“Well that’s not so bad,” Ethan said. “So nothing will really change then?”
“I’m afraid a lot of things are going to change. For starters, some of the horses are going to have to go. There won’t be room for all of them. Emily, that means I won’t have room for both Fury and Bluebird.”
“But Miguel pays for Fury,” I said.
“I know,” she sighed. “And I’m sorry but I’m only going to have a limited number of stalls now. I need to keep on people who board and take lessons.”
“But that’s not fair,” I said, the panic rising up in my throat. “I work for my lessons.”
“I know you do,” she said. “But that doesn’t pay the bills. I’m not saying that you can’t keep Bluebird here and carry on helping out because you can. But I can’t fill the whole barn up with your horses and ponies. It doesn’t work that way.”
I didn’t hear anything else she said. There was something about shared ring time and a schedule that we would all have to follow so that we didn’t step on the new trainers toes. He would be bringing his own clients and filling our barn with horses that we couldn’t ride but all I could think about was that I’d almost wanted a reason to send Fury back and now that I had one, I didn’t want to give her up at all.
THE END
COMING SOON
SHOW JUMPING DREAMS BOOK 8: TURF WARS
A big name trainer is coming to Sand Hill. He’s bringing a string of horses and clients who all show on the A circuit. For Emily this is a dream come true. This is her ticket to the big leagues.
But not everyone feels that way. Sand Hill students are being pushed to the side by the elitist new girls who have their own grooms and just show up to ride and Esther doesn’t even seem to care. It’s like the new trainer has some hold over her and she’s letting him run her barn out from under her.
So when the new trainer offers to take Emily to an A rated show with his students, she has to make a choice. Honor her friendship with Esther or further her career.
TURF WARS: CHAPTER ONE
“Hampton could totally do that,” Mickey said.
We were sprawled out on the floor in her bedroom amidst pillows and cushions, propped up in front of her computer watching live streaming from the Devon horse show. It was pretty much one of the highlights of a junior rider’s career to show at Devon. Steeped in tradition and excellence, equitation riders wanted to show in the oval ring and win that medal. It was something special and just within reach. If you had about a gazillion dollars.
“He could totally do that,” I agreed, even though I wasn’t sure that Mickey could.
I was trying to be nicer to Mickey. Our friendship was still on shaky ground but we were both making an effort and that was something.
“But,” I added. “You’d have to get him a fake tail. Look, all the cool horses are wearing them.”
We watched as another plain bay came into the ring with a thick, flowing tail.
“I don’t get it,” Mickey said. “What’s the point?”
“To make your horse look better than it really is?” I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
My mom had got hair extensions once but they were cheap ones that looked all fake and fell out after a few weeks, clogging the drain and requiring a plumber to extract them. I didn’t think fake tails were much better. After all, what was wrong with real tails?
“That horse is going to win,” I said as we watched a pretty gray canter around.
The rider was perfect, barely moving as the horse cracked its knees up over every jump.
“No,” Mickey said as a flashy chestnut came in the ring. “This one will.”
But the chestnut gave a little buck in-between the fences and added a stride in one of the lines. The girl came out of the ring with a scowl on her face and she didn’t pat him like all the other riders had done with their horses. Instead she just jumped off and threw the reins to a guy with a towel and a backpack.
“She could have at least pretended to pat him,” I said. “They know everyone is watching.”
“I don’t think she cares,” Mickey said. And I knew she was right.
The girl with the gray did win the class. The Maclay medal was hung around her neck and they led the others in a victory gallop.
“Do you think maybe one day I could win that?” Mickey said.
“Probably,” I nodded.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go get something to eat.”
“But the junior jumpers are next,” I cried. “I’ve been waiting ages.”
She looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Oh all right, all go make some sandwiches.”
“Thanks,” I grinned.
I lay there and watched junior riders take on jumps that looked enormous. They all seemed like they were far better riders than I was, sitting on their hot headed horses who galloped around the jump off course like it was a Grand Prix class.
I thought of Bluebird and wondered if he really had it in him to take me as far as I wanted to go and not for the first time, I felt guilty about it. I’d also felt guilty about sending Fury back but Esther had made the arrangements and Miguel didn’t seem to mind. He told her that he was going to turn the mare out for the summer anyway to give her brain the vacation it sorely needed and then bring her back in the fall and see what she was like. But I heard all that second hand. He hadn’t spoken to me and though I’d been waiting for ages to hear about the jumping team, I was pretty sure that now I had no chance of ever getting on it.
But there were more exciting things to think about. A summer full of riding my pony and going to shows. Ethan had found a series of midnight shows held under the lights and we were going to try and talk Esthe
r into taking us. And the big name trainer was coming in a few days.
When Esther had told us that she rented out half of the barn to another trainer we were all a little upset. But then I heard that the trainer was the real deal. A really big name trainer who had a bunch of super-rich clients that showed on the A circuit.
“Don’t the big name trainers come down to Florida for the winter, not the summer?” I asked Esther when I found out.
“I don’t ask the questions,” she shrugged. “I just cash the checks.”
And since she’d got that first check, things hadn’t looked so shabby at Sand Hill anymore. The barn got a new coat of paint and the fences were fixed. New jump poles and standards arrived and I begged Esther to let me try them out, they were so shiny and new and perfect. But she said we had to wait. I wasn’t a fan of waiting. It seemed like it was taking forever for the new trainer and his horses to arrive.
Mickey came back with a tray of sandwiches and a funny look on her face.
“You’d better eat fast,” she said. “Esther just called. The new trainer is coming this afternoon.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire Svendsen fell in love with horses at age two when she got her first pony. The only trouble was that it wasn’t a real horse, it was a rocking horse. From that day on she begged, pleaded and bribed for lessons, riding clothes and a horse of her own. She had to wait and work really hard to finally get her first real horse but when she did, it was a dream come true. Over the years she has trained horses, given lessons and even run her own stable.
No longer able to ride due to injury, Claire lives vicariously through the characters in her books. When she’s not busy writing, you’ll find her hanging out at the barn with her retired Thoroughbred Merlin who loves carrots, apples and bowing on command.
STAY CONNECTED
To keep up to date on all the Show Jumping Dreams news and to learn about horse and pony care, you can follow my horse Merlin on Facebook. He is the only one with the inside scoop. Plus he’s really cute!
https://www.facebook.com/showjumpingdreams
COLLECT THEM ALL
Other books in the Show Jumping Series by Claire Svendsen
#1 Secret Rider
#2 Pony Jumpers
#3 Winter Blues
#4 Star Pupil
#5 Sale Horse
#6 Last Chance
#7 Hunter Pace
(COMING SOON) #8 Turf Wars
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
COMING SOON
TURF WARS: CHAPTER ONE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STAY CONNECTED
COLLECT THEM ALL
Hunter Pace (Show Jumping Dreams ~ Book 7) Page 11