The Boy Who Loves Horses (Pegasus Equestrian Center Series)

by Diana Vincent

  Their number was called.

  River met her as she left the warm-up area, patted Cory on the neck and looked up into her eyes. She met his look; his eyes telling her all she needed to know. It was an expression of what they shared together; a mutual love of horses and understanding of true horsemanship; a vast gamut of love, respect, and trust of an animal.

  “We’ll be fine,” she said to him, and she meant it. She rode Cory into the stadium.

  “You can do it!” Katrina called from the rail, and Sierra turned her head gratefully to nod her acknowledgement to her friend.

  She moved Cory into the beginning circle at a trot, did not hold him back when he volunteered the canter, and then headed him to the first jump.

  They sailed around the course. Sierra pushed her weight down through her heels, allowing Cory’s thrust as he jumped to move her forward over his withers at each obstacle, and then settling her weight back to help him balance as she told him where to go next. They cleared the ninth jump, a hogsback, and then Sierra faced Cory toward the railroad crossing. His head came up, and she felt a falter in his stride.

  “Cory, you can do this,” she spoke soothingly to him and reached forward to pat his neck, to doubly reassure him.

  He snorted, his stride becoming choppy.

  Sierra pressed with her legs, holding her hands evenly on the reins to let him know to go forward. “Let’s go, Cory,” she cried out to him.

  He snorted again, and she felt him gather himself underneath. He burst forward with a jolt of energy, and he took off a full stride early, jumping high and wide, and cleared the fence.

  Sierra did not hear the cheering from where River and the others watched; her heart too full of gratitude and love for Cory as he galloped on and took the last two jumps. Only when she left the ring, did she hear the applause.

  Outside the stadium, she jumped off and hugged Cory. River came up quickly, and then she and River hugged, and he hugged Cory as well. The others came around, talking and laughing happily as they praised both Cory and Sierra.

  Sierra and Cory had just won junior training of the Pacific Regional Championship.

  It wasn’t until she saw Dean looking at her with an expression of rage from atop Calculator, did she remember that she had also beat him.

  “Calculator,” she called out, “You deserve a much better owner!”

  *****

  Sierra and River walked hand in hand down the aisles at the stable, surveying each horse as it stood over its dinner, eating happily. No signs of colic, no signs of injury, no signs of other distress; just contented horses.

  They stopped at Fiel’s stall and Sierra stepped in to give him a pat. He whickered softly at her, and nudged at her pockets. Even with a mound of hay in front of him, he was not opposed to an additional treat. She gave him the expected carrot, and then stepped out, latching the stall behind her.

  Moose looked up as they walked by, and turned his back to them, always wary lest someone try to take him away from his food. “Don’t worry, old boy,” River said as he smiled at him.

  Diva emitted a low rumbling whinny as they neared her stall and stepped up to the grate. River opened it and stroked her nose while he looked into her large, trusting brown eye. “I’m going to miss you,” he said to her.

  “I will too,” Sierra echoed, handing Diva a piece of carrot. The mare took it delicately and closed her eyes in contentment as she crunched it in her teeth.

  Calliope, Fala, Morris, Muffin, Pendragon, and the other horses looked up with their sweet faces as they walked by. They came to another stop at Corazón’s stall.

  He lifted his head and emitted a soft whicker of acknowledgement, but then ducked his head back into his hay, a picture of health and contentment.

  River turned Sierra to face him. She looked up to meet his eyes, and then closed hers as their lips met.

  *****

  The End

  Glossary of Equestrian Terms

  Aids

  Tools used to communicate with a horse. The natural aids are the seat (weight), legs, and hands of the rider. Artificial aids include whip and spurs.

  Bend

  A term used to describe how a horse’s body curves in the direction of his movement, such as on a circle or around a corner.

  Bit

  The part of the bridle inserted in the horse’s mouth as a means of communication or control. Curb – the most severe type of bit that uses leverage for control; Pelham – combination of a curb and snaffle bit and uses elements of both for control; the rider will have two sets of reins; Snaffle – direct pressure is applied to the lips, tongue, and bars of the horse’s mouth; frequently it is jointed in the center; generally the mildest bit.

  Canter

  The third of the basic three gaits of the horse: a three beat gait in which the horse propels off of a hind leg while the other three are moving forward; on the second beat the horse touches down with the front leg on the same side and the opposite hind leg; on the final beat, the opposite front leg touches down. In this movement, the leg that touches down in the third beat is slightly ahead as well as the hind leg on the same side, which is called the lead.

  Canter Pirouette

  While in a collected canter, the horse executes a turn; half pirouette is 180 degrees and full pirouette is 360 degrees.

  Collection

  The horse shortens his stride, but the tempo does not change. The horse must bring its hindquarters underneath and carry more weight on the hind end which lightens the shoulders or front end.

  Diagonal

  In an arena, an imaginary line across from opposite corners.

  At the posting trot, the rider rises out of the saddle when the horse’s outside shoulder is forward, and sits in the saddle when the inside shoulder is forward.

  Dressage

  The training of a horse to develop, through standardized progressive training methods, a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform and to maximize its potential as a riding horse. In dressage competitions, the horse is trained to perform precise controlled movements in response to minimal signals from the rider.

  Extension

  The horse lengthens its stride to the maximum length through great forward thrust and reach; the tempo or rhythm of the gait does not change.

  Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI)

  International governing body for all Olympic equestrian disciplines.

  Flying Lead Change

  The horse changes the lead at the canter without breaking the gait.

  Half-Pass

  A lateral movement in which the horse moves on a diagonal; moving sideways and forward at the same time while bent slightly in the direction of movement. It differs from the leg yield in that the horse is bent in the direction of movement which requires more balance and engagement. In the leg yield, the horse is bent slightly away from the direction of movement.

  Halt

  The horse stops all forward movement; when performed correctly, the horse brings his hindquarters underneath and distributes his weight evenly on all four legs.

  Hand

  A unit of measure to determine a horse’s height from the top of his withers to the ground. A hand equals 4 inches. Example: a horse that is said to be 15 -1, (fifteen hands, 1 inch) is 61 inches.

  Inside

  When riding in an arena, the side toward the center of the arena.

  Lead

  In the canter gait, the leading front and hind leg. In general, on a circle the correct lead is the inside lead, therefore if the horse is cantering on a circle to the right, it should canter on the right lead. Counter canter is a canter on a circle on the outside lead and is an exercise often used to help the horse learn balance at the canter.

  Leg Yield

  A lateral movement in which the horse moves sideways away from the rider’s leg and forward at the same time, crossing his legs. The horse is fairly straight with a slight bend away from the direction of movement.

&nbs
p; Lengthening

  The horse lengthens its stride without an increase in tempo; performed at the lower levels of dressage before learning true extension of gait.

  Long Rein

  The reins are allowed to lengthen between the rider’s hands and the bit, the rider often holding the reins at the buckle. There is often no contact with the mouth when riding with a long rein. The long rein is used to allow a horse to stretch his head down and forward and encourages relaxation.

  Near

  The left side of the horse.

  Off

  The right side of the horse.

  Outside

  When riding in an arena, the side toward the wall of the arena.

  Passage

  An advanced, collected movement at the trot in which the horse seems to pause with a moment of suspension between placing each foot on the ground; the horse almost appears to float in slow motion.

  Piaffe

  An elevated trot in place, an advanced movement of dressage and the ultimate in collection.

  Rein Back

  Walking steps backward; backing up.

  Sound

  A term used to describe a horse in good health without any lameness or other injuries.

  Tempi Changes

  The horse changes his lead at the canter every third stride (three tempi), every second stride (two tempi), or every stride (one tempi).

  Training Pyramid

  A guide for training the dressage horse; it begins at the base with rhythm and regularity, then moves up through relaxation, contact, impulsion, straightness, and collection at the peak of the pyramid.

  Trot

  The second of the basic three gaits of the horse; a two beat gait in which the horse moves diagonal legs in pairs such as left hind, right front together, then right hind, left front together; there is minimal head movement. The trot is the working gait of the horse.

  United States Dressage Federation (USDF)

  Governing body in the United States for dressage with the purpose of promoting and encouraging a high standard of accomplishment in dressage.

  United States Equestrian Federation (USEF)

  Regulatory organization for United States equestrian sports, formerly the American Horse Show Association.

  United States Eventing Association (USEA)

  Governing body in the United States for the equestrian sport of combined training or eventing.

  Walk

  The first of the basic three gaits of the horse; a four beat gait in which the horse moves one foot at a time in sequence such as left hind, left front, right hind, right front; his head moves in rhythm with the walk.

  Dressage Levels

  Introductory

  Training

  First Level

  Second Level

  Third Level

  Fourth Level

  FEI levels:

  Prix St. Georges

  Intermediate I

  Intermediate II

  Grand Prix

  Combined Training (Eventing) Levels

  Beginner Novice

  Novice

  Training

  Preliminary

  Intermediate

  Advanced

  Acknowledgements

  A story is told when there are ears to listen. Words written on a page tell a story only with eyes to see, a mind to comprehend, and a heart to understand. Thanks go out to all the readers who have allowed this story to live, simply by reading the book. I am forever grateful to my family and friends whose support was essential in creating this story.

  Thank you for reading The Boy Who Loves Horses. If you enjoyed this story, please help other readers find this book:

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  Watch for For The Love of Horses, the third book of the Pegasus Equestrian Center Series.

  About the Author

  Diana Vincent’s passion for horses began at the age of three when she caught her first glimpse of a horse. Ever since, she dreamed of owning her own horse, read every book about horses she could get her hands on, and finally, at age thirteen, acquired her first horse, Romeo. Since then she has owned several horses and has competed in hunter/jumper shows, eventing, and dressage. Today, Diana resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, and her Morgan horse, Midnight.

  Diana loves to hear from readers. You may contact her at dnvncnt@hotmail.com