“I wasn’t supposed to?”
Aunt Debby shook her head. “It’s not a big deal. Next time, go ahead and get fully warmed up before I get here, so we can get right to work.” She glanced at her watch. “We only have about forty-five minutes, so get going. Fortunately, Moondance doesn’t require much warm-up.”
“Um, okay.” Emily gathered her reins and nudged Moondance into a trot, nearly popping out of the saddle at the long, rocking stride. Moondance’s head was up in the air again, making her gait bumpy. Emily got the rhythm of the trot quickly, though, and started doing a posting trot, rising out of her seat each time Moondance’s outside front leg went forward.
She still felt like Moondance wasn’t collected, so she did a small circle to try to get the mare to come back to her.
“Emily, just let her go. Stop tugging at the reins.”
“But I’m trying to get her on the bit—”
“This isn’t dressage, Emily. She doesn’t need to drop into a frame right now. Just let her warm up.”
“Really?”
“Really. Soften your hands, let her stretch her muscles.”
“But isn’t that lazy riding? Not to do anything?” Emily loosened the reins a little.
“You should still be working. I just want you not to try to turn Moondance into a dressage horse. Go ahead and canter.” Aunt Debby walked into the middle of the ring and started lowering the jumps that Alison had been jumping yesterday.
“Canter already?”
“Already.”
“Well, okay.” Emily clucked and nudged Moondance into a canter. The mare swished her tail in annoyance, and Emily gave her a harder nudge. She finally cantered, a rough, awkward beat that nearly jarred Emily off the saddle, so unlike Rhapsody’s smooth gait that was so comfortable she could sit for hours without even rocking Emily’s upper body a tiny bit. Emily sat deep in the saddle and tried to bring Moondance back under her, driving her weight into her haunches and trying to get Moondance balanced so that her gait wasn’t as jarring.
“Stop tugging on her,” Aunt Debby said. “Let her get loose and warmed up. Get up in a half-seat and let her relax.”
“A half-seat? What’s that?”
“Lift your butt out of the saddle. Stand in your stirrups the way jockeys do.”
“Oh.” Emily stood in the saddle and was surprised at how much easier it was to handle Moondance’s jarring gait when she wasn’t trying to sit deep in the saddle. Interesting. It was actually kind of liberating and fun. She loosened the grip on the reins a little more and clucked to urge Moondance to go a little faster.
The mare’s ears flicked back toward Emily as she picked up speed, and Emily grinned at the wind rushing past. It was fun. Liberating. To just ride.
She changed direction by cutting through the middle, dropping to a trot, and then picking up a canter again in the new direction, picking up the correct lead for the new direction, making sure Moondance was leading with her inside front leg to stay balanced.
She was having so much fun cantering that it took several times before she finally heard Aunt Debby tell her to walk. Flushing, she sat back in the saddle and slowed down her mount, grinning as Moondance did a little jig to the side before finally walking. “She likes to go fast.”
“I’m training her to compete in jumper classes,” Aunt Debby explained. “When she competes, she races against the clock, so she’s used to going fast.”
“Oh, that’s so cool. Can I race against the clock?” That sounded like tons of fun.
“Sure, once you’re ready.” Aunt Debby pointed her to a jump made of two red and white painted rails propped up in a giant X. The middle was only about a foot high, tiny compared to the jumps Alison had been going over. “Get up in half-seat, trot up to the crossbar, and jump it.”
It was time to jump.
6
Emily bit her lip, her heart starting to pound. She’d never jumped anything before, other than trotting over a rail lying on the ground. It had never even occurred to her to jump. “You could put it higher if you want. Like what Alison was jumping.”
A faint smile played across Aunt Debby’s face. “Why don’t we start with the cross rail and then move on?”
“Okay.” Emily felt a glimmer of excitement as she gathered up her reins and nudged Moondance into a trot. She looked ahead to the jump, planning out her line of approach. As she turned right toward the jump and straightened Moondance out so the mare wasn’t coming at the jump from an angle, Aunt Debby called out more instructions.
“Grab onto Moondance’s mane when you get near the jump. It’ll help until you get used to the movement.”
Grab her mane? Like some inexperienced rider? No way. Emily pressed down her heels, lifted her chin, and moved into half-seat as they approached, setting her hands on the mane, but not actually grabbing the mane because she was far too good for that.
Moondance trotted up to the jump, pricked her ears, and did a little hop with her front legs to go over it.
“Whoa!” Emily lost her balance, almost fell over backward, then crashed face-first into Moondance’s mane when they landed on the other side. Moondance landed in a canter, and Emily grabbed her mane to keep from falling off and landing on her head. She wiggled her way back into her saddle, bracing her hands on Moondance’s neck to shove herself in place, then she grabbed the reins and eased Moondance back to a trot.
She slipped a sideways glance at Aunt Debby, her face hot with embarrassment. “I’m better than that.”
“Emily, it’s not a problem. It’s a new experience to jump. I’m not worried.”
“Oh.” Emily felt better. “Okay, then. Again?”
Aunt Debby sat down on one of the bigger jumps. “Again. Hold the mane this time.”
“Yeah, okay.” This time, Emily grabbed Moondance’s mane just before the mare hopped over the jump, and though Emily got left behind again, it wasn’t nearly as bad because she was yanked forward by her grip on the mane.
She grinned at her aunt as Moondance cantered after the jump. “That is so fun.”
Aunt Debby smiled. “Well, do it again.”
This time, as they approached the jump, Emily held tight and kept up with Moondance as the mare flew into the air. They landed, and Emily let out a small whoop of excitement that made Moondance do a little jig. “Did you see that? We were airborne!”
Aunt Debby laughed. “I take it you like jumping?”
“It’s awesome! Can I go again?”
“Of course. This time, keep on cantering and jump the vertical that’s after the crossbar.”
Emily’s heart thumped as she inspected the red-and-white-striped bar stretched between the two wooden standards. It was about a foot high and looked extremely impressive. “Just canter it?”
“Yep. Count the strides after you land from the crossbar, including the landing. It should take six steps to reach it, but definitely hold the mane.”
“Oh, yeah.” Her heart racing now, Emily trotted Moondance toward the crossbar, grabbed the mane, and soared through the air with her. She counted the strides out loud with her aunt as they cantered down the line, holding Moondance straight between her legs. “Land, one, two, three, four, five, six—”
Moondance leaped into the air, and Emily forgot to grab the mane. Her upper body went flying backward, totally left behind, and then she jerked forward when Moondance landed, shooting over the mare’s shoulder and crashing to the soft dirt by Moondance’s front feet.
Moondance stopped immediately and turned her head to peer at her while Emily rolled to her knees, her heart racing as she caught her breath after the tumble.
Aunt Debby was by her side immediately. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah.” Emily grinned, unable to suppress her glee. Jumping was so exhilarating. So freeing! “This is so much fun!”
Her aunt smiled and rapped her knuckles on Emily’s helmet. “Well, have a go again, then. I’ll give you a leg up.”
“Right on.” E
mily hopped to her feet, brushed off her breeches, and walked over to Moondance. She bent her left knee, lifting her foot off the ground so it was pointing behind her, and Aunt Debby clasped her fingers under Emily’s knee.
“On three. One, two, three!” She hoisted Emily up and Emily hopped at the same time, and she flew up and swung her leg over Moondance’s back.
She settled in the saddle, gathered her reins, and picked up a trot again.
“This time, hold on to her mane.”
“Got it.” Emily wrapped her fingers in Moondance’s mane as they approached, grinning as she leaped over the crossbar and headed toward the vertical. “Land, one, two, three, four, five, six!” She held tight to her mane as the horse sprang into the air and still got a little left behind, but not nearly as badly because she was gripping the mane so tightly. She glanced at Aunt Debby as they cantered after the jump. “What am I doing wrong? Why am I getting left behind?”
“Nothing, you’re doing great. It just takes a while to get used to the movement of jumping. You’ll get the feel of it.”
“Okay.” Emily had new appreciation for the size of the jumps Alison had been going over. They’d been at least three times as big, and Alison hadn’t had any problem. How fun would it be to jump that high? She couldn’t wait until she got that good. “When do I get to jump higher jumps?”
Aunt Debby laughed. “Why don’t we master this level first?”
“I don’t care if I fall off.”
“Well, I do, and you should, too.” Her hands went to her hips, and the smile was replaced by a bit of a scowl. “It’s important to master the basics before you move on. Otherwise you can end up endangering yourself and the horse. In my barn, I expect you to be responsible with the horses at all times, which means not taking crazy risks like going over jumps you don’t have the skills to handle.”
Emily winced at the serious tone in her aunt’s voice. “Okay,” she quickly said. “This height is fine.”
“Good. Now do it again.”
Emily did it again. And again. And again.
And it never stopped being a thrill when she had that moment in the air before Moondance thudded back to the ground. It was, quite simply, the coolest thing she’d ever done on a horse.
Not that she was going to turn into a jumper, because the discipline of dressage was, of course, her thing, but there was something about jumping that was so unbelievably exhilarating, and she couldn’t wait until she could go fast and race against the clock.
After about a half hour of jumping, Emily finally figured out the rhythm of the jump and managed to keep up with Moondance most of the time, though she still held on to the mane at takeoff. Each time she thought about letting go, she got left behind again and realized she wasn’t ready.
Soon, though. She was so determined to master jumping before she left. She knew her jumping experience wouldn’t truly be complete until she got to do it on Sapphire. When Aunt Debby looked at her watch and announced it was time to stop, Emily was so disappointed. “Already?”
Aunt Debby smiled, a real smile that didn’t make her brow get all furrowed. “We’ve been out here for almost an hour.”
“Seriously?” Emily glanced at her watch and was amazed to see it was almost nine thirty. “Wow.”
“We’ll practice more tomorrow.”
“On Sapphire?” Emily held her breath as she circled Moondance around Aunt Debby, her reins loose and relaxed to let Moondance cool down.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I know you really like him, but he’s a bit difficult, especially over the jumps. He’s my special project and you’re not ready to ride him yet.”
Emily bit her lip. “But soon?”
Aunt Debby started to head toward the gate. “We’ll see.”
Shoot. That was adult-speak for “never.” “Why is he your special project? Alison said you’re going to sell him.” She trailed along after Aunt Debby, patting Moondance for being such a good girl.
Aunt Debby opened the gate and met Emily’s gaze. “That’s what we do here, Em. I buy horses with potential that have issues, either training issues or health issues. Then I try to fix them and sell them for a profit. Sapphire was a bargain and he’s a beautiful horse, so I’m planning to make a nice profit from him.”
Emily bit her lip. “Why don’t you keep him?”
“Because it’s not how the farm works. We don’t keep them.”
“But he’s special—”
“Emily.” Aunt Debby set her hand on Emily’s knee, her eyes sympathetic. “Sapphire isn’t going to stay, okay? He just isn’t. I need to sell him.”
“When?”
“When he’s ready.” Aunt Debby started walking again.
Emily nudged Moondance out the gate so she could follow her aunt. “When’s that? Tomorrow?”
Aunt Debby finally laughed. “Emily, relax. It’ll be a few months, okay?”
“Okay.” A few months. Plenty of time to convince her aunt not to sell him.
“But you’re leaving soon. Why does it matter to you?”
Emily felt her face heat up, a little embarrassed to admit how much she liked Sapphire even though she’d just met him. “I was just asking.”
“Mmm.” Aunt Debby held up her watch. “We leave in an hour for the funeral. Don’t be late.”
Ugh. A funeral. She’d so much rather be hanging out at the barn. “Yeah, okay.”
Aunt Debby raised her brows. “Don’t sound so miserable. It’s a good thing to go and honor your Grandfather, even if you didn’t get the chance to know him.”
Emily tensed. Her dad was the only one who ever cared about her, and it was weird to think that she had other relatives. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Did you love him?”
Aunt Debby’s face softened. “Of course I did. He was my pa.”
“So, how come you don’t seem sad? I’d be crying all the time.”
“Because this is how life works. Just like the horses come and go from the farm, people come and go in our lives. We enjoy the good moments, and when we’re in the bad ones, we just hang on until things get good again.”
Emily frowned as she thought about that. “So, you’re saying, I should just enjoy Sapphire while he’s here, and not worry about when he leaves?”
“Sure. You could apply it to that.”
“Huh.” She scratched her chin. “I don’t know if that’ll work.”
Aunt Debby laughed and patted her leg. “Go clean up Moondance. You don’t have much time.”
“Okay.” Emily turned Moondance back toward the barn as she thought about what Aunt Debby had said, trying to decide whether she could really accept being around Sapphire and not riding him.
She’d almost decided she could…but when she walked past his stall with Moondance’s tack after putting Moondance away and he stuck his head out and whickered at her…
“Oh, Sapphire.” She dropped the tack on a hay bale and ran over and hugged him. “How can I possibly not ride you?” She unhooked his stall door to slip inside and play with him and—
“Emily!”
She jumped a mile and leaped back from the door, whirling toward her aunt, who was standing at the end of the aisle. Aunt Debby was wearing a pair of black pants and black boots, and her hair was blown dry, hanging around her shoulders in a soft cut, instead of up in a ponytail. She actually looked pretty.
“I was just—”
Aunt Debby tapped her watch. “We have to leave in fifteen minutes, Emily. You don’t have time to be dawdling. Get in the house and change. We can’t be late for Pa’s funeral.”
Emily grabbed Moondance’s tack off the hay bale. “I promise I won’t make us late. I can change really quickly.” She hurried past Aunt Debby, pausing when she neared her. “Um, thanks for the lesson. It was awesome.”
Aunt Debby smiled, even though there was a sadness in her eyes. “You’re welcome. We’ll do another one tomorrow. Now, go change.”
“Right.” Her
heart racing at the thought of another jumping lesson tomorrow, Emily tossed Moondance’s saddle and bridle in the tack room and sprinted down the aisle toward the house, determined not to upset Aunt Debby by making them late.
7
Emily took the fastest shower in history, and her hair was still dripping as she yanked on her skirt and blouse, the only nice clothes she’d brought with her. Her feet still bare, she ran in the bathroom and started blowing dry her hair, watching the time as she went. With three minutes to go, she shut off the hair dryer and bolted into the hall to head to her room. Only tights and shoes and then she’d be ready to go. As she rounded the corner, she saw her two little cousins sprint into her room, slamming the door shut behind them as they squealed.
What was up with that? Emily ran down the hall and shoved open her door to find them hanging out her window, shouting encouragement at someone. “What’s going on?”
Caitlyn glanced back at Emily, her hair pulled back in two French braids with red bows on the ends of them. She was wearing a navy dress with cowboy boots. “Sapphire’s out again.”
“What?” Emily ran to the window in time to see Sapphire sprint down the driveway toward the road, his iron-shod feet crunching on the gravel. “Oh, no. He’s going to get hit by a car!”
Uncle Rick shouted something, and she saw him jump into his truck in his tie and blue jeans and peel down the road after Sapphire while Aunt Debby ran into the barn yelling, “Alison, saddle my horse!”
“This is awesome,” Kyle said as he leaned out the window. “We’re going to be late for the funeral. Mom’s going to be so mad!”
Emily looked at her watch and held her breath. Two minutes until they were supposed to leave.
Caitlyn frowned at Emily. “Mom said you were the last one in his stall. You didn’t lock the stall door, did you?”
“Me? Of course I did.” She hesitated with sudden dread. Had she locked it? She didn’t remember. Aunt Debby had showed up and she’d left. Oh, no. Had she really let him out? Emily grabbed her tights and yanked them over her feet, her heart racing. “I’ll go help them—”
Sapphire: New Horizons Page 4