Back in the Saddle (14 page)

Feeling guilty for the uncharitable thought, she tried to forget about the rider and just enjoy watching the
beautiful horse move. But she couldn't help noticing that even the amazing Dragon didn't automatically make his circles round on his own, and just like last time, Claire wasn't really bothering to ride all the way into the corners. But that just reminded Haley to do better herself.

When she reached the warm-up ring a short while later, only a few riders were in there. One of them was Andrew. He and Turbo were standing in the middle of the ring. The thoroughbred gelding's head was high, and he kept shaking it and trying to back up.

Haley rode over. “Everything okay?”

“Not really.” Andrew shot her a frustrated frown. “Turbo must've been talking to Cancun or something, because one of those cows started mooing just as we were walking in here, and now he's all freaked out.”

Haley was surprised. Turbo could be sensitive and overly energetic at times, and would occasionally spook at something unexpected, but he was usually pretty unflappable about strange sights and sounds. Jan said lots of ex-racehorses were like that, since they were exposed to so much at the track.

Then again, Haley supposed that most racetracks didn't have cows grazing in the infield. So maybe Turbo had finally found something that made him nervous.

She sneaked a peek at her watch, calculating how long she had before her ride time. If she wanted to win, she and Wings needed to be on top of their game. And while she was confident that Wings could jump any course after a short warm-up or none at all, she wasn't so sure when it came to dressage.

Turbo sidestepped, shaking his head so vigorously that Andrew could barely hold on to the reins. Haley quickly moved her pony around so he was between Turbo and the cow field.

“Okay, let's try this,” she said. “I'll stay over here, and we'll walk around and show him it's no biggie.”

“Thanks, Haley.” Andrew shot her a grateful smile. “I'm sure he'll get over it in a second.”

But it took a lot longer than a second before Turbo relaxed enough for Haley to begin her warm-up. She ended up rushing through it and had to hurry to get back into the ring in time.

“There you are!” Jan exclaimed when Haley arrived. “I was about to send out a search party.”

“Sorry.” Haley didn't bother to explain. The previous rider was already leaving, and by the time Haley and Wings got into the ring and halfway around the outside of the chains, the judge was ringing the bell.

Haley turned her pony and headed back down the side, feeling frazzled. She took a deep breath, trying to focus as she and Wings turned and entered at
A
for their test.

CHAPTER

FOR THE NEXT
few minutes Haley almost felt as if she were watching her own dressage test from above rather than riding it. The first several movements were rushed and a little wobbly, and she felt anxiety rise inside her.

Not again!
a little voice in her head cried out.

Haley closed her eyes for a moment as they trotted down the long side. Taking a deep breath, she finally felt herself relax into the saddle. She could do this. Good warm-up or not, she wasn't going to mess things up again. Not this time.

After that the test improved. Haley was careful to ride deep into every corner and focus on making every turn
and circle as round as it could be. By the time they halted and saluted, she was smiling.

“Nicely done,” the judge called as Haley rode forward afterward. She was an older woman with short gray hair and a pleasant smile. “What kind of pony is he?”

“Chincoteague,” Haley replied proudly.

The judge smiled. “Thought so. One of my favorite breeds—ever since I read
Misty of Chincoteague
as a girl.”

Haley grinned. “Me too!”

When she rode out of the ring, Jan was waiting for her. “Great recovery,” she said, patting Wings on the shoulder and then Haley on the leg. “I could see you were tense when you started, but you pulled it out.”

“Yeah.” Haley's smile faded a little as she thought back over those first few movements. If only she'd had more time in the warm-up ring, she was sure she could have done better. Now, once again, they'd have to make up ground in the jumping phases.

After sliding down from the saddle, she loosened Wings's girth and started walking him around to cool him off. She wanted to stay by the ring to cheer on
Andrew and Jan, who would both be going soon.

Kyle had already taken Augie back to the trailers and returned to watch the others. He wandered over to join Haley as she walked. “You missed Riley's test while you were warming up,” he said.

“Oh?” Haley tried to sound disinterested, though she didn't really succeed. “Perfect, I assume?”

“I wouldn't say that.” Kyle shrugged. “She had a little trouble with her canter departs this time, and her horse looked kind of tense all the way through.”

“Hmm.” Haley felt a twinge of hope, though she tried not to get too excited. Kyle was so nice—he was probably just trying to make Haley feel better about her own botched movements.

Just then Haley's friends rushed over. She had almost forgotten they were there.

“Haley, you looked fabulous!” Emma exclaimed, giving her a hug.

“Yeah,” Tracey agreed. “Don't you think so, Owen?”

Owen didn't answer. “Hey,” he said to Kyle, glancing down at his breeches. “Nice pants.”

Vance snorted with laughter, but Kyle just shot the other boys a tight smile. “I'm Kyle,” he said. “And you are?”

“We're Haley's friends,” Tracey told him. “I'm Tracey. That's Emma and Vance. And Owen, of course.”

Kyle glanced down at Owen's well-worn cowboy boots. “You ride?”

“Yeah. We both do.” Owen hooked a thumb toward Vance. “Real riding, that is—Western.”

“Cool.” Kyle shrugged. “That's probably fun. You know, if you don't want to jump.”

Owen narrowed his eyes. “Why would we want to jump when we could do something fun instead?”

“Boys, boys!” Tracey sang out with a laugh. “Let's not fight, okay?” She turned toward Haley and winked broadly.

Haley had no idea why her friend looked so amused. She just wanted to get away from the boys' silly squabble and focus on what she had to do next.

“Excuse me,” she said. “I need to take Wings back to the trailer now so he can rest before cross-country. Catch you guys later.”

She took off without waiting for an answer.

“Come on.” Kyle hurried over to Haley. She was brushing out Wings's tail, which had gotten a little tangled by the wind. “Jan's starting soon.”

Haley nodded and dropped her tail brush. Jan had asked to go first in their division on cross-country so she could coach her students afterward. That meant they'd all be able to watch her ride, since none of their start times were coming up soon.

Most of the course was located in a pair of hilly adjoining fields below the parking area, with just a short portion going off through a patch of woods. That meant it was easy to see the majority of the jumps from the top of the rise near the corner of the cow pasture. Haley hurried out there and perched on the post-and-board fence between Andrew and Kyle. She could see her school friends standing with a small cluster of spectators below them on the hill, but she didn't call out to them. All four of them were shoving at one another and laughing, clearly not paying much attention to the action on the course. Haley wanted to focus on her trainer's ride, not the boys' goofy jokes.

“There she is.” Andrew poked her in the arm, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Jan was riding toward the start box. “Cancun looks good,” Kyle commented.

“Yeah.” Haley watched the gray gelding lift his head and stare at the horse currently a few fences through the course. “Maybe still a little nervous, though.”

“That's only natural. It's his first event, remember?” Andrew said.

Haley nodded and watched Cancun break into a jig as they neared the start box. She crossed her fingers, hoping Jan had a good ride.

A moment later Jan rode her horse into the start box and burst out a few seconds later. “And they're off!” Kyle cried like the announcer at a racetrack.

Haley smiled but didn't take her eyes off Cancun. The dapple gray's canter looked more like a gallop for the first few strides, but Jan had eased him back to a more suitable pace by the time they reached the first fence, a line of barrels laid on their sides, with the farm's name printed on them. Cancun pricked his ears at the fence and sailed over easily.

“One down, lots to go,” Kyle commented.

“Yeah.” Haley held her breath as Cancun neared the second obstacle, a coop. Once again the horse jumped it easily, and Haley started to relax a little. “So far, so good . . . ,” she murmured.

The next few jumps went fine too. Then the course turned and wound partway up the hill, passing close to the spot where they were sitting. Haley glanced at the nearest obstacle, an attractive brush jump, and wished she'd brought her camera. It would be fun to get a picture of Cancun sailing over it.

She forgot about that as she heard a murmur rise from the spectators. Glancing back to the horse and rider, she saw that Jan was having trouble. The gray gelding was flinging his head and skittering to one side as they approached the brush.

“Oh no,” Haley said, realizing what must have been bothering Cancun. “The cows!”

She glanced over her shoulder at the herd, which was grazing peacefully just a few yards from the fence. Cancun had seen them too, and clearly didn't want to get too close.

Haley held her breath as Jan growled and booted the
horse forward. Instead of cantering on, though, Cancun planted his feet and bucked hard.

Haley gasped along with everyone else. But somehow Jan stayed on, circling Cancun away from the cows and then back again to the line for the brush jump. Cancun didn't buck this time, but he stopped and backed up several strides out.

“Yikes,” Haley said. “He's really scared.”

“Yeah.” Andrew sounded worried.

Jan stopped her horse and gave him a rub on the neck. Then she urged him forward again at a walk. He hesitated but did as she asked, keeping a wary eye on the cows. Jan walked him back and forth, getting closer each time, then stopped and patted him. Glancing at the jump judge by the brush, she raised her hand, then rode over to talk to the woman.

“Wait, what's she doing?” Haley said.

Kyle shrugged. “Retiring, looks like.”

“What?” Haley couldn't believe it.

But it seemed to be true—Jan was talking to the jump judge, who pulled out her walkie-talkie and called someone. Haley and the others were too far away to hear what Jan and the judge were saying, but after a bit more
discussion Jan nodded and rode off at a trot, passing the brush fence without even trying to jump it.

“Why did she do that?” Haley said. “Cancun was calming down—I'm sure she could've gotten him over the brush and the ditch after it. Then they'd be away from the cows again and everything would be fine. Even with a refusal and some time faults, she might still have finished up okay.”