Back in the Saddle (4 page)

Wings flicked an ear back at the sound of her voice, but didn't respond when she nudged again with both legs to ask for a trot. Haley was surprised.

“Are you okay, buddy?” she said. “Come on, let's go!”

She kicked harder, and Wings picked up a choppy, sluggish trot. Haley bit her lip, wondering if they'd overdone it the day before. What if Wings had used up all his
energy at that penning? What if this hurt their chances at the event?

Uh-oh,
she thought.
Did I make a big mistake?

Haley always gave Wings the day off on Monday, just like many of the big-time trainers did. On Tuesday she hurried home from school, and barely paused to wolf down a banana before heading out to the barn. Wings had perked up after a while on Sunday, but his energy had remained lower than usual. What if he was still tired today?

He seemed a little more like his normal self in the crossties, shifting his weight and snorting at Bandit as the dog wandered past. Still, Haley was nervous as she gave him a quick grooming and then fetched her saddle. If the pony was still tired, would they have to scratch from the event? It was only four days away, and there didn't seem to be much point in going if she knew they wouldn't be at their best. . . .

But when she mounted, Wings leaped forward, trying to break into a trot as soon as Haley's rear end hit the saddle. She smiled with relief as she pulled him up.

“Hey, settle down,” she chided, though she didn't really mind his antics this time. “Glad you're feeling better today, but we've got work to do.”

That evening after dinner Haley logged on to the Pony Post. She scanned the latest entries, smiling at some new photos Nina had posted of Breezy. Then she opened a text box.

[HALEY]
Good news, guys. Wingsie's back! He was raring to go today, ha ha! Lucky it was a XC day b/c I think he would've exploded if I'd tried to make him do dressage!!! As it was, he overjumped everything I pointed him at by like a yard, lol! Soooo glad that penning didn't tire him out too much after all! Whew! But yeah, we had a great ride today, and I know we're ready for the big day on Sat. Ready to win, that is!!!

CHAPTER

THE REST OF
the week passed in the blink of an eye. At least that was how it felt to Haley as she emerged, yawning, from the cab of Uncle Mike's truck into the cool morning air on Saturday. She stretched and looked around, her sleepiness evaporating instantly when she got a look at the scene before her.

The event was taking place at a stable about forty minutes' drive from her house. It was the same farm where she'd attended the clinic in the fall, and once again she was impressed by its immaculate twin barns, large riding rings, and acres of rolling hills, which managed to look lovely and manicured despite the dusting of snow that lingered
in the shadier spots. Horses and riders were everywhere, some of the horses still dressed in stable blankets, some tacked up and ready to go, many somewhere in between.

Haley had received her ride times a couple of days earlier. She checked her watch and saw that she had at least two hours until she needed to start warming up for her dressage test. Good. That would give Wings plenty of time to settle in.

“Let's get you unloaded.” Uncle Mike checked his watch too as he hurried toward the trailer. “I need to get back for my shift at the drugstore.”

Haley nodded. “Thanks for bringing me,” she said. “Don't worry about what time you get back here this afternoon. I don't mind hanging out and watching if we're finished before you come to get us.”

“Okay.” The corners of Uncle Mike's eyes crinkled as he smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Sorry I can't stay and watch.”

“It's okay. Jan will be here.” Haley glanced around, wondering how she was ever going to find her trainer in this crowd.

Jan Whipple was a successful local event rider who ran a busy lesson-and-training program out of her small farm a few miles from Haley's home. Several of her other students were also competing in this event, and she'd assured Haley's aunt and uncle that she'd look after Haley and Wings while they were there.

Wings was on his toes as he jumped out of the trailer and got a look at his surroundings. “Good boy,” Haley said, tugging on the lead to remind him she was there. “Does this place look familiar?”

The pony let out a snort, lowering his head to sniff at a patch of half-frozen mud. Meanwhile Uncle Mike was unloading Haley's tack trunk, a big plastic box on wheels that held her jumping and dressage saddles along with everything else she was likely to need.

“Let's find Jan,” he said, pulling out his phone. He sent a quick text.

The phone beeped a few seconds later. “Where is she?” Haley asked, keeping one eye on Wings, who was still on high alert.

Uncle Mike rubbed his mustache and squinted off to
the left. “Said to aim toward the grove of pines near the dressage ring,” he said. “Must be thataway. Come on. Let's go.”

Haley followed, leading Wings, as her uncle pulled the wheeled trunk along through the rutted parking area. When they passed the pine trees, Haley spotted Jan a dozen yards away brushing a tall, lanky bay horse tied to a trailer.

“There she is,” Haley said, waving to the trainer.

Jan waved back, and a moment later a teenage boy emerged from behind the horse and hurried toward Haley and her uncle. “You made it!” he said with a shy but sincere smile.

“Yep,” Haley said. “Andrew, this is my uncle Mike. This is Andrew—he rides with me sometimes in my lessons at Jan's.”

Haley had first met Andrew at the clinic last fall. His horse was the one Jan was currently grooming, a talented but green young thoroughbred he'd bought at the racetrack. Andrew was on an even tighter budget than Haley was and had been doing most of Turbo's training on his
own, but when Haley had told him about Jan, he'd started taking lessons with her whenever he could afford it. Both he and his horse had responded beautifully to Jan's training, which was why she'd encouraged them to enter this event.

“Nice to meet you,” Andrew said with a bashful nod at Uncle Mike. “I can take that trunk the rest of the way if you want. Jan said you're in a hurry.”

“Thanks, son.” Uncle Mike consulted his watch again. “I should get going. Haley, you going to be okay?”

“Sure,” Haley said. “Thanks. I'll see you later.”

Uncle Mike hurried off in the direction of the rig. Haley waved, feeling a tiny twinge of disappointment. It had been fun having family and friends around to share her win at the penning last weekend. But nobody from her family was able to come and watch the event today, and her friends were busy too—Emma with a family birthday celebration and Tracey with a trip to Chicago with her sister.

But she didn't dwell on that for long. There was too much to do!

Half an hour later Haley was walking the cross-country course with Jan. While horses weren't allowed to see the jumps before they competed, it was customary for riders to hike around the course on foot to plan out the best way to ride each obstacle. Haley always loved getting a close-up look at the jumps. For one thing, walking a course always gave her ideas for new jumps to build at home!

Andrew was along for the course walk too. So was the other student who would be riding at their level, a boy Haley's age named Kyle. Haley had ridden with him in a few group lessons over the past year or so, though she didn't know him that well, since he went to school in a neighboring district. His horse, Augie, was an older buckskin gelding with a kind, quiet temperament—Jan called him “a good egg.” Augie struggled a bit with show jumping but was reliable and brave and always willing to try. He reminded Haley of the steady paint mare she'd ridden in lessons when she'd first been learning to jump at age seven or so. Kyle himself was just as cheerful and likable as his horse, with wavy reddish-brown hair that always
seemed to be sticking up, and a broad, freckled face that always seemed to be smiling.

“Wow, this is so exciting!” Kyle exclaimed as they approached the first fence, an inviting log surrounded by mulch. His eyes widened as he glanced from the log in front of them to a larger one immediately to its right, and then an even larger one beyond that. “Wait, which one is ours?”

Jan chuckled. “The small one,” she told him. “Don't panic. As I told you, there are several levels competing this weekend, but the three of you are doing beginner novice.”

Haley nodded along with the others, though she couldn't help glancing at the next biggest log, which she knew had to be for the novice-level competition. She'd already completed a couple of unrecognized events at that level, but Jan had convinced her to drop back to beginner novice for her first recognized event. Now that she saw the jumps, though, she almost wished she'd pushed harder to stay at novice.

Wings and I could totally handle that log,
she thought, barely listening as Jan talked to them about how to ride the obstacle. Her gaze wandered over to the biggest log.
In fact, we'd be able to kill the training one too—easy peasy!