Best Enemies (Canterwood Crest) (20 page)

“Working trot to C,” Mr. Conner called. “Track right and ten-meter circle at B.”

Charm trotted forward with even steps. We made our circle and Mr. Conner directed us to do a collected canter. That wasn’t easy for Charm—or me. But I asked him to raise his neck and he arched it. Charm felt light under my hands and his stride was as short as it needed to be.

Mr. Conner asked us for a free walk, working canter on the left lead, and a twenty-meter circle. Charm’s canter was heavier than I wanted, but I shook it off and focused on the rest of the exercises. I concentrated on the turns since Charm often tried to drift. I only had to correct him through one turn. This felt like it was one of our best tests ever!

“Medium walk to X and halt,” Mr. Conner said. I stopped Charm in the center of the arena and saluted again. Charm, knowing he had to stand still, didn’t even blink until I relaxed the reins and let him walk out of the arena. Cheering erupted from the stands and I looked over my shoulder at my parents, Eric, and Paige. They were standing and clapping.

I stopped Charm a few yards out of the arena and dismounted. I hugged him, not caring that he’d cover my
show coat with hair. I looked over and saw Callie walking Jack in slow circles. Still, I knew Callie around shows— she’d talk to me when she was ready.

“You were so great,” I told Charm. “I love you, boy.”

Charm blew a gentle breath into my hand. “Phase one is over. Now, we get to do all of the fun stuff.
Our
stuff,” I told him. “Cross-country.” Charm’s ears went forward.

“
That
was dressage?” Jasmine asked, riding by. “Wow.” She laughed and trotted Phoenix into the arena when Mr. Conner called her name. I just rolled my eyes and walked Charm closer to the arena. Now that my test was over, I could enjoy watching Jasmine and Heather ride.

Even though Jas had lost her rough style, her movements were too sharp. Phoenix didn’t seem to be in synch with her—he moved because he was afraid of her. Five minutes into the test, the gelding started sweating and his chest turned a steely gray. But Jas, always a pro, finished without any major mistakes and she exited the arena with a smile.

Heather’s dressage test was one of the best I’d ever seen her complete. Her signals were invisible. Aristocrat moved through the test as if
he’d
memorized it, but was still spontaneous and he flowed through every turn and circle. I looked up at the stands to watch Mr. Fox. He
leaned forward in his seat, studying Heather’s test. The way he watched her made me squirm. He wasn’t appreciating her ride—he was judging her every move.

Heather finished her test and saluted. People started clapping and Heather looked into the stands. Everyone— especially Julia and Alison—was applauding.

Except for Mr. Fox.

In the seconds since Heather had finished her test, he’d managed to make a phone call. He had a hand over one ear and his phone against the other. Julia and Alison, glancing over and seeing Mr. Fox, started cheering louder and waving, trying to distract Heather from looking at her dad. But Heather had already seen Mr. Fox.

Worst dad ever much? And I didn’t even want to think about how Heather must have felt not to have her mom here. Callie had said she’d overheard Julia and Alison talking about how Mrs. Fox had decided to attend a country club party instead of Heather’s testing. Niiice.

Heather straightened in the saddle and walked Aristocrat out of the exit.

“Great ride,” I said when she passed me.

“Thanks.” Heather half smiled. “You weren’t horrible either.”

Mr. Conner stepped into the center of the arena and
turned to the stands. “That concludes our dressage round. If you’ll follow me over to the larger arena, we’ll begin jumping in a few minutes.”

Jasmine and Heather trotted their horses forward and I let Charm hang back so we could walk over with Callie and Jack.

“I know you’re upset,” I said. “But every other part of your test was perfect.”

Callie shook her head. “That doesn’t matter. The circles were so off—Mr. Nicholson probably isn’t even considering me after that.”

“Yes, he is. We still have two rounds left,” I said. “Plus, Mr. Nicholson has seen you ride dressage before and he knows you can have an almost perfect round.”

Callie nodded. “That’s true.” She looked toward the stands. “And Jacob’s here.”

I nodded. “He was definitely watching.”

We let the horses walk on a loose rein to the arena and we waited for our parents, friends, and Mr. Nicholson to get seated. My eyes settled on Mr. Nicholson’s leather-bound folder. He’d been writing notes during all of our tests. What had he written about me? I didn’t have long to wonder, because Mr. Conner walked up to us.

“Your jumping order has been determined,” he said.
“Heather, you’ll go first. Then, Jasmine, Callie, and Sasha. Heather, you may start whenever you’re ready.”

Heather trotted Aristocrat into the arena and let him into a canter. She pointed him at the first vertical and Aristocrat took it with ease and cantered toward the second jump. Heather and Aristocrat cleared jump after jump, not even coming close to knocking a rail.

I shook my head in amazement. I’d worried that Mr. Fox’s behavior would have rattled Heather. But it looked like it had actually fueled her drive to do better. Aristocrat and Heather’s futures were on the line, and the way Heather was jumping, she wasn’t putting either of them at risk.

Heather finished her ride and the cheering started the second Aristocrat’s hooves hit the ground. Heather rubbed Aristocrat’s neck and trotted him out of the arena. She slowed him to a walk as she passed us.

“That was amazing,” Callie said to Heather. “Mr. Nicholson was impressed—I could see it on his face.”

Heather started to smile at Callie, but caught herself. “Duh, Harper.” She dismounted and led Aristocrat a few yards away.

I watched Jasmine and Phoenix enter the arena. Callie and I were silent as Jasmine and Phoenix started. Jasmine
didn’t make one mistake. She encouraged Phoenix when he needed it, urged him when he started to slow on long turns, and never wobbled on landings. She even finished the course a few seconds faster than Heather, though timing wasn’t a factor today.

“That’s going to be tough to beat,” Callie said. She adjusted the reins and prepared to ride Jack into the arena.

“You can do it,” I said. “You’ve totally got this.”

Mr. Conner nodded to her and she sat still for a second before urging Jack into a trot. She let him into a canter and pointed him at the first jump. I crossed my fingers that she would make Jasmine’s ride look awful. Over the twelve jumps, Jack did everything Callie asked. He didn’t knock a rail or come close to touching the faux brush with his hooves.

But something—not anything technical, but
something
— was off. Jasmine’s and Heather’s rides had been fiery. But Callie’s ride had lacked the usual Callie sparkle. It could have been anyone else’s ride. And that wasn’t like Callie.

When she finished, she rode over to me and rubbed Jack’s neck. “Not one rail down!” she cheered.

“You were amazing,” I said. “I’m so proud of you.”

Callie dismounted and looked toward the stands.
“You’re going to do great. I’m taking Jack over by Jacob and I’ll watch from there.”

Before I could respond, Callie led Jack in Jacob’s direction. Jacob climbed down from the stands and hugged Callie. After watching them for a few seconds, I looked away and went back to concentrating on my own ride.

Mr. Conner motioned to me to come to the arena entrance. I trotted Charm up to Mr. Conner and he patted Charm’s neck.

“Have a good ride,” he said. “Don’t rush the jumps and stay relaxed. You’re going to do great.”

I tried to smile, but I was too nervous. Instead, I nodded and rode Charm into the arena. The course usually seemed endless before I got started, but by the second jump, I was always ready for more.

I tapped my heels against Charm’s sides and gave him rein. He moved into a collected canter and headed for the first jump—a simple vertical. Charm jumped it and stayed calm as he took the next two verticals—both three feet high—and then cantered toward the first oxer. I let Charm’s pace quicken a notch to give him speed to get over the spread. He sailed over the black and white rails of the oxer and landed almost without a sound on the other side.

We turned back, took a brush jump, and then tackled a vertical with yellow rails and flower boxes on the sides.

Charm flicked an ear back to me as I gathered him before the double combination. This was one of the trickiest combos. I started counting strides.
Five, four, three, two, one, and now!
I let Charm go and he bounced over the first jump, took two strides, and surged into the air for the second half. I listened for a rail to fall behind us, but the only sound was Charm’s hooves pounding the dirt.

Charm, not even winded, leaped the oxer, second brush jump, and a vertical with blue and white rails without pause.
Three jumps left,
I thought.
We’re almost there!
I didn’t let myself think about the final jump—a triple combo.

I angled Charm in front of a plain red and white vertical and rose in the saddle. Charm jumped and landed, but gained too much speed before the next obstacle. I did a half halt and he responded by slowing and not rushing the last vertical. He huffed when we landed and swished his tail, knowing we were close to the end.

He cantered around the final turn. My brain was already on the combination.
Don’t mess up the combo
. We were
thisclose
to a clean ride. Then, Charm’s stride faltered. He pointed both ears away from me and his once forward, smooth canter became bouncy and uneven. I squeezed my
legs against his sides and moved the reins in my fingers. Charm was getting bored on the last long turn. The first jump of the combination was strides away—there were seconds to get his focus.

I shifted in the saddle, forcing my weight down, and I tapped Charm with my heels. We turned toward the first jump and he started to regain momentum.

We’ve got it,
I thought.
He’ll make it through the triple
.

At just the right moment, Charm propelled himself over the first jump. But he landed too close. There wasn’t enough room in between jumps to increase his speed. Charm tried to jump the second part of the combination, but his knees knocked into the rail. It tumbled to the ground.

I had no time to obsess—the next jump was right there. Charm, with a gallant effort, pushed off high into the air and fought to clear the last part of the triple combination. I was sure he’d take down the rail with his back hooves, but he managed to get over it. We landed on the other side and the rail stayed in place.

No one else had knocked a rail. I tried not to look as disappointed as I felt. Patting Charm’s neck, I looked up into the stands at Eric.

Good job,
Eric mouthed.

I managed a smile and nodded.
Remember what you just told Callie,
I reminded myself. Mr. Nicholson had seen Charm and me jump before. And I couldn’t forget that cross-country was next. The only scary spot would be the creek, but I was ready.

Mr. Conner stepped in front of the stands. “Thank you all for watching our jumping round,” he said. “We’re going to take a break for a couple of hours to rest the horses and riders. Please feel free to grab lunch on campus and meet us back at the stable entrance at two.”

As everyone started to descend from the portable stands, Mr. Conner walked over to us. “Wonderful job, girls,” he said. “Your hard work was evident.”

Everyone but Jasmine smiled. She looked as if someone told her she was an amazing rider
every
day and this was old news to her.

“Mike and Doug will cool and water your horses,” Mr. Conner said. “You may get lunch with your parents if you like, but please be on time to start.”

I hugged Charm, and as I handed his reins to Mike, Paige and Eric ran up to me.

“Omigod,” Paige said, grabbing me in a hug. “You were sooo awesome! I have no idea how you get over all of those jumps without knocking them down.
And
you
never got confused about what jump to take.”

I hugged her back. “Just like how I don’t get how you can make a lemon meringue pie without burning it or messing up the ingredients.”

Eric squeezed my hand. “That was such a great ride. I never would have been able to get Charm over that triple combo after he stopped paying attention. Amazing, Sash.”

“Thanks. I’m so proud of Charm.”

I looked over his shoulder and saw Mom and Dad starting to make their way over.

Don’t panic, don’t panic!
But I didn’t want them to meet Eric yet.
Think of something!

“Uh, Eric, Mr. Conner waved at you,” I said.

“He did?” Eric asked, looking over at Mr. Conner, who had his back to us.

I nodded, feeling my face go pink. “He just turned and motioned for you. He must need your help or something.”

“Okaaay. I guess I’ll go talk to him. Catch you later,” Eric said.

Phew.

Mom and Dad reached us just as Eric found Mr. Conner. I crossed my fingers that Mr. Conner would find
something for Eric to do that would keep him busy for a while.

“That was a gorgeous ride, honey,” Mom said. “You and Charm looked so good together.” She handed me an old jacket to cover up my show coat. I had a habit of spilling lunch on my clothes during show day.

Dad held up his Nikon. “I took lots of photos. Gram and Grandpa are going to love them.”

This was kind of a big day, so I’d let him slide on taking lots of pics. Just this once.

“Do you want to get lunch with us, or wait here?” Mom asked. “If I know my daughter, I bet she wants to stay close to Charm and let us bring her back something to eat.”

I laughed. “You might know me just a little, Mom. Burger and chocolate milkshake?”

“You got it,” Mom said. She knew I needed my energy food before cross-country.

“Can we get you the same, Paige?” Dad asked.

“Sure,” Paige said. “Thanks.”

Mom and Dad started for the cafeteria and I watched until they were far away from Eric.