Horse Feathers (6 page)

Lisa’s and Carole’s voices slowly faded as they made
their way down the stairs, buzzing again about the upcoming vaulting class. Stevie got to her feet and quietly closed her bedroom door. Then she crossed the room and pulled a pillow and synthetic comforter off the bed. She curled up on the carpet next to the incubator and snuggled under the blanket, keeping a watchful eye on her eggs.

T
UESDAY
’
S VAULTING LESSON
couldn’t come soon enough, as far as the girls were concerned. Max had promised his students that they would finally get a chance to try a couple of simple moves on Clara. Almost every other word that had come out of Lisa’s or Carole’s mouth since Sunday had had something to do with vaulting. Not that Stevie wasn’t just as excited, but she was also quite preoccupied with her eggs and was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything else.

Lisa glanced down at her dance tights. “I feel like I showed up for the wrong lesson,” she joked.

Carole and Stevie, who were also wearing tights instead of their standard riding breeches, had to agree.
Max had instructed everyone to wear snug, flexible clothing for the day’s lesson. Although breeches were ideal for riding, they weren’t as suitable for vaulting.

“Wait until you try walking across the arena floor in these,” said Stevie, pulling on a pair of soft-soled, ballet-like slippers that Max had also requested they wear so that they wouldn’t injure Clara’s back.

The first part of the class had been a repeat of Sunday’s ground exercises, followed by some work on the barrel for balance. When Max was satisfied that everyone had taken a turn, he’d told them to quickly change their footwear and meet him in the indoor arena.

The girls arrived in the arena to see Red already warming up Clara on the longe line. It was the first time Stevie had seen the large mare work, and she had to admit that Clara looked quite impressive decked out in her vaulting gear. She was outfitted in a simple snaffle bit. Side reins ran from the bit to the vaulting surcingle. The surcingle itself consisted of a large thick belt of padded leather, approximately eight inches wide, that wrapped around Clara’s withers and belly and was buckled up on either side, very similar to a saddle girth. Along the top of the surcingle were two leather-covered handles. Cossack straps were attached below the handles on either side, which Stevie suspected would be used to help the shorter
riders mount. Between the surcingle and Clara’s back was a thick cotton pad. Red had also wrapped Clara’s lower legs for added support.

Red clucked softly to Clara and the large mare instantly shifted from a trot into a canter. Stevie, Lisa, and Carole watched in awe at the sight of Clara cantering in a perfect circle around Red. Her stride was so even and balanced that she appeared to float above the ground.

“Wow … I wish Belle were that smooth,” Stevie whispered.

The soft ground beneath the girls’ feet shook as all 1,400 pounds of Clara cantered past. So she didn’t exactly float, mused Stevie.

“One of the most important things in vaulting,” Max began, “is the soft arena. Not only does it protect Clara’s legs from injury, but it also protects the vaulters from landing on too hard of a surface if they fall off.”

“You mean ‘when’,” corrected Stevie.

Max smiled and continued. “The other important thing is to make sure that the horse is properly warmed up. And because a vaulting horse spends most of its time working in a circle, it’s necessary to cross train with other disciplines, such as dressage or jumping, to maximize muscle development and flexibility. Students aren’t the only ones who need to be flexible in vaulting.”

The class laughed at Max’s comment as Red slowed Clara to a walk.

“So who wants to go first?” Max asked brightly. The riders looked at each other. “What about you, Carole?” he suggested.

Carole nodded and stepped forward. Ordinarily all three of The Saddle Club girls would have volunteered to go first, but this time they were all just a little nervous.

While Red longed Clara at a walk, Max boosted Carole gently onto the mare’s back. Max had already explained to them that the Vault-on, which was how vaulters mounted their horses at the canter, was a more difficult move and would come later in the training. Besides that, a Vault-on was never performed at a walk because there wasn’t enough momentum to swing the rider onto the horse’s back without putting stress on the horse’s shoulder and leg muscles.

“She feels like a giant rocking chair!” Carole exclaimed excitedly, instantly forgetting her nervousness. She adjusted her seat on Clara’s broad back, enjoying the even tempo of the mare’s walk. Instinctively she reached up to adjust her helmet, then remembered she wasn’t wearing one. She grinned at Max. “It’s like getting into a car and not putting your seat belt on.”

Max nodded. “It’ll take a little bit of getting used to.”

It was the first time that Carole could think of that Max had actually instructed the students
not
to wear their helmets. As Max had explained to them, helmets could interfere with balance and peripheral vision. It was especially important in the more advanced moves, where vaulters rested their heads directly against the horse’s body for stability. The interference of a helmet could cause them to slip and fall.

“All right, Carole, let’s begin with the Basic Seat.”

The Basic Seat was easy—it was no different than a similar exercise that Max had them do in regular mounted classes. Carole extended her arms at shoulder level and looked straight ahead. She stretched her legs down, squeezing slightly so that no light shone between her legs and Clara’s sides.

“Very good,” said Max. “Now, I want you to gently swing your legs forward and then back, bringing yourself up to a kneeling position on Clara’s back.”

The students watched, captivated, as Carole gripped the handles of the vaulting surcingle and followed Max’s instructions, timing her movements with the slow, even, four-beat tempo of Clara’s walk.

“The next thing we’re going to try is an up-to-the-knees, which is basically a half Stand. Pretty soon you’ll be able to do these moves at the canter,” said Max. “In a way it will be
easier because of the tempo. But I want to make sure that everyone gets a feel for the positions before we try that.”

Max walked along beside Clara, coaching Carole as she moved from a kneeling position into a crouched position, bringing one foot up first and then the other. Carole tried to let go of the handles and immediately lost her balance, slipping awkwardly to the side.

“Don’t forget your emergency dismount,” reminded Max.

Carole quickly swung both her legs over Clara’s rump and landed in the soft arena dirt, rolling over her shoulder to lessen the impact. “Very good, Carole,” said Max.

Stevie was next. She was surprised at how difficult it was to keep her balance once she let go of the handles. Before she knew it, she found herself sitting in the dirt off to the side of the longeing circle, watching Clara’s large black-and-white rump as the horse sauntered past. Clara glanced back curiously as if to say, “What are you doing down there?”

Lisa didn’t fare much better. She slowly picked herself up off the ground, brushing at the arena dirt on her clothes, wondering how on earth anyone actually managed to stay on the horse.

“Max, there’s no way we’re going to be able to learn how to do this in a month,” announced Meg, one of
the other students in the class who had also fallen off shortly after mounting.

“At this rate we’ll be lucky to learn it in a year,” declared Stevie, quite frustrated with the way the lesson was progressing—or rather, not progressing. What was bothering her the most, besides the obvious fact that she’d fallen off, was that she suddenly felt like a total beginner again. And she could see from the frowns on the other students’ faces that they were feeling exactly the same way.

Max seemed unconcerned, even though no one in the class had managed to stay on for more than a few strides in any position other than the Basic Seat. “It’s like riding a bicycle,” he said. “These exercises aren’t any different from the ones you did on the barrel. You just need to get used to the feel of the ‘moving floor’ underneath you.”

Stevie thought Max’s comment seemed odd, especially since they were all very used to the feel of a horse’s motion.

“Come on, let’s give it another try,” Max said encouragingly.

Everyone lined up. The Saddle Club girls exchanged surprised looks as they noticed Veronica, who’d been the least enthusiastic of the bunch to try vaulting in the first place, at the front of the line.

“Maybe she just wants to get it over with,” Lisa suggested slowly. “What other logical explanation could there be?”

What surprised the girls even more was that Veronica actually did quite well the second time around, managing to hold the up-to-the-knees position for several strides, her hands out at shoulder level, before falling off.

Determined not to be outdone, Stevie went next. But, again, she lost her balance the moment she released her hold on the handles. And every student after her ended up much the same way. The only other rider who managed to stay on at all was Lisa.

“Use your arms to balance yourself, Lisa,” Max reminded her.

Lisa extended her arms, wiggling her toes a little as she balanced her weight evenly between her feet. She slowly rose from the crouched position to the Stand, keeping her knees slightly bent.

“You’ve got it, Lisa!” Max said excitedly.

Stevie and Carole held their breath as Lisa made it one stride … two strides … three strides. Lisa wobbled and tipped off to the side, hitting the ground with a graceful roll.

“Nice dismount,” said Max.

The class cheered as Lisa leaped to her feet, grinning. That was the longest anyone had managed to stay on.

“That was
sooo
much fun,” squealed Lisa, thrilled with her attempt, especially since she hadn’t been riding as long as many of the other students in the class. “Three strides! I did three strides!”

“I say we break her kneecaps,” teased Stevie. She knew that Lisa’s years of ballet and gymnastics were responsible for her agility with the vaulting moves; however, she couldn’t help being just a little bit envious.

“Can we have another try?” Carole asked Max. Max nodded.

This time Stevie did a little better. Even though she didn’t quite make it into the Stand position, she managed to stay on for several strides before falling off. Lisa continued her standing streak and went half a circle before she needed to grab the handles. This time she didn’t fall off.

Veronica went last. Max boosted her onto Clara’s back, then stepped back, coaching her as she slowly rose to her feet, her arms extended for balance. “Eyes straight ahead, Veronica. That’s it.”

Veronica unsteadily held the position for an entire circle. Then her confidence seemed to increase and she relaxed and moved more with Clara’s motions. It seemed she was getting a feel for the “moving floor.” At Max’s nod, she gracefully sat down
on Clara’s back, then slid off the mare’s side, landing on her feet.

“Excellent, Veronica,” praised Max.

Stevie gagged, quickly covering up with a small coughing fit when she noticed Max’s disapproving look.

Max turned to the class. “I think that’s enough for one day. Good work, everyone.”

“Good? I think we need to get him glasses,” Stevie said to Lisa and Carole. “Since the only one who was any good at all was Lisa.” She noticed Veronica approaching. “Oh … and her,” she added grudgingly.

Veronica stopped beside Stevie, smoothing the wrinkles out of her shirt. “You know, I think that mare has some fine breeding in her,” she commented. “Clydesdale, perhaps. Maybe Percheron.” She glanced back at Clara, watching as Red brought the mare to a halt, completely missing the stunned look on Stevie’s face.

Fine breeding?
thought Stevie.
Miss Veronica diAngelo who only rides expensive purebreds thinks that ordinary old Clara has fine breeding?
It was too much for her. She reached out and touched Veronica’s forehead. “Do you think she has a fever?” She asked Lisa and Carole.

Veronica impatiently brushed Stevie’s hand aside. “Just because
you
couldn’t stay on doesn’t mean that
Clara
doesn’t know what she’s doing. Only an impeccably
bred horse could possess the qualities that Clara displayed today.”

Max’s lips twitched in amusement at Veronica’s very un-Veronica-like comment. “I can assure you, Veronica, Clara’s just a good old workhorse with a smooth gait.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” continued Veronica. “Look at her stride. Her movement. That sort of quality only comes from fine breeding.”

“You’re only saying that because Clara let you stay on,” Stevie blurted out.

Veronica smiled at Stevie, sugar sweet. “We all rode the same horse. Besides, you know what they say: It’s not the horse, it’s the rider. And I guess some riders just have more talent than others.”

Stevie bristled, feeling ready to breathe fire in Veronica’s direction.

“Max, do you think you could give me some extra balancing exercises that I could practice at home this week?” Veronica continued.