Hunter Derby: (Show Circuit Series -- Book 3) (7 page)

“That’s better,” Linda said as Dakota came out of the first turn and headed to the in of a line. “Now just ride what you see.”

The distance worked out better and Zoe could see Dakota relax just a smidgen. It was working. Each jump was a little smoother and Zoe could tell Dakota was gaining confidence.

“Sometimes you have to just trust something, put your faith in it, and you’ll see it’ll work out,” Linda said when Dakota had jumped the last fence and was circling, waiting to see if she should walk or keep going.

Linda continued, “Keep going and give me the six line the other direction, roll back on the in-and-out, the end-jump and then finish over the broken line. Same thing—out of the turn, lighten your seat, and let your canter take you to the distance. Some horses come out of the turn and they’re not straight and you need to correct that but he’s straight as an arrow so all you need to do is ride forward and the distance will be there.”

Linda nodded along with the jumps. “That’s better, huh?” she said to Zoe. “She’s getting it. Finally.”

“I think she is,” Zoe agreed.

“Let him walk, good girl!” Linda called out to Dakota with enthusiasm. “That’s good for today. Think about what you just felt. Let that feeling imprint on your brain because that’s what I want you to be thinking about every time you’re jumping.”

Dakota patted Plato. “Thank you,” she said to Linda. Then she glanced at Zoe and added, “Thank you, too, that helped about the seat.”

“Good, I’m glad,” Zoe said.

“Zoe’s done a lot of riding and let me tell you, if you didn’t already know it yourself, this girl is one hell of a gifted rider,” Linda said. “So you’re smart to listen when she tells you something.”

Zoe felt the warmth of the compliment spreading out through her body. It wasn’t that she didn’t know she was a good rider. Of course she knew as much. And over her junior career, plenty of people had said it to her and fawned over her. But after a while they’d also become quick to point out any weaknesses, nearly looking to find the chink in her armor. Maybe out of jealousy.

Her life lately hadn’t been full of people singing her praises. It felt so good to have Linda recognize out loud that she had knowledge that was worth imparting to others. That she had value to add.

After all the horses were ridden and put away, Zoe found Dakota in Midway’s stall, just hanging out with him.

“Besides Logan, this guy was Hannah’s fave,” Zoe said when she spotted her in there.

“If Midway was human he’d be like the perfect boyfriend,” Dakota said. “He’d be loyal. He’d never let you down. He’d never ever cheat on you.”

“If he were a guy, would he still be gelded?” Zoe said. “Cause then, yeah, he probably wouldn’t cheat on you.”

Dakota giggled. “Maybe certain guys should be gelded.”

“I’d be in favor of that. I could name a few that could go right to the top of that list.”

Dakota snuggled against Midway, rubbing her cheek against his. Zoe was glad to see Dakota had these moments with the horses—that she went in their stalls and cuddled with them. There were plenty of kids on the show circuit who rarely entered a stall. Despite what people might say about her, Zoe wasn’t one of them.

She had grown up on her mother’s farm riding and taking care of all the ponies and horses. Her mother was most often too harried and too broke (not to mention too drunk) to give Zoe much attention. Zoe started going into the barn at night at an early age, when her mother had passed out on the couch. She would visit her favorite horses, pressing her face against their soft coats.

If some kids were raised by wolves, she had been raised by horses. It was in their stalls late at night when the barn was quiet that she felt loved. Sure, as she’d grown up and gotten to be the kind of rider who was asked to show multiple horses a day, she didn’t have as much time for tacking them up or going into their stalls.

But she loved them because they had loved her. They had given her a safe place when she hadn’t had one.

She was pretty sure Dakota was in Midway’s stall for the very same reason. In a way, she was being raised by horses too.

“Is there a particular boy we should be gelding?” Zoe said now. “Or is it just boys in general?”

“A particular boy.”

Zoe went into the stall. “Go ahead, lay it on me.”

“You don’t want to hear about my crap,” Dakota demurred.

“Why wouldn’t I? Come on, spill.”

“I got together with this guy. But then I get a text from a friend that at Camden he was with another girl.”

“He’s a horse guy?”

“Yes.”

“Do I know him?”

“Parker Zalme.”

“Parker? He’s cute.”

“Yeah, I know.” Dakota held out her palm and Midway licked it like he was a dog.

“He’s also quite a few years older than you.”

“I know that too.”

“And he’s a
total dick!
” Zoe widened her eyes for emphasis. “You knew that too, right?”

Dakota shrugged. “I guess, maybe, I don’t know.”

“Come on,” Zoe said. “Parker Zalme? There are good guys and there are bad guys. If you go after the bad guys you have to expect them to be bad. Not to change for you because they’ve finally seen the light and fallen in love. Leave that to the Nicholas Sparks movies.”

Dakota looked down at the shavings and Zoe worried she’d been too harsh with the girl. But Dakota picked her eyes up and challenged Zoe with her stare, “Look who’s talking. Aren’t you the queen of the bad boys? I mean, Donnie?” Dakota made a show of cringing.

“Yeah, that was a big mistake but things get more complicated as you get older.”

“So when you were my age you only hung out with good guys?”

“No, not exactly,” Zoe admitted. “I have been known throughout my life to have pretty horrible taste in the opposite sex. But here’s the thing—maybe I can save you from making the same mistakes I made.”

“And how are you going to do that?”

“Won’t just warning you and telling you to learn from my life work?”

“Somehow I doubt it.”

Both were silent and contemplative for a few moments. Midway lowered his head and searched the shavings for any overlooked pieces of hay.

“What if we make a pact?” Dakota offered.

“What kind of pact?”

“Like neither of us can go after, or hook up with, any assholes.”

“Define asshole?” Zoe said.

“Do I really have to?” Dakota said. “Basically we can’t go after any of the guys we usually go after. If we’re into a guy he has to be a nice, loyal, kind, sweet guy.”

“To put it in horse terms we can only go after Midways,” Zoe said. “No Platos.”

Plato was gorgeous and talented and cocky. He was also unpredictable at times, which was why Dakota hadn’t shown him yet. Linda planned for her to start using him this summer and save Dudley for important classes and the finals. The thing about horses, though, was that over time some of them could learn to be dependable. Unlike men.

“How will we keep tabs on each other?” Zoe asked.

“Well, it’s more like an honor system but I guess there’s always HorseShowDrama.”

“Okay. You’re on.” Zoe reached out and shook Dakota’s hand. It felt oddly formal. She wasn’t even sure why she was agreeing to all this. Could a pact with a fourteen year-old seriously make her stay away from jerks?

“The only problem is that most of the horse show world seems to be filled with dicks,” Dakota said.

“There is that,” Zoe agreed.

Dakota shrugged. “At least I’ve got my boyfriend, Middie.”

“I’m sorry, he’s my boyfriend.” Zoe reached for Midway possessively.

“Haha,” Dakota said, encircling Midway’s nose with her arm and kissing him. “This one is all mine.

CHAPTER NINE

Her first real test was the flock of guinea hens, which were pecking the grass near the barn. Gidget took one look at them and sighed.

They brought Gidget into the barn and Zoe helped John tack her up.

“I didn’t know you do things like tack up a horse,” he said. “I guess I thought riders like you just hop on at the ring.”

“Riders like me? What does that mean?”

John backtracked. “Like top riders. Riders that win at the biggest shows. That’s all I meant.”

“Maybe not all of us know how to tack up but some of us do,” Zoe said. “I don’t exactly come from royalty in case you haven’t guessed.”

Zoe put the baby pad on Gidget’s back. Then she positioned the half-pad.

If she came from royalty, she sure as hell wouldn’t be in the situation she was right now, trying desperately to get back on her feet and get back in the show ring.

“I’m sorry. I’m being kind of a dick.” John slid the saddle onto Gidget’s back. “I guess I just feel kind of inferior to you.”

Zoe buckled the girth on the side opposite John and then came around to the other side where he was standing. “Inferior to me? Why?”

“Cause you’ve been there, done that. Champion at all the best and biggest shows. WEF, Indoors.”

“You ride really well too,” Zoe said, pulling the girth up a few holes.

John unhooked the mare from the cross-ties. “But I haven’t done everything you have and I’m self-conscious about that.”

Zoe handed him the bridle. “Did you want to do all that, or do you? I guess I assumed you liked the sales side of things.”

“There was a time when I would have killed to show at all the big shows. I’m not really sure anymore. I do like the sales aspect. Seeing something in a horse and bringing it along . . .”

Linda limped out of the office toward them with her little dog, Taffy, toddling behind her. “I’m ready to see this horse go,” she said, stifling a yawn.

“I asked Linda to watch her too,” Zoe said, by way of explanation.

She hoped John wasn’t offended but she wanted an extra set of eyes on the mare. Linda could be a reality check and could tell Zoe if she was insane for thinking this mare might have what it took to be a winning derby horse.

Taffy yipped, looking up beseechingly at Linda.

“I’m sorry, I can’t pick you up, sweetie,” she said.

“Back still hurting?” John said.

“Killing,” she said.

John did up the noseband and offered the reins to Zoe.

Zoe took the reins. “You don’t want to ride her first?”

He shook his head. “You rode her great. I don’t see the point in me hopping on her.”

Zoe shrugged. “Okay.”

Out in the ring, Linda and John stood together in the middle while Zoe warmed up Gidget. She couldn’t hear what Linda and John were saying and it drove her a bit crazy. They were probably just chit-chatting but Zoe wondered if they were talking about her.

She cut across the ring a few times to try to catch what they were saying but didn’t want to be too obvious. The only thing she heard was Linda saying it hurt her back less to stand than to sit.

When the mare was loosened up, John lowered an oxer so Zoe could start over it. After a few times, he raised it back up.

Zoe said, “I guess I’ll just jump around at this height first?”

“Sounds good,” Linda said. “Let’s see her do her thing.”

Zoe kicked the mare into a canter and jumped around the course. The jumps were only three-foot-six and Gidget was good over them, but not spectacular. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Horses that had a lot of scope often didn’t try much over the smaller jumps.

Not once did Gidget spook—not even at the weird butterfly jump. A lot of the jumps were more equitation or jumper style and sometimes horses would actually spook at a big natural log jump more often than they would at colorful rails since they’d seen more of those in their life. But it was a start anyway. So far Gidget was proving to be as brave as John had promised.

Linda and John put the jumps up a few holes and lengthened the lines a few inches so they wouldn’t be tight for the mare given the height of the jumps. They were solid four-foot now. But some of the derby jumps even went up to four-foot-six.

Zoe circled Gidget at the canter. She breezed around the course, carrying a little more pace this time. Over the first jump she felt it. That amazing power off the ground. It only got better as she continued.

When she finished, Linda wolf-whistled.

“Right?” Zoe said. “She jumps the shit out of them, doesn’t she?”

Linda turned to John. “Where the hell have you been hiding this horse?”

“I haven’t been hiding her. I showed her a few times. But I guess if you’re not a rider like Zoe no one notices.”

“Well, now you’ve got a rider like Zoe.”

“Do I?” John said, looking at Zoe.

Zoe grinned. “If you want me, you’ve totally got me.”

“I do,” he said.

“Lead?”

“Lead. One of our walkers is sick. I need you to fill in.”

“Oh,” Zoe said ambivalently as she finally understood what Kirsten meant. She meant Zoe couldn’t whip out of the barn before that first mini-van pulled in. She meant Zoe was going to have to be actually involved in a lesson.

“Tack up Daisy and bring her into the ring,” Kirsten told her.

“Wait, what kinds of things do I need to know?” Zoe felt completely unprepared for this, which since it had to do with horses was a totally new feeling for her.

“I’ll give you the quick rundown when you get her into the ring.”

Zoe felt more nervous as she tacked up Daisy than she had before going into the Medal Finals. What if the girl or boy had spasms or drooled? What if he or she looked contorted? Zoe didn’t know how she would be able to handle it.

She was squeamish when she passed someone on the street in a wheelchair or with some other disability. She didn’t even particularly like old people. They kind of freaked her out. That was partly why she liked the horse show world. It was so insular and full of beautiful, healthy people.