They had just left the farm and had turned off onto the road leading to the woods when Caroline, who had kept turning around, said, “So, nobody can hear us here. We haven’t thought at all about Papa’s fortieth birthday, which is a week from Sunday.”
“Oh my goodness,” groaned Antonia. Of course she already had a gift for her father, but with all the excitement of the last few weeks, she had completely forgotten that they should have a special celebration for his fortieth birthday.
“What do you think of a surprise party?” Caroline continued. “Papa should have a good time on his birthday.”
“Super idea!” shouted Leona. “I’ll ask my mom if she’ll make her famous strawberry punch. Nobody can whip up a delicious strawberry punch like my mother—with alcohol for the grown-ups and without for us.” Then she hesitated and looked questioningly at Caroline. “Um, we’re invited too, right?”
“Of course,” Caroline said. “Grandma will certainly bake a cake, and Grandpa and Mr. Sonnenfeld will handle the grilling. We’ll help Karen and Maria with the salad and decorate the farm with candles and strands of lights! Maybe we can even perform a little play or give a speech. What do you think? That would be great!”
“I can’t help all that much,” Antonia reminded them somewhat sheepishly.
“It doesn’t matter that you can’t help much. Get ready for your competition! I think a small victory like a sixth or seventh place win would be the most fantastic present for Papa. We’ll do the rest,” Caroline answered.
“So, whom do you want to invite? If it’s supposed to be a surprise party, we have to do it secretly,” said Leona.
“Let’s think it over—so, your parents and your brother, Jonathan, naturally; John and Felix; Dr. Kemper; Mr. Hegemann . . .” The list grew longer and longer.
And the longer the list got, the more Antonia’s stage fright grew. Because when she came home from the competition on Papa’s birthday, all eyes would be on her.
Suddenly she said loudly and clearly, the way Mr. Hegemann had taught her, “Never fear! I accept the challenge.”
Leona clapped. She knew that Antonia had regained her confidence.
Slowly the three of them rode along the edge of the woods back to the Rosenburg Farm with the manor house, the big longhouse, Grandma and Grandpa’s little house, and, behind it, the moat, which used to surround the farm completely back when Rosenburg Farm was still a real castle. But the front part had been drained for a long time.
Dusk was falling. It was late summer, fog was hanging over the harvested fields, and the leaves were slowly changing colors.
Caroline shivered. “It’s getting colder,” she said.
“And getting dark earlier,” Leona said.
“But there are great adventures ahead of us!” shouted Antonia.
An Anxious Week
All week long Antonia trained during every spare minute.
“Will I be able to do it?” Antonia sat in the saddle and let Elfin Dance run in the paddock. One jump still wasn’t going right. But she wanted him to succeed. Encouragingly she whispered to Elfin Dance, “Go on. We’ll get it.”
But she just landed on the ground again, right in front of Caroline’s feet. Caroline was sitting on the paddock fence, poring over a notebook.
“Have you thought of anything else for Papa’s party?” Caroline asked, lost in thought. She completely ignored Antonia’s fall.
“Costume concours d’élégance—riding in costume,” Antonia said curtly.
Caroline hugged her. “That’s a brilliant idea. I bet we can borrow costumes from the theater; they have old ones. I read that in the newspaper.”
Antonia and Caroline whispered for a while longer, planning, giggling, and tittering, until Alexander Rosenburg, who had been watching them from the farm for a while, had had enough.
“Say, what’s going on here, anyway?”
“Absolutely secret.” Caroline held her finger in front of her mouth.
“Just like a couple of hens.” Her father shook his head, laughing.
Antonia climbed into the saddle to repeat the failed jump.
“Antonia.” Her father stopped her. “I’ve wanted to tell you this all along. It’s definitely an honor that Mr. Hegemann is sending you to such a competition with Elfin Dance. But don’t forget the Olympic Creed: taking part is what counts!” Her father nudged her. “Do you understand that, my girl?”
“Yes, of course, Papa,” Antonia laughed.
At the following training session, she practiced the wide view with Mr. Hegemann, the “panorama view,” as he called it. “You must always look ahead to the next goal and over the next hurdle. If your eye gets stuck on the ground in front of the bar, then, guaranteed, you’ll land there, too.”
And—plop—Antonia was lying on the ground.
“Crud,” she complained, rubbed her behind, gave a quick laugh, and jumped back into the saddle.
“Look farther ahead!” Mr. Hegemann shouted. “Lift your head. Look at the next goal. You’ll get it!”
But I still have to look at the rail, thought Antonia. And splat, she was down again, but picked herself up quickly, and laughed again. “Pretty hard when you’re only allowed to look in the distance.”
“Not true at all,” Mr. Hegemann said. “You have to keep both in view, what’s close and what’s in the distance.”
Then it got better. Antonia jumped, she walked, and she galloped, always keeping her eye on both the far-off goal and the nearby one.
Although the training was very hard, for Antonia it was also incredibly fun. Was it because of Mr. Hegemann’s reassuring words, the courage he instilled in her? Or was it because of Elfin Dance and his forward-surging strength?
Elfin Dance was sweating.
“Is he getting a fever?” Antonia asked, concerned.
“No.” Mr. Hegemann put his arm around Antonia. “He’s just exerted himself a lot, like you. Only Elfin Dance doesn’t brood about whether or not he does it. He’s bursting with strength and self-confidence.” He added, “Elfin Dance is a brilliant horse, and you are a terrific rider.”
“Well . . .” Antonia said.
Elfin Dance nudged her tenderly with his nostrils, and Antonia led him to the stall.
“Wow, Elfin Dance,” whispered Antonia. At that moment she noticed great intimacy growing between her and the horse.
Then Caroline arrived with a list of suggested costumes she wanted to get from the theater. “How about a witch costume for Leona?”
“Hey, I’d like a magician’s cloak!” shouted Antonia. “Abracadabra, away to the competition,” she whispered conspiratorially, waving an imaginary magic wand.
On Tuesday before practice Mr. Hegemann said, “After today, we have to go easy on you and Elfin Dance. The two extra lessons on Saturday were very demanding. You both need your strength for the competition and not for the practice jumps. That’s why we’re only going to do smaller jumps today. Elfin Dance has mastered the big ones. And you even more so.”
Antonia nodded in agreement.
Mr. Hegemann smiled. “So, today and tomorrow we’ll concentrate on strategy. Let an old hand like me explain something important to you: you ride on the horse and with your head.”
“What?” asked Antonia. “What do you mean?”
“Very simple.” Mr. Hegemann stood in front of her again with his friendly smile. “Everything you do with your horse, you have to have thought through and done in your head from beginning to end.”
“Ride in your head?” said Antonia.
“You’ve put it well.” Mr. Hegemann smiled. “First, ride in your head; then ride the horse.”
Throughout the whole lesson Antonia paused briefly before each jump to “ride in her head.” Only then did she feel sure of herself. It really worked!
“Be aware of everything, but don’t be bothered by anything.” This bit of wisdom Mr. Hegemann passed on to her during their last lesson on Wednesday. Antonia didn’t understand it completel
y, but she noticed that the little bit that she did grasp was important. Her riding teacher was giving her great and wonderful calmness for her first major competition.
The trip to Tostedt was supposed to commence on Thursday right after breakfast. Antonia had gotten some extra days off from school. Mr. Hegemann and Maria had insisted on making the trip two days before the competition because Tostedt was about 130 miles from Rosenburg Farm, and the trip there would be a great strain on everyone, especially on Elfin Dance and Diamond, the substitute horse who would be coming along.
“With Elfin Dance, you never know . . .” her riding teacher had said.
In the two days before the competition, Antonia and Elfin Dance were supposed to have time to get used to the unfamiliar surroundings. Together with Mr. Hegemann, Antonia wanted to take a close look at the grounds and stride them out.
Alexander Rosenburg intended to arrive early Saturday with Caroline, Leona, and Mr. Sonnenfeld, so that they would be there on time for the beginning of the competition. Grandma and Grandpa were staying at home, though.
“We can’t all go. Somebody has to take care of the animals,” said Grandma. Then she gave Antonia a little package with these words, PLEASE DON’T OPEN UNTIL YOU’RE ON THE ROAD. . . printed on it.
Antonia couldn’t be really happy about the day off from school; she was too nervous. Wasn’t L Class much too difficult for a ten-year-old? There were only older riders in it, after all. L Class meant “easy,” but was far from pony riding. Yes, Mr. Hegemann had said she was a good rider, but what if the commotion of the competition became too much for Elfin Dance?
Immediately Antonia thought of other stories. Once Elfin Dance, or so she had heard, had refused at a trial and just plucked flowers. Leona had died laughing when she heard that. But Antonia was not at all in the mood for giggles. She didn’t even want to think about how embarrassing that would be.
No wonder Antonia dreamed the wildest things Wednesday night. In her dream, Elfin Dance refused! He took the gate and the oxer, stopped suddenly in front of the open ditch, casually stuck his mouth in the water, slurped, turned around, got up, and acted like Antonia wasn’t even on his back. When she fell, she woke up, and the dream was finally over. Her heart was racing, and she couldn’t calm down. Distraught, she jumped out of bed, ran through the dark house to Caroline, and slipped into bed with her sister. Caroline took Antonia firmly in her arms and rubbed her back soothingly. Finally Antonia fell asleep again.
Early the next morning, Maria drove the silver horse trailer onto the farm and led Diamond by the halter up the ramp inside.
“Go get Elfin Dance,” she called to Antonia over her shoulder. “He’s really riled up.”
Antonia hurried to Elfin Dance’s stall, and yup! Running from right to left, neighing loudly, he didn’t want any halter put on him.
Antonia broke out in a sweat. But all of a sudden she remembered Mr. Hegemann’s words: “Don’t be bothered by anything.” She took deep breaths as she slowly approached Elfin Dance and began, in her singsong voice, to talk to him. “Come, my dear! Here we go now. The two of us will show everybody what we can do.”
But the pounding of her heart inside her became more intense. Were doubts setting in?
Again, Antonia breathed deeply. The pounding of her heart let up.
Finally Elfin Dance let himself be led to the horse trailer.
“Can’t I just ride in the stall?” asked Antonia. “Then I can keep an eye this crazy horse better and see that he doesn’t pull the blanket off Diamond.”
But that wasn’t allowed. Escorts in the stalls during the trip were strictly forbidden.
Finally the horses were in the trailer, and everyone hugged Antonia and wished her good luck. Even Leona had come to say good-bye, although she would be there on Saturday.
“For the trip,” she said softly to Antonia and pressed a small gift into her hand.
“Thank you,” answered Antonia, touched. She climbed into the back seat and buckled up. Maria pulled the trailer out of the driveway, and Antonia rolled down the side window. She waved until there was nobody left to be seen. At the same time, she briefly took in her hand the little rose quartz elf that she had been wearing on a chain around her neck for some time. Elfin Dance and an elf. Maria had given her the elf during the summer, exactly at the time that Elfin Dance had come to the farm. And it had brought her luck so far.
Behind them drove Mr. Hegemann and Felix, who, as the groom, had to be present throughout the entire competition.
Antonia sighed. What could be in Grandma’s little package? She opened it carefully. A little silvery horse in jumping position appeared. Antonia hung the little horse on her chain. Hopefully the elf and the little horse would bring her double luck!
Leona had given her a “Competition Journal” she had made herself. On the front, a picture of Antonia and Elfin Dance was glued on; all around the photo Leona had handcrafted hearts, flowers, and stars, and she had attached a horse ball point pen with a red ribbon to the book.
A Failure?
Before they got to Tostedt, they had had to stop several times. But Antonia repeatedly succeeded in calming Elfin Dance. Was he as nervous as she was? After all, it was his first major competition, too.
Once they arrived, they got their hotel rooms first. Felix drove directly to the showground and took care of the horses. In their room, Antonia gaped in amazement: there was a big bathroom with a tub; silk curtains; thick, fleecy towels; and a splendid view of a lake.
She let out a “wow.”
“But we won’t be getting a lot of use out of it,” Maria said and looked at her mischievously. “Horses are the order of the day. Horses—nothing but horses! And now we have to get back to our two darlings.”
They drove to the showground, where Felix had put up the horses in their new quarters.
“Wow!” Antonia exclaimed again. She was overwhelmed by the spacious facilities: stadium seating, a big area for the show jumping course, and extensive warm-up areas.
The stalls were roomy and the atmosphere friendly, even though a certain tension lay over everything because of the upcoming competition.
Elfin Dance had been visibly nervous when he came out of the trailer, Felix told them. For that reason Mr. Hegemann suggested that Antonia ride a lap with him.
“He needs to move after the long ride,” he said. “Later, we can explore the course. In between, give him a break. He really needs to settle in and get used to the new surroundings. I’m taking care of Diamond.”
“I’ll take over,” said Felix, setting off immediately.
“Good,” said Mr. Hegemann. “Then I can stay with Antonia.”
Antonia curried Elfin Dance and then put his saddle on. She would have preferred to ride a nice leisurely lap around the showground right away if that throng that resembled a beehive hadn’t been there. Here a rider was accompanying her horse; there stood two others checking out the ground. Cars were driving up to the stables; there were horses that were neighing, being led, held, and others being taken to their stalls. In addition to that, loudspeaker announcements, sound checks, and music rang out. Everything was so loud. And everything was so big and new.
Mr. Hegemann showed her a narrow strip on the edge of the warm-up area. “Get some exercise there. We’ll get together again in three hours and take a look at the condition of the area and the ground. Agreed?”
Antonia nodded. She took Elfin Dance’s halter and set off on the path.
“You’re at a competition,” Antonia said to herself and to her horse. “Conditions here are different than at a stable.”
It really wasn’t the first competition in which she’d ridden, but it was the most challenging and biggest up to now. On top of everything, she was the youngest participant. She and Maria had seen that on the list, and she confirmed it all around her. There were fifteen and sixteen year olds, but none who were just ten years old.
She had discussed it in the car with Maria. “I’m much too y
oung.”
“But you’re such a good rider,” Maria had answered firmly.
“Everyone will laugh at me.”
“But not when they see how you handle Elfin Dance.” Maria had stayed calm the whole ride. Yet she still couldn’t rid Antonia of this insecurity, which made her tremble ever so slightly.
“We’ll do it,” Antonia said again, stroking Elfin Dance, as she led him for a bit along the fence of the enclosure. She hummed a song and noticed right away that Elfin Dance was slowly becoming more relaxed.
A little earlier than they had agreed on, Antonia entered the showground with Elfin Dance, whom she had already saddled, in order to look over the environs in peace with Mr. Hegemann. They were surrounded by people and horses all bustling around—faces that Antonia knew up to now only from the newspapers and horse magazines, as well as first-class animals. It was really impressive. She, however, seemed so small. Did she really belong here?
But suddenly she noticed that many eyes were directed toward Elfin Dance, as if magic were coming from him—magic that had gripped her, too, from their very first meeting. The sight of this noble horse captivated almost everyone. Elfin Dance, at seven years of age, was probably one of the youngest horses here, but presumably some people had already heard about him or read about him on the Internet or in a newspaper. After all, that’s why Mr. Bonhumeur had wanted desperately to own him.
Antonia could positively sense the thoughts of those who wanted to get a look. Each one was wondering, this extraordinary horse is being ridden by a child? That can’t be true! Now Antonia understood why Mr. Hegemann was so concerned about dealing with fear and nervousness. At the moment, a lot of what they had discussed had completely vanished. She tried to remember and breathed deeply. It didn’t help. From moment to moment she felt more out of place and wished she could crawl into a deep hole. She breathed deeply again. Just then, from behind her, Antonia heard a voice she knew well, which threw her for a loop.
Antonia and the Big Competition Page 2
