“You’re not so bad,” I said.
Then Fury turned her head and I saw a zigzag of white flashing down her face like a lightning bolt. She charged at the bars, teeth bared and ears pinned. I jumped back just as her teeth connected with the metal. She shook her head and stood there glaring at me.
“Any chance we can be friends?” I asked her.
She just smashed her teeth against the bars again. I took that as a no.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Fury is a dragon,” I told Becka. “She might as well just breathe fire out of her nose and be done with it.”
“At least she has fire,” Becka sighed. “I went in to see Rufus and he was sleeping. I could light a fire under his butt and he probably wouldn’t even care.”
“Well I couldn’t even get in Fury’s stall,” I said. “She just kept gnashing her teeth against the bars like some kind of deranged piranha. I don’t even know how I am going to tack her up, let alone actually ride her.”
“It’s hopeless,” Becka threw herself back on the bed. “I quit.”
But although everyone was mostly disappointed with their horses, there were excited rumblings. Plans on how they could turn their horse around and make them the best. I heard whispers of midnight body clipping and mane pulling. People were taking this whole thing seriously. No one wanted to disappoint Miguel.
Becka stuck her head over the edge of the bed.
“At least your horse is neat and tidy,” she sighed. “Did you see all the hair on Rufus? It’s like he’s getting ready for a second winter or something.”
“You’re going to clip him then?” I asked.
“I’ll have to,” she said. “And he probably won’t even care, which I guess is a good thing.”
“At least that is an easy fix,” I said. “How do you make a horse that hates people, like you?”
“Maybe food?” she said.
But an hour later and I had a pile of abandoned cookies and snacks on the floor and a pony who was still no closer to liking me or even letting me anywhere near her. I stood outside her stall, watching her dig a hole in her bedding. I felt like crying. This had never happened to me before. All horses loved me. I understood them. I could communicate with them without even speaking. Only Fury was apparently speaking an entirely different language because she didn’t appear to understand me at all.
Dan came down the barn aisle carrying a pitchfork and muck tub. Last time we had been responsible for cleaning our own stalls and feeding our horses, this time it seemed that Miguel figured we’d have our hands full with everything else.
“Oh no,” he said. “You didn’t get lumped with that little monster, did you?”
“Yeah,” I sighed.
“I thought Miguel had decided not to use her,” he said. “I guess there must have been an extra rider.”
And right then and there I knew that it was Jess who had been that extra rider. If she hadn’t come then I may very well have been riding sweet, gray Oasis instead of the psycho that was Fury.
“Oh well, live and learn,” Dan said, unlatching the door.
“You’re not actually going in there with her, are you?” I said.
“Come on now,” he grinned. “You know you have to show them who is the boss. You can’t let her think you are intimidated by her.”
I waited for Dan to wave his arms at the mare, to shout and bully her to the back of the stall so that she didn’t rip his arm off with her teeth. Instead he reached into his pocket and rustled something. Fury’s ears immediately pricked up, she dropped her head and meekly walked over to him. He rustled the packet again and she stood obediently while he took something out and fed it to her.
“What have you got there?” I said “I’ve tried everything.”
“Not everything,” he grinned. “Wild Berry Pop Tarts. She’ll do anything for them.”
“How on earth did you figure that out?” I said, standing there in disbelief as the mare licked his fingers and then let him clean her stall.
“Let’s just say that I had a pile a lot bigger than the one you’ve got there,” he pointed to my feet. “You think you’re the only one who knows the secret pathway to a horse’s heart?”
“Well that’s great,” I said. “But how am I going to get my hands on enough Pop Tarts to keep her happy?”
“There is a stash in the lounge,” he said. “In the cupboard above the sink. Just don’t tell anyone I told you.”
“Thanks Dan,” I said. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “The Pop Tarts will get you into her stall but they aren’t going to help when you’re in the saddle and I’ll give you a heads up.” He came to the front of the stall and lowered his voice. “I’m not supposed to tell you this,” he looked around before continuing. “But Miguel has ridden all these horses. He knows what they are capable of and what you guys should be able to get out of them but this one?” he pointed to Fury who had gone back to digging her hole. “He couldn’t make this mare do a single thing.”
“So what does he expect me to do with her?” I said.
“I don’t know,” he shook his head. “I really don’t know.”
And I didn’t know either. Miguel was a really great rider, a world class competitor. He had strong legs and nerves of steel. I’d seen videos of him riding green, rank horses and he still got out of them what he wanted. If he couldn’t make Fury do anything then what hope did I have?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
That night I sat in Fury’s stall with a box of Wild Berry Pop Tarts and bribed her to like me. She’d stopped acting like she was going to eat me alive, as long as the tarts kept coming but I knew it couldn’t really be good to feed her so many of them. I broke them up into tiny pieces to try and make them last longer and when I ran out, Fury went back to ignoring me.
I thought about every horse book and training article I’d ever read. Bonding with horses took time, especially ones like Fury who had issues. It wasn’t her fault. She’d probably been bounced around from farm to farm and now here she was with a new person trying to wheedle their way into her life. No wonder she was mad. I expect she felt the same way about me as I did about Derek.
But I didn’t have months to gain her trust or the time to do all the groundwork that would help seal our bond. There was something I’d seen in a movie once where a cowboy laid a scared horse down and then sat on his neck and rubbed him all over. When the horse got up, he wasn’t afraid anymore and did everything the cowboy asked of him. Only I didn’t have the skills or the strength to lay a horse down and Fury didn’t seem like she would oblige in any way, shape or form. Plus laying a horse down seemed more like a magic trick than actual training.
“She hasn’t killed you yet then?” Becka asked when I finally got back to the room.
“Not yet,” I said. “But just wait. There is always tomorrow.”
“I wish we could trade,” Becka moaned. “I’d give anything to ride Oasis.”
“Me too,” I said but that was a lie.
There was a part of me, deep down inside, that was glad I’d picked Fury. Even Miguel couldn’t ride the mare. That meant if I figured her out and got her to jump then there was no way I wouldn’t get on the team. There was pretty much a spot with my name on it if I could win Fury over. But somehow I didn’t think there were enough Pop Tarts in the whole world for that to happen. I set my alarm for four in the morning and placed my phone under my pillow so that I wouldn’t wake up my three other roommates. I didn’t know what time they were all going to drag themselves down to the barn to start on their projects but I knew I’d need all the time I could get. Who knew how long it was going to take to tack Fury up and get her out to the ring?
And as I predicted, everyone else was still asleep when my phone started buzzing beneath my pillow. I grabbed my riding clothes and crept out to the bathroom where I washed and changed. Stopping in the kitchen I picked up a granola bar for me and the box of Wild Berry Pop Tarts that I h
ad hidden there the night before. Thank goodness no one had found them and decided to have a midnight snack.
Down in the barn the lights were on and sleepy grooms were cleaning stalls. Fury had already had hers cleaned and she was munching on a pile of hay.
“I’ll be back,” I told her as I went to the tack room.
At Sand Hill we didn’t have tack lockers. Instead we had sections of the room where Esther let us put a tack trunk. Mine had been a cheap plastic container until Sally, the girl who originally owned Bluebird, had given me her fancy wooden one. There were pegs and racks on the walls for the school horse saddles and bridles but that was it. Everything else was a mixed up mess on the shelves and more often than not someone else would borrow your stuff and forget to put it back.
The Black Gate tack room had gleaming wood lockers, each with a brass plate stating the name of the horse or pony it belonged to. Even the riding school horses we were going to be working with had their own, despite the fact that Miguel was probably going to sell them all eventually. Which was for the best. He didn’t need them. We were essentially going to be doing his dirty work for him.
I found Fury’s locker at the end. It was full of tack and grooming supplies. I pulled out the box of brushes and took them back to her stall. She pinned her ears as I entered until I rustled the tart packet, then she feigned interest and demanded I feed them to her.
“Do you think maybe we could be friends?” I asked her.
I ran my fingers gently over her soft coat. She was a pretty pony, smaller and sleeker than Bluebird was. She had delicate legs and fine lines but I could see the power in her haunches. I knew that if I could get her over a jump she would clear it.
She lost interest in the now empty packet and went back to her hay but I kept my hand on her side, reaching down to pull out the softest brush. Slowly I swept it over her coat, sending a cloud of dust into the air and bringing out a soft shine. Becka was right. I wasn’t going to have to worry about making her presentable since she already was. It was everything else I was going to have to worry about.
After I’d finished with her coat, I ran my fingers through her tail to tease out the knots. She raised a hind hoof in warning but it turned out to be an empty threat.
“If you promise not to make me look stupid in front of Miguel, I’ll give you all the tarts you can eat,” I told her.
But I knew it was foolish to expect her to agree.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Everyone else was just appearing by the time I was going over my tack to make sure it would pass inspection. Despite the sleepy faces, there were looks of determination as well. This was serious. The games were about to begin.
“Where were you?” Becka asked, yawning. “Sleeping with the fire breathing dragon?”
“Not exactly,” I said.
“Well, it’s time for me to go and tackle the wooly mammoth that is Rufus,” she said.
“You never know,” I called after her. “He may turn out to be amazing.”
“And he also may turn out to be half water buffalo,” she called back over her shoulder.
But even I was excited to find out what Fury would be like to ride. It was like receiving a gift all wrapped up in a box that you had to shake and prod to try and figure out what was inside. Every time I rode a new horse, I felt the same way. You never knew what you were going to find when you got up in that saddle. It was exciting. I could see why Miguel had enjoyed his time so much as a catch rider.
I slipped into the lounge to grab a cup of coffee. While the days were now hot, the early mornings were still cool and a thin mist had wrapped itself around the barn lending a dampness to the air. Dan was there, filling up his own mug.
“Thank you so much for yesterday,” I said. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be on the outside of that stall, trying to find a way in.”
“You would have figured it out eventually,” he smiled. “Besides, I don’t like to see someone with an unfair disadvantage.”
“Got any tips for the saddle?” I said.
“Did you pack a seatbelt?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Sorry,” he shrugged. “Riding is really Miguel’s department. I just keep them happy and healthy.”
“Thanks anyway,” I said, filling my cup and turning to leave.
“Just remember,” he called after me. “She’s going to try and make you believe she is the boss. You can’t let that happen. Don’t give her an inch or she’ll take a mile. All that partner bonding stuff? That comes later. For now you are the boss mare, not her. Got it?”
“Got it,” I said.
Convincing Fury that I was the boss of her was another thing entirely. She was quite happy in her position of intimidation but the truth was that I wasn’t scared of her anyway. Sure, I didn’t want to get kicked in the head or anything like that but bared teeth and pinned ears weren’t going to scare me off and I told her so.
“You can just stop all that nonsense right now,” I told her as I tightened the girth. “Until we get this whole thing worked out, I’m the boss. I know you don’t like it but that is just the way it has to be.”
“You ready to get this circus started?” Becka dragged a reluctant Rufus past. He was dragging his feet and pulling back on the reins.
“Got a crop?” I laughed.
“A crop?” she rolled her eyes. “How about a firecracker?”
By nine we were all standing out in the ring next to our respective horses and ponies. I felt like a real rider in my new breeches and polo shirt instead of a shabby imposter who really didn’t belong at all.
Whereas Rufus had to be pulled and prodded, Fury practically bolted out to the ring but I didn’t feel so bad. Everyone else’s horses had also given them some degree of trouble. It seemed that Miguel’s new prospects were all sour and would rather just spend time goofing off instead of doing anything that might actually resemble work.
The only saint of the bunch was Oasis, who stood next to Jess like a model pony. I had to believe that somewhere deep down inside that pretty gray mare was a vice that would make her a challenge for Jess. It was the only thing I could hold onto as Fury fretted and fussed at the end of the reins.
“Congratulations,” Miguel said, walking towards us with a coffee mug in one hand and a clipboard in the other. “You managed to get your mounts out to the ring.”
“You don’t really expect us to ride them, do you?” Lindsey asked. The bay that she had picked was trying to spin around in circles.
“Of course,” Miguel said. “Why not?”
“Because they’re not trained,” she replied.
“How do you know they are not trained?” He put down his clipboard. “Because they are scruffy? I told you to take care of that. Besides, you cannot expect to become a great rider if you sit on a push button horse. What is there to learn in that?”
I knew that Miguel was right. Other than Hampton, I’d never ridden a fully trained horse and every single one of them had taught me a lot. It was a skill I needed. Esther couldn’t afford to fill her stalls with expensive, well trained horses. She bought the cheap ones with problems and fixed them. It was what I had done with Bluebird. He’d been well trained once but all that had been messed up. It took time and patience to bring him back. Still, I wasn’t so sure exactly how much he expected us to accomplish in a week.
Becka raised her hand.
“Yes?” Miguel said.
“Are we allowed to body clip these guys?” she asked. “Because my horse is going to sweat to death otherwise.”
“There are clippers in the tack room. Ask Dan to show you where the extra blades are. You are all welcome to trim, clip, pull manes. Do whatever you feel you need to do but I’m warning you. If you don’t know how to clip, ask someone who does. I don’t want a hacked up horse coming out to this ring. Understand?”
Everyone nodded.
“Good. Let’s begin.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I had to give Mi
guel credit. Even though he’d managed to pick up the rankest bunch of horses I’d seen in a while, none of them actually tried to kill us while we mounted. Even Fury let me get up on her back with minimal fuss but I knew it was just an act. She was saving herself for when I actually asked her to do something.
“Walk on the rail please,” Miguel said.
And that was where everything fell apart. I applied the usual amount of leg to Fury’s sides and she shot off like a cork out of a bottle. I was so taken by surprise that I didn’t manage to stop her until we almost crashed into the rail at the end of the arena. I turned her around, expecting everyone to be laughing but no one had noticed. They all had their own problems to deal with.
Becka was pummeling her legs furiously against Rufus’s sides while he stood there taking a nap. Other horses were backing up or spinning around in circles. It would have been funny, if it wasn’t so horrifying. Only Jess had managed to do what had been asked of us. She was walking Oasis on the rail, both mare and rider ignoring the chaos around them. It wasn’t fair.
“Everyone stop,” Miguel bellowed. “You are all a disgrace.”
He was right, we were. Put us on our normal horses and we were fine. But put us on the backs of horses that needed help and we were apparently hopeless.
I sat there with a red face as Miguel went from horse to horse, instructing riders to use more crop, less rein, to sit up and push on. It was like we were a bunch of beginners getting their first lesson. Keep your heels down. Look up. Shoulders back. It was embarrassing. What was worse was that Miguel gave everyone advice except me. Maybe he thought I was beyond help?
“Let’s try this again,” Miguel said when everyone was resituated. “On the rail and this time you had better impress me.”
Instead of giving Fury any leg, I simply eased up on the reins and this time she walked. It was a jiggling walk, not one that would win any awards but at least we didn’t end up almost smashing into the rail this time. Rufus was plodding along behind us. I could hear Becka threatening to use the crop on him again if he didn’t get going soon.
Last Chance (Show Jumping Dreams ~ Book 6) Page 5
