Chasing Ribbons (Show Jumping Dreams ~ Book 19)

by Claire Svendsen

  “Wrap your legs around his barrel,” Dad called out to Faith. “Don’t just grip with your knees.”

  I watched her determination as she pointed the small pony at the log and he hopped right over.

  “Good job,” Dad said. “Next?”

  We took turns jumping our horses around the pond, first one way and then the other, splashing through the water when they got too hot. Faith kept swimming Macaroni from one side to the other.

  “Can we build a pond in the middle of the arena?” she said. “Because then Macaroni would be just fine.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Dad said.

  “Really?” Faith said.

  “No.” Dad shook his head, laughing at Faith’s crestfallen face.

  “That’s just mean,” she said.

  But her indignation was lost in a rising cry of screams from the other end of the pond.

  “Alligator,” someone yelled at the top of their lungs.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  It was like a scene from the movie Jaws. Someone might as well have yelled shark. There was a mass exodus from the water. People screaming. Horses freaking out. I was already on the bank but I backed Bluebird further away. I didn’t think an alligator would chase us but I wasn’t entirely sure. I remembered something about how if an alligator did get mad enough to chase you then you were supposed to run in a zigzag instead of a straight line. I wasn’t sure how that was supposed to help and I was confident that Bluebird could outrun any alligator but I wasn’t too keen to test that theory out.

  “Calm down,” Dad kept yelling. “Everyone keep calm.”

  Of course no one listened. Half of the riders had already mounted and were high tailing it back to the barn with Missy hot on their heels to make sure that they made it back in one piece. Dakota and Faith stood next to me with Lucy and Macaroni.

  “Should we make a run for it?” Dakota asked.

  “I’m not supposed to let Macaroni go fast until he starts sweating again,” Faith said. “But would that be worse than being eaten by an alligator?”

  “No one is getting eaten by an alligator,” Dad said. He handed me Canterbury’s reins. “I’m going to go and investigate.”

  “Just forget it,” I said. “Can’t we just go home now?”

  Dad wouldn’t listen. He liked to think he was somewhat of a wildlife wrangler. I didn’t like to remind him of all the times he’d been bitten and stepped on trying to wrangle all those wild animals that didn’t want anything to do with him.

  “Should we go and help him?” Dakota said.

  “No way,” Faith replied.

  I was pretty sure that if there had been an alligator then all the splashing and screaming had scared it off and it was probably at the bottom of the pond by now. Of course with my father’s luck there was always a chance that it would surge out of the pond and chomp his leg off just to prove a point.

  I held my breath as Dad reached the spot where they’d supposedly seen the gator. He bent over and splashed the water about and then he reached into it.

  “Dad,” I yelled. “Don’t.”

  But the next minute he held up something in his hands.

  “That’s not a gator,” Faith said.

  And we all burst out giggling.

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  The gator turned out to be a gnarled old log.

  “Are you sure there wasn’t a gator in there as well?” Faith asked.

  “Positive,” Dad replied.

  He seemed pretty pleased with himself, holding up the dripping log wrapped in algae like he’d just wrangled it himself. I didn’t like to remind him that I’d heard a splash the other day and seen ripples spreading out across the pond and logs were inanimate objects that didn’t move.

  “What are we going to tell the others?” Dakota asked as we tacked up our horses and gathered the remnants of our picnic.

  “We should tell them that there was a ginormous alligator,” Faith said. “It will serve them right for all running off like that.”

  “Maybe it would be best to let everyone think it was a gator,” I said. “That way they won’t want to ride back out here again.”

  I was sad to leave the pond behind with its cool blue water and shady trees. It was like a tiny oasis in the desert that Florida had turned into where heat rose off the ground in waves and the air was so thick that you could hardly breathe. I wanted to come back again and I didn’t want to share the place with all the other Fox Run riders. In fact I was almost sad that I’d told them about it in the first place. But Dakota had already seen it and people would have found out about it eventually. Also most of them probably weren’t brave enough to ride out there very often, not unless we organized another group ride. Still the scare of the gator would definitely put some of them off.

  Back at the barn, people were still talking about the gator. In fact they talked about it for days. It didn’t help that my dad had held his arms wide, showing them that it was at least eight feet long. Of course as usually happened, the tale of the gator became greatly exaggerated with each retelling and in a few days people were saying that the alligator had been at least twelve feet long and had lunged at one of the horses, trying to drag it back into the pond and eat it. I just listened and tried not to laugh.

  “See what happens to gossip and rumors?” I told Faith.

  “Yeah,” she said. “Kind of crazy.”

  It was a good opportunity for her to learn how your words could get twisted around. She was learning a lot lately. Like how to put her pony’s needs first. She’d scratched him from the show on her own, without Missy or my father even having to tell her. The medication was working but it was still too hot to push poor Macaroni, even though we’d received a notice in the mail that the classes were all going to be held later in the day and stretch on into the evening in hopes of avoiding the mid-day heat. But I was proud of Faith. I knew how she felt, like she was going to be missing out but she hadn’t sat around moping or anything. Instead she was helping me clean tack and load the trailer.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” I told her.

  “Okay,” she said, picking up a crusty bit.

  Missy was finishing up a lesson. I stood by the arena fence waiting for her to finish talking to her student, then I beckoned her over.

  “What is it?” she said.

  “Are there any other ponies free that Faith can take to the show? I know it has to be killing her that she had to scratch, especially with Ethan going but she’s been so good about it. She hasn’t complained at all.”

  “I was going to put her on Ballycat,” Missy said. “But he is already doing four classes and I’m really trying to limit them due to the heat. If it was the middle of winter it wouldn’t be as bad but I don’t want all our ponies to come back with heat stroke.”

  “I understand.” I sighed. “How about some of the horses who aren’t going?”

  “I’ll have a look,” she said. “But I’m not making any promises.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  I had enough on my plate getting myself ready for the show. I didn’t really need the added hassle of finding a horse or pony for Faith to ride and then having to help her but I didn’t want her to miss out either.

  CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

  We decided to ship the horses down to the show grounds the night before. Dad didn’t think it would be a good idea to trailer in during the heat of the day and neither did I. Bluebird needed to be settled and calm for his big class and I didn’t want anything to mess up his mindset. Missy was also letting me enter Socks in a speed class. Dad had tried to pressure me into taking Hashtag but I managed to talk him out of it. The horse was nowhere near ready. He wouldn’t even jump and when he did, he knocked the fences down. I didn’t know what was wrong with him and I knew that I was going to have to tell my father eventually but I was just hoping that I could tell him after the show. He was already stressed enough as it was.

  He’d decided at the last minute to take Ca
nterbury and he was going to be riding in the open jumper class. It was a big one with stiff competition. If he failed, he’d come back to Fox Run with his tail between his legs. I knew he had a lot to prove after the drugging fiasco but I just couldn’t think about that right now.

  I couldn’t think about my mother either. I’d tried to call her but whereas before it used to ring through to her voicemail, now it told me that her voicemail box was full. I couldn’t leave a message even if I wanted to. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have another number for her. I had their address but if I sent a letter, would Derek even let her see it? Or would he tear it up and throw it in the trash before she even saw it? That was something else I was going to have to talk to my father about. I knew that he wasn’t married to my mother anymore but I knew that he would never want to see her hurt. I was going to have to come clean about Derek and tell him the truth. All of it. I didn’t have any other choice.

  And Missy hadn’t been able to find another mount for Faith but the kid hadn’t even shed one tear. She had sucked it up and helped out around the barn like a real trouper. I was so proud of her. She said that she was even going to come and cheer us all on and polish our boots before we went in the ring. I don’t know where the real Faith had gone and who this imposter was but I knew that she was in there somewhere. I knew Faith was going to crack eventually. No one could keep a smile on their face when all their friends were showing and their own pony was stuck back at the barn. I just hoped that she would hold it together until after the show.

  So there was a lot riding on just getting through the show without any drama and dealing with it all later. I felt like I was pushing a lot of things under the rug and not dealing with them but I didn’t have a choice. I knew that I’d have my hands full at the show. Jess would be there. The new and improved Jess with a new horse to go with her fancy new makeover. Becka would be there too. And Tara. I didn’t really want to talk to any of them. I wanted to go in my class and ride to the best of my ability and then come back home again. I didn’t want to get sucked into any horse show drama. The trouble was that it always seemed to suck me in regardless of whether I wanted to be or not.

  CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

  The show grounds were nice. We had proper stalls instead of makeshift tents and the row that we had been assigned backed onto a nice patch of grass and a wooded area. It was perfect for our horses to settle in and be quiet. The rings were over on the other side of the property and come morning the place would be abuzz with life but right now it seemed that we were the only ones who’d decided to ship in early but we didn’t care. It was even worth the extra nights stall fee that we’d had to pay to make sure our horses travelled during a cooler part of the day.

  Faith had come with us to help and while Ethan was settling in Wendell, I let her graze Bluebird because I needed to graze Socks and he was all excited and jumping around even though there were no other horses there to see his antics and I was pretty sure that the first thing he’d do would be to yank the lead rope out of Faith’s hands and run away.

  “Make sure he doesn’t step on his rope,” I told Faith as she let it drag on the ground near Bluebird’s hooves.

  “I know,” she said, holding it up more.

  But she’d been a big help and with two horses to show, I was kind of glad that I had my own little groom. When the horses had settled into their stalls with hay we went to check out the rings. Some of the courses had already been set up with fancy jumps and lots of foliage. There was one jump that looked like a forest and another that was supposed to be a log cabin. The water jump had been dressed to look like a lake.

  “Bluebird will just think that it’s the pond and wade through it,” Faith said.

  “I hope not,” I replied with a laugh.

  We weren’t actually allowed in the ring so we just walked around the outside, looking at things and trying to guess the striding. I didn’t even know if that would be the course for our class or not but I had to guess that the jumps would be the same. I didn’t think that there was anything out there that Bluebird couldn’t handle.

  We were just turning around to go back to the barn when we bumped into a group of four girls, arms linked together like they were joined at the hip. It was Jess, her sister Amber, Becka and Tara. Pretty much all the mean girls lined up in a row right there in front of me. I wanted to run away but something made me stand my ground.

  I took a deep breath and said, “Hello Jess.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

  “Hi Emily,” Jess said brightly.

  She had on frayed denim shorts and flip flops with a flowing white top. There were bangles on her wrists and flowers in her hair. It looked like she should have been at a festival instead of at a horse show. Dismayed I wiped my dirty hands on my old jeans, wishing that I’d dressed a little better but the truth was that I hadn’t really expected to see anyone and clothes were usually the last thing on my mind when I was shipping in to a show, unless they were riding clothes of course.

  “You remember Faith,” I said.

  “Yes,” Jess said.

  “And I remember you,” Faith snarled.

  I nudged her in the ribs. I didn’t need her throwing fuel onto the fire. So far Jess had been nice. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that it wasn’t an act but fake nice Jess was better than mean Jess any day.

  “You have that spunky little pony, don’t you?” Amber said.

  Her makeover had been less dramatic than her sisters. She’d kept her hair long and it tumbled in soft waves down her back. But even she looked older and wiser, like they’d been to some old fashioned finishing school which taught them to always be polite and dress nicely and do your makeup. I couldn’t even remember if I’d put sunscreen on let alone makeup. I was pretty sure I’d swiped some berry lip gloss on at some point but I’d chewed it all off on the way to the show grounds as I’d fretted about the horses overheating in the back of the trailer.

  “Don’t worry, he’s not here so you won’t be able to make fun of him tomorrow,” Faith said.

  “Why would you think we’d make fun of him?” Becka asked.

  “Isn’t that what you do?” Faith said. “Make fun of all the little people?”

  I had to hand it to her. Faith had balls of steel. She said things that I only dreamed of saying and even in my dreams it would have turned into a nightmare because Jess was no match for my wit. She had more than enough of her own. In a battle of words I’d just get tongue tied and awkward. My only weapon was my riding ability and the fact that I hoped to beat them all tomorrow.

  “We’d never make fun of you guys,” Jess said.

  “Really?” Faith said, her voice rising. “That’s why you posted that video of Emily falling off online? Why you stole her tack at shows? Why you were mean to her every second of every day?”

  Faith was yelling now and surging forward like she was about to punch Jess in the face. I grabbed her arms and held her back.

  “You can call off your attack dog,” Jess said. “Honestly, we’re not here to cause any trouble.”

  “I know,” I said. “I’m sorry. Come on Faith.”

  “Don’t apologize to them,” she screamed as I pulled her away. “They should be apologizing to you.”

  When we rounded the manure bin and were out of sight, I pulled Faith to one side.

  “What on earth was that all about?” I said.

  “I don’t like those girls,” she said. “They are mean.”

  “But they didn’t do anything today, did they? They said hello and we should have said hello politely and then walked away.”

  “So what?” she said. “You like Jess now?”

  I thought of how she’d helped me out at the beach. No one knew and Jess hadn’t even brought it up. Maybe she was saving the revelation for when she was in front of a large group of people but she still could have got a few laughs out of Becka and Tara if she’d told them just now and she didn’t.

  “Maybe she’s turned over a
new leaf,” I said.

  “People don’t turn over new leaves,” Faith mumbled. “They just pretend they have but they are still the same and I hate her.”

  “No you don’t,” I said. “Now come on, let’s go back and check on the horses. I don’t know what’s got into you lately. If Missy saw how you’d been acting, she would have pulled you from the show.”

  “Just as well I’m already scratched then,” she said.

  And there it was. Inside I knew that Faith was devastated about not being able to ride Macaroni, especially while her brother had been able to bring his horse. But if she carried on acting that way then she wouldn’t be allowed to go to any shows any time soon. Missy would make sure of it.

  “Don’t forget what Missy told you,” I said. “You represent Fox Run at these shows, even if you’re not riding.”

  “I know,” Faith said.

  And she may have known but I wasn’t exactly sure that she cared.

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

  We hung around late, camping out to make sure that no one came by to mess with our horses. I’d told Dad that Jess was here and he’d sort of rolled his eyes but he knew how she was and none of us would put it past her letting our horses out in the middle of the night or something. The old Jess had been that desperate to win. I couldn’t really imagine that the new Jess was that different. In the end Dad called Henry and asked him to come and sleep out at the show grounds. He pulled in a few hours later with a small camper attached to the bed of his truck. Henry was resilient. He was used to life on the horse show road and pretty much prepared for anything.

  “Oh can I see inside?” Faith asked as Henry opened the back door.

  “Sure,” he said, welcoming her inside.

  I didn’t go and look at the tiny camper. I had my hands wrapped up in thread as I finished braiding. I’d done Bluebird first and he looked so nice that I thought I should make the effort and not leave Socks out but now my fingers had all cramped up and my arms hurt and I only had three more braids to put in, if only I could make my fingers move to do it. The light was also bad too. The stalls had tiny bulbs that were way up in the ceiling and didn’t shed much light. So I was straining my eyes and my fingers hurt but if my horses managed to keep their braids in it would be worth it because they would look awesome tomorrow and I would have saved myself a lot of time.