Back in the Saddle

by Catherine Hapka

  “Wow, sore winner much?” Kyle murmured into Haley’s ear as he hurried past with an armful of saddle pads to add to the trunk in front of her.

  Haley just shrugged. Yeah, Claire was acting like a brat, but Haley couldn’t really blame her. Haley wasn’t in the best of moods herself after what had happened earlier. She still couldn’t believe that she’d messed up so badly. And the worst part? It had totally been her fault. Eventing was all about guts, preparation, and focus. She’d started that cross-country course with plenty of the first two. But she realized now that she hadn’t really been focused from the start, and it hadn’t taken long for that to catch up with her.

  The other worst part was that she’d had to hang around for the rest of the day watching the others have fun. Riley had ended up winning the beginner novice division, of course. Her mare had floated over the show jumping obstacles as if they’d been six-inch crossrails, never coming close to touching any of them.

  Andrew and Kyle hadn’t done as well, though both of them seemed pleased enough with their performances. Turbo had gone clear cross-country and had knocked down one fence in show jumping, which had been enough for that tenth-place ribbon. Kyle had done fine on cross-country, with just a few time faults, but as usual Augie had been sloppy in stadium, knocking down more jumps than he’d left standing. Kyle and Augie had finished well out of the standings, though Kyle seemed pleased just to have completed the event, and he couldn’t stop bragging playfully that he hadn’t come in last this time.

  Jan poked her head out of the trailer, where she’d just gone to put something in the storage area. “Your uncle called, Haley,” she said. “He’s on his way to pick you up. Should be here in twenty minutes.”

  “Thanks,” Haley muttered without looking up from the trunk full of coolers.

  Jan stepped out of the trailer, pocketing her phone. “Hey,” she said, walking over to Haley. “You still down in the dumps over that fall? That’s not like you. Shake it off, girl, and start thinking about next time.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Haley snapped before she realized what she was saying. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kyle and Andrew trade a wide-eyed look. Jan was pretty easygoing, but she wasn’t one to tolerate a lot of back talk.

  The trainer just sighed, though. “Listen, Haley,” she said briskly. “You win some, you lose some. That’s eventing, right?”

  “I guess.” Haley stared at the square of fabric in her hands. “But Wings and I have made it over way harder stuff than that stupid brush thing.”

  “Sure you have.” Jan shrugged. “But this time you didn’t. It happens.”

  “Only when I mess up,” Haley countered. “And I definitely did. Big-time.” She finally met Jan’s gaze square on, practically daring her to say it wasn’t true.

  Jan’s frank blue eyes met Haley’s without blinking. “Okay,” the trainer said. “Maybe you did mess up. But the footing was tricky on the landing from that jump, and the approach coming so soon after the hill was giving people fits all day. Who knows how much was you and how much was the course, right? Either way, you’ve got to learn from it and move on. Doesn’t do any good to beat yourself up.”

  This time Haley just nodded and looked away. No matter what anyone said, Haley knew it was her fault they’d been eliminated. Wings was as sure-footed as they came; he wouldn’t have stumbled if she’d been paying attention to the footing. It wasn’t like him to stop either, no matter what kind of distance they found. If she’d ridden more aggressively, he probably would have jumped the first time. And maybe if she’d been sitting back more, she wouldn’t have come flying off over his shoulder like a beginner when he had finally made it over that fence.

  Yes, this was all her fault. She’d let her pony down, and she’d let herself down. There were no two ways about it.

  She glanced at Wings, who was standing tied to the trailer with the other horses. Turbo was nibbling at the hay net Andrew had hung for him, and one of the other horses kept trying to chew on her lead rope. But Wings was standing quietly with one hind leg cocked, looking sleepy. Haley couldn’t help flashing back to that first ride after the penning, when he’d felt sluggish and a little tired. How much had the exciting day chasing cows taken out of him? Was that maybe the real reason he’d stumbled out there? Was he still a little tired and sore from the unaccustomed movements of playing cow pony?

  Maybe, she told herself. But never mind. It’s not going to happen again. Because next time I’m going to make sure we’re ready. I’m going to make sure we redeem ourselves. Big-time.

  “Hey,” Kyle said, breaking into her thoughts. “You okay?”

  Haley blinked up at him, forcing a smile. “Yeah, just thinking about the future, like Jan said,” she told him. “And listen, thanks for catching Wings for me earlier.”

  “Oh!” Kyle flashed her a smile. “Sure, anytime, Haley. No big deal.”

  “Still.” Haley glanced at Andrew, who was fiddling with some tangled reins nearby. “Sorry I’ve been kind of a grump today. It was fun seeing you two do so well, anyway. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks.” Andrew traded a look with Kyle. “And don’t worry, Haley. You and Wings will get ’em next time.”

  Haley nodded, her chin jutting out with determination. “I know we will. Definitely.”

  By nine o’clock that evening Haley was so exhausted that she could hardly keep her eyes open. She ignored a couple of e-mails from Tracey, deciding she could wait until tomorrow to hear all about her friend’s trip to the big city. But she stifled a yawn and logged on to the Pony Post, knowing her friends there would be waiting eagerly for an update on her event.

  [HALEY] Hi, guys. Well, today didn’t go quite like I’d hoped. . . .

  Her fingers raced over the keys as she poured out the whole story. Well, the important parts, anyway. She figured she could fill in the details tomorrow.

  After she finished and posted the message, she scrolled back to see what the others had posted that day. Only a few seconds passed before she heard the ping of a new message posting.

  [MADDIE] O, Hales, sorry about the E! Total bummer. But it happens, right? Just do what I did the time I accidentally scored for the other team in a soccer game—put it behind u and pretend it never happened, ha ha!

  [HALEY] Lol. But ur right, I already have a plan to put it behind me.

  [MADDIE] Good! What’s the plan?

  [HALEY] That girl Riley I mentioned? She said she’ll be back in this area in 2 wks. There’s an unrecog. event where she’s going to try moving up a level. Said she wants an easy first course before she tackles novice at a recog. one.

  [MADDIE] 2 wks? That seems soon!

  [HALEY] Ya, her horse is rly fit tho. And Wings will be fine too, since he barely even did anything last time.

  [MADDIE] Wait, what??

  [HALEY] Ya, that’s what I was gonna tell u. I already e-mailed in my application for the BN division at the same event. That’s when Wings and I are going to show everyone what we can RLY do!!!!

  She smiled as she hit the button to post the message. Yes, that was her plan, all right. At least she’d only have to wait a couple of weeks for her redemption.

  CHAPTER

  6

  HALEY LEANED ON the stall door watching her pony eat his breakfast. Behind her in the barn aisle a chicken squawked loudly, and Wings lifted his head and stepped to the door, dribbling grain over Haley’s arm as he stared out.

  Haley frowned, glancing from Wings to the grain raining down onto the floor, and back again. “Hey,” she said. “I just realized you haven’t had your teeth done in a while. How long has it been, anyway?”

  By then the pony had lost interest in the action in the aisle and returned his attention to his bucket. But Haley wasn’t really watching him anymore. She was staring into space, trying to remember the last time the equine dentist had visited. Last year around Memorial Day, was it? Or had it been longer than that?

  She spun on her heel and hurried down
the barn aisle, dodging the cat lounging in the middle. Bandit had been sniffing around the feed alcove, but he barked and dashed after her as she raced across the barnyard.

  “Sorry, boy. Can’t come in,” Haley said breathlessly, nudging the dog back with the toe of her boot as she let herself through the white picket gate leading into the backyard.

  Moments later she was in her aunt’s home office at the back of the house looking through the little book of addresses and phone numbers she kept in her desk. Living out in the country as they did, her aunt and uncle insisted on having all important numbers written down on paper in case they needed them in an emergency when the power was out and computers and cell phones couldn’t help. Haley was glad, since her own laptop was all the way upstairs and she didn’t dare touch Aunt Veronica’s computer without permission.

  “Equine dentist, where is it?” Haley muttered, paging past numbers for various relatives, neighbors, and farm-related business contacts.

  Finally she reached the page where her uncle had scrawled numbers for various vets, farriers, and other professionals who worked on their animals. Halfway down the list was Steve Harasta, the local equine dentist.

  Haley grabbed the phone and dialed the number, then tapped her foot impatiently as she listened to it ring. Moments later a groggy voice answered with a mumbled “Hello?”

  “Oh.” Haley gulped as she realized it wasn’t quite seven a.m. yet. She was so used to farm life—getting up early, doing chores, and riding before school—that she hadn’t stopped to think that not everybody woke up with the sun. “Um, sorry to call so early. This is, um, Haley Duncan? From out on Dairy Road?”

  “Mmpf. Right. How are you, Haley?” The dentist sounded slightly more awake with each word. “How can I help you?”

  “It’s Wings.” Haley clutched the phone, glancing toward the window, which had a view of the barnyard. “I think his teeth might be in pretty bad shape.”

  “Oh yeah?” Now Steve sounded fully alert. “What happened? He have an accident or something?’

  “No, nothing like that. It’s just, he’s been dropping a lot of grain without chewing it lately. And at our event over the weekend, he wasn’t quite himself. I was thinking the bit might have been bothering his mouth.”

  Actually, Haley hadn’t really been thinking that until about five minutes ago. But the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. It wasn’t like Wings to refuse a fence, or to stumble, either. What if he’d been off his game because his mouth was sore? Horses’ teeth were always growing, and if the dentist didn’t file off the sharp points now and then, it could cause big problems. Sure, Wings had seemed okay on their rides since the event, but it had only been a few days.

  “Okay,” the dentist said. “Guess I could come take a look. I think I have some openings week after next, or—”

  “No!” Haley blurted out. “I mean, couldn’t you fit us in earlier than that? It might be an emergency.”

  “Might be?” Steve sounded amused. “Well, all righty then. Let me just check my book and see what I can do. . . .” There was a long pause. Haley held her breath and crossed her fingers until the dentist spoke again. “Okay, hold on. Looks like I could squeeze you in day after tomorrow—Friday. It’ll have to be late, though—say, four thirty?”

  “Perfect!” Haley grinned with relief. She didn’t want to think about how she would have managed to deal with an appointment during school hours. “We’ll see you then.”

  Two days later Haley watched as the dentist finished his work. Steve was a big man with broad shoulders and huge biceps, but he had a light touch with horses. As usual, Wings had been suspicious at first when the dentist had brought out the speculum, an enormous, shiny metal contraption that held a horse’s mouth open so the dentist could reach to the back teeth without risking a bite. Haley had been ready to step forward and help, but Steve had talked softly to the pony until Wings had let him slide the speculum into place.

  After that, Steve had pulled out various files and other instruments, humming cheerfully as he’d worked in the pony’s open mouth. Haley had been surprised at how quickly the dentist worked. Before she knew it, he was carefully pulling the speculum back out, to Wings’s obvious relief.

  “How were his teeth?” she asked. “Pretty bad?”

  “Nope. Pretty good, actually. Wasn’t much for me to do.” Steve dropped the speculum into a stainless steel bucket and swished it around in the cleaning solution. He winked at her. “Definitely not an emergency.”

  “Oh.” Haley glanced at her pony, feeling sheepish. “Well, it just seemed like maybe the bit might be bothering him.”

  “Doubt it, unless there’s something wrong with the bit.” Steve peeled off his gloves. “His teeth are fine.”

  “Oh.” Haley’s heart sank. She looked over all her tack every time she cleaned it, so she knew there was no problem with her bit. So if it hadn’t been the pony’s teeth, that meant she still needed to figure out the reason for their poor performance.

  “Always good to keep on top of things, though,” Steve added with a smile. “Just call if you need me again.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Haley handed him the check her uncle had left, then watched him hurry back out to his truck.

  When he was gone, she gave Wings a pat and a couple of carrots. Hearing a flurry of barks from the tack room, she remembered that she’d locked Bandit and one of the other dogs in there to keep them out from underfoot. When she released them, the big yellow Lab immediately trotted off toward the food dishes farther down the barn aisle. But Bandit rubbed against her legs like a cat. Then he dashed over and grabbed the knotted rag Haley had given him as a toy. He dropped it at her feet, wagging his fringed tail hopefully.

  “Sorry, boy,” Haley said. “No time to play today.”

  She rubbed the dog’s head, then let Wings out of his stall and led him outside. Halfway across the big pasture the family’s other horses were already grazing on the first soft shoots of spring greenery poking up from among brown winter-killed grass and patches of lingering snow. Letting out a whinny, Wings took off as soon as Haley released him, throwing in a couple of playful bucks as he ran toward the little herd. Chico kept eating, but Rusty and Jet looked up at the pony’s approach, and Rusty even snaked his neck and ran with Wings for a few strides before returning to grazing.

  Haley smiled as she watched her pony play. “Guess you’re feeling pretty good after your dental appointment,” she murmured.

  Back in the house she went upstairs, planning to get a head start on her homework before it was time to set the table for dinner. When she opened her laptop, though, she couldn’t resist checking in on the Pony Post first. There were a couple of new messages:

  [MADDIE] Study hall check-in! Ugh, why do Fridays seem to last twice as long as any other day? Well, the school part anyway, lol! B, cute pix of Foxy, she sure is furry! Cloudy doesn’t grow that much of a winter coat, maybe b/c Ms. E puts a blanket on her whenever it goes below like 50 degrees, ha!

  [NINA] Hi, all! Sorry I didn’t check in yesterday, we ended up going out to eat. But my lesson after school was great. Did I already tell u guys my friend Avery switched to my lesson day? She’s been riding w/Jordan and me for a few wks now. Fun! We got to do some jumping today, and next time we’re going to ride out thru the park maybe. What have u all been doing w/yr ponies? Brooke, is Foxy still shedding like a fiend, ha ha? And, Haley, how’s Wings doing? Did the dentist come to check his teeth like u said?

  Haley scanned both of her friends’ chatty messages, but she barely took in most of what they’d said, even though she normally would have teased Maddie about her barn owner’s California blanketing habits. She was still too focused on Wings to think about anything else. She opened a new text box and typed quickly.

  [HALEY] Hi, guys! Ya, Nina, the eq dentist just left. He said W’s teeth were fine???? I don’t get it. If it wasn’t that, what could it have been?????????

  [NINA] Haley! Hi, I’m still here!r />
  Haley was surprised when Nina’s new comment popped up beneath hers. She hadn’t even noticed that her friend’s last message had posted just a few minutes earlier.

  [HALEY] Hi! So what do u think? I don’t know what to do next to fix W’s problems!

  [NINA] Hmm. Are u sure he has probs?

  [HALEY] What do u mean? There has to be some reason we messed up so much at the event. B/c we were soooo ready!! Esp. since we only did BN level. I mean, we should be able to rock that stuff in our sleep! Esp. on XC!!!!

  [NINA] Yeah. But maybe it was just the spirit of April Fools’ Day messing w/u! Ha ha ha ha!

  [HALEY] Very funny. I guess it could’ve been that penning after all. I should have known better than to work him so hard only a wk before the big event, ugh! He was prob a little sore from all the sliding stops and quick turns and stuff. I won’t make that mistake again.

  [NINA] OK. But don’t be too hard on yrself or Wingsie. Stuff happens, right?

  Haley grimaced. She admired Nina’s easygoing approach to life most of the time, but this was different. If Haley couldn’t figure out why they’d done so poorly at that event, it might happen again. She already knew why their dressage score had been so low, and all she had to do to fix that was make sure she knew her test inside out and didn’t get distracted. But the jumping stuff was another matter. . . .

  [HALEY] I guess. But I think I’ll have the farrier out early to check him. Come to think of it, that would make more sense, right? If his feet weren’t quite right, it might make him stumble. . . . Grr, too bad I didn’t think of that sooner—I have a lesson on Sunday.

  [NINA] A lesson? Cool! Are you going to yr trainer’s farm?

  [HALEY] Yep. It’s a group lesson to work on show jumping. That’s good, since W and I didn’t even get to do that part at the event, grrr!