“I’m glad you did,” Derek said. He grinned. “I seem to be seeing a lot of Kelly and Nicole these days.”
Sarah shot him a grim smile. “According to Paige, Tim does, too, although perhaps less since you came to town.”
They picked up trot on a straight section of the trail where the footing was good, with Derek and Bismarck in the lead. Sarah was relieved Prince didn’t mind being in second place; he didn’t pull on the reins or try to pass. Coming around a bend, they saw where the trail left the woods and entered a green field of waving grass. A mowed path ran along the edge of the field.
“Where are we?” Sarah called, bringing Prince back to walk. “I’m completely lost!”
Derek slowed his horse as well. “According to Mrs. DeWitt, we should be near the beginning of the entry road. The trail through the woods took us around the broodmares’ pastures.”
Looking over her shoulder, Sarah gazed at the open field of tall grass. At once she saw split-rail fencing and recognized the pastures she passed on every bike ride to the barn. Soon they were back on the farm road, heading home.
“I like trails that make a loop like this one,” Derek said. “It’s much better than retracing your steps.”
After crossing the wooden bridge over the brook and climbing the hill to the O’Briens’ bungalow, the full view of the barn and indoor arena was before them. Within minutes they were back in the courtyard.
Ouch! Sarah thought when she saw Nicole watching them from inside the main entrance. When we get closer, I’m sure I’ll see her eyes are green—green with envy, that is.
CHAPTER 11
Young Riders
TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE HER LESSON was to start, Sarah led Crown Prince into the indoor arena and over to the mounting block in the corner. To be here this early, she’d set a record for how fast she got out of the house after the bus dropped her off, and her ride to the barn felt like she was on a rocket-propelled bicycle. Finally she and Prince would be in a group lesson, and the best part was she’d be with her friends in the Young Riders class.
The arena was deserted when Sarah arrived with Prince, but she knew the other four riders would be along soon. Paige and Tim were getting their horses ready in the barn, and both the Snyders’ and Romanos’ rigs were parked outside. She was glad the class would be inside today. Prince had spent a lot of time in the indoor, so he was usually relaxed there. A few barn swallows were flying in the upper regions of the arena, but Prince had seen them many times.
As Sarah settled into the saddle, Rita and Paige filed in with their horses. Rita gave no greeting and seemed to be entirely focused on Chancellor. Paige waved. “Great to have you back, Sarah!”
Sarah gave her a thumbs-up. “Thanks. It’s awesome to be here!”
Sarah followed her usual warm-up routine with Prince. She started by asking him for an energetic trot on a long rein while going large in the arena to get her horse to reach forward and down with his head and neck. Jack called it riding “long and low.” Then gradually she increased her leg pressure while shortening her reins, to put Prince in a frame between her hand and her leg. He seemed agreeable, trotting willingly and dropping his head down on the bit when she asked.
Sarah hoped Jack would be pleased with how Prince was going. They’d certainly put in a lot of hours over the summer practicing what he had taught her, and the fact Prince had such a willing attitude helped a lot. After going large for a while, she began trotting a circle, gradually spiraling it in and then reversing the process until the circle was its original size before letting Prince walk on a long rein. She reached down to stroke his neck. So far, he was being a good boy!
While she gave Prince a break, Sarah’s gaze drifted to the bleachers near the front of the arena. As usual, there were quite a few people sitting there. Some were other boarders, but most were family or friends of the riders. The Dixons almost always came to watch Tim ride, and even if her parents were tied up at their restaurant, Paige’s grandmother was usually there. Mr. DeWitt wasn’t sitting on the bleachers, but Sarah saw him standing beside them, closely observing the riders as they warmed up.
As she looked closer, Sarah gulped in surprise when she saw her mother sitting in the third row. Wednesday was a day Mrs. Wagner usually went to the gift shop to do her bookkeeping, so having her show up for a lesson here at Brookmeade was a bolt from the blue. She must have made a special effort to get time off, but Sarah thought it strange she hadn’t told her she was coming.
What was really strange was that her mother was sitting next to Richard Snyder, Rita’s father. His business trips usually kept him away during the week, so he rarely, if ever, came to the farm to watch Rita’s lessons. A slightly overweight man with thinning dark hair dressed in a business suit, he appeared deeply engrossed in conversation with Mrs. Wagner. Sarah also noticed Derek sitting in the top row with Nicole on one side and Kelly on the other. Poor Derek, she thought. He’s got those two leeches surrounding him, whether he likes it or not! Just then Kelly’s mother and Mrs. Romano walked into the arena together and found a place on the bleachers. What’s going on here? she thought. Since when are those two buddy-buddy?
Sarah looked at the clock on the arena wall, wondering where Kayla was. It was unusual for her to be late. Tim had arrived right after Paige, and Jack would be showing up at any moment. The main entrance to the arena was still open, and a few minutes later Kayla trotted fast into the arena on Fanny. Kayla guided Fanny directly onto the track and continued trotting briskly, long and low. I wonder why Kayla was late?
Jack strode into the indoor. “Good day to all,” he began. Even after living in the states a few years, Jack still spoke with a noticeable Irish accent. “After a cross-country school last week, today we’ll be working to improve your horses’ work on the flat.” When he noticed Sarah, he added, “’Tis probably no surprise to you that Sarah Wagner has returned to this class with Crown Prince.”
Jack walked to the center of the arena and began his instruction. “Drop your irons and knot your reins so you can proceed with your body stretching exercises.” The group began by reaching down to touch their boots with the opposite hand, alternating from side to side. They had been doing this routine at the beginning of all their lessons since they’d started riding with Jack, and knew the exercises by heart.
The five horses were scattered about the arena, all walking on the track. After Sarah had knotted her reins to shorten them and taken her boots out of her stirrups, she felt Prince began to tense up. She’d never done exercises while on his back. With my legs off his sides and no rein contact, he might feel abandoned, she thought. He’s probably wondering what’s going on! A few times Sarah paused what she was doing long enough to stroke his neck. Finally Jack asked them to take back their irons and reins. Prince felt more comfortable when her legs were again in contact with his sides.
“Rather than spreading out to use the whole arena, I’d like you to form a line on the track behind Paige with one horse’s length distance between you,” Jack called out. “We’re going to ride in a drill team formation today, which will require discipline and accurate control of your horses.” He waited while some riders cut across the arena and others picked up trot to catch up to the line of horses. Sarah found herself right in the middle, behind Kayla and in front of Rita. Sarah slowed Prince’s walk so he wouldn’t get closer than one horse’s length from Fanny, and then looked over her shoulder at Chancellor. Rita was being careful to maintain her distance, and Sarah noticed Rita’s green eyes were glaring at her from under the brim of her expensive helmet.
Suddenly it dawned on her. Many of the observers sitting in the bleachers were there for one reason only. They were waiting, and in fact hoping, for her horse to make a mistake, preferably to kick out at another horse. No doubt Rita was telling anyone who would listen that Prince had nearly bowled Chancellor over on the trail, and of course Kelly was still broadcasting that Prince was a vicious kicker.
Sarah felt a knot growing
in the pit of her stomach, and she struggled to turn her attention back to her horse. She breathed deeply to make herself relax. I’m going to ride just as I did when I had private lessons with Jack, she thought. I’m not going to let them get to me!
“Prepare to trot,” Jack called out, and the five riders gathered their horses, getting ready for the transition. When Jack gave the signal, all five horses picked up trot on cue. Sarah was happy with Prince’s reaction, moving forward willingly while no longer seeming tense. Being close to the other horses didn’t seem to bother him. His ears frequently flicked back in her direction, a sign he was listening to her. At one point she caught their reflection in the mirror that ran the length of one side of the arena, and she was momentarily taken aback by what an eye-catching horse Prince was under saddle.
“Paige, lead the ride across the diagonal at F,” Jack called out. Once they were all back on the track, he said, “Paige, circle back to take the rear of the ride.” Now Kayla led the ride, and Jack asked every rider to make a fifteen-meter circle, returning to the track where they had left it, bringing them into line again. This required the horses to maintain the same trotting speed, and on the first attempt, Quarry got ahead of the others and Fanny needed to move with more impulsion. Sarah used her aids to ask Prince to bend his body to the shape of the circle, but with his naturally longer stride, she found it was challenging to keep him in sync with the others. She used frequent half-halts to check his gait.
When it was Sarah’s turn to lead the ride, Jack asked them to turn across the centerline and to track in the opposite direction once they reached the other side of the arena. Traveling side by side, the riders could easily see the other horses’ positions, and everyone arrived at the other side at the same time. “Excellent!” Jack said.
The lesson continued, with Jack asking the class to do various schooling figures while maintaining their positions. Finally he asked them to walk and let their horses go on a free rein. All five horses stretched their heads down, happy to have a break. Sarah was tempted to steer Prince closer to Fanny so she could ask Kayla why she was late, but Jack was talking to the class. She knew that idle conversation during the lesson would not be appreciated.
After a few minutes, Jack asked the riders to line up at the far end of the arena. Each of them would now be asked for individual work. He prescribed a simple equitation test of a figure eight at canter in the center of the arena with a simple change of lead at the center. Now all my “fans” will be praying for me to totally blow it! Sarah thought, with a touch of nervousness. In her lessons with Jack, they hadn’t yet attempted this exercise. She’d seen this class do a similar exercise a few weeks before, and all of the Young Riders had aced it.
Kayla went first, and rode the whole test without any problems, getting praise from Jack. Fanny looked so pretty, her four white socks moving in rhythm. Tim went next, and Rhodes had amazing transitions in his figure eight. “Very good,” Jack said, “although you need to avoid leaning to the inside on your circles, Tim.” Paige’s try was a little hurried, but for Quarry, it was acceptable. Jack praised them for a good effort.
Sarah was at the end of the line, and she expected Rita to go next, but Rita extended her arm as an invitation for Sarah to go before her. Sarah couldn’t help be a little suspicious, but she willed any thoughts of Rita out of her mind. As she turned to the center of the arena to begin a figure eight, she suddenly felt unsure just how to proceed. Coming to the center, she sat the trot and asked Prince for his right lead. She was relieved when he picked it up and they began the loop.
Approaching the center once more, she thought, I’ve got to be careful I don’t canter beyond X! She sat deeply in the saddle and asked her horse to come back to trot. Their transition was early, and they had several trot steps before she asked him for left lead canter. Perhaps she was a little frazzled, because Prince picked up the wrong lead. Sarah noticed it immediately and brought him back to trot. She had to make a circle to approach X again, and this time Prince correctly picked up the left lead. She finished the loop before trotting back to her place in the line. She felt self-conscious of her unpolished performance, and frustrated by her nervousness.
Sarah knew everyone had been watching them closely while she rode the short test, and that the spectators awaited Jack’s reaction to her ride. “You need to work on this, Sarah,” Jack said, “but for Prince’s level of training, it wasn’t too bad. You made the necessary corrections capably. I suggest you practice the exercise before the next lesson.”
Rita smiled broadly as she now asked Chancellor to begin the test. The black Dutch Warmblood was not only correct in every aspect of the exercise, but his movement was beautiful to see. Jack had only flattering comments to make on her ride, and Rita was smirking when she returned to the line.
When the class came to an end, Jack had a few words for them before the group disbanded. “I suggest you all continue to work on your transitions, bending, and straight lines coming down the centerline. Next week I’d like to do more of the same work, and I may possibly be mounted so we can do drill team exercises with an even number of riders.”
Kayla and Rita immediately rode their horses out of the arena to the parking area, followed by Kayla’s mother, Rita’s father, and Judson. Sarah was dying to talk to Kayla, but that would obviously have to wait. Instead, she rode Prince toward the bleachers where her mother was sitting. She halted Prince just as Mrs. Wagner was climbing slowly down from the bleachers. “Hi, Mom,” she said. “This is a surprise! You got out of work early?”
Sarah thought her mother’s speech and manner seemed reserved when she responded. “Actually, I had the day off. I’m glad I could see you ride. We have a few things to go over, though.” She started for the exit. “We’ll talk after you get home.”
Sarah was dumbfounded. It wasn’t like her mother to be short with her unless there was a major issue to be addressed. What was going on? Prince became restless and wanted to move forward. She was about to start for the gate when Derek walked up beside them. He reached up to stroke Prince’s neck.
“Chill out, handsome one,” he said to Prince, grinning up at her. “I can’t imagine a more beneficial lesson for you guys.”
Sarah was rattled, but Derek’s presence seemed to calm her. For a moment she forgot her mother’s coolness and could think only of the boy standing beside her. “Prince didn’t totally ace the individual test. I guess we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“Sarah, he’s only been off the track for four months. You’ve got to be realistic and not expect too much.”
She took a deep breath before answering. “I don’t think I rode him very well. He’s only going to perform as well as I ride him, and when I misjudged the center at X, nothing went well after that.”
“Take it easy on yourself,” Derek said. “It was your first lesson in front of a lot of people in quite a while. Hey, I’m going to tack up Bismarck. Are you going back now? I’ll walk with you.”
“Sure,” Sarah said, as she dropped her stirrups and slid down from her horse. After pulling the reins over Prince’s head and running up her irons, she started for the outgate alongside Derek. They met Nicole and Kelly as they were leading their horses in for the four o’clock lesson.
“Hope you have a good class,” Derek called cheerfully. The girls were too busy giving Sarah dirty looks to answer.
When they were out of earshot, Derek said, “Those girls certainly run hot and cold.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “With me, I’m afraid it’s all cold.”
Later, as Sarah did the night feeding, all she could think about was the conversation with her mother after her lesson. Something was going on. She knew it. She almost dreaded going home to find out.
But first to call Kayla. The Romanos should be home by now. Sarah was relieved when Kayla picked up right away. “What’s up, kid?”
“What happened to make you late today? Was everything okay?”
Kayla laughed. “We’v
e made the trip with Fanny over to Brookmeade so many times, you’d think we’d have the routine down like clockwork. Today I forgot my saddle pad. I’d given it to Mom to wash. Judson said Rita didn’t have an extra one with her, so Mom ran to the barn to ask around. Mrs. Hoffman found an extra pad in Kelly’s trunk.”
So that explained Mrs. Hoffman and Mrs. Romano showing up together at the lesson. “Kayla, I think something’s going on that I’ll hear about when I get home.” She swallowed hard before continuing. “Mom was sitting with Rita’s father today. I don’t know what he told her, but as she was leaving, she was acting funny and said there was something we need to talk about. I suspect she’s heard Kelly’s trumped-up story about the kick. Did you hear anything going around today?”
Kayla’s voice got low. “I was going to call you later. Mrs. Hoffman told my mom she should be worried about Fanny because there was a horse in my class that is a dangerous kicker. Same old, same old. Mom didn’t buy it and told her as much. Mom thinks that woman is a troublemaker.” Kayla hesitated a moment. “But Sarah, there’s something else you should know. After I got home, I got a group text message from Kelly that might have gone out to a whole lot of kids. It warned everyone to be careful around Crown Prince because he’s a dangerous kicker who injured her horse, and that you don’t care.”
Sarah felt as if she was the one who’d been kicked—right in the gut. At first she was speechless. When she was able to continue, she said, “So Kelly is texting all kinds of trash about me and my horse to who knows how many people?” She thought a minute. “Where could Kelly have gotten your cell number?”
Crown Prince Challenged Page 11
