Crown Prince Challenged

by Linda Snow McLoon

  Now that it was Sarah’s turn, her heart was in her throat. Prince had never done a bounce before. She needed to keep him in a frame so he wouldn’t go too fast or get strung out. Coming toward the jumps, Sarah could feel that Prince was committed. He was such an honest horse! But he was green, and she needed to use her aids correctly to help him figure it out. The ground pole put Prince in a good position to jump the cross-rail, and on landing he immediately jumped the vertical. But in jumping out, he misjudged the height of the rail and scraped his rear feet against it.

  “Come around and try that again, Sarah,” Jack called. The practice helped Prince, for this time he went through the combination cleanly. Jack had them trot momentarily while he raised the height of the cross-rail and the vertical jump.

  “Come through again, beginning with Rita,” Jack called. This time all the horses handled the bounce with no problem, prompting Jack to again raise the height of the vertical. Now jumping it would require a substantial push from behind. When once more the horses met the challenge, Jack asked the riders to walk while he dragged standards and another rail into place to change the vertical into a square oxer. Now the jump out of the bounce had changed from a single rail to a substantial spread fence, requiring even more effort from the horses.

  “You’ll continue to have the advantage of the ground rail and crossbar to place your horses perfectly for the last jump,” Jack said. “But to jump it cleanly, they will need to push harder with their hindquarters and tuck their knees up in front, a good training exercise.”

  When the riders picked up canter once more, Sarah couldn’t help feeling somewhat intimidated. This would be the most difficult challenge Prince had ever faced in a lesson. The oxer looked so big! Maybe she should just close her eyes and let Prince figure it out. No! she reminded herself. If Prince needs my help, I must be there for him. We’re a team!

  Rita looked confident and relaxed as she approached the fences, and Chancellor calmly went down the line, demonstrating a perfect jump over the oxer. Kayla was next, and from the way she was gripping the reins, Sarah could tell her friend was nervous. But Kayla was determined to do it and she rode the combination with a strong leg. When Fanny sailed over the oxer with room to spare, Kayla was delighted. “Good girl!” she called out, slapping Fanny’s neck.

  “Were your spurs meeting in the middle, Kayla?” Jack teased.

  Jack called to Paige as Quarry turned from the track to approach the combination. “Remember that speed won’t help him over this, Paige. It will only make his jump flat. Keep your legs on while you control the pace.” Quarry leaped over the cross-rail and immediately pushed off with a round jump over the oxer. Paige was beaming as she rode her horse back to the track. Tim went next. Rhodes didn’t seem to notice that the jump was more challenging, as he cleared it in good form before returning to the track.

  Here we go, Prince, Sarah thought. She took a deep breath and began her approach. Prince had gained confidence from going through the bounce a few times, and now he showed no hesitation. Even as he jumped the crossrail, he understood a bigger effort was needed for the oxer, and his powerful hindquarters pushed him and Sarah over it easily. As they cantered away, out of the corner of her eye, Sarah saw someone in the bleachers stand up and pump his fist. It was Derek, and in spite of herself, she felt her heart leap. If only her parents could have been here too! Kayla shot her a thumbs-up as Sarah passed her on her way back to the track.

  “Let’s close up behind Rita one horse’s length distance, and then come back to walk,” Jack called out. When the riders were together, Jack walked beside them while they kept their horses moving. The horses were warm from the long period of canter and needed to walk on a long rein. Glad to have a break, they all stretched their heads and necks down.

  Fanny was the only horse that seemed slightly stressed. She had perspired a lot, and she was breathing rapidly. “It looks like your mare has lost some condition,” Jack said, his face showing concern. “With the winter weather, have you not been able to get her out?” Kayla nodded. “Even if you can’t ride in your ring, I suggest you hack her along the road every chance you get, except when it’s icy. The Yardley town crews plow the snow back to give you a generous shoulder to ride on, so you and Fanny should be safe from traffic. Of course Fanny will need winter shoes with borium to do this, and remember to always ride with traffic on the right hand side of the road.”

  Sarah felt Prince’s neck. It was warm, but he hadn’t broken into a sweat. He must be getting fit, Sarah thought. All the riding I’ve been doing has paid off.

  “You all did very well today,” Jack said to the group. “Exercises such as the bounce are an excellent way to strengthen your horses and prepare them for jumping higher fences.” He paused a moment to watch the horses as they walked by. When he was satisfied none were taking any lame steps after the workout, he continued. “We’ll be doing more gymnastic work as we prepare for the Wexford Hall event, although you’ll profit from it no matter what discipline you choose—hunters, jumpers, equitation, eventing, or dressage. As the weeks progress, we’ll be adding additional elements to the jumping line, which will be even more challenging. We’ll be riding courses too, and, of course, we’ll continue to work on your dressage.”

  Sarah’s fingers tightened on the reins. Were she and Prince ready for all this? He was trying hard, and so far he had handled every challenge sent his way. But was he being rushed? Could Jack be pushing him too fast? She’d read about horses whose training was moved along too quickly. Somewhere along the line they’d lost confidence, something that couldn’t always be regained. She certainly didn’t want that to happen to her horse!

  After the riders were excused, Derek walked back to Prince’s stall with Sarah. “Considering how long he’s been in training, you’ve got a star here,” he said. “I wish you could see how good he looks going over a fence.”

  Sarah couldn’t help smiling. Anything Derek said was exciting to her, and he had certainly given her some wonderful compliments. She became more serious. “Is it possible Jack is pushing Crown Prince too fast, just so we can keep up with the Young Riders class? I don’t want my horse to hit a brick wall one of these days, if he can’t deal with what’s being asked of him.” She watched Derek’s face closely, waiting for his answer.

  “I ride with Jack, too,” Derek replied. “I never get the sense that Bismarck is being overly challenged. In fact, as Jack did in your lesson today, he always presents things in such a measured way that we work up to the big challenges gradually. Jack’s approach makes things seem easy.”

  “But you’re having private lessons,” Sarah reminded him. “In my case, Prince has to do what is best for the rest of the class. I just hope Jack doesn’t ask for more than Prince is ready to do.”

  As Sarah earnestly confided her concerns to Derek, he looked into her dark eyes with their long lashes. From the minute he’d met Sarah, on the day Bismarck arrived at Brookmeade Farm, Derek had felt an attraction to this girl. There was something special, something different about her that appealed to him. Perhaps it was her unassuming personality and dedication to her horse. She was so different from the girls who routinely had it on their agendas to snag him. But while she had always been friendly and fun to be with, there was a certain aloofness about her that gave the impression she wouldn’t want to be more than just his friend. Perhaps he was imagining this. It was time to find out.

  There was a pause in the conversation as Derek looked intently at Sarah, hesitating. Finally it slipped out. “There’s going to be a winter carnival at my school this weekend. They’ve got a lot of cool things planned. Would you like to check it out with me Saturday afternoon?” Now he studied her face, holding his breath, waiting for a reply.

  For a minute, Sarah wondered if she had heard Derek right. Had he actually asked her for a date? Ever since she’d learned about that girl named Meredith, Derek’s girlfriend in Chicago, Sarah hadn’t allowed herself to think of Derek as anything more than
a friend who shared her love of horses and riding. But now this! Did she want to be a convenient second-best girlfriend because number one was a long way off? She was a little tempted, but more irritated and offended.

  Sarah met Derek’s gaze for a moment before she turned away, shaking her head. “I don’t think so, Derek. I’ve got way too much going on, what with school, my job here at the barn, and my horse. Let’s just be riding friends, okay?”

  CHAPTER 17

  The Quarrel

  FOR THE REST OF JANUARY and through the end of February, frequent snowstorms kept Sarah and Crown Prince off the hacking trails, and with a lot of ice everywhere, it wasn’t safe to even take the horses for walks on the farm road. They had no choice but to ride in the indoor and practice the regimen Jack prescribed.

  The lessons with the Young Riders were always challenging, and Sarah and Prince managed to keep up with the more experienced riders. The flatwork in the classes was as demanding as the jumping, as more difficult dressage movements were gradually introduced. Jack frequently reminded them that before moving up in dressage, a horse must have a strong foundation of the basics. Along with exercises such as leg-yielding, shoulder-in, and counter-canter, Jack taught the class how to lengthen and shorten their horses’ strides. With his long, elastic movement, Prince excelled at this. Mrs. DeWitt came up to Sarah after one class to tell her how impressed she had been watching Crown Prince lengthen across the diagonal of the arena. “He’s such a good mover!” she gushed. “Chandler and I are so happy to see you two blossom.”

  The better Prince performed in their lessons, the more aloof Rita became. She clearly resented another horse begin to approach Chancellor’s brilliance. Her earlier argument that Prince would hold the Young Riders class back hadn’t materialized—Prince and Sarah had shown dramatic improvement and clearly deserved to be there.

  As winter slid into spring, Sarah was happy to have a Thursday afternoon off from school because of teachers’ conferences. For once she could be at Brookmeade in time to watch Derek’s two o’clock private lesson with Jack. Sarah was cleaning her horse’s stall when Derek finished tacking up Bismarck. Derek rode in an all-purpose saddle for hacking, but today he was using his jumping saddle. With its extreme forward flaps, it worked well with the shorter stirrups he’d need for jumping high fences. His bridle had a Dr. Bristol bit and a figure-eight noseband.

  “I finally get to see one of your lessons,” Sarah said. “It’s about time!”

  “You mean I’ll be observed by the critical eye today?” Derek said, grinning. “Now’s your chance to get revenge for all the horrific things I’ve said about you and Prince.” They both knew that the opposite was true. Derek was constantly reassuring her on days Sarah felt she hadn’t ridden well. His words had gone a long way toward boosting her self-confidence and helping her believe she was capable of riding with the more experienced riders.

  Sarah tossed a final forkful of soiled bedding into the wheelbarrow and pushed it to the manure bin. After spreading a load of fresh shavings in Prince’s stall, she made a beeline for the indoor. Derek was warming Bismarck up when she got there. Jack hadn’t arrived yet, and there were no other spectators as Sarah climbed to the third row on the bleachers. When Bismarck trotted by, Derek called out, “Have mercy!” Sarah only smiled.

  A few minutes later Derek’s parents strode into the arena. As they climbed up the bleachers to sit beside her, Mrs. Alexander beamed at Sarah. “It’s a nice surprise to see you on a day that finally feels like spring,” she said. “You’re not usually here when Derek rides.”

  “We had a half day of school today,” Sarah replied. She considered how good-looking Mrs. Alexander was, with expensive clothes, attractive makeup, and her hair stylishly coiffed.

  “Derek’s fortunate that Winchester Academy allows his riding activities to substitute for phys ed, so he can leave school early on Thursdays,” Mrs. Alexander said. “We make a point of being here to watch his lessons with Jack whenever we can.”

  “We’ve been hearing good things from Derek about Bismarck’s neighbor, Crown Prince,” Mr. Alexander said. “He tells us your horse has a world of potential.”

  Sarah wasn’t sure what to say. She always felt embarrassed when showered with compliments. After pausing a moment, she said, “We owe everything to Jack and his awesome instruction. Prince and I have learned so much from him.”

  Jack arrived at the same time Kelly and Nicole came into the arena and climbed up on the bleachers. Without saying a word, the girls went to the top row and slid to the far end away from Sarah.

  Various jumps had been set up to make a course in the arena—spread fences, verticals, and combinations. Sarah was shocked by the size of the jumps. They were far bigger than anything her class had been asked to tackle. She was surprised when Jack began the lesson exactly as he did for the Young Riders, with exercises and flat work. After Derek trotted Bismarck in a long-and-low frame, he gradually gathered him between hand and leg and started bending and counter-bending exercises. These were followed by leg-yielding and counter-canter, frequent transitions and changes of direction. Lastly Derek worked on flying changes of lead, which Sarah knew were important on a jumping course.

  When Jack felt Bismarck was sufficiently supple, he asked Derek to come back to walk and shorten his stirrups before starting work over fences. Finally Derek had the handsome bay Hol-steiner trot on a circle at one end of the arena before approaching the in-and-out. It had a moderate cross-rail as the first element, making it simple and inviting. This is very much like what we do in my class, Sarah thought, except the jumps are higher and we’ve not gotten to flying changes of lead.

  There was no ground line in front of the in-and-out, but Bismarck trotted smartly to the cross-rail and jumped it easily. After taking one stride upon landing, he lifted off for the second element, a vertical, jumping it well. Jack quickly put the rail in a higher set of cups, and Derek came through again. “Don’t get ahead of him,” Jack called out, as he again raised the rail. The size of the vertical had risen dramatically, but it didn’t seem to faze Bismarck or his rider. Jack raised the top rail one more time, and after Bismarck jumped it without difficulty, Jack asked Derek to continue on to a large oxer he had set up earlier.

  Bismarck cantered confidently down the arena toward the jump. “Keep that pace,” Jack called out, “and after the oxer, change direction and come to the red-and-white vertical. I hope to see a clean flying change four or five strides after the oxer.” Bismarck pulled against the bit, anticipating the jump as he got closer, but Derek prevented him from going faster. They met the jump in just the right spot and sailed over in good form. “Well done!” Jack said.

  Bismarck cantered away, and a few strides after the jump, Derek asked him to change from his left lead to his right in preparation for turning into the next jump. But Bismarck changed only with his front legs, and not behind, leaving his canter awkward and unbalanced. After a few strides, the horse corrected himself, but Jack called out, “Skip the red-and-white, and repeat the oxer. This time sit up and have your horse strongly between hand and leg before you ask for the lead change.” On the next attempt, Bismarck again jumped the fence athletically, and following it, Derek got a clean change of lead without being temporarily disunited. “Bravo!” Jack called out. “Now continue to the red-and-white. Following it, repeat the two fences again.”

  At one point Derek’s mother leaned over to Sarah and whispered, “What do you think?”

  “Compared to what my horse jumps, these fences are like skyscrapers!” Sarah replied.

  After a short break, Derek and Bismarck finished by jumping a full course that included all the fences. It was an excellent performance, and Sarah was definitely impressed.

  When Derek had halted his horse in the center, Jack walked over to speak with him a few minutes. Kelly and Nicole scampered down from the bleachers, and when Jack turned and left the arena, they ran over to Derek, walking beside him as he rode his horse toward hi
s parents on the bleachers.

  “You were amazing!” Nicole said, reaching up to pat Bismarck’s shoulder.

  Kelly beamed up at Derek. “You and Bismarck are awesome!” she said.

  “Thanks,” Derek said, looking ahead to his parents and Sarah. When he came to a halt in front of them, Kelly and Nicole continued to stroke Bismarck, standing in front of him. They peppered Derek with questions and compliments. In the face of Kelly and Nicole’s exhibition, Sarah hung back. Finally Derek said, “Excuse me, girls,” as he vaulted off his horse. They continued to stand between him and his parents as he ran up his irons.

  Mrs. Alexander was frowning and seemed taken aback by the girls’ aggressive behavior. She cleared her throat and said in an authoritative tone, “Excuse me, girls. If I may, I’d like to speak to my son.” Kelly and Nicole looked surprised as they swung around to face her, mumbling, “See ya, Derek,” before walking away.

  Mrs. Alexander raised her eyebrows. “You are certainly being hounded by those two,” she said.

  “Oh, they’re harmless,” Derek replied, watching them go.

  “Well, you and Bismarck performed incredibly well,” Mr. Alexander said. “I think Jack O’Brien is bringing out the best in both of you.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I need to get Bismarck moving. He worked pretty hard. I’m going to walk him in the indoor after I put his cooler on.” As he started to turn his horse away from them, his gaze landed on Sarah, standing shyly in the background. He stopped. “I hope we weren’t too bad, coach,” he said, grinning.

  Sarah couldn’t resist a smile. “Not too bad.” Turning to leave, she waved to Derek and his parents. “I need to bring Prince in.”

  On her way to the paddocks, Sarah passed Quarry’s stall. The door was shut, but Sarah stopped in her tracks when she heard a sob come from inside. She didn’t move, listening. Yes, someone was in there with Quarry. Turning back to look more closely, she saw Paige standing on the far side of her horse, her face buried in the gray gelding’s mane.