Bold Beauty

by Dandi Daley Mackall

  Like owner, like horse.

  “I said,” Summer shouted, “you missed a spot!”

  “Thanks, Summer,” I replied sweetly, flipping a spadeful of manure over my shoulder so she had to jump out of the way.

  “You did that on purpose!”

  I leaned on the spade. “Gorgeous and smart?”

  Summer didn’t know how to take that one. She twirled a strand of her long blonde hair. “Adrianna and Jeffrey Howard, of the Cleveland and Philadelphia Howards, are coming to ride their hunter. Be gone before they get here. I have to go jump.”

  Good idea. Take a flying leap.

  She strode back to Bold Beauty in the arena. As far as I could tell, Summer still hadn’t unsaddled the poor horse.

  Hawk had gone home to pack for Europe, so I really was alone.

  Now what am I supposed to do, God? You can’t possibly want to leave your beautiful creation out there in the hands of Summer and her brother!

  I’d been talking more to God lately. I still didn’t pray like Lizzy did. She talked to God natural as sundown. But I’d come a long way since giving God the silent treatment after Mom died.

  I shoved my braid off my shoulder and went back to mucking. I’d just unloaded the last bucket of manure when I heard Richard yell, “They’re here!”

  I waited for Richard to run outside and greet his customers. Then I sneaked to the arena to watch.

  When he came back, Richard wore a smile as broad as a Quarter Horse’s rump. “Mr. and Mrs. Howard, my dad’s sorry he couldn’t be here today. This is my sister, Summer. We thought having her ride your mare would help get it used to a woman. It’s your wife’s horse, right?”

  “My wedding gift to Adrianna.” The handsome, dark-haired man put his arm around his pretty, auburn-haired wife. So they were newlyweds. “That horse won blue ribbons in hunt competition last year. I had no way of knowing she’d start refusing high jumps.” Husband and wife wore matching brown jodhpurs and checkered jackets, like Barbie and Ken at the hunt.

  Mrs. Howard snuggled closer and slipped her arm around his waist. “I love her, Jeffrey. I just hope I’m good enough for her.” She smiled at Richard. “Jeffrey’s parents belong to a hunt club. I love to ride and jump. But I have a lot to learn before I hunt at their level, I’m afraid.”

  “My wife’s being modest. She’s a wonderful rider!”

  Sometimes I try to figure what kind of horse a person might be if people were horses. I could picture Jeffrey Howard as a Thoroughbred, with centuries of good breeding behind him. Mrs. Howard, too—or maybe even an Arabian, with a fine, light-bone structure and a natural grace.

  I’d expected to write them off as rich snobs. But watching them, I couldn’t lump them in with the Spidells. They kept looking at each other like they had to check to be sure the other one was still there and okay.

  I tried to imagine my parents as newlyweds. I remembered running to the car once and catching them kissing. I’d pretended not to see.

  Lizzy had said just a week after Mom died, “I miss us.” She’d only been nine. I’d missed us, too, the four of us. I’d missed Mom and me. I’d even missed Lizzy and Mom and me. Now a new ache set in. I missed them. Not just my mom and dad. Them. Mr. and Mrs. Willis.

  How many more ways could there be to miss Mom?

  “Could I have a minute?” Richard tilted his head, signaling to Mr. Howard that he wanted to talk in private.

  His wife took the hint and lifted the reins from Summer. “Let me walk her a bit and get us used to each other.”

  “She’s pretty lively!” Summer called after her.

  Beauty tested Mrs. Howard, trying to stride ahead.

  When they passed my hiding place, I ducked under the fence and fell in beside Beauty. “She likes to be scratched.” Beauty stopped, and I reached up and scratched her withers. “Don’t you, Beauty?”

  “Beauty?” Adrianna Howard moved long, reddish fingernails to the withers.

  “I call her Bold Beauty.”

  “I like that.” She smiled and stuck out her hand. “I’m Adrianna.”

  “Winnie.” I shook her hand. “You got yourself a great horse. A born hunter.”

  “Do you think so?” She eyed the mare.

  “Look at her legs!” I explained. “I never saw any set truer—‘one at each corner,’ my mom used to say. And her eyes are kind and far apart, like her ears.” I stopped talking. I’m usually lousy talking to people. Give me a horse any day. But I didn’t trust what Richard might be telling Adrianna’s husband about Beauty.

  Adrianna listened to me, not clearing her throat like a lot of people do the first time they hear me talk. I sound a little hoarse all the time. Lizzy says she wishes she had my voice. She’d be a newscaster.

  “I told Jeffrey I’ll never foxhunt,” Adrianna whispered. “They drag hunt at the club.”

  I knew what that was. The hounds are trained to follow a fake scent instead of a live fox. They use a bag of aniseed, or even human scent, and drag a line for the hounds to follow. Riders get a faster ride than with a real fox, taking natural jumps in a wide-open field. But the dogs just get a reward at the end of the hunt. They don’t get a fox. I was glad she and Beauty wouldn’t be part of that.

  “Adrianna?” Her husband waved her over. “Richard says they’re making great progress. Do you want to ride and see for yourself?”

  “Great!” She started off, then turned back and grinned at me. “Wish me luck!”

  She was a good rider. Her husband said so himself. And Beauty was a sweet horse. Still, my chest thumped. The way Summer and Richard had been riding the mare, anything could happen.

  “Adrianna!” I called. “Be careful when you—”

  “Winifred!” Richard glared at me, his face like rock-hard ice. But the ice melted into a warm smile when he turned back to Jeffrey. “Winnie cleans stalls for us. Sorry for the interruption.”

  I felt my face heat up. Again I was Cinderella of the muck.

  Fine. Beauty could clear any jump in that arena if she had the right rider. Maybe Adrianna would have the confidence Beauty needed.

  Adrianna mounted. I liked her easy position in the saddle, legs hanging down straight, hands just above the withers. She posted, moving up and down with Beauty’s high-stepping trot as they circled the arena.

  Her husband hadn’t exaggerated when he bragged about her riding. In a trot, diagonal pairs of front and hind legs move together, giving the bounciest gait. Adrianna made it look easy, rising from the saddle, moving forward slightly, supporting herself with her knees, and easing back into the saddle.

  I relaxed, realized I’d been rubbing my horseshoe scar, and stopped.

  They headed toward the lowest jump, a pole resting low on two uprights, like a miniature goal. Adrianna headed her horse in straight, still at a trot, and allowed the mare to pace herself.

  That’s it. Aim her right, and she’ll jump herself!

  Beauty trotted without hesitation and eased over the pole, landing in a canter, as if the jump had been no more than the start of her faster gait.

  Adrianna scratched Beauty’s withers and kept cantering. I liked this rich woman more every minute.

  She took the next two hurdles without fault, pressing her knees lightly against the saddle, heels down, toes pointing forward, shifting her weight to center of balance as they jumped. Bold Beauty loved it!

  They did the next jump and the next. Adrianna didn’t even have to adjust the pace. Only the high jump remained. They circled and prepared to take the hurdle.

  Summer ran out. “Don’t do that one!”

  Adrianna slowed to a trot and pulled off course.

  “What’s the matter?” Jeffrey asked.

  I could tell Richard was flustered. He tried to get his friendly mask back on, but it didn’t fit. His lips twitched. “Summer, get out of the way!”

  Adrianna and Beauty walked up to them. “We were doing great! Why did you stop us?”

  “Your horse won’t take t
hat high jump!” Summer snapped, ignoring her brother’s glare.

  I wondered if Summer cared about Adrianna’s safety, or if she just couldn’t stand getting shown up.

  Jeffrey wheeled on Richard. “You said the horse was making progress.”

  “Summer had trouble with that jump.” Richard forced a dry laugh. “Your horse is making progress.”

  “So it’s okay then?” Adrianna asked, stroking Beauty’s neck.

  Summer’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Fine! Go right ahead.” As she stormed past me, she muttered, “I’m a better rider than she is any day!”

  Adrianna cantered Beauty around the arena. As they thundered past me, I sensed tension in both of them. The gait seemed choppy, hooves shuffling instead of landing clean. Beauty’s muscles had tightened, anticipating the jump. Adrianna looked stiffer, too, her elbows close to her sides, as if protecting herself. She held the reins closer to her chest, killing her freedom and Beauty’s.

  I couldn’t swallow as I watched them head for the high hurdle. I knew it was about the height of my hedge in the pasture, but it appeared taller now, like a fortress wall.

  Confidence! You both need to believe you can make it!

  Beauty galloped faster toward the jump. Thu-dump! Thu-dump! Thu-dump! The horse was rushing it. The fourth stride landed too far away; the fifth would have put her in the pole. She lunged at it, lifted her head, tried to jump, changed her mind, twisted in the air, and came down on the approach side of the hurdle, bumping it with her nose. Her rider, already half out of the saddle, flew off.

  “Adrianna!” Jeffrey’s scream echoed as he raced to his wife.

  The only sound cutting off his cry was the thud as Adrianna’s body crashed to the ground.

  “Adrianna! Are you all right? Don’t move.” Jeffrey knelt and threw his arms around his wife.

  I got there a second after he did. “You okay? Good landing!” She’d rolled and taken the brunt of the fall on her arm.

  Adrianna started to answer, but her husband pulled her head against him so she couldn’t.

  “It’s all my fault!” he cried. “I never should have let you on that horse! I don’t know what I would have done if—”

  Adrianna managed to pull away and get to her feet. Her hat was still on and, except for sawdust on her side, she looked fine. “I’m okay. Is Beauty all right?”

  “We should go to the hospital!” Jeffrey insisted, the concern in his eyes so strong I had to look away.

  Adrianna’s husband was this upset, and he knew horses. No wonder Mom hadn’t wanted Dad to know about her falls. He couldn’t have handled it.

  At the far end of the arena Bold Beauty galloped back and forth, dodging Summer’s and Richard’s attempts to catch her.

  Richard gave up and ran over to us. He was breathing hard. “I’m afraid you made a bad mistake buying that horse for your wife.”

  Jeffrey drew his wife closer. “That mare was so reliable! Maybe something’s wrong with her.”

  “We had the vet check her out,” Richard explained. “He ran blood tests, but she’s not anemic. No virus, no muscle problem.” He glanced at Summer, who was lunging at Beauty, trying to catch her and not coming close. “So that leaves one answer. Your horse is a born stopper.”

  Anyone who jumps horses knows that’s the death warrant for a hunter. Some horses are born stoppers and will refuse fences or a certain fence no matter what you do to them. But Beauty wasn’t like that.

  “She’s not a stopper!” I shouted. “She’s a born hunter. She loves to jump!”

  Jeffrey turned to me as if I’d come up through the sawdust. His gaze landed on my mucking boots.

  Richard snorted. “Winnie loves horses, don’t you, Winnie?” He said it like I was five, used to playing with plastic horses.

  “I have to be honest with you,” Richard said, man-to-man to Jeffrey. “You’re wasting your money training this horse. Why don’t you let me find a more suitable hunter for your wife? There’s a riding school in Cleveland that would take this one off your hands. Leave it to me.”

  “Richard!” Summer screamed from the other end of the arena. She kicked the ground, spraying sawdust. “You catch this beast!”

  Richard smiled patiently at the Howards. The perfect big brother. “Excuse me, will you? This won’t take a minute.”

  He marched over to Summer and whispered something that made her stiffen.

  “I did, you idiot!” Summer screamed. “You try! See how great you do!”

  Richard shot a fake, nervous smile at us. If I hadn’t been so worried about Bold Beauty, I might have enjoyed this scene.

  Summer, hands on hips, glared at her brother as he walked toward the horse. Beauty let him get within a horse’s tail length. Then she pivoted away. He came again. She backed up. He grabbed for her, and she took off at a gallop.

  “If you’re sure you’re all right,” Jeffrey said, his hands on his wife’s shoulders, “I’ll go give him a hand.”

  “Go! I’m fine.” Adrianna watched her husband jog over to Richard and Summer. “This is all my fault. Beauty really is a sweet horse.”

  “And you can’t sell her!” I pleaded.

  “That will be up to Jeffrey. It’s his gift. He knows more about hunters than I do.”

  “She’s just lost her confidence here. Couldn’t you feel it? She was smooth and sure over all the jumps until that last one.”

  “When I doubted her,” Adrianna admitted.

  “All she needs is a good rider to give her back her confidence! She already knows how to jump. I could ride her!” There. I’d said it. No sense stopping now. “I can get her to jump that high jump. I know it!”

  Adrianna raised her eyebrows. “But I thought you didn’t work horses here.”

  “But I could! If you said you wanted me to train Beauty, they’d have to let me. I’ve gentled other horses, honest!”

  At the other end of the arena, Beauty had all three humans—Richard, Summer, and Jeffrey—running in circles.

  “Richard seems awfully sure about the horse,” Adrianna said.

  “But he doesn’t love horses!” I insisted. “Not like I do.”

  Adrianna narrowed her green eyes. They seemed to see inside me. “I do know how you feel about horses, Winnie. You already love my horse, don’t you?”

  I nodded. “And I’ve never met a horse I couldn’t fix.” It sounded like bragging, even to me. But it was the truth.

  Adrianna grinned. “I believe you. And if it’s confidence that horse needs, you certainly seem loaded with it.”

  Jeffrey came dragging back. “We can’t catch her. I think Richard’s right. We’re better off selling her and letting him find you a proper hunter.”

  “Richard’s wrong!” I blurted out.

  “Jeffrey,” Adrianna said sweetly, “Winnie thinks she can help. She trains horses, too.”

  He squinted at me and my boots again.

  “I know I don’t look like much. But I’m almost 13.” My birthday wasn’t for another six months, but I threw that in since most people think I’m younger. “And I’ve had experience with jumpers. In Wyoming.” I wished Lizzy were here. She could have talked them into it. “Please give me a chance!”

  Jeffrey shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t think—”

  Richard rushed over. “The mare’s too excited now. We’ll get some help and catch her later.”

  I got an idea. I turned to Jeffrey. “I’ll catch her.”

  Richard laughed.

  He shouldn’t have laughed. He’d seen me catch wild horses before.

  “Look,” I reasoned, “if I can catch her, will you give me a chance to train her?”

  “You?” Richard sounded like I’d just asked to be crowned Miss America.

  “I think that’s fair,” Adrianna agreed, flashing me a smile.

  I took that as a yes, knowing it was as close as I’d get to one, and hurried out to Bold Beauty.

  I passed Summer in the middle of the arena. “Don�
�t tell me. You’re going to catch her. Big deal!”

  Summer was right. I’d need to do more than catch a horse to convince Jeffrey to give me a chance with Beauty. Richard had him convinced the horse was a lost cause and I was Cinderella of the Stables. Even if I caught Beauty, Richard would say it was luck or they’d tired her out for me.

  I had to convince them I knew what I was doing. “Easy, girl,” I called as I approached the mare.

  She snorted and pawed the ground.

  I eased my arms out from my sides, forming a T with my body. I stared directly at her, an aggressive move in horse language. “Don’t you dare come to me!” I called. “Get moving.”

  I stepped toward her, forcing her into a trot away from me. I stayed angled on her, making her trot in a circle around me. “That’s right. I didn’t say you could come in yet, did I?”

  She broke into a canter but stayed to the circle, eyeing me, bobbing her head.

  Still facing Beauty, I called back to the Howards. “Ever notice how, when you go into a pasture filled with horses, they all come to you except the one you want to catch?” My voice sounded raspier than usual. I swallowed.

  “That’s exactly right!” Adrianna laughed.

  “It’s not a coincidence. You’re only trying to catch that one, and horses don’t like to be caught. In fact, you should never try to catch a horse. Instead, let the horse catch you. That’s what I’m doing here. I’m making Beauty want to catch me, to join up.”

  “We don’t have time for this!” Richard objected. But I didn’t hear any of them leave.

  I kept Beauty trotting. “Not yet,” I told her. “Not yet, girl.”

  After a minute, her head lowered. Then I saw what I was waiting for. She licked her lips. In horse language, that means Can I come in and hang out with you?

  I lowered my arms and looked away from her. “Come on in now. Good girl.”

  Bold Beauty walked straight to me. I scratched her withers. Without taking her reins, I turned my back and joined the others. Beauty followed at my shoulder all the way over.

  “Bravo!” Adrianna cried. “Well done!”

  “Not bad,” Jeffrey admitted, his lips curving into a grin.