The Boy Who Loves Horses (Pegasus Equestrian Center Series)

by Diana Vincent

  He stared back at her in disbelief. “Even if it means killing a very good horse?”

  Tess closed her eyes again and pressed her thumb and index finger into the corners. “River, try to understand. I am very sorry about what happened to Fiel. We just have to do everything possible to protect the horses in the future.”

  Anger rose, along with frustration. River bit back the words he wanted to shout at her. He studied her slumped posture, trying to understand. “Can’t you buy him out?”

  With a humorless smile that flashed quickly and then disappeared as Tess looked up, she said, “First of all, he would refuse as long as Crystal wants to ride. Secondly, the money I might have had to buy his shares, I loaned to your father.”

  River leaned back in his chair. His jaw dropped open and he shut it quickly with clenched teeth. “What?”

  “How do you think he got the money to buy his colts? Your father is quite the talker, and I believed the loan was a good investment. It was looking to be a good investment last year. He had a good stallion and he could have paid me back with the stud fees. But you know what happened to that horse. Why he thought he needed to race him again…”

  Iciness coursed through River’s veins, numbing his limbs and filling him with a sense of useless waste. “So you’re going to just let her get away with it?”

  “I have no choice.”

  Choice…Laila had told him it was his choice. Why did he think of that now? The situations were not at all the same. He rose slowly, still feeling numb. “Tess, if anything happens to Fiel, or Cory, or even Diva…any of the horses…”

  “I will take measures to keep them safe,” she stated.

  River left the office.

  The next day, Tess called a locksmith to come out and put a keypad lock on the feed room door. All the boarders knew the combination to the back door of the stable, but only she, River, Manuel, and Sierra knew the combination to the feed room. That was Tess’s measure to keep the horses safe.

  *****

  River never told Sierra the exact details of the cause of Fiel’s colic. But he did tell her and Dr. Patterson that he believed Fiel had somehow received an extra measure of oats. They had a right to know, so that they wouldn’t think there was something wrong with Fiel’s digestive system.

  Sierra pressured River for more details but soon gave up. She was used to him telling her only what he wanted. But she had her own suspicions, remembering the threat from Crystal at the last show.

  Fiel was back on normal rations and into his usual work within two weeks, and it seemed as if he had never been ill at all.

  The summer fell into a routine. Katrina came on weekends and two to three weekdays if she could, to help clean stalls; her payment for lessons from River. When she came, it freed River to begin riding, leaving Sierra and Katrina to do the mucking.

  River rode Cory out on the trail every day, and was starting to do intervals of trotting. It pleased him how much Cory seemed to enjoy the rides, and how quickly he was gaining fitness. Most of the time, Sierra rode with him on Fiel, for the two geldings seemed very compatible, and these rides were often the best part of his day.

  Much to his surprise, River actually enjoyed coaching Sierra and Katrina, and looked forward to the weekly lesson he gave the two girls together. Katrina listened with rapt attention, trying very hard to do all he asked. It pleased him more than he would have ever thought, to see the girls get what he tried to teach them; the bright expressions on their faces when Minstrel and Calliope responded to the correct use of their aids.

  The Pegasus team competed in two more horse trials over the summer. River had moved up to preliminary level on Moose, and won both his events; and qualified to compete in the Pacific Regional Championship. Crystal won first place on Diva at both events, and Sierra and Katrina both placed. Katrina took a fourth and third consecutively, and Sierra took a fifth and then surprisingly, second place at the last event. They also qualified for the championship.

  Because of Fiel’s bout with colic, Sierra decided to keep him home for the remainder of the summer, and she did not take him to any more dressage shows. She and Katrina continued to show Minstrel and Calliope at first level with improved scores each time out.

  Pendragon did very well at third level with River as his rider, earning consistent scores above eighty percent. He placed first in all his classes at the dressage regional championship and Mr. and Mrs. Galensburg were thrilled when he also placed second in the nation-wide Horse of the Year awards for third level.

  Felicity also qualified for the dressage regional championship, but River pleaded with Tess to convince her owners not to enter the filly. The championship was held at a facility over twelve hours away from Pegasus and he felt it would be too stressful for the filly at her young age to travel that distance. Since the owners were more interested in Felicity eventually competing in combined training, they relented.

  For the Pacific Regional Combined Training Championship event, Sierra’s mother again came to watch and support her; and this time they had João’s old camper to stay in. Bittersweet memories enshrouded Sierra over the three days. At some moments, the loss of João seemed as acute as a year ago; for he had died right after the event. But at other moments, she felt his presence so intensely fill her spirit that she believed he rode with her, and she heard his voice coaching her in her mind.

  It was no surprise when Crystal took first place at junior training level, and River took first place at junior preliminary level. Katrina finished in third place and Sierra in fourth; both girls pleased that their horses had performed the best they could.

  Out of curiosity, Sierra looked for the name Dean Clark, on the list of entries at preliminary level, remembering the handsome boy who had been trying to qualify. His name was not there, so she guessed he never did achieve a qualifying ride.

  Neither did Gloria; who attended the championship as a spectator and as Crystal’s friend. Her expression contained a fixed, tight smile that never extended beyond the corners of her mouth during the entire show.

  *****

  20 Sophomores and a Senior

  The dressage rider should be deeply rooted in the horse. Movements and shifting of weight should be invisible to the onlooker. – Susanne von Dietze, Balance in Movement

  *****

  “I can’t believe just a few weeks ago I was complaining of boredom and wanted school to start. With all the homework they’ve piled on us, I wouldn’t mind a little boredom,” Allison complained on Monday morning as she and Sierra trudged forth from first period biology. It was the end of September, the horse show season over, and school had been in full swing for a month.

  Sierra murmured agreement, her head bowed over a thick packet of handouts and her brow furrowed as she surveyed the daunting list of plant and animal classifications they were supposed to memorize.

  “Oh my!” Allison’s tone suddenly altered from complaining to a low sound of appreciation. “Who is that?”

  The change in tone caught Sierra’s attention and she looked up to where her friend blatantly stared. They were pushing their way through the main hallway to get to their next class, and were approaching the administration offices. A boy had just stepped out of the heavy glass doors marked Administration, where he hesitated, frowning at the sheaf of papers in his hands.

  Something familiar about him caused Sierra to also stare, trying to place him in her memory…a tall, long-legged, slender boy, with trim reddish-brown hair. He wore name-brand slacks, a light green polo shirt with a soft-looking, tan leather jacket; clothes that fit him well.

  The boy looked up and met the stares of the two girls, out of a pair of deep blue eyes.

  The eyes confirmed his identity. “Dean?” Sierra greeted, smiling.

  The furrows in his brow deepened into a scowl; he looked angry and there was no sign of recognition on his face. He looked away and stepped into the flow of students going in the opposite direction.

  “Do you know him?”
Allison asked, glancing over her shoulder at his retreating back.

  “He looks like someone I met last summer at a horseshow, but he didn’t seem to recognize me so I could be wrong,” Sierra answered.

  “Hmm,” Allison mused. “He’s going to cause a stir.” They both laughed and hurried on to class.

  Usually oblivious to the gossip that always hummed throughout the school, Sierra found her ears pricking to the rumors…new boy, a senior, hot! And then the more intriguing information…expelled from some private prep school...for drugs?..involved with a teacher? She heard his name, Dean Clark, which confirmed he was the boy she had met last summer…only once, so obviously he didn’t remember her. Why should he? She thought of her own face as ordinary and easy to forget. But he had looked so angry. What was that all about?

  *****

  Activity at the stable slowed down after season’s end. Sierra and River returned to their school year schedule of cleaning stalls on weekends, and then working after school. Katrina only had time to ride one or two days after school and weekends, and Sierra felt a little guilty how glad she was to have time alone again with River.

  River and she were just returning from the trail. River rode Felicity, beginning her slow conditioning work to prepare her for eventing next season. The filly seemed to delight in shying at every leaf, stick, and shadow on the trail. River enjoyed the youngster’s antics, telling Sierra that Felicity used shying as an excuse to play. Sierra loved how River calmed the young horse without tensing or becoming frustrated at her antics, sometimes even laughing at her silliness.

  Sierra rode a ten-year-old bay gelding, Magnificent, sent to Tess for retraining. He had done well at beginner novice, and novice levels of eventing, but his owner had not been able to qualify at training level last season. He was refusing jumps more often and taking rails down in stadium, and the owner hoped Tess could remedy these faults. River thought the horse had been pushed too hard and needed a break – very much like Crystal’s last horse, Galaxy. For once, Tess actually listened to River and the plan was to trail ride only through the winter and not face him over jumps until next spring.

  Sierra didn’t particularly enjoy riding Max (so nicknamed). He always laid his ears back, exhibiting his displeasure when she groomed and tacked him up, stating clearly that he was not looking forward to a ride. She had to carry a whip to keep him moving. Even with another horse, he showed no desire to move beyond a plodding walk. He was however, the perfect companion for Felicity, for he remained sedate and steady no matter how much the filly snorted and jumped around.

  “With my luck, Tess will assign me Max as my mount next season,” Sierra complained as they reached the field and dismounted. Minstrel’s owners had taken him away after the championship, their training contract with Tess completed. It had been hard to watch the horse van receding down the driveway the day he left, for Sierra had grown quite attached to him.

  “Poor Max is so broken I don’t know if he’ll ever regain any spark,” River said. “Look at him; his whole attitude is depressed and bored. I think he had been campaigned on the hunter/jumper circuit before his owner tried him at eventing.”

  Sierra patted the bay’s neck as his ears finally pricked up with the scent and sight of the barn. “He still enjoys his oats and sleeping in the sun,” she commented, laughing. “He’d be good for some little girl as a backyard horse or maybe a therapy horse.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” River agreed.

  As they came up into the stable yard and passed the outdoor arena, Sierra noted Tess giving a lesson to an unfamiliar horse and rider. Another figure dressed in riding clothes watched from the rail. New students. Sierra didn’t recognize them or the trailer parked in the yard. Another man was untacking a bay horse tied to the side of the trailer. The bay tossed his head impatiently and stomped his front leg as the groom pulled off the saddle and began to brush him.

  “Good horse,” River commented as they walked by. “Needs ground manners.”

  They finished caring for Max and Felicity, and River left to get his next assigned mount. Sierra was done for the day, having ridden Fiel earlier. She would hang around to watch River school, always a pleasure, and often she learned something just watching and asking him questions. Then she would help bring the horses in for the night before going home.

  She wandered back outside and watched Tess giving the lesson while she waited for River. The student was a young girl riding a gray mare over a course of jumps in double combinations. The jumps had been set up so that she had to ride figure eights and change leads before each combination. Tess was working with the student to get the mare to change leads without losing her balance and falling onto the forehand. The rider appeared competent and experienced at jumping.

  “Good,” Tess called out after the mare changed to the correct lead after the first loop. The mare cleared the double and then into the next loop, made another flying lead change. “Excellent,” Tess praised. “See how keeping your outside aids helps with the change?”

  The rider nodded, bringing her horse to a trot and then a walk. Then she rode over to Tess and dismounted, and they discussed the lesson in voices too low for Sierra to hear. With the lesson over, Sierra turned back to the stable.

  “Hey,” a boy’s voice called out behind her.

  She turned around and squinted into the afternoon sunlight, seeing the silhouette of a boy walking toward her. As he came closer she recognized Dean Clark.

  “Don’t I know you?” he asked, smiling.

  “Not really,” she answered, returning his smile. “We met once at a show last summer.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s where I’ve seen you,” he replied, although he still had a look on his face as if trying to place her.

  “We go to the same school too,” she said, and to help him out, added, “I’m Sierra.”

  “Sierra…of course. I’m Dean Clark.”

  “I know,” she said, and felt herself flush.

  “Is this where you train?”

  “Yes, and I board my horse here.”

  “Cool, my sister and I have decided to join the enemy since we can’t beat him.”

  “The enemy?” Sierra asked, confused.

  He laughed. “You know; the competition. My father always says the way to win is to know your enemy. I figured I needed to start taking lessons from my enemy’s coach.”

  Sierra squinted at him, still bewildered. “I don’t understand. Who is the enemy?”

  “Him of course.” He cocked his head in the direction of River, leading a horse into the stable.

  “River?”

  Dean laughed again. “Yeah, ‘Mr. Unbeatable’. I’m sick of hearing at the club about this newcomer who’s never competed before and winning everything he enters. Where did he even come from? I decided I need to take lessons from whoever trained him, so here I am.” The humor had faded from the tone of his voice.

  Sierra did not bother to explain that River had not learned to ride from Tess.

  The girl who had finished her lesson led her horse up to Dean. “She’s good,” she commented, cocking her head toward Tess who was walking in the other direction toward her office.

  “I told you,” Dean said. “This is my sister Caroline.” He introduced the girl, who appeared to be Sierra’s age. “I met Sierra at one of last summer’s events.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Sierra smiled at Caroline, always happy to meet another horse enthusiast.

  Caroline mumbled a response, barely acknowledging her. “Let’s get going, Dean; I’m starving.”

  The groom walked up and took the reins of the gray mare. “Did you have a good lesson?” he inquired politely.

  “I’m satisfied,” Caroline answered. Relieved of her mount, she strode off toward a sporty BMW parked near the trailer.

  “Gotta go.” Dean smiled at Sierra and then walked off after his sister. They both got into the car, Dean behind the wheel, and drove away, leaving the groom to care for the mare and then load up the two
horses.

  *****

  The gossip and rumors concerning Dean Clark remained the hottest topic at school for over a week. Sierra overheard the same emphatic statements about his good looks, mostly from girls, and what an amazing sports car he drove, mostly from boys, and how rich he was, from both. It seemed to be a confirmed fact that he had been expelled from a very expensive, private prep academy, but the rumors as to why, ranged from drugs to cheating to involvement with a teacher.

  Sierra admitted she was very curious as to why he had been expelled. He seemed like such a nice guy.

  Apparently everyone else at school thought he was a nice guy as well. Within the first few days of his arrival, he had risen to the status of one of the most popular boys of the senior class.

  Friday, the day after she had met Dean at Pegasus, she and Allison were finishing lunch in the cafeteria and getting ready to leave for the library. Allison suddenly grabbed Sierra’s arm and gasped. “He’s coming over here!” she exclaimed in a harsh whisper.

  Sierra turned and saw Dean with three senior boys approaching. He said something to his friends, who all laughed and then left him for their usual table. Dean continued on toward Sierra.

  ‘Hey, Sierra,” he called to her. Heads turned.

  “Hi, Dean,” she greeted, smiling and blushing.

  “So, we go to the same school.”

  She had said that to him yesterday. “Yes,” she answered.