by Connie Foss
We walk over to the track and Meg says, “We may ride out there tomorrow, Bubba, so you can feel what it’s like to be a racehorse.” Sounds like fun to me.
As we saunter along, we see lots of different types of horses: Thoroughbreds, Dutch warmbloods, quarterhorses, and quite a few draft horse breeds. Some of the horses look so much like Pete that I whinny at them.
Suddenly, I stop short, for heading onto the track is the cutest little guy, all decked out in harness pulling a sulky. He’s not just wanting to know what it feels like to be a racehorse, he is one! He’s a Miniature Horse just like Percy, only he will be racing not showing.
“What a great idea to take home, Bubba.We can train Percy to race!”
Meg is missing Bill. Though I can tell she’s as excited as I am
by just his presence. Maybe she’s like all of us, unsure of her ability to handle a new situation. Or maybe she just loves him so much that being separated from him feels wrong. Nevertheless, someone has to stay at the farm to keep things going while we’re gone.
“You know, Bubba, once we have enough horses and some extra help, things will be easier.Then Bill will be able to come to all the shows with us. He’s a real showman, and the more his horse skills are seen, the faster our farm will grow. Besides it’s just a lot more fun when he’s with us.”
The night doesn’t provide much sleep for new horses are
watch what’s going on.
“Annie, here’s your stall. Now mind your manners. I don’t want
to hear your bugle echoing up and down this aisle.” The man saying this
is a little wisp of a man, who looks ever so much like Santa Claus. He
has the white beard, the twinkling eyes and even a red shirt and black
boots, but no fat tummy.
Annie…well, how shall I put it. She is the most beautiful creature on God’s green earth. She is heaven. She is sunshine. She is chocolate ice cream. Yeah, chocolate. The same color I am, and with meltingly warm brown eyes. She is absolutely my dream in living color. Delicious.As she walks into her stall, her full body ripples with muscles, and her tail is
perfectly braided to let you see the gorgeousness of her hips. My heart is beating so fast that it bubbles out of my throat in
love, and Annie, turning around in her stall, her eyes looking directly into mine, returns my greeting with unimaginable warmth. Suddenly, I am on top of a mountain. I am King and…
“Bubba, what is going on with you? You are dripping wet, and
kiddo?” Meg has come back, and I am surprised that she can’t see that the whole world has changed. But I can, for I am in love!
Chapter 32
Time to Jump
and we head out to the practice jumps in an outdoor arena. There are only a couple of other horses doing their workouts, so we have plenty of room and time to do our thing.
Meg has me canter in a fairly big circle a time or two before we
to get the feel of the drive I need from my hind legs, the fold of my front legs as we clear the jump. We circle back and take the jump from the other direction, before moving on to another jump.
When I’m beginning to sweat and puff a bit, Meg calls our workout done, and with her pat on my neck, we head back to our stalls. Throwing a blanket on me, Meg makes sure I cool down gradually. As we walk up and down the aisle, Meg greets people as they go about their chores.
The workout was good, and it’s well named, for it really is a lot of work.Though my legs feel pretty tired after a workout, I enjoy doing them. Usually it’s the highpoint of my day.To me, jumping is the greatest thing since sunshine. Things have changed a bit though, for with Annie
exciting, too.
I can’t seem to relax for I keep checking on what Annie is doing.
Meg has made friends with Annie’s owner, and I hear them talking about
the various classes the two of us are in.
“ Annie is a Hanoverian,” her owner, Milt, says, “and she will be
in both jumping and dressage classes.”
“Bubba’s only in the Maiden Jumping class,” mentions Meg.
“We’re just getting our feet wet.” Meg had told me that the Maiden class is for those who have not won a jumping class as yet. I’ve jumped in classes and done well, but the shows were not the A rated shows, so
those wins don’t count here.
While Annie is practicing with her rider, Milt’s daughter Becky,
and the door, the dust particles dancing around in the breeze, and life is good. Sinking back into that thought, my eyelids begin to droop. I am drifting off when a whinny snaps me out of my drowsing. Coming down the aisle is a horse that makes me do a double-take.
It isn’t the size of this horse that gets my attention, though she is large, it’s that she looks so much like I do, or at least what I think I look like. I can only see one part of me at a time, but I have a pretty good idea how all of those parts must look together. I give a cheerful whinny of greeting, and she whinnies back.With a yank of her lead, her handler quiets her, but she’s still looking at me, and I can tell she likes what she sees. Just as she comes near my stall, Meg shows up.
Chapter 33
A Scare in the Night
“Pardon me, ma’am, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Ted from the Hershey Clydesdales. I can’t help but admire the looks of your Clydesdale.” The man has stopped, and as he and Meg talk, I reach over
“Why, thank you. Bubba is just as nice as he looks. This is our
I’m Meg from The Chocolate Farm. Interesting that your farm is the Hershey farm, for Bubba’s registered name is Sir Hershey. ”
“Well, how about that! He’s a mighty good-looking fellow. I particularly like his head. Sometimes a draft horse can have a real jughead.When you see one like Bubba’s, you take notice. I think you’ll like this show. It has some really good draft horse classes. What class will Bubba be in?”
“He’s going in the Maiden Jumping class.Though he’s done well at smaller shows, he doesn’t have any Class A records, so we’ll try the
“Jumping? Really? That’s interesting. In all my years in horses, I have never ever
“Oh, I should mention that he’s only half Clydesdale. His dam was an Arabian. He does look more like a Clydesdale than an Arab, though, doesn’t he?”
“Who in the world would ever have thought to cross those breeds! You didn’t, did you?”
“Well, yes, actually. The dam was our Arabian mare, but it was a catch breeding to the neighbor’s Clydesdale.We didn’t even know it
coming from a well-respected Arabian. When she had twins, and the one grew to be so big and looked just like the stallion across the way,
it. It was a real freakish thing, for sure. So Bubba is a registered HalfArabian and has been showing in the local Arabian shows.” “Well, I’ll be! That’s most interesting. I will make sure I see Bubba jump. It’s nice to meet you, but I’d better get this gal cleaned up. She
By the way, if you run into any problems here, don’t be afraid to ask for help. I’m in the far end of the barn.These big shows can be rather intimidating.” With a tip of his cap, he and my new friend, whose name I don’t even know, are gone.
The rest of the day turns out to be a lazy day, and soon after Meg gives me my evening ration, she says goodnight, leaving me on my own…except for Annie.
are at home. I’ve noticed that at other shows, but here it seems even noisier.There are trucks and trailers coming and going, voices of both horses and people punctuating the night.
I’m not really sleepy, so I nicker across the aisle to Annie, “Hey, want to talk?”
“Well, we’ve never been properly introduced. I don’t even know your name.”
The lights are still on in the barn, and I can see that Annie is a bit shy, turning her head away as we talk. She reminds me of my sister, quiet and gentle.
“I’m Bubba. I heard Milt call you Annie, so I feel I already know you.”
As we visit, we learn a little about each other and enjoy the beginning of a friendship.Then I notice a funny smell. It’s kind of familiar. It’s the kind of smell that makes my nose burn. I’ve smelled it before, but I can’t quite remember what it is.
“Annie, do you smell something funny? Is it someone’s cigar?”
“I smell it, too, and it’s getting stronger. Oh, look out the door.
Our talk is soon drowned out by frantic screams coming from
I’m getting anxious, wondering what’s going on. I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all!
“Annie, let’s go!” It’s Milt, who’s been asleep in his tack room. As he pulls on his jeans, coughing, he quickly snaps a lead on Annie and unlatches her door. Knowing Meg is at a motel for the night, he throws Annie’s lead over his shoulder, unlatches my door and grabs my lead. Snapping it on my halter, the three of us run down the aisle.
up in that mess.” As we’re leaving the barn, we steer clear of a loose horse frantically racing by, heading toward the highway.“Golly, this is not good!” Milt says as we trot out of the barn. “You two just take it easy. I’ll make sure we’re okay.”
Milt is taking us to the parking lot, where all of the trailers are parked. I look over my shoulder and see a red glow creeping across the sky. It forms a background of smoke that’s billowing out of the
way and then another, trying to escape what they don’t understand. Annie and I are prancing, unsure what’s happening. The air is getting thick with smoke, making it hard to breathe.We cough, as we hurry out
and an ambulance roar past us.
“There now, you two…just calm down.We’re safe. I wish I could
go help some of the others, but I’m afraid if I tie you two out here and
leave you, you’ll pull loose and get caught up in this mess. So we’ll just
hunker down and wait it out.” Giving us both pats on our necks, Milt
sits down on the tailgate of a truck, and we have no choice but to stay
Chapter 34
Getting Ready
“Merciful heavens! What happened here?” It’s Meg, and it’s morning. Annie and I are back in our stalls, safe and sound, just a little short on sleep.
Milt, who spent the last part of the night sleeping in a chair in the aisle, slowly gets up, puts on his cap and says,“Good morning, dear girl. I trust you had a peaceful sleep. We’re glad you’re back. Sit down and we’ll tell you about our night.” Stopping off and on to cough, he tells Meg about our nightmare of a night.
Meg is aghast, grateful, remorseful, and relieved…all at the same time. “Milt, how can I ever thank you! It must have been a terrifying experience for the horses and for you! And to think when you are saving my Bubba, I’m sleeping like a baby! Thank goodness you had the forethought to stay on the grounds. How can I ever repay you? ”
“Now there, Meg, don’t you get all twisted about this. It’s over. I was here, and there’s no harm done.You can bet your bottom dollar that from now on the No Smoking rule will be enforced.”
Milt looks pretty tough this morning. His beautiful white beard is no longer white but streaked with soot. His clothes wrinkled and stained with more soot.Yet hidden in those tired wrinkles is the twinkle in his eyes as he says, “There is something you can do for me, if you have a mind to, Meg. Would you please keep your eye on things here? I’m pretty much tuckered out, and if you’re going to be here the rest of the morning, I’d like to take off for a motel room and a shower, maybe even a couple hours of sleep. I’ll be back before it’s time for Becky and Annie to do their bit in the show ring.Will that work?”
“Of course! That’s the least I can do! Bubba’s class isn’t until tonight, so you stay away as long as you wish. I’ll keep my eye on things here.” During the day, the talk up and down the aisle is about last
careless disposal of a cigarette. With all of the hay around, smoking in or near horse barns is a dangerous pastime.Though it took all night, the horses were all rounded up and put in temporary stalls, where several vets are checking them this morning, making sure there are no serious injuries.
I’m so glad to have Meg back at the stalls with me. The smell of smoke is still in the barn, and that keeps me a bit uneasy. Just having her near is a comfort. As I stand there, looking at her, she feels my concern and comes into the stall. Patting me and giving me a hug, she says, “Bubba, I promise no one will ever smoke in our barn. Now let’s
After our morning workout, there’s nothing to do but a bit of dozing until late in the afternoon when Meg comes in the stall with my lead. “Bubba, it’s time for a bath. You want to be clean and bright for tonight’s class, right? We’ll even put a bit of whitener on your blaze and
I like baths. Meg lets me play with the water some, squirting it in my mouth. It really feels good to be soaped all over, then rinsed before she uses a scraper to squeeze the water out of my hair. Since she had already washed and braided my mane and forelock, she doesn’t mess with them. My tail is a different story. Undoing my tail, she gives it a good washing before re-braiding it.Then back to the stalls we go, where Meg ties me up, so I won’t roll and get messed up.
“Hey,Annie,” I whinny to my new friend,“how’d you do in your dressage class? I didn’t see you go ‘cause Meg had me in the wash rack.”
“Thanks for asking, Bubba. Becky said we did well, but it was so easy. I love dressage.Tonight we jump.That’s a lot harder. I don’t like jumping.”
“You’re kidding! Annie, it is the most fun of anything in the world. I love jumping! What don’t you like about it? Don’t you like soaring through the air like a bird?”
“Yes, the soaring is good, but landing isn’t. I have a sore front leg, and it hurts when I land. I try not to let on, for if I did it would probably mean Becky couldn’t ride me in the jumps any more. Milt promised her that if she did well at the university, he would let her take me as far as we can go in the shows. She wants to go all the way to the Olympics… and I love Becky.”
“Gosh, I’m sorry, Annie. I never thought about jumping hurting. Maybe you’d better not do it.You might get really lame!”
“No. I’m going to keep jumping for I don’t want to disappoint Becky.”
Chapter 35
Jumping in a Class A Show
As the sun goes down in the west, and twilight takes over, Meg starts getting me ready for the Maiden Jumping class. Once I’m ready except for my bridle, I know fun is about to happen. I dance around a bit while she goes to the tack room to get into her riding clothes.When she comes out, she looks wonderful, all spiffy in her white shirt and jodhpurs, black coat, hat, and boots.
I can tell she’s excited, too, but close to tears, as she says,“Bubba, I wish Bill were here. I’m so happy about what we’re doing in the shows,
is out to make a name for himself and The Chocolate Farm!” Then she swallows the lump in her throat, reaches up and gives me a hug, before saying,“Bubba, you know how important you are to us…and to our success, don’t you? But, Bubba, I love you no matter what happens tonight. Just do your best and have the fun you always have jumping.”
“Maiden Jumpers to the makeup ring.” With the announcement booming into the barns, Meg puts my bridle on me, hooks our show number 10 over the back of her collar, gives me a hug, and mounts. Feeling her legs secure just behind my shoulders, I know all is well, as we walk out to join the others to do what I love to do.
The arena lights are lighting up the night as we check in with the gateman. Finding a spot to await our turn, we stop near a rangy stallion, who kind of looks like Annie. Maybe he is a Hanoverian like Annie, but he doesn’t act like her. Seeing us come near him, he squeals and turns, kicking out at us. Meg pulls me away just in time.
“Well, Bubba, it seems we have an enemy.We’ll be sure to stay away from #27. What a mean guy he is! I’ll bet he thinks you’re his competition with the ladies.”
Really? But whatever he thinks, I don’t want to have anything to do with h
im.The class has started, so I put #27 out of my mind and watch to see if I can tell what the course is like. Meg was allowed to walk the course, seeing where the jumps are and what kind of jumps, but I don’t get to check it out before hand. I won’t see it until I’m jumping it. Somehow that makes it more exciting.All I know is that the
jumps on the course are apt to be the hardest. Other than that, all I have to know is that Meg will guide me to do what needs to be done, so I’m just going to relax and have fun.
There are seven of us waiting our turn. Meg keeps me moving so I don’t stiffen up as the horses come and go through the gates. As each comes out, you can tell from the riders’ face whether they had a good round or not. When #27 comes out, his rider is furious, even yanking the bit in his horse’s mouth. Not a happy sight.
“Number 10! You’re up.”
Bubba!” giving me a pat, and we walk out into the jump arena. Pausing for a moment, Meg tips her hat to the judge and the clock starts. Meg and I have been working to increase our speed over jump courses by
what I’ve learned.
The jumps come easily. There is nothing I haven’t done before,
Meg again tips her hat, and we leave through the out-gate.
Chapter 36
Success and Congratulations
“How’d it go, Meg?” Milt asks as we get back to our stalls. I think the answer is obvious the way Meg is hugging me and kissing my nose. I’m happy, too, but I’m always happy to jump.
“He was awesome, Milt! I am so proud of him.We just went out and had ourselves some fun.Time wasn’t a problem, and we had a clear round.Actually, it was a pretty easy course.” Then she pauses, and with a giggle says,“So why am I weak as a kitten?” as she sits down on a bale
her chest.
Milt has Annie ready for her jumping class and is holding her and patting her, as he talks with Meg. Soon Becky, a tall slender blonde,
mounts Annie. I notice Annie has a worried look in her eyes, but no one else seems to notice.
“Good luck, Becky. I wish I could see Annie jump, but I need to cool Bubba before I put him in his stall. We’ll expect to see you bring back a blue ribbon.”
