Horse

by Talley English

  Susanna walked into the kitchen. “You don’t have to let him come in when I’m not here” was all she said, in a soft voice.

  Teagan looked at her mother’s back as Susanna began putting the bread and mustard away.

  Combined Training

  The alarm went off at five o’clock and Teagan immediately went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, as she coached herself to do on show days. She was not fully awake, but she was out of bed. She pulled on shorts and a T-shirt and shoved her bare feet into tennis shoes. Her next job was to walk straight out the door to the barn without lingering in the kitchen or stopping to get anything to eat. She knew that if she did, precious minutes would go by. She did drink a glass of water. Barker and Max happily ran past her in the yard, excited by the early-morning sounds and smells that they usually didn’t have a chance to explore.

  Teagan sleepily watched as Max plunged straight into a bush after some scent or small animal. Her steps felt wobbly, as if she was walking in a dream. She opened the gate instead of climbing over. She held the gate open for Barker, but Max crawled under the fence just beside the opened gate. The smell of the barn made Teagan more alert. She picked up Ian’s halter and rope and went into his stall. He was still sleeping, his head hanging down. He blinked a little when she ran a hand over his neck. She walked him outside and around the driveway a couple times to get the stiffness out of his legs. On the second lap he stopped, raised his head, and flicked his ears toward the field. He snorted and took a sideways step that Teagan had to avoid, and he stopped and stared again, and snorted again. Teagan couldn’t see what it was he was seeing, or maybe he could only smell it. She figured it was deer in the field. She waited until Ian stopped staring. He gave another snort, this one as though he was over whatever it was, and he put his head down to rip up some grass.

  She patted his neck and led him into the barn. He was clean from a bath the day before, so she brushed him quickly and checked the braids in his mane. Only the last two had come out. She braided those again and stuffed the small black rubber bands in the pocket of her shorts and began folding each braid and securing it with a rubber band. She worked quickly. She braided his forelock and folded it as well. The braids were just for dressage. After all of the work of braiding, she would rip off the rubber bands and loosen his mane when it was time to ride the cross-country course.

  She filled his grain bucket, shoving a quick handful under his nose as she passed so he wouldn’t be too impatient. She broke off four flakes of hay and shook them to loosen them, then shoved them in his hay rack. She filled his water bucket to the brim, because she wanted him to drink, and she led him back into his stall, where he immediately plunged his head into the grain bucket.

  Teagan checked her grooming box and added the hoof paint, some rags, and the Vetrolin, which advertised itself as an “invigorating liniment” on the handled jug. She always rubbed Ian down with it after he had worked hard. It was an emerald green when she poured it into a bucket of water and it made her hands feel good. Sometimes she rubbed some on her own arms and legs.

  She placed the grooming box outside the barn door and she carried Ian’s saddle, bridle, and two clean saddle pads and grouped them in the grass. She had cleaned and oiled his tack yesterday after giving Ian his bath. She took an extra plastic bucket and tossed an extra lead rope and halter in it. She broke off as many flakes as she could carry from a bale of hay and stuffed them into a net bag and tossed the bag beside the bucket. She looked around her, thinking what else she needed. She walked into the barn and picked up her helmet, her blue and white silk helmet cover for cross-country, and her Tipperary vest, which was the same color blue. The vest fit tight and was short in front and long in the back. It had horizontal blocks of padding in it and supposedly would help hold her ribs together if she fell on course. She tossed a riding crop onto the pile because she knew that Hope would want her to carry one, but she also knew that she would purposely drop the crop before cross-country, because she felt distracted holding it and the reins in her fingers. She couldn’t find her gloves, and then looked inside her helmet and found them stuffed in there, along with a brown hairnet.

  She walked up to the house, where the kitchen smelled like coffee and Susanna had eggs and toast and some cut-up honeydew melon ready for her.

  “Good girl getting up by yourself,” Susanna said. “I didn’t see you and thought you had slept in, and when I went to check on you, your bed was empty.”

  “I’m not going to sleep in. Hope would kill me,” Teagan said, sipping orange juice.

  Susanna poured herself some coffee.

  “Could I have half a cup? Mostly milk?” Teagan asked.

  “Am I teaching you to drink coffee?” Susanna said.

  “No. I’m teaching myself,” Teagan said. “I actually like it.”

  “Don’t like it too much,” Susanna said.

  At a quarter after six Susanna sent Teagan to get dressed and told her to meet them at the barn. Teagan had to wear white britches for dressage, so Susanna offered to pack up the trailer and the car and load Ian. Teagan pulled on the britches, tall thin boot socks, and a stiff blue button-front shirt. She secured the plain silver stock pin her mother had given her to her long white stock collar, and flung it around her neck like a scarf. She didn’t know how to tie a stock tie, so she would let Susanna or Hope do that. Teagan had asked Susanna why riders wore stock collars. Susanna said that it was to look dressy and nice, but Hope told Teagan it was so riders had a long piece of cloth with them in case someone took a bad fall and broke an arm or needed a bandage.

  Teagan shoved her feet back into her tennis shoes and grabbed her riding jacket in its green canvas cover out of her closet, and her tall boots in another green canvas bag, which was really two single boot bags connected by a strap. She fit the strap on her shoulder with one boot hanging in front of her and the other hanging behind her. In the kitchen she took another gulp of milk and coffee, sipped some water, made sure the dogs were there and not outside, and shut the kitchen door behind her. She looked to the barn and saw that Susanna was driving to the house. Hope drove behind in her own car.

  Teagan went up to Susanna’s window. “Can I ride with Hope?”

  Susanna said it was fine with her, but she wouldn’t let Teagan open Ian’s side door and say hello to him, because she didn’t want her to risk getting her white britches dirty. Teagan thought that white britches were really a stupid idea. It felt like a trick, to have to wear them and not get them smudged.

  Teagan liked riding with Hope because Hope talked about the events she had ridden in, and she always had the map of the cross-country course and had Teagan study it and talk herself through it. This time Hope asked Teagan to go over her dressage test. The dressage arena was a rectangle labeled with letters. A and C were at either end. M, R, B, P, and F were along one side, and H, S, E, V, and K were along the other side. Teagan never asked why those letters were chosen. An invisible X was understood to be the exact middle of the dressage arena, equidistant between A and C.

  A rider was supposed to enter the arena, halt at X, and salute the judge or judges, who sat in the judges’ box just beyond C. The salute was not a requirement, but most riders did it, and if your horse halted nicely and stood still, it was considered a beneficial “introduction” to your test. The salute consisted of extending the right hand down beside the leg and a quick nod of the head.

  After talking it through, Hope and Teagan decided that she would not attempt the salute, because in those few seconds Ian might lose focus and it could throw off the whole test. Hope said, as she had before, that she wanted Teagan to start riding her test before she entered the ring, meaning that it was going to take all of Teagan’s effort and concentration to keep Ian moving through the test. Teagan would make the smallest of pauses at X, then move through the first element.

  Hope held the test paper aga
inst the wheel. “Okay. Tell it to me,” she said.

  Teagan began to recite the test from memory. “Enter at A, working trot. Between X and C, medium walk. At C track right, at M working trot.”

  “And these are rising trots, not sitting,” Hope said.

  “Rising trot,” Teagan corrected. She had practiced in the yard using various T-shirts, jackets, boots, whatever was close at hand, to represent the letters, and pretended to ride Ian through it, walking from letter to letter and describing to herself what she should be doing with her hands and legs, and how she should think about her next move.

  “After M comes A, circle right twenty meters, rising trot,” Teagan said to Hope.

  Hope glanced at the paper. “Good.”

  “Across the ring, change rein,” Teagan said.

  “Be specific,” Hope said. What letter do you turn at?”

  “Um. I know I go through X,” Teagan said.

  “Letters,” Hope said.

  “M to K,” Teagan said.

  “Other way around. K to M, passing through X,” Hope said.

  “I knew that,” Teagan said.

  “Keep going,” Hope said.

  “Left twenty meters at C,” Teagan said.

  “At the trot,” Hope said.

  “At the trot,” Teagan repeated. “Walk between C and H.”

  Hope said, “Now, HXF is the free walk, and this is where you could lose him. Don’t be too free, okay? He should extend his neck, but don’t let him entirely off the bit, if you can. He’s going to think that the work is over, and you’ve got to get him back and finish well.”

  “Okay,” Teagan said, although she had no idea how this was really going to go.

  “What’s the rest?” Hope prompted.

  “F to A, medium walk. A to X, halt,” Teagan said.

  “Okay. Good. And do salute at the end. It’s polite. And then exit the ring as quickly as you can. Turn to the right and walk off the center line in case the rider behind you wants to come in as you are leaving. They may have a lot of folks to get through before the cross-country phase.”

  “Okay,” Teagan said. Then she remembered that Lilly was coming to the event. “My neighbor Lilly is coming to watch today,” she told Hope.

  “That’ll be fun. Does she ride?”

  “She’s been taking lessons. I think she’s interested in getting into eventing, but she doesn’t have her own horse,” Teagan said.

  “It’s always nice to have another pair of hands to help out, but don’t let her slow you down, especially getting ready for cross-country. If you miss your time then that’s it. You have to scratch. The judges aren’t going to fit you in later. There are too many other riders.”

  “Lilly will understand. I think she’s mostly going to watch,” Teagan said.

  * * *

  —

  After the dressage test was over, Teagan and Lilly set to work getting ready for cross-country, which was the most exciting for both of them. Teagan was looking forward to riding it, and Lilly was planning to watch at several different jumps along the course. Hope had gone to retrieve Teagan’s dressage scores, which were available after all riders had completed the test. Teagan hadn’t done badly, or particularly well. She was not surprised when her score was entirely average, putting her in the middle of the field.

  “You’re not a ribbon contender with this score. You won’t be able to make up enough points in cross-country, so focus on riding well and have fun,” Hope said before she went off to speak to a friend who also had a riding student at the event.

  Teagan thanked her and said she would. Lilly had pulled out all of Ian’s braids and brushed his mane. She pulled the removable velvet cover off of Teagan’s helmet and put on the silks, and she put Teagan’s Tipperary vest and riding crop next to the helmet. Teagan tied Ian to the trailer and put a bucket of water and some flakes of hay near him. Hope had said not to give him any grain until after cross-country, but Teagan snuck him a couple handfuls to thank him for not being terrible in the dressage arena.

  The smell of grilling hamburgers from food tents wafted over the trailers, but Susanna brought out sandwiches and fruit. Lilly’s mother, Joan, had brought homemade brownies. Lilly and Teagan ate and looked at all the other horses tied to other trailers on the hill. Teagan told Lilly that she could have any of the horses she wanted. Lilly picked out a lovely slender chestnut who was wearing a blue fly bonnet on her ears to keep off flies. It reminded Teagan to put some more fly spray on Ian.

  “I’m only choosing her because Ian is taken,” Lilly said.

  “Of course,” Teagan said.

  Teagan looked out over all of the horses and told herself that she could have any horse she wanted, and although there were some good-looking horses, she found she wasn’t interested in any of them. She looked at Ian. He was beautiful and probably the strongest horse there. She knew that she barely trained at all compared to more serious riders, and Ian still had enough energy to compete without getting overly tired. She was looking forward to riding cross-country, but an event wasn’t made up of just cross-country, and the other phases were not as much fun for her.

  She found herself wondering what Grace and Caroline were up to, and she wished she was hanging out with them. Then she rebuked herself because she knew that not every girl got to gallop a horse over jumps. She was glad Lilly had come. Having her there made the day more fun, and Lilly was interested in everything Teagan or Hope taught her. Ian would be the best horse for Lilly, Teagan thought. He’s an older, seasoned horse, so he knows how to do everything. Lilly wouldn’t have to train him, she could just learn from him. He’s kind. He wouldn’t throw her or run away with her. Teagan surprised herself by thinking, Maybe I’m finished with riding.

  Hope walked up with Teagan’s cross-country number. “Look how organized,” she said, gesturing to the Tipperary and helmet.

  “Lilly did that,” Teagan said.

  “She’s your new groom,” Hope said.

  “She’s an event rider in training,” Teagan said.

  “Well, good. I’m glad to hear it,” Hope said. “Now, Teagan, you’re on deck in about twenty minutes, so get tacked and trot out a little, that way, away from the trailers, to warm up.”

  “Teagan, change that shirt,” Susanna said.

  Teagan took off the blue button-down and pulled on a plain white long-sleeved polo shirt. Lilly and Teagan tacked Ian together, and Susanna tied Teagan’s number around her waist, over her Tipperary.

  Susanna rapped her knuckles lightly on the chest of the vest. “No falling off,” she said.

  “Promise,” Teagan said.

  Ian seemed to know that something more fun than dressage was happening. Teagan felt him lean into his stride and he tossed his head a little in anticipation. “Go easy, sir.” Teagan patted his neck. She slowed him as they reached the trailers again and walked to their own trailer.

  “Check your girth,” Hope said.

  Teagan shoved her fingers under it and then tucked her leg back, reached down, and easily cinched it up a little more.

  “How do you feel?” Hope said.

  “I’m fine. He’s a little strong,” Teagan said.

  “Okay, then I want you to walk him out of the starting box. An easy trot up to your first jump. Got it? There’s no reason to burst out of the gate. He’ll pick up speed but you’ve got an entire course to cover, and you don’t want to start at a gallop and then have no horse left at the end.”

  “What if he fights me in the box?” Teagan said.

  “You don’t want him to, that’s true. If he jumps around in the starting box it will be a disqualification. Keep him walking until it’s time to go in. Let’s go now. I forgot the bit check. Hurry.”

  Hope walked fast up to the starting box, which was a wooden rail fence built as a square, with one
open side. Two event officials in red vests were standing a little below it on the hill. Hope gave them Teagan’s number and name, and Teagan was asked to drop her reins while an official checked the bit in Ian’s mouth. Hope explained quietly to Teagan and Lilly that there were new rules concerning cross-country. Only snaffle bits were allowed, and chains and martingales were banned. The horse had to be able to run comfortably without extra aids.

  “A crop is an aid,” Teagan said.

  “Short crops are allowed,” Hope said.

  “I’d rather drop it,” Teagan said.

  “You’ll want it if he hesitates at a jump. You are only allowed one refusal.”

  “I won’t remember to use it,” Teagan said. She knew that Hope wasn’t pleased.

  “Okay,” Hope said.

  Teagan handed the crop to Lilly.

  “How are those stirrups?” Hope asked.

  “Up one on each side, I think,” Teagan said.

  “I agree,” Hope said.

  Teagan dropped the toes of her boots out of her stirrups, and Hope raised one stirrup while Lilly raised the other. “Better,” Teagan said, standing in her stirrups and putting her heels down.

  “You’ll get a five-minute warning and then a one-minute warning. At ten seconds they’ll count out loud for you. If you cross the start before ten seconds, you’re disqualified, but trying to keep him in the box for a full minute might be difficult, so what I want you to do is wait to go in until you hear the ten-second countdown. That way you walk in, turn around, and go.”

  “Okay,” Teagan said. She heard her number called and the five-minute on deck warning. Ian was excited and Teagan walked him in a small circle, changing direction every minute, while she watched another rider enter the box, and then exit the box, her horse leaping into a full canter. There was a murmur from the audience standing nearby.

  “Don’t do that,” Hope said.

  Teagan smiled at her.

  “You can circle the box,” Hope said to her. “And, Teagan, don’t hold your breath.”