For The Love of Horses (Pegasus Equestrian Center)

by Diana Vincent

  Keeping busy helped, but also River didn’t know what he would do without Sierra. They didn’t talk about Cory, but he knew she understood exactly what he felt every time he walked by the stall that now stabled one of the new horses. She didn’t question his decision to avoid their favorite loop of trail with the log jump; a route that Cory had enjoyed as much as his rider. The only time she mentioned Cory was after they watched a DVD together one evening about a famous race horse, and Sierra said, “I can’t imagine whoever has Cory now, not loving him as much as that woman loved Secretariat. He’s got the same kind of heart.”

  It was a comforting thought. How could anyone get to know Corazón and not love him? He avoided thinking about how un-loved the black gelding had been before coming to Pegasus. If only he could know for sure that his horse was well taken care of and appreciated…if only he knew…

  Then another event gave him a lot to think about. Not that he missed Cory any less, but sometimes when he woke in the middle of the night, it was Laila who occupied his thoughts and filled his heart with worry.

  *****

  One evening, as Sierra and River walked to her truck after finishing evening chores, Laila drove into the stable yard.

  “What does she want?” Sierra asked, trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt.

  “I’ll go see,” River said with a shrug.

  “I’ll wait in the truck.” Sierra turned away, avoiding looking over at the girl getting out of the car. She slipped in behind the wheel and watched River and Laila in her rearview mirror. River met the girl with a hug, and then Laila appeared to be talking very seriously about something, and it seemed she talked on and on. Then River took her hand and gently placed it over her belly, holding his hand on top. Laila ducked her head, and as she looked back up, Sierra saw River wipe a tear from Laila’s face. He hugged her again, and kissed her on her cheek before Laila finally got back into her car and River returned to Sierra’s truck.

  River got in the passenger side wearing a deep frown and turned his head to watch Laila drive away.

  “No secrets, River,” Sierra warned, waiting for an explanation before she turned the key.

  “Uh…” he hesitated. When Laila’s car disappeared from view he finally explained, “Laila’s pregnant.”

  “What?” Sierra said in shock, a shiver running through her. River’s baby?

  “Yeah, she’s been thinking about whether or not to have it.” He stared straight ahead out the window, his brow still furrowed.

  When he didn’t say anything more, Sierra finally asked, “What did she decide?”

  He turned to meet her eyes. “She’s going to have the baby, and she’s going to keep it.”

  “Oh my God,” Sierra breathed out. Laila, a mother? Laila was possibly the last girl she would imagine had maternal instincts. Suspicious thoughts whirled in her head. Who’s the father…River? Is she using this pregnancy to ensnare him somehow? What is he hiding from me now? She waited for him to explain; to tell her why Laila had come here to tell him. When he turned back to stare out the window, apparently deep in his own thoughts, she blurted out the question, “River, is it yours?”

  River’s head whipped around to look at her, aghast. “No!” he said emphatically. “Sierra, why would you even think that?”

  Relief flooded through her as the color rose up her neck into her face. She realized she had been holding her breath, and inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly before she answered, “I’m sorry. River, I admit it; I’m jealous of her. She’s so much more…I don’t know…worldly; sophisticated.”

  “Sierra…” He reached over to take her hand. “You don’t need to be jealous of Laila…please.”

  She gave him a weak smile. When he let go of her hand, she finally started the engine and backed out.

  “Warren’s the father,” River said.

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, when he was home last November…I told you what he did to Laila.”

  Sierra nodded, remembering.

  “He wouldn’t even use a condom. Laila always insists on a condom, so he’s the only unprotected sex she’s had.”

  “Oh,” Sierra said again ineffectually. How does he know she insists on a condom? After a long silence, Sierra asked, “Has she told Warren?”

  “No, and she’s says she’s not going to. I don’t know about that…”

  “She should probably tell him.”

  “I don’t know…maybe she should. Nobody’s heard from Warren since he went back to the base that night.” He sighed audibly and looked at her again. “I think she’s afraid of him. She thinks he doesn’t ever have to know.”

  Sierra met his eyes briefly before turning her attention back to the road. “How is she going to manage with a baby?” she asked after another short period of silence. “Isn’t she going to school?”

  “She talked to Mrs. Marshall; they kind of got to be friends when I was staying there, and Mrs. Marshall invited Laila to move in with them…with the baby. Laila said that kind of convinced her she could work things out.” He emitted a short laugh. “She says look at how well your mother has managed.” He smiled at her.

  “Yeah,” Sierra said softly. “But my mom wasn’t able to go back to school until three years ago. She had to save and she wanted to wait until I was older.”

  Nodding, he said, “Yeah, it’s not going to be easy for her. I don’t imagine it’s been easy for your mother…or mine.”

  “You think she’s doing the right thing?”

  “I don’t know. I know she’s thought about it for the past few months.” With another deep breath he added, “I’m kind of proud of her though.”

  Swallowing down her resentment, Sierra tried on a weak smile before she looked at River again. She really didn’t know how she felt about this whole situation…except glad that it wasn’t River’s baby. But why does Laila have to involve him so much?

  *****

  The first weekend of March, the traditional cross-country clinic was held in the back field; the kick-off of training for the upcoming eventing season. It was well-attended with twelve riders this year. Those with horses at Pegasus besides Sierra and Katrina, included the student-boarders Mary, Candace, and Laurel. Seven other students trailered their horses in.

  After the clinic and all the horses had been taken care of, the riders gathered in the lounge waiting for Tess to debrief them and discuss the upcoming season. Refreshments had been laid out along the counter, and the riders milled around as they served themselves plates of food and poured drinks, chatting happily about the day.

  “This has been the best clinic ever,” Kate Ramsey, one of the riders who trailered in, commented. “I’m moving up to preliminary this year and I’m so pleased with how well Jubilee took the preliminary level jumps today.”

  “Yeah, everyone really did well,” Sierra agreed. “This was my first time to jump outside on Felicity. I know now what I need to work on before I’m ready to compete with her. She’s a little timid and likes to rush her jumps and then she jumps really big; kind of throws me off balance.”

  “You never looked like you were off balance,” Candace said. “I was wishing I felt as confident as I thought you looked today.”

  Laughing, Sierra replied, “Thanks, but I did lose my right stirrup after the coop on the downhill. You didn’t see me almost over her neck? Believe me, I was scared.”

  “I guess I missed that. You must have recovered quickly enough.”

  “I saw,” Katrina said. “I wondered what had happened. Felicity looked like she was about to run away with you.”

  “Yes; Tess saw, that’s why she kept yelling at me to take control; as if I didn’t know I needed to regain control.” They all laughed.

  “What happened to those other two girls that rode in the clinic last year?” Kate asked.

  “You mean Crystal and Gloria?”

  “Yes, I think those are the names.”

  “They both quit riding after last season and sold their horses,�
�� Katrina answered.

  “Oh?” Kate said with raised brows. When Sierra and Katrina gave each other meaningful looks, Kate felt she understood enough to not step on toes when she said, “It’s amazing how much more relaxed and pleasant the clinic was without those two. I swear, they radiated tension!”

  “Yes,” Laurel, who had joined the group, agreed. “I used to trailer Pan here for my lessons because I didn’t want to board where those two hung out. When I heard they left the barn, I put my name on a waiting list for the next available stall.”

  “I don’t know how you put up with them,” Kate added, looking at Sierra and Katrina. “I guess every barn has one or two irritating riders, but those two were impossible. If I had to train at a barn with that kind of energy, I’d move my horse someplace else.”

  Interesting, Sierra mused as she dropped several crackers on her paper plate, next to slices of cheese. It hadn’t occurred to her that anyone else at Pegasus had reacted so negatively to Crystal and Gloria. And now that she thought about it, it did seem that it was an entirely different group of riders boarding now at the stable; more serious about riding and committed to the welfare of their horses. With River as her apprentice, and without Crystal setting the precedence, Tess did not insist that he get horses ready for the boarders. Those that had relied on River had gradually moved away, replaced by the current student-boarders.

  The group chatted together, complimenting each other and then each rider confessing all they had done wrong. Sierra loved it; this feeling of camaraderie and lack of egos as they all discussed the clinic and talked about their horses.

  “Everyone got something to eat?” Tess asked, stepping into the lounge carrying a pack of papers. She looked around as everyone answered in the affirmative and found seats. “Good riding today,” she began the debriefing, “every one of you. Any questions before I begin?”

  “Are we going to have to jump out of the water at novice level?” a rider, who was moving up from beginner novice to novice this year, asked in a nervous tone.

  “Very likely,” Tess answered, “but you will jump up a low bank; nothing your horse can’t handle.”

  A few murmurs ran through the room as some of the others whispered together about the water jump.

  “People,” Tess said in a loud voice to regain the attention. “If your horse will gallop into water, he for sure will jump out. No horse likes their feet in water. All of you did fine galloping through the water today.” In the field at Pegasus, there was an area with water to practice galloping through, but Tess had not been able to create an actual water jump deep enough to have a horse jump out.

  Another hand went up. “Tess, if you have a refusal in a combination, do you have to jump all of the elements again, or just the one that your horse refused?”

  “Good question,” Tess answered. “You don’t have to jump them all again, but it is the one time you may re-take a jump you have already cleared without a penalty. Especially if there is only one stride between elements, it may be the best way. Just be aware, if your horse refuses the element he may have cleared already, it still counts as a refusal.

  Another murmur of conversation went around the group as they discussed taking combination jumps.

  “Let’s just not have any refusals,” Tess said, smiling to soften the command. After a brief spurt of laughter, Tess continued to talk about the riding today and answered questions. Then she passed out her papers. “The competition calendar,” she announced. “Those of you who want to enter the schooling show at the end of this month…” She raised her voice again as conversation picked up. “You need to get your entries in by the tenth.”

  The meeting over, the group again milled around the refreshments, talking animatedly.

  “Tess, I can’t believe you sold that beautiful black gelding that Sierra rode in the championship last year. I thought River was very attached to that horse,” Kate said after a mouthful of blueberry muffin.

  “How did you know he was sold?” Tess asked, her face creasing into a frown.

  Overhearing, Sierra moved in closer to catch the rest of the conversation.

  “He was entered in ‘Jump Start the Season’,” Kate answered, mentioning a local schooling show for hunters and jumpers. “Laurel and I usually go to watch every year, and he was entered in several classes with a girl I didn’t recognize riding him. So I assumed you had sold him.”

  “You’re sure it was Corazón?” Tess asked, trying to keep her voice even.

  “It sure looked like him. He was kind of wild acting and the girl had her hands full, but he won two of his three classes, and only came in second in his one other class because even I could see she had lost control and allowed him to rush a combination so that he took a rail down.”

  Sierra and Tess both stood frozen, gaping at Kate.

  “Oh dear, what’s wrong?” Kate asked, noting their strained reactions.

  “We didn’t sell Corazón,” Tess finally managed to respond. “His former owner showed up with a lawyer claiming he had been stolen. We were forced to let her have him.”

  “Oh my God, Tess. I had no idea.”

  “Do you happen to know the rider’s name, or what stable she was riding with?”

  “No, I didn’t really pay attention. Oh, I am so sorry to hear that.”

  “Probably best not to mention this to River,” Tess advised.

  The others nodded their agreement.

  When the riders all finally left, Tess asked Sierra to follow her into the office. “The organizers of that show have always posted the results on-line, and I’m going to see if I can find out who was riding Cory.”

  Sierra watched over her shoulder as Tess logged onto her computer and searched for the web site. Sure enough, there was a link to show results, and they both skimmed through the placings of all the classes, but there was no Corazón listed.

  “Maybe it was just a horse that looked like Cory,” Sierra said, disappointed that this potential lead to find out who had bought him, didn’t pan out.

  *****

  Chapter 15 Spring Break

  One of the essential conditions of being able to apply theoretical knowledge to the practical task of educating a horse is the right attitude of mind. Without this, attainment of even modest achievement will always prove elusive. – Brigadier General Kurt Albrecht

  *****

  A whole week without school – no studying, no papers due, and no exams to fret over – and the beginning of the show season! Sierra awoke Saturday morning feeling completely happy and excited for the first time since Cory had left. Today was the schooling show, and how she looked forward to competing on Felicity today. A small dark pool of guilt in the pit of her stomach formed for a few moments – how can I be happy when the boy I love is in mourning for his horse? Nevertheless, she couldn’t help that it evaporated quickly as she jumped out of bed to get ready for the show. Not even the drizzly, gusty morning could dampen her spirits. She was used to bad weather, especially for the first shows of the season.

  On horse show days, Manuel and Enrique took over the chores; Tess would give them an extra day off during the week to compensate. Sierra arrived to find the horses already fed, an hour earlier than normal, and a pile of trailer wraps next to the crossties, so she knew River was around somewhere. She said a quick good morning to Fiel, and then brought Felicity from her stall to start getting her ready for the trailer.

  “Good morning,” Candace greeted, having just arrived.

  “Hi,” Sierra returned the greeting. “You ready for today?”

  “I think so,” Candace replied with a nervous laugh. “I thought for sure the show would get canceled because of the rain, but when I called Tess this morning, she said this is normal.”

  “Yeah, it is. I don’t mind the rain so much, but I hope this wind will die down.”

  “Should I go get Shadow?” Candace asked. “Oh, this is my husband Glen,” she introduced a man who just then sauntered up with a camera in hand, ready t
o photograph the preparations. “He’s going to videotape our rides today.”

  “That’s awesome; nice to meet you,” Sierra said. “Yeah, go get Shadow and I’ll help you put on the trailer wraps.”

  By the time they had the horses ready, River had pulled the Pegasus truck hooked up to the two-horse trailer into the stable yard, and they soon had the horses loaded. Sierra rode with River, and Candace and Glen followed behind in their own car.

  “I am so excited,” Sierra admitted, “and I feel guilty.”

  “Why should you feel guilty?” River asked.

  “Oh, you know, Cory’s gone, and it just doesn’t feel right.”

  “I’m glad you’re happy,” River said, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.

  Sierra studied his face in profile, trying to gauge how he really felt.

  Sensing her looking at him, River flashed a small smile her way. “Really, I want you to be happy. I’ve got to get over Cory because there is nothing I can do about it.”

  “I want you to be happy too,” Sierra said in a voice barely above a whisper.

  He nodded and also in a soft voice said, “I know that. I am happy other than losing Cory. I’m especially happy because I have you.” He looked her way again, his eyes dark with an emotion she did not know how to interpret, but it caused her to blush. He smiled and said, “I’m keeping my mind on the show today. We’ll have a good time.”

  She met his smile with one of her own.

  At the show grounds, they unloaded the horses and had them settled in their stalls by the time Tess arrived.

  “You both ride your dressage tests first,” Tess began as she gathered them around her for instructions. “Candace, you’ll be riding in the small arena; it’s to the left of the warm-up ring. Sierra, you ride in the standard arena, which is to the right. Do you know your ride times? Good,” she said as Sierra and Candace nodded. “You have your tests memorized?” They nodded again. “After dressage, settle your horses back in their stalls. The lower divisions ride stadium jumping first, so River will walk your courses with each of you once your horses are settled. You’ll have about an hour break until you need to warm up for stadium, so take all the time you need. You’ll have close to two hours between stadium and cross country, so there will be plenty of time to walk that course when you’ve both finished your stadium rounds. Any questions?” When they shook their heads, she said in a commanding tone,” Okay then, go get your horses ready to warm up for dressage.”