November Story Contest

Sierra's Biggest Adventure
By: Alyssa
Age: 10

It was 7:00AM, and Sierra was already up and awake, putting on a warm jacket and zipping up her half-chaps over her ankle-high paddock boots. Her mother had left a note on the kitchen table saying she was away on a business trip and wouldn't be back until the next day. But Sierra didn't mind being home alone. She had horses to keep her company.

Eager for an early morning ride in the mist, Sierra ran through the dewy green grass, towards the large field. Smiling, she scanned the field until her shining brown eyes locked on her 15 hand high mare, Cocoa, nibbling on the fresh green grass. Sierra put two fingers up to her lips and whistled for the light bay mare. Cocoa lifted her magnificent head, perked her ears forward, and trotted quickly up to the gate where Sierra was standing.

Sierra lifted a red nylon halter over Cocoa's soft fuzzy ears and led her out of the field, making sure the gate was latched securely behind them. She led Cocoa into the barn and attached the crossties to her halter. Sierra gave Cocoa a quick grooming and tacked her up with their best tack.

After warming Cocoa up in the small corral, they headed out onto the woodland trail. The morning mist was almost gone and the sun was trying to shine through the large gray clouds. There was still a cold nip in the air, though, as it was almost December.

Sierra turned Cocoa onto the trail that had a Cross-Country course that she and her mother had made out of old fences and fallen trees. She signaled Cocoa to canter and the sturdy Thoroughbred mare lunged into a smooth, rocking canter.

After clearing the first few fences, some movement on one side of the wide trail caught Sierra's eye. Suddenly a red fox bounded across the trail in a swift movement. Cocoa, being a very young Thoroughbred, was terrified. Sierra felt her tense up get ready to bolt. Then it happened. Cocoa veered off the trail, and then began bucking and bolting full speed. Sierra, being an experienced rider, managed to stay on.

Branches tore wildly at Sierra's coat and face as Cocoa bolted through the brush. Suddenly she stopped just in time from falling into a steep ravine. Then Cocoa reared up on her hind legs. Sierra fell off and tumbled down into the ravine.

Sierra felt a sharp pain in her ankle as she tried to climb out of the ravine, but it was too steep and slippery. She sat down with a thump and saw Cocoa turn around to leave. “No, Cocoa!” she cried desperately. “Don't leave me!” But Cocoa didn't seem to care.

Sierra knew there was no one to help her. She and her mother had lived in the wilderness all their lives. There were no telephones or roads, and the nearest town was about a day trip on horseback. But anyway, she called out. “Help!” she screamed. “Anyone, help me!” But all she heard was her echo in the wilderness. Sierra began to cry. Then it turned to racking sobs. She was only eleven, and was terrified. Who knew how long she'd be stuck in this ravine all alone?

Suddenly Sierra heard a whinny and saw Cocoa's head appear at the top of the ravine. “Cocoa!” she shouted. “You came back!” “Where are you?” a voice of a girl asked. Sierra was very surprised that there was a person around. “In the ravine!” she shouted back. Then the faces of a girl about her age and a palomino gelding appeared. “Your horse went for help and led me to you,” said the girl. “I'm Vicki, and my horse is called Chase. I'll help you get out of here.”

Sierra could see Vicki tying a long rope to the saddle horn of Chase's western saddle. Then she threw the rope down to Sierra. “Tie this around your waist!” Vicki called. Sierra did, and slowly, Chase began to back up, pulling her out of the ravine.

When she was at the top, she hugged Vicki. “You don't know how grateful I am that you came along,” she said. “Don't thank me, thank Cocoa. She's the one who led me to you.” Sierra tried to run to Cocoa, but collapsed onto the ground when pain shot through her ankle. “Here, you can ride with me on Chase back to your house. I'll pony Cocoa behind,” offered Vicki.

Vicki helped Sierra onto Chase's back, and Sierra wrapped her arms tightly around Vicki's waist. Taking Cocoa's lead rope in one hand, they set off at a steady walk towards Sierra's home.

On the way back, Sierra learned that Vicki had just moved into the wilderness with her parents and they were building a house on the property they had bought. Her parents were planning to start a wild animal rehabilitation center.

When they got home, Vicki and Sierra untacked their horses and turned them out in the large pasture. Then Sierra hobbled into the house, leaning heavily on Vicki. She got an ice pack from the fridge and iced her broken ankle. Suddenly Sierra remembered something. She jumped up, letting the ice pack fall to the ground. “What's the matter?” asked Vicki. “I just remembered something!” Sierra exclaimed. “Shadow, my mom's champion dressage mare, is about to give birth to her foal any day now. I'm supposed to keep an eye on her!”

Sierra raced out of the house and into the barn, ignoring the pain of her ankle. Vicki followed close behind. Sierra stopped at Shadow's stall and saw that the mare was lying on the ground, groaning. “She's having contractions,” Sierra whispered. Vicki nodded. “All we can do is wait and see what's going to happen.”

Sierra and Vicki watched closely as one tiny hoof appeared. Then the other one came. Then, with one last groan, Shadow pushed with all her might and the tiny foal slid into the straw. Sierra watched as Shadow began to lick and nuzzle the foal. It tried to stand up a few times, and then stood on its wobbly legs. It took a few small steps and began nursing.

“She's magnificent!” Sierra breathed. It was indeed. The foal was a filly, and was cobalt-black with a star on her forehead and four white stockings. “She looks so much like her mother,” said Vicki. “They could be twins. What should we call her?” Sierra thought for a minute. The filly should have her mother's name in her name, and she should be called something to do with her color.

“I know!” exclaimed Sierra. “We'll call her Midnight Shadow, because she's so black and her mother's name is Shadow.” “It's perfect,” Vicki agreed. Sierra could not have had a better day than this.

The End

I hope you enjoyed the story. I had a lot of fun writing it. Please vote for it!