May Story Contest

Training Peppermint
By: Alyssa
Age: 10

“Hurry up, Laurel!” Sarah Olson shouted. Sarah could hear her twin sister Laurel Olson playing some triads on the piano. “We're going to be late for the riding lesson with Mom!” she tried again. “You go ahead into the barn. I'll come in a minute!” Laurel shouted back. Laurel took her piano lessons very seriously. She insisted that she should practice at least half an hour every day. School and horseback riding were the same sort of thing. Sarah didn't care that much for school, but horseback riding was different for her. She loved her beautiful seven-year-old palomino mare, Spring, and she spent as much time as possible at the riding stable her mother owned. Laurel owned a six-year-old Appaloosa gelding, Peppermint. Today they was having a jumping lesson by Sarah and Laurel's Mom, Jen Olson.

Sarah opened the back door of her house and ran toward the barn, past the swimming pool and the tennis court. Finally she reached the parking lot that was buzzing with people tacking up horses and leading them into the outdoor ring. Sarah entered the barn and stopped at Spring's stall. She got out the brushes and began brushing the mare's golden coat.

When Spring was all tacked up Sarah felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw her best friend, Kelsey Peters, holding her black Thoroughbred stallion, Cobalt. “Hi Sarah!” said Kelsey. “Are you ready to go?” “Yep,” said Sarah. “You caught me just in time. C'mon. Let's go find Laurel. I bet she's almost ready.” Then the two girls led their horses over to Peppermint's stall. Laurel was just putting on his saddle. “Okay. I'm ready to go!” said Laurel as she mounted Peppermint.

When they entered the ring, Sarah was glad she was riding with her two best friends. Even though Sarah and Laurel were sisters, they were best friends. With a quick glance at the riders in the group, Sarah's mood changed from happy to grumpy. The meanest, snobbiest, girl in town was there for the lesson. Tiffany Atkinson, to be exact. But this was not the time to be thinking about Tiffany. The lesson was starting.

Remember to concentrate while you're jumping,” Jen was saying. “Last week I saw some of you slacking off while you were jumping. Jumping is not about getting your horse going at a fast pace and then closing your eyes and hoping you will clear the fence. I do NOT want you doing that. Understand?” They all nodded. Kelsey went first. She gathered Cobalt's reins and cleared the course as if they were in a dream and the jumps were clouds. Then Sarah went. She gathered up Spring's reins and lined her up at the beginning of the course. The first few jumps went fine, but at the last jump, they were lucky. Just as they were clearing the jump, Spring's hoof clipped the pole. Sarah held her breath, waiting to here it clatter to the ground, but it stayed in its place.

Laurel went next. Just as Peppermint was approaching the first jump, Tiffany shrieked loudly. Peppermint locked his legs in place in front of the jump, but didn't stop completely, and crashed into the jump. The poles fell down with a clatter. Then Peppermint reared up on his hind legs and bucked Laurel off. She hit the ground with a thud. Peppermint bolted out of the ring. Laurel still lay motionless on the ground. “Oops, I'm so sorry, Jen,” said Tiffany in a sweet, innocent voice. “I didn't mean to scare the other horses.” Then she dismounted her horse and led him out of the ring. “I have to go now.”

Sarah and Kelsey dismounted their horses and ran over to Laurel. “Laurel! Can you hear me?” said Sarah. Laurel opened her eyes and stared at Sarah and Kelsey. “What happened?” she asked. “Tiffany shrieked just as you were approaching this jump,” Kelsey began. “Peppermint crashed into the jump, threw you off, and ran out of the ring.” Laurel sat up. “Where's Peppermint now?” she asked. “I don't know,” said Sarah. “He ran off.” Laurel quickly got to her feet. When she saw that Kelsey and Sarah were about to protest, she said, “I'm fine. Really. I'm not injured.” Jen had ended the lesson and dismissed the class and was now walking over to them. “Laurel, are you okay, sweetheart?” she asked. “I'm fine,” Laurel assured her mother.

Then the trio ran off in hot pursuit of Peppermint. They finally found him standing by the house and family swimming pool. Laurel approached Peppermint slowly and spoke softly to him. “It's okay, boy. It's me,” she said. As soon as Laurel caught Peppermint she said, “I suppose I should get back in the saddle right away and try jumping again.” “Yeah, you should,” said Sarah. “Let's go back to the ring.”

Soon Laurel was mounted on Peppermint and was approaching the first jump. They were about to take off when Peppermint sharply turned sideways at the last minute and escaped the jump. When Laurel brought Peppermint up beside Sarah and Kelsey, her face was fuming with anger. “Tiffany ruined Peppermint's jumping skills!” she said. “We have to get her back!” “We'll find a way,” said Sarah. “We have to!”

The next morning was something exciting: the first day of Summer Vacation. Sarah bounded into the barn office bright and early to look at the new summer schedule.

Summer Schedule

8:30 Stable Opens

9:30-10:30 Jumping Lesson

10:45-11:15 Tack Cleaning Lesson

11:30-12:05 Dressage Lesson

12:30 Trails Open

1:00 Lunch

1:05-2:20 Free Time

2:30-3:10 Western Riding Lesson

3:25-4:20 English Riding Lesson

4:30-5:00 Extra Practice Time

5:30 Stable Closes

Sarah signed herself up for the Jumping Lesson, How to Clean Tack, the Dressage Lesson, and the English Riding Lesson. She had tried Western and English riding, but like English better. Then she went into the barn to feed Spring. Whistling cheerfully to herself, she made her way down the barn aisle.

Sarah only had time to have a quick chat with Kelsey and Laurel before her jumping lesson. “When are we going to work with Peppermint?” asked Laurel. “Well,” said Kelsey. “In the free time I was planning for us to go on a trail ride, and I know you, Laurel, are taking both the English and Western riding lessons, so how about we work with him during the extra practice time?” “Perfect,” said Sarah. “We should bring Spring and Cobalt too. I have an idea.” Then Sarah went off to her jumping lesson.

At the beginning of the lesson she was surprised that her Mom wasn't teaching the class, but she had hired an ex-Olympic star to teach it for her. His name was Marvin Jennings. By the end of the lesson, Sarah was feeling great. Marvin Jennings had given her a complement that he hadn't given to anyone else in the class. 'You're a great jumper, Sarah,' he had said. 'If you keep it up, you could be an Olympic star someday!' Sarah had just beamed with pride.

Sarah quickly unsaddled Spring and put her in her stall for Sarah's dressage lesson. Then she quickly went into her house to change into her good dressage clothes for the dressage lesson. In the lunch break, Sarah, Laurel, and Kelsey relaxed in the lounge above the barn and chatted about what had happened in their lessons. Sarah told them what Marvin Jennings had said to her. She found out from Kelsey that there was going to be a jumping competition. Sarah was totally excited, until she remembered that Laurel might not be able to enter because Peppermint wasn't jumping.

After lunch, Sarah, Kelsey, and Laurel went separate ways to saddle their horses for the trail ride they had planned. They met by the entrance to the barn. Sarah swung herself into the saddle. “I'm ready,” she said. “Where should we ride today?” “I know!” said Laurel excitedly. “How about we take the trail in the woods that leads up the hill that over looks town. We haven't been there in a long time.” “Sure,” said Kelsey. “That sounds good to me.” “I totally agree with you both,” said Sarah. “Let's ride!”

Laurel and Peppermint took the lead, Kelsey and Cobalt followed behind them, and Sarah and Spring were last of all. But being behind everyone else didn't spoil Sarah's good mood. Birds chirped throughout the forest as they rode. The sun was peaking through the trees and casting a green glow on everything. Almost everything was perfect. If only we could Peppermint jumping again and get Tiffany back, thought Sarah. Then everything would be perfect.

Soon the horses were tied to some trees and the girls were sitting on mossy rocks on the hill. Sarah looked downward at her hometown that she had lived in all her life. The pastures and houses along the outskirts of the city soon turned to apartments and tall buildings. Sarah checked her watch. 2:15P.M. It was time to head back to the stable because Laurel had a Western Riding Lesson.

After the Western and English riding lessons were over, Laurel, Sarah, and Kelsey met up in the outdoor ring, which was free at the moment. “Here's my idea,” said Sarah. “First, Kelsey and I will each complete the course with our own horses, and then you, Laurel, will ride Peppermint over the course. If Peppermint sees his friends jumping over the jumps and having a great time, maybe he'll decide to try it too.” “Okay,” said Laurel and Kelsey in one voice.

While Sarah took Spring over the course and Kelsey and Cobalt followed her, Laurel and Peppermint were waiting on the sidelines. Laurel watched Peppermint as he watched his friends jump the course. When Kelsey and Cobalt had finished the course, they rode over to Laurel and Sarah. “Now you try jumping the course on Peppermint,” said Kelsey. Laurel nodded and gathered up Peppermint's reins and lined him up with the course.

As they approached the jump, Laurel could feel Peppermint getting ready to turn sideways and miss the jump. Laurel coaxed him forward using all her aids. Peppermint was slowing down in front of the jump. Laurel used all her aids and wouldn't let Peppermint slow down. Finally, he took the jump. But it wasn't a pretty sight. When Peppermint had jumped the jump, it had looked slow and choppy. But he had jumped it. That was the good thing. “Great job, Laurel!” Sarah called to her sister. Laurel smiled in return before urging Peppermint forward towards the next jump.

Peppermint completed the rest of the course reluctantly. It was almost perfect. “We'll be able to enter the show after all!” Laurel said happily. “Just a few more times practicing, and we'll be perfect!” “I have an idea on how we can get Tiffany back,” said Kelsey. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “On the night before the jumping competition, we'll sneak into Copper's stall.” (Copper was Tiffany's horse.) “We'll each have shavers with us and we'll shave Copper. But not in any ordinary way. We'll shave hearts into his coat and then when Tiffany finds him in the morning, she'll be too embarrassed to ride in the show!” “I like it,” said Sarah. “So do I!” said Laurel. “Then let's do it. Tomorrow night, Copper is going to look totally like a love bug!”

The next day kept Sarah busy. Everyone was preparing for the jumping competition. Especially Laurel. Peppermint was now jumping perfectly and Laurel, Sarah, and Kelsey were happy.

At dusk when the stable was closed and Jen was gone, Sarah, Laurel, and Kelsey snuck into the stable. Since Jen owned the stable, Sarah and Laurel were allowed to bring friends over and go into the stable even when it was closed. Sarah entered the barn and turned on the overhead light. Copper's stall was on the side farthest away from the house. That was good.

Laurel opened Copper's stall door and held it open for Sarah and Kelsey. “Okay, let's get to work,” she said. Everyone pulled out a shaver and started shaving off bits of Copper's chestnut coat. After a while, he was covered in hearts and looked really weird. “Tomorrow let's come here early to see Tiffany's reaction,” said Sarah. “You can count on that!” said Kelsey.

Since Jen had agreed that Kelsey could sleep over in the barn with Sarah and Laurel, they were all bound to see Tiffany's reaction to their prank. When morning came, a rooster crowed in the distance. Sarah stretched and yawned. “Come on, sleepyheads,” she told Laurel and Kelsey. “It's time to get ready for the show and to see how Tiffany reacts when she sees Copper.” Reluctantly, Laurel and Kelsey crawled out of their sleeping bags in the hay loft. It overlooked the parking lot where a big fancy car had just pulled up. “That's Tiffany's car!” said Sarah excitedly. “Let's hide in the empty stall beside Copper's stall and when we hear Tiffany's reaction, we can walk out as if we had just finished mucking out the stall.” “Perfect,” said Laurel.

Quietly, the girls went down the stairs and into the empty stall. Soon they heard the footsteps of Tiffany walking down the barn aisle. Then they heard what they were waiting for. “Copper!!!” Tiffany shrieked. “You horrible, naughty horse! Why didn't you bite or kick the person that did this to you? Now we can't even get our tenth blue ribbon for Hunter Jumping!” With that, Tiffany stormed off towards her car. Pretty soon it left the parking lot. Sarah, Laurel, and Kelsey burst into laughter. “That was so great!” said Sarah. “That was a great idea, Kelsey!” Kelsey blushed. “Come on, let's get the horses ready for the show,” said Laurel.

Sarah went into Spring's stall and took her out into the special area for bathing the horses. She washed Spring thoroughly and then began brushing her. She then decided to braid Spring's mane. After Sarah had done one braid, she decided that Spring looked better without her mane braided.

Soon the parking lot was packed with cars and horse trailers. People were tacking up their horses and getting ready for the jumping competition in the outdoor ring. Marvin Jennings, the ex-Olympic star, was the judge. Soon the announcer called, “Everyone competing in the Hunter Jumping junior competition please proceed into the ring.” Sarah led Spring into the ring and wished good luck to Laurel and Kelsey.

They all drew numbers from a hat to see who was going to go first. Kelsey got first, Sarah got third, and Laurel got eighth. Soon it was Sarah's turn. She listened the announcer say, “And now, we have Sarah Olson on her mount, Spring!” Sarah gathered up Spring's reins and cantered her up to the first jump. They flew over it as if it were a dream. But then on the Double Oxer, Spring's hoof clipped it, and it sent the rails clattering to the ground. As they rode off to the side, Sarah patted Spring's neck and said, “That's okay, girl. I know you did your best.” After the competition was over, Sarah waited impatiently for the announcer to announce the winners.

“In first place,” began the announcer. “We have Laurel Olson on her mount, Peppermint!” Everyone clapped as Laurel led Peppermint up to the judge to receive her ribbon. Sarah knew Laurel and Peppermint had deserved it. “In second place, we have Kelsey Peters on her mount, Cobalt!” Kelsey received the second place red ribbon. “And in third place, we have Sarah Olson on her mount, Spring!” Sarah glowed with pride as she received her third place ribbon. Even though it wasn't first place, she was happy about it. She, Laurel, and Kelsey had cured Peppermint of his jumping problem and they had all gotten ribbons. What a perfect day!

The End