January Story Contest
The Riding Trials part 1
By: Famoushorse101
Age: 11
Characters:
Emily-Enemy of DiDiDiDi- Enemy of Emily and Jacki
Jacki- Emily’s best friend
Makayla- Instructor
Kara- Jacki’s Sister
Heart’s Desire(Desi)- Emily’s gray Hanoverian mare
Fly with Me (Fly) - Kara’s Black and White paint Thoroughbred Gelding
It’s just Magic(Magic)- Jacki’s Chestnut Irish Sport horse gelding
My Romeo (Romeo) - DiDi’s black Connemara Gelding
Seastar’s Shining Glory (Glory) - Makayla’s bay Arabian Thoroughbred cross Mare
*************************************************************The letter came on Friday the 13th, in May, the year 2011. I heard my sister Kara call, “Jacki, letter for you! And one for me, too. They’re identical!” I ran down the stairs, almost tripping and falling flat on my face. When I reached the kitchen, my sister’s face was flushed.
“What?” I asked her. “Read your letter!” Was all she said to me. I looked at the table and saw a perfect white envelope with a golden seal. I snatched the letter and tore it open.
“Shoot, paper cut!” I yelped. Kara tried not to laugh, but failed. I glared at her and continued to open the letter. When I finally got it out, I gasped after reading the first two lines.
“Congratulations, Jacki Elizabeth Dare. You have made it to the New York Hunter/Jumper Finals.” I looked up in astonishment at Kara.
“You too?” She nodded. I kept reading.
“The other competitors from your barn include: Emily Katherine Smith, DiDi Rachel Karn, and Kara Grace Dare. Please contact your trainer for more information.”
Within five seconds after finishing reading, and was holding the phone and had dialed my best friend Emily’s number. She picked up on the first ring.
“Yellow?” She said.
“OMG OMG OMG OMG!! You made it and so did Kara and so did I and so did… DiDi.” My face fell. DiDi hated me, my sister, and Emily, not to metion everyone at the barn.
“Yeah, I know! But DiDi coming totally ruins it.” Emily said. “Totally. But hey, WE MADE IT!” I replied.
“I know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Emily screamed.
“See you tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yup. See You then!”
I hung up the phone, and ran to find my Mum and Dad to tell them the good news.
*************************************************************
The next day I jumped out of the car and walked inside to say hello to my horse, Magic. When I arrived at her stall I saw Emily across the isle tacking up her horse Desi. I peered into Magic’s stall and saw that his saddle had already been put on. Walking over to Emily I said “Thanks for tacking up Magic for me. I was so late!”
Emily turned and smiled. “No problem! Now, get the bridle on or we’ll both be late!”
I ran to get his bridle, which Emily had put on his halter hook.
Five minutes later Emily, DiDi and I were in the ring. Our instructor, Makayla, had just finished torturing us with sitting and posting to the trot without stirrups. We walked to the middle to hear our course.
“Okay, girls, Come over the line to the left, then rollback to the blue wave jump and slice the first jump of the line. Get a lead change over the jump and continue to the bending line. Then come over the triple and you’re done. DiDi, you’ll go first.
DiDi sighed. She was tired of going first so she could show Emily and Jacki how to ride. She asked for a canter and Romeo picked up the correct lead. One, Two, Three, Over, Land. 5 Strides in between. Over, Land. All the way into the corner, turn, over the blue wave jump. DiDi felt Romeo hesitate, but he went over it with a firm leg signal. Keep cantering straight to the first jump of the line, at an angle. Leg back for a lead change, into the corner, over the first jump of the bending line, some hay bales, smooth bend to the next jump, a pumpkin/pole jump, and canter firmly to the triple. Over, land, one stride, over, land, two strides, over land. Done, and perfect. As always.
“Very nice, DiDi.” Makayla said with approval in her voice. DiDi just nodded and walked to a spot where she wouldn’t be in the way.
“Okay, now Emily, you do the same thing.” Emily took off around the ring, Desi’s ears up and Emily’s face concentrated. The Line was easy, Emily thought, and so was the blue to the slice. The Bending line had only a small problem, when Emily had approached it on the wrong lead, but that was easily fixed and didn’t affect the rest of the course. Coming to the triple, though, was a different story. The jumps of the triple were all at least 3ft 6 inches, but that wasn’t the problem. All three of the jumps had strangely shaped standards around the outside. Desi didn’t like weird things, and so she did what any frightened or nervous horse would do. She refused.
Now, Emily was an amazing rider, but sometimes no one can stay on. So, when Desi refused, Emily didn’t. Emily kept going, over the first jump and right into the second. There was a horrid silence, and everyone stared at the heap of jodhpurs, ankle boots, poles and a crippled but seemingly okay feeling girl. Jacki was the first one to react. She leapt off Magic and ran to the shaking body of Emily.
“Oh, she’s shaking!! Why is she shaking?” Jacki was filled with despair. What if she had broken something? What if she was...DEAD? Jacki pulled the poles off Emily, and rolled her over. What she found was surprising. Emily was LAUGHING! Yes, Laughing. That was why she had been shaking!
“Emily!” Jacki was relieved, but still upset.
“You SCARED me!” “I know!! You should have seen your face!” Emily laughed even harder, and then sighed.
“How’s Desi?” she asked.
“Over there. Can you get back on?” asked Makayla. Emily nodded, and did exactly that. She came over just the triple, and did so without a flaw.
“Jacki, your turn. Go ahead.” Makayla said. Jacki started and completed with beautiful effort and grace.
“Nice, girls. Let’s end with that.” The girls nodded and walked out of the ring. Suddenly, they heard a cry of despair. If came from the stall of Fly, Kara’s horse. Jacki handed Magic’s reins to Emily and ran over to Fly’s stall.
“Kara, what happened?” She asked, full of concern.
“Fly’s lame!” She cried. “What do I do?”
She was crying now, tears streaming down her face.
“I’ll get Makayla!” I said, and ran out to the ring.
What will happen to Fly? Will Kara be able to ride in the Show? Find out in The Riding Trials, part two! PLEASE VOTE!!
****Author’s Note- All name of horses in this story are meant to be made up. It was not my intention to take any names of people or horses. The horse show in this story is not real, either. It’s a non-fiction story.