Rolling Hills Academy

And The Winner Is...

I walked into the large outdoor arena with Casper and found everyone warming up. I had rushed from my last class of the day to the stable to get some quality time in with Casper. I hadn't been able to see him other than lessons because I'd been running around so much. I needed to make more time to see him, but I knew he'd understand this week because we were both still new. I had taken my time grooming him and telling him about my week. He always gave me his full attention when I groomed him. It was part of our routine.

I hopped up and settled into my soft leather saddle. I double checked my helmet and stirrups and headed along the fence line to begin warming up. I settled behind Hazel, careful not to tailgate, and sighed inwardly with jealousy. Hazel and her horse, Shadow, were an unbeatable team. Hazel's seat was strong and Shadow listened to her commands well. He performed every task with ease, yet still gave a fiery edge to them. I shook my head. Thinking about Hazel's riding would only make me compare myself to her. I couldn't have that a week before the show.

I kept my heels down and elbows tucked to my side as we made laps around the arena. No one said a word and we all focused on ourselves. Well, for the most part. I heard a throat clear and looked up in surprise to see Mr. Harris standing in the centre of the arena. From the looks on everyone else's face, I wasn't the only one surprised to see him.

Mr. Harris smiled. "I'm glad to see you all concentrating. Not one of you looked up when I walked into the arena. That's exactly the focus I want to see at practices. Bring your horses to the centre and line up." He said. We all lined our horses up and I ended up next to Hazel. Shadow's black coat made Casper seem even whiter. The two geldings eyed each other and huffed. It seemed like they got along about as well as Hazel and I do.

"As I'm sure you are all aware, our first show is in a week. We will be travelling to Oakland Ridge Riding Academy, where we will compete against them and four other schools. As it is our first show of the season, I want to ease each of you into competing again, which is why we're keeping it small." Mr. Harris said, looking at each of us. "I want to focus on each of the area's that you will be competing in, so today we will be focusing on Cross Country." He finished.

I grinned. Casper and I loved Cross Country. It was what we were best at. Judging by the smile on Hazel's face, her and Shadow also excelled at it.

"If you'll each grab a vest from Allie and Sean, we'll make our way to the outdoor course." Mr. Harris said. I grabbed a vest from Allie and smiled.

"Thank you." I said. Allie patted my knee.

"No problem. Kill it out there kid. If you do better than Hazel I'll muck Casper's stall for you." She whispered the last part and winked. I laughed.

"Your on." I replied. We headed out of the arena towards the course that Mr. Harris and his stable hands had built. It wasn't too long, but long enough to give the rider a feel for what could come on a real course. As we approached the grassy field, Casper quickened his pace. He already eyeing the jumps, excited to go.

We gathered around Mr. Harris, who stood on the ground below us.

"Today we're going to play a little game." He said. I straightened at the word game. "I'm going to be timing each of your runs. I will not be telling you the time afterwards, because I want you all to push yourselves without a looming time. We're doing this to not only evaluate your comfort level on a Cross Country course, but to also see how you can push yourselves and your horses to have the best round." He said. He looked at his clipboard.

"Julia, you'll go first. Followed by, Rebecca, Cole, Blair, Hazel, Jaxon, and Harper. As much as I am timing your rounds, I want you all to ride cleanly and safely. Julia, you can begin on my whistle."