Horsemen Trials, A Fantasy Story about Horses

Chapter 22

Lillian's jumping round was just as good as Norah's and I's. Checkmate nearly didn't go down the bank but Lillian urged him on and they cleared it without injury.

After celebrating a bit and congratulating each other, we parted our separate ways.

As I went back to my camp, I suddenly began to realize that there was only one more day of this: the endurance phase. I was already two-thirds through the Trials. It was going to be over after tomorrow.

What?  It was already about over? How it had happened so fast?

Sadness swept over me as I unbridled Destiny. Despite the Trials having caused more anxiety in three days than I usually had in three months, I was still going to be disappointed.

And suddenly, it hit me.

Destiny was leaving me after the Trials.

The purpose of the Trials was to provide the army with trained mounts.  And that meant Destiny was going to leave me.

My family simply could not afford to keep her through the winter. Our fields only produced enough hay for our two draft horses and our milk cow. It lasted us comfortably till the next spring, but there was no way it would last us if we had to feed an extra horse.

I had known this going into the Trials, but now I realized that I had not fully comprehended what that would mean. It would mean I could not keep Destiny.

I didn't sleep well that night. I watched Destiny, knowing that after tomorrow she would not longer be mine.

When I woke up after that restless night, I glared at the rising sun, wishing it would take longer. The butterflies that had plagued me for the past three days were non-existent. They had died doused in the flood of my tears.

Destiny seemed to sense my moroseness. Neither she nor I wanted to get a move on. I had barely mounted when Mr. Blair came riding up.

He instantly knew something was off. "Iris. What is it?"

I stared down as I twirled my finger around a strand of Destiny's mane. "I realized last night that today's my last day with Destiny."

"Oh?"

"I have to give her to the army, my family could not afford to keep an extra horse through the winter."

He was silent for a moment. "That's... unfortunate. But you do know you get to pick who she goes to, right?"

I looked up. "No. Er, I mean I forgot about that."

"Either way, Iris, look up and press on. Make this day, if it must be your last, make it your best."

I looked down again and grit my teeth. "Alright."

Norah and Lillian were also sad today. Lillian would be able to keep Checkmate but that meant she'd have to send him up north to a relative to keep over the winter. Norah was also keeping Juniper, but she said it was going to be tight. And of course, the Trials were  coming to a close.

The Endurance phase was run differently than the previous two phases, because it was so long. It started way earlier in the morning and would carry on far in the night. The goal was to get through as fast as possible, while remaining uninjured and sound.

If your horse was unsound at the end, you were disqualified. And in order to make sure this requirement was followed, blacksmiths were waiting to check the horses after they crossed the finish line.

Start times were posted, and when it was near your time, you stepped into the start box, a square of fences. White markers were posted along the trail and it had been checked previously to make sure it was relatively safe to be ridden. The Trials were always run when the full moon would be out, so that you could see at night, and there would be people out there holding lanterns.

My run was set to start early that morning. I only had time for a quick breakfast at Mrs. Jodie's. She said she hoped we did well and that we had been her favorite customers of the Trials. I half-wondered if she said that to everyone, but decided it didn't matter.

Lillian's run was before mine, and Norah's after. Mr. Blair had filled our heads with useful information, like making sure to pack a rain-resistant coat, taking plenty of water and food, and how to navigate through the course successfully without wearing out or injuring our horses.

Determined would be the word to describe me as I nudged Destiny into the start box. We were going to give it our absolute best shot. And maybe, just maybe, it would be good enough to win.

"Three." I leaned forward and grabbed mane. Destiny pinned her ears back tome, knowing that something was fixing to go down.

"Two." I put my heels down and looked ahead.

"One. Go! Have a safe ride." An energetic lady marked down our time on a sheet of paper while looking at a stopwatch.

This was it. It was now and it was here, and it was real. I hissed to Destiny, firmly kicking her. "Come on gal."

She launched out, grabbing ground with long strides, releasing her tightly coiled energy. I rose into my half seat with her as we left the civilized world behind and took on the wild country in front of us. I also left in the start box my deep grief that these next hours would be part of my last ones with her.

The wind whipped by us as we rounded a curve with me low on her neck. There is nothing quite so thrilling as a gallop. Horse and rider felt free.