Jumping Lives

Chapter 1: Hopeless Dreams and Demanding Families

Whitney's POV:

Three, four, five strides and up. The whoosh of air rushed through my ponytail as Duke tucked his knees to his chest, lifting us both from the ground and over the pole before landing with a dull thud as his hooves continued to pound into the dirt of the arena floor. I slowed him to a trot, reaching down to pat his neck once before straightening up and waiting for the onslaught of criticism to reign down.

"What was that?" My mother screeched from the middle of the arena where she was standing next to a pole on the ground. I glared at the striped red and white pole in irritation. I knew I had knocked one. I heard Duke clip it and heard the slight wobble, but I'd been praying it would stay in its holder. Apparently, my prayers remained un-answered.

"You rushed it, Whitney, what have I been telling you? You need to slow him down. You're never going to win anything like this. How are you going to qualify for Regionals at this rate?" My mother's stern voice echoed in the indoor arena and I saw a few heads turn from the outside arena to look curiously inside. I let out a soft sigh, reaching my gloved hand to rub a stray piece of blonde hair out of my face.

"Sorry," I mumbled, "Won't happen again,"

"You bet it won't. Now go give Duke to Thomas, I need you inside for a fitting. Your grandmother's insisting."

"I can cool him off myself," I suggested, but closed my lips tightly when my mother turned to glare at me. I sat quietly in the saddle as I watched her walk out of the arena, her crisp jodhpurs and black boots, sparkling in the arena lights. The clipboard clutched tightly under her arm.

She never went anywhere without it. It was everywhere, at our dinner table, in the stable, at the shows. It was the master schedule, it was what kept us organized at horse shows, but I loathed it.

I walked Duke around in lazy circles, disobeying my mother's direct order to dismount immediately and hand him to Thomas. Instead I waited a few minutes before moving through the indoor arena door. Thomas was waiting for me as he held Duke while I dismounted.

"Ms. Whitney," Thomas smiled at me, patting Duke gently.

"Thanks, Thomas," I said handing over the reigns as I unsnapped my helmet and walked towards the tack room. I hated not being able to brush down the horses. Instead, my mother always had us hand them off to one of the grooms. When I was younger I used to throw such a fit that my mother would bring me with her on Mondays, the day she didn't teach any lessons and let me wander around and brush some of the lesson horses while she filled out office papers.

Things are different now, though. No more breaks on Mondays and no more brushing down your horses. It was always riding, and when we weren't riding we were eating or sleeping. During the school year I attended school, though I only took four classes, my other two were off periods dedicated to my sport, in this case riding.

According to my family, I was an ideal candidate for Montgomery Riding School. That had been the goal all along. My family believes it's the first step to a equestrian career, attend normal high school up until we were sixteen and then apply to Montgomery. Attend Montgomery for three years and then begin an official equestrian career. My family was also insane.

I walked slowly up to the grand house on the top of the hill. My family lived on over twenty acres. We had two barns, an indoor arena, three outdoor arenas, a cross country course and the rest was either trails or pasture land. The property had been in my family for generations, with each new family member adding to it.

My great grandmother has opened up the stable to boarders and made it one of the biggest show stables in Kentucky. My mother was a world-class trainer, with a team to rival most of the countries and alumni that had both Olympic medals and more. As a result, I was expected to do the same. Except, I didn't really want to be an Olympic equestrian, I wanted to be an Equine Veterinarian. I had always excelled in school, especially in science and I was also fascinated by veterinary medicine.

I removed my boots as soon as I reached the back porch of the house, picking them up with one hand and nudging the backdoor open quietly, cringing when it made a squeaking sound. I tiptoed through the kitchen, almost to the hall when I heard a sharp voice cough once.

"Whitney," My grandmother said, eyebrows raised as he took in my appearance.

"Grandmother," I said, turning to face her, moving the boots behind my back as I waited for her to yell.

"Where on earth have you been?" She asked, looking at me expectantly.

"Riding lesson with mother," I responded, my shoulders slumping slightly as I heard more voices drift from the other room.

"Your fitting was scheduled for half an hour ago," My grandmother spoke, eyeing me unimpressed, her lips curled down into a frown.

"Sorry," I responded, rocking back and forth on my feet as I waited to be excused.

"You do understand your sister's wedding is in two weeks, correct?"

"Yes, I'm well aware," It's it any of you people bloody want to talk about, I added in my head.

"Go get dressed, you look like you rolled around in the mud, then come down here," My grandmother commanded, looking at me once more before rolling her eyes and sauntering out of the room with a cup of iced tea in her hand. I relaxed as I saw her turn the corner before turning and darting up the staircase and into my room. Freedom, I sighed when I closed the door softly behind me, dropping the riding boots on the ground with a thud.

A/N : Not Edited yet, Sorry.