Still being tormented and haunted by the memories of when he was the Winter Soldier. Bucky has tried so many things to help him deal with the trauma of his past but nothing has helped.
The Avengers can see how bad the nightmares are affecting Bucky...
We watched from the stands as the jumping competition started, we all saw Hope when she entered and cheered her on, Morgan being the loudest of us all which I think Hope appreciated because she shot us a smile and waved.
"When do you think Hope will be up?" I heard Sam ask.
"If you look at the board up there, it shows all the competitors and the order they go in, and it looks like Hope will be the very last one so no pressure," Pepper said.
We all looked at the board and sure enough, Hope and Midnight's names were the very last.
"I wouldn't worry, she's got this in the bag," Tony said confidently.
"Okay, you need to stop that Tony, don't put so much pressure on Hope, this also supposed to be fun for her, she is already putting so much pressure on herself for next year and I don't want her to burn herself out," Pepper chastised Tony.
"I'm not trying to put more pressure on her and I'm sorry if I sound like that, I'm just so immensely proud of her and how far she has come towards her goal," Tony said.
"Well, you need to tell her that," Pepper told Tony, he nodded in agreement.
We turned our attention back to the competition and watched as each rider took their turns for their run through the course, so far from what I could tell there were some not bad riders out there, but Pepper and Tony pointed out to us when a rider made a mistake that cost them some time, then before we even knew it was the last rider before Hope was up, and they had a very clean run with no faults and so far the best time out of everyone. I looked at Tony and saw that he was a nervous wreck and Pepper was trying to calm him down.
"Relax Tony, remember, fun as well and we both know she will do amazing."
We all then looked up when Hope was announced next.
"And now our last rider of the evening, number 152, Hope Stark on Midnight Sun, owned by Stark Ranch."
We all cheered out as we watched Hope make her way to the entrance of the course, I then noticed that she had her eyes closed the entire time but Midnight stopped right at the entrance.
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Hope's POV:
When my name was called at last I looked to my coach and she gave me a reassuring smile.
"You will do great, you always do, but also remember-"
"I know, have fun too," I smiled at her.
"Come on, boy," I whispered to Midnight and lightly kicked his sides to get him walking, I closed my eyes and let Midnight go, as I felt him walking I could hear my friends and family cheering me on, it helped calm me down, suddenly Midnight stopped, I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly as I opened my eyes.
"Let's go!"
Midnight took off, he knew what he needed to do and we trusted each other to get through this together, I trusted him with his speed and he trusted me with my guidance. Midnight got us to the speed we needed as I guided us to the first jump, flying through it with no problem then moved on to the rest of the jumps, I paid no mind to the clock and just focused on us getting through the last hurtled. So far the entire time I watched all the other riders I saw them make the same mistake with the second to last jump, everyone took the turn at a long wide arch and lost time without even realizing it, and now it was our turn.
I guided us through the jump then immediately turned and got into position for the next jump, Midnight took off faster, flying through the last two jumps.
"A clear ride for Hope Stark on Midnight Sun, 40.509 seconds with no faults, and that ladies and gentlemen is our new champion."
I looked at the scoreboard not believing the announcer and sure enough, there it was, we beat our past time by 20 and half seconds.
"WOO!"
"WAY TO GO HOPE!"
"YAY SISSY!"
"THAT'S MY GIRL!"
I had the biggest smile on my face as I looked to the stand and saw everyone cheering for me, I caught James smiling at me, so I gave him a wink. Midnight and I made our way back to my coach who also had the biggest smile too.
"You did it, Hope!"
I got off Midnight and hugged my coach, "I still can't believe it myself, this means we are one step closer to the summer Olympics."
"Well believe it, after today you are on a much-needed break, I will call you once I have our new training schedule done for next year, but for now enjoy the time off."
"I will and thank you for everything that you have done for me."
My coach shook her head, "don't thank me, you did all of this, you put in the time and effort while also running your rescue and I am immensely proud of you."
"As am I."
I turned around and hugged Dad when I saw it was him.
"You were amazing out there, sweetie."
"Thanks, dad, and thank you for being here."
I then turned to everyone else when they gathered around me and Midnight, "all of you, thank you for being here."
"Of course Hope, I don't think there was any other place that we wanted to be at then besides here and go tell you the truth this has been so exciting and there was no danger," Natasha said.
"It may seem that way, but trust me there can be danger in any type of horse event, especially if there is no trust between the rider and horse."
"She's right, I can't tell you how many accidents I've seen in where either rider or horse, sometimes even both have been injured horribly that their career ended," my coach explained to the Avengers and they all gave her a look of shock.
"Alright guys, I think we've had enough excitement today, how about we all head back to the ranch for the celebration dinner that I'm sure Mrs. Williams is preparing," I said.
"How would she know that you won?" Sam asked.
"Because the moment it was announced Dad probably called her to let her know," we all looked to Dad who just smirked.
"What? I was excited and proud of her, had to share it immediately."
"See, let me get Midnight ready to load into the trailer and then we can leave," and headed for the stables.
