New Beginnings at Century Farms 2: The Rescue Horse Camp

Chapter 17

Mel's POV

After Week 2, a lot has been accomplished. Anna rode Fairy English for the first time and went over her first jump, Madison successfully got Toby to canter on both leads, Riley has gotten Jack to warm up to adults and men, Holly got over her fear of jumping and also jumped her first fence with Sadie, Beth was able to get Smarty controlled at a canter, Cadee has lunged Knight with all of his tack on and is planning on riding him soon, and Liv has gotten to work on Tye with his special gates. I don't know much about saddle seat riding, but I know enough to know that Liv is good. Like, REALLY good. And so is Tye. She really gets the best out of him. They are a great pair.

For me, well, I've been able to train Pippa to jump over small cross rails, and I'm working on control with Chester. He's very hot blooded and sensitive, which can be good and bad. Good because he is easy to stop and easy to get going, but bad because he spooks at everything and is jumpy. I'm planning on taking Pippa for her first trail ride soon, but I definitely need to work with Chester more until he's ready for that.

I'm a little sad because camp is almost half way over, but it will be good for the horses because they will have a chance to visit with anybody who chooses to attend our adoption fair/show. I can't wait! At the adoption fair/show, each girl will show off what they have learned and what they have taught their horses. They will also be paired with a miniature horse that they will show off too. They will get their assignments on Monday this coming week, which is in 2 days!!!

2 days till the mini assignments, 4 days till camp is half over, 3 weeks till the adoption fair/show and end of camp, and 1 month till Cowboy comes home. There's a lot of things going on.

Right at this moment, I'm eating lunch with the other campers. I'm sitting next to Liv and Anna. "So, Liv, where do you go to school?" I asked. "Well, I'm going to the local public school this year. I moved here from Georgia, and this will be my first year going to school here," Liv said. "Well, my little Olive, you will be going to school with mwah and my bestie Heather," I said happily. "Really?! Yay! I won't be alone!" Liv said, and we started laughing. "Maybe we will be on the same bus, my family bought the house on the left of Century Farms," Liv said. "Wait, your family bought that house? Yes! We can hang out all the time and we can ride together! If Tye doesn't get adopted at the end of camp, you can keep riding him and I'll ride Cowboy or another horse. It will be awesome," I said. "It'll be great," Liv confirmed.

After lunch we have free time, and I was gonna see if Liv and Anna wanted to go on the trails. "Hey Anna, wanna go on a trail ride with me and maybe Liv, I still haven't asked her yet," I asked. "Sure I would love to! Meet out here in 20 minutes?" Anna said. "Ok," I said, and went to find Liv.

I found Liv at Tye's stall. She decided that Tye was ready to be put into a stall, and he seemed to like being between Smarty and Pippa. "Hey, do you want to go on a trail ride with Anna and me?" I asked. "Sure, when should I meet you guys outside?"she asked. "In 20 minutes. Is that okay?" I checked. "It's great! I'll be out soon." I walked right next door to Pippa's stall, and led her to a pair of cross ties. I grabbed her brush box and tack, and groomed her so there wasn't any grass stains on her coat. I picked her hooves, then tacked her up. Exactly 20 minutes after I led her out of her stall, Pippa and I were outside with Anna, waiting for Liv. When Tye and Liv arrived a few minutes later, Liv said,"Sorry I'm late, Tye wasn't letting me pick his feet up." "That's fine, at least we are all here now!" Anna said. "Let's go!" I cheered. We all mounted our horses, and I noticed how comfortable Anna looked on Fairy. This was her first time taking steady riding lessons, and after 2 weeks she's already cleared her first jump. It's really inspiring when a horse and rider grow together.

The 6 of us headed to the trail that goes by the lake. I called it the Midway Lake Trail, because the lake marks the half way point of the trail. We chatted as we walked on the trail, but my attention was still on Pippa. Since this is her first trail ride, I thought it would be better to take her with a group. But so far she's been great! When I rabbit scurried across the path, she just halted so it could pass, while Tye side stepped away from it and Fairy eyed it. When we reached the lake, we decided to trot them, and Pippa was having a great time! She was so great and she was definitely getting a few carrots after this.

When we got the horses back to the barn, we split up and took our time caring for them. At the same time I put Pippa back into her stall, Liv was feeding Tye a carrot in his stall. I let Pippa much on a carrot while I hung up her halter.

"Ooh, I have some really good news!" I squealed to Liv as we walked out of the stable to our meeting spot where Mom told everybody to meet up. "What what what??" Liv said. "We got a call from the vet in Kentucky, and Cowboy's surgeries were successful! They went so well, he's going to be home a week early, just in time for the adoption fair!!" I said excitedly. We had gotten the news early this morning, and Mom said she was going to announce it at dinner, but I HAD to tell somebody! "Really? That's wonderful!"Liv said, and gave me a hug. "Thanks Liv, but don't tell anybody cause Mom is going to announce it tonight at dinner," I said. "My lips are sealed," Liv promised.

We reached the meeting spot and the other campers were there. Julie and Katie were there, too. Katie's horse Zee is here, and Mom is going to help Katie do a little bit of training with Zee. Heather is bringing Cloud on Tuesday, and she's staying till Friday. I can't wait to introduce her to everyone!

"Girls, there has been a slight change of schedule. We are actually going to get miniature horse assignments today and work with them for our afternoon lesson. I won't drag this out any longer, so here they are:

Holly with Scout.
Madison with Stardust.
Riley with Piper.
Cadee with Max.
Beth with Sassy.
Anna with Banana.
Liv with Skittles.

Go meet your minis, then we are going to have a big group lesson with everybody in the outdoor arena. Be in the arena in 25 minutes."

While everybody met their minis, I went to go get Chester ready for a ride. I still had to work with Angel, she was my last horse on the assignment board. I worked with Rain and Spirit earlier, so that was it. I'm pretty sure though that another camper is coming tomorrow named Marie, and I think I heard Mom say that she was getting Angel, so that's good for Angel and me! I'll only have 4 horses to work instead of 5.

I started getting Chester ready for our ride, and planning everything out carefully so that I would have enough time to ride Angel too. I took Chester to the indoor arena, and we began our ride.

A/N: ok so this chapter is okayish but not great. The past few chapters r okayish, but not great and I'm sorry for that. I'm working hard to make them better, and I hope it will work. Please keep voting and commenting, and I'll get to work on the next chapter right away!