𝙳𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝙳𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛

Eleven

Jay and Hailey watched their daughter warm up Ryder in the practice arena two days later. Anna had blocked out one of the several practice arenas for her two students, and now was Isla's practice.

Isla was becoming frustrated, not at Ryder but at herself; she struggled to find the correct distance to one jump. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't find it.

"She's gotta take a break here soon," Hailey whispered to her husband, not taking her eyes off her daughter.

"I know, but she's not going to want to stop until she finds the distance. She's gotten so close, and it's frustrating," Jay responded, briefly looking at his wife, before turning back toward his daughter. "She'll figure it out."

Eventually, Anna decided to call it quits for the day, as she could tell Isla was getting frustrated. And a frustrated rider will only result in a frustrated horse, and no progress will be made.

Isla left the arena, telling herself that she still had another practice later in the day before the competition started the next day.

"You know she's going to beat herself over that practice, right?" Hailey mentioned, reaching down and grabbing Jay's hand, lacing their fingers together. "She's like you, a perfectionist."

"That's one of the qualities I wish she didn't pick up from me," Jay sighed. "She's letting her nerves get to her."

"How do we want to do this? Are you going to say something? Or do you want me to say something?" Hailey whispered, knowing they were close enough to Ryder's stall for Isla to hear them.

"I'll handle this," Jay replied, making sure he whispered.

~~~~~~~

"You looked good, munchkin," Jay told his daughter as he and Hailey arrived at Ryder's stall, hoping the reassurance he gave her would help her stop beating herself up.

"No, I didn't; I couldn't find the distance to all the jumps. I'm going to do horribly," Isla exclaimed, setting her equipment on the saddle rack outside the stall.

"Isla, it's your first competition in 4 months; you're going to be just fine," Kailey said, walking up to her best friend's stall.

Everyone was giving words of encouragement to Isla, but she was having a hard time believing them. She knew she would be okay, but she had difficulty trusting herself. She just hoped by the time she had to go into the arena for real, I was like she never left.

~~~~~~~

The next few days were a blur for Isla; she somehow managed to find herself in the top 5 and a jump-off by the end of the finals.

" You're next, Isla. You ready?" Anna asked her student.

"Yeah, I guess. I have no clue how I made it this far in this competition. I thought I would have been eliminated after the first or second round." Isla told her trainer honestly.

"You made it to the finals because you're an amazing rider, and you and Ryder make an amazing team. You're going to be fine. Take a deep breath, and let it come to you, don't try to force anything."

Isla nodded, taking a deep breath. She knew Anna was right. She leaned down in her saddle, giving Ryder a small kiss. "We got this, Ry," she whispered, sitting back in her saddle.

"Alright, let's go," Anna said, leading Isla toward the entrance of the competition arena.

Up next, we have 5021 Charlie, ridden by Isla Halstead