Rumor Has It

Ch. 5 ~Trotting, the New Way to Fly

Lizzy's POV

"Gigi. Is. In. The. HOUSE!!!" Gigi yelled right when she got home. I looked at her seriously, but after a few seconds, we both cracked up. I can't help it! Gigi is like my sister, and she is hilarious! We know when we are about to both laugh. It's just us.

"So is Brittany," Brit said as she walked in the door.

"You do not have the power that I have!" Gigi raged at Brit.

I was SO confused. Sometimes, Gigi says things that don't make sense, and this is one of those times. Oh well!

"So, do you guys have a lot of homework?" I asked casually.

"Only a little bit," Gigi said.

"Me too," Brit said.

"Cool, cause Aunt Steph said that after my trotting lesson, and you guys were done with homework, we could all go on a trail!" I said excitedly.

"Yes! I can't wait to show you the woods and all of the trails!" Gigi said, and Brit smiled.

"It'll be fun," Brit chirped. "So, Gigi and I should now go finish our homework so we can go on the trail. It's been a while since I've taken Tiger Lily on a trail," Brit said.

"Yeah, I haven't taken Jazz on a trail for a while. Oh! Did you get to choose a horse?" Gigi asked eagerly.

"Yes, I chose Crackers," I said proudly.

"Aw, that's sweet! I'm glad you chose her, usually nobody wants to ride her cause they think she's ugly," Brit said.

"Wait, who is 'they'?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, well at our ranch, we give lessons and let people board their horses here. We own a few other horses besides Ruby, Hank, Tiger Lily, Jazz, and Crackers. We own all of the ones that you could've chosen from. We use them in lessons for the people who take lessons but don't have their own horse. Since all of the horses are suited for beginners to advanced riders, we let the person choose who they want to ride. Crackers didn't get used very much, despite her friendly personality. Nobody liked her eyes or her mane," Brit explained.

"Oh, that explains why there are so many horses to take care of. I thought they were all yours!" I laughed, and Gigi and Brit shook their heads.

Just then, Aunt Steph walked in and said,"Liz, it's time for your lesson!"

"Ok!" I chirped, then followed her out to the barn.

***

In quick time, I had groomed Crackers and tacked her up, with the help of Aunt Steph. I snapped my helmet on, then led Crackers to the indoor arena.

The barn had an indoor arena, outdoor arena, and tons of trails. Aunt Steph thinks it's best to learn in the indoor arena, so that's where I've been heading.

I checked Crackers' girth, and struggled to tighten it. Surprisingly, I was able to tighten it, and I felt victorious of my small accomplishment. Then, I stuck my foot in the stirrup, and mounted Crackers.

"Ok, so walk Crackers around the ring a few times and do some circles and diagonals to warm her up," Aunt Steph instructed, and I did so.

After a few laps around the arena, some circles, and lot's of diagonals across the arena, Aunt Steph called me over.

"Since it's your first time learning how to trot, I'll have you ride a circle around me," she said, and I made a nice circle around her.

"Ok, Crackers' trot is very smooth, and very slow, so you don't need to worthy about her taking off. What you're going to do, is collect the reins a tiny bit, good, then squeeze her sides gently," she said, and I gave Crackers a gentle squeeze, and soon enough, she was trotting!