"Taylor! You knocked the rail again!" Ryan called over to me. I groaned in frustration Under me, Sundance shifted anxiously. We had been at this for over an hour, and so far, I hadn't been able to jump a clear round. We'd even lowered the jumps to 3 feet high, and I still kept knocking them down. I knew it wasn't fair to Sundance, but I just couldn't concentrate. Three days had passed since I'd eavesdropped on my parents, and I just couldn't keep my focus on anything except that day.
"Sorry, Ry. I guess I'm just having am off day", I said, trotting Sundance over to him. He sighed.
"You've been having an 'off day' for the last three days. Is there something going on?" He asked, staring at my face. I rolled my eyes.
"No", I think I'm just having a bad time or something. Maybe I just lost my confidence", I said. I turned Sundance towards the jumping course again. "Here, I'll go around again."
I nudged Sundance into a canter. She tiredly responded to my cues, but I could tell she was getting bored quickly. We swept around the arena once before leaping over the first jump. I forced myself to keep focused on the course and not get distracted for my mare's sake.
Together we powered through the course, not even coming close to even nicking a rail. Ryan clapped as we trotted back over to him.
"Wow, that was some comeback", Ryan commented. I smiled, exhausted. Under me, I could feel Sundance's sides heaving in exhaustion. I rubbed her neck, and she nickered happily.
"Yeah. I guess we were just off as a team. We'll practice later; Sundance needs a rest", I said. I turned Sundance and trotted her out of the ring. She flexed her neck as we trotted outside. The crisp morning air refreshed me and my mare as we trotted around the stable yard. He shoes clicked on the concrete floors. I pulled her to a half and dropped to the ground. She pulled on the reins and bobbed her head, wiggling her lips.
I laughed and led her into the barn. I clipped her into a pair of cross ties and removed her sweaty tack. Her back was stained with sweat, so I lead her to the stable's wash stall. I clipped her into the wash stall cross ties and slowly turned on the hose. She snorted and threw her head as the cold water hit her legs.
I slowly worked the cold water up her legs and onto her back. I started working the water into the sweaty hairs on her body. She dropped her head and dozed pleasurably as I massaged horse shampoo into her coat rhythmically. I worked the soap down to the roots of the hair, making sure not to rub her skin.
She snorted and stamped a hoof as I rinsed the soap off of her. I knew she hated how cold the water was, but I didn't really have time to warm it up. I made sure that all the soap was rinsed off of her before shutting on the water and unclipping her from the cross ties. I led her into the aisle and let her stop for a moment. She took this opportunity to shake the water off of her body, drenching me. She looked at me innocently, and I laughed.
"Geez, you're such a troublemaker, Sundance", I scolded playfully. She nibbled my hair apologetically, and I smiled. "C'mon, lets get you back to your stall."
I led her to her stall and unfastened her halter. The silvery mare went straight for her hay net, lipping the delicate strands hungrily. I watched her for a moment before exiting the stall and latching the door behind me.
I hung Sundance's halter up on the hook next to her stall and walked down the aisle. I turned down a different hall and stopped at the very last stall. I reached my hand over the stall and clucked my tongue.
An old, large chestnut gelding immediately appeared in the doorway. His cataract-clouded eyes stared out at me, reflecting the wisdom of age. I rubbed his nose delicately, and he smacked his lips happily. I stared at the worn nameplate on his halter. Pheonix, it read. I smiled as memories of learning to ride flooded back to me. I learned to ride on Phoenix. He was my mom's horse, a former show-jumping champion. His show name had been Pheonix Sun, although he'd been retired for many years now.
