The Horseback Frenzy

Chapter 1

"Haiyaaa," cried Darlene, "Just one more obstacle girl, you can do it." Zoe, the beautiful horse, then made a spectacular leap over the highest and final obstacle. The audience went wild. The spectators jumped and clapped. "Yes!!!" shouted Darlene, "we did it." At that moment, Darlene's parents came running to Darlene. "You did it!" shouted Mrs. Bailey. "Honey, I'm so proud of you!" Mrs. Bailey wiped the tears of joy from her eyes. "Yes, darling," said Mr. Bailey. "You did well, I'm proud of you". "Thanks Dad, that was all Zoe." Then her mother laughed and ruffled her hair. "It wasn't just Zoe, it was you. You worked hard, day and night for this moment." "Thanks, Mum," Darlene replied. "You're absolutely right." Good girl," said Mr. Bailey. "Now let's go and get something to eat. I'm starving." "Is food all you think about?" Mrs. Bailey asked teasingly. "No," replied Mr. Bailey. I'm thinking about you too." Mrs. Bailey just laughed and suggested they meet with Riley, Darlene's riding coach. The trio then approached Mrs. Riley. The moment Mrs. Riley spotted Darlene, she ran to her and hugged her. "I can't believe you won," Mrs. Riley exclaimed with joy. "You put in so much effort. Congratulations, I'm proud of you!" "Thanks, I couldn't have done it without you." replied Darlene while grinning.

Darlene was a tall, 15 year old we dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a passion for horses since she was young and started horse riding at the ripe age of eight. As her age grew, her skills grew too. She was fantastic at horse riding and have been going for competitions after competitions. The competition that she just won, was the nationals and it was her biggest one yet, which meant it was a huge deal that she won.   

As Darlene accompanied her parents to collect her trophy, a mysterious woman sidled up to her. "Hi, are you Darlene Bailey?" the strange woman asked. "Y-yes," Darlene stuttered, confused. "Excuse me, but who exactly are you?" asked Mr. Bailey protectively. "Forgive me for not introducing myself, but I am Ms. Ridgeback, the head of the riding school," Ms. Ridgeback replied. Darlene's eyes widened in shock mixed with excitement. The riding academy was the most prestigious riding school in Sunnyvale, Great Britain. It was exactly the school Darlene had always dreamed of attending but could not because it was very costly and it did not exactly fit her parent's budget. "We have been watching you for a very long time and we believe you will be a great fit for our school. We will cover all expenses which means, you will not have to pay a single cent." Darlene could have fainted if it was not for her mom holding her. Ms. Ridgeback then handed her a fancy-looking envelope with a horse sign printed on it and the words "The Horseback Academy" were written in silver. "You will have 2 days to make your decision and we will look forward to it. I am personally hoping that you would join us." Ms. Ridgeback then turned to walk away but not before looking back at Darlene with a knowing glint in her eyes. She had never seen anyone this good at horse riding at such a young age. "I think I want to go to The Academy," blurted Darlene, over dinner the next day. "But honey," replied Mrs. Bailey calmly. "It is too far."

Ever since Darlene received the invitation, she could not stop thinking about going to The Horseback Academy. She had dreamed of going since she was young. She knew it was far from Pennsylvania but you can't stop a girl from dreaming. "Guys," said Darlene excitedly. "This is my big chance. To explore the world and if things go well, I might just choose a career in horse riding." "I don't know,' pondered Mr. Bailey. "I know what you mean but - it will be hard," sighed Mr. Bailey. Mr. Bailey was just scared of letting his little girl go. He had never been away from his daughter for very long and now she suddenly wanted to cross the world. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey then went to the living room to discuss about it. "we can't just let her go," cried Mr. Bailey. "I know replied," Mrs. Bailey, her eyes suspiciously shining. "We have to. This is a really big chance for her and if we don't let her go, she might not be able to fulfil her dream. "You're right," said Mr. Bailey, resigned. "You let me go??!!," squealed Darlene excitedly. Thank you so much" shouted Darlene with excitement. "Calm down kiddo," her father replied while ruffling. "It was all your mom." Mrs. Bailey then smiled at her daughter affectionately. "We will let you go but you have to promise that you will at least call twice a week and message us every day just so we will know that you are OK." "I will," she promised. Darlene then ran to her room to reply to her invitation. She would miss her friends she realized, but she would also make new friends(hopefully). After sending out her invitation, Darlene then called her friends to give them the news. "You leaving?", sighed Jane sadly(her best friend). "Please don't feel sad," comforted Darlene. "I will call you every once in a while and I will visit you during my holidays." Darlene loved her friend to the moon and back and she meant it when she said she would visit them.

As much as Darlene was looking forward to going to her new school. She was nervous. Was she going to make friends? What if she somehow became the laughingstock in her school full of rich kids? Darlene then decided that she would worry about it if she had to and went into a deep sleep dreaming about horses and her going to be new life.