Deer Hill Riding Academy

Chapter 1

I swing my leg over Timber's black jumping saddle and into the stirrup. "Good boy, Timber." I say, stroking his smooth buckskin coat.

"Elise Harvey, can you please enter the arena?" The speaker buzzes. I draw my heels in to nudge him into a walk and we are soon walking through the gate. Timber is eager to go, but I pull him into small trotting circles until it is time for us to start.

Timber heads into a steady canter towards the first jump, an 80cm oxer painted bright pink and blue. We fly over it, leaving lots of space between the jump and his hooves. I direct him towards the next couple of jumps, and we easily clear them. Time flies by and we are soon approaching the last jump. I kick him forward, and although he hesitates, Timber jumps and clips it. Once he lands, I look over my shoulder to check the pole is still up, and to my luck, it sits where it was originally. Timber slows down and my hand gently pats his neck as we walk out of the arena.

"That was amazing, Elise!" My older sister, Lucy, comments. I thank her, almost breathless with joy. I never knew Timber was that good of a showjumping horse, especially since that was the first course that was above 60cm that we have ever cleared. The speaker announces that the presentations of awards will be done at 6:00pm, which I would normally roll my eyes at because they could just present them after the round, but as I am so happy, I just nod. "You'd better give him a bath, look how sweaty he is. Gosh, you would think he had just finished a race." My mum tells me. "Of course, he was such a good boy."

I turn the hose off and head back over to Timber. "I love you so much, Timmy." My hands wrap around his wet neck and embrace him in a hug. I can feel his warm breath against my back, and I smile softly. "Elise, the presentations are starting." Lucy informs me. "Oh, alright. I'll be there in a sec." I reply before I lead him back to our horse float and tie him up. "I'll get you some hay soon, Timber." He whinnies excitedly at the mention of hay and I laugh as I walk in the direction of the presentations.

I sit between Lucy and another girl who wears her blonde hair in a single plait. "In 6th place, Amelia Gray." A slim, freckly girl grins and walks up to the stand to claim her ribbon. "In 5th place, Tilly McDonald." The girl next to me stands up and collects her ribbon. "Fourth place, Olivia Newton, and in third place, Elise Harvey." I beam and hurriedly walk up to the tent where they have the ribbons. "Great job, hon." The plump blonde woman in around her 60s compliments me. "Thank you very much."

"Elise, there's a man who wants to speak to us." Lucy says. I curiously follow her to the table where a tall, lean, elderly man stood. "Hello, Elise Harvey." He greets me. "I am the principal of DHRA, Andrew Horne - I saw your show today, good job." I suppress my nervousness and give him a smile. "Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to join the academy this year - all we would need is your horses name, age and what he can do." I grin like an idiot. "I would love to! Can I write Timber's information on paper?" The principal nods to my request, and hands me a piece of paper. I scribble down Timbers name, age and what he can do onto the paper and give it back to the principal. "Alright, so your horses name is Timber, he is 19, and he can jump 80cm. Well, unfortunately, Miss Harvey, we don't take in horses over the age of 16 because of the risk of injury. I will contact your mother later to see if we can find another solution."

I'm shaken. Could I really go to DHRA without Timber? He is my heart horse, and I have been with him for 9 years. Lucy wraps her arm around my shoulders and walks me to the Ute. "Finally, girls, you took a while!" Mum says. "Sorry mum." I say. As it's a cold night, I cuddle up in a blanket even though the heater is on, and drift off to sleep while mum drives home.