The Eventers

Chapter 11- Emily

My sister's dressage round was near perfect. And she got a near perfect score to go along with it, coming out of the arena grinning. I rushed off to my Cross Country schooling area. The only thing I showed higher in than my sister was Cross Country.

I trotted back to our trailer, pulling on my protective vest and helmet. Bentley was ready to go as I ground-mounted, cantering through the wooded area behind the barn to the schooling arena for cross country. Bentley surged underneath me, fidgeting while I tried to get him under control.

"Bentley hush!" I cried, almost losing my patience. He continued on doing what he was doing, kicking out as I studied the course. Finally I was ready to go, and I urged him forward. Immediately, he sprung into and uncontrollable canter, nearing a full on gallop. I sat deep in the saddle, giving him half halts before the jumps. He refused to listen. I shorted my reins as we neared a wide ditch. Bentley kept going at a gallop, and I half halted hard, wanting him to slow.

At the last second, my horse ducked his head, refusing the ditch and sending me flying into it at breakneck speed. I landed in a heap, quickly dusting myself off and standing up as I looked around. Bentley looked at me, and I mounted again. I pushed him back into a gallop and we soared over the fence. Bentley snorted, and I locked my jaw.

"You can't be a brat! This show is very important!" I yelled, urging him on. Bentley rippled under me, and I let him out. I could practically hear my aunt reprimanding me. We turned toward a tough hill-gate combination. Bentley pricked his ears, and I sank in my seat, asking him to recollect himself. Bentley ignored me, and hauled on the reins. We surged forward, and took the upwards sloping jump way too big for a cross country jump.

"Hey! Listen!" I shouted, and pulled back on the reins, deepening my seat and sinking in my heels. Bentley finally responded, seemingly getting his jitters out. I smiled, feeling the horse I knew normally. We surged down the hill, and easily cleared the gate. I turned him around, and we galloped through a creek, jumping a log. I asked him to extend further, and we ate up the distance between us and the last schooling jump. It was a decorative tree, and Bentley perked his ears. I asked for him to listen, and took the last jump, coming off the fence with a perfect pace. I patted him, looking at my watch. I still had half an hour to let him cool down.

I walked him around the extensive property, watching as different riders with an array of horses rode in the variety of rings. We passed a young girl on a hunter pony zooming around a two foot ring, and clapped politely as she finished her round. Across the way, an older man was directing his thoroughbred around a Grand Prix course. I looked around, patting my horse's neck to see if he was cool enough. Bentley was completely cooled off, he was now just enjoying the walk in the breeze. I smiled, and we walked back to the course. I found a ring monitor and took a course for my class, examining the jumps carefully and thinking about what I would have to do with Bentley to get over the fences. I watched the different riders start their rounds, before whizzing off into the forest, reappearing only minutes later. There were monitors on course within the forest, making sure the rider stayed on course, stayed safe, and didn't do anything illegal to the show rules. The hardest part of the course seemed to be a water combination with a duck jump in the middle of the water.

When the monitor called me forward, I obeyed, waiting in the starting box. The bell sounded, and I asked Bentley for a gallop. He responded instantly, and we took off down the field, looking towards our first jump. It was a simple log vertical, and I asked Bentley for a smaller distance, making him shorten up after the fence. Bentley flicked his ears back at me, displeased at the fact that we had to go slower. I gritted my teeth, and we turned sharply into the forest, a path cut through. The entrance was barricaded by a large brush, but Bentley cleared it easily. We hand galloped through the grass until we came to a creek, Bentley leaping over it. I reminded him to calm down, and he responded, collecting himself. We turned to a gate, and I felt my horse try to extend.

"Not yet." I reminded him, and we took the fence perfectly, angling the jump to make a harsh left turn. Bentley snorted, yanking on the rains, but I gave him another half halt, and we stayed the same pace. Arriving back in open field, we galloped to the water combination. I asked for a collected pace, and Bentley hung back, allowing a perfect distance for the steep jump from grass to muddy water. We slowed, making sure not to slip, but continued on to the decorated duck jump. Bentley looked at it, but I urged him on, and we took the fence perfectly, setting us up for the jump back onto dry land three strides later. The last three jumps were all different styles of gates, two with brush growing around it, and the last with a large ditch carved in front of it. I half halted Bentley again, and we too the first fence, two strides to the second, and a final four strides to the large gate. Bentley leapt up, and we took the ditch easy, landing with room to spare. I let the reins out, and Bentley shot forward, excited to run. I perched on his back, and we ate up the distance between the last jump and the finish line. People clapped, and I trotted around to my aunt, who had seemingly disappeared for the morning.

"I entered you in another class. Follow me." She walked briskly past show jumping rings, hunter rings, pleasure rings, and dressage rings, until we finally arrived at a huge racetrack. "It's a Cup Classic race. If you win, you win a foal as well as five thousand dollars. People with race horses will be here, but I know Bentley has got it in him." I dismounted at her command, and she untacked, resaddling with a small black and white pad and a racing saddle. She looked at me. "Have you ever ridden in a racing saddle?"

"Nope." I said plainly, and she chuckled.

"Alright, pull your stirrups down. This should be interesting to see." She added with a chuckle. I sighed, and she gave me a leg up. We walked to the track, and she gave me a pat on the back. "Here we go." She said with a sigh.