The smell of horses and fresh hay greeted me as I bustled into the stable on Saturday morning. The stable was already alive with activity; today was the day of the big schooling show on the outskirts of Tulsa. We were showing a few horses at the show to bring in potential buyers. I was bringing Sundance simply because I needed to get back into the show circuit with her.
I ducked as Kayden swept by me carrying travel wraps and blankets in her arms.
"Watch out, Taylor!" She called over her shoulder in annoyance.
"Sorry!" I replied. I jogged to Sundance's stall. The silvery mare was dozing quietly, but as soon as I turned the latch on the stall door, she awoke. The mare nickered a hello and nuzzled my hair. I smiled and stroked her nose, before clipping a lead onto her halter. She blinked her eyes sleepily and followed me as I lead her into the aisle and clipped crosswise to her halter.
I grabbed her brush box and began swiping a stiff brush down her side. My mare wasn't very dirty, so I only had to swipe over her coat a few times to get her back to sparkling form. I ran to the tack room, dodging horses and people. I grabbed Sundance's travel wraps and blanket and returned to the mare. After strapping the wraps around her legs, I flung the blanket over her back, fastening the clasps together.
Sundance snorted and shook her mane, wanting to be done. I patted her side to quiet her, then started braiding her tail. I worked my fingers through Sundance's silky mane, looping it into tight braids. She shifted her weight energetically, impatient to be moving again.
"Stand still", I scolded with a reprimanding tap on her shoulder. I finished up quickly and wrapped her tail. I led her outside and up into the trailer. She frisked from side to side for a moment, before following me into the trailer stall. I hooked her in, then returned to the barn. Kayden was leading a chestnut gelding towards me.
"Take Jailbreaker and put him in the stall nearest to the door. You know how he hates traveling", she said, handing the chestnut horse's lead rope to me. He frisked nervously, shifting from hoof to hoof. He nickered as I reached over and patted his neck soothingly.
"C'mon, boy." I clucked at the skittish gelding, urging him forward. He followed me nervously, flicking his ears around so fast I could barely make them out. As I stepped onto the ramp leading into the trailer, the gelding stopped, pawing the ground anxiously. I turned and rubbed his forehead.
"Easy boy. No need to be frightened. See? Sundance is in there", I said enticingly. One cue, Sundance whinnied from inside, stamping a hoof impatiently. Jailbreaker pricked his ears and nickered to the silvery mare inside. He eagerly took a step forward, then another. I slowly lead him up the ramp, his eagerness to be with Sundance driving him on into the trailer. I finally managed to get him mostly into the trailer. I slapped his rump loudly. He lunged forward into his trailer stall with a surprised snort. I fastened him into the stall and latched the butt chain into place.
I walked out of the trailer and back into the stable. I walked to Sundance's stall and started putting her tack into my tack trunk. I dropped her brushes into the trunk and ran to the tack room to grab an extra cooler and Sundance's brushing boots, tendon boots, hock boots, and kneecap boots. I carried them all back to Sundance's stall and dumped them messily into the trunk. I returned to the tack room and grabbed my mare's extra saddle pad and girth. I looked around the room, checking to see what else I might need to bring to the show. Not seeing anything I didn't already have, I turned and exited the room.
Returning to my mare's stall, I dumped the last of my gear into the trunk and closed the lid. I grabbed one of the handles and began dragging it down the aisle. It made an awful scraping noise as I pulled it across the ground, and several horses snorted in annoyance at the sound. I managed to lug it outside and heave it into the back of the truck. My show clothes and everything else I would need was already stored in the living quarters of the trailer.
I jogged to the back of the trailer and peered inside. Kayden stepped out just as I was looking inside.
"Really, Kayd? We're putting Ghost Eyes in?" I questioned her in shock. She nodded, her eyes clouded in an emotion I couldn't really make out.
"Yeah, Tay. Mom and Dad told me to put him in. We need the money", she replied. I nodded, but inside I was still surprised. Ghost was my Dad's horse; he'd spent many hours into training the intelligent white stallion. It kind of scared me to think that we needed the money so badly that our father would go to such lengths. It also scared me to think of how much they would sacrifice to see that I keep Sundance.
I spotted a small, dark sorrel mare in the very back stall, a horse that we had only purchased recently. We were trying to sell her; she had great bloodlines and had even foaled twice, both times producing nice offspring. We'd actually had a few offers on her, but Dad wanted to put her in a show just to see if her price would go up.
I was surprised when my sister's horse, Gypsy Maiden, a Gypsy Vanner/Warmblood cross, poked her head over the stall dividers to nicked a hello.
"Really, Kayd? What's Mazie doing here?" I asked her. She shrugged.
"I'm bringing her for the same reason you're bringing Sundance", she replied. I stared at her for a moment, before turning on my heel and walking away, my thoughts racing a mile a minute. I was thinking so hard I almost walked into Ryan, who was leading a dun gelding out of the stable.
"Whoa, Taylor! Watch where you're heading!" He called over to me as I narrowly avoided a collision.
"Sorry!" I called back. Again, I thought to myself. I forced myself to focus on the present. Whatever my parent's reasoning for selling one of their best horses, I needed to focus on showing them well. My family's life literally depended on it.
Unconsciously, my feet lead me back to Phoenix's stall. The old gelding nickered a warm hello as I reached over to rub his favorite spot.
"Good boy, Phoenix", I murmured to him, before turning back around and heading back outside. As I climbed into the truck, Kayden turned to look at me from the driver's side of the pickup. I just shrugged her questioning gaze off and slouched in the seat unresponsively until Ryan jumped into the passenger's seat up front.
"You excited?" He asked as he turned to look at me. I shrugged, to wrapped up in my thoughts to give him an honest answer. I stared out the window of the truck as we pulled away from the stables and began the four hour drive to Tulsa. As the landscape rolled by, I was lulled into a dreamless sleep.
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Hey, everyone. Sorry about how long it took to update; school has just started and you know what that means. I'll try and keep up, but honestly, I probably won't be on as much anymore during the school year. Don't worry though, I will be updating, just not super often. The horse in the picture at the beginning is Mazie, just to let y'all know.
©2015, All Rights Reserved.
This material is under the protection of the Copyright Office of the United States of America. Any copy in any way, shape, or form is prohibited by court law. Any disregard of this law will result in a court appeal. Thank you.
©2015, All Rights Reserved.
This material is under the protection of the Copyright Office of the United States of America. Any copy in any way, shape, or form is prohibited by court law. Any disregard of this law will result in a court appeal. Thank you.
