Electrically Charged

Chapter 7: Confusion and Pulse Spikes

It was 5:45 in the morning when Cecily got to the barn to feed Steel. The fog of the mountains hung low to the ground and sent mist flying in every direction. Cecily was only half awake and she shivered in the cold. That was the thing about living in a mountain valley. The mornings were cold and the evening were warm. The day in between was unbearably hot and dry. She pulled two flakes of alfalfa from the bale and walked to Steel's stall. He threw his head in anticipation and she dumped the flakes unceremoniously over the door.  His head followed them down and he began to rip them apart and chew on the green stalks. Cecily let out a yawn and patted his shoulder before making her way over to the food vendors. She waited in the line of equally tired and cold competitors who had arrived early to feed. Finally receiving her hot chocolate and doughnut Cecily headed over to huddle under one of the propane heaters. 

The heat made her muscles relax and her sleepiness still danced around her vision. She closed her eyes and sipped on her hot chocolate. She had not slept well last night. It was always the night before the competition started that she became a nervous wreck and tossed and turned and panicked all night. She had gotten, at most, three or four hours of deep sleep. She sighed and tried to fight down the exhaustion. She decided to go back to the truck and try and get a bit more sleep if she could. Slowly she trudged across the show grounds to where she had left the truck and trailer. It was quieter there but she could still hear the early morning show ground sounds. People were driving in with their trucks, horses were whinnying, people were talking, horses were kicking at stall doors and pawing, a couple tractors were being driven around to soften the soil. Cecily closed her eyes and tried to make her mind go blank. She only succeeded in thinking about her upcoming dressage test and feeling the nervous excitement and panic seep through her veins. 

She hadn't noticed him sitting at the table near the fence. She had just stood under the heater and closed her eyes. She looked really tired. She was back in those leather ankle boots that William had heard someone call paddock boots. She had long, loose sweats on and an old horse show sweatshirt. Her dark hair was a mess of waves and strands and hung in her usual high ponytail. William had heard her order hot chocolate and wondered why she hadn't ordered coffee. If she was that tired and was going to have to be dealing with horses shouldn't she wake herself up? Even he was drinking coffee and he wasn't going to be doing a whole lot today. He just sighed and watched her walk away.

7:00 am rolled around and William was up with his dad in the announcers tower making sure all the microphones and speakers were working properly. The fog had lifted a bit but the chill was still there. The dim glow of the sun barely show through the clouds. The announcer was a very friendly, humorous man who joked around and explained horse show life to them. William listened with interest as he explained the different phases of three day eventing. Riders had begun to ride down to the warm up ring to get ready for the start of the show at 8 am. William watched as they all rode below the watch tower. Their horses manes were braided into little buns on top of their neck, the riders were wearing white pants and black coats. The whole procession looked elegant and graceful. 

"Gooood morning competitors," Lewis' voice echoed through the stable speakers. 

Cecily yawned and rolled over in the truck again. The sound of Lewis' voice made her smile. She really liked him as an announcer. 

"The show time is 7:10. We are 50 minutes out from the start of dressage and the 2015 Gold Creek Horse Trials. I would like to wish all the competitors good luck," Lewis clicked off the speakers. 

Cecily felt a jolt of nerves roll through her. This was crazy. Why was she doing this? Oh yeah, because she loved it. She hated this feeling she had before the show, but it made the joy of riding so much sweeter. Cecily yawned again and pushed the truck door open. Her ride wasn't until 10:15 so she had some time to just relax. Which pretty much meant pacing around waiting for her ride. Her nerves were all over the place as she walked around the barns looking at all the gorgeous horses. Riders were hopping on their horses and grooming. Braiders were everywhere trying to convince people to hire them for their services. That reminded Cecily that she was going to have to braid. She might as well do it now. She had nothing else to do.