BRIAR RIDGE ACADEMY// ELITE

Chapter Three

I flex my wrist, and breath in nervously.

It is the morning of Finals, and the riders who advanced are announced today. There is a slim chance that I will make it because after my fall off Lemon, I could barely move my wrist. Which means that I could barely use the reins.

I hope I did well, and Blair thinks I did. Now, it's just a matter of finding out.

Finals start at 1:00, and we find out results at 9:00. One more minute; its 8:59.

The side gate, next to the office, opens, and Dana comes out.

"Attention All. Everyone here has done a great job competing, and are extremely talented. But, we can only choose ten people to advance. Please follow me and we will read results."

Dana leads us to the outdoor arena, where there are ten chairs behind a podium. The riding coaches from Briar Ridge are also present, sitting off to the side. We are told to go to split onto either side of the arena, and get into five rows, each with ten people. I am standing next to a boy I don't know, and a girl who looks to be his sister.

"Hello, and welcome! Finals will be announced now. You will come up and sit in one of these ten seats if you advanced. Let's begin." Dana says.

The Briar Ridge Staff come up to the podium, each holding an envelope. Upon counting, I see there are ten of them. One student for each. A blonde women goes first.

"Blair Richardson." She announces, and Blair climbs to the stage, beaming.

"Marie Lewis." Another announces.

Eight people are called up. Two spots remain. I hopefully stare up at the podium from where I am standing.

"Ben Shinad."

Ben jumps up and joins the finalists.

"Our last finalist is... Alex Micola!" Someone announces, and Alex runs to the stage, a beaming smile on her face.

I feel my face fall and my heart drop. No scholarship for me. I sigh, and tears fill me eyes. They announce the finalists one more time, but stop at Alex's name.

"Oh, oh it seems like we have something um- Miss Alex Micola, please return to the crowd, and will Miss Kennedy Blackwell come up?"

A confused look is painted on my face as I turn to the podium. Alex seems to have realized what they are saying, and bursts into tears. She runs out of the ring, sobbing. I cringe as I step to the podium.

"Congratulations." A woman shakes my hand and smiles at me.

I'm in the Finals.

I'm in the Finals!

Blair runs over to hug me, and we jump up and down like four year olds. The coaches give us some time to celebrate, and then ask that we sit down.

The crowd has dispersed, off to go riding or to go home. But not me! A dumb smile forms on my face, and I want to shriek with delight.

"Congratulations to all of you. You all deserve to be here and have done an amazing job. Now, every rider was called up by a different person. They will be your trainer for today. At 1:00, we will all meet in the ring to go over some things in a group lesson, then finals will begin." Dana says.

I look around for the Asian woman who called my name. She waves at me, and I walk over.

"Hello, Kennedy! My name is Kate, and I'll be your trainer today." Kate smiles as she leads me out of the ring.

"I will be waiting in the outdoor ring closest to pastures." Kate tells me after instructing me to rack up.

I nod and run to Prince's stall. After falling off Lemon, they realized that his teeth had become a little sharp. It happens, since horses teeth never stop growing. They got too sharp and cut his mouth. When you put pressure on his mouth, the bit hit it and it would hurt. Before the oxer, I had put on more pressure to keep him under control, which is why he spooked.