The Equestrian "War"

The letter

So first story! I hope you guys like it! Feel free to leave any suggestions.

............................................................

"Come on Marie, focus!" My trainer screamed
at me as I accidentally knocked the jump.

"That was on you, not the horse!" He added
in.

The humor is, I'm always focused when
I'm in the saddle. My vision is aimed on nothing else but the course I've memorized. I
don't hear the wind rushing past as we canter
to the next line nor the music blaring from
the stereo. I don't smell the double stuffed
pepperoni pizza that the other girls called in
for lunch.

Most of the time I can't even comprehend the
criticism my trainer gives on my riding, and
that says a lot considering he shouts so loud
the sound resembles that of whale. Despite his sonorous voice, I loved him to death. He's trained me for the past 6 years and my family was very close with him. Not only has he taught me how to ride, but precious life lessons that had made me who I am today. I thought back to the first time I fell off a horse. Oh the dreaded first fall. Often, it can make a rider step back several step, simply because they are too afraid to ride how they used to. It was surprisingly easy to push all of my fears out of my mind and hop right back on the saddle. Coach Stevie kept a lot of pressure on me to do good, and so I did my best to hide any timorous feelings.

Over time, I got better at it. I could handle more and more situations and face more and more fears. This translated to real life, because if I could handle a two thousand pound horse, I could handle anything. Even if I was scared I never showed it, I was too prideful for that, most of the time things turned out well.

I love horses, they're my other half. I've been riding since I was 6, however I don't ride competitively. I'd like to, but there always seems to be certain inconveniences that prevent me from doing so. Either its because I'm way too busy or my trainer forgets, some problem always manages to surface. In result, I've pretty much gave up on horse shows and events and just ride for the enjoyment. Fortunately, I seem less stressed then the show girls.

"Alright, cool him down and give him a good
bath, he deserves it. I have to go, I'm late
to another lesson" He apologized and quickly 
walked off to his truck.

"Thanks coach" I said while saluting him in a joking manner.

As he turned on the ignition and drove away,
I continued to walk off Tess until his breathing
became relaxed. Tess is a Grey Swedish
warmblood gelding and I absolutely adore
him. His strides are smooth and he rarely
refuses fences. Unfortunately, he isn't mine.
My horse, Pavi, lost his shoe and is out of
commission until the farrier finds time in his
busy schedule. I hopped off Tess and walked
to the wash rack to untack him.

Most people think I'm a rich and spoiled brat
when they hear I own a horse. Reality thinks differently. My family isn't rich, we just prefer to put our money towards our beloved equines. Consequently, we have to sacrifice other pleasantries in life we can't afford, but I don't complain. I wouldn't give up horses for anything.

I finished up rinsing Tess and walked him to
his stall, where he can gladly eat his hay, free
from work. I then looked around for any mess
that I can clean before heading to my car.
I was tired of being blamed for the other girls
empty Gatorade bottles and Cheetos wrappers.

_____________________________

As soon as I opened the door to my home, my
mom came shouting non distinguishable
words at me and gave me a massive hug. I noticed she was waving a piece of folded printer paper in her hand in her excitement,
so I figured her happiness was affiliated with
it. An extremely large pay check possibly?

My curiosity was overwhelming so I snatched
it from her hand to unfold it.

...Congratulations, Marie Beth, you have been

accepted to attend the national Bellington

Equestrian Academy...

My eyes opened in shock as I read the first
few words from the letter and I looked up at my Mom. At first I thought it was a some kind of joke, but that would be cruel. Of course,
she still had the look of glee plastered on her face as she screamed the most exciting words.

"You're going to Europe!"