Race With the Wind

Chapter 21

Once the iodine worked on my wound that Cara gave me, Sarah decided that we go and train. She grooms me and she tacks me up. She tightens the girth and she hops on. She sits into the saddle lightly. She lightly gives me a squeeze and I respond. I walk out into the daylight. My eyes strain as I walk out from being in the dark gloomy stables. Sarah walks me into the sand track. The sand track is harrowed. The sand feels light comfy. Sarah squeezes my sides and a move into a working trot. Sarah rises and sits lightly in the saddle. We do a lap of trot. As we pass the starting line we see Leona's jeep driving through the gates and down to the farmhouse. Sarah canters me for two laps. We stop for a few minutes and wait for Leona. Leona has a stopwatch in her hands. She walks up to the white railing. ''Right Doc! Lets see how this horse runs. I want you to canter her and once you reach the 400 metre mark, push her on as fast as you can. Got that?''. Leona explains. ''Sure!''. Sarah says excited. ''Off you go. I'll record her time in between the mark and finish. Go on!''. Leona orders. Sarah gathers her reins and she nudges me into a trot. We trot up to the first corner and Sarah leans forward. I jump into a canter. Sarah keeps a firm grip of the reins. I can tell she wants to impress Leona. She wants to get this right. She is very determined. I feel the determination rise in me. I stare ahead of me. Sarah sits quiet. We canter down the backstretch. I feel excited whenever we get closer to the marker. We canter around the corner. I slow everything down. My breathing my stride. Everything moves in slow motion. The marker just a stride away. I feel Sarah loosen her grip just the slightest bit. Go! I leap into the gallop. Everything becoming a blur. Sarah rides down low to stop the wind from hitting her, which will slow me down. I push hard with my hindlegs and stretch far with my front. Nothing can stop us at this pace. We approach the the finish line. I'm still picking up speed. Sarah still riding low. We pass the finish line at top speed. Sarah stands up in the stand. She puts her heels down and gives a slight pull with her reins. I slow from a canter to a trot. Sarah trots me around the gallop to cool me off and give me a breather. If I walk it wouldn't be good for my heart that is still beating at a fast speed. I will also get cold. She trots me up to Leona who is standing waiting. She has a booklet with her. She writes down the time. She looks up at Sarah. ''I think that mare can go faster. Don't you?''. Leona asks with a smile. ''She got 25 seconds exactly''. She adds. Sarah nods her head in agreement. She pats me. ''I think she can too''. Sarah says with a smile. She gathers up her reins and we take off down the track at a trot. ''Come on Scooter! Run like you have never ran before''. Sarah coaxes as she gives me a squeeze. I make a smooth transition to canter. Sarah leans forward. I start to pant and snort uncontrollably. Sarah gives me a scratch on my wither. I calm down now. My breathing becoming normal. We canter down the stretch and around the corner. Leona prepares the stopwatch. We approach the marker. I keep a sharp eye on it. We canter and I let everything become slow and silent. I look ahead of me waiting for Sarah slight signal. I feel her give me the tiniest bit of rein. She loosens her leg and sits deep. I jump ahead into a gallop. Sarah urging me on. I stare ahead of me. I race the legs off of me. Pounding the ground. My neck stretched out and low. I push even harder with my hindlegs. I was concentrating so much I didn't notice that I had galloped past the finish. Sarah rises and puts her heels down. She pulls lightly on the reins and we trot around the the course again. That round felt more slower than the other. ''How was that?''. Sarah asks as we reach Leona. Leona smiles. ''That horse fixes any problem. She got a very fast time of  19 seconds. Lets hope she is awake during a race though''. Leona says pleased. Sarah is gleaming. She pats me hard. She walks me around the course for two laps. She takes for a small hack. It is the afternoon. The birds are tweeting in the skies and trees. Sarah gives me a long rein. I stretch my neck down, almost dragging my nose on the road. I breathe in, filling my lungs to full capacity and I let out a long snort. Sarah pats me. ''You know what Scooter?''. She asks. ''We will win this race''. I look up at her. She looks at me. ''I'm serious! That training session was impressive''. She points out. I nod my head in agreement. I think that it was a pretty a good training session too. ''I remember when my mother told me that my art teacher wanted me to do an art competition. I didn't know if to do it or not. I asked Leona and she told me that I am brilliant at art. I decided to do it. I drew a picture of my mother and her old thoroughbred gelding. His name was Ballycomclone. He was an excellent jumper. His running bit was okay. I came second in the competition. I was thrilled. My mother put the picture up in the tack room. 'Every time someone walks in the tack room they will stop and look at it'. Thats what she would say to me. I miss her. I'm glad Leona is still with me. Where would I be without her? She told me to buy a horse. She said it will help me get over my mother's death. Scooter. You really helped me. You stitched my heart back together. You still are''. Sarah tells me. Sarah helps me get over my problems too. She has a heart of gold. Leona may be a hardy girl on the outside, but on the inside, she has a heart somewhere deep down. Sarah gives me a long scratch on my wither.

We turn back to the farm. We were out for a half hour. When we arrive back home Sarah hoses me down with cool water, dries me with straw and secures a rug on me. She leads me out to the field. She opens the gate and I'm gone in flash. Thundering down the field. I look up at the sun that is starting to set. The sky is a beautiful purple-pink colour. The sun is a big ,bright yellow circle that breaks the colour. The clouds are white with a bit of grey. They look like fluffy, curly pillows. I stand on top of the hill in the field. Staring at the sky. I think about my mother. I close my eyes tight. I hear her voice echoing in my mind. Her laugh. She is staring at the sunset too. Two horses. One sky. It's like I'm talking to her. I open my eyes and smile.

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