Comeback *Book One*

Chapter Thirty Six

Chapter Thirty Six

I walk into the deserted barn the next morning. Thor, April's horse, and Danny, GiGi's horse, are standing in the cross ties with no rider in site. Hm. I think to myself. Strange. I glance at Faith, who is nudging her Jolly Ball contently. Smiling to myself, I walk down the aisle in search of my friends.

"Ali!!" GiGi and April pop out of an empty stall right in front of me. They surprise me and I stumble back a few steps. In response to my actions, they both start giggling. I stick my tongue out at them.

"Got your swim suits?" I ask them, holding up my own hot pink bikini. The weather was perfect for a swim with our horses. There was no cloud in the sky, and the weather hovers at around eighty.

"Of course!" GiGi and April respond.

"Let's get it going then!" I laugh and head to my pony's stall with a grooming bucket. Quickly, I brush Faith off and change into my bikini. Faith stands in her stall obediently as I put her halter on and attach a lead rope to use as reins. Cautiously, I lead Faith out of her stall barefoot. After all, I didn't want to swim with boots on!

I halt Faith at one of the mounting blocks outside of the barn and I pop my self onto her bare back. She has a quite comfortable back to ride without a saddle. Patiently, I wait as GiGi and April get on their horses bareback and bridle less, too.

Peacefully, we guide our horses down one of the trails in the woods. The path was wide enough for us to walk side by side.

"I'm so excited and nervous for this weekend." I blurt out, braking the silence."

"Why?" GiGi glances at me. "It's just a mini event. Nothing to worry about."

I shrug, patting Faith on the shoulder. "It will be our first show together. I really want it to go well."

"There is no reason to be nervous, Ali. Faith trusts you. If you put the same amount of trust into her, you guys will be unstoppable." April smiles at me. When the trail gets skinnier, we all walk in a line. GiGi is in front of me, and Jill is behind me.

"And you guys have schooled levels wayy higher than Training." GiGi adds. True. I think to myself.

I smile to myself. GiGi and April babble on about some hot rider they saw at their last show a few weeks ago. This was my happy place: on the back of my horse surrounded by my friends. "Earth to Ali?" Snapping back to reality, I look at GiGi and April. We have stopped at a large, open field. The field is about five acres of large, open, useless grassy land surrounded by forest. To get to the pond, you have to cross the field. Our horses are calmly grazing. It was a picture worthy moment. To bad none of us had our cameras.

"What?" I ask, grinning slightly.

"Lets race our horses across this field!" April says excitely.

"I was just thinking the same thing!" GiGi adds.

"Great minds think alike." April comments to GiGi.

"Guys... I dont know..." I have never galloped Faith fullout before, let alone without tack.

"Hey! Good prep for cross country." April smiles at me widely, making a rather good point.

I cant help but smile at April's puppy dog eyes. Should I do it? Before I could even think of an answer, GiGi and April take off at a rocketing gallop. "Guys!" I laugh, taking off after them. I lean forward, Faith's mane flies in front of my face. I close my legs on her sides for extra support. Soon, I am caught up with my friends. We have a head to head race, almost across the wide field. Nothing could compare to this feeling, even jumping. Jumping over difficult obstacles gives you a thrill, but a racing gallop gets the adrenaline pumping. A fullout gallop gives you a near death experience. One wrong step, you and your horse can suffer major injuries. But the excitement of it outweighs the things that can go bad. GiGi and Danny take the lead, almost a full horses length ahead of Faith and I. April and Thor fall behind me a few inches. I glance at April quickly. She catches my glance and responds with a grin. We had to beat GiGi. 

I give Faith a little more rein/lead rope, letting her stretch her nose out. "Come on girl. Come on." I whisper into Faith's wind whipped mane. GiGi and I are battling between first and second. From no where, April flies in. She stays in the lead for a few gallop strides. I ask Faith to go a little faster, and soon, I am in the lead. About a hundred feet ahead of us, the open field ends, leading into the shady forest. We all slow our horses at about the same time. I won the race, GiGi got second, and April got third. 

"I so had that." GiGi teases me as we walk our horses into the woods. I give Faith a big pat on her sweaty neck. Her sides heave and nostrils flare as we slowly guide ourselves back on the trail in single file order. I give Faith as much rein/lead rope as I can. She stretchs her neck and relaxes. So do I. 

~

"We're here!" April shreaks excitedly. GiGi and I laugh. About fifteen minutes after our gallop, we walk into a smaller clearing. In the clearing, there is a small area of lush green grass and a pond with gorgeous, crystal clear water. Faith's ears are perked forward, looking at the rippling water.

"What are you waiting for!?" I ask them, walking Faith towards the water. She hesitantly steps forward towards the pond. I give her the confidence to take a step in. The pond has a gradual slope until it reaches the bottom, about wither deep for a horse. I can tell the cool water feels good against Faith's legs. She whinnies playfully at the other horses, as if saying "Come on in! The water is great!"

Faith coninues to wade deeper into the water. My knees now skim the water. the water feels amazing in the hot weather. I lean forward, hugging Faith's neck. She was happy and I was happy. Thats all that matters. I don't care if we win the show or get eliminated. I live for these moments of happiness and peace with my horse. And I get very few moments as precious as this.

GiGi, April, and I are all in the middle of the pond with the horses. They all splash around playfully. 

"Ready?" I ask my friends. They nod at me, knowing the plan. Slowly, we all stand up on our horses backs. 

"One." I say

"Two." GiGi looks at me.

"THREE!" April shouts. On three, we all jump off our horses back into the cooling water. We all laugh, surfacing back to the water. Our horses eye us, wondering what the hell we were doing. Faith snorts and stares at me. She makes me laugh even harder. I swim over to Faiths head. Her head was just at the surface, her lower lip was under the water. Giggling at my horse, I stroke her cheek, planting a kiss on her nose. 

"The water is AMAZING." GiGi sighs, floating on her back next to her horse, who looks like he fell asleep.

~

GiGi, April, and I get back on our horses, which is a difficult task to do in the water. 

"I could spend all day here, but we really should get going. There is a lot to do back at the barn." I say. GiGi and April nod their heads. Faith takes tentative steps out of the water. I could tell she didn't want to get out. I laugh, mumbling inaudible words to her. Time to go back to reality. Time to prep for the show we were leaving for tomorrow.

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I hope you guys liked this chapter as much as I did! I really loved writing it and tried to put a lot of effort into it. Sorry about any editing mistakes. (: