Watch Me

Chapter Eleven

Tara sat in the field and watched Jewel graze. She gave her the day off, coming to the conclusion that she deserved it after her performance at her first show. Jewel shook her mane and walked over to Tara for some love. She stood for her cheek and chest to be rubbed. Tara reached up, patted her shoulder, and sent her on her way.

Before returning to the house, Tara moved the jumps around and set up a new practice course. She carefully measured the strides and adjusted the heights of the jumps. She switched decorations around and finally stood at the edge to look at the new set up in full. With a nod, she turned and went inside to fix herself a snack.

"How did you do yesterday?" Mr. Douglas sat at the table reading the newspaper.

"Jewel was absolutely spectacular." Tara poured a glass of lemonade. "She was a powerhouse in the jump challenge."

"Your mom said they had to stop you two?"

Tara smiled proudly. "They stopped us at five foot even." Her dad's eyebrows shot up. "Jewel had no issue doing it, but it was probably best to stop her, especially given the fact that we don't know her limits" Tara admitted.

Her dad continued reading the paper and Tara went up to her room with the lemonade and a cookie from the cabinet. She was just settling down on her bed when she heard someone knocking at the front door. She listened to her dad's chair scrape against the floor as he stood and then his footsteps as he walked to the door. The door opened and he exchanged greetings before calling Tara back down.

"Tara, this lady is here to see you." He let the tall, dark skinned, frizzy hair woman into the house and then grabbed his paper on the way to his bedroom.

The woman flashed her perfect white teeth and held out a hand to introduce herself. "I'm Laverne Coggins, I'm here because I saw your amazing performance yesterday and I would like to do a small article for this month's issue of In the Saddle magazine."

Tara couldn't help but stand there silently with wide eyes. She collected her thoughts and asked "why me?"

Laverne gestured to the empty table and sat down. "It isn't very often we see a pair like you and your mare on the circuit, especially with that skill level." She pulled out a bottle of water from her bag and sipped on it. "It typically takes a very experienced rider and a much pricier horse to clear jumps as easily as you two did."

"A lot of people can jump that high."

"A lot of people can't look flawless while they do it."

Tara blushed and looked at her hands folded in her lap. She knew better than to brag and act like she was the best, but the way Laverne Coggins was talking, she couldn't help but be a bit prideful.

"So," Tara sat up straight and smiled politely. "What exactly were you planning for this article?"

Laverne had an I'm-so-glad-you-asked look on her dark face. She pulled out a notepad and pen then stood up and said "I'll be right back, I need to get my camera out of my car."

Tara walked Laverne to the door and waited as she prepared the camera, carefully choosing a lens and checking the focus. She walked back over to Tara and asked "do you mind if we do most of this outside? I'd like to get some photos while we are here."

Tara nodded and led Laverne around, showing her the barn and her practice area. Laverne took photos of the jumps and asked her first round of questions. "When did you first start riding and when did you start showing?"

"I've been riding all of my life really." Tara paused to let Laverne write. "My mom was a trainer so I was always around horses. I didn't start showing until this past season when I entered this last show."

"That's truly marvelous!" Laverne exclaimed. "So did you take lessons all of these years?"

Tara shook her head. "My mom taught me what I needed to know, but she never gave me any official lessons. She let me go at my own pace and kind of do my own thing."

Laverne nodded and asked more questions. "You said you just started showing, correct? What made you decide to enter the show world?"

"To prove a point." Tara watched Laverne's face change.

The woman rested her pen on the pad and asked "what point is that?"

Tara thought about the words she wanted to say, but then decided to just take Laverne to Jewel where she would be a bit more comfortable explaining. They walked out to the field and found Jewel grazing. The mare nickered softly and walked over to them, pressing her nose against Tara's shoulder.

"The point I want to prove," Tara dug into her pocket and fed Jewel a slightly melted mint. "Everyone lately has the idea that only purebred pedigreed horses are capable of anything. In my opinion, that isn't true at all. Jewel is proof of that."

Laverne wrote quickly as Tara spoke. "I mean, yes, it's true that each breed has a certain skill it excels at; quarter horses are sprinters and hard workers, thoroughbreds are agile, Arabians intelligent. Still, all horses are capable of doing just about anything. The breed and bloodline shouldn't matter at all."

Jewel sniffed Laverne curiously and snorted when she caught a whiff of her perfume. Tara laughed and continued talking. "Jewel is a mix of who knows what. We know she has some quarter horse in her and a touch of welsh, but who knows what else."

"Do you mind if I get some photos?"

"Go right ahead." Tara stood back and watched Laverne expertly angle her shots to catch Jewel in the best way possible. Jewel perked her ears in curiosity and stood with her neck slightly arched. She listened to the shutter of the camera then shifted as if she was posing for the camera.

Laverne chuckled deeply and patted Jewel's shoulder. "Do you think we could continue this interview in the saddle?"

Tara placed a hand on Jewel's neck and began walking. "Sure, let me just tack her up."