Cross Creek Equestrian Academy (Completed)

Chapter 1

It was an unseasonably cold day for an early August afternoon, but here I was, in the old silver truck, headed to North Oaks Stables to break the news to my friends and the staff at the barn that I have ridden and shown with since I was six years old. I was six when I was first thrown into the saddle of a trusty 17 year old 15hh chestnut gelding named Rusty. I rode Rusty until I was about 8 when I upgraded to the younger horses in the barn. I had ridden many, many horses until my parents broke down and started shopping for one with me. I ended up with my current horse, a 16.2hh black Thoroughbred mare, It's a Taboo, or Taboo for short. Ever since I was six, I have been training for this day. I've competed in hundreds of shows, placed in many of them. Eventing had become my main focus. I was competing in the annual Green Pines Three Day Eventing Competition when I was approached by Ellena Rosen, the headmistress at the most prestigious riding academy in California. Cross Creek Equestrian Academy. Cross Creek Equestrian Academy, also referred to as CCEA, is a school for a select group of elite group of equestrian teenagers who have worked diligently to get accepted into this school. It offers some of the best schooling as well as the best training for riders. I've never heard of a Cross Creek alumni who wasn't in the Olympics or hasn't competed at Rolex. Most of them have been invited to hundreds of invitationals and have competed in some of the most well-known competitions. I'm not going to beat around the bush, they are all incredibly rich. Like "My dad bought seventeen imported Warmbloods from Germany" rich. Let's be honest here, I am far from that level of wealthy. I live in a small town in southern Illinois and my father died in a car accident when I was ten, leaving my mom with little money. We manage to scrape by with my winnings from shows that Mom has to break the bank just to get me entered into. She works at a diner in town during the day and is a waitress for a small pub in the city at night. She has basically gotten me to shows through tips that she gets. She works long hours and always comes home late at night completely exhausted. Somehow, she always finds the money to take me to shows and to pay for Taboo's boarding. The staff at North Oaks has been generous to us, and I hate to leave them, but there's nothing for me there. At the Green Pines, I was approached by Ellena Rosen after my performance during the tricky show jumping course, which Taboo and I got a clear round with no time faults. It was one of our best runs ever. I was cleaning up Taboo by the trailer when she came over and asked if I wanted to come to Cross Creek on a full rider's scholarship. Of course, I sat there with my mouth wide open in shock before telling her I needed to get my mom, who was taking a nap in the truck. We immediately agreed to the offer, and here I am, about to break the news to everyone at North Oaks.

My stomach was in knots as I walked into the barn with mom on my heels. "Hey, Blaire!" Mrs. Linn says as she sees me walking in.

Mrs. Linn is the owner and riding instructor at North Oaks. She notices Mom and adds a quick, "And hello, Ms. Grant. Why are you here?"

Mrs. Linn stopped grooming Twinkie, the palomino mare that is used for beginner riders, and walked over to us, curry comb still in hand. "Um, well, Mrs. Linn, Blaire has some news for you," my mom said with a small smile, giving me a look that says Take it away.

"Well, at the Green Pines competition, Mrs. Ellena Rosen, the lady who runs Cross Creek Equestrian Academy in California, approached me and offered me a rider's scholarship. I accepted and I have to be there by Saturday to start school and training on Monday. There will be tryouts to see if I get placed on a team. They have an intermediate team, an advanced team, a junior varsity, and a varsity team. You can only be put on either of the varsity teams if their teams get selected to go to nationals. Advanced is those who excel at riding and intermediate is those who are gifted, but need work. I hope I get put on the advanced team. Apparently their stables are amazing and their staff is perfect and all their schooling is some of the best in the country. I heard they have the advanced team hold a clinic for riders who don't ride at the academy at the end of the year and see what all they learned. Apparently it's part of the grade. I think you get show silks with your team name on them if you get accepted to a team, and it's going to be so awesome! I can't wait to see it!," I paused and took a breath, "But, what about you guys? I mean, I'll come back and visit when I can. I promise I'll still come and ride sometimes. I won't forget about you. Maybe someday, you'll hire me as another instructor. That's only if you want to though." I started to ramble off without even realizing what I was saying. At the end, my vision was getting blurry with tears.

"And we won't forget about you," Mrs. Linn said calmly, "We'll have Taboo ready to go tomorrow. You can use our truck and trailer to get there and your mom can drop it back off later. Do you have shipping boots?," she continued without giving me a chance to answer, "We'll load your tack box and all your tack and blankets and such into the trailer when we load up Taboo. Can you be here by 4:30 tomorrow morning so you can be on your way? That will be a long drive."

"Yes, I have shipping boots. That sounds great. We'll be here by 4:30, don't worry. Yeah, it'll be a long haul, but it should be fine. Two days at most? I mean we can drive straight through the day one and should only need a few more hours until we get to the stable. We can take super short bathroom stops, and I can switch mom drivers seat positions at some point when she's tired. I mean, I am seventeen."

"Okay, girl," she embraced me in a hug and took a deep breath,"We'll have it done for when you get here in the morning."

"Alright, thanks, Mrs. Linn. I'll see ya tomorrow morning!"

"You aren't going to ride?"

I looked back at Mom and she nodded in approval, tears in her eyes. She went to sit on the deck overlooking the indoor arena while I went to retrieve Taboo.