Heartlines

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Saturday was amazing. I sat at the table, covered in a colored cloth and dusted with confetti, a large cake with 18 candles, all lit, sitting along the perimeter of the delicious desert. It was my favorite – Ice cream cake with whipped frosting. My closest friends and family all sang in unison, “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Krista…” Trina stood on my left with her hand on my shoulder, Jared sitting at the floor bobbing back and forth, making me laugh hysterically, poking my side playfully as he sang. Once the familiar tune was finished, the delicious cake was divided and dispersed. “Ya know Krista,” I heard Trina’s voice call for me, “You are a big kid now. I’m thinking about keeping you at the barn a little longer, get some more hours on that big pony. Make those hours count, and you’ll have a nice present next year,” She winked at me, and flashed a sly smile. It took all I had in me not to scream and jump around like a two year old. I gave a huge smile to my trainer, “Really?? You mean …?!” She simply smiled, pat me on the back, and walked off to converse with others at the party. I was on the edge of fan-girling before Jared came up behind me and gave me the biggest hug ever, picking me up off my feet, “how’s that for some birthday news? Go Kat!” I laughed again at the crazy boy’s tactics, hugging him back tightly after he put me down. “More like the best! Imagine Kiro being all mine! Oh it would be the best, taking him wherever, riding at all times, doing whatever with him, having him be all mine …”

I rambled on about the possibilities for a while longer. The idea was almost too much for me to even bear, it almost exploded inside me with happiness. After the party was over, I was still beaming with joy. My whole family was in a great mood, but Navy had been left very tired. Mom went in to tuck him in as I head to my room, and immediately went to the sketch on my desk.

I went straight to improving it, finishing the whole base layer and started the shading. He was really starting to pull together. I just had to finish the shading, details, and background before the drawing would be complete. Before I was finished shading, my mom came in to wish me a good night. “Happy birthday love, I hope it was your best yet,” she said sweetly, kissing the top of my head. I gave her a hug and kissed her forehead gently before turning back to what I was doing. She stayed with me for a moment, resting her hands on the edge of my chair. “Goodness, Kristene. That drawing is beautiful. Did you do it from scratch?” I nodded, “Yep, completely from memory. Have to give it to Kiro, he’s pretty gorgeous. You should come with me to the farm some time and see him for yourself. He’s even more beautiful than Ghost, if you can believe it.” I still loved Ghost dearly, and thought of him as the second most beautiful horse in the barn; but Kiro was incomparable to any horse I’d ever known. He was magical.

She smiled and hummed a gentle laugh, “As soon as you get him to a show, I’ll see him in all his glory. It will be so good to see you riding again, too. Jumping those big obstacles, I’m so glad to hear that you are getting better and stronger again. Trina told me all about it tonight. She’s a very good trainer, she loves you even. I like her very much, you should have told me about her much sooner.” I shook my head so tightly, it was nearly invisible, “I have, mom. You just don’t remember.” I turned to face her, “It’s alright though. I’m glad you guys got to talk.” I smiled warmly, and hugged her once more before she head to bed, wishing me happy birthday once more before she left. I thanked her, then continued to completely finish the shading before calling it quits for the night, heading to bed. Tomorrow I had plans to head back to the barn for the whole day, riding a few horses along with Kiro, and watching a few lessons that Trina taught. She had wanted me to pick up a few of the intermediate lessons when I could, so that she could get a few more hours into her day job. I obliged, as I liked the kids that took lessons. Plus, one of the girls, Ashley, rode Ghost in lessons. It would be so nice to see the big gray in his new element. I fell asleep to the thought of tomorrow with a smile upon my face.

~*~   

I walked into the barn just as Ashley was tacking up Ghost. Trina met me in front of the crossties after I said hello to the girl, and we spoke a bit. Ashley was only 13, but a great rider. She was jumping now, but every other week did a strict flat lesson, as was required for all riders. It was something Trina was a huge stickler about, and I was glad. She was really a great instructor. “Alright Krista, you’ll be observing this lesson. You are more than welcome to back-seat drive though, if you know what I mean. If you see things that could be improved, say them aloud to me. I might give you tips on how I would tell a student that, or whatever I think of your opinion. Good? So Ashley, you’ll have double the eyes on you. I figured with your assessment coming up, it would be valuable to you.” Ashley smiled and nodded, happy to hear about it.

Assessments were tests on horseback. They were what separated you from beginner, novice, intermediate, intermediate-advanced, and advanced lesson groups. Your first lesson with Trina is an assessment. She will simply give commands – walk, trot, canter, cross the diagonal, jump this line, do this course, etc. Much like a spoken dressage test, but halfway through the lesson you do jumps as well, if you are at that point in your riding. However Trina sees you fit, that’s what group you go in. Ashley was currently an intermediate, so she would likely test up to intermediate-advanced, if she did well. Intermediate riders jumped a max of 2’3”, with good flatwork. Intermediate-advanced jumped a max of 2’9”, with impeccable flatwork. Advanced riders jumped 3’ and up, also with impeccable flatwork. Beginners didn’t jump. Novice riders were over poles and cross-rails.

Ashley’s lesson went extremely well. She was a great rider, and I made few notes. When I did, Trina would tell me how to say that to her, or inform me why she wouldn’t say anything about it – “Correct, Krista, she is rounding her shoulders a bit, but that’s not a typical issue with Ashley. We are really trying hard to keep that leg steady, so I’m willing to overlook that right now if she can just focus on that leg. I won’t ignore it for too long, but for now I don’t want to overwhelm her.” Everything she told me made perfect sense, and I was really enjoying the lesson. Getting to see Ghost ride was certaintly a plus. He moved great for the girl, and looked amazing. He did everything she asked, but if she asked incorrectly, he was sure to inform her and correct her as much as he could. He was the perfect lesson horse. It made me miss riding him, but I could tell he was in good hands. Trina never let beginners ride him, only the intermediates and up. He was just a fantastic horse, and she didn’t want him spoiled. She had horses for the beginners that she had purchased as school ponies, that were broke as dirt, but just didn’t have the potential to be any good in any competition.

After the lesson, I informed Trina that I would be gone over the weekend, and that Kiro was coming with me, if it was alright with her. I told her that I was going to be camping with Jared, that he was picking us up, and that we would both be returned safely. After a bit of hesitation, she obliged. “Fine, Jared seems like a really good guy, and I can tell he will take good care of you, and I know you will take good care of that horse. So that’s fine. Does he have a living quarters trailer?” She asked, with a surprised tone, “Actually, sort of. It belongs to his barn that he boards his horse at, but he is allowed to borrow it for events-” Oh crap. That just slipped. I quickly recovered, and explained, digging myself out of the possible hole- “like camping, camping events. Like this weekend.” She nodded, “I understand that, silly. That’s fine, but that’s crazy … bet that barn is something special, huh?” I nodded, and proceeded to tell her about it, careful not to tell too much about the courses. “Well that’s awesome! Got yourself a pretty good, ahem, ‘friend’ don’t you?” She nudged me, winking and laughing to herself. I rolled my eyes, “Yes! A good friend I have!” I laughed and proceeded to get Kiro out for our ride today, trying to keep Trina’s comments out of my mind.