Timber Creek Academy

~4~

My alarm beeped at 7:00 A.M. the next morning.  Last night, Hailey and I had made sure that our lights were out by 11:30, since our dorm monitor had told everyone she would be roaming the halls for the first week.

I hit the off button on my phone, then quietly got out of bed.  Hailey was still asleep, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I got ready and grabbed breakfast.  I had to be at the stable in 45 minutes! 

I put on my charcoal colored breeches, a black v-neck shirt, and pulled on my Middleburg barn boots.  My boots and half chaps were in my tack box.  I slipped on a soft, brown barn jacket over my shirt.

I grabbed my key, student card, and phone, then I made my way (quietly!) out of the room and down the stairs.  I waved to Jessie as I headed for the cafeteria.

I was kind of nervous about going by myself, but once I got there, I saw Carly sitting down with another girl eating a bowl of cereal.  She looked over, and waved when she saw it was me.  I waved back, grabbed a blueberry muffin and a milk carton, then headed over and sat down.

"Sabrina, this is Macy! She also rides," Carly said.

"Hey Macy, I'm Sabrina," I said.

"Hey Sabrina!" she chirped.  "You're new?" she asked sweetly.

"Yep!" I said with a smile.

"Cool, you're gonna love it here.  We've got a great riding team," she said.

"I hope I make one of the teams!" I said nervously.  I test tomorrow after school.

"Oh, you will.  The beginner team is for those who are just starting jumping.  Me and Carly are on the advanced team, which we do a lot of jumping at around 2'6 to 3' usually.  The next level up is the elite team, and then it's the YENT!" Macy squealed excitedly.

The YENT.  Youth Equestrian National Team.  I've only ever dreamed of trying out, let alone making it an actual goal.  But I knew if I wanted to grow and improve as a rider, it was necessary to come to Timber Creek.  As much as I loved my old farm, I was ready for the next step in my career, and if I make the advanced team, that would be a big step in getting where I want to go.

"Yeah, tryouts for the elite team have been moved up to January, since Mrs. Banks had some students from the elite team move up to the YENT," Carly said.  "I really hope I make it."

"Me too," Macy said.

"Wow, I'm just hoping I make the advanced team," I said with a laugh.  "I've been jumping 3 feet and even a tiny bit higher at home, so if I impress Mrs. Banks, I hope I'll make the advanced team," I said, my voice wavering a little bit.  I knew it was going to take waaaaay more than just height to impress the riding coach, but since they were talking about fence heights I just put that out there.  Just hearing them talk about trying out for the elite team so soon was making me nervous.  Even though we were friends, I knew they still saw me as competition.  Just another girl looking for the same spot they wanted.

"So, do you have your own horse, or are you riding one of the school's horses?" Macy asked.

"I have my own horse, Leo.  He's a bay off-track thoroughbred, and he's 6 years old," I said, a grin naturally appearing on my face as I talked about my favorite thing ever.  

"Aw, he sounds so pretty!" Macy said.

"Do you have your own horse?" I asked.

"Yeah, I have a chestnut warmblood mare named Prancer," she said.  I could tell she loved her horse just by the way her voice sounded when she said her name.

"Oh, Carly, I haven't even asked you if you have your own horse!" I said, a little embarrassed that I had been so inconsiderate.

She laughed.  "It's fine! And yeah, I've got my own horse.  His name is Fontaine, and he's a paint warmblood.  He's just the best thing that's ever happened to me," she said happily.