J.O.P. Stable: The Twin Saga (Book 1: The Summer Finale)

Chapter 18:

Jewel's POV:

" Ooh! This is my favourite part! " Blaire squealed as we watch Hickstead and Eric Lamaze take the final jump of the course at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

" Look at him go! " I replied, almost rising out of my seat on the pull out couch. It felt as if I was riding, and the girls found it funny how I mimicked the actions of each rider, like I was the one riding instead of them.

We had been clad in our pjs and wrapped up in blankets in the basement when Payton had told us her show ritual, watching past competitions of her favourite riders. She said it seemed to bring her luck, so I had suggested we each take a turn watching our favourite riders and I was up 3rd, right after Sky had watched Michael Jung and Caitlyn had chosen Ben Maher. After this we would watch Blaire's favourite Zara Phillips, Marlo's favourite, which was the famous racehorse Secretariat's races and then finally Payton's favourite which was, surprise, Charlotte Dujardin. But I noticed that with each dvd or youtube video we watched, I was finding it harder and harder to keep my eyes open.

" Alright, Marlo, Blaire? Any show rituals we should do for you two? " Sky asked as she leaned back in her bed while I popped out the dvd of the 2008 Olympics and replaced it with a dvd of the London 2012 Olympics for Blaire to watch Zara Phillips.

" Usually I like to get Marco ready away from all the excitement. Back home I tie him to a paddock fence so he can mingle with the horses not being shown and not get too nervous with the the activity " She explained as she took a bite of pizza on the plate in front of her. Mom had ordered pizza for us for dinner while dad had gone out and gotten us all the junk food we could eat.

" Thats actually a great idea, we can all get the horses tacked up by the far paddock, getting away from the rush may be good for Onyx " Sky replied as she took a bite of her kit-kat chocolate bar.

" Ya, we should totally do that, I'm always sick of people coming up and asking to pet Shadow, and I can tell that after a while, it gets Shadow all riled up as well, it'll be good if we just...' disappear ' for a bit " I replied, giggling.

Blaire smiled as she popped a popcorn into her mouth. " We've already got my ritual covered " she said, making us all look at her. She giggled and took a sip of her soda before continuing . " I usually get together with a bunch of riders from my stable, we have a sleepover, watch horse related tv shows or movies and eat some junk food "

We all laughed, we definitely had that ritual done.

About an hour later, we were done eating and just finishing up watching Charlottes London olympia freestyle, the same one Payton was going to preform tomorrow. I looked over at her and smiled when I saw her eyes glued to the tv.

" So " Caitlyn suddenly spoke up.  " Are any of your parents coming? " she asked, looking down at her phone. " Mine are, unfortunately... "

" What's the deal with your mom? " Sky asked. I tried to shoot her a ' shut up ' look, but she had already spoken.

Caitlyn sat up. " My three older brothers are the best, but their also the reason I hate having family time. Jason's so smart he went to the states to attend Yale university. Ty is the chief of a police network and he also does marathons for charity and my oldest brothers so much older than me that he already had a family of his own, so we don't talk much " she explained. " When I came along, my brothers made me feel really dumb. They were all amazingly smart and super athletic, my parents pushed me to be just like them, but I'm not as smart as them and I'm not into the same athletics they are. When my parents bought me Jackson, I didn't even want him. I had never tried riding before and Jackson was 3 and barely broke, not exactly a perfect match, but as I grew older, I started to love riding, being at the stable and away from the pressure of my family was just what I needed, but now my mom reads about horses all the time and thinks she knows everything, I hate it " she explained.

" Wow " I breathed. " I'm sorry "

Caitlyn shrugged. " Don't be, I'm actually kinda happy I get to show them all that Jackson and I have accomplished this summer, I think our progress will really give the other teams a run for their money... " she replied. " ...But personally, Jackson and I want to go for that individual red ribbon in show jumping...and make the best jumper title, not to sound competitive or anything, but it would really show off for any scouts or anything that could possibly be attending " she told us, her voice directed at Blaire and me.

I waved my hand at her. " It's cool, I know we're on the same team and we each rally up points based on how we place, but everyone wants that individual title and ribbon " I told her.

" It's total understandable, Flicka and I are definitely going to fight for that top spot " Blaire continued.

" Same with Shadow and me, those titles can really make you noticeable to scouts " I replied.

" But watch out, Jewel and Shadow give anyone a run for their money, she's won ' best jumper ' in pretty much all her show-jumping classes " Sky said, looking about ready to fall asleep, wrapped up in a blanket with her head on her pillow.

" We'll see about that " Caitlyn replied, but I could tell by her tone that she was just teasing.

I smirked. " I guess we will, game on Davis "

Caitlyn smirked back before looking at Blaire. " Game on Hafler "

Blaire turned to me now. " Game on Lockhart "

We all bursted into giggles and as I glanced around at the others, I realized Marlo and Payton were already asleep. I was about to turn to talk to Sky, but she was asleep to.

" Oops " I said aloud as I glanced at my phone, which was charging beside the couch. " It's midnight! " I squeaked.

" Oops " Balire replied. " We'd better get to bed! "

Caitlyn was already laying down. " Anybody else feel a tiny bit nervous for tomorrow? " she asked as she stifled a yawn.

" Try super mega nervous! " Blaire replied, snuggling up under her blankets.

I stared at the ceiling. " Even thats an understatement, but we have a saying here at J.O.P.S...its something my dad told Sky and me... "

" What is it? " Blaire and Caitlyn asked in unison.

" Practise like you've never won, preform like you've never lost "

I waited a few seconds, letting what I just said sink in.

" ...Girls? " I asked as I looked over at them, but they had already fallen asleep.

I smiled, holding in a laugh as I stared back up at the ceiling. As my eyes fluttered shut, I saw Shadow and I tackling each jump, but more importantly, I saw my team there, not just my team, my friends. They were cheering me on as Shadow soared over those jumps.

What more could I ask for.