Us Against The World

Chapter 29

As I said before, this chapter is for all you equestrians out there who are reading my book!!!
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Redstone Manor's Stable

"This is our personal riding stable. We have over 50 horses for you to choose from. For the next half hour, you'll be required to groom, saddle, and warm your horse up. Luna, you may choose first." The chief instructor tells me, calling me Luna once again.

I walk along the rows of stalls, not quite connecting with any of the horses.

I notice a black nose sticking out of a stall, and stroke it, looking up into the mare's brown eyes. "Hello, beautiful." I gaze down at the gold plaque nameplate, and look back at the pitch black mare. "Midnight Beauty suits you."

"Ah, I see you've chosen Midnight. She's our promising treasure, and I promise she'll take care of you. Here's her tack, and grooming bucket." Levi, the stablehand, sets a grooming bucket down on the mare's tack trunk.

I grab a purple curry from the bucket and brush her midnight coat. The mare's eyes close, and she relaxes as I start picking her hooves free of the stones.

Outside the stall sits a black all-purpose English saddle, black bridle with a snaffle, and a dark purple saddle pad with a white numnah.

I set the pads and saddle onto her back, slowly tightening the girth. I grab the bridle, slide it to my other hand, and slip the bit into her mouth, the mare licking and chewing.
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"Everyone ready?" Lauren asks, holding the reins of a strawberry roan gelding. "This is my horse, Lakota. He's a rising 7 year old Quarter gelding, bred for reining and cattle roping."

"This is Midnight Beauty. She's a Fresian cross 11 year old mare, bred for show jumping."
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Selena and Elizabeth introduce their horses as Berry, a 13 year old Paso Fino mare, and Bella, an Arabian cross 9 year old mare.

Before I mounted, I had to assist Elizabeth with getting on her 16.3hh mare.

Midnight stands patiently next to the mounting block as I slide my foot into the stirrup, swing over, and gently land in the saddle.

We make our way into the forest on our land.

The Fresian mare skitters sideways across the wooded path, shying away from a rabbit darting out of the bushes. I pat the mare's neck, and reassure her, trotting her up to the front of the group. "We're nearly there. We can let them loose once we've reached the open field."

"Come on, you big silly." Midnight snorts, and I relax my hands, not wanting to upset her with the slightest bit of harsh contact.

"Katy? Berry senses something off." I look back to see Berry standing stock-still, and swiveling her ears.

"Lauren, halt ho!" I call out, listening for other disturbances in the atmosphere.

Bella spooks from a gunshot nearby and races deeper into the forest. Midnight gallops after her, and I grab onto the flighty mare's reins, twisting her around, and trotting the two horses back to the group. "Keep her up front with me." Selena nods, and touches her heel against the mare's side.
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"We can gallop now. The open field is 2 miles long. Slow down when you reach the trees."

"Come on, girl." I squeeze the mare into a canter, and kiss her up into a gallop. Her tail streams out behind us as Lauren catches up to us, our horses racing side-by-side. Before Lakota can pull ahead, I kick the mare on, her powerful hindquarters pushing her on.

As we reach the tree line, I slow her down to a relaxed, springy trot. Midnight stops, and drops her head, waiting for the others to slowly catch up. I'm suddenly hit with a gut-wrenching pain, and I collapse onto her neck.

"What's wrong?" Selena asks, Bella slowing to a walk as we return back to the stable.

"It's starting." I whimper as all of the horses break into a ground-breaking trot.
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"I'll unsaddle her for you. Go back to the mansion and get ready for tonight."

"Thank you, Lauren."
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What did all you equestrians think about this chapter?