The Eventers Club

Chapter 38:

Ashleigh's pov

I was currently brushing Beauty on a pair of cross ties in Holloway's little area of the barn when Sabrina arrived. She had been talking to someone on the phone and wearing her same old ordinary smile. She seemed so mature that it was hard to believe she's in our grade! As she says goodbye to the person and hangs up, she makes her way over to me. Okay Ashleigh, stay cool, you've done it before!

"Hey Ash, I saw your rankings after dressage, they were incredible, good job!" She congratulates with a sincere smile.

"Thanks, but it's not as good as yours, sitting in fourth position in intermediate level is incredible. Your going against people that are way older then you" I said, I would've listed all the things she's amazed me with but I stop there.

"You have that potential too, along with your friend, Evelyn, you guys are great. EFA has really had to round the troops on cross country, I think Mr Reynolds has a war plan up in place" she jokes before we both start laughing.

"A bit of an out of the box question, have you ever thought of attending EFA? We're based in Northern Florida and have boarding houses, I know it's a bit far but we're always open in having new riders" she asks leaving me speechless for a moment.

"Sadly no, I don't have that kind of money and I heard the classes are crazy insane, I'll be to busy studying instead of riding" I said shaking my head no.

"Yeah the classes are a bit full on at first but you adjust to it so quickly, it amazes you. I thought the exact thing when I first went there. The equestrian team at EFA is a great program though, it helps you manage school and riding a whole lot more. I can't believe I even coped at other schools before EFA. Also even if you don't have the money, they offer academic and sporting scholarships every semester" Sabrina explains as she pets Beauty. 

"Oh, I'm not sure, even then it's a little far away from home" I said trailing off.

"That's totally reasonable. But keep in mind EFA caters for people thousands of kilometres away from home. We even have people coming from many different continents so we have a killer 'adjusting to life on campus' routine" Sabrina explains.

"I'm not sure, I don't think my parents would exactly agree, don't get me wrong I would love the opportunity but..." I said trailing off. Even though my parents sent me to my grandmas they will care if I'm in a different country. Sabrina's smile doesn't falter.

"Here, pass me you phone" she says putting one hand out and unlocking her phone with the other. I hesitantly grab mine out and pass it to her slowly. She types out a few things on both phones and then mine dings. Again she types a little bit more and then hands my phone back.

"Now we've got each other's numbers, if you want to ask more about EFA or even just talk don't hesitate to message me. EFA would be happy having you and Eve on our team" she smiles.

The compliment made me feel a whole lot better about going riding today. Our course had 24 jumps in total so our time limit was 16-18 minutes. That meant there would be a lot of people cutting it close with time penalties. Not to mention we had tricky combinations and weird looking jumps so there's no doubt many people will have refusals. Good thing Beauty is so unfazed by the jumps. We would still have to be careful though. Sabrina's phone dings again earning her attention.

"Oops I'm running late for my interview, I gotta run but seriously! Think about it!" Sabrina says pointing at me before jogging off.

"What do you think buddy, does EFA sound like a good option?" I sigh place a hand on his shoulder. Beauty's ears perk up and he turns his head around to nudge me. Who was I kidding? Having that you were on the equestrian team at EFA sets you up for life in the horse world. Even once you graduate they help find you positions in what ever career you're pursuing. Even if your not in the equine field, EFA students were highly sort after. I've never heard of one of their students being unsuccessful. I grin again, the EFA eventing queen talked to me, better yet, said I should apply at her very own school.

...

"Now remember the combination after the jump, that's were a lot of the horses have drifted out" Darla says as I walk to the start box.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence" I joke lightly.

"You'll do great Ash, just do your usual speedy round and you'll be fine" Eve says smiling reassuringly.

"What time did you get?" I ask.

"16 minutes and 7 seconds, that was taking the harder way" Eve says.

"As usual you have no penalties and are most likely in the top 3" Blair says to Eve rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Okay, so it's 24 jumps and a 16-18 minute time frame" I repeat ignoring the girls banter.

The distance was longer then other courses I've done before so I was a little skeptical. Luckily they've give us a little extra time but it still hasn't been enough for over half the riders. Many were either too late or had refusals, meaning many penalties were handed out. As expected, all the EFA riders went clear with no penalties at all.

"Correct, now don't get nervous and you'll be be fine" Darla instructs.

"I'm not" I grin, are they forgetting that jumping is my thing? It's more the time I have to watch. I see Tina wave goodbye before riding Surfer back to the warm up arena. She was going not that long after me.

"Good luck" they chant.

...

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... Go" the person calls at the start box.

I knew Beauty and I had to be quick so we take off at a fast canter. The first few jumps were some easy ones, made so riders can settle into the course. I use it as an advantage instead of testing the waters, these were the jumps I don't need to slow down over. That way I can gain back time for any future jumps that I may slow down for.

The first jump was a brush jump about 1.05m high. As expected Beauty and I pop over it like nothing was there at all. Up ahead we headed into a more wooded area that had a narrow path, this was a test for the more spooky horse. Ahead there was a house jump, which was more smaller then the others but pretty wide. I let Beauty extend his stride so he could make the distance easily. Again we soar over it and race away, next we had the a coffin. We had to cover some distance though and space out our time, I take this as a chance to slow his canter.

As we made our way over more and more jumps the time kept ticking. Eventually I get to the last part of the course, I could take the easier long way or the short hard way. I take the harder way trusting Beauty wouldn't falter. The path I chose I had to go up steps, over a trekehner which I've only attempted on Beauty twice, and back down steps. Next we had a very close combination of angle jumps and then a super wide ditch followed by a drop. All together it would be tricky but I had faith we could pull it off.

Beauty doesn't set a foot wrong as we go up the steps carefully. The trekehner worried me slightly but instead of Beauty pausing, he quickens his pace. I allow him to do so knowing that we had to lead out a certain amount of strides. In slow motion I feel him surge over the jump with confidence and land safely on the other side.

"Good boy!" I cheered patting him on the neck just before we go down the steps again. The angle jumps fast approach and I shorten his stride so he wouldn't late off to early or late. The jumps were at 1.10m, the maximum height for prelim cross country. Again we fly over them before extending Beauty's stride again to carefully go over the ditch.

We slow into a trot and carefully jump down the drop. My timer read 15 minutes and 44 seconds. The last jump was about 100 metres away and the finish was shortly after that.

"Go go go" I tell Beauty.

The jump disappears under us in no time and I slow Beauty's canter looking at my timer. 15 minutes and 57 seconds. As my timer hits 16 minutes and 2 seconds I pass the finish line.

"Good boy Beauty!" I cheer letting my reins loosen before giving him a big pat. We did it!