One Stride Away

Chapter 19: Intentions

That night I have dinner with my mum and Audrey. Audrey scolds me for coming second but she assures me that it won't matter if I win both cross country and show jumping. After dinner, I make sure to stretch Olympia's legs the way I do when she does a lot of shows in a row. It helps her relax, then I lay out my clothes for tomorrow, as well as cleaning and polishing my boots. I go to bed early, falling asleep almost immediately as my head hits the pillow. 

The alarm blares through my sleep and I turn it off, eagerly hopping out of bed. Today is cross country! I practically run to the bathroom and back, still brushing my hair, while opening the door to my room. I get into my barn clothes quickly.

The sun streams through the gap in the curtains and I check the weather report on my phone. The temperature is still too hot for my liking, but thankfully it's a bit cooler than yesterday.

After I bring Olympia in from the pasture, I go through grooming, thankful that I don't have to braid for cross country. Olympia shakes her mane, and I suspect she doesn't like the braids that much either.

I laugh, patting her smooth coat as I continue.

"Cross country today." I say in a sing-song voice while I finish of with the soft brush. It might just be my imagination, but I feel like Olympia perks up at the words.

"You excited girl? I know I am." I move over to her other side, keeping the brush strokes nice and soft, just the way she likes it. I keep talking to her in a soothing voice, calming us both and giving Olympia something else to focus on, instead of the rising tension around us.

"Good morning Alina!" Cilia pokes her head into my stall and I notice that her hair is already done.

"Hey." I say, glad that she seems more confident today. "You getting Bondi ready?"

"Yep, just started." She says.

I nod, "See you soon then." I say. She smiles and I hear her clicking boots fade as she walks away.

"You look ready to be saddled up." I mumble, giving Olympia a pat before exiting her stall.

I almost bump into Alex as I enter the tackroom.

"Hey." He says. I don't have time to talk!

"Hi." I reply, anxiously glancing at the clock.

"You gonna stay on your horse today?" He jokes, and I laugh, but it's almost forced.

"We'll see." I say, "See you in the warm up ring." I hurry past him. I like being early, there's no time to talk. Especially to competitors, but I guess he's also my friend. Well, there's still no time.

I grab the saddle and bridle, hurrying back to Olympia. I'm using a light blue saddle pad to match my shirt. My body goes on automatic mode as I speed through the tacking up. I double check that her shoes are in place and that all her tack looks good. I hear people coming towards my stall, and look over to see Audrey and my mum.

"No accidents today, okay?" Audrey laughs as she walks up to the stall, my mum stands next to her, but does not seem so amused by the joke.

I grin, stifling a laugh. "No promises." I say. "I'm kidding." I add, noticing how my mum narrows her eyes.

"You better get ready." Audrey reminds me.

"Right." I wipe my hands on my breeches and hurry towards the tack room's bathroom to get changed.

"Good luck!" My mum calls out after me, but I know luck has nothing to do with winning. Hard work does. I get changes, attach my medical armband and unwillingly get into the safety vest. All I can think about is how I will boil in the sun as I wear it. I will either burn to a crisp, or melt. I don't know which I would prefer, probably neither. Finally I get changed into my tall boots, and clip the helmet under my chin.