Silver Opportunity

Chapter Twenty-One

"Okay, okay," I said, mentally going over the course yet again in my head. While I was freaking out, Titan was standing completely quiet with his eyes shutting.

"You got this," Leo smiled up at me. I took a deep breath and smiled back at him. Of course I was nervous. It was my first time showing Titan in the 2'6" division and for all I knew, it would end terribly. I was the last rider to go, and at the moment, every rider had knocked a pole. It was the same pole for the past three riders, the rollback. The girl in the ring was the fourth and last rider before me, and she was about to approach the combination to the rollback.

I held my breath as she completed the course. Surprisingly, she cleared the rollback, but she knocked the rail of the second jump in the combination.

"Clear is all you need," Molly said, giving me one more boost of confidence before I entered. "Kill 'em dead."

I laughed before entering the ring. That was a good thing, as it forced me to relax and loosen up, as I was tense and holding my breath before.

The buzzer sounded and it was my turn to compete. As I picked up the canter, I leaned forward and whispered something to T. He seemed to understand, as he instantly got a bit more peppy. I did my courtesy circle and headed up to the first jump.

Titan was such a natural jumper, navigating him around a course was almost effortless. I occasionally used too much rein for his liking, which resulted in a head throw or a mini buck, but he was responsive and delicate, placing each foot down carefully.

We soon approached the combination. Our course had been good up to this point, and I wasn't about to mess it up. I did as Hannah instructed and got T to calm himself as we did the combination. This allowed us to easily set up for the rollback. I understood now why the other riders were having so much difficulty with this jump - it was set in a strange position so you either had to jump it at an angle or jump it normally and turn immediately after to avoid hitting another jump. Since everyone else had tried the angle approach and failed, I decided to take a chance and hit it straight on. As we soared over it, I sat early, used my left rein and right leg, and used all I had to start turning T in the air. He switched his lead and when we landed, was able to make the turn. However all this fancy maneuvering caused one of his back legs to hit the pole. I continued riding but held my breath as I waited for the sound of the dropping pole. I quickly glanced back and saw the pole still sitting in place. I have T a pat as we headed to the last jump, a simple oxer. He easily jumped it and let out a little buck of excitement, receiving a laugh from the spectators.

"Good boy," I praised, patting him as we walked out of the ring.

"And that, lady and gents, is how you ride a horse," Leo gestured towards us as we approached. "Kickass job, babe."

We ended up getting the first place ribbon, obviously, but I wasn't just proud of that. I was proud of how far Titan and I had come in such a short time. A few months ago, he wouldn't let me touch him, never mind ride and jump him. Amazing things can happen when you gain an animal's trust.

-

This show day was just dragging on. It was was already four by the time they announced gate call for my class. Titan was all wrapped and blanketed back at the trailer and I was riding Dub, and the twins were on their respective horses. 

Once the people running the show realized it was moving so slowly, they stopped changing the course for each division. This course was the same one I did with T, except they had moved the rollback slightly so it was easier to ride at the higher heights.

As I aimlessly watched the other riders go, Molly got my attention.

"Em, look who's up next," she whispered, motioning behind me with her chin. I glanced around and stopped when I saw who she was talking about.

"Justine,"  I whispered, turning back. Leo saw too, and he didn't look too happy. I looked back at her and noticed her new horse. It appeared to be a thoroughbred with a sleek black coat, but I wasn't about to go up to her and ask. The three of us ignored her and brought our attention back to the ring.

"Hey guys, look who I found," I heard Hannah approach us from behind. The twins and I looked at each other, knowing she meant Justine.

Molly turned to face her. "We alread-... Mom?"

Leo and I whipped around, and sure enough, the twin's mom was in stride next to Hannah.

"Mom," Leo gasped. "W-what are you doing here?"

She walked in between Vegas and Aspen and put a hand on each of her twin's legs. "I felt bad about how we left things last night, so I decided to come out and watch you guys ride."

"But, you haven't been to a show since... you know," Molly shrugged.

"I know, I know," she waved her off. "I realized that I was missing such an important part of your lives."

"Well, we're glad you're here," Leo said, putting his hand on top of his mom's. Just then, they announced the start of Justine's round. We all watched as she did her courtesy circle. However, Justine got a bit too excited and forward in her saddle as they approached the first jump, that her horse stopped dead in refusal.

"Ooh," the twins' mom winced. "That always makes me so nervous."

We watched as she composed herself and tried again. She sat deeper this time and her horse willingly went over it. Her round itself wasn't too bad, and her horse was quicker, but quicker up also means quicker down. Twice he put his legs down too early and knocked poles. 

We all had fairly uneventful rides. There were going to be five in the jump off, including me and the twins.

Molly was set to go second, me third, Leo fourth. But as we were going over the new course, they announced that the fifth rider scratched, and only four would be competing in the jump off.

They started us quickly to keep the show moving. It was already five and we were all exhausted and ready to leave.

Molly had a good round, but sadly knocked the last rail. My course was clear, and faster than the first rider's round, so it was me against Leo.

"Good luck," I said, leaning over Dub's shoulder to give him a kiss. He paused before entering, returning the kiss and flashing me one of his gorgeous smiles.

"I'll take Dub and Aspen," Hannah offered, motioning for us to dismount. As I landed, the buzzer went off, and I rushed to the gate to watch his course.

As always, watching Leo ride was my favourite. Even though he wasn't riding his preferred horse, it was still amazing to me to watch how he maneuvered the course. 

"He's got you beat," Molly laughed. 

I laughed with her, except our happiness faded quickly as we watched Vegas stumble and Leo get thrown headfirst into a standard.

Yeah... sorry 'bout that. i'll update soon so dont worry you'll know whats