Little White Lies

Chapter 29

"Is it just me or is it oddly quiet out here?" Ava asks me the following afternoon as I'm warming up Kenzie.

"It's not just you," I roll my eyes. "Mom has cleared out for the afternoon. She's claiming something to do with Mark's daughter's doctor's appointment, but that's bullshit. She left because you and Julie are here to teach us and because Dad is in town. She's being ridiculous."

"I'm sorry! I just figured this would be a good chance to fit in a lesson and bring Jayne," Ava apologizes.

"You're totally fine, this is Mom's drama. She and Julie got into an argument last month and I don't think she's dealing with Dad and Christine being here very well. Don't worry about it. I'm thrilled you guys are here," I say as I canter a circle around Ava and Jayne.

"Sawyer, she looks so great," Jayne says as I finish my warm up and break down to a walk. "I'm so happy I'm getting to see her again. When I found out she sold I just knew I'd never lay eyes on her again."

Ava was steady rearranging jumps the entire time I was warming up so now we have a whole new course to play with. "Who set the last course?" Ava asks as I trot a couple of smaller fences to let Kenzie warm up over a few jumps before Ava raises them.

"Julie, last month," I call back.

"It looked really cool. I made notes on it, I might use it again. But, I figured that you've been jumping it that way for a little while," Ava waves me over and explains her new course to me. We spend a solid half hour working on different pieces of the course before Ava has me run through the whole course a couple of times.

"I told you," I hear Ava say as I'm walking around cooling Kenzie out.

"You did. I can't believe you were right," Jayne said.

"What's up?" I ask after a few minutes with no one cluing me in.

"Have you ever considered trying to do the Maclay this year?" Jayne asks me.

I bust out laughing, "That's ridiculous. I'm not Maclay quality."

"You're wrong," Jayne says. "You are, I should know, I've competed in it and so has Kenzie. You guys could be great."

I just stare at them for a minute, "No, I can't. I won't. I'm not going to set myself up to look like an idiot. And the Maclay is minimum 3'6, we're only showing 3'3."

"Okay, I see what you're saying," Jayne nods. "Let me be very specific, from what I've seen you do in the 3'3 and what I know Kenzie can do," she pauses for dramatic effect, "not only can you qualify, you would most likely place."

I laugh again, "We would never."

"You are a dead accurate. Did you know two of these lines are set incorrectly?" Ava asks.

"What? No it isn't," I say glancing around.

"The three stride is set short and the five over there is set long." I stare at the jumps lines trying to mentally calculate the number of feet in each one. "You didn't notice because when we went over the course I told you they were a three and a five so that's what you rode. You adjusted her exactly right every single time."

I think back to the course, it had been a holding three and a moving five, but I thought I had done something wrong to cause them to come up oddly.

"Don't get me wrong, it's a huge field of competitors and the tiniest mistake would knock you out of the call backs. But, you'd have a fighting chance," Jayne nods encouragingly.

"Plus, it's your last junior year. Why not at least try?" Ava adds.

I let that question sink in as we walk back to the barn. Why not at least try? Why not?