Overcome

Chapter Thirty- Three

As I mount Harry I look around at the four extra people that are sitting on the railing in the indoor. Maggy introduced me to them before I tacked up Harry. Their names are Steve, Grace, Paul, and Sam. None of them know a thing about horses or anyone that could link to the barn. Which is good, but I can't help but think that there is some way that this could leak out like a hole in a water pipe.

My stomach twists as I slowly start to walk around the indoor. "Take your time. Get yourself ready." Justin says just loud enough for me to hear him from across the arena.

I don't even know why I can't function with people watching me. Maybe I did rush into it too fast. Maybe I should've rested more like Justin wanted. But I can't turn back now. Not with these new people eagerly watching, no, waiting for something to happen.

It seems almost impossible to get Harry to frame. That only was because I wasn't putting any leg on at all. Or even putting pressure on the reins. I was frozen. I just starred at the people while I walked. They don't know what I've been through. They don't know how dangerous it really was. All they care about right now is that I get done quick so that they can go back to bed. They sit half asleep on the railing, but the one girl, Sam, about nineteen years old catches my eye. She was sitting forward with her head on her hand starring right back at me. She was actually watching, actually caring.

She wanted to see what happens. Not see me get bucked off but see me actually ride. Her one little stare is what made me determined to do this.

Easily, Harry arches his neck and gives to the bit. Then effortlessly picks up a frisky trot, happy to finally have people to show off to. As I come around the long side of the ring I see that she now wears a smirk.

"Good!" Justin says after I trot around the rail for about five minutes. "Bring him to a walk and come to me." I do as he says. "You're doing awesome Gina." He flashes a quick smile. "We're going to work just on flat today, we aren't going to get into jumping until you're 100% comfortable. Okay?"

I nod my head. I don't think I'll be jumping for a while.

"Okay, start going right and pick up your trot."

Once I go around the rail a couple times Justin tells me to start doing leg yields. I put my left leg on to move Harry off the rail at a trot. He crosses his legs and moves towards the middle of the ring. When I get to the Halfway point I switch legs and move Harry over back onto the rail. Then do it again on the other side of the ring.

It was just a month ago when Justin taught me how to correctly and successfully do a leg yield. He actually taught me a lot of things that I was either doing wrong or didn't know how to do. I consider myself a good rider, but you can always keep learning new things. Maybe I should teach Justin how to ride. He's a great trainer but I wonder if he could actually ride. Some people have it, other people don't. I have a feeling he has it.

"Okay, now what I want you to do is bend his head to the outside and put your outside leg on." I do what he says but I know it's not right. Harry moves as if I was asking for a side pass but his head looks way to over bent. "That's okay, he's trying to do what you're asking." Justin states. "This time put more outside leg on. He should move in a circle to the right."

This confuses the crap out of me. Have Harry circle right with his head bent left? For the first time today, I speak. "But that makes no sense?" I say confused.

Justin understands and elaborates more on what he wants me to do. "As Harry's in a frame bend his head left. Then put a lot of outside leg on. Before he was getting it because he moved over. But now you want to move him in a circle." Justin is actually really funny right now. He is so serious with training but as he's explaining what I have to do, he's pretending he's the rider. He puts 'pressure on the reins' with his hand and whichever way his head turns is the way Harry's head should be. "Once he gets what you're asking him to do he should be able to move in a circle." Justin goes in a circle to the right with his head bent to the left and legs crossing as he turns. "Don't go in such a tight circle to were Harry's hind legs stay in the same spot. He's not western, so make a big circle. Once you get this down it will be ten times easier to turn in a jumper course because he will be listening more to your leg than your hands."

I go back out on the rail and at the walk, I bend his head left and and squeeze with my left leg. Harry continues to side pass. "That's okay! Keep going until I say stop! You are going to put a tiny amount of pressure on you're inside rein. Keep his head bent left!" Harry bounces his head up and down in frustration when I put my inside rein on. "Keep him going! Add more pressure to your outside leg!" Harry's head comes back down when I put more leg on. Then suddenly, like it just clicked in Harry's brain, only his front half moves to the right. "Release!" Justin says excitedly. "See! You did it! Pick him up again and don't let go until he moves in a full circle."

This time it takes only a second for Harry to move in a circle. His outside front leg crossing over the front of his inside front leg in long strides. His hind end following behind. "Good! Now Try it the other way!"

Soon I'm able to do it at the trot both ways without hesitation from me or from Harry. To let Harry stretch a little we didn't even frame at the canter. I just let him go around the rail long and low. I almost forgot about the new people.

Almost.

I look over to them and they are all watching, still tired looking, but actually paying attention now. Sam is still leaning forward, watching my every move. "You're not all that bad." She states.

"Thank you" I smile knowing that if she saw me fall off she would've said the same thing. It's not her fault, she doesn't know. I hop down off of Harry and she jumps down from the fence. She holds out her hand as if we never met . "I'm Sam, major in Journalism at Hofstra University."

I shake it automatically, but then the words sink in. She's a writer.

She giggles a little "Don't worry, I'm not going to write anything until you tell everyone. That is if you want me to write anything?" She asks.

"Um..." I don't know what to do. "Where will it be going if you do write anything?" I finally come up with.

"I have some links to newspaper and magazines. But I'm working on getting some for book publishers too."

Why would Maggy bring her here? "Ummm... I'll get back to you on it."

"Okay, take your time."

I lead Harry back to his stall and quickly brush him. These new people are starting to feel like a bad idea. Why would Maggy bring her here? She obviously knows that she writes. Justin appears in the doorway of the stall. "Did you know Sam was a major in Journalism?" I actually master saying that nonchalantly.

"Yes"

My head snaps up, "You know?"

"Yeah, Maggy made her sign a whole bunch of things to not even think about writing anything."

"Well she just asked me if she could right something when I told everyone."

"She did?"

"Yeah, I didn't answer though."

"I can promise you she won't write anything without your permission."

"I hope you're right. Common" I say as I step out of Harry's stall. "Let's go home, I'm tired" Which I am. I started to feel really tired cantering Harry, but shrugged it off and continued riding. But now I feel tired once again.

I doze off in the car ride home but wake when Justin shifts the car into park. I walk up the stares and make a left instead of a right. I walk into moms room and silently walk to her nightstand next to her bed. Her phone is plugged in, charging. "What are you doing!" Justin whispers from the doorway.

 "Shhh" I unplug her phone and swipe the screen.

Enter Passcode reads the screen. "Shit" The one passcode that I don't know. I type in one that it could be but the phone buzzes saying that it's wrong.

Mom shifts in her sleep.

"Gina get out of there." He whispers again. I take her phone and go into my room and try to unlock her phone again and again. "Gina! What are you doing!"

I make one more attempt for her passcode and it unlocks. "I'm calling Kent Clifton."

"You can't call him right now!" Justin yells at a whisper.

"I'm not! I'm getting his number so I can call him tomorrow." I sigh, "It sounded a lot cooler when I said that way."

He chuckles "You're funny"

"Only sometimes"