"Rewards hard earned are never easily kept"
Savannah Bell has earned a coveted position at Silver Hawk Ridge, a prestigious equestrian academy. Upon arrival, she discovers it is not the end of her trials. It's hard enough being a teenage girl...
Thanksgiving break had been absolutely splendid. In addition to spending time with my family, I'd gotten time at the barn. Debbie was thrilled to have me back and even let me guest teach some of the younger kids. Debbie had some new horses that we worked on along with Delaney. Delaney had seriously grown in skill since I had left. I had improved exponentially, but she was even keeping up with me. I wished she'd been able to go too. She would have loved it there.
"Ugh I wish you weren't leaving. Any chance I can stow away in your suitcase?" She cried, throwing her arms around me. More than anything I would have liked to grant her request. She would fit right in with my friends there. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, but she made sure to dress me in style before I walked on campus.
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"You know I'd want you to come too. They don't take too kindly to security breaches there. I'll be back soon for Christmas break, and then we'll have all kinds of time together." After one last hug, she got back in my mom's car. They both waved as the car disappeared down the long drive. I hoisted my practice backpack over my shoulder and wheeled my suitcase back to my dorm. As soon as I opened the door, I heard shrill squeals as I was engulfed by Avery, Izzy, and Bianca. I loved being home with my family and Delaney, but I missed these amazing girls.
"I missed you guys! It's been too long". I hugged them all, towering above them.
"Alright enough chit chat, let's go to the barn!" Avery said, clapping her hands after us. We all got our boots and helmets, racing down there. I got to Rega's stall and found it empty. Must be turned out, I thought. Grabbing her halter and lead, I was about to head out when Jenny and Emily Layton from the national team ran past.
"Savannah, get your butt to round pen 1 pronto." I took off right behind them, grabbing the training whip hanging next to Medley's stall just in case. Rushing outside, I couldn't believe what we were seeing. Rega had been placed in the round pen with Ace, Emily's horse, and Spice. Now Ace and Rega got along just fine, but Spice definitely did not like either of them. Spice had been kicking out and biting at Ace anytime he was going near the water or hay, provoking the normally docile gelding. Rega had stepped in, matching Spice's strikes.
"Oh my god!" Emily cried. None of us wanted to go in there, but clearly one of us had to. And judging by my current company, it was going to be me. Whip and lead in hand, I unlocked the gate. I was being very stupid right now, but there wasn't another option.
"Hey, HEY!" I raised my voice, but not yelling. I ushered Ace back out towards Emily when he'd gotten back far enough from the chaos. She took him back to the stables first. Spice and Rega would be the real challenge to undertake. I raised my whip and slapped it down hard on the sand to get their attention. Rega immediately danced away from the sand flung up against her to the far side while I sent Spice around in a circle, driving her until she began to calm down long enough to approach her. When I approached I ran my hands over her and gently ran the whip down the length of her back. She stood quivering, ears back, but relaxed. She was mad, but she wouldn't try anything.
"Jenny, I want you to come in slowly and slip her halter on." I heard the gate creak gently as her soft footfalls made their way towards us. She spoke softly as not to alarm any of the horses in the ring. Eventually she was able to convince spice to leave the pen. Getting Rega to walk out calmly was an easy task. I was fuming. I'd trusted the staff to take care of her while I was away, and then this happened. Now she was covered in sweat, dust, and even a bite mark or two. When I made it back to her stall, I could hear the raised voices, so I put her back in her stall with her blanket until I could come and take care of her fully.
"What the hell happened? We're barely two days back in swing with students and there's already been an incident. Someone needs to fess up right now" Mr. Watts thundered angrily. In addition to Emily, Jenny, and myself, there were two grooms and Ray. This was the first time I had ever seen Ray angry, but now his steely grey eyes could cut through the tension like a laser. "Girls?"
"Look I don't know about you two," I said, eyeing the girls "but I just got back here about half an hour ago."
"I only got here this morning. I unpacked and took a nap to deal with the jet lag"Jenny huffed.
"Ditto" Emily shot back.
"Alright, aside from these three, who else has checked back into school?" The groom named Rashida questioned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Nobody else I thi-"
"Kennedy" Jenny ground out. We all looked to her. "She came back a day early. She more likely than not came to the barn first thing to see Apollo, but who's to say she didn't have another plan in mind?" Emily began to fume.
"Why that-"
"Ah ah, let's not jump to conclusions. I'll talk to her and look over the barn log. In the meantime, you three go take care of your horses. Let us know if your horses need veterinary attention". We all stomped our separate ways to the stalls. Upon closer examination, Rega could do fine with a sponge bath and wound spray on the bite marks. She flinched a bit when I cleaned out the marks, but she didn't lash out.
"I know, I know, it doesn't feel good. We're almost done" I said in low, soothing tones. Eventually she was pristine again, and the wounds properly laced with antiseptic and antibiotics. One last pet on her forehead and a treat was all she needed to lay down and doze. After closing her stall door gently, I turned to find Avery and Izzy jogging towards me.
"Hey! We heard about the pen drama. Is everything okay?" Avery asked, huffing.
"It's all settled out now, but I have some choice words for whoever put them together. There's specific note of what horses can't be in a pen together, so there's no reason for any of the staff to make that mistake". I shook my head.
"I heard from Emily that it could be Kennedy. Is that true?" Izzy asked gently. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.
"Honestly? All the evidence points us that way, but I doubt it. Kennedy may have been somewhat poisonous in the past, but she shows a desire to change. Not to mention it sounds like she's always been an incredible student, so why would she jeopardize any of that? Let's just drop it for right now. I think Mr. Watts is mad enough for everyone" I shuddered thinking about the punishment that someone might incur at something like this. "At any rate, Rega's gonna be fine. She doesn't have any marks in her tack areas, so she can still be ridden in practice this week."
"That's good. Speaking of which, are you excited about your juries?" I laughed, terrified at the thought of the impending tryout.
"I don't think excited is the word yet, but I'll deal with that another time". I had already received my test for the second part of the flat portion. There were a lot of elements that also were featured at the lowest international levels of competition.
"Whatever, you'll do fine, I know it. Now, let's go to Petite Ville. Evie has a night off and her mom offered us dinner on the house." Avery said, tugging us forward as we busted out laughing. And so our favorite foodie was off on another mission.
