Crown Prince Challenged (21 page)

Sarah stopped in her tracks and watched the coyotes closely. After a few minutes, she walked slowly toward Derek's horse and stood beside him. The large bay was engrossed with the coyotes, and he didn't acknowledge her presence when she leaned against him and stroked his neck. The coyotes were so close Sarah could have hit one with a stone. She counted seven in the pack, a few much bigger than the others. The largest coyote stood in front, showing no fear as he stared directly into her eyes. His coat was a grayish-yellow with reddish fringe around his ears. Finally the coyote's gaze turned away as he surveyed the farm and other horses in paddocks near them, his head turning slowly to take in a wide span of the acreage.

Sarah gripped the lead shank tighter, anxiety coursing through her. There were so many of them! What if they rushed at her and Bismarck? She needed to get Derek's horse back to the safety of the barn and away from them. Quickly running her shank over the horse's nose and attaching it to his halter, Sarah pulled him around and started for the paddock gate. “Come on, Bis, let's get out of here,” she said. Bismarck resisted, not wanting to let the coyotes out of his sight, but Sarah pulled harder. He pranced beside her until they were out of the paddock and heading for the barn.

Tim was leading Rhodes to his stall when they got back to the barn. Sarah called out to him. “Tim! You'll never guess what I just saw! There's a pack of coyotes near the edge of the woods by the paddocks, at least six or seven of them. It was like they were staking out the place.”

“Really?” Tim replied in surprise. “I didn't know there were coyotes around here. I know in California, where my cousins live, coyotes are everywhere, even in the suburbs. In some places they've crossed with wolves. They're called coy wolves and can grow almost as big as timber wolves.”

Sarah shuddered. “I suppose they wouldn't mind having a horse on the menu once in a while.”

Tim shook his head. “I think our horses might be too big for them to handle, but they could make a meal of one of the foals, if they were still around.”

“I think Gus and Jack need to know about this,” Sarah said. She led Bismarck back to his stall and picked the packed snow out of his hooves. She rubbed her hands together to warm them before leaving to find the two men. As she rounded the corner, Gus's red baseball hat came into view. He was pushing a wheelbarrow toward the school horses' section of the barn, and Sarah hurried after him. As she got closer, she scuffed her feet on the cement so she wouldn't startle him. “Excuse me, Gus.”

The burly man swung around. “What do you want?” he said, scowling.

“I saw a pack of coyotes near one of the paddocks when I brought Bismarck in a little while ago. I thought you'd like to know.”

Gus's face softened a tad, and he stepped closer. “Did you happen to notice how many of ‘em there were?”

“I think there were seven, and a few of them were pretty big. One especially. They were on the edge of the woods, and close to the far paddock. It seemed like they were checking things out, looking all around.”

“I heard ‘em howling last night,” Gus said. “Sounded like they were up on the ridge.”

“Do you think they would ever go after one of the horses?” Sarah asked.

“Well, it wouldn't be the first time. A coyote can move pretty fast, and if a pack of ‘em had a horse cornered in a paddock, they could do some damage. As long as the horse isn't too big, a couple of ‘em will try to hamstring him from behind while the others go for the jugular. I've seen it happen. Just like wolves.”

The more Sarah heard, the more she feared for Crown Prince and all the other horses. Those coyotes were so close to Bismarck today, and they seemed to have no fear.

“Do you think it's safe to put the horses out in the paddocks?” Sarah asked. “What if the whole pack of coyotes ganged up on one of the horses?” This scenario filled her with terror. “I'm going to tell Jack about this,” Sarah said to Gus, as she hurried to the office, hoping Jack would be there. She hadn't seen him around the barn all day, which was rare.

Sarah was surprised to find both Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt in the office talking to Lindsay. They turned to greet Sarah when she entered the room. Spin and Cameo rushed to jump up on her, and she gave them each a quick pat.

“My, but you look serious, Sarah,” Mrs. DeWitt said. “Is something wrong?”

“I hope not,” Sarah replied. She went on to tell them about the coyotes, adding what she could remember from the newspaper article. “Do you think the horses are in any danger?”

“I saw that article, too,” Mr. DeWitt said, frowning, “and I've been hoping the coyotes wouldn't make it to our farm.” His gaze shifted to Lindsay. “Do you know if there have been any other sightings here?”

“None that I know of,” Lindsay replied. “I think Jack would have mentioned it to us.”

Mr. DeWitt quickly looked up a number in the directory and then reached for the office phone. Once someone picked up, he asked a few questions and then listened intently. He turned to them after he hung up, his face creased with worry lines. “The officer I just spoke to said that while there are quite a few coyotes on the rural side of town, there hasn't been an incident of them attacking anything larger than a young sheep. But he feels that while they wouldn't bother adult horses, we shouldn't turn out anything smaller.” He turned to Mrs. DeWitt. “Dogs and cats are particularly vulnerable, so we'll have to keep our terriers in unless we're with them. I also think we should keep the ponies inside too, at least for a while.”

Mrs. DeWitt bent over to hug Cameo. “We certainly can't take any chances,” she said.

Despite the reassurance Mr. DeWitt had gotten from the policeman, Sarah felt a gnawing concern. Was Prince at risk turned out in the paddocks? She excused herself and left the office.

MORE SNOW FELL
during the weeks that followed, and as to be expected during the month of January, the thermometer frequently plunged, often dipping to near zero. After the coldest nights, there would be a coating of ice on the horses' water buckets in the morning, and until the snow got packed down after a snowstorm, it was a challenge leading the horses to the turnout paddocks. As he did every winter, Gus had outfitted the farm pickup with a plow, and he faithfully kept the farm road open. He also sanded the road when it got icy.

Everyone had been asked to report further sightings of coyotes on the farm, but none were noticed after the first snow. Sarah was worried for a while, but eventually she began to relax when her horse was turned out. After a week without any unsupervised turnout, Pretty Penny and Snippet went back into their paddock, but Mrs. DeWitt continued to watch the terriers closely.

Sarah wasn't happy she'd have to suspend riding her bike to the farm, since that meant she'd depend on her parents for transportation. She looked forward to the time she'd once again have the flexibility of pedaling herself to and from the farm.

Chores on the weekend took longer in cold weather. Sarah had to deal with frozen buckets on some Sunday mornings, and her sweeping often involved cleaning up snow the horses tracked into the barn. Almost all the boarders wanted their horses turned out wearing blankets. Crown Prince had come to accept the snow as no big deal, and he stopped galloping in the paddock. His short but thick winter coat was darker than his summer coat, and even more beautiful. To keep him from slipping on ice, the farrier had shod him with winter shoes tipped with borium.

Kayla's mother still trucked Fanny to Brookmeade for her weekly lessons, and the Snyders' van also made the trip, although sometimes it was touch-and-go climbing the long hill out of the parking area on the way home. Four-wheel-drive certainly helped. “You're lucky you have an indoor to ride in,” Kayla complained to Sarah, as they rode home from school on a lesson day. “With all the snow we've had this winter, there's no way I can ride in the ring at home. Sometimes it's even too icy to hack. Rita's got it made—her indoor arena was finished before cold weather set in.”

“Fanny's been doing great in the lessons, though,” Sarah replied, grabbing the seat when the bus wrenched to the side to avoid a deep rut.

“That's probably because we've been doing a lot of jumping, and Fanny likes that. The fences are getting up there, don't you think?”

“Yeah. I'm relieved Prince can keep up with you guys,” Sarah replied. “Maybe there'll be a January thaw one of these days. I wish the snow would settle enough so we could do a little hacking. I worry Prince will get bored with all the ringwork.” She swung her knees to the side so Kayla could get by her as the bus slowed by the Romanos' driveway. “See you at the barn!”

Later that afternoon, the Young Riders class was warming up for their lesson when Jack arrived a few minutes early. He wore a heavy parka, thick gloves, and winter boots. A few spectators preferred to watch the lesson from the heated lounge, but those who wanted to hear Jack's comments braved the cold on the bleachers. It was surprising how many people turned out to watch the class when the temperature hovered near the freezing mark. The DeWitts were almost always there, with Spin and Cameo on leashes and wearing their Baker dog blankets. Sarah's mother usually begged off when it was this cold, but Derek always came to watch the lesson. Today was no exception.

“Would you please line your horses up in the center?” Jack called out. The riders looked puzzled as they brought their horses to walk and came to face him in the middle of the arena. This was not the way Jack usually began his lessons. “I have something to share with all of you before we begin today,” he said, as he removed a glove and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “I received some information today about an upcoming competition.”

The riders looked at one another. Rita rolled her eyes. “Oh, I know,” Jack continued, “you're not looking for shows or events to compete in right now. This competition won't take place until early summer, but it's an exciting team event that will take some preparation and give us something to be working toward.”

After drawing his reading glasses from his jacket pocket and putting them on, Jack scanned the paper before continuing. “I'm not sure how many of you have heard of Wexford Hall. It's an equestrian center a few hours' drive from here that holds two major recognized events each year. They offer Intermediate and Advanced divisions in the fall, which not many competitions do, so a number of riders long-listed for the Olympic team usually compete there.”

Jack adjusted his glasses before continuing. “The announcement notified me of a special competition for junior riders, The Wexford Cup, which will be held for the first time this year in mid-June. They want to prepare more young riders to represent the United States in future international equestrian competitions. Using a more traditional event format, over three days competitors ride a dressage test, a cross-country course, and a round of show jumping, with cumulative scores.”

Jack looked up from the paper to speak to his students. “'Tis exciting, I think, because 'twill follow the Olympic format and have riders competing in teams of four. One additional team member will serve as a stable manager, to help the riders and keep the team organized. The team with the highest total score for all four riders will take home the Wexford Cup.” The class exchanged looks, each rider obviously enthusiastic about the prospect of riding in the competition.

“I know this event is several months away,” Jack continued, “but it's something we'll have to train for, if indeed you're interested in participating.” Tim, who tended to be competitive, was smiling broadly. Sarah looked at Kayla, who replied with a thumbs-up. Sarah wasn't sure what to think, except she had a pretty good idea who the stable manager would be—the rider in the class whose horse had the least experience!

“This sounds like a grand competition,” Jack continued. “I expect a large number of teams from near and far will be entered, which will give all of you an opportunity to meet other young talented riders and see their horses in action. It will be a beneficial experience, to be sure.”

Rita raised her hand. “If this is held over three days, where will the riders stay?”

Jack looked down at his notes. “There's a private school nearby, The Belmont School, which is making a dorm available for lodging.”

“Does it say which dressage test will be used and how high the fences will be?” Tim asked.

“I'll post the details on the bulletin board by the office. Anyone who rides at Brookmeade is eligible to try out for the team, and I'll announce the competition in other classes, as well. And I should mention that because the team will be representing Brookmeade Farm, the DeWitts have agreed to cover related entry fees.” He removed his glasses and put them away. “If any of you aspire to make the Brookmeade Farm team and do well at Wexford Hall, you must be prepared to work hard and spend a lot of time conditioning your horses. Now let's get to work, beginning with your exercises.”

As the lesson progressed, Sarah's mind kept coming back to the news of the team competition. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Jack's team brought the Wexford Cup back to Brookmeade Farm! He certainly was an outstanding instructor—and deserved a winning team!

After the class had finished with the flatwork portion of the lesson, Jack suggested they let the horses walk on a long rein. The dressage exercises required hard work and concentration, asking the horses to stretch and use muscles in challenging ways. Sarah knew that Prince always tried his best for her, and she reached down to run her hand along his neck. “Good boy,” she said softly.

While the horses and riders took a short break, Jack made some adjustments on a gymnastic line of jumps he had set up earlier. Jump standards were in place for what would be a jumping line, but to start, only a few of the poles had been placed in the cups. Jack placed one pole on the ground a stride in front of the first jump to serve as a ground line. It would place the horses in the right spot to easily jump the first fence, a cross-rail. Next in line was a vertical jump. It looked pretty simple, except for one thing. The cross-rail was quite close to the next fence, a vertical.