Crown Prince Challenged (22 page)

Jack pointed to the jump. “You can see the distance from the cross-rail to the vertical is short. This kind of a combination is called a bounce, which means your horses will land after the cross-rail, and without taking a stride, should immediately jump the vertical.” Sarah was immediately anxious. With Prince's long stride, would he land too close to the next fence to be able to jump it? And while the rails were low to start out, she knew that once the horses got the hang of it, the rails would go nowhere but up.

Jack called out to the class when it was time to resume work. “I'd like you to gather your horses and spread out in the arena tracking right.” He watched, pleased that the horses were well spaced along the track using the whole arena. “Now pick up canter from walk, and with Rita as your lead rider, come through the combination. Keep a good distance between horses, and don't let them be strung out or quick. The ground rail should set them up perfectly for the bounce.”

The riders picked up canter as Jack had asked, although Prince took a few trot steps before breaking into canter. Rita, the lead rider, shifted her focus to the jump line as she came off the track, setting up Chancellor to come in straight to the cross-rail at an ideal speed. He cantered over the ground rail, jumped the cross-rail, and without taking another stride, easily jumped the low vertical. “Good job, Rita,” Jack called.

Sarah was passing the bleachers just as the group of spectators sitting there clapped loudly for Rita, causing Prince to shy sideways and speed away from them.
Darn!
Sarah thought.
The timing couldn't have been worse!
She brought Prince back to the track and slowed down his canter. But he was rattled, and she knew it would take a few minutes for him to regain his concentration. Jack had noticed what happened, and he held his arm toward the bleachers, signaling the onlookers to hold future applause.

Kayla was next in line, and she turned Fanny toward the jumps to get a straight approach. Fanny's ears were straight forward as she eyed the combination, sizing up the challenge. Kayla sat tall in the saddle and waited for the mare, who jumped everything in good form. “Excellent, Kayla,” Jack shouted as they cantered away. Paige also did a great job on Quarry, keeping him from being too quick without putting him in a strangle hold. Jack praised her for her finesse in the approach. Tim and Rhodes were next. The strong bay horse went through as if he'd done it a thousand times, earning good compliments from Jack.

Now that it was Sarah's turn, her heart was in her throat. Prince had never done a bounce before. She needed to keep him in a frame so he wouldn't go too fast or get strung out. Coming toward the jumps, Sarah could feel that Prince was committed. He was such an honest horse! But he was green, and she needed to use her aids correctly to help him figure it out. The ground pole put Prince in a good position to jump the cross-rail, and on landing he immediately jumped the vertical. But in jumping out, he misjudged the height of the rail and scraped his rear feet against it.

“Come around and try that again, Sarah,” Jack called. The practice helped Prince, for this time he went through the combination cleanly. Jack had them trot momentarily while he raised the height of the cross-rail and the vertical jump.

“Come through again, beginning with Rita,” Jack called. This time all the horses handled the bounce with no problem, prompting Jack to again raise the height of the vertical. Now jumping it would require a substantial push from behind. When once more the horses met the challenge, Jack asked the riders to walk while he dragged standards and another rail into place to change the vertical into a square oxer. Now the jump out of the bounce had changed from a single rail to a substantial spread fence, requiring even more effort from the horses.

“You'll continue to have the advantage of the ground rail and crossbar to place your horses perfectly for the last jump,” Jack said. “But to jump it cleanly, they will need to push harder with their hindquarters and tuck their knees up in front, a good training exercise.”

When the riders picked up canter once more, Sarah couldn't help feeling somewhat intimidated. This would be the most difficult challenge Prince had ever faced in a lesson. The oxer looked so big! Maybe she should just close her eyes and let Prince figure it out.
No!
she reminded herself.
If Prince needs my help, I must be there for him. We're a team!

Rita looked confident and relaxed as she approached the fences, and Chancellor calmly went down the line, demonstrating a perfect jump over the oxer. Kayla was next, and from the way she was gripping the reins, Sarah could tell her friend was nervous. But Kayla was determined to do it and she rode the combination with a strong leg. When Fanny sailed over the oxer with room to spare, Kayla was delighted. “Good girl!” she called out, slapping Fanny's neck.

“Were your spurs meeting in the middle, Kayla?” Jack teased.

Jack called to Paige as Quarry turned from the track to approach the combination. “Remember that speed won't help him over this, Paige. It will only make his jump flat. Keep your legs on while you control the pace.” Quarry leaped over the cross-rail and immediately pushed off with a round jump over the oxer. Paige was beaming as she rode her horse back to the track. Tim went next. Rhodes didn't seem to notice that the jump was more challenging, as he cleared it in good form before returning to the track.

Here we go, Prince,
Sarah thought. She took a deep breath and began her approach. Prince had gained confidence from going through the bounce a few times, and now he showed no hesitation. Even as he jumped the crossrail, he understood a bigger effort was needed for the oxer, and his powerful hindquarters pushed him and Sarah over it easily. As they cantered away, out of the corner of her eye, Sarah saw someone in the bleachers stand up and pump his fist. It was Derek, and in spite of herself, she felt her heart leap. If only her parents could have been here too! Kayla shot her a thumbs-up as Sarah passed her on her way back to the track.

“Let's close up behind Rita one horse's length distance, and then come back to walk,” Jack called out. When the riders were together, Jack walked beside them while they kept their horses moving. The horses were warm from the long period of canter and needed to walk on a long rein. Glad to have a break, they all stretched their heads and necks down.

Fanny was the only horse that seemed slightly stressed. She had perspired a lot, and she was breathing rapidly. “It looks like your mare has lost some condition,” Jack said, his face showing concern. “With the winter weather, have you not been able to get her out?” Kayla nodded. “Even if you can't ride in your ring, I suggest you hack her along the road every chance you get, except when it's icy. The Yardley town crews plow the snow back to give you a generous shoulder to ride on, so you and Fanny should be safe from traffic. Of course Fanny will need winter shoes with borium to do this, and remember to always ride with traffic on the right hand side of the road.”

Sarah felt Prince's neck. It was warm, but he hadn't broken into a sweat.
He must be getting fit,
Sarah thought.
All the riding I've been doing has paid off.

“You all did very well today,” Jack said to the group. “Exercises such as the bounce are an excellent way to strengthen your horses and prepare them for jumping higher fences.” He paused a moment to watch the horses as they walked by. When he was satisfied none were taking any lame steps after the workout, he continued. “We'll be doing more gymnastic work as we prepare for the Wexford Hall event, although you'll profit from it no matter what discipline you choose—hunters, jumpers, equitation, eventing, or dressage. As the weeks progress, we'll be adding additional elements to the jumping line, which will be even more challenging. We'll be riding courses too, and, of course, we'll continue to work on your dressage.”

Sarah's fingers tightened on the reins. Were she and Prince ready for all this? He was trying hard, and so far he had handled every challenge sent his way. But was he being rushed? Could Jack be pushing him too fast? She'd read about horses whose training was moved along too quickly. Somewhere along the line they'd lost confidence, something that couldn't always be regained. She certainly didn't want that to happen to her horse!

After the riders were excused, Derek walked back to Prince's stall with Sarah. “Considering how long he's been in training, you've got a star here,” he said. “I wish you could see how good he looks going over a fence.”

Sarah couldn't help smiling. Anything Derek said was exciting to her, and he had certainly given her some wonderful compliments. She became more serious. “Is it possible Jack is pushing Crown Prince too fast, just so we can keep up with the Young Riders class? I don't want my horse to hit a brick wall one of these days, if he can't deal with what's being asked of him.” She watched Derek's face closely, waiting for his answer.

“I ride with Jack, too,” Derek replied. “I never get the sense that Bismarck is being overly challenged. In fact, as Jack did in your lesson today, he always presents things in such a measured way that we work up to the big challenges gradually. Jack's approach makes things seem easy.”

“But you're having private lessons,” Sarah reminded him. “In my case, Prince has to do what is best for the rest of the class. I just hope Jack doesn't ask for more than Prince is ready to do.”

As Sarah earnestly confided her concerns to Derek, he looked into her dark eyes with their long lashes. From the minute he'd met Sarah, on the day Bismarck arrived at Brookmeade Farm, Derek had felt an attraction to this girl. There was something special, something different about her that appealed to him. Perhaps it was her unassuming personality and dedication to her horse. She was so different from the girls who routinely had it on their agendas to snag him. But while she had always been friendly and fun to be with, there was a certain aloofness about her that gave the impression she wouldn't want to be more than just his friend. Perhaps he was imagining this. It was time to find out.

There was a pause in the conversation as Derek looked intently at Sarah, hesitating. Finally it slipped out. “There's going to be a winter carnival at my school this weekend. They've got a lot of cool things planned. Would you like to check it out with me Saturday afternoon?” Now he studied her face, holding his breath, waiting for a reply.

For a minute, Sarah wondered if she had heard Derek right. Had he actually asked her for a date? Ever since she'd learned about that girl named Meredith, Derek's girlfriend in Chicago, Sarah hadn't allowed herself to think of Derek as anything more than a friend who shared her love of horses and riding. But now this! Did she want to be a convenient second-best girlfriend because number one was a long way off? She was a little tempted, but more irritated and offended.

Sarah met Derek's gaze for a moment before she turned away, shaking her head. “I don't think so, Derek. I've got way too much going on, what with school, my job here at the barn, and my horse. Let's just be riding friends, okay?”

FOR THE REST OF JANUARY
and through the end of February, frequent snowstorms kept Sarah and Crown Prince off the hacking trails, and with a lot of ice everywhere, it wasn't safe to even take the horses for walks on the farm road. They had no choice but to ride in the indoor and practice the regimen Jack prescribed.

The lessons with the Young Riders were always challenging, and Sarah and Prince managed to keep up with the more experienced riders. The flatwork in the classes was as demanding as the jumping, as more difficult dressage movements were gradually introduced. Jack frequently reminded them that before moving up in dressage, a horse must have a strong foundation of the basics. Along with exercises such as leg-yielding, shoulder-in, and counter-canter, Jack taught the class how to lengthen and shorten their horses' strides. With his long, elastic movement, Prince excelled at this. Mrs. DeWitt came up to Sarah after one class to tell her how impressed she had been watching Crown Prince lengthen across the diagonal of the arena. “He's such a good mover!” she gushed. “Chandler and I are so happy to see you two blossom.”

The better Prince performed in their lessons, the more aloof Rita became. She clearly resented another horse begin to approach Chancellor's brilliance. Her earlier argument that Prince would hold the Young Riders class back hadn't materialized—Prince and Sarah had shown dramatic improvement and clearly deserved to be there.

As winter slid into spring, Sarah was happy to have a Thursday afternoon off from school because of teachers' conferences. For once she could be at Brookmeade in time to watch Derek's two o'clock private lesson with Jack. Sarah was cleaning her horse's stall when Derek finished tacking up Bismarck. Derek rode in an all-purpose saddle for hacking, but today he was using his jumping saddle. With its extreme forward flaps, it worked well with the shorter stirrups he'd need for jumping high fences. His bridle had a Dr. Bristol bit and a figure-eight noseband.

“I finally get to see one of your lessons,” Sarah said. “It's about time!”

“You mean I'll be observed by the critical eye today?” Derek said, grinning. “Now's your chance to get revenge for all the horrific things I've said about you and Prince.” They both knew that the opposite was true. Derek was constantly reassuring her on days Sarah felt she hadn't ridden well. His words had gone a long way toward boosting her self-confidence and helping her believe she was capable of riding with the more experienced riders.

Sarah tossed a final forkful of soiled bedding into the wheelbarrow and pushed it to the manure bin. After spreading a load of fresh shavings in Prince's stall, she made a beeline for the indoor. Derek was warming Bismarck up when she got there. Jack hadn't arrived yet, and there were no other spectators as Sarah climbed to the third row on the bleachers. When Bismarck trotted by, Derek called out, “Have mercy!” Sarah only smiled.