Crown Prince Challenged (37 page)

Derek and Sarah cheered and jumped up and down when Tim and his horse flew through the flags. They ran to where Tim had halted Rhodes. The horse's flanks heaved as he gasped for breath, his nostrils flaring, as Tim jumped off and ran up his irons. “We went clear!” he said, trying to catch his breath. After Tim loosened Rhodes's girth, the three of them walked the horse back to the tent. Everyone, especially Tim's parents and Jack, were elated to learn he'd gotten around the course so well.

Once Rhodes had been cared for, Tim described his course ride to Jack, Kayla, and Sarah. “There were no surprises,” he said. “The footing was awesome. One thing, though. The coop followed by a narrow post-and-rail is really tight. Be prepared to turn almost in the air to make the turn.” Later, they were happy when the scoreboard showed Tim had no cross-country jumping or time faults, so his dressage score would remain unchanged.

A little over an hour later, Sarah, Derek, and Tim returned to the same spot to wait for Kayla to come through. Sarah was so nervous for her friend! After watching several more horses gallop up the last hill, finally Number 21, Fanfare, emerged out of the woods and over the coop. Fanny wasn't running quite as fast as Rhodes had, but she was certainly trying her best. She jumped all the obstacles in her path until she was galloping up the last hill and through the flags. They ran to her, cheering.

Like Rhodes, Fanny was literally exhausted, her breaths coming fast, her flanks heaving. Kayla was also trying to catch her breath as she quickly dismounted, her face flushed and a shock of moist red curls sticking out from beneath her helmet. Mrs. Romano came running up to Kayla. “How did it go?”

Kayla was hugging Fanny when she cried out to them, “She went clear! I'm so proud of her!” Sarah gave Kayla's mother a high-five. When they got back to the tent, Fanny's tack was removed and she was allowed to plunge her muzzle into her water bucket for a few swallows. Kelly was waiting with a bucket of sudsy bathwater that had been warming in the sun, and Fanny received a much deserved bath and some carrot treats.

“She was really tired,” Kayla said. “I probably got some time penalties because Fanny just couldn't go very fast up the hills. But I don't care. She was wonderful, giving me her all. She jumped everything beautifully, and I think she was having a great time roaring around that course.”

Sarah looked in at Prince. He had finished his hay and was resting in the far corner of his stall, his eyes half closed. She chose to leave him alone. He needed all the rest time he could get. It wouldn't be long before it would be their turn.

“Has Rita shown up yet?” Derek asked Kelly.

“She and her father are out walking the cross-country,” Kelly replied. “Tim and his parents just went down to the snack bar.”

Kayla, Mrs. Romano, Derek, and Kelly decided to also head out for some lunch, but Sarah had no appetite. She would stay with her horse. Going back to his stall, she sat on her tack trunk and studied the cross-country map one more time. It felt like cramming for a geography test. She closed her eyes to recite the course from memory and then checked the time once more. Her parents and Abby were scheduled to be there, and she was surprised they hadn't arrived. She pulled out her cell and dialed her mother's number. When there was no answer, she called her father, but his phone was also unavailable.
What's going on?
she thought.

The minutes ticked by until it was time to get Prince ready. Now it was their turn. When Kayla and Derek returned, they helped with Prince's grooming and getting him tacked up. Derek insisted on putting on Prince's galloping boots, to be sure they were positioned correctly—tight, but not too tight. Prince seemed to sense the tension in the air, and he chomped on his bit nervously.

Sarah slipped away to remove the jeans covering her riding breeches and pull on her tall black boots. After buckling her spurs and putting on the red body-protecting vest the DeWitts had given the team, she slipped into her number 21 pinny. Once her helmet was on, she grabbed her crop and took Prince's reins.

With more bravado than she truly felt, she said, “Thanks, guys. See you at the finish.
”

SARAH HAD SHORTENED HER STIRRUPS
for jumping before she mounted Crown Prince and headed for the cross-country course. At Jack's suggestion, she was also wearing lightweight riding gloves. No way did she want the reins to slip through her fingers! On the way to the warm-up, Sarah took long, deep breaths. It was important not to telegraph her nervousness to Prince. But she couldn't fool him. Her horse was too attuned to what she was feeling, and he could sense she was uptight. His head was up, and he chomped on the bit occasionally as they walked down the gravel path to the starting box.

Jack was waiting for them near the warm-up, where several riders were taking their horses over the practice jumps set up there, a vertical and an oxer. He eyed her horse. “Prince appears a little anxious.” He checked the time. “Let's get him moving. Do some trot and canter work, following your usual routine. Once he's relaxed and supple, you'll put him over a few fences. But not many. He should be saving his energy for the course ahead.” After trotting long and low for a while, Sarah gradually shortened her reins and increased her leg pressure to put Prince in a frame. Canter work and suppling exercises followed, until Jack beckoned to her. “Trot to the low vertical fence a few times, and then canter to both jumps.”

They had gone over the oxer twice when Jack motioned to Sarah again, this time pointing to his watch. She walked Prince toward the box, where the starter checked her against the list on his clipboard. “You'll be next, after Number 20,” he said, pointing to a gray horse waiting to go. The gray's tense body looked like a coiled spring about to be released. He knew what was coming! Moments later the horse was rocket propelled out of the box to begin the course.

Sarah swallowed hard, her heart beating a mile a minute. They were next! Prince crabstepped nervously, sensing something was about to happen. When she felt the dark bay body beneath her quiver and then shift uneasily, she reached down to stroke his neck. A few minutes later, the starter began counting backward from ten. Sarah gathered her horse and guided him into the box. “… three, two, one, go.” Their time had come!

Sarah pressed her legs hard against Prince's sides, and he moved quickly out of the starting box and onto the course. In seconds they were galloping toward the brush box, Prince's ears flicking back to her, not quite sure what this was all about.
We're going to jump it, Prince,
Sarah said with her aids. Her horse responded by pulling against the bit and quickening his pace. Soon they were soaring over the brush and heading for the log pile. Prince jumped it easily, landing lightly on the other side. He was immediately in full stride, starting up the woods trail.

As always, whenever Sarah rode her horse cross-country, she could tell Prince loved it. He eagerly galloped up the trail, flying over the slatted coop and the large log, and she thrilled to the power of the horse beneath her. The stone wall loomed in front of them, massive and solid, but Prince didn't hesitate, jumping it with room to spare. She checked his speed before they turned off the trail to jump up the bank obstacle, and two strides later Prince lifted over the telephone pole jump that followed it. Coming out of the trees, they were in a field with the pigpen ahead of them. As they got closer, Prince slowed slightly, not sure what this square obstacle was all about.
We can do it, Prince,
she communicated with her aids. Prince responded by nimbly jumping inside, and without another stride, immediately jumping out of the pigpen. They had done the bounce!

When Sarah turned Prince toward the first long hill on the course, he grabbed the bit, wanting to extend his stride and race up the hill. Sarah decided that fighting her horse would drain more of his energy than letting him run, so she settled for checking his speed only slightly. Prince's powerful hindquarters thrust them up the steep incline, much as he had done many times on their runs to the old orchard trail. Sarah was relieved when the course leveled off.

Next they galloped around a small knot of trees, bringing the whiskey barrels into view. Sarah noticed how much darker it was in the woods on the other side. She remembered Jack's warning about the challenge of jumping from light to darkness, and she pressed her legs harder on her horse's sides. Hesitating slightly, Prince jumped the barrels and then resumed his speed as he headed down the trail to the park bench. After sailing over it, he continued out of the woods toward the vegetable stand. When her horse first focused on it, his head came up and Sarah could feel his stride shorten.
He's not sure about this,
she thought.
All those veggies must look weird!
She pressed her legs firmly on Prince's sides as they got closer, and was relieved when he jumped it cleanly.
He trusts me!
she thought, elated.

They were going slightly downhill as they got nearer to the Chinese puzzle combination. Again Prince seemed unsure, but Sarah was there with her aids to reassure him, and her horse jumped through it, carefully tucking up his knees. She kept his pace slower for the double drop ahead. Prince jumped down the first drop, and a few strides later, the second one. Then it was on to the water obstacle. A lot of riders anticipated problems here, and there was a crowd of spectators gathered near it. Prince had done so well on the water jump at the farm that Sarah was confident he would jump this one willingly. But she remembered Jack's warning. “Don't be complacent about any obstacle, because that's when your horse will refuse. Don't be asleep at the switch.”

Prince was taken aback by all the people near the water, and he slowed unexpectedly. Sarah immediately sat deep in the saddle and kicked him on.
Go, Prince, go!
she thought. She looked beyond the log between the flags and rode him strongly forward. Once Prince got closer to the water, he shifted his focus from the spectators and rewarded Sarah with a nice jump over the log. They landed in the water with a noisy splatter and then Prince was splashing through it, as he loved to do in the Brookmeade brook. Just in time Sarah remembered the narrow vertical two strides out of the water and she steered Prince to it. As he landed after the jump, Sarah happened to notice some people close to the jump cheering. It was her family, and Abby was bouncing up and down!

They started up the second hill, and while it wasn't as long as the first one, the hay wagon obstacle was immediately at the top where the terrain leveled off. Prince didn't seem fatigued when he reached the top, and he had no fear of the hay wagon or the roll-top that followed it. All the cross-country schooling Jack had put them through on the farm was paying off! Prince seemed to understand what galloping this course was all about, and now he was eager, always looking for the next obstacle. Sarah turned him toward the rustic table near the treeline, and once it was in his sights, he attacked it, jumping it boldly. Next they jumped the cordwood pile that took them into the woods again.

Oh, my God!
Sarah thought.
The ditch is next!
But this was no time to be nervous. She must be strong. And calm. They galloped along the trail until Sarah saw the flags for the ditch and the fence judge sitting in the woods near it. Prince had become accustomed to seeing these people at the previous obstacles, and he thundered forward until he was close enough to see the ditch. As he had done at the veggie stand, he slowed down, but this time he didn't respond to her aids and resume his pace as before.

Eyes up, eyes up!
Sarah thought. She sat deeply and pressed her legs hard on Prince's sides, but he continued slowing down, eyeing the ditch. Sarah was desperate! She feared a refusal was coming. Keeping her eyes up, Sarah pleaded with her horse. She used her seat to urge him forward and kicked him on harder than she ever had before. “Go, Prince!” she shouted out loud. Suddenly, from over a stride in front of the ditch, Prince leaped high into the air, almost unseating her. He landed far beyond the ditch and continued galloping down the trail.

Sarah's heart sang! The dreaded ditch was behind them, and now Prince was running full out, his long strides devouring the trail. The coop with the sharp turn to a post-and-rail wasn't far ahead, and Sarah knew she'd have to slow him down. “Whoa, Prince, Whoa,” she called out, as she pulled back with her reins. She was relieved when her horse slackened his stride and came back to her! They were almost to the coop when she asked for an even shorter stride. As they were in the air over the coop, Sarah twisted to look at the fence on their right and turned Prince's head in that direction. He landed on his right lead and easily jumped the post-and-rail.

Now it was on to the last two obstacles. They galloped through the field toward the giant spools, and with no hesitation, Prince jumped them cleanly. One obstacle to go—the dollhouse. A number of horses had found it spooky, and Sarah wasn't taking any chances. She used her seat and legs to urge Prince forward, and with no hesitation, he was over it.

The last hill and the finish flags were before them, and Sarah leaned forward, extending her arms to give Prince his head. “Run, Prince!” she called to him, and although he was tired, Prince accelerated, giving her all the energy and stamina he had left. His powerful haunches propelled them up the hill and through the finish flags, to the cheers of the Brookmeade fans waiting for them.

Sarah slumped limply in the saddle, holding on to Prince's mane while calling for him to stop. “Whoa, boy. It's over,” she gasped. Prince seemed to understand, and without any rein aids, he came back to walk and then halted. Sarah sat for a minute, trying to catch her breath, before she slid off his back. As she ran up her irons and loosened the girth, Derek and Kayla hurried over to her. Before they reached Sarah, they stopped to admire Crown Prince, the picture of an arrogant and noble war horse. With his head raised high, he looked back down the hill from where they had come. His breaths from dilated nostrils came fast, as he claimed victory over the challenging course they had run.