True Riders (14 page)

In fact, she'd whipped out her phone and dialed for Brooke, which had left Brooke no choice but to call—and Kiersten had said yes right away. She'd even offered to come over on Friday afternoon to meet Foxy and coach Brooke through her final ride before the show.

Now Kiersten was rubbing her hands together as she and Brooke hurried back into the people part of the barn, leaving Foxy to lick the last traces of grain out of her bucket. “Do you have your stuff packed up?” Kiersten asked. “I can carry a bag on the bike. I think.”

“I don't have that much.” Brooke grabbed the small duffel she'd brought out from the house earlier and dumped the contents of her grooming bucket into it. “Just a few grooming tools and stuff. She'll already have all her tack on, since we're riding over.”

“Good point.” Kiersten grinned. “So let's get her tacked up and get moving!”

The two of them set to work, grooming Foxy until her shaggy winter coat was as shiny and clean as they could get it, and then saddling her. Brooke mounted, and Kiersten opened the gate to let them out of the pasture. Then she grabbed the sleek silver mountain bike she'd left leaning against the outside wall of the shed.

“Are you sure she's used to riding next to a bike?” Kiersten asked as she swung a leg over the frame. “My old pony would probably think this thing was a horse-eating monster!”

“Definitely.” Brooke patted her pony. “We ride with Adam on his bike all the time.”

She still felt a twinge of disappointment whenever she thought about Adam. How could he have let her down like this? Sure, she understood how much he'd wanted to be on the basketball team. But couldn't he have told the coach he'd start next week? Or if he couldn't do that, the least he could have done was apologize a little more for leaving her hanging. . . .

With a sigh she did her best to push that all out of her mind. She couldn't afford any negative thoughts today—not if she wanted Foxy to have a good experience at the show. Haley and the others had reminded her of that last night.

“Come on, let's go,” she told Kiersten. “It's this way.”

The show barn was just a half hour ride across several farm fields and through a couple of patches of woods. As they crossed the last field, they started to be able to hear the commotion of the show. Foxy pricked her ears, slowing her pace a little as a loudspeaker crackled.

Kiersten glanced over, huffing and puffing after her bike ride. “She okay?”

“I think so.” Brooke patted the pony. “Come on, Foxy. You're fine.”

But the mare seemed to grow taller and more animated with every step after that. They had to cross a quiet country road to reach the stable's property, and Foxy spooked at the sound of her own hoof on the asphalt.

“She's definitely on her toes,” Kiersten said once they'd made it across safely. “That's no surprise, since you said she hasn't been to a show since summer.”

“Yeah.” Brooke squeezed her legs against the mare's side as Foxy skittered sideways at a blowing leaf. “And that one was at the same place where she'd been for two weeks already.”

“It'll be okay.” Kiersten got off and started wheeling the bike up the stable drive, eyeing the busy stable grounds ahead of them as she walked. “Most horses settle down after a few minutes. And Foxy seems super-sensible.”

“She is.” Brooke gulped as Foxy spooked again, this time at the sound of a car horn somewhere farther down the road. “Usually.”

She was tempted to get off and lead Foxy instead of riding her. But Kiersten was acting as if Foxy's behavior was no big deal, and Brooke didn't want to look like a chicken in front of her new friend. So she gritted her teeth and did her best to stay calm.

Foxy just needs me to be confident,
she told herself, remembering how different the pony had been when Adam had ridden her the other day, even though he wasn't even a particularly experienced rider.
I'm sure she'll settle down soon, like Kiersten said.

They made their way past the farm's big stone house to the show grounds beyond. The place was pretty small, with just a rustic wooden barn, a large outdoor ring, and several roomy pastures. One of the pastures had been given over to parking, and at least a dozen horse trailers were already in there, along with plenty of cars. Horses and riders were milling around in the parking area and in the crushed stone courtyard between the barn and the ring. Spectators had already set up lawn chairs along the long sides of the ring, where a course of colorful crossrails was set up, decorated with fake flowers and pots of greens. A sign on the gate read
SHOW RING—NO SCHOOLING
.

“Looks like they only have the one ring.” Kiersten glanced around. “I wonder where— Oh, wait, okay, I see the schooling ring.”

She pointed to a large paddock near the barn. The gate was propped open with a cinder block, and half a dozen riders were in there trotting around or jumping their horses and ponies over the crossrail and simple vertical someone had set up in the center. On the fence, a sign read
SCHOOLING RING
.

“So we warm up in there?” Brooke halted Foxy at the edge of the show grounds. The pony's head was up, and she let out a snort and then a loud whinny. Somewhere in the parking area, another horse whinnied back.

Kiersten smiled and patted the pony on the neck. “It's okay, Foxy girl.” She glanced up at Brooke. “Why don't you ride her around and let her relax and get a look at everything? I can go get your number and sign you up for the stuff we talked about.”

After finishing their schooling the evening before, the two of them had pored over the show's schedule on Brooke's laptop. They'd chosen a couple of divisions that looked suitable—the first was a beginner horse class for green horses and ponies, and the other was an equitation division for riders who were new to showing. Brooke hadn't been able to miss the fact that those were the same two divisions that Adam had mentioned when he'd first told her about the show, though she was trying not to think about him today.

“Um, okay.” Brooke was glad that Kiersten was there to help. She hadn't even known that she needed to get a number, though she could see that many of the other riders already had cardboard cards tied around their waists, with big black numerals on them.

Kiersten wheeled her bike off toward the sign-in table over by the barn, soon disappearing into the crowd. Brooke glanced briefly at the schooling ring, then turned Foxy in the opposite direction and rode her toward the edge of the parking area, where it was quieter.

Twenty minutes later Kiersten spotted them riding circles at the walk and hurried over. “Hey, there you are!” she said with a smile, holding up a piece of cardboard with a string flopping from it. “Here's your number.”

“Thanks.” Brooke dismounted and took it from her, handing over Foxy's reins in exchange. Then she tied the number around her waist like she'd seen the other riders do, so it was centered on her lower back.

Kiersten took a few steps toward the rings, Foxy trailing along behind her, and peered at the schooling paddock. “Your first division starts pretty soon,” she said. “You should probably take Foxy in and warm up over that crossrail a couple of times.”

Brooke swallowed hard as she followed her friend's gaze. Even more riders had crowded into the schooling ring by then, and all of them seemed to be going in different directions at different gaits.

Kiersten hadn't waited for an answer and was leading the pony off toward the gate. Brooke followed, trying to tell herself that she'd be fine.

Things looked even more chaotic from right next to the ring. Brooke took a few deep breaths, then checked her helmet strap to make sure it was buckled tightly.

“Okay, up you go,” Kiersten said cheerfully, looping Foxy's reins back over her head and then holding the bridle to keep the pony steady.

After touching her helmet strap one last time, Brooke stuck her left foot into the stirrup and swung aboard. Foxy had started to feel calmer out in the relative quiet of the parking area, but now she felt tense and on edge again as she stared at the horses and ponies rushing around in the schooling ring.

“Good luck, and be careful.” Kiersten smiled, checked to make sure Foxy's girth was tight, and then patted the pony on the shoulder. “Looks a little crazy in there. As usual for a schooling ring!”

Brooke nodded and glanced toward the main ring. It looked so nice and peaceful out there; she wished she could just go straight in without dealing with the schooling ring. But Kiersten hadn't suggested that, so Brooke guessed it wasn't how things were done.

She gave Foxy a nudge with her heels, steering her toward the open gate. A wildly spotted Appaloosa came charging out at a trot right before they got there, and Foxy froze and snorted as the horse rushed past.

“Someone come wipe off my boots!” the Appaloosa's rider hollered, barely seeming to notice that she'd almost crashed into Brooke.

“It's okay, girl,” Brooke whispered, taking a few deep breaths and trying to remember what Nina had told her about how to calm herself down. But she couldn't recall what Nina had said to do, so Brooke just gulped in one more breath and then nudged her pony forward again.

This time they made it through the gate and into the ring. The crossrail in the center looked a million miles away, with horses and ponies of all shapes and sizes passing between here and there. Training her gaze on it, Brooke urged Foxy forward.

At that moment a tall bay horse cantered past less than an arm's length in front of them. Foxy snorted and tossed her head, wheeling sideways.

Brooke froze, flashing back to the seconds before that buck the other day. Her hands clenched tightly on the reins, pulling back so hard that Foxy shook her head and backed up.

“Hey!” an annoyed voice yelled from right behind them.

Glancing over her shoulder, Brooke saw that Foxy had almost crashed into a stout dapple gray pony walking along the rail. Oops!

“S-sorry,” Brooke called, though the other pony had already trotted away. Foxy started turning around again, letting out a panicky snort, and Brooke just sat there, unable to react and wondering what her parents would think if her pony came galloping home without her. . . .

A second later Kiersten materialized at Foxy's head, taking the reins and talking soothingly to the pony. She led them back to the gate and paused just inside.

“You okay?” she asked, squinting up at Brooke.

Brooke just shook her head, suddenly on the verge of tears. Realizing she was still clutching the reins, she let them go entirely, leaving Kiersten to hold her pony still.

Kiersten bit her lip, then glanced through the gate. “Coming out!” she hollered, leading Foxy out of the ring.

Once they were a safe distance outside, Brooke managed to control her trembling limbs long enough to dismount. She sank to the ground against a fence post and closed her eyes.

Kiersten pulled the reins over Foxy's head and let her lower her head to graze on the weeds beneath the fence line. Then she squatted in front of Brooke.

“Hey,” she said softly. “What's the matter?”

Brooke looked up at her, a couple of tears squeezing out, despite her best efforts to stop them. The shaking had subsided a little, but her heart was still racing.

“I can't do this,” she blurted out. “I'm sorry.”

The other girl's eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“The show.” Brooke took a deep breath. “I thought it'd be okay, but it's not. I can't do it.”

She felt horrible. Why did she have to be such a chicken? She'd let her pony down and humiliated herself, and now she looked like an idiot in front of Kiersten, who'd probably never want to talk to her again.

And what about the Pony Posters?
she thought miserably.
They're all going to think I'm a big loser. I'm sure none of them would flake out like this.

She grimaced, trying to imagine what she was going to tell them—bold Haley, confident Maddie, cool-as-a-cucumber Nina. What would they say to her if they were here right now?

She forgot about that as Kiersten grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“Listen, this is just show nerves again,” she said. “You can do this! You and Foxy are a great team, remember?”

“Maybe at home we are.” Brooke sighed and picked at a blade of brownish grass beside her. “But I'm thinking we just aren't cut out for showing.”

“Sure you are,” Kiersten urged. “You did so great yesterday, and—”

“No.” Brooke cut her off. “Um, thanks for the pep talk, but there's no point. I can't ride in the show. I just can't.”

Kiersten didn't say anything for a second. She stood up and looked over at the rings, then at Foxy. Finally she turned back toward Brooke.

“I have an idea,” she said. “Would it be okay— I mean, do you think maybe
I
should ride Foxy in the first division?”

Surprised, Brooke glanced up at her. “Huh?”

“Listen, you already offered to let me ride Foxy anytime, right? So I promise I'm not just being pushy.” Kiersten grinned, talking very fast now. “But the thing is, you worked so hard to get here, and I know Foxy can do it.” She paused and shrugged. “I'm just not sure
you
know that. Know what I mean?”

Brooke stared at her, trying to take in what she was saying. “But the way she bucked—and she's still green, and, well . . .”

“If you say no, that's fine.” Kiersten shrugged. “But I'm pretty sure I can handle her.”

Brooke thought about that. Everything Kiersten had ever said made her sound like a pretty experienced rider.

What's the worst that could happen?
Brooke thought.

All sorts of answers to that question immediately started dancing around in her head. After all, Brooke had never actually seen Kiersten ride. What if she talked a good game but actually rode more like Brooke's little brother, hauling Foxy around by the reins? What if Foxy bucked her off, or wouldn't stop spooking? Brooke had worked so hard on the pony's training, and she'd hate to see it ruined. . . .