A Leap For The Sky - Kc Wheeler (popular novels .TXT) 📗

me and the horses.

Bugs stood alert, staring at me through the darkness. He snorted as I approached, his body tense and ready to flee. I spoke softly to him and instantly he relaxed with recognition and started to graze. While Bugs had been very surprised to see somebody at this hour, Gypsy didn’t act fazed. She lay, her legs tucked beneath her. She nickered softly as I sat down cross-legged beside her in the dampened grass.

“Hey girl. I couldn’t sleep,” I whispered, gently stroking her thick white blaze.

Gypsy sighed and lowered her head into my lap, warming me both inside and out. I was so content with Gypsy, beneath the stars, surrounded by her sweet, horsey scent. I didn’t know how long I sat there. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours. I was overwhelmed with a new sense of peace and when I went back to bed, I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Chapter Four

The 17th finally arrived and both horses had been performing brilliantly on the lead up to it. Full of excitement, I slid out of bed as soon as my alarm went off at 7am. I happily tugged open the curtains.

And groaned in disappointment.

Dark, menacing clouds filled the sky. A light drizzle came down, disappearing into the mist that hovered above the ground. The trees, their leaves glistening with rain drops, swayed gently in the slight breeze. The weather forecast had stated sunshine with light cloud and winds forming in the evening.

How unlucky.

I pulled the curtains shut again, and stared glumly at the peach coloured material. I knew that Showjumping Champs would still go ahead. It would take incredibly severe weather for it to be canceled, but it meant I’d have to put studs in Gypsy’s shoes for extra grip, and ride slowly and very carefully. By the time my round starts, the ground will be muddy and chopped up, I thought unhappily.

I pulled on white jodhpurs, then an older pair over top to keep the first pair clean until my showjumping round. I then trudged down the stairs and into the empty kitchen. Everybody was still in bed. I was meeting Lucy and her dad, Steve, at Ridgewood stables. Using his truck and their old float, Steve would tow us to the showgrounds. My parents and Natasha were coming later to watch my round.

I grabbed a blueberry muffin and headed out the door where I was greeted with a cold chill. I then double checked I had everything I needed in my car. I’d bought home my horse gear for oiling and cleaning last night after bathing and grooming Gypsy to perfection.

Lucy and her dad were already at Ridgewood stables when I arrived. Lucy was heading to the stables where the horses slept last night, two lead ropes in her hands. I hurried over to her.

“Hey!” Lucy greeted me. She handed me a lead rope for Gypsy. “It’s a shame about the weather, huh?”

“Yes!” I cried. “I was so disappointed when I looked outside this morning.”

“At least Showjumping Champs doesn’t cancel very often. I don’t think I could handle it if they canceled.”

“I couldn’t handle it either,” I agreed. “We’ve been waiting for this day for so long.”

Gypsy nickered happily when she saw me. She didn’t appreciate being cooped up in a stable. Even in Winter she much preferred the freedom of the paddock; but she was always stabled to stay clean before competitions.

“Showjumping Champs today!” I told her. I snapped the lead rope to her halter and reached for her hay net to take to the showgrounds.

“Cut it out!” I heard Lucy growl angrily. She leaned against Bugs’ chest, forcing him to back up. “He gets so pushy after he’s been stabled!” Lucy mumbled. She walked forward again and Bugs bounced along beside her excitedly. Bugs really could be a handful at times.

Once my tack and the horses were loaded up, we were away on the one-hour journey.

“I feel like I’ve forgotten something,” Lucy said thoughtfully five minutes later.

“Do you have your show gear?” I asked.

“Yes,” Lucy said uncertainly.

“Saddle and bridle?”

“Tick.”

“Saddle pad?”

“Tick.”

“Studs?”

Lucy’s face went pale.

“Don’t worry, I packed you some just in case,” Steve assured her. Lucy was lucky. Her dad rode up until he in was in his late twenties, so was extremely helpful and relatively educated on horses and riding.

“Oh yay, thanks Dad,” Lucy said, the colour returning to her face. “I have hay for Bugs, jumping boots for his legs… Um… There’s a bucket in the float for water. I have Bugs’ breastplate and I think the martingale is still on it… It better be, he needs that,” Lucy said frowning.

“Stop stressing,” Steve grinned through the review mirror. “The only thing you’ve forgotten is your confidence.”

“I’m definitely not feeling very confident,” Lucy admitted.

“Bugs has been jumping so well though,” I said.

Lucy closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat. “It’s not him I’m worried about.”

The weather hadn’t seemed to keep anyone away for the showgrounds were full of uncountable floats and horse trucks. I noticed Lucy’s eyes widen with fear as she scanned her surroundings. But she bit her lip and said nothing. We pulled into an empty spot beside a big horse truck.

Then we realized who we were parked beside.

“No Dad! We have to move; we can’t park here!” Lucy cried. “Can we leave?” she begged, panicked. “Please?”

Larissa sat texting in the front seat of her parent’s truck, a new Holden Colorado. A groom in muck-out boots and a green rain jacket, was carefully plating the mane of her new Warmblood. I was unable to see his body due to his cover, but I was able to see he was a rich bay with a handsome face, and a long, well-muscled neck. He stood tall as I expected, even taller than Bugs.

“Don’t be silly Lucy. This park is in a great spot.” Steve said.

“But… but… Larissa!” she stammered, pointing.

“Oh. The girl you don’t like,” he said calmly. “Well, imagine how much more she’d hassle you if she realized she was able to drive you away from a perfect park.” Steve smiled smugly and opened the driver’s door. “Let’s unload these horses.”

Lucy looked at me in horror. I didn’t particularly want to be parked next to Larissa either, but the look on Lucy’s face was so mortified that I had to swallow a laugh. “Just ignore her,” I said. “She’s not worth worrying about.”

Lucy’s mouth dropped open like she couldn’t believe what I’d said. Then she sighed. “Let’s help Dad then.”

Bugs came scrambling off the float and peered around, his eyes near popping out of their sockets as if he couldn’t believe where he was. He let out a loud, shrill neigh. A husky neigh in the distance answered his call.

Gypsy who had been in a competitive environment many times before, slowly backed out from the float and gently pulled at the lead rope, asking to graze at the lush grass.

We tied the horses to the side of the float furthest from Larissa, and hung their hay-nets within their reach. Bugs took a quick mouthful and then stopped chewing, the hay strands hanging loosely from his mouth. He called out again, a high pitched noise that hurt my ears.

“Oh I just know he’s going to be naughty today!” Lucy held both hands to her face, staring hard at her horse as he fidgeted on his feet.

“He’s been to a few competitions now. He’ll calm down.” I assured her.

“Not a competition as big as this! There’s three times the amount of people and horses than there was at our other shows.”

Lucy did have a point. I saw bays and chestnuts all around- the most common horse colours. There was also a fair amount of greys and blacks, a handful of pinto horses, duns and palominos, and I spotted a couple of roans. A leopard-spot Appaloosa grazed across from us. There were horses so finely built they made Bugs looked heavy, and horses so heavily built they made Gypsy look fine.

Many people were already mounted and warming up for the lower classes. The heights for Showjumping Champs began at seventy-five centimetres. Some horses worked nicely on the bit while others bucked and pranced around, ignoring their rider’s aids.

Laughter and chatter surrounded us completely. Horses called out and answered each other from all different directions. I could see why Bugs, and Lucy, were overwhelmed.

“You don’t have to get on for a long-while yet. He has plenty of time to settle down,” I said.

“And plenty of time for me to worry,” Lucy added; but she forced a smile to her face. “I’ll be proud of myself once it’s over, and I’ll be so glad I did it.”

“Exactly!” I agreed, relieved to see her taking a more positive approach.

At that moment Larissa got out of the truck and strutted towards us confidently. “Well, he looks very stressed!” she commented, pointing at Bugs. “Are you sure you should be jumping him today?”

Lucy’s face dropped.

I jumped to her defense. “He will be fine once Lucy’s on!” I insisted.

“If you say so,” Larissa replied doubtfully, a frown on her heavily made-up face. At that moment Bugs called out again, spinning his hind end into Gypsy. She half-heartedly lifted a back leg as warning, while continuing to graze. Larissa smirked.

“And you’re STILL on that pony? Aren’t you seventeen now?” she demanded.

Rules were that once a rider turned seventeen they were unable to competitively show-jump a pony, sized 14.2-hands-high and under, with the exception of pony club competitions.

“Gypsy isn’t a pony. She’s 15-hands-high,” I told her, though I was sure she already knew.

“Right. Well she looks like a pony,” Larissa spoke smugly. “Especially when you’re on her.”

“I fit her fine!” I argued defensively.

“You have long legs Adele. You should really sell that nag and look for something closer to sixteen-hands.”

I scowled at her. I did have long legs, but Gypsy was wide with a large girth area, meaning my legs did not exceed her.

“Well, good luck!” Larissa enthused. “You’re going to need it,” she added, glancing once again at Bugs.

Lucy and I watched her wander away. Larissa waved to a girl who eagerly ran over to talk to her.

“She’s right,” Lucy muttered. “I’m going to do awful. Bugs is just too anxious today.”

I sighed, annoyed that Larissa had ruined Lucy’s new-found confidence. “Ignore her! You know she’ll say anything to put you down; that’s just what Larissa’s like!”

“But look at him!” Lucy cried.

Bugs had been digging at the ground with his front hoof, making a large hole. Wet mud dripped down his foreleg.

I started to gasp; he was destroying public grounds. But I stopped myself. “Um,” I thought for a minute. “I know!” I reached into the back of the truck for the feed I’d made Gypsy, tipping some of it into a blue bucket. “This might keep him quieter than the hay,” I hoped.

To both of our relief, he began to eat, pulling his head from the bucket just occasionally to look around.

“Should we go over and wait until we can walk the course then?” Lucy asked. She pulled her jacket tighter around her. Wet, dark hair stuck to her face.

“Yes, let’s go,” I agreed.

Chapter Five

Luckily the course was set appropriately for the wet ground, wide with no technical angles or sharp turns required.

Lucy was expressing concern about the upright with a wooden box beneath it, painted like a brick wall. Lucy knew she needed to ride strongly and confidently into fences with fill; Bugs was still a little green and did tend to baulk at these fences. I was a little concerned about the double. It was set for two strides for a big horse. I couldn’t decide whether to push Gypsy for a long stride, or whether to collect her up and pop in a third. I decided I’d see what other riders on smaller mounts did.

Bugs had finished his feed but calmed down immensely by the time we arrived back at the float.