Crown Prince Challenged (11 page)

Kayla was laughing so hard she couldn't speak right away. “That is priceless!” she squealed. Becoming more serious, she said, “It would be nice if those two dufuses would get off your back, but somehow I don't think you've heard the last from them.”

Sarah stepped aside as Prince turned in the stall, brushing up close to her, and then put the phone back to her ear. “Here's another thing, Kayla. Promise you won't tell?”

After Kayla pledged herself to secrecy, Sarah began to describe her trail ride to the old orchard. “It was awesome! Prince was loving it!” she said. “And we had some excitement coming back. We didn't see any wild turkeys, but after we'd come down the steepest part of the ridge, there was a huge moose beside the trail.”

Kayla gasped. “What did Prince do? Try to cut and run?”

“He was amazing! He just snorted, frozen to the ground. I was afraid the moose might charge us, and I knew we needed to get out of there fast. I gave Prince a kick and we left the moose in our dust. Later, when I asked Prince to come back to walk, he was perfect!”

“This all sounds great,” Kayla said. “Why don't you want me to tell anyone?”

Sarah frowned to herself, then confessed. “Jack told me to go a short distance on the trail, but we went all the way to the top. How will he feel if he finds out I ignored his instructions? When it comes to working with horses, he's pretty strict.”

Kayla was quiet, thinking. Finally she said, “The trouble with stretching the truth is the cover-up never ends. You just get drawn in deeper, needing to tell more lies to keep your secret. If Jack ever found out, you'd worry he didn't trust you anymore, and the truth is, he might not. It would be better if you tell him what happened. You need to come clean, just like you decided to do with your parents when you fell off.”

Sarah thought a minute. “I guess you're right, Kayla. Thanks. Hey, listen … I gotta go. I'll call you later though.”

Sarah put her phone back in her pocket and went to her horse. When Prince raised his head from his hay pile, she hugged his neck. Kayla was right. It would be best to talk to Jack right away. She swallowed the lump in her throat and headed to the office. Lindsay was sitting at the desk with a sandwich and a Coke when she walked in. “Hi, Lindsay. Is Jack around?” she asked.

“He was just here,” Lindsay said. “He's got a class in the indoor this afternoon. You might find him there setting up a course.”

“Thanks, Linds,” Sarah said, leaving the office. She hoped Jack was alone in the indoor. What would she say? How could she keep him from being angry and disappointed in her? She walked down the aisle that led to the indoor, hesitating as she approached the gate. Jack was dragging standards and rails into place for his afternoon class. A quick scan of the arena showed that except for him, it was deserted.

I hope he won't mind being interrupted,
Sarah thought, as she pushed the gate open and walked toward Jack. He stopped what he was doing when he spotted Sarah and watched her approach. His face sobered when he saw her serious expression.

“Have you good news to tell me about your ride?” he asked.

Sarah remained quiet until she got closer. “The good news is that Prince was a star today. He couldn't have gone better.”

Jack smiled. “You had no problems in the woods? No wild turkeys to cause him fits?” Sarah shook her head. “Then why the long face?” Jack asked, studying her thoughtfully.

“I have something to tell you.” Sarah paused and looked down at the ground. When she could bring herself to meet his eyes, she went on. “Right from the beginning, Prince was perfect. He was striding out, and we quickly got to the big log. I should have turned him around then and headed back, like you told me. But Prince wanted to go on. And I let him.” Jack was quiet, listening, as a frown spread over his face.

“We jumped the log and kept on going. I didn't stop him. He was cantering so beautifully, loving it. When we got to the ridge, he galloped even faster. We went all the way to the top.” Sarah paused, looking for Jack's reaction. She went on to tell him about the moose and how she had asked Prince to take off down the trail before it could charge. “Then when I asked him to stop, he did. He didn't fight me. He didn't panic. He listened.” Sarah searched Jack's face for the slightest indication he understood what she was sharing—that for those minutes she and her horse had become one creature, and
that
was why she kept going.

Jack didn't reply right away, but his stern expression spoke volumes. Sarah's heart sank. Finally he spoke, his voice clipped. “It sounds like you had a thrilling ride, but it might not have turned out so well. You're fortunate the moose didn't charge you, because we're into rutting season, and a bull moose is quick to charge anything he thinks is challenging his territory. You were wise to get out of there fast. 'Tis also possible there may be negative impact from letting an unfit horse gallop up that long, steep ridge. His muscles could tie up, which would be serious. You'll have to watch him closely for the next hour.”

Sarah looked at Jack in alarm. In disregarding his instructions, she might have hurt her horse. She hung her head, unable to meet his gaze. “Prince was so good. And now I feel awful, not just because I might have hurt him, but because I didn't listen to you. I guess I've let you down.”

“Your horse's care should always come first,” Jack said, all business. “Make sure he has plenty of water and cut his grain in half tonight. Hand-walk him when you get back to his stall. If you notice any stiffness to his walk, or if the muscles in his hindquarters feel hard to the touch, call me at once. 'Tis a vet he'll be needing and fast.”

Jack went back to setting up the jump, but paused to make one final comment. “I am disappointed in you, Sarah, because I thought you took your horse's training more seriously. But I do appreciate your being forthright and honest. From now on,
you
need to make the decisions, not your horse. Use your head and don't take chances on a whim of the moment.”

Sarah rushed back to Prince's stall and immediately attached the lead shank to his halter and walked him to the courtyard. Thankfully he seemed fine. A wave of relief passed over her. On the way back to Crown Prince's stall, they passed Gus in the midst of cleaning Wichita's stall. Sarah halted her horse in front of the open door.

“Hi Gus.” She waited for the craggy older man to pause in his work. When Gus turned her way, Sarah said, “Prince had a pretty demanding workout, and Jack says there's a chance he might tie up. He seems fine right now, but Jack told me to cut tonight's grain in half. I'm going to walk him again later to see if he's okay. I just thought you should know.”

Gus jammed the manure fork into the bedding and glowered at her. “You rode him too hard again! When are you going to learn anything?” Sarah hung her head and walked away, not surprised at Gus's reaction. But she'd
had
to tell him. This way, when she left for the night, he'd be sure to keep checking on her horse. Once Prince was back in his stall, she went directly to the feed room, unlocked the heavy door, and removed half the grain ration she'd dished into his pail for the night feed. He would know he'd been shortchanged, but it couldn't be helped. After she had walked him again a short time later, she thought about heading for home. Prince seemed perfectly fine, thank goodness, with no change in his walk or the muscles in his hindquarters.

As Sarah swung onto her bicycle and started up the farm road, she thought about the important business on her to-do list at home. She needed to tackle the essay Ms. Dunlop had assigned—it was due Monday morning—but more importantly, she wanted to tell her mother how good Prince had been on the trail ride, of course leaving out the part how she'd ignored Jack's instructions. When she turned into the driveway, Sarah was glad to see her mother's SUV in the garage. The Creamery was still open on weekends, which meant her father and Abby were still at work. Sarah found her mother reading in the family room.

Mrs. Wagner closed her paperback when Sarah came to sit beside her on the plaid loveseat. “How was your day at Brookmeade?” her mother asked.

Sarah took a deep breath before starting. “Mom, you don't have to worry anymore about how Prince is going to behave in the woods. We went by ourselves on the old orchard trail, and he was amazing. And guess what! While we were on the trail, we met a bull moose, a big one with huge antlers. Prince just stood there, staring at him. I was afraid the moose might charge, so I asked Prince to get out of there fast. He did, but then he came right back to me when I asked him to walk. He didn't make one mistake the whole ride. He's such a totally fantastic horse!”

“I'm glad to hear that,” Mrs. Wagner said, putting her book down on the table. “And now you're also going to tell me a flock of wild turkeys flew up in front of you, and Prince chose that moment to take a quick nap. Right?” She looked at Sarah pointedly, waiting for an answer.

Sarah's heart sank. Every good thing that happened on the trail that day wasn't going to make any difference to her mother. It all boiled down to turkeys. “Actually, we didn't see any turkeys,” Sarah admitted.

As she always did when making a serious point, Mrs. Wagner spoke evenly, not in a rush. “Then we both know that the jury is still out on the safety question, isn't it? I'm happy things went so well today, but you have to know I'm still concerned about you riding that big horse. And your father is, too.” Mrs. Wagner picked up her book when Sarah got up to leave. “Thanks for sharing your day. I hope you'll have many more good rides on Crown Prince.”

Sarah went to her room, pulled out her desk chair, and turned on her laptop. As it booted up, she tried to think of ideas for the essay that was due in English class, but her mind was blank. Her eyes scanned the posters of the great race mares, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, on the wall near her desk. She closed her eyes and relived Prince's incredible gallop up to the old orchard. Even if her mother wasn't impressed, it had been an unbelievable day for her and her horse. Suddenly she knew. Of course. She'd write about her day's adventure with Crown Prince!

SARAH GOT TO THE FARM
on Wednesday a few minutes after the Romanos arrived. Fanny was already off the trailer, and Sarah parked her bike near where Kayla was grooming her horse. Sarah went to Fanny's head and ran her fingers lightly over the perfect diamond on the mare's forehead. “Fanny looks great,” she said. “Her coat shines like a new penny. I hope I'll be able to watch some of your lesson today, before I get Prince ready to ride in the four o'clock class. You think you'll be mainly jumping?”

“Yeah, Jack said we might go out on the hunt course or maybe school on a few cross-country obstacles in the meadow,” Kayla said, running a dandy brush down Fanny's legs. The galloping boots, which Kayla put on Fanny's front legs when she jumped her, lay on the grass close by. “Paige and Tim are doing the Hobby Horse Farm event pretty soon, so they'll love that.”

Mrs. Romano stepped out of the trailer's dressing room carrying Kayla's tack. “Hi, Sarah,” she said. “I understand you had some excitement when Crown Prince was spooked by wild turkeys on the trail. I hope he's okay.”

“Hi, Mrs. Romano. Yes, thanks. He got a cut on his leg, but nothing serious. He's fine now.”

Hearing the sound of a large rig coming down the farm road, they turned to see Rita Snyder's van approach. They looked at each other and smiled—it was a good time for Sarah to leave. She pushed her bike to the side door of the barn, eager to see Crown Prince. She could clearly envision his finely sculpted head, large, intelligent eye, and black forelock falling to the brink of his white star. Prince's welcoming nicker when he saw her come around the corner had become a regular occurrence, and today was no exception.

But Sarah wasn't pleased when she got closer. Prince must have been turned out that morning in a wet paddock, because his right side was caked with dried mud.

“Ugh!” she said, as she hugged his head. “You're a mess! How could you do this to me, Prince?”

After he finished his carrot, Sarah decided she'd better get to it. Grooming was sure to take a lot longer than usual. She rushed to the tack room to get her things before putting Prince on crossties. Billows of dust were rising as she curried his dirty side when Derek arrived on the scene.

“Hey!” he said, laughing, as he got closer to Prince. “Are there dirt bombs going off in here?”

Sarah stopped currying for a minute and stepped back from her grimy horse, waving dust away from her face. “He picked a good day to do this! I'm riding in the four o'clock class.”

“Lucky you,” Derek said, as the corners of his mouth turned up in a grin.

“How did your lesson with Jack go?” Sarah asked, as she got busy again with the curry. “Did he place you in a class?”

“Actually I'm going to stick with privates with Jack, because no one else in the barn does jumpers. But that's cool. I really like Jack's instruction. He has a nice way of gradually increasing the difficulty of what we're doing, so Bismarck isn't overfaced.”

Derek turned to go to his horse while Sarah continued grooming Prince. She spent a lot of time with the curry comb and brushes until his coat got back its usual shine. As a final step, she dampened a grooming cloth and ran it lightly over his coat to pick up any remaining dust. She stepped back to appraise his appearance—the difference was amazing! She left him on the cross-ties while she went to get a wheelbarrow and manure fork for cleaning his stall. It would be nice to have that chore out of the way before she warmed him up for their lesson.

Sarah hadn't ridden in a group since the ill-fated ride several months before when Gray Fox had run away with her. She considered what the lesson today would be like. She'd made up her mind she would take Mrs. DeWitt's advice and totally ignore Kelly and Nicole. In fact, she'd stay as far away from them as possible. If they were looking for a confrontation, she was determined not to give it to them.