Crown Prince Challenged (24 page)

Sarah thought a moment. “Why can't Amy take the bus like most of us do?” she asked. “Wouldn't that solve the problem?”

“The problem is that Paige doesn't trust me!” Tim said heatedly. He jerked his Jeep into gear and gunned off, spraying gravel back at them.

Prince shied at the car's sudden takeoff and pranced as Sarah turned him in a small circle. She sighed when he resumed walking quietly. Had she put her foot into her mouth big time? Maybe Paige wouldn't be thrilled she'd gotten involved. The last thing she needed was more drama at Brookmeade Farm! And this new development certainly didn't boost their chances of sending a winning team to Wexford Hall in June.

THE COMING OF SPRING
brought expected changes to Brookmeade Farm. The outdoor sand ring went back into use, and riders could once again hack on the trails connected to the farm. The horses rolled in the paddocks regularly as they shed their winter coats, and winter blankets were laundered and stored away. As Sarah rode her bike to the barn once again, she reveled in the smells of thawing ground and budding trees. It was great that she didn't have to depend on anyone for a ride, and she could get to the barn on her own schedule.

The school break in April meant Sarah had a week of almost unlimited time with her horse. On their lesson day, she biked to the farm several hours in advance, thinking how nice it was not to be rushed. Prince would be turned out now, so after parking her bike by the side door of the barn, she first went to see if Paige was around. Quarry was on the cross-ties while Paige brushed his luxurious silver tail with a hairbrush just like the one Sarah had at home. Sarah grinned and shook her head as she pointed to it.

“It works better than anything I could get at a tack shop,” Paige said. “It's gentle and doesn't pull out a lot of hair.” She laughed. “Quarry's getting ready for his first movie, you know.” Sarah was glad to hear Paige laugh again, something that had been rare lately.

Just then the Brookmeade Jack Russells came barreling down the aisle to play with Sarah. Spin and Cameo raced around her while she clapped her hands and spun in circles. She stopped and petted them as Mrs. DeWitt came closer.

“I have some news, girls,” she said. “Athena has finally had her foal, a filly. I'm heading up there to see her. Would you like to come along?”

“Of course!” Paige said. “I'll put Quarry back in his stall.” Sarah was equally excited. The other two mares had foaled over a month before, and everyone had been wondering why Athena was so late. They piled into Mrs. DeWitt's Mercedes for the ride to the carriage shed.

“Jack had a feeling last night would be the night,” Mrs. DeWitt said, as she drove up the hill. “Athena was waxing, which is a good sign foaling is about to happen soon. Jack has a surveillance system set up so from the bungalow he can see and hear anything going on in the foaling stall. That, plus making regular checks, allows him to keep on top of things.”

“What's waxing?” Sarah asked, leaning forward to hear her better.

“That's when the mare begins secreting milk from her udder,” Mrs. DeWitt said, “usually just before foaling.” When they pulled into the driveway, Jack stepped out of the bungalow on his way to the carriage shed. He waved.

“Aren't we lucky! Jack can tell us all about it,” Mrs. DeWitt said.

The girls and Mrs. DeWitt found Jack looking into the roomy foaling stall at Athena and her filly. The chestnut filly with a large white star looked at them curiously, but Athena's ears were pinned back. She was by nature very protective, and quickly moved between the visitors and her baby.

“The foal's legs are so long!” Paige exclaimed. They watched as the filly took a few steps before reaching under her dam to nurse.

“It's nature's way of helping her flee from any predators,” Mrs. DeWitt said. “Flight is a horse's primary defense against them, and a foal can run with its dam when just a few hours old.” She looked to Jack. “I heard from Kathleen that you both were here for the birth.”

“Yes. Fortunately there weren't any complications, and Athena would have preferred we mind our own business. About three this morning, I heard the sound of the mare moving in the straw on the intercom. I immediately checked the surveillance monitor and saw she was walking in the stall. When I came out, Athena was down, and the filly was born within minutes. Both mare and foal were on their feet not long afterward. At first the filly walked with little wobbly steps, but a few minutes later she could have been running, if need be. We're lucky everything went so smoothly. It was warm enough that we didn't need to use the infrared heat lamp.”

“Things haven't always gone so well,” Mrs. DeWitt said. “We lost both a foal and the mare in a difficult foaling a few years ago. It was a breech birth, when the foal wasn't positioned properly, and the mare had gone into an early labor unnoticed in the field. Dr. Reynolds came as fast as he could, but he wasn't in time.”

“Fortunately, most foalings go smoothly,” Jack said. “I love to hear the mare nicker to the little one shortly after birth, as Athena did.” He pushed his tweed cap higher off his forehead. “My father was an excellent foaling man. He could help a mare that was in trouble better than many a veterinarian.”

At that moment, the filly turned from her dam and with awkward steps began making her way toward the visitors standing close to the bars. Athena quickly interceded, rushing to get between her foal and the people looking in at them.

“Athena is a sweet and friendly mare, except when she has a new foal by her side,” Jack warned. “Then 'tis best to keep your distance.”

A short time later Mrs. DeWitt drove the girls back to the barn so they could get their horses ready for their lesson. With school vacation, Tim was at the barn earlier than usual, and Rita and Kayla also showed up well ahead of schedule. Derek was tacking up Bismarck when the girls came to Prince's stall.

Rita walked around Derek's horse, studying his conformation. “How did you find your horse in Germany?” she asked.

“Actually my Chicago trainer tracked him down,” Derek said as he continued putting the saddle on his horse. “Bismarck had a show record, so we were pretty sure of what we were getting. Of course we had a vet go over him with a fine-tooth comb over there.”

From Rita's face, Sarah could tell she wasn't happy to see a horse at the farm that might challenge Chancellor's status in her mind as the most superior horse. Even though they probably wouldn't face each other in horse shows, since Derek competed only in the jumpers, Rita really didn't like
any
horse that could conceivably beat hers in competition. A few minutes later, Rita left them, mentioning she was going to check in with Tim. Kayla stayed a few more minutes before going back to get Fanny ready.

The Young Riders lesson that day included jumping a course of fences Jack had set up in the indoor, and when they were finished, he had the class come to the center. “The fields and woods have thoroughly dried out,” he said, “so we can use them for schooling without chopping the ground up unnecessarily. I plan for us to work on cross-country obstacles next week, weather permitting, so you should have your horses' legs wrapped with polos or protected with galloping boots, both in front and behind. The Wexford Hall event isn't that far away, so we'll be doing a goodly amount of cross-country schooling between now and then.”

Sarah had received mostly horse equipment from her parents at Christmas, and now she had a nice set of galloping boots and new polo wraps in her tack trunk. The cooler she had hoped for had also been under the tree.

Rita spoke up. “What about saddles? Should I use my all-purpose or my jumping saddle?”

“For cross-country, I suggest you use your jumping saddle,” Jack replied.

Sarah noticed Kayla's raised eyebrow. Both knew what the other was thinking.
Rita is the only one in the class with more than one saddle. She couldn't resist reminding us of that.

“And one last thing,” Jack continued. “You've all worked hard over the winter to make your horses better jumpers, doing gymnastics and jumping courses here in the indoor. Consequently, you should all see marked improvement in their cross-country jumping, as well. I will also remind you that none of the cross-country obstacles are to be used for schooling unless it's under my supervision.”

Sarah gave Prince a pat on his neck. He'd done very well in the lesson, and she was so proud of him. She followed the other riders out of the arena.

Jack walked with them as they filed out. “The old orchard trail is dry enough for riding,” he said, “in case you want to cool out your horses that way.”

“Anyone want to hack to the old orchard?” Tim asked. This would be the first time anyone in the class had hacked there since the snow came.

“I wish I could,” Kayla said, “but Mom will want to truck Fanny home. Maybe we can bring her over one of these Saturdays, and ride to the beach. It won't be all that long before the tourists come back.”

Sarah wondered what Paige would say about going to the old orchard. It had now been a few months since she and Tim had parted ways, and while they were supposedly still friends, they didn't hang out as they had before. Paige never made any negative comments about Tim, but she spent more time with Sarah at the barn these days. Kayla told Sarah confidentially that she thought they would both like to get back together, but were too stubborn to make the first move.

“Are you up for a trail ride, Sarah?” Paige asked.

Sarah had cleaned Prince's stall before the class, thinking they might go for a hack afterward. “Sure,” she said. “You, too?” Paige nodded.

“How about you, Rita?” Tim asked.

Rita looked at her watch and then smiled broadly at Tim. “Of course!” She was elated to get what she perceived to be an invitation to ride with him.

Sarah was sorry Derek hadn't been around for her lesson that day. She knew he had to take his mother for an eye appointment right after he rode Bismarck, but she found herself wishing he was there. Riding was so much more fun when Derek was along. At the same time, she didn't harbor any hope their relationship would ever extend beyond seeing him at the barn or going for an occasional ride. His girlfriend, Meredith, was always in the background, and Derek's invitation to his school's winter carnival months ago—that Sarah had, of course, turned down—was his last overture.

The four horses made their way across the parking lot and disappeared into the forest on the old orchard trail. Tim led the ride, with Sarah following and Rita next in line. Sarah noticed that Paige purposely held Quarry back so she would be at the rear of the ride.

Parts of the trail looked bare without any leaves on the trees, although the pines and other conifers provided their year-round greenness. Buds on the other trees promised leaves before long. The horses seemed happy to be back on the trail after so many months being ridden inside, but they had to step carefully over downed limbs and other windfall that lay on the path. Prince had been on a number of group trail rides last fall, and now he was behaving like a seasoned campaigner, with no jigging or pulling to go faster.

“I hope this isn't a time for moose to be out and about,” Sarah said. “Or wild turkeys, for that matter.”

Tim turned his head and raised his voice. “Last spring, a group of us from the barn went out with Gus and Lucas to rake up all this mess on the trails. I guess it's time to do it again.”

“With all the money you pay out to Brookmeade Farm every month, you shouldn't have to do that,” Rita said. “Let the hired people do that work. That's what they get paid for.”

Paige raised her voice from the back of the line. “Actually, it was fun, Rita. The DeWitts had us all up to their house for lunch afterward. And after that the trail was super to ride on. Quarry feels so springy when he's walking on this thick bed of pine needles.”

They were almost to the fallen log jump when Rita asked, “Who do you guys think will be on the Wexford Hall team? Jack said at the beginning that any Brookmeade junior rider is eligible.”

Paige volunteered an opinion. “I think the riders in the Young Riders group have got an edge. Derek has a pretty nice horse, but he only does jumpers. He wouldn't be up to snuff on dressage. The Wexford Cup is restricted to junior riders, so none of the adults who ride here are eligible.”

“I think Kelly would like to try out,” Rita said. “Nicole and Jubilee lost a lot of time after she broke some ribs, but Kelly stayed on with her lessons in Jack's class. She should have a chance.”

Sarah wanted to keep her thoughts on the matter to herself, so she refrained from commenting, but Tim spoke up. “Listen, Rita, do you really think Kelly has any business doing an event?” he said. “Nicole was lucky she just broke a couple ribs when she went crashing into that rock wall last fall. This event is probably going to be tougher than most. I don't think Kelly is that far ahead of Nicole, and I don't think you should encourage her to try out for the team.”

Rita was quick to reply. “But there's no reason she couldn't be the stable manager. I think she'd be super in that job. She takes great care of Midnight Jet.”

The log came into view, ending the discussion. Tim trotted Rhodes to its base, and they cantered off down the trail after jumping it effortlessly. Compared to the fences they'd been jumping in the indoor over the winter, the log now looked small to Sarah. She gathered Prince, asked him to trot, and then followed Tim over the log, happy that her horse calmly followed Rhodes down the trail. Chancellor and Quarry also sailed over it and followed the others.

“I need to be heading back,” Paige said, as the horses caught up to Tim. Sarah decided to follow Paige, since she had things to do at the barn before going home.