Crown Prince Challenged (35 page)

Duh!
she thought. Of course. It was the routine Prince knew. Once she'd trotted him long and low going large in the ring, she gradually increased her leg pressure while shortening her reins to put him in a frame between her hand and leg. She could feel his back come up and his hind legs reach further underneath him. They dodged a few horses as she guided Prince off the track to ride a large circle, shrinking its size and then leg-yielding to make it large again. Coming back to walk, she practiced over-bending and counter-bending until Prince felt supple and forward.

Jack beckoned her to come closer, and Sarah listened intently to his instructions. “I want you to sit the trot, pick up canter at C, and ride a serpentine of three loops, doing a simple change of lead on the center line each time you cross it.” She had only done that exercise twice when Jack called to her again and pointed at his watch. It was time to report to the dressage arena steward. Sarah gripped the reins tighter as she felt a knot beginning to form in her stomach. The first test of how well she had schooled Prince under Jack's guidance for the last year would soon begin. She knew her horse was capable of doing well, if only she could give him the ride he deserved.

With Jack walking beside them, Sarah rode Prince out of the warm-up ring toward a steward standing near the dressage arena entrance with a clipboard. The man smiled and patted Prince on his neck before he checked to make sure his bit was legal. There was no problem with the mild, fat snaffle, and after checking Sarah off on his list, the steward pointed to the arena. “As soon as number 20 leaves, you may ride on the outside of the arena until the judge signals you with the bell to start your test.”

Sarah thanked the steward and walked her horse in a small circle while keeping her eyes on the chestnut horse finishing his test. Prince had gotten over his initial nervousness in the warm-up ring, but now he eyed the large crowd on the bleachers, his head high.
He's used to the bleachers at Brookmeade, but there are so many more people here!
Sarah thought.

Jack must have read her mind. “'Tis important not to telegraph your nerves to your horse, so breathe deeply. It will help him to know you're calm and confident.” When the chestnut horse left the arena, Prince reacted to applause from the spectators by jumping to the side and pranced a few steps. “Breathe deeply!” Jack reminded her as he walked away, “and good luck.”

Sarah shortened her reins and turned Prince toward the dressage arena, asking him to walk energetically around the twelve-inch-high crisp white boards with letters posted on them. “One of the best ways to get your horse's attention is to ask him to do something,” Jack had said more than once. Directly behind C, the judge and her scribe sat in a booth filling in scores and comments from the last ride. From her vantage point, the judge would see if their entrance down the centerline was straight and if, at the end of the test, their halt at X was square. Prince scrutinized the two women as Sarah rode him past the booth.
Thank goodness he has a chance to see them up close before we begin,
she thought.

After circling the arena once at walk, Sarah asked Prince to trot and go on the bit. He had lost his fascination for the bleachers and was listening to her, his ears flicking back in her direction as she communicated to him with her aids. They had just passed the judge's booth a second time when she heard the high-pitched ring of the judge's bell—the signal to begin. The announcer spoke into the microphone: “Number 21 is from the Brookmeade Farm team, Sarah Wagner riding Crown Prince.” Sarah shortened her reins again and tried to clear her head of everything except the dressage test she had committed to memory. At the arena's entrance, she turned down the centerline, her eyes glued to the letter C, her target for a straight line.

Later Sarah wouldn't remember riding all the parts of her test, but she did recall that her transition from canter to working trot at A was slightly late. She remembered his last trot extension vividly. When she asked Prince to extend his trot across the diagonal, he responded with a wonderful burst of energy, his stride long and elastic. Finally she sat the trot as they turned up the centerline and halted at X in the center of the arena. Sarah dropped her left hand and nodded her head to salute the judge, who, in keeping with protocol, returned the salute. Sarah noticed that the judge was smiling at her, probably a good sign. She let Prince's reins slide through her fingers as she rode him out of the arena.

The test was over, and she felt an amazing relief, as if a hundred-pound boulder had slid from her back. She laughed when Prince jumped sideways in response to loud clapping from the crowd. They'd liked what they saw! Kayla and Tim came down from the bleachers and ran to them. “You aced it!” Kayla squealed.

“Oh, no,” Sarah protested. “There were a few stumbles, but we got through it. Prince was listening to me the whole time!” Sarah suddenly felt very tired, and she fell forward to hug her horse's neck.

When she sat up, Tim gave her a thumbs-up. “Unbelievable!” he said. “For a horse just a year off the track, he was fantastic.”

Sarah slipped from the saddle and ran up her irons. “Let's go back to the big top. Now it's Rita's turn. Maybe we can help her get ready.”

Kelly was holding Chancellor as Rita stood on her stool braiding him when they got back to the tent. Chancellor's black coat glistened like ebony. He tossed his head repeatedly while Rita worked on him, prompting her to snap at him in frustration. “Jerk horse!” she complained.

Sarah led Prince into his stall. The day had turned hot, and she couldn't wait to shed her show coat. Kayla held him while she hung the coat in the tack stall, slipped into her jeans, and exchanged her tall boots for barn sneakers. When she returned, Kayla had removed Prince's tack, and they took him outside for sponging. When Prince was back in his stall, they went to check with Rita.

“Anything we can do to help?” Kayla asked. Kelly gave Kayla one of her signature dirty looks, but waited for Rita to respond.

“Naw, you'd just be in the way,” Rita said. Kayla and Sarah looked at each other, shaking their heads. Rita turned to them from her braiding. “Remember that Jack wants the team to meet back here at three-thirty. He might want to critique our tests before we walk the cross-country course.” Sarah swallowed hard at mention of cross-country. She had been so focused on her dressage test that she hadn't been thinking about cross-country.
Time to switch gears,
she thought.

Kayla motioned to Sarah. “We're not needed here,” she said. “Let's split for the snack bar.” The air was filled with the aroma of hamburgers and onions on the grill when they reached the food booth staffed by volunteers from a local church. After waiting only a few minutes, the girls got wraps and water. They carried their lunches to the dressage arena bleachers, where Sarah heard some nice comments on her dressage ride from everyone. She wasn't surprised when Mrs. DeWitt gushed over her test, but Mr. DeWitt, usually quiet and reserved, praised her. “I can't wait to tell Hank Bolton what a wonderful job you've done training his horse,” he said. “Oops!
Your
horse,” he added, chuckling.

It was almost time for Rita to ride, and the rest of her team waited for what they expected would be one of the best tests all day among the thirty-two riders. When Number 28 exited the arena, the announcer introduced Rita: “The last rider from the Brookmeade Farm team is Number 29, Rita Snyder riding Chancellor.” Rita began her walk around the arena, Chancellor looking proud and majestic, each of his steps strong and deliberate. His jet black coat shimmered in the sunlight, and Rita was well turned out with the best attire and tack money could buy.

Chancellor entered the arena shortly after the judge's bell rang, beginning an impressive ride. With every transition precise and his movement lovely to behold, Rita accurately rode her horse through the various movements, culminating with a spectacular extension of his trot. Although the crowd had been urged to withhold applause until a horse had exited the arena, the spectators roared their approval with loud clapping.

Kayla's brows were knitted into a frown when she spoke to Tim. “Have they posted any of the scores yet?” she asked.

Tim shook his head. “I think Jack is going to get the final results before coming back to the tent to meet with us. The organizers know that everyone is eager to see them, so I bet they won't waste any time posting them. And not just individuals—they'll probably list the current team rankings.”

Later, with their horses resting in their stalls, the team members sat on the grass outside the tent while they waited for Jack. He hurried over when he spotted them. Jack sat down, and after he pulled a pad of paper from his pocket, it became very quiet. He fished out his glasses and put them on. “Here's the scoop,” he began. “Rita has made us all proud by earning the highest score of the day. You're in first place, Rita,” Jack said, smiling as the other clapped their hands.” Rita smiled smugly, also clapping.

Jack paused to look at his pad again. “Tim is also to be congratulated for being in fourth place out of 32 tests. Rhodes was marvelous today! You beat out some exceptional rides, Tim.” Again clapping.

“And now Sarah….” Jack said, scanning his pad. “This is remarkable,” he said, looking up. “In his first time to compete since he arrived at the farm from the track a year ago, Prince and Sarah put in a ride that puts them in ninth place.” Sarah covered her face with her hands as the others clapped for her.
Oh, my God!
she thought. She'd expected to be happy with her score, but not to beat out so many other riders! She could hardly wait to call her parents! And she wanted Derek to know, too. She'd hoped the Alexanders would show up, but so far, no sign of them.

It became quiet as the group waited to hear Kayla's score. “Kayla and Fanny had a few slips in their test today. I know they'll shine tomorrow, though. Currently they're in twenty-fifth place.” Kayla hung her head. She had been expecting a low score, but not this bad. “There's something to be learned from what happened to Kayla today,” Jack continued. “She was riding quite well until Fanny misread her cue and picked up a wrong lead. Unfortunately, Kayla appeared to give up, as if her entire test was ruined by one mistake. Actually, the way dressage tests are scored,
only
that one movement would have received a low score. If Kayla had put that mistake behind her and focused on the remainder of the test, she would have done a lot better.”

Jack paused to let this sink in before continuing. “And 'tis important to apply this lesson to your remaining jumping phases. If you have a rail down in show jumping, put that behind you and ride the rest of the course as if you have a clean round. The same goes for cross-country.”

“What about the team standings?” Tim asked.

“I can't imagine you'd be interested in that,” Jack said, grinning as he paused. “The good news is that Brookmeade Farm is in third place!” Everyone cheered as Jack stood up and pocketed his glasses. “Grab your course map out of your packets, and let's go walk the course.”

JACK AND THE FOUR RIDERS
strode across the field, their cross-country course maps in hand. The grass had been mowed short to provide good footing for the horses that would be galloping over it the next day, and two jumps had been set up in a warm-up area. When they reached the three-sided starting box made of white pipe, they stopped to look toward the first obstacle, an inviting brush jump.

“When it's time for you to begin,” Jack said, “the starter will count down the seconds from ten. So your horse doesn't get antsy standing in the box, wait until the count is down to five before you slide inside. When the starter says go, you'll be off.” Just hearing Jack say this sent chills down Sarah's spine.

They looked down at their maps. “Wow!” Tim said. “There are twenty-one obstacles on this course, and it's a lot longer than anything Paige and I rode last year.”

“'Tis a bit on the long side,” Jack said. He looked off in the distance. “This valley is surrounded by mountains. If there are several hilly stretches on the course, the top placing riders may be those who brought fit horses. To avoid time penalties, you'll have to move at a good clip. I hope all of you have been conditioning your horses as I suggested.” His eyes scanned over them.

As the group marched toward the brush, Jack made some comments. “This jump is straightforward, as the first obstacle should be. You'll have plenty of time to get your horse moving in a balanced hand gallop before you reach it, just as we've done when schooling at the farm.”

Following the course mapped out for them, they continued across the field toward the second obstacle, a log pile, followed a short distance later by a woods trail. Along the path they met a slatted coop, a stone wall, and a large log. “Your horses will probably be a bit strong at this point, fresh out of the box, but don't let them gallop on so fast you'll have trouble getting them balanced and off their forehands before the jumps,” Jack said. “You'll also need to save something for the hills.”

They came to a point where the trail turned sharply right, taking them out of the woods and toward a sizable bank that was followed a few strides later by a telephone pole jump. Across the field they could see the next obstacle, a pig pen—a square made out of fencing they would have to jump into, and without taking another stride, immediately jump out of. “This is like the bounce we did in class,” Kayla remarked.

From here, the map took them up a long, steep hill in the field, which had the riders short of breath when they reached the top. “I'm glad Chance is in better shape than I am!” Rita joked.

“Where do we go from here?” Sarah asked, looking around. She was anxious to see the ditch that was listed on the map. Prince had overcome his fear of the ditch at the farm, but how would he react to a different one? She swallowed hard as she searched the trail ahead.