High Hurdles Collection Two (40 page)

Joe pulled into the drive at 5:45
A.M.,
and DJ was still sound asleep, her alarm buzzing like it had been for the last half hour.

“DJ, Dad's here. How long until you'll be ready?”

“Oh my goodness.” She threw back the covers and her feet hit the floor running. “Ten minutes.”

“Take your time, DJ. I'll go load Major and come back for you.” Joe had joined Robert at her bedroom door.

“Or I can bring her over,” Robert offered.

“I'm almost ready.” At least she'd packed her things the morning before. She grabbed the clothes bag with her showing clothes and threw open her door. “Here, would you please carry this down? I'll get the rest.” It was hard to talk around the scrunchie clamped in her teeth.

DJ ate her breakfast in the truck and curled up for a nap after that. The others had gone over the night before, so they were alone. Joe woke her in time for her to redo her hair and begin to look like she understood this was morning—show morning.

While DJ had been to this arena as a spectator, this was her first time to show there. What a difference it made. The Farthingale Equestrian Center looked like a miniature fairgrounds with three show-rings: two outside and one in, plus a practice ring. Tall white painted buildings housed an exhibit area for horse- and showing-related products, food stalls, and a fenced-in play area for little kids. There were enough trailers, RVs, and fancy horse rigs to start a sale.

“One day soon, we're investing in something like that.” Joe pointed to a motor home with an awning set up and folding chairs around a table. It looked more like a home than a horse-showing rig. “Especially if you're going to be showing like Bridget said.”

“But they're so expensive.” DJ still had trouble accepting the idea of not having to cut her dimes in half to make them go further. Life sure could be different when money wasn't such an issue.

“You let the adults worry about that part. You just give it all you've got.”

And don't get the big head
, her little voice snickered in her ear.

“You go on in. I'll park this and unload Major.”

DJ sent him a “thank you” over her shoulder as she bailed out of the truck. Just the smell of the horse show set her nerves to humming. She followed his directions to the aisle they were assigned.

“Man, this is awesome.” DJ studied the display and shook her head. “Really beautiful.” The maroon banner with the Briones Acadamy logo hung on a shiny gold bar sticking out from the wall above the door to the tack room. Gold-toned name plates on each stall shone from recent polishing. Even the hay slings matched the water tubs.

“You like it?” Bunny asked, hands on hips, studying the picture and comparing it to those around them. “I think we look pretty good.”

“Hi, DJ,” Hilary called from inside her stall, where she was putting a final polish on her horse. You got the end stall, and it's all ready for you. Hear you're going Hunter.”

DJ stopped in front of Hilary's stall. “Bridget thought that was best since this is my first rated show. That and Major doesn't seem quite up to tip-top yet. I could tell after jumping him last weekend.”

Hilary nodded and smoothed down her horse's face with a soft cloth. “There's some pretty good-looking competition here. If you need any help, just ask.”

“Thanks.” DJ headed for the unloading area.

Ears nearly touching at the tips, Major watched everything around them as she led him into his stall. He snuffled her shoulder, then nosed the hay rack and checked out the water bucket. The horse on the other side of him banged the stall wall and laid back his ears.

Uh-oh, got a nasty one here
. DJ patted Major's nose and left the stall to get her grooming bucket.

“Watch out for the snots in the next stalls,” Bunny whispered as DJ opened the tack box. “They really think they're something.”

The butterflies in DJ's middle took a practice flutter.

Another squeal from the stall next to them grabbed her attention. The other horse, ears flat against his head and teeth bared, lunged at the bars between him and Major.

Chapter • 14

If entering the practice ring sent her butterflies cartwheeling, what would the real one do?

DJ warmed Major up carefully, not taking any chances of him pulling a tendon or something. Walking and then slow trotting around the ring gave them both a chance to look at some of the other entries. As Joe had said, there were some classy horses here.

She patted Major's shoulder, not wanting him to feel bad but knowing she was the one comparing, not him. She glanced up to see Brad and Jackie at the rail, smiles on their faces, waiting for her to see them.

They trotted over, and Brad stroked Major's nose while he greeted her.

“You two are looking good. He's moving easy.”

Jackie cocked her head. “Forgive him. He's got father flutters.” She grinned up at DJ.

“Father flutters?”

“You know how you felt when your students were showing and you were wringing your hands?” Brad made a worried face for her. DJ nodded. “Well, multiply it by a hundred. That's how I feel.”

“I'd rather show myself any day than watch someone I love in the ring.” Jackie nodded and slipped her hand through the bend at Brad's elbow. “I've got to keep him on the ground here.”

DJ smiled and then giggled. Her father did indeed look—well, running his fingers through his hair had disturbed the way it usually lay, and his fingers drummed on the fence rail. “If I could, I'd give you all my butterflies to go with yours.”

“Thanks a heap, kid.” He smiled up at her. “You need anything? Can I get you something to eat, drink?”

“He wants an excuse to get a cup of coffee.” Jackie winked at DJ. “We'll be back.”

“I'll take a doughnut,” DJ said and turned Major back into the ring.

Waiting in line to enter the ring for the first time took three hours. At least, it felt like three hours by the time the gatekeeper signaled DJ's turn. Junior Hunter Seat Equitation sounded easy, but when she looked at the horses ahead of them, her butterflies created new aerial maneuvers.

Walk, trot, canter, reverse. Major took it all like a pro, and DJ settled down after the first circuit of the ring. But with twenty entrants, they didn't place.

Not that she'd expected to. But DJ still felt a bit of a letdown. Winning a ribbon, even last place, felt good.

“That's okay, Deej. You two did a good job out there. You were just out-classed. Pretty counts here, you know.” Brad's attempts to comfort her made her feel worse.

Maybe we shouldn't even be here
. DJ banished that thought as soon as it cropped up.

Even having her own motel room didn't keep DJ awake that night. She and Joe left the others sleeping when they headed back to the barn in the early morning to care for Major.

By the next afternoon, DJ had endured three classes, all without ribbons. At her fourth and final class, DJ stiffened her spine, then ordered herself to relax. This time they had fences to take. She patted Major's neck and smiled at the gatekeeper as they waited for his signal.

Please, Lord
. The prayer went no further. The signal came, and she nudged Major into a trot and entered the ring.

“Shame she doesn't have a better horse.” The comment came from someone along the gate. DJ started to turn her head, but Bridget's drilling came to her rescue.
Focus. Focus. Only think of your horse and the jumps
.

Major slowed. DJ stared straight between his ears at the single post and rail in front of them. “Easy, fella, here we go.” With that they sailed over the jump with air to spare. And again at the brush box with greenery growing out the top, then the in and out. The chicken coop was last. It looked like a pup tent made of plywood painted in red-and-white stripes.

DJ leaned forward.
Too soon
. Major stopped. DJ didn't. She ended up on his neck, her helmet over one eye. Major flicked his ears and popped over the fence.

DJ wished the ring floor would open and they could fall in. Instead, she found her stirrup again, gathered the reins, and as she signaled a canter again, pushed her helmet back in place. If only they could ride out of the ring and keep going until she found water to bathe her flaming face.

The refusal was all her fault. She'd hurried.

“Sorry, Major.” But what could she say? She caught a glimpse of Bridget's raised eyebrow as they left the ring. Since they'd legally completed the jump, they were still in the running. Only DJ's pride had been bruised. Major took the second round without a pause, the way he would have if she hadn't messed up.

Back at the barn, as DJ put Major away, the horse next to them reached around from his stall door and tried to bite Major again.

“Can't you make your horse behave?” DJ felt like hitting the beast with a two-by-four.

“Get over it.” The girl stood talking with her teammate, and her upper lip curled.

The snobby answer made DJ clamp her teeth and clench her fist.
What a brat!
She led Major into the stall and began removing his saddle.

“Ugly old plug like that doesn't belong here anyway.”

DJ knew they meant for her to hear it.

“Ignore them,” Tony Andrada said from her stall door. “People with attitudes like theirs are losers.” He raised his voice more than just for DJ.

DJ nodded. Bunny had warned her that people at rated shows acted differently than those at local and schooling shows did. But still …

She could hear Gran even over the pounding of her heart.
“Pray for those who do you wrong.”
Pray for those snobs? Not on her life.

“That's okay, Major, beauty is only skin deep. And if I had a mean horse like that, I'd shoot it.” She whispered the words into his ear, making him shake his head and lean his forehead against her shoulder.

DJ came from putting Major away after their final event in time to watch the jump-off for Junior Hunter. Bridget and Amy sat with her family, halfway up in the stands.

“No pretty ribbons, huh, DJ?” Bobby said softly.

“Poor DJ.” Billy shook his head, a sad face getting sadder.

“Nope, not one.” She tried to say it as though it didn't matter, but they all knew her too well.

“You did your best.” Amy scooted over to make a place for her.

“Yup, and my best wasn't good enough.”

“Yet.” Bridget leaned her elbows on her knees, concentrating on the rider in the ring.

Nothing. Even at my very first horse show, I brought back one ribbon
. “I musta let the butterflies get to me. Those jumps weren't hard. I just—” Catching a look from Bridget, DJ shut her mouth.
I knew better than to let what that guy said bother me
.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to give Brad as much of a smile as she could muster.

“So you had a bad day. That means you got over that, through your first rated show, and now you'll be able to go forward.”