High Hurdles Collection Two (73 page)

DJ looked over her shoulder as she handed the attendant her ticket.

What if something happened and she never saw them again? She stuffed the thought away and followed Jackie down the ramp.

Chapter • 9

Leaving her family behind almost made DJ cry.

“You all right, DJ?” Jackie asked.

DJ swallowed and nodded.
They will all be so far away
. She stared out the plane window at the people loading luggage and food onto the plane. Other passengers found places for their carry-on luggage and took their seats. DJ had stowed her backpack under the seat in front of her. What if they lost her luggage? While her tack had gone with Herndon and Brad yesterday, all her clothes, including her boots, were in her suitcases.
I should have carried on my duffel bag
.

If all went the way it was supposed to, Brad was even now trailering Herndon from the airport to the camp facilities in New Jersey.
If all went as it was supposed to
. DJ was learning how many things could go wrong when shipping horses. Even though Herndon had flown before, they'd had to tranquilize him yesterday. He didn't like the noise or the close quarters or something.

Brad had called to say they arrived all right, but the trailer wasn't available until today.

DJ knew she shouldn't be worrying. Gran had even reminded her of her verse about the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, but still DJ chewed on her lip and wished she could get off the plane and go back home. Right now.

Instead, she pulled her small sketch pad out of her backpack, along with a couple of drawing pencils. After closing her eyes for a brief moment to remember Stormy in the show-ring, DJ began to draw the little filly as she stood at attention, her ears pricked and eyes bright. With an arch to Stormy's neck and her feet placed just so, the drawing came to life as DJ added several small lines to the whorl of hair on Stormy's chest.

DJ heard the roar of the engines change. She put her pad down to watch out the window as the plane gained ground speed. The thrust for lift-off felt remarkably similar to when Herndon flew over a fence, only this time they stayed airborne. DJ flashed Jackie a grin and gave a little wriggle in her seat. She, DJ Randall, was on her way to the East Coast—for one whole week of nothing but horses and jumping. Awesome!

“That's very good.” Jackie nodded to the sketch. “I can see you're improving all the time, and I thought you were mighty good before.”

“It's not done yet.” DJ held up the pad. “But you can tell it's her, can't you?”

“Perfectly.”

It wasn't long before DJ put the pad away, snuggled a pillow under her cheek, and leaned against the window to fall fast asleep. She slept through the meal and only woke as they approached the Philadelphia airport. They would drive from there to the Windy Bay Equestrian Center, where the camp was to be held.

DJ felt like she'd stepped into a steamy shower when they walked out to the bus that would take them to the car rental lot.

“Hot, huh?” Jackie slung her suitcase into the rack behind the driver.

“Is it always this hard to breathe? I feel like I'm sucking water.” She set her backpack between her knees. “And they say it's hot in California. I don't think so.” Wiping her already damp brow, she leaned back, the better to feel the draft from the air-conditioner.

“If it's like this tomorrow, both Herndon and I will be dripping in two minutes.”

Once in their car and on the freeway heading east, DJ marveled at how green everything was.

“Far cry from our part of the world,” Jackie answered. “Guess that's why they call California the Golden State. Our hills are gold much of the year.”

“I always thought they were brown or tan.”

“All in the way you look at it. You hungry since you missed lunch?”

“I can eat anytime.”
Even if my butterflies are fluttering. Maybe food will calm them down
.

By the time they arrived at the equestrian center, got DJ settled in, and checked on Herndon, it was already time for Brad and Jackie to leave. DJ took in a deep breath and waved again as they drove out the blacktop drive. She was on her own.
God, please help me
. She couldn't even figure out what else to ask for. Home seemed halfway around the world. DJ could hear Bridget as if she stood right beside her.
“Put a smile on your face and act as though you do this every day. Meeting new people is half the fun of being involved in the horse world. The other half is the horses.”

DJ headed for the stables—and Herndon. At least she knew him. And she was sure that horses were
more
than half of the horse world. She checked her watch; it was still half an hour to dinner. Not enough time to lunge him, let alone ride. And the woman at registration said there would be a get-acquainted meeting right after they ate.

Herndon nickered when he saw her.

“Hey, fella, how do you like your new home?” His nostrils quivered in a soundless nicker that made her want to hug him hard. DJ slipped into his stall and wrapped her arms around his neck. Resting her cheek against his neck, she breathed in the fragrance of horse, her favorite smell in the whole world. When Herndon shifted, DJ stepped back and dug a bit of horse cookie from her pocket. After he lipped it off her palm, she stroked the sides of his face and up around his ears. “Good thing I'm tall, huh, or you'd have to bend down to get the rubs you like.” He blew in her face and nosed her pocket for more.

“I better go. You be good now, you hear?” As she closed the stall door behind her, she glanced to the next stall, where a girl even taller than DJ was shutting her horse's door, too. “Hi. My name's DJ Randall.”

“Megan Morgan. What's your horse's name?”

“Herndon. And yours?”

“Michaelmas Days. I call him Mike.” She brushed back a strand of strawberry-blond hair. “Boy, it's hot.”

“And sticky.” DJ pulled her T-shirt away from her body. “I'm not used to it being sticky like this.”

As the two walked out of the barn, they talked about where they were from and their horses. They discovered they were in the same dorm room, which held four beds, and that they would be riding at the same time in the morning.

By the time they entered the dining room, DJ felt like she already had a friend—or at least someone to talk with. The room was pretty quiet, considering the twenty students and various adults who were seated or finding a place. DJ and Megan took chairs next to each other at a round table where two boys were already talking like old friends. They nodded when the girls sat down and went on talking.

Megan looked at her and shrugged.

As soon as all the seats were full, a man stepped up to the podium and rapped for attention. “Welcome. I am John Hamilton—please feel free to call me John. I'm glad to welcome all of you to a week of riding and schooling that will change your life. During supper it is your job to get to know the others at your table, to relax, and to get ready for the test immediately following the clearing of the tables.”

DJ felt a groan inside but made no sound. Megan looked at her with raised eyebrows and shrugged.

“We'll start with these tables.” He pointed to the tables closest to the food. “Help yourselves at the buffet.”

After the meal, John handed out name tags along with a three-page test. “When I say begin, I want you to fill in the test as quickly as you can. There'll be no grade. This is just to help me know where all of you are. Please, no talking among yourselves. I need to know how much
you
know. Any questions?” When there were none, he said, “Okay, begin, then. Raise your hand when you are finished.”

Sheesh, it's just like school
, DJ thought as she began filling in the blanks. At the outline of the horse, she identified all the parts and did the same with saddles and other tack. She was feeling pretty good on the multiple choice and the vocabulary until she hit the medical section. Some of the diseases she'd never heard of, let alone their treatments. She guessed on a couple and left many blank. The last question asked what she hoped to accomplish during her week at camp. DJ tapped her pen against her teeth. The instructions to be specific made her task even more difficult.

I want to become better at being one with my horse. I want to gain confidence over a variety of jumps
. She was stuck.
I want to become the best rider I can
. She left that answer because she couldn't think of anything else. She raised her hand and waited until John acknowledged her before putting it down.

When he collected the tests, he handed each of them two schedules— the daily one and one that covered the whole week and listed the different activities. “As you can see, you are divided into four groups. In the morning, two groups will be jumping and two groups will work on dressage. You'll switch in the afternoon. We've assigned you to your group based on experience, which usually groups you by age, too.”

He announced a few more instructions, then asked everyone to stand and introduce themselves, including where they were from, their year in school, and the name of their horse. As they went around the room, DJ got the idea she was the youngest rider in the room. Most were seniors in high school, since this week was for the junior jumping division. She'd also traveled the farthest.

“Okay, we have make-your-own ice-cream sundaes, and then lights-out at ten. Wake-up call will be at 5:30. Get up earlier if you need more than half an hour to get ready. Any questions?”

“California girl, huh?” one of the boys said as they scooped ice cream. DJ nodded. If she remembered right, he was from Connecticut. “Bet you don't have schools like this out west.”

“Nope, at least not that I know of. You been here before?”

“Third year. Let me tell you, we work here. We work hard.” He passed her the hot-fudge sauce.

Why do I get the feeling he thinks I can't cut it here?
DJ shrugged off the feeling. She'd just have to show him and the others, that's all.

“Don't pay any attention to Kurt,” Megan said on their way back to the dorms. “He thinks he's better than any of the rest of us just because he spent time training in Europe.”

So would DJ get to compete against him or not? She certainly hoped so.

Chapter • 10

Friday morning, four girls, and one bathroom made for a tense half hour.

DJ figured she could take a shower later during her free time and brushed her teeth first so she could get out of there. Since there would be a room inspection later, she made a tight bed and put all her things away before heading to the barn, wrapping a scrunchie around her ponytail as she went. The sun couldn't get through the clouds on the eastern horizon, and a breeze made her shiver. It felt like rain.

She pulled two flakes of hay off the alfalfa bale and headed down the dirt aisle to Herndon's stall. He nickered and nosed her shoulder as she unlatched his stall, as if they'd been best friends for years. After tossing the hay into the hayrack, DJ stroked down his neck and rubbed his ears.

“You sure have changed your ways, big horse. You lonesome for home, too?” He rubbed his forehead against her shoulder and turned away to snag a mouthful of hay from the rack. While he ate that, DJ fetched a wheelbarrow and began cleaning the stall. Since she usually had Herndon tethered outside during this chore, she was careful not to knock him with the fork and rake. But he moved over when she asked, acting like this was an ordinary occurrence, another thing that made her grateful for his good training.

DJ poured the grain in Herndon's bucket at 6:30 sharp like the schedule said and headed for the dorm room to wash up for breakfast. John

Hamilton was already talking sternly with one girl who was running late. The tone of his voice made DJ aware that she didn't want to get on his bad side.

DJ was one of the first for breakfast, so she didn't have to wait in line and was able to get through and eat quickly. She headed back to the barn to groom Herndon, hoping for time in the shower before dressing for dressage class.