The Saddle Creek Series 5-Book Bundle. Shelley Peterson

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СКАЧАТЬ made too tight a turn and found himself face to face with a five-and-a-half-foot jump. He crashed through the wide oxer, leaving bars scattered like pick-up sticks. Legs stinging with pain, the horse hopped and danced. Jay faced him at the last jump, a multicoloured creation that looked like a flight of stairs. He bounced gamely toward it, then had second thoughts, and slid to a halt inches away. They could have another go at it. Jay checked his horse’s legs, decided that no further damage would be done, and faced it again. Raven cleared it easily. The crowd roared its approval as he doffed his hat, patted his horse’s neck, and left the ring.

      As riding hero followed riding hero, Abby became more and more demoralized. She realized the difficulty of the course, and how inadequate she was. If the big riders were having this much trouble, what chance did Abby have? How could she even imagine herself to be in this league? By the time the tenth horse had finished, only Mario DesLaurier and Kim Kirton had gone clean, and they had overtime faults. Hugh Graham was up next.

      Abby noticed each rider’s different style. She wondered if the rider adapted his style to the horse, or if the horse conformed to the rider’s style. She knew that Moonie liked her to have a more forward seat than Dancer, and Abby rode that way to please her. And Dancer was offended if she gave him too clumsy a cue. He liked her to be subtle, and so she tried to ride him very quietly.

      Hugh rode in with gusto and courage, and Abby was sure that the horses who liked his style would do anything for him. Secret Agent was jumping like a superhero, snorting and prancing around the course easily. They got into trouble in the middle of the triple combination jump. Coming fast out of the water jump, he’d jumped big over the first upright and landed too close to the second upright to take the necessary stride. He bounced with great strength and amazingly cleared the top rail. But he couldn’t get organized in time for the third jump in the combination, and the rails came down. Secret Agent was rattled and knocked the next one down, too.

      Dancer was calm. He knew what he was here to do, and Abby sensed that he was preserving his energy. Either that, or he was too tired from his morning’s shenanigans to move. Abby prayed for the former as she repetitively memorized the course, getting more and more uneasy.

      Beth Underhill rode her big black horse, Monopoly, to the starting gate. He’d been retired, like Dancer, and this was his farewell tour.

      Abby was up next. She was covered with goosebumps and could hardly breathe for the huge weight that seemed to press on her chest. Her toes and fingers were numb. How could she go in like this? She’d fall off for sure. Beth and Monopoly cantered brilliantly around, but Abby wasn’t concentrating. She heard the crowd cheer, but she couldn’t tell what had happened. She wasn’t keeping score anymore.

      Absently, she patted Dancer’s glistening chestnut neck and felt the great strength beneath his coat. He nickered softly, then blew through his nostrils. He’s trying to reassure me, thought Abby, and a tear came unbidden to her eye. She was moved by the great horse’s sensitivity. But it’s a lost cause. I can’t do it. I can’t go in there.

      Dancer somehow knew that his moment was nigh. He slowly began to perform dressage on the spot. Exercising each muscle, he crouched and lifted, arched and stretched, extended and compressed. Abby sat still as he warmed up in this strange but effective way. Hilary never told me about this, she mused with detachment. Her mind was miles away.

      “Dancer, please! To the gate!” The voice sounded muted and distant.

      In a state of cold agitation, and with the sense that her mind was not connected to her body, Abby allowed Dancer to do as he was told. Abby couldn’t move, let alone direct him. She was in another zone.

      As Beth Underhill rode out of the ring to loud applause, Dancer trotted in. Vaguely, Abby heard the crowd recognize the retired legend. Her vision blurred, and she had the delayed feeling that she was slowly tumbling off. She wasn’t breathing, wasn’t present, wasn’t coherent. All she knew was that she was blacking out.

      Dancer jumped straight up in the air and landed exactly where he’d started, shifting his weight slightly to keep himself under Abby. He tossed his head and whinnied loudly. Shaking his body as if he’d been through a rainstorm, Dancer managed to wake Abby from her frozen terror.

      He snorted impatiently and stamped his foot. He neighed angrily. “Yes, Dancer, I hear you,” Abby rasped, struggling to get herself together. She took a deep breath. In. Out. Another. In. Out. She took hold of the reins and gripped with her legs.

      Dancer reared up and thrashed with his forelegs, whinnying his deep, fulsome noise. He was the king of all, he seemed to trumpet.

      Her body racked with nerves, Abby cantered Dancer through the starting gate. She clenched her teeth to keep them from rattling. She swallowed her bile and willed herself not to vomit. Blinking hard, she tried to focus on the first jump. “Let’s go, let’s flow,” she chanted, struggling to clear her head as Dancer reduced his stride to take off at the perfect distance. Abby’s body reacted automatically and followed him through.

      Abby remembered where to go next, and headed Dancer toward jump number two. She was still in dreamland. They skimmed over the huge hedge and Abby counted absently, “Land, one, two, three, four,” and they lifted again over a rainbow-shaped jump of many colours. “Land, one, two, three, four, five.” They turned the corner of the ring, hugging the fence to get in straight to the broad oxer.

      Abby awoke from her stupor. Immensely grateful that the mighty horse had carried her this far, she spoke to him through clenched teeth. “I’m not going to let you down, Dancer.”

      Her eyes were focused now, her brain intact. The feeling returned to her legs. Abby blinked and licked her lips. She felt resolve and courage well up in her heart along with the desire to win. This was Dancer’s show, and she had almost blown it. She was determined to let him shine.

      The oxer looked huge to Abby, but Dancer continued toward it with confidence, head up and eager. She looked over the jump through his delicately pointed ears. “If you can do it, I can do it,” she muttered. Three, two, one. Liftoff. Dancer’s muscled haunches sprang with great power. His front knees tucked into his chest, and his neck lengthened gracefully as he straightened his head. Abby knew how beautiful he must look.

      She was riding well. Pure joy filled her chest.

      They were quickly coming to the water jump. “Head up,” muttered Abby, remembering the tip her father had given her. “Head up, heels down, sit back.” She rode into it imagining a five-foot-tall jump. Dancer flew over the water and landed safely on the other side. On they cantered to the triple combination, the jump that had caused the most problems for this experienced group of riders.

      Abby felt Dancer’s excitement. “Easy, big boy,” she said as she sat up slightly. Abby made the decision to let him set his speed. It was faster than she would’ve chosen, but he’d been right so far. Plus she didn’t want to fight him so close to the three big obstacles. At the third to last stride, the intelligent stallion slowed considerably and organized himself perfectly.

      Over the first jump, land, then a stride. Over the second jump, land, stride, stride. Over the third, and land. They’d done it. They’d cleared the triple!

      Wow. Abby grinned broadly. Holy. What a horse. She focused ahead. They weren’t done yet. Four difficult jumps remained.

      Up in the stands, Hilary James sat rigid. Every muscle in her body, every fibre of her brain was involved in Dancer’s ride. She’d been alarmed when she saw Dancer carry in Abby’s unresponsive body. Abby was in shock, and Hilary could hardly watch, but as Abby gained control, СКАЧАТЬ