Home Sweet Drama by Jessica Burkhart Read Free Book Online

eased Charm’s canter a bit and he flicked his tail, annoyed at being told to slow down. But he listened and didn’t fight me.
    â€œSlow to a trot and begin figure eights,” Mr. Conner said.
    Charm slowed and we began the pattern. After a few figure eights, Mr. Conner asked us to walk the horses for a couple of minutes. Then, he made us do spirals.
    â€œAll right,” he said, holding up a hand. “Stop and walk your horses to the other end of the arena. You’ll take a few jumps and when you’re both finished, you may cool out your horses.”
    I almost wanted to shout,
YES!
I’d been worried that this would be the lesson Mr. Conner would make us do dressage instead of jumping. Dressage wasn’t my strongestarea and even though Charm and I were working on it, I wanted Mr. Nicholson to see us jump. Charm’s first love was cross-country, but he was great at indoor courses too.
    â€œHeather, please start when you’re ready,” Mr. Conner said.
    Heather circled Aristocrat twice and I watched as she quieted him with her hands and legs before pointing him toward the first jump. The course had a tall vertical, a double combination, a shorter vertical, and then an oxer. I already knew the combination would be the trickiest for Charm and me. Sometimes, he got excited and tried to rush fences. With the combo, he couldn’t do that. Eyeing the double, I knew Charm only had two strides before we had to take off from the first half of the combination to the second. It was going to be tight.
    Heather’s blond hair, wavy today, flowed out from under her helmet as Aristocrat cantered toward the first jump. At just the right moment, Heather rose into the two-point position and kneaded her hands along Aristocrat’s neck. The gelding jumped into the air, tucking his forelegs under his body. He cleared the vertical and they headed for the combo. Heather’s timing was perfect as she let him go and he leaped the first half of the combination, then cantered for two stridesbefore lifting into the air for the second half. They made everything look easy, but I knew how hard Heather had worked to get here.
    The short vertical and oxer weren’t a problem for Aristocrat or Heather. They cleared them easily and Aristocrat tossed his head as Heather cantered him away from the course. He knew he’d done well and he acted as if he wanted to go again.
    My fingers started to grip the reins, but I made myself relax. If I tensed, so would Charm, and I wanted him to be cool through the course.
    Like Heather with Aristocrat, I moved Charm through two circles before guiding him toward the red and white vertical. We flew into the air with perfect timing and he landed with a quiet thud on the other side. The first half of the combination loomed in front of us. Charm snorted and asked for more rein, but I held him back. If he gathered too much speed, it would be hard to slow him enough through the double.
    Charm lifted into the air for the first half of the combo and I rose slightly out of the saddle. I kept my heels pushed down and my hands steady along Charm’s neck. He landed on the other side my heartbeat seemed to echo in my ears as loud as Charm’s hoofbeats.
    Two… one… now!
I counted the strides between the halves of the combo and urged Charm into the air. He snapped his knees sharply under his body and arched over the jump. That was my favorite feeling—being suspended in the air for the briefest second. Charm hit the ground and we moved to the short vertical. Charm’s ears pricked forward and he jumped it eagerly and applied the same enthusiasm to the oxer.
    â€œGood boy,” I said, trying not to dance in the saddle. Instead, I patted his neck. He’d done a great job and we couldn’t have had a better ride. As he slowed to a trot, the stress of worrying about the tape started to melt away. I’d been worried about it for forever and now it was