Silver Spurs by Miralee Ferrell Read Free Book Online Page B

wall. “Smart lady. Make sure, so she doesn’t have accidents. What’s her name anyway? Is she well known in the valley?”
    â€œMrs. Jamison,” Kate said. “She moved here from Portland recently. I guess she got tired of city life and wanted to be in a more rural area but still somewhere there’s a lot of interest in dressage and jumping. Mom checked her out, and she has a good reputation. We put ads in the local paper to let the public know about the classes. I wish we’d gotten a better response for this first lesson, but Mrs. Jamison didn’t seem to mind.”
    Colt gave a soft grunt. “If she’s good, word will get out, and more people will come. It won’t take long.”
    Tori leaned in closer, staring at the arena as Melissa’s gelding increased his pace to a slow gallop and cleared a jump. “At least Melissa’s riding again—and jumping. She must not have been as scared as we thought.” She frowned.
    â€œI can’t quite figure her out,” Kate said. “Sometimes it’s like she wants to be friendly, then quick as a cat, she switches to her old personality.” She giggled. “Sorry. It wasn’t very nice to compare her to a cat after her accident.”
    Colt flicked a hand toward the arena. “Looks like Mrs. Jamison is satisfied. She’s raising the poles to two and a half feet.”
    Tori squinted the way he was pointing. “How can you tell?”
    â€œEvery jump cup is set three inches apart, so you count the cups and multiply.” He grinned and bumped Tori’s shoulder. “You do know how to multiply, right?”
    Tori swatted his arm. “Watch it, or we’ll make you clean all the stalls.”
    He tipped back his head and hooted, then sobered as Mrs. Jamison scowled at him. “Sorry, ma’am.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I know better than that. I’m glad no one was jumping.”
    They watched in silence as the instructor finished adjusting the height of the rails, then moved to her place in the center. “All right, everyone. I want Melissa to go first, then Miss Ryan, then Mrs. Hooper, followed by Mrs. Carson. Please trot your horses a half circle around the arena, then increase to a controlled canter and come down the center, taking the three jumps. When you finish, move off to the side and out of the way of the next rider.”
    Kate watched with interest, wondering if the higher rails would shake Melissa’s confidence, or if the girl would take them with ease. Melissa put Mocha into a trot, posting on the inside lead, then transitioned smoothly into a collected canter, her gelding’s nose tucked and his neck nicely rounded. Her hands were steady, and she sat the canter as though molded to the horse, moving with the rhythm and looking straight ahead. She rounded the final corner and directed Mocha in a straight line toward the first jump, then tugged on the reins and slowed him as he started to rush.
    Kate could hear Melissa’s whispered assurance to her mount, then a “hup” a stride before the jump. The dark bay gelding sailed over the rail without even flicking his ears. He got to the second rail and repeated his performance, and Kate began to breathe easy. One rail to go.
    The big gelding took two more strides. Melissa was in three-point position, almost standing in her stirrups, her hands gripping the reins forward on Mocha’s neck, when all of a sudden he swerved away from the rail, darting out of the jump line.
    The quick sideways movement threw Melissa off balance, and she gasped. One foot came out of the stirrup, and she leaned precariously to one side.

Chapter Seven
    Mrs. Jamison walked toward the horse, talking in a hushed tone as he continued to canter toward the far side of the arena. She raised her voice a bit. “Melissa, grab his mane and pull yourself upright. That’s a good girl. You’re doing