Read Online Home Sweet Drama by Jessica Burkhart - Free Book Online Page B

thundered over the grass. There wasn’t anything I’d rather be doing. Charm, happy now that he was even with Aristocrat, settled into a smooth gallop. Mr. Conner galloped Lexington between Charm and Aristocrat, preventing Charm from having such direct eye contact with his nemesis.
    We galloped for several yards and Charm’s breathing seemed to match my own. Everything—Homecoming, Jacob, Callie, Eric, Paige—seemed to fall away and all I felt was a sense of security and comfort. It felt good to let Charm go and to be away from campus. The three horses’ hooves pounded over the ground and all too soon, the woods loomed in front of us.
    â€œPull them to a canter,” Mr. Conner called. “And follow me single file, please.”
    Heather and I slowed the horses and she let me move Charm behind Lexington. It was a nice gesture—Charm wouldn’t be fighting to keep up with Aristocrat, but it also meant Heather was watching me ride. I fought back my nerves. So what if she was? Cross-country was my forte and Heather saw me ride every day in lessons. I wasn’t going to mess up.
    The horses cantered slowly into the woods and reached a dirt path. Sunlight filtered through the trees and cast shadows on the trail. The path was straight for yards and we started up another hill. We swept past trees that lined the path and Mr. Conner eased Lexington into a trot as we reached a gentle curve. I followed him and when the path straightened, we were trotting next to the creek. Sunlight caught on the multicolored pebbles and I made myself look away, but it was too late. I remembered how just before YENT testing, Charm had developed a fear of going through the creek. Callie had helped me get him over his fear. I blinked furiously, trying to erase the memory from my brain.
    Ahead of me, Mr. Conner gathered Lexington and they jumped a fallen tree no more than a foot and a half high.A few strides later, Charm and I reached the tree. I eased my hands up along his neck and he jumped the tree without pause. A few seconds later, I heard Aristocrat land behind us and we kept trotting down the path as it twisted through the woods.
    Mr. Conner turned toward the creek and I leaned back as Charm started down the creek bank. Lexington reached the creek bed and splashed through the knee high water. Water darkened his coat and he looked like steel as he trotted up the bank.
    Charm didn’t even blink at the creek—he went right in. The coolish water probably felt refreshing to him after cantering and galloping. His shoes clinked against the pebbles and he charged up the bank after Lexington.
    When we reached level ground, I pulled Charm to a halt and waited for Heather and Aristocrat to clear the creek bed.
    â€œGo ahead,” I said, waving my hand in front of her.
    She nodded and let Aristocrat trot by Charm and me. We followed her; Charm’s earlier need to overtake Aristocrat had been calmed by this point in the workout.
    Mr. Conner let Lexington into a canter and Heather and I followed him. The path straightened and one by one we jumped a stack of hay bales that had been placedacross the path. A few strides later, we cleared a log and then I saw the next jump: I almost bounced up and down in the saddle. It was a zigzag—a jump I’d only done a couple of times. The wooden jump had logs that formed a zigzag pattern and the odd shape could cause a refusal if the horse didn’t trust the rider. The logs were surrounded by a wooden box and the box was filled with wood chips. The jump wasn’t high—it didn’t have to be, because the pattern was what often threw off the horses.
    I wondered if this was how the rest of the course was designed. Maybe Mr. Conner had set us up with a completely new course that we’d get to use more.
    Charm’s ears flicked back for a second as we reached the zigzag. Yards in front of us, Mr. Conner moved Lexington, who started to sidestep, back in