Comeback *Book One*

Chapter Thirty Nine

Chapter Thirty Nine

The horses are all settled into their stalls for the night, happily munching on their hay. Our tack stall is all set up. Everyone's tack trunk is placed under their saddle hooks attached to the wall. On my saddle hook I have my new Hermes dressage saddle and Faith's freshly oiled Pessoa jumping saddle. Above the saddle racks are the bridle hooks. On my bridle hook I have my dressage bridle and jumping bridle, along with both my dressage and jumping girths. In the tack room we also have three bales of hay, three bags of shavings, muck bucket, and all of the essentials.

"Time to go to the hotel." The familiar voice hugs me from behind. I smile to myself. Drew. We haven't even checked into the hotel yet, and it is almost nine at night. Everyone has been super busy at the show grounds. My stomach grumbles for food, a substance I haven't eaten since my lunch consisting of candy and Goldfish.

"I'm starving." I complain jokingly to Drew, turning around to face him.

Smiling warmly, he says, "We are having a late dinner back at the hotel. Come on. Everyone is waiting back at the cars."

"Let me say good night to Faithy first." I unwrap myself from Drew's grip and slowly walk over to Faiths stall. Faith lifts her head when she sees me, nickering softly. I open her stall door, wide enough for me to squeeze through.

"Night, sweetie." I give Faith a light kiss on the nose. The night temperature hovers around sixty degrees, just chilly enough for Faith to have a light blanket on. Her full body Sleazy now sits neatly folded in my tack trunk.

I close Faith's door behind me and head towards Drew. He laces his hands through mine and we head towards the cars.

~

My dressage is at 9:35 AM today and my cross country is at 3 PM. I think I got more done on this bright Saturday morning than I have gotten done in weeks. Dee took April, GiGi, and I for the cross country and stadium course walk, I braided, brushed, and shined Faith for dressage, all before 9 in the morning.

Last night everyone went to dinner at the hotel restaurant then went to sleep. Not very interesting. In the morning, everyone met down in the lobby at 6, ate the hotel continental breakfast, and headed to the show grounds at 6:30.

~

Time to change into my dressage clothes. I think to myself in my head. Quickly, I grab my riding clothes and sneak into Faith's stall to change quickly. Walking out of Faith's stall, I feel like I just stepped out of a Dover catalog. My brand new Animo white breeches are a perfect white, my Pikeur dressage jacket has no horse hair on it, and my Tucci dressage boots shine.

"Damnnn, gurl." GiGi says to me in her fake Jersey accent.

I laugh at her. Everyone, even people I don't know, cannot help but stare at my picture perfect show outfit.

It was almost time to meet Dee at the warm up ring. I grab my Hermes dressage saddle, bridle, girth, and saddle pad. In Faith's stall, I flatten the crisp white saddle pad on her back and place my saddle on top of it, then quickly cinch up the girth.

"Let me bridle her for you. You don't want to get horse slobber on you!" April laughs at me, stepping into Faiths stall. April and GiGi both ride at around ten thirty. Both April and GiGi are doing Novice, one level below me.

I tell April thanks and step out of Faith's stall. Walking over to the tack stall I let out a deep breath. I hardly get nervous at shows anymore, but this was a different show for me. It was a test. A test to see if I could handle Faith.

I put on a blond hairnet and place my black GPA helmet on top of my head. Before I leave the tack room, I put on my soft white gloves and grab my long, black dressage whip. Deep breaths. I remind myself, walking back to Faith's stall. In. Out. In. Out...

"One, two, three." Drew gives me a leg up on top of Faiths perfectly groomed body, with her spotless, oiled tack. "You will do great. We'll see you out there." Drew gives me a pat on the leg. April and GiGi shout good luck to me as Dee and I head to the warm up ring. I swear, as I walk by, people just stop and stare at Faith and I. That feeling gives me a confidence boost.

I spot our parents, Drew, April, and GiGi sitting in the dressage stands, waiting for my round coming up soon. Dee has me go through some transitions in the warm up. She also has me work on my 15-meter circles, extended trot, and extended canter, some of the more difficult movements in my test.

"Your ready, girl. Go and get em'!" Dee says confidently as I start trotting around the dressage ring. By the judges stand, I halt.

"Good morning." I say to the older dressage judge. "Number 99." I give the judges my widest smile before continuing to trot around the ring. Lucky number 99.

The judge rings her bell, signaling for me to enter the ring. With one final deep breath, I enter the ring.

~

Trot down centerline. X, halt and salute. I say to myself in my head, doing precisely what I was thinking. Exactly at X, I halt Faith. Gathering the reins and whip in my left hand, I stick my right hand to the side, saluting the judge. She nods at me in response. I collect my reins back in both hands, giving Faith a well deserved pat on the shoulder. She was absolutely incredible. Has to be the best dressage test that I have ever preformed. Faith was soft and supple. She listened to exactly everything I asked her to do and did it when I asked her to do it.

I free walk Faith up to the judge. "Thank you so much!" I say with a big smile, patting Faith on the neck. The judge smiles at me back. Quickly, I walk Faith out of the ring as the next rider arrives.

"Stunning test." That's all Dee could say. Everyone else tells me I did amazing. A few strangers who watched my test even told me how good I did. The whole walk back to Faith's stall, I was beaming.

"Good girl." I croon to Faith, hopping out of the saddle. Slowly, I wrap up the stirrups and loosen the girth. Drew offers to untack her so I could change back to my casual barn attire as I call it. April and GiGi are busy getting ready as I change into a pair of skinny jeans and Ariat paddock boots, paired with a simple Joules seafoam green polo. It felt nice to be out of my sweaty show clothes. Silently, I fold the show clothes back up and place them into my trunk.

I was excited to watch my best friends rounds. They both trained equally as hard as I have to get where they are today with their horses. While I curry Faith's sweaty body, Drew takes my dirty tack into the tack room and puts it back into place. When I am done brushing Faith, I check on GiGi and April. Both girls are finished getting ready and are mounted, headed over to warm up. Like me, they get stares of jealously for their gorgeous outfits and equally gorgeous horses.

"Whoo! Go Number 46 and Number 47!" I shout after my friends, saying their show numbers out loud. Since GiGi was Number 46, April would perform her dressage test right after her. Honestly, I was almost as nervous for their tests as I was for my own.

~

Turns out, I didn't have to be nervous at all. GiGi performs a stunning round, other than a slight hiccup at the canter transition. April did indeed have a great round, she just lacked the confidence that radiated off of GiGi. "Awesome!" I walk up the my friends, giving them both a high five.

"Thanks." They say at the same time. Team Pink Blossom was off to a great start at the Orange County Mini Event.

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Honestly, I really hoped you guys like this chapter as much as I liked writing it! Sadly, I think this book is going to come to an end in the next few chapters.