Rebound *Book Two*

Chapter One

Chapter One

"Ali open your chest more. Don't let those legs swing back over the jump. That is happening because you are gripping with your knees. So don't grip with your knees!" Mark Davidson, my trainer, barks at me.

With a sigh, I guide Rebound, my seventeen hand chestnut Belgian Warmblood gelding to the next jump. I point Rebound at the tall five foot blue rail oxer. Ears perked forward, he takes his huge canter strides up to the jump eagerly. I pull back on the reins slightly. If I want to make it over this towering fence, he needs to be at a slower pace. Rebound hastily obeys, slowing his canter slightly. Counting strides down in my head, we take off in front of the jump at the perfect moment. Over the jump, I don't grip with my knees, instead I grip more with my thighs. Keeping an automatic release over the oxer, Rebound stretches his neck out far. I love this moment. The moment that you are free. The moment you feel like you are flying.

Soon, the feeling ends and we land on the opposite side of the jump. "Good boy." I croon to my gelding, slowing him to a walk.

"Good release. And you finally decided to grip with your thighs and not your knees!" Mark says sarcastically. When my back is to him, I roll my eyes.

Mark has been my trainer for the past four years, but it feels like I have known him forever. My old trainer, Dee, felt like I needed a new trainer that could take me 'all the way'. She has known Mark since they both rode on the same show circuit, and one day mentioned of me to him. And the rest is history. Occasionally, I will get a call from Dee, asking for me to teach one of the junior lessons or ride one of the greenies. It always makes me happy to go to my old barn. I have so many good memories there. I also get to see my old friends who still ride at Dee's farm, Pink Blossom. They go by the names of April, GiGi, and Drew. April, GiGi, and I are best friends. They both are competing regularly at the Preliminary level, where I compete at the CCI*** level. And Drew, well, we have a special relationship. We have been dating for six years, ever since we were 15 years old.

I think Mark gets his tough trainer attitude from his equestrian background. Born and raised in a military family, Mark has always had a love for horses. In 2001, he was able to ride in the Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, a competition at the highest level in eventing. He went back to Rolex in 2004 with a new horse and actually won the entire competition. Currently, Mark is training for me to follow in his footsteps. Coming up next month is Rolex. He is training Rebound and I harder than ever for the show. I still can't believe I have the opportunity to ride at that elite event with the top riders in the world.

When I was 15 years old at a prestigious junior event, the American Eventing Championships, I suffered a bad fall off of my horse Beau, resulting in the amputation of my left leg. For the past few years I have used a prosthesis. The prosthesis has never interfered with my riding ability, allowing me to compete at high levels.

I still own Beau, a black Dutch Warmblood gelding. I also still own Beau's full sister, Faith, a horse that took me up to CCI*. Faith also took me to the North American Junior Young Riders Championships, a top young rider show a few years back. That show left Faith and I with a silver medal in Individual and a bronze medal for Team. It was such an incredible experience. NAJYRC was also the first show that Mark trained me at.

Faith and Beau are now old, retired pasture horses, living a peaceful life in one of the fields at my farm, Stonewood Stables. Stonewood Stables is a small farm that my mom bought me for my 19th birthday. It has a medium sized, stone barn with a total of six stalls, a heated indoor arena, outdoor dressage arena, outdoor jumping arena, two small paddocks for the stabled horses, and a large field where Beau and Faith live. The property also has a cozy two bedroom one bathroom. The spare room is used mostly by my mom when she comes to visit. The only horses that I own personally are Beau, Faith, and Rebound. The rest of the horses at Stonewood are my good friend Matt's.

I met Matt a few years back at a show. We became instant friends, both having a love for horses. He has five horses at Stonewood, three are in the barn and two are out in the pasture with mine. Matt competes at CCI** with his stunning dapple grey, Quebec. Two years ago, Matt started training with Mark as well. But on Thursdays like today, however, he does not lesson with Mark.

"That's all for today, Michels. See you tomorrow." Mark shouts to me. We say our goodbyes and he heads to his truck in the parking lot. Slowly, he pulls away, leaving Stonewood. Mark usually comes to lesson me three or four times a week, and Matt twice a week.

I give Rebound a pat on the neck before kicking my feet out of the stirrups and popping out of the saddle. I loosen the girth and roll up the stirrups on my fancy Antares jumping saddle. I guide Rebound out of the outdoor jumping ring and back into the barn. In the barn, I see Matt grooming Quebec in the cross ties.

"Hey." I say to him as I remove Rebound's bridle and running martingale, replacing it with his worn leather stable halter. I clip his halter rings to the cross ties and remove the saddle off of his sweaty back. Finally, I take off his jumping boots.

"Hey." Matt replies back. He offers to carry my saddle to the tack room, and I gladly accept. Now I only have to carry my bridle. "How was the lesson today?" He asks as we walk to the tack room with Rebound's gear.

"You know. The usual. Mark was real tough but Rebound was a pro."

"Correction." Matt says. "Rebound is always a pro." He grins at me. It is the truth, Rebound is amazing. But he wasn't always so great, believe it or not. When Faith peaked at CCI* and I knew I could compete higher, Mark and Dee took me horse shopping. We decided to stop at a horse auction out of curiosity to see the horses there. At the auction, the final horse came into the pen. He was a scared, scrawny young chestnut gelding. Nobody bid on him, other than the kill buyer. I saw something in him, and so did Dee and Mark. That day, we brought him home for exactly $250. It was a fairly short process to nurse the auction rescue back to health. Since he made such a fast recovery from nothing more than skin and bones to a healthy, happy horse, I named him Rebound. In under a year after I got him, he competed and won at his first CCI*. And the rest is history.

I smile to myself, putting my bridle, running martingale, and girth onto the hanging dirty tack hook. Matt puts the cover back on my saddle and sets it gently on the saddle rack on the wall. I throw the jumping boots into my tack trunk. Quickly, I throw my gross saddle pad in the washer in the barns laundry room.

Matt puts Quebec back and helps me hose sweaty Rebound off. After we are done, I put my horse back into his stall for the night.

"The stable hands are coming to give the horses their night feed soon." I tell Matt. Every morning, the stable hands come to muck the horses stalls, and feed the stabled and field horses, and every night they feed them their dinners. It was nice that I didn't have to do it myself.

"Are you lessoning tomorrow?" He asks me.

"Of course. I think Mark is trailering with us to the riding center for a cross country lesson so be prepared for some fun." The only problem about Stonewood is that it doesn't have it's own cross country jumps, so we have to trailer to the local riding center to practice. Drew also mentioned to me that Dee is taking him, GiGi, and April to the riding center for a cross country lesson as well.

"See ya bright and early tomorrow morning for our lesson." And with that, Matt exits the barn.

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Hey again! It's been too long. So how do u guys like it so far? This chapter was mostly about back story for the last few years of Ali's life. Hope you enjoyed (: