The return

Chapter 16

Emily's POV

Dusty and I have been training for weeks for Junior Nationals. Today was the day all that training paid off. Dusty and I were in his trailer. I was so nervous. I felt the car come to a stop and then the trailer's door opened. Everyone from the barn came to cheer me on. I got up and pulled Dusty out with me. This place was huge. I went to the sign-in table to sign me and Dusty in.

"Name." The person said. He had a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"Emily Matthews," I said.

"Dad I got more name tags. Wait, Emily?" I saw Ben running up to the table and handed his dad the name tags. Then I realized that Ben's dad, Mr. Andrews was helping out here.

"Hey," I said. I was not in the talking mood. I pulled Dusty away and went to the practice area. People were practicing barrel racing, lasso, but no one was going to practice the fun part. Getting buck off your horse. I climbed onto Dusty. I had him walk into an open area and we practiced our techniques when it came to barrel racing.

"The horse for the bucking is name Echo."  My dad said. I nodded. Everyone was with him. Sarah, Alma, and Molly were talking about the different horses. Chloe and Zoe were talking about everyone's outfits. Bailey and Tony were watching people practice and making comments on them. Will was helping me with my techniques. "Nervous?" He asked.

"Ya," I replied.

"Just do your best," Dad said. I nodded. A girl with ginger hair and a plaid shirt came up to me.

"I'm trying not to be rude, but what's your horse's name?" She asked.

"Dusty," I said. She smiled.

"I'm riding him for the bucking part of this. I'm Katie and this is Echo." She said. Her horse was a tan Arabian with white socks on all of its legs. It had a blond mane and tail.

"I'm Emily," I said to her.

"Is it ok if I hang out with you during this? My parents are in the crowd and no one from my barn is here." She said. I felt bad for her.

"Sure. That's my dad, that's my brother Tony. And then that's Sarah, Molly, Alma, Zoe, Chloe, Bailey, and Will." I said while pointing to everyone.

"Are they all participating?" Katie asked.

"No, they're all here to support me. They all ride at the same barn as me. Expect my dad of course." I replied.

"All riders participating in the bucking competition, please line up outside the ring with your horse." The speaker said.

"Let's go," Katie said. She kicked Echo into a walk and they headed towards the ring.

"Hey Emily, good luck." I hear my dad say. I had a Dusty walk over to the ring and stopped next to Katie. When everyone arrived the speaker came on.

"First up, Emily Mattews from Horseland will be on Echo from Goldenrod." They said. I got off of Dusty and Katie got off of Echo. We traded reins and I pulled Echo into the ring. I took a deep breath.

"You are stubborn and a fighter," I said to myself. I climbed onto Echo, and he immediately started bucking. I held onto the reins with both hands. May I just say, Dusty was a lot worse. This horse was bucking like crazy and I stayed on. The buzzer sounded off. You ride for five minutes unless you get off earlier. I got off of Echo, and I felt dizzy.

"Nice job Emily," Katie said.

"Thanks,"  I replied. My dad walked up to me and handed me a water bottle. I took it and drank at least half of it.

"Up next is Katie from Goldenrod riding on Dusty from Horseland." The speaker said.

"Good luck Katie," I said. She smiled and walked to the ring. She's going to need it. The buzzer went off and Dusty started off by rearing. She stayed in for that, then Dusty went crazy. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what was happening. Everyone screamed. I opened my eyes and Katie was on the ground. She popped up.

"I'm ok." She said. I relaxed. She got up and pulled Dusty by the reins and came to me. She handed me Dusty. "He knows how to put up a fight." She said.

"So does Echo, I thought I was going to get sick when I got off of him," I said. She laughed. We watched the rest of the bucking part. A lot of people fell off, and few stayed on.

"And here are the results. In fourth place from Goldenrod, Katie Williams. In third place from Westside ranch, Quinn Andrews. In second place also from Westside ranch, Emma Andrews. And finally in first place, Emily Matthews from Horseland." There was a cheer. I was ready to get sick.

"Nice job Emily," Katie said.

"Thanks," I replied. This might actually be a good competition for Dusty and me.