04- California Dreams
21 year old Cotey Mallory raced up the aisle in the barn to catch up with her best friend Carrie Thorke.
“Hey, wait up Carre!” she called. Carrie turned and smiled warmly. She and Cotey had been friends since they were kids.
“What’s up?” she asked when Cotey reached her side. Sun was streaming in the windows on the warm May afternoon. They had finished up the spring semester at Cornell and were now on summer vacation.
“Don’t tell Sam or Jason yet, but if you guys want to we can go to California for the summer. My cousins Matt and Brian are leaving for a few weeks. Matt wrote and asked if I wanted to come out and stay.” Carrie’s jaw dropped.
“Are you serious? I thought we were going down to the Bahamas for the summer.” They had gone almost every summer since their first trip.
“You guys can still go if you want, but I need to go to California. There are some big horse shows going through, and I want to give the Olympic scouts a chance to see me. Maiden has been doing great over fences, and I think Sam might have some luck entering Law in some shows.”
“Wow. Jason is going to love this idea… Sam too. How long ago did you get the letter?”
“A month or so ago. I needed to think about it for awhile before I made any decisions. I’ll talk to the guys about it tonight, and if you want to go you’ll have a couple days to pack.”
“When would we leave?”
“Saturday morning,” she said with a smile. Carrie put her arm around Cotey’s shoulders and grinned.
“I can’t wait to see their faces when you tell them.”
Later that night Cotey and Sam were in her room making out. They had come a long way in the almost four years they had been together. Sam had been patient, and had taken things slow. Cotey pushed him away a little.
“Too fast?” he murmured. She shook her head.
“No, I’m ok. Do you think I could really make the U.S. Equestrian team?” she asked. Sam raked his fingers through his black hair.
“Sure, why not? You’re really talented. Maiden has come a long way, and she’ll only keep getting better with you in her saddle. You could enter any of your horses and the scouts would be crazy not to take you.”
“Thank you,” she said, kissing him gently. After several more minutes she pushed him away again. “Let’s take the horses over to the course at the school tomorrow. Nobody will be using it.”
“Sounds good C,” he said, kissing her neck.
“I’ll tell Carrie and Jason too. They might want to bring the horses out to California with them; Jason’s starting to make some serious headway with his horses over fences.”
“He’s not as good as you,” Sam said.
“You’re such a suck up. You’re all really good. Any of you could end up at the Olympics.”
“Not true. You’re better than any of us ever thought of being.” She smiled and kissed him again.
“What a nice answer,” she murmured, trailing off as the started to kiss again.
In the morning Cotey and Sam woke up and got dressed in breeches and high boots. They went to get Carrie and Jason, and then the four friends walked down to the barn. They saddled up and rode out of the stable yard at an easy sitting trot.
“We have a lot of work to do before tomorrow,” Cotey said suddenly.
“What do you mean tomorrow?” Carrie asked.
“The horses are going to be shipped tonight. Then we’ll fly out tomorrow. My Aunt Caro is going to meet us at the airport. She’s bringing one of her younger students, Jess, out to California for some of the shows. I guess she’s doing really well and Aunt Caro wants to give her some exposure.” They had met Jess on their last trip to the Bahamas. The girl was thirteen, and already showed great promise in the saddle.
“It’ll be good to see them again,” Jason said. Cotey grinned at him and then focused her attention on the trail ahead. They reached the Cornell jump course several minutes later. Cotey watched as her friends entered the ring individually. Sam was in the ring, guiding Law over the huge fences gracefully. When everyone else had gone Cotey went into the ring. Maiden flicked her ears back and gave her head a little toss.
“Good girl, let’s go,” she murmured, urging Maiden into a canter. Cotey rose slightly in her saddle, aiming toward the first jump. They cleared all the jumps, even the water jump. Maiden had a bad history with water jumps, and usually refused them. Her friends were waiting when she rode out of the ring.
“That looked great C,” Sam said. “How did she do with dressage last week?”
“Perfect. She’s always loved dressage.”
“If there are any scouts watching in California, I think you’re in,” Carrie said with a smile. Cotey grinned, tossing her long braid over her shoulder.
“I hope you’re right,” she murmured.
The next day Cotey was sitting next to Sam on a plane. Carrie and Jason were behind them, both asleep. Sam was also asleep. Cotey was staring out the window at the clouds below. She couldn’t help but worry about the shows she had entered. She had entered a lot, in every discipline, in an attempt to show anyone watching that she could handle everything. She couldn’t help thinking that she would mess up and miss out on the Olympics. It had been her dream since she began riding, and now it was so close. With a deep breath Cotey let her eyes drift shut, trying to ease the butterflies in her stomach.
Cotey woke up to the sound of the flight attendant giving the passengers instructions over the intercom. She buckled her seat belt and glanced at Sam. He was reading a book, and seemed not to notice that she’d woken up.
“Hey, can’t you ever get out of lit class?” she asked. He glanced at her and stuck out his tongue.
“You should talk. How many books did you read last semester?” She rolled her eyes.
“A lot,” she muttered. He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a light kiss on the back of it.
“Precisely,” he said.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Flying over Nevada currently,” he explained. Her smile brightened.
“Really? That’s great. Aunt Caro said she’d pick us up at the airport and Jess will be with her. I guess Jess’s Dad had to stay home and Jess is pretty upset.”
“I can’t say that I blame her. He’s all Jess has left.” The young girl’s mother had died when Jess was five.
“I know. Hopefully we can cheer her up when we get there.” Sam smiled and returned to his book.
Caro Bartholomew drove the friends to Cotey’s cousin’s house.
“How was the flight kids?” she asked.
“I slept through most of it,” Cotey said with a smile.
“That’s always good. Jess is excited about the show, aren’t you hun?” Caro asked, glancing at the girl in the rearview mirror. Jess nodded, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders.
“I can’t wait,” she said.
“Your horses all came off the flight fine. Incense and Premie are a little jet lagged, but that’s pretty normal I’m sure.” Cotey frowned.
“Not really. They’re usually hyper after a flight.”
“This is a really long flight though honey. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Cotey muttered. They drove on in silence and soon reached her cousin’s house. It was a large house in a fairly rural area. There was a large barn in the back, and several different paddocks. She could see that there was a path leading into the woods, and she knew there must be a cross country course waiting to be discovered.
“This is beautiful,” Carrie said.
“He said that work on it just stopped about a week ago. The barn crew was dragging their feet I guess,” Caro explained.
“You mean he built this just for us?” Cotey demanded.
“Apparently so,” Caro said with a smile. Cotey shook her head, glancing at her friends.
“He’s unbelievable. I’m going to go check on the horses,” she said, getting out of the car and starting toward the barn. Jessica followed her.
“How’s Maiden been?” she asked.
“She’s been doing really well. I hear that you’re jumping now.”
“Yup. Oreo is really good at it. Will you work with us tomorrow on it?” Cotey thought for a minute.
“Maybe. I need to exercise my horses first though. I want to be ready for the Olympic scouts at the shows.”
“You’re going to blow them away. Daddy says I’m going to be a world class jumper some day. I’m getting too big for Oreo now though.”
“Doesn’t your Dad have some two year olds he’s training?” Cotey asked, stopping at a stall. Incense’s head appeared over the door and she rubbed his forehead.
“Yeah, but he’s not training for jumping. There’s only one horse, and she belongs to some rich guy. I ride her in the morning sometimes though.”
“What rich guy does she belong to?”
“Umm… Frank Giran I think.”
“Really? I think you’re talking about Sam’s dad. Let’s go ask Sam,” she suggested. The girls jogged up to the house, calling Sam’s name.
“What’s up?” he asked, coming into the living room with a confused look on his face.
“Does your dad have a new filly in training?” Cotey asked him.
“Yup. She’s a real beauty too… I think Dad is planning on giving her to me when she’s ready,” he said. Cotey glanced at Jess and saw the girl’s face fall.
“Jess why don’t you go groom Maiden for me and start getting her ready for me?”
“OK,” she muttered. Cotey looked at Sam when the girl was gone.
“Jessica’s dad is training that filly. Jess is in love with her… and she needs a new horse. Do you think you could talk your dad into selling her?”
“Come on Cotey, you can’t be serious. Jess is only thirteen. What does she need with a horse like this?”
“What do you need with a horse like this? You have Law. Please think about it? Jess is a good little rider, and she really likes this horse.”
“I’ll think about it, but I’m not making any promises,” he murmured. She smiled at him and gave him a long kiss.
“Thanks Sam. I promise I’ll make it up to you if you convince your dad.” She turned and jogged back outside to ride. Sam grinned. Just then Jason walked in.
“What’s so amusing?” he asked.
“Cotey just asked me about that filly my Dad has in training. She wants me to convince Dad to sell her to Jess’s dad for Jess.”
“But isn’t your dad already planning on that?” Jason asked. Sam nodded, his smile growing.
“Yup. Who am I to pass up free kisses though?” he asked.
“You’re sly Sam,” Jason said with a laugh. Sam nodded and they walked outdoors to watch Cotey ride.
Cotey was swinging into Maiden’s saddle when they reached the dressage ring. Jessica was sitting on the fence, watching intensely. Cotey was working on a dressage test. The group watched as she moved through the test. Maiden entered the ring at letter A, moving straight up the center line and halting. Cotey saluted and then moved forward at a working trot again. At letter C Maiden turned left. They moved on to letter E, where they turned and completed a 10 meter half circle. At the center mark, letter X, Maiden moved right toward letter B and completed a half circle again. Cotey had Maiden perfectly bent and collected, and her half circle was exactly 10 meters. The duo moved forward again, going around the corner until they reached letter V. At that point Cotey asked for a leg yield, which moved Maiden across the ring. At letter I, Maiden turned right again. They moved back across the ring on the diagonal MXK. Sam noticed the lengthening of Maiden’s stride, and the way Cotey began to rise to the trot immediately at letter M, and he smiled. When Cotey reached letter K, she eased Maiden back to a working trot and sat to the gait. They continued the working trot to letter P. At letter P, Cotey once again asked for a leg yield. This time they moved across the ring in the opposite direction. When they reached letter C, Maiden turned left and then moved across the ring on diagonal HXF. At letter A Maiden halted. After several moments the team moved forward again at a medium walk. When they reached letter K, Maiden cut across the ring and moved in a free walk to letter B. At B, Cotey tightened her reins slightly and continued at a medium walk. When they reached letter M, Maiden broke into a working trot. At letter C, she moved into a working canter. Cotey sat to the beat, a smile on her pretty face. They reached letter S and completed a perfect 15 meter circle, still in the canter. From there they moved back to the rail and Cotey had Maiden lengthen her stride in the canter. At letter K, the mare immediately moved back to the working canter. Jason gave Sam a nudge and Sam nodded at him; she was doing really well. The looked back to the ring in time to see Cotey moving across the center of the ring, changing leads in the canter and then moving back out and going the other way in her working canter. At letter R they again completed a 15 meter circle at the canter, and then moved back to the rail at an extended canter. At letter F they returned to the working canter. The moved back across the ring and dropped back down to a working trot, going left. The completed a 20 meter circle, and Cotey let Maiden complete a nice stretch before tightening her reins and sitting to the trot again. When they reached letter E, they turned left, and at letter X they turned left again. They were facing what would be the judges booth. Cotey had Maiden halt, and she saluted again, turned and exited the ring at a walk. She gave Maiden a pat and then glanced at her friends.
“What’d you think?” she asked.
“It looked great. You had good bend and wonderful form the whole test,” Jason said.
“It’s a lot easier than any of the ones we’ll be doing in the shows, but I wanted to take it easy today since she had a long flight.”
“Well it looked good no matter what you did,” Sam said. They all laughed, knowing that Sam’s riding talent did not extend to the realm of dressage.
“Thanks guys. Jess, why don’t you go saddle Incense up and meet me in the dressage ring?” she suggested. Jess hopped down from the fence and started toward the barn. “How high can you jump now Jess?” Cotey called after her.
“I can do three and a half feet with no problem!” she called back.
“Ok.” Cotey dismounted and handed her reins to Sam. “Do you mind taking care of her for me?”
“You going to set up a course for Jess?” he asked. She nodded and kissed him quickly.
“Yup. I’ll giver her something interesting… see if she can handle some tight turns. Cotey’s Aunt had just walked up.
“She’ll be able to handle anything you toss at her honey,” she said. Cotey nodded and went into the barn.
Twenty minutes later Jessica was trotting around the ring. The jumps were set to three and a half feet, and Cotey had developed a course with some tight turns and tough combinations. She had put a triple combination into the mix, something Incense always had difficulty with. Cotey watched as Jess asked Incense for a canter. They moved through the first three jumps with no problem. The triple came next, and Cotey was surprised when Incense went over all three with no extra encouragement or troubles. Jess moved through all the jumps, a smile on her face as she navigated the sharp turns. When she finished everyone at the rail gave her a round of applause.
“How was that?” she asked. Cotey smiled.
“That was great. Let me have a go at it.” Jess dismounted and Sam gave her a leg up into the saddle. Once she was up, she trotted around the course to give the horse another look at it. Then she began to canter. The duo moved through the course very fast and with no faults. When she rode to the rail, Jess was grinning.
“That was awesome,” she said enthusiastically.
“Thanks kiddo. Would you like to work with him for the rest of the week? I’m going to be pretty busy with Maiden.”
“That would be great!”
“Alright. I better see you out here at 5 am tomorrow young lady.”
“No problem.” Cotey smiled and dismounted.
“Let’s cool him out and get up to the house. I’m hungry.”
Later that evening Cotey was riding Maiden around the ring, getting ready to go out and do some cross country the next day. Jessica came out and stood at the fence, watching as Maiden and Cotey sailed over the jumps that were set up. When they were done Cotey trotted over and smiled down at her.
“What’s up kiddo?” she asked.
“I was wondering if I could ride Incense in the show on Saturday. I know that’s a huge favor, but I think I could do really well if I rode him. Please?”
“You’re going to have to work hard up until the show to get him in line. He can be a real pain sometimes,” Cotey said. Jess was jumping up and down excitedly.
“I’ll keep him in check, I promise.” Suddenly the girl’s face fell.
“What’s wrong?” Cotey asked.
“I just remembered that I entered a beginner cross country event. Can he do it?” Cotey shrugged.
“He’s done a lot of endurance and fox hunting, so I don’t see why not. We’ll go out tomorrow and practice. I’ll take him over it first to see how he reacts.”
“OK. Thanks Cotey,” Jess said with a smile. Cotey grinned and dismounted, running her stirrups up the leathers and patting Maiden’s shoulder. She walked out of the ring, putting her arm around Jess’s shoulders.
“I think you’re going to do great on him. Let’s get her put in for the night and go relax,” she said.
The next morning Cotey woke up and heard the sound of laughter coming from outside. She sat up and looked out the window. Jessica was atop her horse, Oreo, cantering around the exercise ring. Cotey smiled and got her breeches and a sweatshirt on. When she got outside Jessica was urging Oreo over some ground poles. The duo was in top form. Cotey went into the barn and got both Maiden and Incense ready. On her way out with the two horses she met Jessica and Oreo.
“Oh, am I going to ride him now?” the girl asked, brushing loose tendrils of blonde hair from her face.
“Nope, I’m going to take him first. Could you warm Maiden up for me? Just walk, trot, canter… some figure eights too. And be careful, she can get a little flighty in the morning.”
“OK. I’ll be right back,” she said, leading Oreo to the barn. Cotey waited by the gate to the ring, and soon Jess jogged up. Cotey gave her a leg onto Maiden’s back and then patted the mare’s shoulder.
“You better behave yourself girl. I’ll be on you next,” she said. Cotey watched for a few minutes, and when she was sure Maiden was going to behave, she swung into Incense’s saddle and cantered off toward the cross country course. “Alright big guy, let’s go,” she murmured as they approached the first jump. It was a set of diamonds. Incense flicked one ear forward, but kept one back to listen to her. They went over the jump with no problem and moved on to the next. It was a low coffin jump that incense had no problem clearing. She patted his shoulder and looked ahead. A small drop led to a pool of water, one of Incense’s favorite things. Cotey smiled as they splashed through and moved back on to dry land. There were several more jumps, all that Incense took without hesitation. The last jump was a high brush jump, his least favorite type. Cotey gave him a little extra urging and he soared over it. The cantered on through the woods and soon reached the finish. Cotey dismounted and patted his shoulder. “Good boy!” she exclaimed, bending down to run her hands over his legs. When she was sure that he was ok she swung back into his saddle. They walked along the path that ran along the course, and by the time they rode into the stable yard again he was cool. Jess was still riding Maiden. The mare was acting up, rearing and bucking. Jess was calm and collected, talking quietly to the horse and keeping her seat light. Maiden calmed slightly and began to trot.
“Nice job Jess. Let’s hope you can do the same when it’s a surprise,” Carrie was saying. Cotey frowned.
“Did you scare Maiden on purpose?” she demanded. Carrie gave a little jump and turned to look at Cotey.
“On, no! I came out and yelled your name. Maiden got spooked, but Jess had heard me come out so she was kind of expecting some nonsense.”
“Oh. Sorry, I just came into the conversation at the wrong moment. Jess are you going to be ready to go take the course in an hour or so?”
“Yeah, but why so long?”
“I want to give him a little more time to rest. He took the whole course fine. I think he likes the change from the every day ho hum.” Jess smiled. “Carrie can you have Jason and Sam come out to the advanced course? You guys can watch from the path. Maiden has never seen it so I want someone out there in case I take a tumble.”
“Sure, I’ll be right back,” Carrie replied, jogging up to the house.
Fifteen minutes later Cotey cantered up to the first jump on the advanced course, a huge set of diamonds. Maiden cleared it easily and they cantered on to the next jump. It was a sharp drop, and Cotey smiled as Maiden eagerly jumped forward. She looked ahead and could see Sam standing on the trail near the high brush jump. There was a gradual hill that led to the jump, and Cotey could feel Maiden’s hesitation.
“Come on girl, you can do it,” she murmured, tapping the mare’s shoulder. They flew over the jump and moved on at a ground eating pace. The next jump was a log ramp, which Maiden didn’t like but also didn’t refuse. Cotey smiled and glanced ahead, frowning at what she saw. There was a large water jump, almost identical to the one she’d rode through with Incense. Maiden tossed her head and tried to run out of the jump, but Cotey held her in check. They went through the water roughly and Cotey felt herself losing her usually solid seat in the saddle. She forced her heals down further and they moved on. Maiden was still flustered from the water jump, and Cotey was still struggling to get herself back into her heals. The next jump came up quickly, a large and fairly simple wood combination. At the last minute, Maiden skidded to a halt and sent Cotey flying over the jump. Sam and Jason were at her side almost immediately.
“C, are you ok?” Sam demanded, crouching down beside her. She nodded and sat up, trying to ignore the searing pain in her shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just wasn’t paying attention. Is Maiden ok?” she asked, forcing herself to her feet.
“She’s a little upset, but she looks ok. Do you want to try that one again?” Jessica asked. Cotey nodded and glanced at Sam.
“Give me a boost up, will you?” she asked. He nodded and gave her a leg into the saddle. Cotey took Maiden back, giving her a lot of room, and they went over the jump easily. She smiled down at Sam and said, “All’s well that ends well.”
“Nice job C,” Jason said. She grinned and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder.
“Thanks Jas. I’m going to ride back the long way, give her a chance to cool down and make sure she’s not lamed up or anything.”
“Alright, we’ll see you back up at the house,” Sam said. She turned Maiden and began to walk back. After a moment she glanced over her shoulder. Jason, Sam, and Jess were walking away. With a deep breath she put her hand on her shoulder, beginning to cry.
“This has to be OK Maiden,” she murmured.
That afternoon Cotey stood in the bathroom in a tank top, looking at her shoulder. It was already bruising. She sighed and put some muscle rub on it, hoping that it would help. So far she could barely move it without pain. None of her friends or aunt suspected a thing, and she intended to keep it that way. They would certainly make her go to the hospital and pull her entries from the shows she was entered in, and that would ruin any chance at the Olympics. She took another deep breath and raked her fingers through her long brown hair. It was hanging loose, flowing over her shoulders. She pulled on a T-shirt, cringing as she put her right arm through the sleeve and pulled it over her head. Jessica was down in the ring, warming Incense up. Cotey walked outside and stood at the fence.
“You ready Jess?” she called. Jess pulled up and smiled.
“Yup. Sam, Jason, Carrie and Caro are already out on the course.” Cotey nodded.
“Alright, good luck. I’ll meet you at the finish.” She walked to the finish line and only had to wait a couple minutes before Jess cantered up on Incense. The girl was smiling.
“He was awesome! Totally awesome. You should’ve seen the way he took those jumps.” Cotey smiled.
“Nice job kiddo. I knew you’d do great.”
“Thanks for letting me ride him Cotey. I really appreciate it. Are you going to work Premie later?” Cotey hesitated; her shoulder throbbed at the thought of doing anything more than laying in bed.
“Umm… I probably should. Yeah. I’ll work with her.”
“Can I watch?” Cotey groaned inwardly.
“Of course you can. I’ll ride her at around 4:30, so just be down at the ring. I’ll see you back up at the house,” she said, turning and walking through the woods once again holding her arm.
Jessica and Sam were standing by the fence when Cotey led Premie into the ring at 4:30. She let her stirrups down and swung into the saddle, trying hard not to grimace when she had to lean on her right arm as she swung up.
“How high are the jumps Jess?” she asked.
“Five feet. Sam checked to make sure they were ok.”
“Alright. Could you tack up Maiden for me too? I want to run through some more dressage with her after I’m done with this.” Jess nodded. Cotey warmed up at a sitting and posting trot, and then worked at an easy canter for a moment. After she was sure Premie had gotten a good look at the course, she went into her half seat and aimed toward the first jump. Premie cleared it easily, but the pain in Cotey’s shoulder was almost unbearable. They went over the whole course, and by the time she was done Cotey was fighting tears.
“What’s wrong?” Jessica asked as she dismounted.
“Oh nothing kiddo. Just muscle aches from my fall earlier. I’m going to work with Maiden now. You guys can head up to the house if you want.” She swung into Maiden’s saddle and glanced down at them. Sam put his hand on her thigh.
“We’ll hang out. I love watching you do dressage.”
“Alright.” She rode into the ring and moved through some of the paces and worked on her figures. Maiden was in top form, and was giving no problems, but her shoulder was throbbing. She finished up fairly quickly and dismounted.
“Looked great C,” Sam said, giving her a kiss. She forced a smile.
“Thanks. I’m going to go take care of her and then I’ll be up to the house. I’ll see you there?” she murmured. Sam nodded and he and Jessica walked up to the house. Cotey led Maiden to her stall. Once there she began to cry quietly. Maiden looked at her and blew a soft breath in her hair. “I’ve got to keep going girl. Just be a good girl and we can get through this,” she murmured. She finished grooming and wiped her face before going to the house.
The next morning everyone was up at four thirty. They got the horses ready, plaiting their manes and tails. Then they trailered them to the show grounds. It was a three-day long event; there would be a day of dressage, a day of show jumping, and a day of cross country. The format was very similar to the Olympics, and Cotey knew it was a good showcase for her abilities. The first even, dressage, went extremely well. Cotey’s score put her in first with no question. She had ridden against Carrie and Jason, but no one was upset about the outcome. All of her friends knew how important it was for her to have a good showing. As Cotey rode out of the ring she noticed an Olympic scout making notes and couldn’t help but smile.
On the second day of the competition, Cotey was going tenth in the jumping ring and seventh on the cross country course. Sam was riding second to last in the jumping ring, and third on cross country. Carrie and Jason were going early in the line up in both events. When Sam went through the ring course Cotey watched him closely. He had two knockdowns, but had a fairly decent time. Jessica applauded wildly as he rode from the ring, as did his other friends.
“Nice job,” Cotey said. Sam shook his head.
“Not my best round,” he said with a grin. Cotey smiled and swung into the saddle. As she rode into the ring she felt herself calm and focus. Maiden was a little worked up about all the people, but Cotey kept her in hand. They went through the course clear and in excellent time. They had first place again and Cotey could see the same scout taking notes. She smiled and swallowed hard against the pain in her shoulder. It was still severely swollen and several shades of purple, but she knew she couldn’t give up yet.
At three o’clock that day Jessica rode Incense into the ring. Cotey watched as the duo soared over every jump. She smiled at the tight turns the girl made, knowing that she had a confidence some of her competition didn’t possess yet. When they rode out, it was clear that Jess had won her class.
“I am so proud of you kiddo!” Cotey exclaimed, wrapping her left arm around the young girl’s shoulder when she dismounted. Jess smiled and hugged Sam, Carrie, and finally Jason.
“I can’t believe we won,” Jess said, smiling broadly. She put her arms around Incense’s neck and hugged the big gelding tightly.
“Hey Jess I have a surprise for you,” Sam said suddenly. Jess looked at him. He held out an envelope and she took it, opening it carefully. When she saw what was inside, the girl began to cry and she threw her arms around Sam.
“What’s going on?” Cotey asked. Jess pulled away and handed the card to her. It was a picture of the mare Jess had fallen in love with. Cotey looked at Sam, tears shining in her eyes too. She put her left arm around his shoulders and hugged him. “Thank you,” she whispered. Sam smiled and put his arm around her waist.
“Anytime,” he murmured. She pulled away and looked at Jess. The girl was still staring at the picture of her horse in awe.
“Let’s go out and celebrate,” Cotey said. The rest of them seemed to think it was a great idea, and they walked off toward the barn to settle Incense in for the night before going out. Cotey walked in silence, thinking about the next day and hoping everything would go smoothly.
The big upset the next day happened to be the brush jump. A lot of riders had had refusals, and some had even taken a spill. Cotey sat atop Maiden, trying to calm her jittery nerves. Sam was going right before her. The course was 30 jumps long, consisting of drops, ramps, diamonds, hogs backs, a water jump, and natural obstacles in the woods. Sam rode off at a ground eating canter and Cotey prepared to leave. When the buzzer sounded they shot forward. The first four jumps went smoothly, and they moved on to the fifth. Cotey could see the large brush jump looming ahead, and she readied herself. At the last moment Maiden skidded to a halt, rearing and spinning to the side at the same time. Cotey flew off, hitting the jump hard. One of the course assistants rushed out and boosted her back into the saddle. Cotey couldn’t stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks as she moved Maiden back and aimed for the jump again. This time they sailed over it. The next 25 jumps went by with no trouble, and they finished with an excellent time. Sam was waiting for her and helped her down, frowning when he saw the tears on her face.
“Cotey what’s wrong?” he demanded. She shook her head, sinking to the ground and clutching her shoulder. Sam called for an ambulance and soon she was being loaded into an ambulance.
The next day Sam stood beside Cotey’s hospital bed and demanded, “Why didn’t you tell me?” The doctors had done an emergency surgery to repair a torn ACL in her shoulder.
“I needed to complete this show. It was important. Who won the event?”
“You did. Of course you did. You got the trophy for best overall rider in the show too.” She smiled.
“Wow,” she murmured.
“What is the doctor saying?” he asked.
“Physical therapy and a lot of rest. He said the surgery went really well and I should regain complete functioning.”
“Well that’s good at least. I’m glad you’ll be able to ride again.”
“It’ll be a month or two, but I should be back up in no time. I wonder if this will hurt my chances at the Olympics. A fall in a major show… God I hope not,” she muttered.
“You have a one track mind. I’m sure this won’t hurt you at all. You were the best one out there.” She smiled.
“Thanks Sam.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“Anytime C.”
Jessica was riding Maiden around the ring when Cotey got home. They were working over two feet fences. Cotey watched, a smile on her face.
“You guys look good!” she called. Jess pulled up and then trotted over to the fence.
“Are you ok?” Jess demanded.
“I’m fine. How’s she been?”
“Great. Guess what? I took second place in cross country. I was the youngest rider in the event.”
“Way to go kiddo. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks Cotey. I couldn’t have done it without Incense.” Cotey shook her head.
“Don’t kid yourself Jess. You’re a great rider,” Cotey assured her. Jess beamed and Cotey glanced at Sam. “I’m going to go up to the house and rest for awhile. Would you work with Premie for me later?” Sam nodded and watched as she walked up to the house.
Almost two weeks later Cotey sat on the porch and watched Jess ride Incense around the ring. They had decided to stay in California for a little while longer as a summer vacation. She glanced up as Sam walked up the steps.
“Hey,” she murmured, closing her eyes as he bent down and kissed her. “What’s up?” she asked. He handed her a letter and her jaw dropped when she saw the United States Equestrian Team insignia.
“Oh god,” she murmured. Carrie and Jason came out of the house just then.
“What’s going on?” Jason asked.
“This is from the USET,” Cotey replied breathlessly. Carrie put her hand on Jason’s shoulder, swallowing hard.
“Open it!” she exclaimed. Cotey ripped the envelop open and read:
Ms. Mallory,
We would like to invite you to participate in our training camp for the Olympics which will take place next spring. This training session will determine your membership on the United States Equestrian Team. We will be awaiting your response. Please reply no later than September 1, 1994. I look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Alexander Bradfield
Cotey looked at her friends, tears in her eyes.
“I’m in. I’m going to training, and if I make it through I will go to Ireland for the Olympics,” she said. Her friends took turns hugging her and reading her letter.
“We’re so proud of you Cotey,” Sam said. She smiled up at him.
“I’m going to the Olympics,” she murmured
