Chapter 1

The Beginning of It All

  “Finally! A barn of my very own!” exclaimed 24 year old Brenda Breyer, gazing at the pony in front of her. “And you, Jasmine, are the beginning of my dreams.” Brenda had been longing for a horse barn to keep and manage by herself for some years now, and she had finally fulfilled her dream. Brenda walked down the aisle, taking in the empty, bedded stalls, her old pony, and the neatly organized tack room with three bridles, two halters, several harnesses, a grooming bucket, and a flysheet. She vowed that the room would soon be filled.

Although the barn was not very large, it was enough for Brenda. It was a good barn, and it was rectangular. It was split into two sides. Both sides had four large box stalls, and a large aisle in between. There were giant tack rooms on both sides, with saddle racks and bridle pegs covering the walls. In the middle of the room, there was a grain bin.

There were shelves covering the back walls of both tack rooms, and there were doors at both ends of the aisle. The barn had a high, peaked room and plenty of storage space. Brenda was quite satisfied. Even though she had not yet grown tired of her newly acquired barn, she knew that it was getting late because of the growling in her stomach. She headed back to her living quarters. Because of all the grand things in the luxurious barn, Brenda had thought that the house would be great. But it wasn’t. Especially because there was no house.

 Because of this, Brenda had to set up her few small things in her tall pup tent. She was disappointed about the fact that there was no house, but in truth, she spent most of her time with the horses, so it really did not matter. On an impulse, Brenda ran back to Jasmine. Jasmine was a pretty little Welsh pony who had a sweet disposition and was yellowish white in color. She was not quite a palomino, nor was she an albino. This was why Brenda had named her Jasmine, after the pale yellow flower.

Brenda sighed deeply, looking at her ten-year-old mare. She then headed toward the tack room and picked up the cracked leather bridle and saddle. “Man, I really need to clean these,” she stated. “Some saddle soap would really do them some good.” She trudged back to her pony’s stall and led the mare out. It was long since that the mare just followed her around.

Brenda fastened the mare in crossties that hung in a separate area from the barn. Apart from the barn were several buildings. Some stored hay, straw, or grain, some were empty, and one had several old pieces of horse equipment in it. She quickly groomed the mare and slung the saddle onto her. She had to force the old stirrups up to reach under the mare’s belly for the girth. She was careful to make sure that she faced away from the pony’s back hooves, as the mare might kick at flies on her belly and accidentally kick Brenda’s face instead.

As she tightened the cinch, Brenda kneed the mare’s belly and a whoosh of air was expelled from the pony’s mouth. “Ha!” cried Brenda triumphantly. “I bet you thought you’d won that time! Well, I’m onto you and your old tricks.” Brenda pulled the bridle off her shoulder and gently laid the bit against Jasmine’s teeth. The pony took the bit willingly. Brenda joyfully unhooked the crossties and leapt into the saddle in one deft movement. She nudged Jasmine’s sides, and the pony started to walk. Soon Jasmine and Brenda were cantering around the barn in circles.

Then Brenda moved the mare into a gallop, and they headed through the gate into the far pasture, Brenda laughing ecstatically as the wind whistled through her hair. It was pure bliss to be going that fast on a horse whose hooves seemed to barely touch the ground. Brenda soon slowed Jasmine, because the pony was breathing hard. The pair headed toward another pasture, whose gate was at the far end of this pasture. In this area was a complete setup of jumps. There was a brick wall, a vertical, a log jump, an oxer, a chicken coop, and a large jump that looked like a large barn. It was painted red and yellow.

Brenda cantered Jasmine up to the first of these jumps, a low vertical, and the mare popped neatly over it. Soon they were headed toward the brick wall, clearing it neatly with room to spare, and before Brenda wanted to, the course was over. Jasmine’s ears were pricked forward, looking at the course with interest. Brenda, sensing her excitement, went through the course again.

When Brenda looked at her watch, she was surprised to see that she had been out for almost three hours. She walked the pony back to the barn to cool her down. Soon, Jasmine was washed, groomed, blanketed, and bedded down for the rest of the day.

Brenda trudged back to her tent and paced restlessly in front of it, trying to think of something to do. The three empty horse stalls caught her eye. Her eyes lit up. “I know!” she said. “I’ll see if there are any kinds of horse or tack auctions any time soon!” She ducked into the tent and came out with a newspaper that she had picked up the day before.

Se flipped to the classified ads, and immediately an article about a horse auction popped out at her. It said that there was to be a large horse auction during June 12^th, the present day. Brenda’s head jerked up. “Holy smokes!” she said. “That’s today, and it starts in one hour!” Brenda leaped up and sped toward the stables. Then she stopped in her tracks. Hadn’t she just put Jasmine up for the day? “Oh, well,” she said aloud to herself.

She decided that she would ride the mare at a nice easy walk. She HAD to be at that auction!

This decided, she ran to the stable. As she entered the barn, she heard a low nicker. She looked up toward Jasmine’s stall, and the mare’s head was poked out of the stall door, peering at her. Brenda quickly gathered the tack needed, gave the mare another quick grooming, and was on the mare walking toward the road in a time span of about five minutes. That left her with fifty‑five minutes to get to the auction, and in was ten miles away. Brenda was very impatient to get the mare to go faster, but she resisted, knowing that it would be hard for the horse. About a half of an hour later, Jasmine was panting and soaked with sweat, tooling along under the hot sun. Brenda was hot, too, but she kept reminding herself that the pony was carrying her, not her carrying the pony. She thought that these things were ridiculous to think of, so she started to hum.

She figured she might be almost there, so she urged the already foaming mare into a trot. Brenda was still impatient, and, glancing at her watch, she saw that the auction was two minutes from starting. She was so frantic that she pushed Jasmine into an all out gallop. When she finally reached the spot where the auction was being held, Jasmine had dropped her pace to a turtle walk. Brenda did not push her any more, because she knew that the mare could get sick, or even get colic, a serious disease caused from blockage in the intestines. When she finally reached the hitching rack, Brenda leaped from Jasmine’s back and tied the sweating mare to the rail. Then she bounded up the steps and yanked open the doors, bolted inside, and slammed the doors.

Chapter 2

The Auction

  Brenda quickly took a seat toward the back of the stage. She held up her hand to get a number. Just as the number was handed to her, a voice came over the loudspeaker. “Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the beginning of the twenty‑fifth annual Springview horse auction!”

Everybody clapped, and then the auctioning began. The first horse to be led up to the stand was a roan colt that was two years of age. The bidding started at one thousand dollars, and quickly climbed to three thousand, then four thousand. At four thousand five hundred, the bidding stopped abruptly. “Going, going…Gone!” cried the auctioneer. “Sold to the man in the red plaid suit, number eighty-two!” The man was grinning as he sat down, ecstatic over his win.

Brenda had not even bid on the animal, because she was looking for several certain breeds and colors. Next, a pretty skewbald pinto was led onto the stand. She was sold at six thousand dollars to a woman in a gray dress. Brenda looked around her while she waited. The stands were large, and they were packed to the brim with people. The bleachers went up high, and down in the center to a ring. In the center of that ring was a large stand, with a ramp on either side to lead the horses up and down and to and from the stand.

Several more horses came and went, and by the time thirty-two more horses were auctioned off, Brenda was ready to leave because she figured that none of the horses left she would want to buy. Just as she stood up to turn in her number sign-100-and leave, she saw a beautiful bay pacer led up onto the stand. She quickly sat down. Here was a horse she would like! The bid started at ten thousand dollars. The bay was pretty, with four black socks, a black mane and tail, and wonderful conformation. The auctioneer read off his bloodlines. The first thing that came was that the colt was three years old, and still needed a lot of training. This was the youngest horse yet to be auctioned. All the others were four years or older.

His sire was Nieman, and his dam was Cleotross. The colt had not yet been named, announced the auctioneer, so whoever bought him would get that option. The bids were slow, and once only one more person bid, and nobody else bid, Brenda held up her number and announced, “Fifteen thousand dollars!” This offer was five-hundred dollars more than the other woman’s was. Fortunately, no one else proposed any thing else; the auctioneer announced that the Standardbred Pacer was Brenda’s.

Several more horses were auctioned off, and then Brenda saw a beautiful dapple-gray Arabian mare that she desperately wanted. Brenda could barely stay in her seat from excitement. She wanted this horse! The bidding, unfortunately, started at fifteen thousand dollars. Brenda thought this was a little high. The bids flew fast and hard. “Fifteen thousand five-hundred!”

“Sixteen thousand!”

“Sixteen thousand five-hundred!”

“Seventeen thousand!”

“Eighteen thousand!”

The mare looked bewildered at all the yelling and shouting going on around her, but she stood calmly, looking at each person that yelled out a bid.

“Nineteen thousand!”

“Twenty thousand!”

“Twenty-five thousand!”

The bidding stopped there, and the auctioneer was about to say, “Sold!” when Brenda held up her card and shouted, “Twenty-seven thousand!”

The horse was hers. Brenda lay back in relief. This horse, whose mother and father’s names were Silver Dream and Spoon It Up, was hers; this mare was four years old.

**********

Two hours later, the auction was over. Brenda now had three horses to her name, and she was on her way to the barn to collect them. The stable of sold horses was huge. Brenda thought that she would never find her horses, but then she saw the huge number 100 on three stalls in a row. The other horse was a five-year-old palomino mare with a sweet temperament. Brenda had already decided to call her Moonglow. At first, she had wanted to get a white horse and name it Moonglow, but she then thought that the name better suited the palomino. Brenda was pleased with her purchases.

She showed on of the handlers her number card, and then identified herself. The handler was satisfied and led the horses out, placing the leads in her hands. “Be careful, dear,” the woman said. “Do you have a trailer to get them home?” Brenda replied no, she did not, but she had another horse that she came on. She also said that her home was just a short distance away.

The supervisor seemed content, so Brenda happily led her horses out to Jasmine. It took about ten minutes for the horses to be fulfilled by each other’s companionship, and by then Brenda was impatient to go home. For a long time, she had kept the stalls in her barn clean in preparation for some new horses. Within another half hour, they were home. Brenda immediately leaped from Jasmine and tied her to a post. She did the same to the bay and the gray. This done, she fetched a brand new blanket that she had obtained from a tack auction. She rubbed the palomino down with the new blanket until she was used to the smell and feel of the new piece.

She did the same thing with the bay after putting Moonglow away. The bay seemed a bit restless, so Brenda walked him around the barn several times, letting the horse get used to the look and the atmosphere of the place.

Brenda pondered the names that she could give the bay. She said them out loud to him.

“Cleoman?”

“Patter? I always liked that name.”

“Cleman?”

“Niecle?”

“That sounds stupid,” she surmised, casting away the name.

“Mantross?”

“Mannie?”

“That’s cute.”

The pacer shook his head as if in distaste.

“Clitross?”

“Troman?”

The pretty bay kept shaking his head. Even though Brenda knew that it was from the fly buzzing about his face, she discarded the ideas one by one.

Then it came to her. “Niatross!” she exclaimed.

The tall horse bobbed his head and rubbed her shoulder with his head, as if to say he liked it.

Niatross snorted.

Brenda laughed gleefully.

Chapter 3

The News Comes

  Brenda led Niatross into his new stall. He went without objection. Brenda just hoped that the gray would go as easily, her being an Arabian and all. Brenda knew that Arabians were high‑strung, so she took many cautions. First, she took about fifteen minutes rubbing the horse down, and then groomed the mare until she shined. Then she lightly ran her hand down over the horse. The gray just looked at her. “Well, girl, you seem to have passed the test!” Brenda said joyfully. “Now let’s get you into a stall.”

Brenda already knew what she was going to name the mare. “Sterling Silver, this is your new home.” The mare walked right in, lay down, and started rolling. Brenda laughed until the horse heaved herself to her feet and shook off the straw. She gave each horse a pat and then went to check for the mail. Normally, she got nothing; the mail carrier kept going. However, as soon as she came within sight of the road, she was amazed to see the mail truck stop. The mail carrier leaned his head out the window, opened the mailbox, and stuck a letter and a flier in. Then he shut the door and drove off.

Brenda dashed to the road and quickly pulled open the mailbox door. She yanked the mail out, and, without looking at it, dashed back to her tent. She flopped down onto her sleeping bag, grabbed her rusty old letter opener, and tore open the letter with it. She slowly extracted the flowery stationary and unfolded it. Whom did it come from? She found her answer a moment later, when she read the message. She slowly read the letter. Was this for real?

The letter reads as follows:

 

Bonnie Forrester

264 Munnie Road

Omaha, Nebraska, 37193

 

Dear Aunt Brenda,

  I desperately need help. This is actually your niece, Amy Forrester. I am at the orphan’s home now, because I do not have anywhere else to stay. Mamma and Papa have died

I have been told to write to you, as you are the only living relative that I have left. Let me tell you about myself. (This is being dictated to me for writing)

My name is Amy Mia Forrester. I am twelve years old, and I am in sixth grade. I have long blond hair and I am from the city. By the way, I do not like farms. I hope that you do not have hogs.

I will be arriving on June 15. I understand the train station is near your barn, and I have directions to get there. Do not come to get me.

  Sincerely,

Amy Forrester

  PS See ya soon!

 

Brenda looked toward her barn, not even seeing it. The words ‘see you soon!’ rolled themselves over repeatedly in her mind. She looked back at the letter. Spying the date that Amy was to arrive, Brenda jumped up. “My goodness!” she exclaimed. “That’s in just a few days!” Then she calmed down, looking at the barn again. “I don’t want a city girl here! I’ve got three new horses to train!”

Brenda trudged back to the tent and threw the letter and its envelope down. She was so down hearted that she did not even bother looking at her new tack magazine. Instead, she shuffled to the barn and sat down in Sterling’s stall. There was a large hay bale inside, so Brenda sat on that and fed the mare little by little. Soon she was happier.

**********

  The next four days passed in a flurry. Brenda was busy getting ready for Amy’s arrival. She cleaned the barn, straightened the tack room, cleaned stalls, trained the horses, rode, straightened the tent and bought a bed. There was no room for the bed in the tent, so Brenda decided to let Amy pick what she wanted. She also bought several more things that she thought Amy might like.

Brenda collapsed on the new bed. Just as quickly, she sprang back up. “I am going to ride until she gets here!” she exclaimed to herself. However, Amy did not arrive that day, so Brenda went to bed. The next morning, she got up and started to groom Sterling Silver. The mare’s coat fit her name before Brenda finally heard a voice behind her.

Chapter 4

The City Girl

  “Hello.”

Brenda jumped. She whirled around to find a slim girl standing behind her. “Who are you?” she asked. “Then she snorted. “Oh, yeah. You said you were coming to live with me.”

“I’m Amy.” the girl replied. “And you must be my AUNT Brenda.” She put emphasis on the word aunt.

Brenda could tell that Amy was not pleased to be there, so she took the suitcases from the girl’s hand. “I’ll go put these at home real quick,” she said.

“All right,” Amy said stiffly. “Where is home, anyway?”

“Right this way,” said Brenda, leading the way around the edge of the barn.

Amy looked around as Brenda headed toward the tent. “Where? I don’t see a house.”

Brenda laughed. “Oh, I don’t live in the house! I spend all my time in the barn with the horses, so all I have is this tent. It’s really all I need.”

Amy looked at the tent disdainfully. “You’ve GOT to be kidding,” she said. “I’m expected to live HERE?”

“Yes,” Brenda retorted, peeved by Amy’s attitude. “This is all I need, and if you don’t like it, you can go live somewhere else.”

Amy looked at her and then threw the things she was carrying into the tent. “Whatever. Now where is the dresser? I need to unpack.”

“There is no dresser. Just fold your things neatly and put them at the end of your sleeping bag or leave them in the suitcase. I bought you a nice sleeping bag, air mattress, and two thick pillows. I even bought some stuffed animals and special foods for you,” Brenda replied.

Amy looked mystified that Brenda had gone to all that trouble for her. Still, she owed it to her, Amy figured, making her live in a tent around all those smelly old horses.

Brenda set down the suitcases and headed back to the barn. An hour later, Amy walked up behind her stealthily. “BOO!” she shouted, trying to scare Brenda.

Brenda was a little startled, but Niatross, the horse she was grooming, was not. He was terrified! He kicked out viciously, and tried to rear. The crossties held him down, but the whites of his eyes were showing, and it was several minutes before Brenda could calm him down.

When the horse was calmed, Brenda turned to Amy. “You have a lot to learn,” she stated solemnly.

Amy cringed. “Sorry,” she said. Then she returned to her aloof attitude. “What’s wrong with these smelly old horses, anyway? They are stupid. I don’t want to be around them.”

“So then go back to the tent,” Brenda said, turned back to her work.

Therefore, Amy did. Amy spent the rest of the day in the dark, cramped tent, reading. Occasionally, she would peek out and see Brenda grooming the horses, riding them, and exercising them. She trained them, too.

Amy wanted to join her, but after how she had acted, she did not think Brenda would want her around.

Late that night, Brenda went into the tent. Amy was already fast asleep.

This went on for several days, with Brenda going out early and spending the day with the horses, Amy would spend the day reading or brooding.

Finally, after a week, Amy was out of books to read, and she had done her best to straighten up the tent. It was noon, and she had already eaten lunch and made Brenda’s, so she stood up and stretched. She made sure that the coast was clear and then rushed out of the tent.

She walked stealthily down the aisle to the first stall. It had Niatross in it. Oh, great, she thought. He probably will not like me now, because I scared him before.

However, horses forgive easily, Amy soon realized. She let herself into the stall, telling herself that she had better learn to like horses; she would be here for years to come. “I like you,” she told the horse. “What is your color called? I think it’s bay. I read all those horse books that Aunt Brenda keeps in the tent. Now I know a lot about horses.”

Niatross snorted, then nuzzled the girl’s shoulder. Amy droned on and on, letting out her heart to the magnificent bay stallion next to her. The funny thing was, he actually seemed to be listening. Occasionally, he would give a derisive snort, and it always fit in perfectly with what Amy was telling him. After two hours in his stall, Amy decided to meet the other horses. She reluctantly let herself out of the bay’s stall and stopped at the next stall.

The plaque above the stall read Moonglow. Amy rubbed the mare’s face and shoved a little, so the horse would move away from the door. She did, and Amy entered the stall. Another blissful hour was spent talking to the mare. Niatross listened, too, drinking in every word. Amy kept looking at Niatross, and, somewhere in her heart, she wished he were hers. Then she kept reminding herself that she did not really like horses, but her heart then said differently.

Amy then looked into the next stall. It had a beautiful dapple-gray mare in it. Amy spent another hour with her, but the gray did not seem to like her as much as Niatross had. Disgusted that the mare was pretty much ignoring her, Amy roughly shoved the horse aside and went out of the stall.

The other stalls were empty, so Amy strolled into one of the tack rooms. She took in the few things that were there. Then, remembering what she had read about cleaning tack, she pulled down a Western saddle and located a rack, a sponge, water, and the saddle soap. She set the saddle on the rack. Then, she dipped the sponge into the water and then rung it out well. She rubbed a good amount of saddle soap onto it, and then scrubbed the saddle. She was inexperienced, but by the time Brenda brought Jasmine in from a workout, the saddle was gleaming everywhere.

“Where did you learn to do that?” asked Brenda in surprised.

“I read it in one of your books,” replied Amy defensively.

Brenda looked surprised. “How many of my books did you read?” she asked. “Not that I mind,” she hastened to say.

“All of them.”

“Good,” Brenda replied. “If you want, I’ll show you how to groom the horses, and you can do Jasmine here.”

“No, I can do it myself,” said Amy. She quickly untacked Jasmine as if she had been doing it all her life, and then put the pony in crossties. She rubbed her down with a cloth, and then used the currycomb, dandy brush, hoof pick, and face brush. Brenda looked on, amazed.

Amy was pleased to se that she had surprised her aunt, and by Brenda’s silence, Amy guessed that she was doing everything right.

“Well,” said Brenda. “I guess you don’t have as much to learn as I thought.”

Amy was delighted to hear those words.

Chapter 5

Lessons At Last

Awhile later, after Brenda had shown Amy all the things, she said the words Amy had been hoping to hear. “You’re ready to start riding now, I think.”

“Yahoo!” crowed Amy. “Can I ride Niatross?”

Brenda looked surprised. Was this the girl who said she did not like horses four weeks ago?

Then she answered Amy’s question. “I’m sorry, no. He is definitely NOT a beginner’s horse.”

Amy knew that he liked her, because she had often sat on his back in the stall, and she rode him in circles bareback around the stall. Still, she did not want to tell this to Brenda.

“No, I don’t think I’ll let you ride Niatross for a long time. He is too wild. You can ride Jasmine,” Brenda said.

Amy hung her head in disappointment. However, Brenda gave her a gentle nudge to get her going, and she trudged to the tack room. Amy took down a bridle. The she asked Brenda, ‘Should I get English or Western saddle?”

“Ummmm, get English, for starters,” replied Brenda.

Amy shrugged and pulled down the saddle. She stepped into Jasmine’s stall and hooked a lead rope to the mare’s halter. Jasmine followed Amy out into the open, her big belly swaying back and forth. “My, Jasmine, you sure have put on a lot of weight,” stated Amy. “Maybe we should cut back on your feed a little.”

Brenda, hearing this last statement, hurried up. “Um, I don’t think that would be a very good idea, Amy,” she said, worried.

Amy looked up in surprise from putting Jasmine in crossties. “Why not?”

“Um, I just don’t think it’s a good idea. And by the way, you better get your lessons in on her while you can.” Without further explanation, Brenda ran off.

Amy shrugged and went back to her work. She groomed the mare and then put the saddle on just the way the book said. It looked perfect. Amy unhooked the crossties and slipped the bit into Jasmine’s mouth, and put the headstall behind her ears. Then she was ready to go. Amy led Jasmine away from the crossties and into the ring where her Aunt Brenda was waiting patiently for her.

Amy walked over to where Brenda was and made Jasmine stop. She mounted quickly and easily, as if she had been doing it for years.

“I thought you said you’ve never ridden on a horse before,” Brenda said, pleased.

Amy blushed. “Well, I…”

Brenda interrupted and said, “Well, let’s get on with the lesson.”

Before Brenda had a chance to say more, Amy nudged Jasmine into a slow walk. Brenda was impressed. Amy used mouth reining, instead of neck reining, because neck reining was for Western.

Soon, with only a very small amount of Brenda’s guidance, Amy was trotting and cantering Jasmine around the ring. When Amy slowed down and asked Brenda if she could gallop, Brenda got the same worried look on her face that she had when Amy suggested cutting Jasmine’s feed down.

“No.”

It was short and quick, and Amy guessed by the look on Brenda’s face that she had better not question it. Shrugging, she wheeled Jasmine away and started to canter. After another half-hour of work, Jasmine was beginning to sweat, so Brenda called them in and made Amy dismount and put Jasmine away.

Amy was sad, but she was sore, and that kind of made her want to end the lesson. “You keep working with her every day, and you’ll be good in no time,” Brenda said.

After Amy put Jasmine away, she retired to the tent for the day.

The next afternoon, Amy got Jasmine out and worked with her for two hours. Then, seeing a low jump in the middle of the field, Amy headed Jasmine over to it. She dismounted to inspect the jump. It was a low jump, made of hay bales, and it had a pole on the top settled into two jump cups.

In an instant, Amy made up her mind. “Aunt Brenda never told me I couldn’t jump,” she said aloud to Jasmine. “So let’s do it!” Amy mounted, and rode Jasmine a safe distance away from the fence. She had read about jumping, and now as she headed for the jump, she reviewed the rules in her head. Just before they reached the jump, Amy rose into a two-point position and urged Jasmine on with her heels. Jasmine did not need any more urging. She soared over the jump with practiced ease. As they touched down, Amy was left behind, and she pulled on the reins to get Jasmine to stop. Then she found her seat and yelled with exuberance.

She went through the routine several more times, then rode Jasmine back to the barn. She quickly put the old mare away and covered her with a blanket. Amy hurriedly filled the water bucket and threw a flake of hay into the feeder.

This done, she cleaned out the palomino mare’s stall, groomed her, and put on her blanket. Finally, she was free. Her chores done, Amy hurried to Niatross’ stall and let herself in. “Hello, Niatross!” she said, and proceeded to tell him all about what happened that day and the day before.

After two hours, Brenda came in from riding her favorite mare, Sterling Silver. The horse looked at her in disdain. Brenda spotted Amy in Niatross’ stall. She started to tell Amy to get out, but then she stopped herself.

“Hello, Amy,” she started out with. “What’cha doing?”

Amy regarded her warily. “I’m talking to your horse. I like him best. He likes me, too.”

Brenda nodded. “Neato. I wonder if you could work with him when you get better. He is only a three-year-old, but I think you two might click. You’re both stubborn.”

Amy looked peeved at that comment until she saw that Brenda was joking. “Do you mean it, Aunt Brenda? Can I really ride him? I’ll start bareback, and then I’ll use a Western saddle, and then trot, and canter, and gallop…”

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Brenda jokingly laughed. “All that’s fine and dandy, but he’s got to be trained, and I don’t have time to do it. I will pay you to train him, but it cannot be very much. How about a hundred when he is fully trained with the basics. Is that okay?”

By the shine in Amy’s eyes, she knew that the girl did not even need an offer of money to get a chance to train the pacer.

Amy leaped up and hugged Brenda. Then she went over and hugged Niatross. “Do you hear that, Ni?” she asked. “I get to train you!”

With that, she went around to his left side and jumped upon his back. Brenda was startled. Then she laughed. “How often have you done that?” she asked.

Amy looked sheepish. “A lot,” she replied. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”

Brenda did not mind, but she warned Amy that it is dangerous to sit on horses when they are in a stall.

Brenda left Amy to tack up Niatross, leaving only a warning, to be careful and not do more than she knew.

Chapter 6

The Best Horse In The World

Amy was ecstatic. She was finally going to ride her dream horse! She was so happy as she led the bay out of his stall that she sang.

Niatross seemed happy, too, for there was spring in his steps. Amy quickly put him in crossties and dawdled over grooming him, but then hurried so she could ride him. She fetched a large Western saddle and bridle and hurried to where the horse stood. “You’re the best horse in the world!” she said to him.

Amy threw the saddle blanket and saddle over his back and tugged and shoved until everything was in the correct position.

Finally Niatross was ready, and the led him to one of the rings. The put her foot in the stirrup and heaved herself into the saddle. Here she was, riding the best horse in the world.

Amy nudged him and he started to trot. Amy bounced up and down before she found the rhythm of his long, bouncy, springing trot. Finally tiring of sitting and rattling, she asked him for a canter. He readily gave it to her. Amy sat deep in the saddle and sighed, drinking in the smooth, rocking canter. It felt like she was in a boat, rocking on the waves. She shut her eyes.

Then she felt Niatross speed up. She quickly opened her eyes. She laughed in delight as he skimmed over the ground, eating it up with his long strides. Then she felt a different sort of motion, sort of rocking side to side. She thought he was hurt, so she gave a gentle pull on the reins and said, “Whoa, boy.” he stopped instantaneously.

It was then that she noticed Brenda leaning on the fence watching her. Brenda laughed. “That was his pace you felt, Amy,” she smiled. “Don’t worry, he’s not hurt,” she said, as if reading Amy’s mind.

Amy was relieved. Brenda walked away, and Amy had the ring to herself.

She urged the stallion into a trot again, and soon he sped up into a pace. This time she did not stop him, but sat back and enjoyed the feel of the sped. Then, remembering pictures she had seen, she crouched forward in the saddle, as if she was racing. Niatross went even faster. She kneaded her hands on his neck, and soon he was going so fast that she could barely stop him. Finally, he settled into a gallop at the persistent pull of the reins.

Amy shut her eyes and let Niatross chose his own way for a moment. Then when she opened them, her eyes turned wide as she saw that they were headed straight for the paddock fence!

She tried desperately to turn him, but to no avail. Amy braced herself for the crash that she knew would come, but then she felt a peaceful, soaring sensation as she flew through the air. At first, she thought he had stopped and thrown her, but then she felt him land and canter on.

She looked back in amazement at the giant fence he had just cleared. Then she realized that without thinking, she had naturally reacted to the jump, rose into a two-point position, and landed correctly.

Then she turned her attention back to what was in hand. Niatross had carried them into a large field. Amy knew that it was part of Brenda’s land, because she had often seen Brenda riding there.

They headed for several fences, and Amy had a perfect round through them. There were only five, but the pair was perfectly matched as they soared professionally over the fences.

Amy rode through the course several times, enjoying it more each time.

Finally, Niatross slowed and then stopped. Amy sat still, catching her breath, for it had been taken away with all the jumps. Niatross started to walk, and Amy headed him back toward the stable, which was a long way away. It was another hour before Amy and Niatross reached the barn, because the fields were large, and it took a long time to cross them at a walk.

Amy reluctantly hopped down off Niatross’ back and walked him to the crossties. Once there, she untacked him slowly and rubbed his steaming body with a rag. She rubbed him and rinsed him with water until he was dry, and then she picked up a currycomb. “I’m going to give you the grooming of your life, Ni,” she told him. Then she started. She had just come up with a nickname for Niatross!

She slowed covered every inch of Niatross’ body with the currycomb, and then rubbed him down with a soft body brush. She then cleaned his face and washed his mane and tail. She also pulled his mane until it lay neatly. She trimmed his tail down, and it hung evenly in no time.

Brenda came into the barn with Sterling Silver just as Amy finished with Niatross. “Hello, Amy,” Brenda said pleasantly.

Amy murmured an incomprehensible answer and hurried off with Niatross to his stall, leaving Brenda bewildered. Amy was still not very comfortable around Brenda, but she did not know why.

Brenda hooked Sterling in the crossties and was about to work on her when Amy came strolling out. “Amy,” she said, coming up with an idea. “Will you please finish with Sterling here while I go into town for a while?”

Amy looked mad, but she slowly nodded. “All right,” she said. “But I won’t like it.”

As Brenda turned to leave, Amy had an urge to ask her something. “Aunt Brenda, will you please get me something? I have plenty of money for it.”

With these words, Amy ran off to get her money from the tent. She came running breathlessly back with one hundred dollars clutched in her hand. Brenda took it and slipped it into her pocket. “What would you like?” she asked.

Amy knew immediately. “I want a bridle in Niatross’ size,” she said quickly.

Brenda looked skeptical. “Amy…” she hesitated. “I already have hoards of bridles, and they are almost all in Niatross’ size.”

Amy looked very upset, so Brenda answered, “All right. I will get you the best one I can with this money. Do you want a light or dark one?”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Amy, turning away.

“Don’t take any of the horses out past the barn while I’m gone,” Brenda warned. “And don’t do anything more than walk them on a lead.”

“All right,” Amy said irritably. “I’m not a baby.”

Amy watched Brenda leave on Jasmine from Niatross’ stall. Then she slipped out and went over to the dapple-gray horse, Sterling Silver. She started to loosen the girth, but then stopped. She tightened it again and took the crossties away.

She watched until Brenda was out of sight for several minutes, and then swung into the mare’s saddle. It was a western saddle, and it was deeper and more comfortable than then English saddles, so Amy felt confident that nothing would happen.

She squeezed the mare’s sides with her legs. Sterling twisted her head around to look at the unfamiliar rider seated on her back. Then, when Amy nudged her again, harder this time, she started to walk. It was a rough, uneven walk, and Amy thought for a fleeting moment to put her away. However, Amy was not a quitter, so she sat out the walk, and it eventually evened out.

Amy, with a confident smile, headed out into the fields, directly disobeying her Aunt Brenda’s orders.

Chapter 7

Trouble In The Thicket

  Amy rode happily along, enjoying the swinging walk of the mare beneath her. She rode up to one of the pasture gates. Leaning down, she opened it jerkily. Finally, the passage was wide enough for the horse to make her way through. Then, Amy turned around and shut the gate. This feat was much easier than opening it had been.

Amy thought that she was ready to trot, so she lightly touched Sterling with her feet. Sterling kept walking. Amy repeated this several times, and, getting no response from the mare, finally got fed up and banged her heels as hard as she could against Sterling’s sides. The startled mare leaped into a gallop.

Amy sawed on the reins, and Sterling quickly dropped into a walk and then stopped. Amy made her walk, and then trot. Sterling was unsettled after that experience.

Amy perked up at the sight of jumps in the next field, remembering how much fun she had had with Niatross over them. She urged Sterling into a canter, and they approached the next gate into the next field. This time the opening and closing of the gate went smoothly, and Amy smiled with pleasure.

She headed Sterling at a trot straight toward the fences. She kicked, urged, and shoved Sterling toward the jumps, and, totally unlike Niatross, Sterling popped roughly over the jump from a standstill, almost diving over the fence. Amy was disappointed. She wondered if she was doing something wrong. Sterling was not jumping right at all!

Amy tried the jump with Sterling several more times, but with the same result. Finally, as a while passed, Amy gave a frustrated sigh and wheeled Sterling around. She decided that a good walk in the woods would help Sterling calm down, and then she could try the jumps again. Amy pushed the unwilling mare into a walk. Sterling resisted at first, but when she saw that they were not going to keep jumping, she perked up and trotted without Amy asking her to.

Across the fields the pair trotted, and by the time they reached the woods, Amy was ready to turn back. She had had enough opening and shutting gates, trotting, walking, and jumping for the day. However, Sterling remained aloof to the pull on the reins. Amy quickly discovered that Sterling had taken the bit in her teeth and was now in control. “Whoa!” she said loudly.

Even though Sterling had not responded to the reins, she automatically responded to Amy’s stern voice.

Amy dismounted and took off Sterling’s bridle. Then she put it back on, making sure the bit was settled in the right place. Then she quickly mounted again and nudged Sterling. She decided to spend a little time in the woods, just to please Sterling.

She looked around at the scenery as Sterling walked along smoothly. “Look, Sterling, over there! Look at that deer and her fawn!” Amy said quietly, pointing and whispering in Sterling’s ear.

Amazingly enough, Sterling swung her head in the direction Amy pointed. She looked straight at the deer, and when the deer bounded of, flashing their white-tailed rumps, She snorted and pranced in place. Amy quickly managed to calm her.

They started again. Amy was looking out for animals that would frighten Sterling, but there was no way she could have seen the rabbit hole in the ground in front of her, for two reasons. The first reason was the she was looking to the sides and could not see in front very well. In addition, even if she could see in front of the horse, she would not have seen the rabbit hole, for it was kind of behind a little rise in the ground. Because of this, neither Amy nor Sterling was prepared for what happened next.

As Sterling stepped over the rise in the ground, a little brown rabbit came bounding out of the hole right under Sterling’s feet!

Sterling reared up and neighed frighteningly, and when she came down all four of her feet hit the ground running. Amy desperately held on, frightened by the speed.

Sterling had been a racing horse for endurance races in Arabia, and she was as fast as a Thoroughbred, or even more.

“Sterling, stop! Stop! Please…Stop!” cried Amy, with tears streaming down her face.

As they raced by the trees and underbrush, Amy felt herself scratched and tattered. She could only imagine what was happening to Sterling face as she plunged recklessly through the foliage.

Amy fainted for a moment, but woke up a moment later, finding herself still hanging on. Amy yanked desperately on the reins, sawing on them, but Sterling had the bit in her teeth again and would not slow. Amy, remembering what had stopped Sterling before, said it now. “Whoa, Sterling!” she said in her most commanding voice.

Sterling took no notice and kept running. Amy repeated the command several more times, but to no avail. Looking down she saw that they were still on the trail, amazingly enough.

Then Sterling stopped unintentionally. She had stepped in a gopher hole, and as she went down heavily, Amy was thrown clear off her back and into the bushes.