Hallee hugs her mare. She still hasn’t named her. "She was so good today," brags Hallee.
I pat Aero’s neck and smile. Aero and I took a break from the ring and went on a trail. In the arena, Mom works with the palomino, Euro.
"Taylor!" Calls a voice. I turn Aero around to see Laina and Kelsi. They both live next to each other. Our houses are two minutes away at the trot. Ari quickens her pace when she sees Aero. This sends Laina, Kelsi, and I into laughter. Everyone knows that Ari and Aero are buds.
"What is the reason for your visit?" I ask.
"Well, we know that your mom is planning on gelding your palomino, but my parents were wondering if we could cover Ari," replies Laina.
"Oh!" I reply, "Let me ask my mom about that. I’ll call you when I get an answer."
"I got it!" Cries Hallee that night at dinner.
"What?" asks Dad.
"A name for the mare," she says, "Flame!"
"Ooh! I love it!" I coo, "About horses, Mom, Laina, and her parents want to breed Euro and Ari before we geld him."
"Oh! I’d love to do that. Can you tell Laina that we could do it this Thursday, for $950."
Twelve months later...
Brrring! Brrring! I pick up my phone, who’s calling me at 10 PM? "Hello?" I say.
"Taylor! It’s Laina! Ari’s having her foal! The foal should be born by tomorrow morning! Come right when you get up! Go on Euro! I want the dad to be the second horse the foal sees. After Ari of course."
The next morning, I slip the bridle onto Euro’s head. I push myself onto Euro’s back and kick him to trot. He trots nicely. We head over to Laina’s house. My heart is pounding. What if the foal isn’t born yet? What if Ari is dead? What if the foal is dead? Before I know it Euro is standing before Laina’s blue barn.
I dismount Euro. My feet send up a cloud of red dust. I take the reins off of Euro’s neck. I then lead him into the barn. Laina is peering over a stall door smiling. "Laina?" I ask.
"Taylor! You’re here!" Laina motions for me to come over, with Euro. I peer into the stall, Euro does the same. What I see before me takes my breath away. A little black foal feeding. It stands on it’s little wobbly legs.
Suddenly, the foal pops up and trots over to Euro. Euro and the foal bump noses. I smile.
"Colt or filly?" I ask Laina.
"Filly," she replies.
"Name?" I ask.
"Wish," she replies.
Mom waves goodbye to Euro. She found a home for him. He was a project horse, still, I miss him. Aero, Shadow, and Flame graze by the fence. They miss Euro too.
"Hallee!" I call, "Do you want to go on a trail ride?" Hallee’s eyes light up.
"Yes!" She cries.
I slip only the bridle on Aero’s head. Bareback is best. In a few minutes, Hallee emerges on Flame’s back. We urge the horses to a trot. Flame and Aero both trot nicely. Then we ask them to canter. Both horses canter.
Soon, we are at the meadow in the woods. Then a memory flashes through my mind. Me on Riot, Hallee on Button. I start to cry. I miss Riot. Aero continues to canter despite my tears. I think he knows I need to cry.
Apr 07, 2017 Rating
This is great! by: claudiahorselovr
Please keep writing!
Apr 05, 2017 Rating
Part Four by: Regan
Part Four
"And next to the ring is Taylor Maxwell on Aerodynamic!" Calls the announcer.
The hot summer sun scorched my face. My wool black riding coat doesn’t help.
I ask Aero to trot. He transitions perfectly. I ask him to canter. Not a problem. We approach the first jump, a vertical a meter high. 1,2,3, up! I think. Aero soars over the jump and lands perfectly.
Everything is the same with the stone wall jump, the oxer, and the two other verticals.
"Good job!" Cries Hallee, she gives me a big hug.
"You were great!" Says Laina, my friend from school and riding.
"Totally! You nailed that oxer!" Smiles Kelsi.
Kelsi, Laina, and I all met at a horse show last summer. We clicked immediately ever since we have been competing together.
Then the announcer speaks again, "Can all riders in the Advanced Show Jumping, ages 12-14 enter the ring?" Laina and I exchange nervous glances.
Kelsi, Laina, and I all wanted to win, but we knew that Lyla Johnson was competing too. She always won. We lead our horses into the ring. Lyla is in front of us. She leads her famous stallion, Silver Knight, with her. Once all ten competitors are in the ring, they begin the awards.
"In fifth place, we have Sam Clarence on Classy Boy!" Calls the announcer. A boy leads his chestnut gelding up to except his pink ribbon. Kelsi and Laina look nervous.
"In fourth place, we have... Kelsi Dylan on Solstice!" Kelsi sighs in disappointment and leads Sol to retrieve her white ribbon.
"In third place is... Lyla Johnson on Silver Knight!" Lyla’s jaw drops. She has never got less than first. She stomps up and grabs her yellow ribbon. Laina and I exchange hopeful looks.
"In second place we have... Laina Michaels on Thin Air!" Laina smiles and takes her red ribbon thankfully.
"And in first place, we have Taylor Maxwell on Aerodynamic!" I gasp in surprise and joy. Aero follows me excitedly as we accept our blue ribbon.
"Wonderful job!" Praises Mom, "You and Aero were flawless!" Aero tosses head.
"I can’t believe I beat Lyla!" Cries Laina, she strokes Ari’s gray coat. Ari nuzzles Laina.
Kelsi sighs, "I knew I wasn’t going to win. Sol was on the wrong lead for part of the time." Sol nudges her with his nose. Kelsi laughs and gives him a peppermint. His piebald coat gleams under the sun.
We drive back home.
After I lead Aero into the pasture, I go visit Riot. "Hello boy," I say to him. His black coat is starting to gray and she can’t jump like he used to.
Button stands next to him. White hairs dot her muzzle. The two are starting to age.
"I love you," I say as I kiss Riot’s muzzle. Mom had decided to sell Button to our younger cousin, Lexi. Riot was going to go to our other cousin, Kendra. They both live twenty minutes from here. We visit them a bunch, so it’s not like we will never see them again.
Anyhow, I will miss Riot. We were buddies. When I couldn’t ride Aero, I always rode him. Tomorrow, Aunt Kim, Lexi, and Kendra are coming to pick up Riot and Button.
A tear trickles down my cheek. I would miss Riot’s nicker. I would miss his playful personality. Hallee had outgrown Button and needed a new horse. My mom wanted a new project horse. We couldn’t keep six horses, so Riot and Button needed to leave.
When we got Shadow and Aero, Shadow was still only five. Now she is only nine. Mom says we can keep her. I just can’t bear to see Riot go.
In the morning, Aunt Kim pulled up. Nine-year-old Kendra pops out of their truck. I lead Riot up to her. Tears swell in my eyes, and I flick them away with my sleeve.
Kendra smiles and strokes Riot's forehead. I smile sadly as I see Riot and Button being led into the trailer. Riot whinnies to me. Tears run down my face. "I love you!" I call to him. He looks at me through the window on the trailer. Hallee wraps me into a hug. We both cry softly.
"I miss you Riot," I say.
The next morning, Mom takes Hallee and me to a horse auction. "Okay girls, let's go see the horses," says Mom. Hallee takes out her notebook to write down the possible horse candidates. We walk down the aisle. In the end, Mom and Hallee each have their top 5 possible horses.
"Okay, the piebald gelding and the chestnut mare are my top choices," says Hallee.
"I love the palomino stallion," says Mom.
We chat until the announcer says that the palomino stallion was entering the ring. That got Mom's attention.
"2-year-old palomino stallion, starting bid $500. Mom raises her paddle, #105. Two other people raise their paddles.
"700?" Mom raises her paddle.
"800?" Mom raises her paddle.
"Going once, going twice, sold to Number 105! Please come to the ring to retrieve your horse!"
Mom, Hallee, and I run over to ring. Mom takes the lead rope from the man holding the palomino.
"Hey boy!" Mom says. She strokes the gelding’s neck.
Then the announcer calls the chestnut mare Hallee wants to the ring.
"Starting price is $500!" calls the announcer.
After a few minutes, Hallee enters the ring after buying the mare for $3,700.
"She is so gorgeous!" Sighs Hallee. The smile slips from my face when I see a black Morgan in the ring. The image pricks my heart. I hold back tears as we enter the car.
Apr 04, 2017 Rating
so cool! by: hoofbeats
Please write more! This is so cool!
Mar 15, 2017 Rating
Great story!! by: Anonymous
Very simple, detailed yet very exciting. Part two please!
