The Colt That Could

Arcadia's Foal

Mischief snorted softly as he watched West leave the stall, just managing to nudge her shoulder with his nose. This earned a chuckle from West. "You've had a hug Mischief" she smiled, handing him some treats that he munched on happily. "I'm gonna go get some sleep, you should too. Then we can train some more tomorrow, okay?" she smiled, rubbing his nose once more before heading back into the house. She gave a tired yawn as she kicked off her boots, saying goodnight to Danny and Craig, before heading up to her room. She pulled off her riding gear, yawning as she jumped onto the bed, not bothering with any pyjamas. Besides, it was too warm for them anyway. As she lay on the bed, she gazed over the signed pictures from various jockeys that she had had the honour of meeting, before her gaze fell on the trophies and rosettes she'd won with her other horses. Amongst the trophies and rosettes were several Breyer horses, Frankel, Secretariat, Black Caviar, Cigar to name a few. She hoped to get one made of her own horses soon, or at least a custom one from an artist. Smiling at the idea, she closed her eyes to try and fall into the sleep pattern that had been so severely destroyed by the recent events.

-The Next Day-

West sprang from bed earlier than expected. Quickly pulling her riding gear on, before she rushed to the kitchen. She was greeted by her father, "Craig is already in the barn. Go on. She hasn't given birth yet"West merely nodded, running out to the barn where one of her mares, Arcadia, was in labour. The mare was one of West's broodmares, and one of her many breeders. This would be Arcadia's second foal out of Kauto Star. It was a lucky covering. Not many were able to get coverings from race horses, but nonetheless, West had managed to do just that for Arcadia. As West arrived at the barn, she ran towards the stall, only slowing when she was close to it so as not to startle the mare and Craig. "How's she doing?" she asked, entering the stall and crouching beside Craig who was sat in the corner of the stall with papers and a camera. "She's doing good. Contractions are getting more frequent and she's starting to get uncomfortable. The foal should be here within the next hour or so. Maybe two hours. We can't be 100% sure. You gonna be staying in here with her?" he asked, handing her the camera. "Yeah. My girl is having a baby, I gotta be here" she smiled, "Plus, I gotta update my fans on the birth" she chuckled, rolling her eyes at Craig's face."Yeah I have fans. News has got out that I'm the one who saved horses from slaughter and made the into superstars. Mischief already has a fan page with photos from when he was a colt, right up to his training yesterday. News also reached them of my new sponsor, and well. Let's just say they're extremely happy" chuckled West, smiling at the fact that she already had fans before she and Mischief had even set foot on the track in front of the public eye. News travelled fast around here.

"Hey, having fans is a good thing. It shows that you're making a difference, and that your story is getting more and more well know. As we've said before West, what you've done for Mischief is amazing. You brought him right from the bottom all the way to the top. You've saved a life, West. And don't you forget that. Ignore what everyone says about what will happen if he gets hurt, or when he gets old. I know what you do with elderly horses, and so does your father. We know that you let them live peacefully in the pasture. We know that you do what is best for your horses. Haters gonna hate, West. And you gotta let em' hate. If they can't appreciate what you've done for Mischief, then they don't deserve your attention. If you give them the attention, they're just gonna hate more and more because it's all they know how to do apparently. Well, that's how it seems. Focus on your fans West. Haters are your motivators. If your haters kick you down, just climb back up and go higher than before because that will show your determination. And determination is admirable" said Craig, never taking his eyes off of West as he spoke.

He knew that every now and then, she needed this kind of talk. She did get a lot of hate messages for what she was doing with Mischief and his mum. But vets had said Mischief was fine to race, and the racing board had already seen Mischief's file, and had been sent the video of him and West on the gallops. They were waiting for a response from the board now and that was all that mattered.West nodded at what was being said. "Haters are gonna be around me all my life, I know that. But what they don't realise is that if I hadn't have saved Mischief, Frankel's son, I would've felt horrid, the world would've felt horrid, Frankel's connections would've felt horrid. I need to arrange for a meeting with Frankel's owners. They have the right to meet his son, right? Of course they do. Imagine not meeting your own son. To me, that sounds like the worst burden to have on your shoulders" As she spoke, she watched Arcadia. Seeing how the mare was sweating. She stood up, moving to the mare, stroking her neck gently.