Burning Desire

Chapter Thirty-Seven

{ A/N - This chapter ended up being longer than I anticipated, but I wanted to capture the real atmosphere of Kentucky Horse Trials and include plenty of detail to make it as realistic as possible. However, as I've never been behind the scenes at a four-star event, I had to take inspiration from various places...I never thought I'd say this, but the majority of this chapter is inspired by Stacy Gregg's 'Liberty and the Dream Ride'. Just a little disclaimer. Please vote, comment and enjoy. }

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Miles of verdant green pastureland sprawled out beyond the window, surrounded by white post-and-rails and sprinkled with the soft pastels of blooming dogwood trees. The summer sunlight danced on the sleek coats of mares grazing contently with gangly foals at their sides.

"Welcome to Bluegrass Country," Holly announced as we passed yet another racehorse farm, a stylish white Southern mansion surrounded by burgundy barns. This was horse country after all, home to some of the wealthiest Thoroughbred stud farms in the world. And the Kentucky Horse Park was right in the heart of it.

We didn't take the main entrance to the park; instead, Holly veered the lorry down a side road signposted as Nina Bonnie Boulevard. Nerves knotted in my stomach tighter with every rotation of the wheels as we drove forward until we reached another gateway where a towering row of clipped conifers marked the entrance. The sign at the gate read in bold lettering, 'Access For Competitors Only.'

Halfway down the avenue there was a security gate with a guard standing idly behind it. Holly fumbled around in the glove compartment for a minute before producing a lanyard and presented it to the guard, who examined it thoroughly before giving us directions and granting us through the gate.

"The stables are just up ahead to the right, and Brenna's stall is in Block C," Holly repeated the guard's words under her breath.

"This place is bigger than I envisioned it!" Avery gushed, leaning over me to stare out the window at the rows of loose boxes.

"The park has stabling for three hundred horses," Holly informed. "All of which must remain on site throughout the duration of the competition."

She eased the trailer to a halt in a parking bay beside the stable block with a giant letter 'C' painted on the front wall.

"This will be Brenna's home for the next week. We're going to be staying nearby in the competition village; I've already booked us two cabins," Holly explained, gesturing in the direction of the village. My gaze swept beyond where she was pointing, focusing on the rolling green fields dotted with cross country fences. Even from this distance, I could tell that the course we would be negotiating in four days' time was bigger than anything I'd ever encountered before.

"When will we get to walk the course?" I asked Holly, nerves fluttering in my stomach.

"Not until Wednesday," she replied. "The course is out of bounds until then. After that, you can walk it on foot as many times as you like, but horses aren't allowed on the course until they compete."

"Where do we school then?" Avery inquired.

Holly produced a fold-out map from the glove compartment and handed it to us, although her equestrian wisdom and experience at four-star level meant she didn't need to refer to it."You can ride in any of the indoor schoolings arenas that are marked with an X on the map. The big building is the dressage complex – that's where you'll be completing your test on Friday, Madison. And the rest are show-jumping arenas where you'll be riding the final phase on Sunday."

It felt real and surreal simultaneously; a dream that sunk in further with every word, every second, every heart-beat. Callum, who had been asleep for most of the duration of the drive here, jolted away as we started to exit the trailer and unload Brenna. He blinked sleep out of his eyes hazily and grabbed my hand.