Hickory Fields Riding Academy: The Final Jump

Chapter 1

This was it. The day I had been waiting for my entire life. Today was the day I had been waiting for since I was 6 years old.

I made sure my parents were up bright and early to pack my bags so we could drive to our private barn to load up my warmblood mare, Ray. Running downstairs, I quickly grabbed an apple and a granola bar before hopping in the car.

The drive to the barn felt like it took hours because of the anticipation that was building up inside of me. I hoped that Hickory Fields Riding Academy was as amazing as all of the websites and brochures made it out to be.

The day I had received my acceptance letter had been the best day of my life. It contained my room number, stall number, and schedule. I had been at the barn almost every day since then, working on perfecting Ray and I's jumping. I didn't find flat as important because I only did jumpers.

Our blue and white 8 stall barn rose up in front of us just as the sun started to rise. I jumped out of the car before it was fully stopped to run in to the barn to grab Ray. My gorgeous bay mare and her neighbor, my mom's horse, both jerked their heads up as they heard me run in. I grabbed the leather halter labeled "Laura Ray" out of my monogrammed tack trunk before slipping into her stall to slip it over her defined head.

"Sweetheart, do you need your father and I to put your tack trunk and tack in the trailer for you?" my mother asked sweetly.

"Well if we're aiming to get there early, then yes. I do need you to put my stuff in the trailer." I replied, rolling my eyes.

She nodded before rushing back to the car to retrieve my dad. My parents were always getting on my nerves and asking petty things of me that I already knew needed to be done.

I led Ray out into the crossties to prepare her for when we ship her to Hickory Fields. I strapped on her black shipping boots before sticking shipping pads to her leather halter. Grabbing enough hay to fill her haynet, I ran out to the trailer to stuff it all in for the five hour long car ride to the academy, which was located in Florida.

I left the trailer door open so that I could lead Ray in without having to wait for my parents to open the back for me. After I snapped a lead rope onto her halter, I led her out and around to our trailer. Ray had been loaded on and off our trailer so many times now that she didn't blink an eye at getting in the trailer. I slipped her a peppermint before closing the back of the trailer. I walked around to the side and opened her window so she could put her head outside of it for a little bit before we left.

The sight of her delicate head sticking out of the trailer made excitement well up inside of me, making me feel like I had just won the lottery. I slipped Ray one last treat before shutting her window and walking back around to my seat in the car.

Gradually my parents found their way back into the car, before bringing the engine back to life and carefully navigating our way out of our driveway and onto the highway.

Continuous images of fields filled to the brim with crops and pastures scattered with livestock flashing past my window slowly lulled me into the breath-taking release of sleep.
• • •
Hours passed by me unnoticed while I was in my blissful state of slumber. Before I knew it, my mom was leaning over me and shaking my shoulders lightly to wake me up.

My eyes fluttered open to the incredible sight before me. There were two large beautiful brick buildings in front of me that looked like they held dorms. In the background I could see another similar looking building that seemed like it held classrooms. Bordering the large dorms were two 30 stall barns. They were made of rich brown spruce wood with grey brick accents all over. Dark wooded fences surrounded luscious green pastures, and large arenas with sand footing.

After gawking at the prestigious academy I had dreamed for years about, my gaze landed on the entrance in front of me, where trailers, students, horses, and parents milled about. Students ran around putting horses away, greeting friends, and saying goodbye to parents.

Mixed in with my feeling of excitement was a little bit of nervous thoughts, but I quickly brushed them off without acknowledging them. I looked in the car mirror to make sure my appearance was acceptable, before stepping out of the car and into the humid Florida air.

Walking around to the back of the trailer, I noticed some people looking at me in recognition. I remembered some of them from shows earlier in the year.

I opened the trailer and Ray turned her head around to look at me, realizing it was time to get out of the trailer. I led her out and started leading her to where her stall is. The stall number was imprinted in my brain, a result of me constantly reading the letter over and over. Ray was located in the second barn, the barn to the left of the entrance, and in stall 3.

Leading her into the barn, I noted how everything was spotless. The ceiling had large wooden beams reaching across it, and there was a large hay loft stretching across all of the stalls. In front of each stall was a tack trunk and a saddle rack.

Ray's stall came up quickly since it was a higher number. I let her into the huge, immaculate stall, and she swiftly swung around to her grain bin to check for any food. I smiled at her and and scratched between her ears before walking to where my parents were to grab my saddle.

I walked into the tackroom only to see it was just as neat and tidy as everywhere else. All of the bridles hung on the back wall, and they were all tied. Saddle racks were on the left and right walls, and almost every saddle had a CWD cover. Medicine cabinets were inserted into the front walls. There was another door off to the side that led into a room with couches, a tv, a computer, and a kitchen.

I quickly dropped off my saddle and bridle on my assigned hooks before reaching to open the door. Before I could reach the handle, someone else pushed open the door, knocking me over.

"Oh, my gosh! I am so sorry!"

I looked up to see a surprised girl with long auburn hair. I immediately recognized her as the girl who beat me in the low junior jumper Classic at Devon last year, Gabby Goman. She reached down a hand to help me up.

"Watch what you're doing next time." I scowled, not accepting her offer to help me up.

I brushed off my tailored Sportsmans before marching out the door, leaving Gabby with a shocked face. I found my parents feeding Ray treats and asked them to bring my stuff up to my room.

I retrieved the code to my dorm before taking the elevator up to floor 3, where my room was located. Opening the door, I assumed my roommate hadn't been in there yet as the other side of the room was empty.

I claimed the bed closest to the bedroom and waited for my parents to get to my room. As soon as they arrived, we said our goodbyes and they left. I assembled my side of the room the way I liked it before laying down on my light violet bed sheets, waiting for my roommate to arrive.

I heard someone at the door plugging in the code. I heard the confirmation beep just as she opened the door. Who I saw made my stomach drop to the floor.

"Are you kidding me?"

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Hi guys! I hope you like this chapter! If you do, make sure to leave a like and comment! I'll try to update as much as possible before school starts and try to post either every day or every other day when it does!

Hope you guys are having a great day! Thanks for reading!
-Emma