MSRA ⇢ Starting New

⇢ 15 ; show day

As my alarm went off, I quietly woke up and turned it off so I wouldn't wake Bridget up. I got dressed in my maroon long sleeve, my breeches, and my Dublin boots, and I pulled on some maroon plaid MSRA sweatpants. I gathered up the rest of my stuff and headed out to the barn with an apple. I munched on my apple as I fed Apollo, then gave him the core as well. I loaded all of my tack and equipment into the trailer, double and triple checking that I had everything. Once I was sure I had it all, I filled Apollo's hay bag with hay, hanging it in the trailer. Abby got there a few moments later and I helped her get her stuff packed.

"Hey guys," Cami said as she walked into the barn. "I'll be driving you two to the show."

"Okay," I said, lugging Abby's saddle into the trailer.

"We're going to leave a few minutes early and stop at Dunkin Donuts'," she said. "Think of what you want."

Abby and I picked up our speed and finished loading the horses in record time. We all packed into the school truck, and started on our way to the showgrounds.

It took an hour, a whole box of donuts, and a lot of coffee, but we eventually arrived at the show. There was a bunch of people milling around, walking horses, talking to riders, or delivering coffees.

"Okay, go get your schedules and meet me back here," Cami said as she pulled in next to Anne's four horse trailer. "Be quick, there's a team meeting soon."

Abby and I hopped out of the car and rushed over to the booth. We got our numbers and schedules, as well as a handful of pins and a complimentary sticker for the event. We headed back to the trailers and joined the group listening to Anne.

"As some of you know, all of the different cross country teams are at different events," she started. "Just because you guys finished your midterm already does not mean it's over. Your performance today will also affect the decision of whether or not you will move up or down a team. So, try your hardest and do your best. If you haven't already, go check in at the booth."

I headed back over to the trailer and unpacked Apollo.

"Your first class is in an hour, and your second one is at one," Cami said. "You're starting with lows and then you have your highs class."

"Okay," I said. "What should I do for his warm up?"

"Lots of circles," she said. "Walk around once in each direction, then you can trot. He'll only need about ten or fifteen minutes. Oh, and do lots of warm up jumps."

"Okay," I nodded. I helped Abby tack up, whose first class was in a half an hour. After she was off to the warm up ring, I got changed into all my equipment then started tacking Apollo up. Once I was sure I had everything, Cami headed down to the warm up with me.

"My first show with Maple Stream, Mason was with me," she smiled, giving Apollo a pat. "We had just started dating and my old horse, Raquel, had gone lame, so I rode my instructor's horse, 'Dancing in a Ring of Fire'."

"The 'Dancing in a Ring of Fire'?" I asked. "He's like a cross country superstar!"

"Good old Flame," she laughed. "I ended up buying him a few years ago. My sister found him at an auction and saved him from slaughter. I still have Raquel, too."

"Wow," I said, adjusting my watch on my wrist. "I remember when I was super young, watching Flame at the Olympics on TV. He was a beast."

"He still is," she replied. "He's a bit older, so I don't jump him, but I've gone to a few pleasure and fun shows and he's all blue."

She held up her phone and showed me a picture of a large black horse, with a young rider on either side of him, brushing. It took me a moment to realize the horse was Flame, and the riders were Cami and Mason.

"Oh my gosh, fetus Cami and Mason!" I exclaimed. "You guys look so different. Especially you!"

"I needed partial facial reconstruction surgery after my fall," Cami said. "My nose was crushed completely."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I said quickly.

"Nah, don't worry about it," she said as we arrived at the warm up arena. "Now go get him warmed up. Your class is in twenty."

I started off at a walk in each direction, circling in each corner. Then I trotted some circles before trotting some low jumps, then I pushed him into a cantered and finished with some three and a half foot jumps. I had a five minute cool down before my first class.

"Remember, these are only about two feet. You can push him more for speed, don't worry as much on jumping. This course is a few jumps shorter than the one at home, you should be golden," Cami said. I checked to make sure my medical badge was in place, and I set up a timer on my watch, but didn't start it.

"Now calling Kathleen Whitmore riding Outshine the Stars to the starting gates of course A," somebody announced over the PA system. I nervously trotted Apollo to the starting gate, circling until they started my countdown. At 'Go', I kicked Apollo into a quick canter and started my watch. We quickly approached the first jump and he pulled me forward, and I got left behind over the jump as he cleared it. I got jerked forward towards his neck, but I pulled myself up and kept going. I pushed him a bit faster as we approached the next jump, but this time I anticipated his early jump and tug, so I went into two-point quicker, and we cleared the jump as a team.

We continued on and cleared the next few jumps, then approached a water jump. I pushed Apollo extra as we jumped off a bank into the water, and he snorted anxiously, but continued to rush through the water. We jumped back out of the water, and he let out a big sigh of relief. He was getting sweaty and was starting to snort with every stride, but I pushed him on to the final five jumps. I got left behind once more, but we recovered and finished in a pretty good time. I trotted him in a few circles before letting him walk.

"How'd it go?" Cami asked, taking my crop and giving Apollo a pat.

"Way better than I expected," I smiled. "He was great. We'll see how the results are, though."

-

Apollo and I got a three hour break, and after I ate a light lunch, I warmed him back up and got ready for our highs class. As I was waiting to be called into my next class, they announced the winners for my lows class.

"In third place, we have Eve Roberts riding Glory Days, in second place we have Laura Foss riding Post Tropical, and in first place, we have Kathleen Whitmore riding Outshine the Stars. Congratulations all, you can get your ribbons at the booth," they announced.

"Oh my gosh, Kat, you did it!" Cami exclaimed. "I'll go grab your ribbon. Good luck!"

"Kathleen Whitmore, riding Outshine the Stars, please report to the starting gates of course B!" an announced shouted. I trotted Apollo up to the gates and waited for the countdown. Again, when they said 'Go', I pushed Apollo into a canter and started my watch. The course was different and the jumps were higher, so I reserved his energy and had him do a slightly slower canter than before.

We cleared the first jump together, off to a better start than before. We were making good time, and jumping well, clearing everything almost perfectly. Then there was a huge stretch of flatland, and I could see Anne and Cami off towards the distance. Suddenly, Apollo spooked at something and stopped dead, making me fly off.