Arms crossed and eyes set straight ahead Leighton Bowen glared through the front windshield of her father's 2012 Ford F-150 and into the rolling hills of the Virginia countryside. Leighton couldn't think of anything worse than the move that she had just been forced to make. Recently, actually only a week before, the Bowen family had moved from Hattiesburg, Mississippi to Willow Creek, Virginia after Leighton's father, Conroy had accepted an excellent job offer working with some man with the last name DiAngelo. Leighton let her deep stormy blue eyes wander over the fenced in paddocks that contained horses of all shapes and sizes as well as all different colors and patterns. Leighton was a lucky girl, her family was very wealthy and could afford for her to have her own horse and to be taught by the best riding instructors that could be found in and around the area she had lived in.
Leighton's problem was that she was a rodeo girl, she barrel raced, competed in reining and cutting, and she often competed in calf roping and steer wrestling. The town she was moving to and the stable she would be boarding her horse at were primarily things like dressage, cross-country, and show jumping, Leighton's father and mother had decided it would be a good move for her to learn how to compete in these things as well and they had surprised her on her fifteenth birthday only three days ago with a gorgeous chestnut thoroughbred colt that she would training in show jumping as well as learning to ride English on.
The paddocks were becoming more and more prominent as Leighton's father began slowing his truck and turning the wheels onto a long driveway lined with trees on each side. Through the trees Leighton could see more paddocks with more horses, she realized that they must be near the stable and she was awarded right when her father pulled into view of a beautiful barn surrounded by fields with a couple of riding rings. Conroy stopped the truck and looked over at his daughter, replacing the glare that had almost permanently adorned her face since the move, a look of awe crossed her face as she gazed on the stable and stable yard. Conroy smiled and patted his daughters' knee"Let's go get your horses out and find the stable owner. Im sure Dunny and King are wanting to get out of the trailer."
Leighton broke into a grin as she threw open the truck door and leapt out onto the concrete. She could hear the whinnies as King and Dunny called out to the other horses that they could surely sense were nearby. Leighton pulled open the door to the four horse trailer and walked in and patted her dun AQHA registered quarter horse, Dun That Deal, or Dunny to her. Dunny eagerly followed Leighton down the trailer ramp as she steadily patted his shoulder and cooed to him what a good boy he was. Leighton handed Dunny off to her father with one final pat to the horses well muscled neck before returning to the trailer to unload her registered thoroughbred colt, King O' the Ocean, or King.
King was much more dancy and pent up than Dunny had been and reared and pranced as Leighton led him off the trailer and toward the entrance of the barn where her father was talking to a tall, tanned man with curly blonde hair, that must be the owner that her father had talked to a few days ago, what was his name…Max? When Leighton approached she caught the tail end of the conversation as her father told the man about her seven year experience in the rodeo arena and how she wished to learn the English discipline. Leighton noticed the expression on Max's face when he saw her lead King up to her father and Dunny, she was sure he was wondering why a novice English rider was going to be learning on a hyper, pent up three year old green colt.
Leighton frowned severely and looked to her father. Conroy smiled and shook his head"Mr. Regnery I assure you my daughter is perfectly capable of handling King, she has been helping my father train colts since she was ten." Leighton was grateful for her father's help and she was preparing to ask where she was going to be stabling her horses when she heard her name shrieked in a high, classy voice, Veronica. Veronica DiAngelo was the daughter of her fathers' new business partner and she and Leighton had been introduced a couple of days before. Leighton liked Veronica well enough even though they were completely different. The differences were obvious at the moment, Veronica dressed in her polo, tall boots, and jodphurs and Leighton in her miss me jeans, fatbaby aria boots, nike tank, and cowgirl hat, the two were different but Leighton thought they could be good friends.
"Max I'll show Leighton where she'll be keeping her horses" Veronica chirped to Max, Leighton could tell she was being fake toward the older man and she almost laughed, she was going to like Veronica for she also had a strong dislike for the man even though she had only just met him. Max frowned slightly before nodding tightly"Thank you Veronica how kind of you"he murmured before turning back to Conroy and explaining to him all about the stable and rules. Leighton let Veronica take Dunny from her father as they walked into the stable. Leighton turned towards Veronica"Thanks, I though I was about to get a speech or something about having King even though I'm a beginner at English"she said while shooting a glare back towards the general direction of Max. Veronica scoffed"I sometimes think Max has no idea what he's talking about, I mean you're an excellent rider, your just only beginning in English, it's not like you can't ride. Don't worry about him though he won't bother you" Veronica spoke tightly as she stopped in front of two stalls, each one labeled respectively with King and Dunny's names. Leighton opened the door to King's stall and led him inside and patted his neck while she removed his halter and hung it on the hook beside the stall door. Leighton exited the stall and closed the door. She repeated the performance with Dunny and came and stood by Veronica again.
Veronica turned towards her"Let's go to the lounge, it's where everyone hangs out before and after lessons, you can meet my friend Kristy before we have to come back and get the horses ready for the lesson." Leighton nodded at the suggestion"That sounds great, I can't wait to meet everybody and get started riding." Leighton gave her horses a final pat before she turned to follow Veronica to the lounge.
AN: Well that's the first chapter, please read and review. I'm wanting her to meet one of the saddle club in the next chapter. Who should it be, Carol, Stevie, or Lisa?