The fog hung lazily over the arena as Abigail Townsend schooled her black gelding, Wizard. Her father, Parker Townsend and owner of Windwood Farm, the family's 3-day eventing farm, watched her critically.
"Slow down, Abby!" He shouted, turning the whip he held over in his hands. "We're jumping, not on a racetrack!"
Abigail shot her father an annoyed look, bringing Wizard back to a less reckless canter as she gathered him for a purple oxer. She went into 2-point, squeezed her legs, and he flew over. Wizard tossed his head as soon as they landed, fighting her hold on the reins.
"I'd love to let you run, boy." She murmured, so her father couldn't hear. "I wish I could go with mom to work the horses at Whitebrook instead."
"Good job today," Parker said as she rode up on the restless horse, "Remember that you can't just take off on a course whenever it suits your fancy. You want to go fast, but you have to keep a pace and think about what you're doing." He pat Wizard on the neck, and nodded at her.
"Cool him out- no jumping on him bareback and galloping off across the pasture. Ok?" His gray eyes were stern. Abigail's own eyes were closer to blue, and she stared back at him.
"Fine." She hopped off his back, opening the gate of the outdoor arena after running up the stirrups and loosening the girth.
Abigail led her horse out, leading him to closest of the 3 large gray barns that were on the property. He snorted appreciatively as slipped the tack off his sweating body, and bathed him. The heat of the summer day hadn't hit yet, as sun was barely peeking through the trees.
"Have a good ride, Abs?" One of the young grooms, Ben, asked as he led a well-built Hanoverian in a stall. "Wizard's looking good. Your father is excited for you guys." He grinned at her, running a hand through the brown hair that was a little too long, and getting in his eyes.
"Yeah, I guess I'm sort of excited. I wish he wasn't so set on me staying away from Grandfather and not getting too involved with racing."
"Really? And Brad Townsend hasn't done anything about it? He doesn't want to have someone to pass the family farm down to?"
"Hey, I didn't say he hasn't tried." She let her blonde curls down from a sweaty ponytail, shaking them out and pulling them up again. "Dad refuses every time, regardless of whether I'm interested or not."
"Are you?"
"Yeah! I don't agree with some of the stuff Grandfather has done, but I'm more interested in racing. Mom has brought me to a ton of races and let me exercise some. I really want to get deeper, and with both grandparent's owning some of the most successful farms in Kentucky it's almost impossible not to." She shook her head, leading Wizard out to his paddock.
"I told you Dad, I don't want her getting all caught up in Townsend Acres." Abigail froze as she heard her father's voice, tight as a coiled spring, from his office. He paused, presumably listening to Brad Townsend on the other line. "Look, you don't need Abigail to take over the farm one day. I've got Windwood for her already. Just sell Townsend Acres when you can't take it anymore." He paused again. "No, Dad, that's not nessasary. I'm sure she-" He cursed and slammed the phone down, which Abigail could only take to mean her Grandfather had hung up on her father. She heard him sigh, and then she scurried away to take care of Wizard's tack before he could see her listening in.