(This is an original work. Not 'fan'-fiction. I just needed to rant. Enjoy. Or not. Whatevs. Read at your own risk.)
Gretchen was more of the stuck up type of rider, always thinking she's better than the others she rides with. I'm Melody, one of her friends and a fellow horse rider, and I'm just an everyday rider, ok maybe not so true, more like risk taking and crazy. I do know more than Gretchen maybe not at gaming but in general I do. Gretchen likes to think she is the best at anything related to horses. One day, Gretchen, Kate, and I were in class talking, and like always Gretchen was wearing the jacket she got from the State Competition for barrel racing. Kate told her she was always talking about horses and Gretchen disagreed with her, so I said "Yeah, you got that state jacket; you talk about it and about being at state quite a bit." She replied "Yeah, where have you been with your horses?" that was actually kind of rude because she knows how badly I want to game but I can't because we don't have the right horses for it. I am training 3 horses now and when I sell them I should have enough money to get a good gamer.
So then we were riding the bus to my house and Gretchen was talking about my sister and stepdad. "DJ should really teach Renee to ride (she does need to know the basics but she can run horses and she's 5) so I replied, "He does. He is out there all the time helping her." But of course Gretchen just couldn't stop there. "Well, he should really teach you some stuff too." (Aaahhh!) I know just as much or more about horses than she does and I may need to learn more about gaming but other than that I'm all good.
One time I was at her house and we were riding horses so I was riding her old horse Tessa and she rode the horse she was leasing at the time, the one she went to state with. And yes, I will say I don't know much about the gaming part of the equestrian world, but I do know some. So we were running the pattern and I knocked into the barrel 5 out of 20 times perhaps, but the horse I rode knew the pattern, just not like a finished (fully trained) barrel horse. I used leg cues and turned almost always at the right time. We timed around mid 20's and Tessa is kind of old and I'm not experienced at barrels, but Gretchen still said I am horrible and probably shouldn't barrel race and give up. (HOW HORRIBLY RUDE!) Sometimes I can't stand her!
She also wants to teach me how to barrel race. She didn't even ask if I wanted her help, she just said, "Once you get them horses trained, I'll help you teach them how to barrel race." I have 3 horses to work with, and she has like one horse, who's main vice is that she crow hops, but she is already trotting the pattern, whereas my horses spook, buck, bolt and who knows what else. It's been too cold to ride much lately. I even asked if she wanted to help me train them in the basics, but she said probably not because her new horse will take up too much time. I teach my horses from scratch, me and DJ pretty much saved these horses from slaughter, not knowing much about them, but just getting them so I can train them and sell them to good homes. However, Gretchen has always gotten really good horses; one of her horses, Holly, is probably the least trained horse she has ever had, and Holly's worst vice is that she's a crow hopper! Not to mention, I have to pay for my horses personally. I am training these ones so I can afford a half decent barrel horse. Gretchen says she has to pay for her horse Holly to her older sister but she can spend as much time as she wants and need to do with her in the meantime. I need my barrel horse soon or else I won't be able to be in 4-H. Gretchen is trying to 'teach' me how to train my horses, but she refuses to do anything useful to actually help. And she says I'm spoiled because I have 4 horses: a pony I can't even ride, a 30+ year old horse I can't ride, one that is mid way through training and one of the new ones I got from the sale, also not trained. (Sometimes I just want to slap her!)