Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry this is so long! I swear it was only supposed to be semi-long, not this monstrosity!

...

I awoke with a start. Ohmigosh, today was it. Show day. I pressed the off button on my alarm clock, which was chirping angrily from my nightstand. I sat up in bed, wide awake. Butterflies churned in my stomach. My bare feet hit my plush purple rug as I got out of bed, and I shivered involuntarily. Today was going to be huge. I changed into my new pair of white breeches, light blue show shirt, and then pulled on a pair of old sweats and a hoodie over top. I couldn't risk getting my show clothes dirty, and besides, it was freezing outside this early. From my closet, I retrieved a medium sized black duffel bag. In it was my removable shirt collar, black leather gloves, belt, hairnet, a bag of elastics and bobbypins, a couple granola bars, and my lime green plastic water bottle, which I had filled last night. Surveying my stuff, I tossed some disposable hand-warmers and my fave lip balm. I checked the time on my phone. 4:25 am. Trailers were leaving at 5:30. I put on my thick winter barn jacket, slid my feet into my Windermere boots, shouldered my bag, and crept out of the room.

As I walked from Orchard Hall to the stables, the butterflies in my stomach turned into what had to be dragons. Calm down, I told myself. It's just a show. Yeah, just my first show ever with Glamour. Eeep! I quickened my pace and all but ran the rest of the way. The warm barn was crazy busy. Riders bustled around, horses filled every available pair of crossties, and there was random tack lying all over the place. I dumped my stuff in the tack room and made my way to Glamour's stall.

"Morning, Taylor!" Ben called from down the aisle. I waved to him, suddenly too tired to form a reply.

"Glamour?" I said softly. Glam stood in the darkest corner of her stall with one hoof cocked. She blinked at me but didn't move. I looked her over carefully, making sure she was still as clean and shiny as she was when I left her last night. I ran my fingers over her meticulously braided mane. Not a hair out of place, thankfully. Not wanting to waste a second, I grabbed her blue shipping boots from outside her stall and started strapping them onto her legs. When I was finished, I headed back to the tack room to make sure I was organized.

I lifted the lid of my tack trunk and sorted through the contents. Jumping boots, leg wraps, bell boots, clean white saddle pad, fluffy half-pad, grooming stuff, polished tall boots, helmet, hoof polish, and other less important items sat in my (obsessively) organized box. I placed my black show jacket, bridle, girth, breastplate, and English saddle inside, and latched it shut. With a heave, I started rolling it out of the tack room and outside to load into a trailer. Heather caught my attention outside. She stood amid various bags and boxes, and seemed to be ordering people around. Yikes. I'd just stay out of her way...

"Eahh!" I shrieked. I had turned around and come face-to-face with Julia, Heather's other BFF. She smirked at me. "What," I gasped, "do you want?" I put a hand on my chest in an attempt to slow my racing heart.

"Mr. Connor said to tell you he's ready to load your horse. Although why you even bother is completely beyond me-" I cut Julia off before she could finish. I was so not in the mood for trash-talk right now. I walked back to the barn with what little dignity I had left after that scare.

"Ready, mare?" I slipped Glamour's halter over her head and clipped my lead rope onto it before leading her out of her stall. Her eyes and ears took in all the commotion as we walked outside. "Easy," I soothed. We found Mr. Connor, who looked like he'd been awake for hours already.

"Ah, Taylor, Glamour can go in the trailer at the end there," Mr. Connor said, motioning to a huge trailer at the end of a long line. I nodded and led Glamour over.

"Good-morning, Taylor," said Mike, one of the head grooms. "Ready to get Glamour loaded?"

"Morning. And yeah, she's ready to go." I peered into the dark trailer and saw that Charm and Sunstruck, Alison's horse, were already in there. I clicked to Glamour and started up the ramp. Glamour, a total pro at this, walked in calmly. I tied her into the second last available space and kissed her muzzle. "See you in a bit, Glam." Leaving the trailer, I made myself useful by helping to load tack trunks. Once everything was packed, Mr. Connor called everyone together.

"Alright, now that we're all set, we're going to head out. I assume that you are all capable of finding a vehicle to ride in?" We all nodded. "Good. The drive to the show grounds will take half-an-hour. Once we get there, please go straight to the sign-in tent and register. After that, there will be warm-ups and then classes. If you are unsure of when, where, or what your classes are, come find myself or either one of the assistant coaches." Mr. Connor indicated Ms. Seaford and Mr. Tor, the two assistant coaches. "Ready?"

"Ready!" everybody chorused.

"Good. Let's go!" Mr. Connor said with a smile.

"Hey! Want to ride with us?" I turned and saw Sasha standing beside me.

"Sure." I picked up my duffel bag and follwed Sasha to one of the trucks. We climbed in and I smiled at Callie Harper, another YENT rider, Nicole, and Lexi.

"This is going to be great!" Nicole squealed.

"I know, but I'm totally nervous," Lexi replied.

"Same," I said. "But we've all been practicing hard, we're all going to do well." I settled back in my seat and tried to get comfy for what was going to feel like a looong ride.

...

"Taylor!" Somebody shook me. "Taylor, wake up! We're here!" I opened my eyes and squinted in the semi-darkness. Nicole stood over me, grinning. "You slept through the whole trip," she explained.

"Really? Wow." I looked out the window. Outside, horses and riders were milling around. Tacking up, riding to the warm-up rings, and running around in a clear panic. Well, that's horse shows for you, I thought. I climbed out of the truck and breathed in the familiar horse show smell. Together, Nicole and I made our way to the registration tent. We signed in and got our numbers. I realized that I hadn't eaten anything this morning, but I didn't care. There was no way that I would be able to stomach anything feeling this nervous! Just then, my phone went off in my bag. I dug around until I found it, and saw that I had three missed alerts. I opened the first.

Good luck, honey, your mom and I will be at the show as soon as we can! Dad. I felt slightly better after reading the text.

Good luck, Taylor! U are going to rock it! :) Carly.

Just wanted to say good luck at the show today. :) This one was from Luke. I smiled, because I guess even if he didn't like like me, at least he seemed to care. I brought myself out of my thoughts and went over to where Glamour was standing. Mike was holding her, Sunstruck, Charm, and a bay horse I didn't recognize. I took Glamour's lead rope from Mike and went to find her temporary stall. The show barn was massive, it had to have over a hundred stalls! It didn't take me long to find the block that was reserved for Canterwood. I led Glamour into her stall and let her get settled for a bit. She was beside Troy's horse, Gavin, and the two horses bumped muzzles through the metal bars of the stalls. Satified that she would be okay alone for a few minutes, I went in search of my tack trunk.

By 6:30, I had gotten all of my stuff set up and fed and watered Glamour. I sat on top of my trunk, which was sitting just outside Glam's stall. I leaned back until my head hit the wall and let out a huge sigh. The anxiety about competing hadn't let up at all, and I was feeling kind of nauseous. I left the stall door open with a rubber and chain stall guard blocking the entrance, so that Glamour could stick her head out. She was handling the whole show situation very well, but I guess that was to be expected from a former Grand Prix horse. Glamour swung her buckskin head towards me, and her big brown eyes seemed to beg for attention. I scooted over on my box so that I was sitting closer to her and rubbed her cheek in slow circles. Glamour leaned into my hand, letting me know I'd found a good spot. Glamour's calmness made me feel slightly less worried. Only slightly. But I let myself relax a bit. After all, this was just one show.

"How's it going over here?" someone asked. I looked up and saw Sasha. She looked calm and collected, like she did a show every weekend. Who knows, maybe at one point she did.

"We're fine. I'm nervous, but Glamour's doing great." Sasha patted Glamour's neck. "When's your first class?" I asked.

"Noon, so I've got a ton of time to kill. When's your's?"

"Ten, I think. We're starting off with 2'9 hunters. Mr. Connor and I both agreed that a low hunter class would be a good way to start us off, because there isn't the pressure of the clock or anything," I explained. But it was still enough to make me uber anxious.

"I'll have to come watch. Text me when you're about to leave." With that, Sasha walked away, throwing an encouraging smile over her shoulder. I pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of my jacket pocket and smoothed it out. I looked over it for the thousandth time. It was my schedule for the day, and I was determined to commit it to memory. I closed my eyes and recited my classes in my head. Two-nine hunters at ten, hunter under saddle at eleven, three-foot jumpers at twelve-thirty, equitation under saddle at two. I peeked at the paper and sighed with relief when I saw that I had everything memorized. This was always something I stressed about at shows. I had nightmares of being late for a class, or going to the wrong ring. My old coach used to make fun of me for being the first one at the in-gate, but she understood. Just thinking about Hayley, the coach I'd had for three years, made me feel a little homesick. I'd never done a show without her. I wondered absently if she's be here, at this show.

"Here, I brought you something," Nicole said as she came towards me. She held out a paper bag to me.

"Thanks, Nicole," I said, taking the bag. Inside was a peach muffin and a lidded cup of hot chocolate. "You're the best, this is the best show-day-breakfast ever."

"No problem." Nicole sat on my tack trunk beside me, pulling her curly blond hair over one shoulder. "I get that this is probably pretty nerve-wracking for you. But you shouldn't worry. You and Glamour have worked so hard for this. You're going to do well. Trust me." Nicole smiled at me.

"Thanks, it's really sweet of you to try to make me feel better," I said. "I really appreciate it."

"Hey, that's what friends aer for!" Nicole said cheerfully. "I'd better get going, but I'll see you later."

"I'll be watching your dressage class, but if I don't see you beforehand, good-luck!" I called as Nicole left for Wish's stall. I really did appreciate all the supportive pep talks, but did people think that I needed them so desperately? Sure, I was nervous and anxious. But I wasn't about to have a panic attack or anything. Not yet, at least.

...

The morning passed in an odd slow-motion blur. Glamour and I did well in our first class, getting fourth out of, like, thirty in two-nine hunters. Hunter under saddle was not as great. Glamour had a... fit, and basically bucked until we were asked to leave the ring. Now, I was waiting nervously for my jumper class to start. I trotted Glamour around the warm-up ring, keeping one eye on the entrance for Mr. Connor. We weaved around a boy on a tall gray horse when I finally spotted Mr. Connor. He motioned me over.

"How does she feel?" he asked.

"She's calmer than before, but still pretty strung out." I ran my hand over Glamour's sweaty neck and she chomped at the bit.

"Do you know the course?"

"Yup. I walked it earlier and I've been watching other riders go." I knew the complicated course forwards and backwards, but that didn't stop my stomach from turning over.

"Good," Mr. Connor said. "It looks like there's two more riders before you, so let's go wait by the gate." I followed Mr. Connor to where Julia was already waiting. Looked like we were going to be competing against eachother. Fan-tastic. Julia glared at me before turning her attention back to the arena. A dark haired girl on a slight chestnut mare was just finishing her course. The pair came barreling towards the last jump, and I was sure that they were going to drag a rail down with the speed they were going at. But they managed to get over the jump cleanly, and finished with a total of four faults. That's going to be hard to beat, I thought. I needed to jump clean.

"Next in the ring is number one-twenty-five, Taylor Felix, riding Truly Enchanted. Taylor rides for Canterwood Crest Academy," The announcer boomed.

"Good-luck out there. Remember, take it easy and do what feels right," Mr. Connor said. I smiled weakly and shortened my reins before trotting into the arena. I gulped when I saw the jumps. All fourteen jumps were three feet high, including a scary-looking triple bar. Gulp. The whistle blew and I heeled Glamour forward. This was it. This was our chance to prove ourselves.

Glamour's long strides propelled us quickly to the first jump and we were over it before I even had the chance to think. I kept my gaze trained between Glamour's ears and set us up for the next obstacle. We cantered strongly towards a three-foot high, foot wide oxer. At just the right moment, Glamour launched into the air and over the jump. I slowed her as we swept around the corner of the arena and got lined up with a tricky combo. I signaled Glamour to jump and we flew over the purple and silver rails of the vertical. Before we landed, I saw that it was going to be an awkward distance between the fences; either two really tiny strides or one super long one. What should we do? I thought frantically. Then, Mr. Connor's words echoed in my head. Do what feel right. Okay, I could do that. As soon as Glamour's front hooves hit the dirt, I dug my heels into her sides and lengthened my arms, giving her her head. Glamour responded by stretching out and fitting in a huge stride before leaping into the air again. Invigorated by the sudden speed, Glamour pricked her ears up and shot forwards. Determined not to lose control, I sank down in the saddle and tugged on the reins, alternating between the two of them so that I wasn't just pulling with a steady pressure. Glam tossed her head and bucked once before settling down again. But by now we were right in front of the next jump. This one was a fake brick wall. And the bricks looked very convincing. I had to remind myself that it wasn't solid, and that Glamour wouldn't slam into it. Two, one, up! I chanted in my head. We flew over two more jumps before finding ourselves heading towards the triple bar. Now might have been a good time to mention that I'd never done a triple before. Ever. Sure, I'd done wide oxers. But having three rails spread out... I pushed down the nerves and concentrated. We would need speed to get over this one. And the perfect take-off spot. I slowed Glamour and collected her canter, giving us more time before the jump. Then, out of nowhere, I softened my hands on the reins and just let Glamour go. She took this opportunity and rocketed towards the fence. Finding the perfect take-off point, she powered over the jump. We stayed suspended in the air for a moment before hitting the ground again. One more jump. Glamour thundered across the ground and I felt like my arms were going to fall off from holding her back so much. I counted down the strides. Three, two, one, up! On up, I was lifted into the air. We landed softly and it took me a minute to realize that we'd gone clean. I looked towards the stands and saw my parents cheering like crazy, then looked towards the gate. Mr. Connor smiled proudly.

"That was exellent, Taylor. I'm really proud of you," Mr. Connor said as I exited the arena.

"Really? Wow, thanks!" I said breathlessly. "It felt so good." I risked a glance at Julia and got a sour glare. Fine, be like that. I didn't know why we were competing in the same class, what with her being advanced and me being intermediate and all, but whatever. I didn't care about winning. So long as I had a good round and my horse and I did our very best, I couldn't ask for more. I walked Glamour in lazy circles while I waited for the rest of the riders to go. So far, it was looking like a two-horse jump-off, between me and some other girl. I was lost in thought so I didn't even realize it when Julia jumped a clear round. Canterwood was doing well so far. In the end, four of us were going to be in the jump-off. I mounted and began trotting Glamour around before we had to jump again. Somebody's tinkling laugh cuaght my attention.

"Oh, that's cute, Felix. You think that an intermediate rider like you has a chance of placing in this class?" Heather smirked at me from the ground. She stood beside Trix, Julia's mare, with her arms crossed. "Well, wanna know a sectret?" Heather leaned forward. "You don't have the slightest chance. Because not only is Julia going to win this class for Canterwood, I bet that you're going to crack under the pressure of the clock and fail miserably." I stifled a yawn.

"Really, Heather? I thought you'd realized that you can't faze me with your lame trash-talk. If Julia wins, then great. Good for her. And good for the team. If I lose, then oh, well. I will have gotten out there and tried my best. If my best isn't good enough," I shrugged. Heather rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." She stalked away and parked herself at the edge of the arena to watch.

...

I was third in and my stomach seemed to get tighter and tighter the longer I sat and watched the other riders. The two people that went before me flew over the course at a dangerous speed, and both of them had rails down. The pressure was on me to have a clear round.

Tweeet! The starting whistle sounded. I heeled Glamour forward and wasted no time getting to the first fence. We got over the first, second, third, then fourth jumps without a problem we were clean, but slower than everyone else had been. All Julia had to do was go clean faster than me to win. Our last jump was a tall vertical out of the corner, and we could either fly at it out of the turn and risk knocking it, or maintain our steady rythme but risk being too slow to win. I made a snap decision and squeezed Glamour through a gap in two of the jumps, cutting off the corner. We had to canter slowly so as to make it through the small space, but it got us closer to the jump sooner. Four, three, two, one, up! Glamour leaped into the air and had to tuck her forlegs in tightly to avoid hitting the lime green and white poles. I braced myself for the sound of hooves hitting wood, and heard a soft brush. I glanced back at the jump as we cantered away and saw the top pole rattle in it's holder. Stay up, stay up... It settled back in it's original position and I gave a huge sigh of relief. The crowd cheered as I left the ring, and it hit me. I was in first. OMG! Sasha and Nicole, who were waiting by the gate, were jumping up and down.

"Taylor! You made it around cleanly! That puts you in first!" Nicole said excitedly.

"Yeah, but Julia still has to go," I hopped down from Glamour's back and hugged her neck tightly. "You were amazing," I murmered. I stood with Sasha and Nicole and watched anxiously as Julia jumped her course. She rode fast, faster than me. And she used my short-cut between the jumps on her way to the last fence. I peeked at the clock and wished that I hadn't; She was a full three seconds faster than me. Julia pushed Trix even faster and the little mare threw herself at the last jump. I held my breath. They had been going too fast, and Trix's jump was flat. Her knees knocked the top rail out of it's holder and it thudded to the ground. It took a moment for my mind to register what had happened. Oh. My. Gosh. I had won. Glamour and I had won. What?!

"OMG, Taylor!" Sasha squealed. She grabbed my arm.

"You did it!" Nicole cheered. I was probably grinning like an idiot.

"I actually won. Glamour, we did it!" I hugged Glamour fiercely. "I'm so, so proud of you," I said into her neck.

"Congratulations, Taylor," Mr. Connor said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You rode very well today and have proved that you deserve your spot on the team." I felt tears well up in my eyes. His words meant so much to me. I'd been working nonstop to prove that I belonged on Canterwood's prestigious riding team. And my efforts were finally paying off. I turned around when I heard a dramatic sigh behind me.

"Congrats, Felix. You got lucky," Heather said somewhat grudgingly. I beamed at her.

"Thank you, Heather," I said brightly. Nothing could ruin this moment for me. I collected my blue ribbon from the judge and stared at it in awe. It was so going to be framed. AS the afternoon wore on, I finally felt the reality of the events sink in. I had proven to everyone that Glamour and I have what it takes to make it. About time, too.