Chapter 38

A/N Mom and riding

Ok enough with the angst for a while those last 2 chapters were rough on me to write. Some feel good stuff for a while.

Today is a really rough day for me. I lost 4 friends on 911 one was my best friend since we were in 6th grade. Plus a lot of you lost your Queen this week. Chin up to all of us. Happy chapter.

Suzanne had taken a half a day off and she and Lizzie would be going out riding today. Billy had set up a mini steeplechase course and Suzanne was going to start training her. Lizzie had asked her parents if she could start competing and was anxious to start training.

Lizzie was an excellent rider and Suzanne and Benjamin had a surprise for her. Uncle Eric would be arriving in the evening with a special surprise for her.

Lizzie had been her usual self and learned everything she could about steeplechase. The rules, the goals to obtain ribbons and trophies, and all the best ways to win. She was determined to master it like everything else she put her mind to. Since she was now 10 they had agreed to let her start competing.

Suzanne saddled Blaze and Secret (one of the horses born when Benji was born) was the horse that Lizzie had been riding for a number of years. He was not the ideal horse for steeplechase, but he was a good starter horse for it.

Suzanne led them out to the course and they rode the course to let Secret get a feel for the jumps. He was an excellent jumper, but didn't have the stamina for it. Lizzie did some small jumps to get used to the feel. Suzanne didn't want to overwhelm her with too much too soon.

Lizzie had a huge smile on her face when she cleared the first single rail jump. She circled around and made the jump again. She then turned for a 2 rail jump. She lost her smile and her face turned into that of steel concentration. She was determined to show her parents she was serious about the sport so that they would fully support her. She cleared the 2 rails and in a quick stride made the 2 single rail jumps.

Suzanne was sitting astride Blaze observing her daughter in silence. She was not only enjoying herself, but was showing promise in the sport. It would be a short lesson for the day so they could get back and wait for Eric to arrive.

They had just finished unsaddling and brushing down the horses when they heard a vehicle drive up. Benjamin had joined them when he saw them ride into the barn.

"Hey Adams, anyone home?" Eric shouted entering the barn.

Lizzie took off and nearly tackled him when she lunged into his arms. "Uncle Eric, what are you doing here? Mom and Dad didn't tell me you were coming," she asked.

"Well, I have a surprise for you. Your Mom called me a month ago when you approached them about training to do some steeplechase events. You know when we moved to Kentucky I took Buttercup with me. I had intended to have him trained for Joshua to ride, but he decided on cutting horse events instead. So Buttercup is all trained and I am giving him to you," he told her with a smile on his face.

Lizzie stepped back to look him in the eyes. Her eyes asked him really and he nodded yes.

She then threw her arms around him again. "That is so great Uncle Eric, how can I ever thank you?"

"Don't thank me, your Mom owns half of him and it was her idea," Eric told her looking over to Suzanne.

Lizzie unwrapped herself from Eric and sprinted over to Suzanne. She almost knocked her over when she hugged her with all her might.

"You have no idea what this means to me Mommy, thank you very much," Lizzie said with tears streaming down her face. She pulled her Dad into the hug too. She wanted them both to know how much it meant to her that they were supporting her dream.

Suzanne and Benjamin wanted both of their kids to get to live whatever dream they had and would do anything to support them 100 percent.

Lizzie dropped her arms and turned back to Eric. "Let's get him unloaded and settled in. I can't wait to take him out on the course tomorrow."

"Whoa, there young lady. You will have to let him rest for a few days. It was a long ride from Kentucky and he needs to get his legs under him properly before you make him do some jumping. I am going to stay until Sunday and we can start him out slow on Friday," he explained.

Disappointment crossed her face, but she understood. She had been around horses her whole life and knew that sometimes they just needed some rest and recovery time.

They unloaded him and made him comfortable in the barn. The group then went to the house.

Eric kinda stuttered when he entered the house. He had been back since his parents death, but it still got to him sometimes when he went in expecting them to be there and knowing they were not.

Suzanne saw his hesitation and understood it. She hooked her arm through his and rubbed his shoulder silently telling him she understood his pain. She too had the same issue when they first moved into the house.

Friday finally rolled around and Lizzie bolted out of the car when Benjamin pulled to a stop in front of the house. She tore up the stairs to her room to change into her riding clothes. In record time she was running back down the stairs heading for the barn. She slowed to a fast walk when she got to the barn and saw Buttercup saddled and tied to his stall.

Eric and Suzanne were at the other end of the barn with a man Lizzie had never seen before. Lizzie stopped and rubbed Buttercup's nose and neck and gave him a sugar cube from her pocket. She was petting him and rubbing down his neck when the adults walked up to her. Benjamin had changed and walked in also.

"Lizzie, I want you to meet Richard Miller, he is a steeplechase trainer. He has agreed to be your trainer," Suzanne told her.

Lizzie stepped up and stuck her hand out to shake the man's hand. He had big hands and engulfed hers. She stepped back and sized him up. He was well over 6'4 and towered over her. "I guess you will do," she told him.

This brought a roaring laugh from the group.

"Why don't we let these 2 get acquainted and go enjoy some lemonade on the porch," Suzanne said as she walked out of the barn. Benjamin and Eric followed and they all took a seat on the porch. They could see Rick and Lizzie from their position.

Rick (as all his friends called him) led Lizzie over to a bale of hay and had her sit down. "What are your ultimate goals in steeplechase and why did you choose it?" he asked her.

She was surprised by his question and placed her index finger on her chin to contemplate her answer. "I suppose I am supposed to say for the ribbons and trophies, but that is not it for me. I have read every book I can find and even watched some videos in the library about the sport. I chose it because of the absolute trust between the horse and the rider. They must work as a team to not only finish the course successfully, but to ensure neither get hurt or harmed. My Paw Paw told me when he taught me to ride that there is nothing more special than a horse and its owner's relationship. I will take pride in doing my part for us to be successful," she said with a lot of determination and sincerity in her answer.

Rick was taken aback with such insightfulness coming from someone so young. He would soon find out that Elizabeth Suzanne Adams was a force to be reckoned with and not like any other student he has had in his 30 years of training. "Ok young lady, let's see how you sit a horse. We might do a couple of single rail jumps today, but nothing higher. Before we go any farther, I need a promise and a handshake from you that you will train on my schedule and not try to further your training on your own. You may get frustrated and feel like I am holding you back and want to push yourself. You will have to trust that I know what I am doing and we will do this on a specific timetable. Now do I have your word?" he asked as he put his hand out.

She shook his hand and said, "You have my promise. I can't promise that I won't get frustrated, but I do promise I will not do anything outside your teaching."

They agreed it was a deal.

She untied the reins and led Buttercup out of the barn. He was taller than Secret, but she was determined to mount on her own without a block. She struggled on the first try and almost ended up on her butt. She hitched up her britches and with determination mounted him on her second try.

Rick smirked and watched her ride around the ring. She might be small, but he decided she was mighty. She would definitely be a challenge for him. He enjoyed a good challenge and welcomed it.

She rode around for a while and when he was satisfied, he opened the gate and mounted Ranger. Ranger would be his horse to use while he was on the farm. They rode out to the course and he nodded to her to go ahead and make a jump.

She had never ridden Buttercup before, except for the riding in the ring and the short ride out to the course, but she could feel the trust he was developing for her as a rider. She circled him around and tapped her heels on his hunches and off he took. She gripped tightly with her legs and he sailed over the jump with ease. He landed in stride and immediately headed for the next jump.

Rick let them jump for about a half hour and called the lesson concluded for the day.

Lizzie rode up to him with her face lit up in a bright smile. "What do you think? Do you think we have what it takes to succeed?" she asked as she rubbed Buttercup's neck.

"It seemed like a pretty good start, but it is early yet. We have a long way to go. Let's head back to the barn," he said, turning towards the barn.

The others met them in the barn. One of the hands took Ranger from Rick to unsaddle and brush him down.

Lizzie took on the chores of doing the same for Buttercup. She walked him over to the washing stand to give him a wash down as the adults walked towards the house. She talked to him the whole time she was brushing him down. "You did a very good job today. I am so glad that you are my horse now. You and I are going to be great buddies and go far in this world," she told him as she lovingly squeezed his neck. She retrieved him an apple and led him to his stall. He would be fed with the rest of the horses so he would get on a regular feeding schedule.

She ran into the house and joined everyone in the living room. Rick was discussing her training schedule and she didn't want to miss any of it. She knew time would be limited until the school year ended in a few months. She would not be ready to competitively compete for several months, but wanted to put in as much work as possible to get ready.

"Rick, I know Lizzie is anxious to start a full schedule of training, but her priority has to be her school work. She will be required to keep up her grades, or we will put a stop to her training. This is the agreement her Dad and I agreed to when we set this in motion," Suzanne told him.

"I agree 100 percent. I will take my cues from both of you. If you feel like her studies are suffering then we will pull back on her training," Rick told them.

"I promise that my school work or my grades will suffer or be affected by my training. Once Rick gets a structured schedule for me, I will adapt my school work with it and make it all work," Lizzie told them all.

Rick decided her training schedule would be a couple of hours on Friday evenings, two separate training sessions on Saturday. These would be broken up to allow Lizzie and Buttercup rest time. Sunday would be a 2 hour session only. Tuesday's and Thursday's would be an hour session. No training on Monday and Wednesday's these days would be dedicated to school work only.

Lizzie created a spreadsheet to schedule her training and her school work and gave it to her parents after dinner on Sunday evening.

Suzanne and Benjamin studied it and were quite impressed with her creativity and organizational structure. They both knew she was smart, but she was really starting to truly think outside of the box and it would carry her far in life if she continued to work that way.

They both approved the schedule and Suzanne would take it to the office tomorrow and copy it and laminate it so it could be hung in the barn.

Tuesday would be her first official training day and Lizzie was so looking forward to it. She was happy with Rick and Buttercup. She went to bed Monday night looking forward to the next day, she just had to get through the school day then her dream could start.