"Great job, Cassidy! Next time try giving Falcon a little bit more rein." Charlie suggested from the middle of the ring.
"Okay!" Cassidy called back, steering the big black horse she was riding towards the next jump. She had spent the last couple of days learning to jump. She had watched other guests do it, and it looked amazing. This was her first time actually jumping, she had been doing groundwork over poles before.
In her mind, she counted the strides before the next fence. It was only a few inches off the ground. '3...2...1!' She urged Falcon up and over the jump, this time giving him more rein. She felt like shouting with joy. Actually jumping was even more amazing than just watching it.
From the outside of the ring, she heard applause. Tech, Ace and Lexi were watching her. For just one moment, she lost her focus. Falcon pulled at the reins, trying to get her to concentrate. Cassidy managed to recover herself right before the next jump. But Falcon jumped off-balance, and landed ackwardly.
Cassidy brought Falcon to a halt. "Not bad, for a first try. Just try to keep your attention where you are." Charlie offered.
"Thanks for teaching me."
"You're welcome. It was fun."
She led Falcon over to where Tech, Ace and Lexi stood. "Hey Cass. You think you're up for another ride?" Ace asked.
"We're going on the trails." Lexi said.
"Sounds like fun! I'll be with you in a minute." Cassidy then put Falcon away and tacked up Phantom. She met all of them outside.
"Well, gang, we've got three trails to choose from. One leads to the meadow, one leads to the lake, and the other leads to the swamp."
Tech, Cassidy, Rev and Rachelle wanted to go to the meadow, so they went that way. Duck and Slam wanted to see the swamp, so they went that way. Ace and Lexi went to the lake.
Ace rode in silence. Lexi, meanwhile was telling Ace all about Ben and her's plans for training Ghost. Ace didn't hear half of it, as he was too busy thinking.
'I guess she really likes him.' He sighed.
"Ace? Is something wrong?" Lexi asked worriedly.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." Ace said flatly.
"That doesn't sound like 'nothing' to me."
"I was just thinking, okay? Nothing's wrong." Ace replied.
His words had a sharp edge, and this upset Lexi. 'What's up with him? He's been acting wierd around me ever since...' She suddenly understood what was going on. 'Oh... he's jealous cause I'm spending time with Ben. He obviously wasn't paying attention when I told him that training Ghost means alot to me. But until he cleans up his act, he's on his own.'
The two bunnies rode in silence for the rest of the way. Lexi wished that at least one of the others would have tagged along with them.
-
"We're gonna beat you!" Rev and Rachelle called out as they trotted thier mounts towards the edge of the forest.
"Since when did this become a race?" Tech asked, pretending to be confused.
Cassidy laughed. "Everything's a race to Rev."
"This is true." Tech agreed.
When they reached the meadow, the horses pawed the ground, eager to race. All of them urged their horses to run. Rusty and Flaxen almost shot out from underneath Rev and Rachelle. Fortunately, they were used to this, and were able to hang on.
Cassidy leaned forward, pushing Phantom forward into a gallop. Phantom responded happily, her legs stretched out to full power. When she glanced over her shoulder, Tech and Lucky were catching up, fast.
The four chased each other around for a few minutes, but soon slowed to a walk. All of them were out of breath, but not out of energy. They walked along the edge of the meadow.
Suddenly, they heard cashing noises from beside them, in the forest. All four horses spooked. They took off towards the trail leading back to the ranch. A large log layed in the way of Lucky and Phantom, who were blocked in by Rusty and Flaxen. They couldn't swerve, and they were going too fast to stop, so they would have to go over.
'Please Phantom. Don't send me on a solo flight.' Cassidy begged, holding on as tight as she could.
(end chapter 9)