"Go Cassidy! Go Phantom!" Rev yelled.
Phantom spooked at the loud noise and tried to turn away from the jump. "No!" Cassidy gasped, straightening Phantom out. Phantom obeyed and practically flung herself and Cassidy over the jump. Phantom's back legs nudged the bar, but it didn't fall.
"All right!" Rev and Tech high-fived each other.
Having cleared the first jump, Phantom's confidence grew and she took the next jump easier. After what felt like an eternity to Cassidy, they approached the last jump. Much to her horror, it was a water jump. 'Oh, no! I've never done a water jump before!' But, Phantom didn't hesitate as she took off. Cassidy clutched the mare's mane, trusting her to not fall. When they landed, Cassidy's foot slid out of the stirrup, and she began to fall. But, she was holding on to Phantom's mane so tightly that she did not hit the ground.
Phantom crossed the finish line and trotted out of the ring, coming to a stop in front of Ace, who grabbed her bridle. Cassidy, hanging half-way out of the saddle, freed her foot from the stirrup and stood up. Practically delusional with happiness, she threw her arms around Tech. "Tech! I can't believe it! I did it!" She squealed.
Tech was taken completly by suprise and began to tip backwards. Fortunately, Lucky was standing right behind him, and pressed his head against Tech's back to keep him up. Tech smiled and hugged her back. "I told you so."
Cassidy, realizing what she was doing, let go of Tech, blushing.
"Really nice exit there, Cassidy." Ace said with a hint of scarcasm, handing her Phantom's reins.
"Wow! That was so cool Cassidy! I bet you'll get first place!" Rev exclaimed.
"Thanks, Rev, but, I doubt that."
Much to Cassidy's suprise, when she and the other riders in the jumping class lined up in the ring, she was given the blue ribbon. When she joined the others outside of the ring, Lexi tackled her in a back-popping hug. "Congrats, Cassidy! I knew you'd win!"
Next was the roping competition. Ace warmed up Thunder before their turn. When his name was called, he walked Thunder into the ring. They had a small mechanical calf riding on a long track as his target. The object was to see how quickly he could get the rope around the metal calf-look-alike's neck and yank it off the track.
The starting buzzer sounded, and the mechanical calf went flying down the track, with Ace and Thunder right behind it. Ace expertly swung his rope above his head and tossed it at his target. It wrapped around the calf's neck in perfect timing. Ace then brought Thunder to a halt. The rope yanked on the mechanical calf's neck and pulled it off the track.
"A perfect round for Ace Bunny!" The announcer said.
As Ace and Thunder exited the ring, Thunder gave a small, excited buck. This caught Ace off gaurd, and he slid out of the saddle, landing with a soft 'thump' on his rear.
Lexi laughed as she ran up to him. "Nice exit."
Ace stood up and brushed himself off. "You're just jealous." He said jokingly.
"Oh, now I'm the jealous one?" Lexi raised her eyebrow. Ace put his arm around her to show her he didn't mean it. Lexi smiled.
"Way to go, Ace!" "Yeah, great job!" The others congratulated him.
"Thanks, guys."
"What's the next event?" Rachelle asked.
Tech read the schedule. "Halter class."
"What event are you entering?" Cassidy asked him.
"Actually... I don't know. I never thought about it. I don't think I will, anyway."
"Why not?" Rev asked.
Tech shrugged. "I guess I'm just not the show-off type."
All of them except Rachelle began laughing. "Yeah, right! You love showing off your inventions!" Cassidy said. "You should give it a try, it's fun!"
"Well... okay. But, which one?"
"While you guys are figuring that out, I'm going to get ready for my turn." Duck said as he untied Shadow from the hitching post.
"Okay, good luck, Duck!" They called out to him.
Duck and Shadow were the first ones for the halter class. "Okay, little buddy, no tricks, okay? Be on your best behaviour."
Shadow gave Duck an innocent look, as if to say, 'Me? Tricks? Of course not!' He nudged Duck's leg.
(end chapter)