The Challenge

January 6

Stevie leaned against the fence, watching as Rose worked with Cleopatra. The horse stood by the fence, snorting and pawing. Rose faced her, clucking and waving a lounge whip. Cleopatra wasn't having any of it.

"Mom, she's not responding," Rose said. "What do I do?"

Stevie shrugged. "I don't know. I've never seen a horse so opposed to human contact. She's not even scared of you. Even brumbies run at the sight of a whip."

Rose dropped the lounge whip. "Well, now what do I try? I've tried ignoring her. I've tried making her choose. I'm the only one who's touched, fed or attempted to do anything with her. If that doesn't make her like me what will?"

Stevie shook her head. "I don't know. Come on, we have sheep to muster."

"There are always sheep to move," Rose muttered. "Can't I just stay and work with Cleo?"

"Rose, you're living here. You need to work. I'm sorry. Help me move these sheep and I'll try to come up with something that will help you."

Rose sighed. "Thanks, Mom."

She walked slowly to the horse pens, her shoulders sagging with defeat. Stevie watched her, hating the despair she saw in her lively daughter. She had been at Drovers for almost three weeks now and she was no farther with Cleopatra than when she got here.

In fact Stevie was certain she had lost any connection she might have made with the mare on the trip home. There had been a few days at the beginning when Stevie actually thought Rose had gotten through to the mare.

But then everything had gone wrong three days ago. Stevie turned back to watch the mare. What had happened that had suddenly made Cleopatra so wary again?

She tried to remember what had happened that night. It wasn't storming, the weather was almost perfect. There wasn't even any wind. Rose had put Cleopatra in the shed for the night and Stevie had bedded one of the older mares beside her, hoping that Cleopatra would come to realize that all people weren't bad.

"Mom, are you coming?"

Stevie nodded. "Coming."

January 15

Stevie hurried across the lawn, ducking against the strong wind that blew debris around. Racing across the veranda she stepped into the dining room and shut the door.

"Nasty wind," she said.

Meg handed her Xander and peered out the window. "I hope nothing blows down."

Stevie looked at her son and frowned at the streaks of chocolate that marred his face. "And what have you been doing?"

Xander wiggled out of her arms and laughed. "Making cookies. I eat the chocolate."

"I can see that." Stevie took his hand and led her son to the kitchen. "Let's get you cleaned up before supper."

Xander chattered on as they went into the kitchen. Nodding to his remarks, Stevie lifted him onto the counter and wet a cloth. She wiped the chocolate from her son's face and set him back on the ground.

"Mom, can we go for a ride on Banjo?" Xander jumped up and down. "Please?"

Stevie looked outside and saw the branches and leaves still blowing across the lawn. "Sorry, Xander. Not today. It's too windy."

"MOM!"

Stevie whipped around and hurried to the back room. A white faced Rose tumbled through the door. Stevie grabbed her shoulders and Rose gasped, struggling to gain her breath.

"What is the matter?" Stevie asked.

"It's Cleo. I think she's dying."

"Meg! Call Dave or Russ. Something's wrong with Cleopatra."

Rose darted back out the door and Stevie followed her.

"Rose, tell me what's wrong?" Stevie called over the wind.

"I don't know," Rose said, wiping at the tears trickling down her cheeks. "She started hacking and then she went down and I can't get her up. Mom, she's hot, really hot."

Stevie hurried to the stall where Cleopatra lay on the floor. Kneeling beside the mare Stevie stroked the wet neck. Cleopatra rolled her eyes but didn't move. Her breath came in short, painful bursts.

"Mom, what's wrong with her?"

Stevie shrugged. "I don't know. Did she eat something? Get into the pesticides?"

"I don't know," Rose cried.

"Rose, what's wrong?"

Stevie turned to see Gabe rushing into the shed.

"It's Cleo. I think she's dying," Rose whispered.

Gabe wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He looked at Stevie and raised his eyebrows. Stevie shook her head. She didn't know what to do. She had never come across a horse so hot. She didn't even know a horse could get a fever so high.

Cleopatra's sides heaved with each breath and sweat rolled down her stomach and chest. Her eyes rolled and she thrashed her legs, catching Stevie in the shin.

Biting down a curse, Stevie moved safely away from the horse. "I don't know what to do. We'll just have to wait for Dave or Russ to get here."

"We're here," Dave said coming with his vet's kit.

Russ tumbled in behind him. "Meg called my place and Dave happened to be there so we decided to come. Never hurts to have two vets."

"Just don't argue the whole time," Stevie said. "Cleopatra can't die. She belongs to the school."

The two men looked at each other and grinned. Dave knelt beside the mare and studied her eyes. Russ opened his kit and removed a bag of saline.

"We're going to hook her to an IV," Russ said. "She's dehydrated."

"Russ, I get that line going fast," Dave muttered pressing his stethoscope to Cleopatra's chest. "This isn't looking good."

He dug into his own kit and pulled out a bottle and a syringe. "I'm going-"

"Dave, stop telling us what you are doing and just do it," Stevie hissed. "I don't care what you do as long as that mare gets back on her feet."

"Right." Dave plunged the full syringe into the muscle at the top of Cleopatra's leg. The mare didn't even flinch.

Russ crouched by Cleopatra's neck and massaged the large blood vessel there and then pushed the needle in. He attached the IV line and opened the bag of saline. Hanging the bag from a nail he knelt by the mare's head and checked her eyes.

"Do you know what happened?" Russ looked at Rose.

"I don't know. She started coughing and then went down. And she got really hot, really fast."

"Got to be a poison of some sort," Dave muttered. "I'll go check the sheds."

The wind died down somewhere around midnight, but Cleopatra was still lying on the ground. Her fever had gone down for a bit but had risen again. Three bags of saline had already been pumped into the horse but nothing seemed to help.

Rose had fallen into a restless sleep, leaning against Gabe. Stevie knelt beside Dave stroking Cleopatra's neck. Russ leaned against the wall, watching.

"Stevie, I don't know if she's going to make it," Dave whispered. "We've done what we can. I still don't know what caused this."

"Mom?"

Stevie turned to Rose and shook her head.

Rose shuffled over to Cleopatra's head and pulled it into her lap. "Leave us. If she's going to die... I want to be alone with her."

Stevie squeezed Dave's hand and shook her head. She stood up and helped the vet to his feet.

"Let's leave them," she said. "There's nothing more we can do."

Russ followed Dave out of the shed. Stevie moved behind them and looked back. Gabe was kneeling behind Rose, holding her close while Rose stroked Cleopatra's head. Sighing, she left the two. It would be better for Rose if she wasn't alone.

The sun had barely risen when Stevie walked towards the sheds, a cup of hot coffee in her cold hands. She had fallen asleep soon after she arrived back at the house. Rose wasn't in her bed so Stevie assumed she was still with Cleopatra.

Laughter floated out of the sheds on the early morning breeze. Walking faster Stevie entered the stall and found Cleopatra eating a bran mash while Rose brushed her coat.

"Cleopatra!" Stevie dropped her mug and hurried to the mare's side. "What happened?"

Rose shrugged. "The fever dropped off sometime around three and then at five she rolled onto her stomach and sat up. Around six she stood and then Gabe made her the mash and now look at her."

Cleopatra swung her head around and nuzzled Rose's shoulder before plunging her nose back into the pail.

"It's a bloody miracle," Stevie said.

Rose hugged her and laughed again.

January 26

Stevie parked her ute in the parking lot of the Fisher Fairgrounds. Xander babbled in his car seat.

"Mommy, look, horsies."

"Yes, Xander, horses." Stevie unbuckled her son. "Let's go find Rose and Gabe."

Stevie heaved Xander into her arms and stepped out of the ute. The fairgrounds were bustling. The word had gotten around that there was to be a showdown. People had turned out in droves and booths selling homemade goods lined the fairway.

Stevie headed towards the horse trailers. This had turned into something quite beyond control. Other schools had sent riders out to compete in friendly competitions. But the main event would be between Rose and Cleopatra and Marcie and Double Helix.

"Rosie!" Xander waved at his sister and bounced happily. "Hi, Gabe."

Gabe waved at Xander and stepped away from the trailer to greet them.

"How's Rose?" Stevie let Gabe take Xander.

Gabe shrugged. "Nervous, scared. Cleo's calm as a cucumber."

"I'll go see what I can do," Stevie said. "Here's some money. Take Xander and get some fairy floss."

Gabe nodded and set the little boy on his feet. Stevie patted her son's head and then headed to the trailer to go deal with her daughter. She paused at the corner and watched Rose as she brushed the gleaming, black coat of the mare. Cleopatra chewed calmly on a mouthful of hay, swishing her tail slowly.

"Rose?"

Rose stopped brushing but didn't look at Stevie.

"Rose, it's going to be okay. Cleopatra is amazing. She'll take you through anything. She's the best cattle horse on this side of the continent."

Rose turned to Stevie and Stevie was shocked to see tears streaming down her daughter's cheeks.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Stevie wrapped her arms around Rose.

"But Mom, there's a cross country course," Rose whimpered. "She's never been trained for that."

Stevie smiled. "Rose, Cleopatra can jump. I've seen her racing across the fields. I saw her jump."

"Mom, this isn't the same. It's got huge jumps, hills, water crossings. How am I going to make it?"

Stevie pushed her daughter back so she could look in her eyes. "Rose Hall, listen to me. Cleopatra will not let you down. You are my daughter and you can ride like no one else. Well, I'm still better, but the point is, you have this in the bag."

Rose laughed and wiped her face. "Thanks, Mom." She turned to her horse. "Well, Cleo, what do you think?"

Cleopatra bobbed her head and whinnied.

"I think she's good," Stevie said. "Now, come on. Let's go see some of the sights before we start this circus."

"Stevie, over here!"

Stevie waved at Kate and hurried up the stands to join her friends and family.

"How are Rose and Cleopatra?" Dave asked handing her Xander.

"Rose is okay. I left her with Gabe. She doesn't need her mother hovering around. Cleopatra looks almost bored."

Dave nodded. "Well, I took a look at her competition and let's just say that she should win with no problem."

Stevie smiled and hugged Xander.

"Where's Rosie?" Xander twisted around trying to find his sister.

"Rosie's getting ready to ride Cleopatra. Wait for a bit and you'll see her in the ring down there."

"Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to the moment you have all been waiting for."

The stands erupted with cheers, drowning out the announcer.

"In a few minutes we will welcome to the ring Marcie Janks and Double Helix, one of the students from the Adelaide Riding School and Equestrian Management program."

There was a small smattering of polite applause.

"Do I get the feeling there are more people rooting for our Rose than for this Marcie?" Russ asked.

"Dad, everyone here is from Gungellen or Fisher. No one knows Marcie," Olivia said. "Of course they're rooting for Rose. If they didn't they'd probably be dead."

Stevie chuckled. "Olivia, dear, you've got it."

Olivia smiled and handed Xander a fairy cake. Xander grinned and took a large bite out of the cake.

"Xander, you're going to choke. Smaller bites."

"Here she is. Marcie Janks and Double Helix."

Stevie turned her attention to the ring.

"In this first round, Marcie will take Double Helix through a series of obstacles. The first obstacle is a wooden bridge."

The crowd was quiet as Marcie steered the large gelding around the ring. Helix's hooves rung on the wooden bridge and he shied sideways stepping off the bridge. Marcie jerked Helix's head and manhandled the horse around to the gate.

Stevie closed her eyes. "I can't watch. This is a disaster. That poor horse." She buried her face in Russ's shoulder. "Tell me when it's finished."

Russ patted her back and muttered something under his breath.

Ten minutes later Marcie galloped a sweating Helix out of the ring.

"Well, that was interesting," the announcer said. "Let's welcome Rose Hall and Cleopatra."

The stands shook with applause and feet stamping. Rose and a collected Cleopatra trotted easily into the ring. Rose saluted the crowd and headed for the wooden bridge. Cleopatra tripped lightly over the bridge and danced towards the gate. Stevie held her breath as the mare approached the water obstacle. She still wasn't so sure about stepping into water, but Rose held her steady and the mare tiptoed through and up the hill. She took to the rest of the course as if she was born to it. The mare couldn't put a foot wrong.

"She did it," Stevie whispered.

Russ hugged her. "Of course she did. She's your daughter."

"That was Rose Hall with Cleopatra. Well done, Rose."

The ring crew hurried in and removed the obstacle course and set up three barrels.

"Next is the barrel race," the announcer said.

Marcie never made it into the ring. Helix tossed her at the gate and ran off. After a moment Rose and Cleopatra galloped in and finished the barrels in fifteen seconds. The crowd cheered as they ran out of the ring.

Half an hour later they had made their way through all the western style events. "Ladies and gentlemen, there will be an hour break and then we will begin the cross country course."

Stevie handed Xander to Meg. "I've got to go Rose. She's not impressed with this cross country thing."

"Want me to come with?" Russ asked.

Stevie shook her head. "No. Gabe and I will manage her. She'll be fine. Just look for us at the beginning of the course."

Russ squeezed her hand and she smiled.

Stevie held Cleopatra while Rose tucked in her shirt and buckled her safety vest. Gabe turned Rose to face him. Stevie moved Cleopatra so she didn't hear what Gabe said to her daughter. Whatever he said worked because Rose was laughing when Gabe leaned down to kiss her. Stevie smiled and rubbed Cleopatra's nose. The mare nickered and shoved Stevie's chest.

"Thanks, Mom." Rose took the reins and patted the mare's neck. "Alright, Cleo, my dear, are you ready for this?"

The mare eyed Rose and then nodded her head. Rose laughed and hugged Stevie.

"You'll do fine," Stevie said. "You can ride and Cleopatra can jump. I'll see you at the finish."

Rose nodded and pulled down her stirrups. Gabe hugged her and gave her another kiss. She smiled once and climbed aboard the mare. Touching her heels to Cleopatra's side, Rose rode away.

"Pray she makes it through," Gabe muttered.

Stevie nodded and patted his arm. "Let's go find the rest."

Both horses were at the starting line. Cleopatra stood quietly while Double Helix pranced and spooked at everything.

"The two riders will start at a two minute intervals. Marcie and Double Helix will start first."

Marcie tugged Helix into place and started off at a gallop at the starting gun. Helix stumbled but soon righted himself. At the first jump, a simple log, the gelding threw himself over, nearly unseating his rider.

Soon the gelding and Marcie were out of sight. The gun went again and Rose and Cleopatra stepped out smartly, approaching the log with steadiness and perfect sync. They were up and over and onto the next with little hesitation.

"I told her she could do it," Stevie said.

Gabe nodded. "She'll make it."

Half an hour later, Rose and Cleopatra trotted back into view, taking the last jump with the grace of a ballerina.

The stands erupted in cheers and Stevie and Gabe hurried down to congratulate Rose.

"Where's Marcie and Helix?" Stevie asked, taking the reins from Rose.

Rose shrugged. "She shouldn't be that far behind. I passed her at the sixteenth jump."

Gabe wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her deeply. "I knew you could do it," he said. "I never had any doubt."

"It was so much fun," Rose said. She turned back to the mare and rubbed Cleopatra's sweaty neck. "Cleo, you were the best."

Cleopatra jerked and stared out onto the course. Stevie shaded her eyes and saw Helix racing towards them. The stirrups flapped against his side, making him spook even more.

"Where's Marcie?" Stevie asked.

"It seems Marcie Janks is down," the announcer said. "The paramedics are out looking for her. I guess that makes Miss Rose Hall on Cleopatra the winner."

There was more cheering and Rose clambered back onto her mare to take a victory lap around the ring.

"Well, my dear," Stevie said later that evening, "you've gained yourself a very wonderful horse."

"And we have another demon horse on our hands," Gabe said, rubbing Rose's shoulders.

Rose opened her eyes slowly and smiled at her mother. Turning to Gabe she narrowed her eyes. "Helix is not a demon horse. He's just been mistreated."

"Did you think about the offer from the school?" Russ asked, pushing his chair back from the table. "It's a very good offer."

Olivia nudged her father. "Why would she leave? Rose has a great place here. Seriously, Dad, not everyone wants money and fame."

Rose laughed. "Ollie, easy. Yes, I've thought about it but I much prefer to stay here with my mom and Gabe. Besides, I want to work on the land, not at some posh school with snobs like Marcie."

"Speaking of Marcie, is she going to be okay?" Meg asked, bringing in two pies. "Who wants a piece?"

Hands went up all over the room and Jodi moved over to help Meg pass out the pieces.

"I heard she has a sore tailbone, a sprained wrist and a bruised ego," Dave said. "By the way, Rose, that gelding is in worse shape than that mare of yours was."

"Is he redeemable?" Gabe asked.

Dave shrugged. "What do I know? Miss Rose took on the challenge of Cleopatra and look how that turned out. I'd say anything is possible."

"To Rose and her miracles," Marcus called out, raising his glass.

"To Rose." The room echoed with the calls.

Stevie smiled at her daughter and reached over to squeeze her hand. Rose returned the pressure and then leaned back into Gabe's embrace.

The last six weeks had been stressful but the end result was beautiful. Rose was glowing and Stevie had never been so happy that she had listened to Riley all those years ago. The thoughts of Riley dimmed her happiness a little but she knew he was watching from above and smiling.

This was a happy occasion. She shook her head and raised her glass with the rest. Leaning back into her chair she laughed and joked with the rest. It was a perfect evening, the perfect way to end a perfect day.