(Five months later)
"Come on Ella! It will be fun!" Lauren pressed, tossing clothes at Ella.
"How do you know I won't be thrown off or trampled?" Ella asked skeptically, but put on the pink and navy plaid shirt, acid washed jeans, light brown cowgirl boots, and white cowgirl hat with blue rhinestones.
"Because I know that horses aren't murderers." Lauren shot back, hitting Ella with a pillow.
Lauren and Ella were going to a farm to pick up horses, then taking them to the stockyards to be judged. Lauren was clad in a green and light blue plaid shirt, dark jeans, dark brown cowgirl boots, and black cowgirl hat with white rhinestones. They piled into Aunt Mary's car and drove to the ranch.
(later)
Ella and Lauren leaned against the pasture fence, deciding on which horses to take. Lauren decided on a blonde horse that seemed to 'swagger about' as she put it. When Ella was still undecided on which horse, a light bay up and walked to the fence, nuzzling her shoulder.
"How about this one?" she whispered, stroking its snout.
The ranch hand walked up behind them, "That one's name is Belle, sweetest thing, except when it comes to shows. Good luck. However, Sunny over there, one of the best."
Ella shrugged, leading the horse over to the gate and into the barn, where she would put on the saddle and bridle. Thirty minutes of unwilling horses, grooming, and saddling later, Lauren and Ella emerged from the barn on horseback. They walked the horses into carrying trailers and prepared to leave when the ranch hand said,
"You want to feed the cows before you go?,"
The two girls shared a look and nodded, closing the trailer door and walking back to the barn. They grabbed shovels and started to scatter the feed around, when Ella had a close encounter with the biggest bull she had ever seen.
Ella was trying to back out of the barn, feed filled shovel in hand, when a massive bull came looking for a free meal. He wanted the feed, but Ella didn't know that. Remembering what her grandfather said to her at his farm, she waved her hand behind her, smacking him on the nose. The bull took off running, the calls of the ranch hands spurring him on.
"How did you know to do that?"Lauren and the ranch hand asked.
"My grandfather always told me that the animals are more scared of you than you are of them, so I thumped him on the nose, because Grandpa said it was a soft spot," she replied, putting up the shovel.
Lauren looked at the ranch hand and shrugged, following Ella to the truck. They loaded up into the truck, and drove all the way to the stockyards.
(Later)
They arrived at the stockyards, parking in a reserved spot for show animals. Leading the horses out of the trailer, Ella and Lauren rode Belle and Sunny to the holding warehouse, where they put their horses in stalls with lots of hay and decorated the outside of the pens with ruffled zebra striped fabric and purple name cards. The trio sat around in fold-out chairs, sipping soda or reading magazines. Suddenly, an intercom crackled to life:
*Will numbers 667, 666, 592, 604, and 603 please come to the show arena.*
Ella and Lauren jumped up and squealed. Moving quickly, they lead the horses to the show area and heaved themselves onto Belle and Sunny. The two girls slipped their numbers into clear cards and strapped them to their backs.
Looking around at their competition, Ella spotted numbers 666 and 667. Serenity and Bree. On perfect white horses. The judges opened the gates, horse and rider going through one by one. Ella spurred Belle in behind Serenity, Lauren cutting a buck toothed boy off to get behind her. Ella stroked Belle's neck and waited, carefully watching the B.S twins. They had the horses walk in circles, jump over obstacles, and do a once-over in looks.
When their turn was almost over, Bree's horse's tail lifted, releasing tennis ball sized pieces of crap. Ella snickered at the horrified faces of Bree and Serenity. They quickly left the area, leaving the poor pooper-scooper to clean up Bree's mess. Ella nudged Belle forwards, leading her in a slow trot.
"Okay numbers 603 and 604, please move your horses in a circle, starting slow and gradually going faster." a portly man said, gesturing to the dirt circle
Belle seemed to understand, going from slowly walking, to a full out run. Nostrils flaring, Belle rounded turn after turn, stopping only when Ella told her too. Sides heaving, Belle waited for the command to jump. Ella clicked her tongue, causing Belle to trot towards the bar, surging into a jump at the last minute.
The once-over was more difficult, it was all about being pure bred, looking decent, and having high quality. The man said nothing, opening the gates once again to let them out. Ella and Lauren rode over to where Bree and Serenity were waiting.
"I didn't know you ever knew what a horse was," Serenity spat at Lauren.
"That horse isn't even yours!" Lauren shot back.
"Yes it is," Serenity scoffed
"Then why is the brand from the Paris Bandits, the unowned group of horse breeders that don't sell their horses?" Ella asked nonchalantly.
"Because, um, I, well-" Serenity stuttered
"Ladies and gentlemen of the horse judging competition! Will you please come back to the arena for the winner crowning," The portly man said over the intercom.
The four girls raced back to the arena, dodging bulls, cows and other people on horseback. The quartet skidded to a stop in the arena, kicking up a great big cloud of red dirt. The man came with three ribbons, one for each pair.
"Now, you have all done well, but one pair stood out more than the others. That pair is numbers 603 and 604!" he said with a smile, handing them a blue ribbon, S&B got a red one, buck tooth and a redhead with freckles a green one.
Ella and Lauren jumped down to receive their ribbon, grinning ear to ear. Serenity and Bree got down as well, but had an idea. Ella took the ribbon, turned around, and got a faceful of dirt. Bree exploded into laughter, partly swallowing the dirt that Ella threw at her. Lauren let out a war cry, firing dirt at Serenity. The horses shuffled away from the madness, not wanting to be covered in the copper filth.
Coated by the grime that lay beneath their feet, the girls ceased fire. Bree and Serenity snootily hopped on their horses, ignoring the whinnies of dismay, while Ella and Lauren pulled the animals along by their bridles.
Back at the stables, Aunt Mary nearly had a heart attack.
"Just look at the state of your clothing!," she gasped, "And your faces! Do you want the professionals to think you act like brainless city girls?!,"
Ella and Lauren hung their heads, and Aunt Mary's tone softened.
"Alright, let's go back to the farm, return the horses, and you two can clean yourselves up." she sighed, leading them back to the horse trailer.
Once in the pickup, the pair shared a glance of victory, and high fived, creating a small cloud of red dust.