Chapter 284 – Maddie and Missy Jump
After lunch was cleaned up, Jack, Elizabeth, Doug, Lee and the girls headed down. Nathan said he would be down later. The grandparents said the same. Becky also went with the twins. Gran and Abigail said to send a text when Maddie and Missy's class started so they could finish up what they were doing. Trish and James were also staying up at the house, but they were taking the time to talk about a few things before helping Gran. James had headed to his office. John was working from the office in the house. As the afternoon went on, more and more of the group from the house came down to the arena.
Finally it was getting close to the time that the girls would jump. By luck of the draw they were jumping seventeenth and twenty-first of twenty-nine jumpers. Maddie was feeling confident about the course having watched the class before her, since they had the same layout for the course, the bars had just been raised one spot. It was a straight speed course – so fastest time with a clean run won. Maddie had also watched the jumpers before her until she had to warm up. She knew that most of the jumpers were taking it easy and coming in close to the full eighty-eight seconds. The fastest time was eighty-seven point eleven. She was aiming for under eighty-seven. She took a deep breath and warmed up her horse, showing Bubbles a few of the fences. Bubbles danced a bit, but she was able to calm him.
She got the signal to start and she brought Bubbles up to a canter and started her course. She had been worried about the first jump because of the water, but Bubbles was fine and wanted to run, so she had a hard time holding him back to make the tight turns that were needed/wanted. She was able to make the turns and clear the plank at two and then lined up for three with plenty of time. They cleared the double oxer with ease, she then cut tight to four and took it at an angle and quickly corrected to line up for the first double at five and then swung wide to line up for the other water at six. She rubbed the rail hard, but was lucky when it stayed up. She came around and lined up for the double at seven and then cut close to get to eight and then sped up through nine to finish. When she crossed the finish line and looked up at the board, she smiled as she had gone eighty-seven point oh five. She hadn't done what she wanted, but she was still in first place. She was met at the door, by her sister and brother.
"Good job." Doug said. "Now, what could you have done better?"
"My speed." Maddie said. "I held him back because he was dancing around."
"That will come with time." Doug said. "For now, cool him off and get him a treat."
"Thank you." Maddie said.
Maddie walked off with Bubbles to get him cooled off. Doug turned to his other sister.
"Squeak is going to want to do the same thing." Doug said. "You need to show him the water trays so he doesn't balk."
"Okay." Missy said. "I am thinking I should have rode Rocky."
Doug turned his sister to look at him and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Clear your head." Doug said. "You and Squeak are good together. He will be your horse to ride as you advance. Rocky is a great horse, but he is holding you back. So put it out of your head right now. Go warm up Squeak and focus."
Missy walked off and Jack came over to Doug.
"She okay?" Jack asked.
"She is doubting herself." Doug said. "I tried to tell her that she is good, but I think she is in her own head."
"Want me to talk to her?" Jack asked.
"If you want." Doug said. "I don't know if it will do any good."
"Okay." Jack said.
Doug and Jack walked back to the group and took a seat. Trish immediately picked up on something that was not quite right.
"Missy okay?" Trish asked.
"She is getting in her own head." Doug said.
"I will go talk to her." Trish said.
"Thank you." Doug said.
Trish went and found Missy in the warm up ring. She knew how her daughter could be. It didn't matter if it was a piano recital or a horse show, she could easily get into her own head. Trish waited until her daughter spotted her.
"Hi, Mom." Missy said.
"You feeling okay?" Trish asked.
"Yeah." Missy said.
"Just checking." Trish said. "You will do great. Win, lose or draw know that your father and I love you."
"Thank you." Missy said.
Missy finished warming and went to watch the competitor before her. Her mom stayed with her until she went into the ring, then Trish decided to stay at the in gate just because she had a bad feeling. She knew her daughter was in her own head, but she was hoping she would be okay. Doug and Jack saw that Trish was nervous and went over with her. They watched as Missy showed Squeak the water trays and he backed up. Missy took a deep breath and then she showed Squeak again and he seemed okay, but Jack was worried. He hadn't even thought about the water trays. They had been doing pretty good in the rings and he had been banking on them actually being mostly trained. Missy got the signal to start and the trio at the in gate all held their breath.
Missy cleared the first gate with the water tray, but not without a bit of hesitation. She came around and cleared two and headed for three. She was looking good and Jack thought he saw her relax just a bit. She did the same as her sister with four and then corrected course for the double at five. She cleared them fine and swung wide to line up for six. Jack, Doug and Trish were all thinking that six wouldn't be a problem since Squeak had cleared the water tray at one. But as they approached six, Squeak balked. He turned away from the water and Missy wasn't able to hold on and ended up partially in the water tray. She had barely landed and Trish, Doug and Jack had started to run to them. Jack went after Squeak while Trish and Doug went to Missy.
Jack caught Squeak and immediately calmed the horse down. He checked him for any injury then led him over to the in gate and handed him off.
"Take him just outside." Jack said. "He is fine, but I want to check him again."
"Yes, Sir." The hand said.
When Jack turned around he breathed a sigh of relief that Missy was up and walking between her brother and mother. The crowd clapped for her. Jack couldn't see Missy's face, but he was sure he knew she wasn't happy.
… … … …
Trish reached Missy first. Doug was just a few steps behind.
"Don't move." Trish said, as Missy sat up.
"I am fine, Mom." Missy said, with anger in her voice.
"Nothing broken?" Trish said.
"I am just wet and angry." Missy said.
Doug reached out and pulled Missy to her feet. He helped dust her off and then looked at her. He knew that she was upset and he also knew that she would have said if she was hurt, so he was taking her word that she was fine.
"You okay?" Doug said.
"Physically, yes?" She said. "Can we just get out of here? I want to clean up."
Doug nodded. They turned and walked toward the in gate, since they knew that Jack would have caught Squeak. The crowd clapped, seeing that Missy was okay. She raised her hand and gave a wave of thanks. She then dropped her head and just walked to the in gate. She was mad that she got thrown and she was just a tad upset that her sister was going to get a ribbon and she wasn't. A couple of hands raked where she had fallen and then refilled the water tray as the group walked from the arena. There was one of the paramedics at the in gate. When Doug looked up and saw them, he waved them off. They nodded, but only just stepped back. He knew that his sister should be checked over, but she said she was fine and he was taking her word for it.
Missy just wanted to go to the house, shower and change. She knew that she was going to have to care for her horse, but she didn't want to have to talk to people. Missy was met at the in gate by her sister and Jack. Jack was the first to speak.
"Please care of Squeak and then you can go change." Jack said. "We will talk about what happened later."
"Yes, Sir." Missy said, dejected.
Jack stopped her, put his arm around her shoulders and walked her outside and away from people. He then stopped and knelt down to be on her level. He knew that he bore part of the responsibility that she had gotten thrown, he also knew that he needed to make sure that she was okay because he knew that she was upset.
"Things happen." Jack said. "I have been thrown many times. You are riding a new horse. We will work on the water trays this week in the sand ring, I am sorry I didn't think about it. Shake it off, it happens to the best riders from time to time. Now go get Squeak, ride him to the stable up at the house, care for him and then go change. Make sure you give him a treat, I know that he threw you, but at the same time it is the routine after a show. You can come back if you want, otherwise we will see you at supper."
"Okay." Missy said.
Jack gave her a hug and then stood up.
"I am just mad at myself." Missy said. "I was getting into my own head and I didn't trust him."
"We will work on it." Jack said. "We have plenty of time before the next show."
Missy turned around and saw her sister there with her horse. She walked to her. They spoke to each other in their own language, gave each other a hug. Maddie then gave Missy a leg up and watched her ride up to the house. Maddie then turned to her mother, brother and uncle.
"She will be fine." Maddie said. "She is more mad at herself than anything. A shower and some time to think and she will be fine. She would have told me if she was hurt or something happened. I think she is doubting her ability. I tried to tell her it happens."
"Okay." Doug said.
"I told her we would work on the water tray this week." Jack said. "I am sorry that this happened. I didn't even think about the water trays because it is one of the first things that the horse is trained to accept."
"I wouldn't mind doing that as well." Maddie said. "I noticed Bubbles didn't really like them either, but I got lucky."
"We will do that." Jack said. "I am sorry I didn't listen and let you ride Rocky and Rainbow."
The group went back to the rest and let them know that Missy was fine and headed to the house. Gran and Abigail congratulated Maddie and let her know that they were heading to the house as well.
"We got Cody." Jack said.
"Thank you." Abigail said. "Someone can bring him up if they want or he gets out of control."
Jack nodded. Chris, Molly and their group also congratulated Maddie and left. They said they would be back for Mass the next day. Jack reminded them of the bonfire that night, but Chris said he wasn't sure. He needed to check in with what was going on at the house. Jack nodded that he understood. Conrad and Heidi took their group and went over to look at some of the thoroughbreds. They said they all planned to come to the bonfire at least for a bit.
The remainder of the group settled in and watched the last of the competitors. Maddie ended up winning, but it came down to the last rider who only lost by a tenth of a second. Elizabeth quickly finished the certificates and they were presented to the winners. Jack thanked everyone and reminded the young riders that they were welcome to come back and watch the older two classes the next day. He then wished everyone a safe travels as they headed out.
Afterwards, Doug got Bubbles and Maddie to take them back up to the house. Everyone else from their group also headed up to the house. They knew that there were hands to clean up and make sure everything was taken care of. Jack was looking forward to supper and he wanted to check in on Missy.
It was a fairly loud affair at the house when everyone got up there and Jack just needed a bit of quiet. He also knew he had things he needed to do. The first thing he did was check on Missy and she told him she was fine and happy for sister. Jack nodded and promised to work on the water trays. He also apologized again because he had thought it wouldn't be a problem. She said she was okay, she loved her new horse and they could learn together. Jack gave her a hug and then went to check in with everyone else. When he got to Gran, she looked at him.
"Are you okay?" Gran asked.
"I need a break." Jack said. "But I want to make sure everyone is okay."
"Go take a break." Gran said. "It will be easier before supper."
Jack didn't say anything, so Gran turned her grandson toward the music room and gave him a little push.
"Go." Gran said.
"Okay." Jack said.
Elizabeth saw Jack walk away and before she could even move, Father Mark stopped her.
"Give him ten minutes." Father Mark said.
Elizabeth looked at him.
"Give him ten minutes." Father Mark repeated.
"Why?" Elizabeth asked.
"He had been around people and talking to them all day." Father Mark said. "He needs a few minutes of quiet and alone time to recharge, especially if we are going over to the bonfire tonight."
"Oh." Elizabeth said.
"It might not always be like this." Gran said. "But some days he will need a few minutes, especially when it has been very busy."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I just wanted to ask him a question, but it can wait."
"Thank you." Gran said.
People went about their activities. There were plenty of people helping in the kitchen. John, James and Chief were talking in the office. Nathan was looking at something on his laptop at the table. Frank and Lee were looking over something, so Elizabeth went to see if she could help in the kitchen, even though there was plenty of help.
Fifteen minutes after he went up to the music room, Jack came back down. He went over and stood by the counter watching the people in the kitchen. That was when Elizabeth spotted him.
"Feeling better?" She asked.
"Yes, thank you." Jack said.
Elizabeth stopped by Jack on her way to the sink and gave him a quick kiss. Trish asked Jack to play a bit while they finished up supper. So Jack headed over to the piano and pulled the sheet music out that he had had brought down. When Trish heard the music she stopped and looked at Jack while Gran looked at her.
"Is there a problem, Trish?" Gran asked.
"I just don't recognize the piece." Trish said.
Before Trish could figure it out, Jack switched sheet music and started playing another piece. Again both Trish and Gran stopped to listen. It was Elizabeth who surprised most people in the kitchen. She was softly singing the song that Jack was playing, but not quite loud enough for everyone to hear. It was Father Mark standing next to her, who bumped her arm that made her aware that she was singing out loud. She immediately stopped and ducked her head.
"I didn't mean for you to stop." Father Mark said. "It is a pretty song, I don't think I have ever heard it before."
"I only know part of it." Elizabeth said, shyly. "I heard it on a video or something and just remembered the words because I liked. I have always meant to look up the full song, but never remember."
Trish turned to look at Elizabeth.
"What song?" She asked.
"Dreamer." Elizabeth said. "I think it is by Canadian musician Jenn Grant."
"Did you know the first one?" Trish asked.
Elizabeth shook her head. Trish put the towel in her hand down and walked over to the piano. She looked over Jack's shoulder and confirmed it was the song Elizabeth said. She then looked at the other sheet music that Jack had set to the side and saw it was Suddenly by Matthew Barber. A quick google search showed he was another Canadian musician. Jack stopped and looked up at Trish.
"Problem?" He asked.
"No." Trish said. "Just never had heard either of the two songs and was curious."
"Okay." Jack said.
"Where did you come across them?" Trish asked.
Jack just shrugged his shoulders and pulled out a third set of sheet music. Trish smiled when she saw the song Jack had just pulled. She patted him on the back as Jack put the music to Go Light Your World by Kathy Troccoli up on the stand. Once Jack had started to play, Trish went back to the kitchen. She shared with Gran what the other two songs they didn't know were.
"They sounded wonderful." Gran said. "Might have to see if one of the kids can show me how to look them up and listen to them like they do."
"I am sure that the girls, one or both, would be more then willing to do that for you." Trish said.
Gran smiled and they went back to finishing up supper.