Chapter 133 – Walking the Course

Once Marcus left, Nathan turned to James.

"Is Jack okay?" Nathan asked.

"He will be." Doug said, coming over. "He does this breathing exercise before he jumps. He goes in the trailer, centers himself and reads a few Bible verses. When he comes out, we will walk the course. He will have his course sheet on a clipboard and will be making notes as we walk. He might walk the course a few times or until they clear the field."

"Okay." Nathan said.

It was only a few minutes later and Jack was back out with a clipboard and pen. His jacket was still on his chair, but he had his lanyard around his neck. Jack nodded at James and then started walking toward the course.

"We better hurry." Doug said. "I haven't seen him like this for a while."

"Go." Marco said. "I will stay here."

James, Doug and Nathan quickly got their things and followed Jack to walk the course. When Jack got to the start of the course he stopped and looked over the course. There were only a couple of people already walking the course. Nathan went to go to Jack and James grabbed his arm. Nathan looked at James.

"No." James said.

"From here on out." Doug said. "Don't speak to Jack unless he speaks to you first."

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Because." Doug said. "You think he was angry at his mother earlier, you haven't seen anything if you interrupt him while he is in the zone."

"Okay." Nathan said.

"When Jack is looking over a course." Doug said. "He goes into a zone. I think he is visualizing the course in his head. When he repeatedly walks it, I think he is imagining himself riding and the strides that he is going to take and the corners that he can cut. He has never really said that, but it has been the same since he was fourteen years old."

"Okay." Nathan said. "Let's walk this and see if we can find a few spots for you to cut the corner with Aphrodite. I haven't done this for a real competition in a long time, so I might walk it at least twice to just get the feel."

"Let's go." Doug said.

As they walked the course, Doug counted strides. Nathan was watching Jack. At each jump, Jack made note of the color of the rails. He then would walk between the jumps at least twice counting strides. He also made note of any flowers or plants around the standards of the jumps. Once he had done that for each jump in the regular course, he walked the jump off course. When he was done with that, he walked the whole course again. Nathan was amazed with the details that Jack made note of and then when he just walked the course after making all the notes. The other thing that Nathan noticed was that Jack was walking a slightly different course then most of the people out there. Jack had initially walked a wider course and his third time through, he walked a very narrow course with tight turns.

… … … …

Elizabeth noticed when Jack stepped out onto the field. She watched as he stood there looking over everything. Elizabeth had been talking to Katie when Jack started walking the course and stopped to watch.

"Watch Jack closely." Katie said. "Notice how he takes everything in. He is making notes and trying to figure out the best route."

Elizabeth noticed that Jack would stop, look at the clipboard that he was holding and then scribble a bunch of notes."

"What is he doing?" Elizabeth asked.

"He is making notes about the jump." Lee said coming back to sit next to Elizabeth.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.

"He is noting the color of the poles and any flowers or plants at the base." Lee said. "He will do that for each jump. I think it is so he can draw a 3D plan of the course. Almost like a photo taken from overhead. I can't be sure, but after he walks the course several times, he will go sit in the trailer with his sketchbook."

"I have seen him with the sketchbook." Elizabeth said. "I haven't asked him about it, but does he draw a lot?"

"Sometimes." Gran said. "That painting of the running horses in the living room was painted by JP. He doesn't share his drawings much."

"Thank you for telling me." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth watched Jack as he worked his way through the course. She watched as he made notes. She then watched as he walked two different times through. She watched in awe as Jack pretty much ignored everyone else, including Nathan and Doug. While Elizabeth watched Jack, she didn't talk to anyone. While Elizabeth was watching Jack, Gran and Lee watched Elizabeth. Gran and Lee exchanged a look as Elizabeth intently watched Jack. Once Jack had left the field, Elizabeth sat back.

"Are you alright?" Gran asked.

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I guess it is because I have never seen this side of Jack. I mean I haven't known Jack long, but even as I watched him ride at the arena, I didn't see the intensity that I just saw from him."

"He is only like that at a competition." Lee said. "He can be intense at other times, but not like when he is jumping. Doug would have warned Nathan to not talk to Jack unless he speaks to you first. From the time that Jack starts walking a course until he jumps, he doesn't like to talk to anyone. He will watch those before him jump and he will also spend time going over and over his course sheet and the notes that he made. I would also assume his sketch that he made."

"Do we know when Jack will jump?" Elizabeth asked.

"Marco sent a text." Gran said. "Doug is twelfth and JP is seventeenth."

"Okay." Elizabeth said. "What happens after Jack jumps?"

"It depends." Lee said. "If he makes the jumpoff, he will go back and study the course sheet and notes some more. He will want people to leave him alone as well. If for some reason, he misses the jump off, he will be moody for a bit, but James and Marco will deal with him."

"So it is best to just leave him alone until we head home?" Elizabeth asked.

"Probably the best." Lee said. "We will go down and ride home with Nathan, Doug and Jack. Marco will take the horses and James will meet up with Gran and John to head back to the farm."

"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I will just stay with you and Katie."

"Probably the best." Katie said. "So tell me more about this shopping trip with Gran on Monday."

… … … …

Doug, Nathan and James were done walking the course first. Nathan chose to stay and basically shadow Jack. Doug and James headed back to the trailer to relax for a bit. Jack was walking around making some more notes. Nathan was staying off to the back and side, about two to three strides from Jack. At one point, Jack stopped and was looking at his clipboard. Nathan stopped and watched Jack. Jack turned and looked again, he caught sight of Nathan.

"Nathan." Jack said.

Nathan stepped up next to Jack.

"Did you need something?" Nathan asked.

"Look at this jump." Jack said.

Nathan looked at what Jack was pointing to on his clipboard.

"Okay." Nathan said. "What about it?"

"Do you think that I can cut between gate seven and ten to get to three?" Jack asked. "I know that it shows going around, but I have walked it both ways. I think I can pick up at least a second or two if I cut between. Think it is possible?"

Nathan took the clipboard and looked at it a little closer. He then looked at where Jack was pointing.

"If you cut through there, you are going to have to watch the final timer." Nathan said. "I think that it is going to be close, but you should be able to, but make sure that you aren't going to go through that timer."

"Good point." Jack said. "I still think it's possible."

"Then go for it." Nathan said. "As long as you feel good about it, I would go for it. I don't think that you are going to need it, but if you want to go for it, I would."

"Thanks." Jack said. "See anything else?"

"Depending on how you land that water jump." Nathan said. "I think you can either cut closer to that round of flowers or even in front of it."

"I was thinking the same thing." Jack said. "It will all depend on how I land that water jump."

"Keep your options open." Nathan said. "You are going to be the one riding, so you need to feel comfortable with your choices."

Jack nodded and then moved off a couple of steps. Nathan took that as Jack was done talking.

… … … …

Elizabeth smiled at Katie.

"Nathan's friend Katie and her five year old daughter, Opal." Elizabeth said. "They are moving to the farm to work. She is from Pennsylvania. I guess she has been working with the Amish and doesn't have much."

"We are going to put her in a two bedroom apartment." Gran said. "It has a twin bed and a full size bed. There is a couch, table and chairs. There are also a couple of dressers and I believe a TV in there. We need to get sheets, towels, dishes and things like that."

"Sounds like fun." Katie said. "My daughter is six, so that should be no problem."

"Remember." Gran said. "This little girl has been living among the Amish and hasn't had much contact with the outside world. She hasn't watched TV or anything for the last year."

"So what were you thinking?" Katie said.

"Simple country colors." Elizabeth said. "I was also thinking of bright colors for Opal. Nathan said she likes pink and purple. He also said that she likes teddy bears and tea parties."

"So how about we get her a teddy bear and a tea set." Katie said. "We can also get some coloring books and some classic books. Most kids like coloring and books. We don't want to get too many things and overwhelm her. We will look at what is available for bedding, but we should be able to find something that would work."

"I agree." Elizabeth said. "Nathan said Katie grew up in the Appalachian mountains. She has a botany degree from Penn State and is going to be setting up the greenhouses so that the ranch can go more natural for the horses."

"Okay." Katie said. "So maybe some wildlife prints or something. I think we stick to basic colors. I know that there is a Walmart, so we start there and if we don't find everything, we can head over to Target."

"Okay with me." Elizabeth said.

"Margaret." Katie said. "Are there other things that you will need to do in town on Monday?"

"We might need some groceries." Gran said. "I will make a list tomorrow night. We just got two large orders from Primal, so we should be okay. I will know more tomorrow night."

"Sounds good." Katie said. "Just let me know what time you want me to be at the farm. I will drive if you are okay with that?"

"That will be fine." Gran said. "I am sure we will have security following us as well."

"Probably Rob or Chris." Katie said. "Depending on what Jack is up to."

"We will figure it out tomorrow." Gran said.

… … … …