Chapter 334 – Hudson River Classic part 2

Jack felt torn about walking away from Elizabeth. He knew that she was completely safe with his grandparents and security, but he also didn't want to be away from her. He also understood her reluctance to come down to the trailer to sit with him. He knew that they needed to treat this like any other show, especially to not draw undo media attention, but it was harder than he thought to walk away from her having been married less then twenty-four hours. It was one of the few times that he was questioning his choice to jump. He loved to jump and he knew that Elizabeth loved to watch him jump, but at the same time was he crazy for doing this the day after his wedding.

As Jack walked back to the in gate to see Missy jump, he was in his own head and didn't really notice the reporter who was standing in his way. Jack actually almost ran into him before he was able to stop at the last second.

"Mr Thornton." The reporter said. "How do you feel about jumping today? Can you confirm the rumor that you got married?"

Before Jack could get angry or even answer, an event official came to his rescue.

"No bothering jumpers during the competition." The official said.

"Thank you." Jack said, smiling at the official.

Jack turned and glared at the reporter who when he turned to leave was meet by a member of the State Police. Jack nodded to the Trooper, before continuing to the in gate. When he got there, Nathan moved to stand next to Jack.

"You okay?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, thank you." Jack said. "Let's just focus on the competition and we can talk later."

"Okay." Nathan said. "But I am here and I am sorry I wasn't there to stop that."

"It is fine." Jack said. "It was partially my fault for me not paying attention. If I hadn't been in my own head, I would have spotted him sooner and been able to avoid him. But the official stepped in and now the reporter is having to answer to the State Police."

"Thank God for Marcus." Nathan said.

"Yes, I am going to have send him something for all the overtime he had put in this summer." Jack said.

"He likes spicy food and Kathy likes caramel with sea salt." Nathan said.

"Got it." Jack said. "I know exactly what I am going to send each of them."

"Good." Nathan said. "Missy is about ready to jump, so lets move a bit closer."

"Sounds good." Jack said.

The pair walked closer to the in gate where the rest of the group was waiting for Missy to go on course. There had been three more clear rounds after Maddie jumped and before Missy. Marcus Smith from Cool Parke Farms had posted a time of seventy-four point sixty-four, knocking Hannah Moore down to third and Holly Green to down to fifth. So before Missy even went, there were eleven clear rounds. Everyone knew that it was going to be a long day if the courses stayed this easy. The people that had thought the course was too easy and there was plenty of time, realized half way through and ended up having to rush, either taking a rail down or going over time, sometimes both.

As they stood there waiting for Missy to go on course, Jack knew that the coaches from Larkin Hill were not happy about their riders not being on the top of the standings. They had two clear rounds and the best they had to that point was fifth. Jack knew that the Larkin Hill riders probably had practiced on a course very similar to the one that they were jumping today, so he was sure that their coaches felt that they should have done better. While Jack hadn't seen the course before their show, he knew that Marco and Andy had and while they didn't show the girls, they had suggested a few things. No one could have guessed that the horses hadn't been introduced to the water trays before. Jack still felt bad about that and wished he would have thought to run the horses through the paces before giving them to the girls.

"Get out of your own head." Doug whispered, leaning over.

Jack shook his head and looked at Doug.

"How did you know?" Jack asked.

"You have a look about you when you start to get in your head." Doug said. "I have seen it a couple times in the last few days. I am worried about you jumping."

"I am fine." Jack said.

"Good." Doug said. "But I am going to keep checking if I keep seeing that look."

"Okay." Jack said. "But I am fine."

"You keep saying that." Doug said. "But I am not buying it."

"Zip it." Jack said. "Missy is going on course."

They watched Missy move on course to show Squeak some rails before starting.

… … … …

Missy was ready, she brought Squeak nearly up to a gallop as she crossed the start timer and over the first jump. She easily cleared the double at two and cut in front of the water jump like her sister and some others had. She cleared three and headed for four. She was ahead of her sister and took a tighter line and turn for four. She galloped through four and the triple combination at five, before making a sharp turn around the tree for six. She took the first part of six at a bit of angle, but was able to straighten out for the second part of the jump, but she did have a close call with a hard rub. She ran to seven and when she cleared it, she let Squeak go in a full gallop across the field to eight. She cleared eight and made a quick turn to gallop to nine and the finish timer.

When she cleared the timer, Missy looked up and saw the she had finally beaten her sister with a time of seventy-four point fifty flat. It was only one one-hundredth of a second, but she was firmly in first and the next competitor after her sister was a full tenth back. Missy was happy and she knew that her sister would be happy for her as well. She also knew that the girl from Larkin Hill wasn't happy, Missy had heard her say something earlier near the warm up pens that is was unfair she had to do so early on a course she should have dominated.

Missy went to settle Squeak until the jumpoff, her sister followed her. Jack and the group weren't that far behind. While the girls sat and studied their jumpoff course, Jack grabbed his course sheet and started making notes based on what he had seen already. He also took his jacket off and made sure that his number was pinned on the back so that he didn't forget. As he was doing his thing, Nathan and Doug took a seat next to him in the shade. They were bantering back and forth over something. Jack just looked at them and shook his head. He was glad that Nathan had come out of his shell some, but then again, he knew knew that Doug seemed to have that effect on people. Doug was such a naturally outgoing person, that he just seemed to draw people to him and almost with no effort force them to be more outgoing. Jack knew that between Doug and Laura, it was the reason that he could be social and wasn't always so shy.

It was a long morning as nine more jumpers made the jumpoff for a total of twenty one jumpers. Missy was still in first, with Maddie right behind her. Third place had been taken by Olivia Kennedy of Sugar Creek with a time of seventy-four point fifty-three. Maddie and Missy knew that she was gunning for them and they would have to be careful. With Olivia taking third, it pushed Josh miller of Sloan Court Academy to fourth with a time of seventy-four point sixty-one. Marcus Smith was in fifth. Nora Smith of Sugar Creek was in sixth with a time of seventy-four point sixty-nine. Megan wells of WindRock Farms with a time seventy-four point seventy-two, Kayla Wilson of Triple T Stables with a time of seventy-four point seventy-three, Hannah Moore with her seventy-four point seventy-four and Corey Brown of Pear Blossom Ridge Farms with a time seventy-four point seventy-six rounded out the top ten. The Larkin Hill riders were in twelfth, thirteenth and fifteenth. Their coach wasn't happy and you could see it as he spoke to them back in the gathering area.

As Maddie and Missy were looking at the course sheet for the jumpoff, Jack came over.

"Do you see where you can shave a few fractions?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Maddie said.

"Yes." Missy said. "There are lots of places."

"Show me." Jack said.

"Well, first." Maddie said. "We can cut in front of the water jump like we did the first round."

"Good." Jack said. "Keep going."

"If you do it right." Missy said. "You could almost cut between the tree and the first jump."

"Right." Jack said. "It might be close, but if you feel you can do it."

"You can also cut in front of the tree after five c and then swing out a bit to seven." Maddie said.

"Good idea." Jack said. "One more at least."

"After seven." Missy said. "You don't have to go all the way around the first jump. You can cut in front of the tree and made a nice jump to finish."

"Very good." Jack said. "Pick a good line and stick to it. You have to feel comfortable. Now study a little more before you have to ride."

"Okay." Maddie and Missy both said.

Satisfied, Jack walked back to his chair and took a seat. Doug just shook his head. He knew that his sisters were more serious about jumping than he was, but at the same time they weren't at Jack's level no matter how much he wanted them to be. Doug was just hoping that he didn't push them too hard. They had the best times and all they needed to do was the make a clean run.

"I hope that you didn't fill their heads with thoughts of galloping the whole round." Doug said.

"Maybe." Jack said, with a dimpled grin. "I just asked them to show me where they could shave a few fractions of a second. They had plenty of ideas. I didn't give them any they didn't already have."

"They are still only ten." Doug said.

"And are more serious about riding then you have ever been." Jack said.

Doug stuck out his tongue at Jack.

"If I had been serious." Doug said. "I could have beat you. I rode because it was a way for us to do something together and it was an excuse for me to be up here all summer with you."

"Fine." Jack said. "I won't push them. They push themselves hard enough."

"I know." Doug said. "Which is why you don't have to push them any more."

"Enough boys." James said, coming over. "If you want to argue, go over and watch the first few jumpers of the jumpoff. I want to know how it is running."

"I will go." Nathan said.

"I will go as well." Doug said, jumping up.

"Thank you." James said. "The girls should be there soon."

"Okay." Nathan said.

Nathan and Doug went to the in gate, still bantering back and forth. They had been bantering back and forth over the upcoming hockey season for days. No one knew exactly what they were bantering about, especially with them both being Rangers fans unless it was over who they felt should be on the team. As they got to the in gate, the first rider Logan Thomas of Dream from Lucky Star Ranch of Glenmont was the first to go out on the course. Both Doug and Nathan knew that Logan was a good rider as he had made the jumpoff the week before in Albany. They also knew that he was young and his inexperience showed last week with dropping a rail in the jumpoff.

Logan and his horse's inexperience showed when he tried to cut in front of the water jump like Maddie and Missy had in the first round and lost his footing, going down. Dream immediately jumped up and ran off. Logan stayed down for a moment. As people went to check on Logan, Dream ran for the in gate where Nathan and Doug helped corral him. Nathan was able to grab his reins. He immediately started T-touch to calm the horse down. One of the coaches from Lucky Star came over to get the horse.

"I would check the horse over." Nathan said. "It looks like he might have thrown a shoe."

"Thank you for catching him." The coach said. "I will. Good luck to you both later."

"Thank you." Nathan said. "Sorry about your rider."

"Thank you." The coach said.

Nathan handed the horse over to the coach and went back to the in gate. Him and Doug got there just as the paramedics were helping Logan off the course.

"Your coach has your horse." Nathan said. "Better luck next time."

"Thank you Mr Grant." Logan said. "I just slipped. I think he lost a shoe, because that has never happened."

"Well take it and learn." Doug said. "It has happened many times to us as well. I hope you aren't hurt."

"Just my pride." Logan said.

"Well good luck then." Doug teased. "Keep riding and you will make it."

"Thanks." Logan said.

"Let's go check you over." The paramedic said.

Logan nodded and allowed the paramedics to lead him over to the first aid tent. The next rider, Gavin Miller from Doug Horseshoe Stable of Albany was next. Him and Honor Code entered the course and took their time warming up. When they got the signal they had five seconds to start, Gavin brought Honor Code up to a canter and took a very conservative line. He didn't try to cut like Logan had and he went around the water jump before turning back for the next jump. He stayed conservative and went through clean with a time of fifty-nine point seventy-two. It was a good time, but he also knew that it wasn't going to hold up. He had done what he needed and that was have a clean round and post a time.

Chloe Davis on Diva from Silver Shadow Stables of Albany was next. Nathan saw her take an extra deep breath and he wondered if she was debating the line she had picked after watching both Logan and Gavin. In the end, Chloe also took a conservative line, but slightly more aggressive than Gavin had. She crossed clean and posted a time of fifty-nine point seventy even. Doug and Nathan watched the next three riders drop various rails and finish with faults. After three rounds with faults, the next rider, Diego Rodriguez from Larkin Hills Stable posted a clean round with a time of fifty-nine point eighty, which put him in third place for the moment.

After Diego was Melissa Smith from Cool Parke Farms and she quickly knocked Chloe out of first with a slightly aggressive run and a time of fifty-nine point fifty-two. She had shaved a lot of time and showed that it could be done. No one had tried to cut in front of the water jump yet, but Melissa had a great time even with out doing that. After Melissa went, it was Jaden Martin from Larkin Hills. Before he went on course, his coach was heard telling him to win. So Jaden took a very aggressive line and was doing great until he took the number seven jump at too much of an angle and took down a rail. He finished out his run with a time of fifty-nine point sixty-seven, but had four faults. When he came off the course, his coach just shook his head and won't speak to Jaden. Both Doug and Nathan felt bad for the young man.

As Jaden rode off, Nathan heard the Larkin Hills coach tell Holly Green that she had better post a good clean time. Nathan watched the young girl take a deep breath and move on course. They watched as Holly's horse Candy danced around and didn't want to run. You could see that she was getting frustrated, especially with what her coach had said. She finally got Candy under control, but it had taken its toll on Holly's confidence. She was very tentative as she rode and while she had a clean round, it was not a good time with fifty-nine point eighty-five. As she came off, you could see that her coach was not very happy and just stocked off, not talking to Holly either.

"That is how you lose riders." Doug commented.

"I was thinking the same thing." Nathan said. "Especially with young riders like that."

The next rider was Aspyn Thompson on Dixie Lane from Chestnut Ridge Stable of Cooperstown was the next rider. She took a very aggressive and fast line, but she wasn't able to control it and her horse refused at the double oxer with the water tray at four and when she came around the second time, he refused again, which put Aspyn out of the competition. Nathan and Doug felt for her, but she was going to have to be someone that Maddie and Missy kept an eye as they jumped the following summer.

By the time that the girls came to the in gate to wait, only Josh Miller and Olivia Kennedy were only left to jump before the girls. Melissa Smith was still in first with fifty-nine point fifty-two. Her brother was in second with fifty-nine point fifty-three and Megan Wells was in fourth with fifty-nine point fifty-four. Josh went out very aggressive and while he didn't cut in front of the water jump, he was moving and posted a new best time of fifty-nine point fifty flat. Maddie and Missy turned to each other and shook hands.

"Sisters no matter what." They said.

They nodded and agreed. While they both wanted to win, they knew that they just had to do their best and hope it was enough. Both had picked what they thought was a good line and were going to go for it. They both knew that they were going to have to check out that area around the water jump and see if they were going to be able to cut back or not. Both girls turned and watched Olivia make her run. They knew that she was going to take an aggressive line and try to beat them.

Maddie and Missy were right, Olivia went out fast and aggressive. She cut in front of the water jump, but was going too fast and she fell as well. Maddie turned to Missy.

"We don't cut there." Maddie said. "It is obviously slippery."

"Agreed." Missy said. "But if you make a tight one eight turn and come back towards the second jump before cutting the far side of the tree, it looks like it might work."

"Good plan." Maddie said. "I will see how the ground looks."

Missy nodded as Maddie went out on the course. Missy moved closer to the course and was left alone at the in gate by Jack, Doug, Nathan and the rest. They knew that she was going to watch her sister closely.

… … … …