# A Story of a Girl and a Horse, Broken Without Each Other



## xJumperx

This is just a story I started writing  
I'm really loving writing it, and thought I'd go ahead and grab some feedback!! This main post is just the first chapter, I have written the second as well. The first chapter is much shorter than the second, so thought I'd make sure it started well before throwing you guys the rest. Just so you know, the story is NOT about her recovering from (event in chapter one), so you're not getting the same story everyone else tells  Okay, I'll let you read now! Enjoy! Please let me know how you feel about it, I will post more after I get a few people's feedback, so that I know I'm not just posting to an empty cyberspace. Thanks!


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## xJumperx

*Chapter One*

“Now Krista, watch that combination, too. It’s a one stride, but it’s super forward. Don’t get behind it though, ‘cause if you try to fit two in there, you’re screwed.” I nodded, understanding what Trina meant. This was the top circuit, and if the judge caught you riding the wrong distances, you weren’t just out of the ribbons – you were out of the top 15. I gazed down to my grand dapple gray. Ghost wasn’t mine, but I loved him as if he were so. I’d been riding him for about 3 years now, bringing him up from a 3 year old, with Trina’s help. He was her horse – a project she bought with spare change. He turned out to be filled with promise, and became ‘my’ show horse. 

In that time, we’d grown an amazing bond. I practically lived at Trina’s barn, considering I worked there as a stable hand, and also took lessons 3 times a week. So whenever I had free time, I always found myself playing around with Ghost. He had a spectacular personality, and was the type to follow you around the ring if you unclipped his lead, keeping your exact pace, but very careful to never run you over or go too far ahead. I patted him now, and scratched the spot on his neck where he likes. He stretched his nose out as usual, happy to be itched in his special-spot. “One-twenty-three, you’re on deck!” Words from the ring steward popped me out of my daydream. We were up next. This was the big time – if we came out in first in this Derby, are options were wide open. International teams, top colleges, everything. This was important, considering I was a senior this year, and was hoping for a scholarship on riding in order to get anywhere … because careers weren’t exactly something I had ever really thought about.

“Thank you, Ashlee,” came over the announcer. A rider on a smaller chestnut walked energetically out of the ring on a loose rein. His rider patted him, with a wide smile. Must have been a good run – good for them, not so good for me. I was nervous. Trina grabbed Ghost’s reins, and walked me up to the gate, as if though I could be trusted with her horse over 5 foot obstacles, but not to walk over to the in gate. “Listen, don’t get tense. Just breathe, and relax, and he’ll do the same. You ready?” She looked up to me confidently. I knew ‘no’ wasn’t an answer – Trina would rip my stirrups off my saddle and force me into the ring as is if I did. After a deep breath, I went with “As I’ll ever be! Come on Ghostly, let’s go.” I gathered my reins, so that I had a decent contact with his mouth. I gave him a gentle nudge, and we were off into a canter. 

The course was actually a pretty easy ride, so I wasn’t much worried about it. I turned him down the long side toward our first jumps, a single leading to a diagonal line. I held him back at first, easing him off the bridle. He liked to jump strong, though it messed up his form at times. Only during the lines could he really push on, since they usually set them long. He flew over the single with ease, paying no mind to the hay and tree branches used to decorate the jump. I pushed him into the corners before turning him into the diagonal line. I asked for more of him, and he soared over the first of the two. I counted the strides between, “One, two, three, four, five!” A perfect spot, with the exact distance required between – so far, so good. I passed the in-gate, where Trina stood. Per normal, she gave me direction quietly, “Keep him moving, that combo is up after the gate. Don’t let him slow!” She was clearly worried … She’d been watching the previous riders – it must have been giving them trouble. If we could perfect it, we could be in the top 3 for sure. I squeezed him on, though careful not to get him leaning on the bit. The gate was a simple, open distance. But it was teasing for what lay ahead.

It was a regular pole jump, then one with barrels set up behind it. It looked like a two stride – in fact, it wouldn’t be impossible to fit three. Now I was starting to think that Trina didn’t just mean I’d be out of the ribbons if I didn’t make the distance – The jumps were big enough, that it was possible Ghost could get caught with his legs in the jumps if something went wrong. Huh. That made things a little more nerve racking. “Come on bub, you’ve _really_ got to get this…” I gave him a very quick pat, and pushed him on even further. I could feel him asking for more of his head, but I didn’t want him taking it and running with it after the combination – the judges would frown upon us greatly if he were too strung out. Ghost took what he could, and sized the first jump up as normal. With a kick, we were in the air. I gave him a decent release, and prepared him for the landing. As he needed to, he tried to stretch out to make the one.

But he yanked me forward with the rein in the process.

He brought his head back to a collected spot, as I accidentally cued. I tried to throw away my reins, put him back in a stretch, but it was too late. He’d already taken his first stride. And was now trying to take another half of one. But his feet were tangled. He was unsure. He didn’t want to make the jump. He didn’t think he could. He tried anyway. Oh god.

He threw his head in the air, almost as if he hoped his nose could carry his body over the large jump. He pulled his legs up in front of him, and I could feel his back legs level with them as he tried to do an almost deer-like jump. Feeling so uncomfortable and wrong, he kicked out with his back legs then, throwing his entire body mass to the side. He landed on his right foot first, then tumbled to his left knee. I tried to break the fall with my hands, before smashing into the ground with him. I fell to my side, then quickly looked up to find his side coming straight at me. Then everything stopped, and went black.


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## xJumperx

58 views and no bites? Critique is more than welcome


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 2*

I threw my shoulders into the sliding barn door, and it opened with a groan. The runners got a bit squeaky in the winter, much like I did. I quickly scurried inside the heated barn and closed the door behind me. “Mornin’ Trina!” I called into the aisles. Concreted and matted floors, graced with beautiful wooden stalls made up the amazing barn. I was always so jealous of her, having something so … pretty. 
“Hey Krista! Give me two seconds, I’ll be out!” I just nodded to the air, and decided to check the whiteboard while I waited for my trainer. On it were listed the lesson schedules for the day - the kids’ names, along with the horse they’d be riding. I smiled, knowing I was once amongst the names. But ever since I became Trina’s stable hand, she usually just ended up telling me who I rode, for it would and could change – If a lesson horse had been naughty, I was the one to set him straight. If she needed someone worked, I rode that one instead. I was fine with this system, for it worked fine with the both of us. Today, we were skipping the lesson, though. Krista occasionally went out and grabbed project horses when they came on the market. Considering I was always the one to ride them when she didn’t, she always brought me along. It was a fun time, and I enjoyed it. 

The training process was quite simple – I’d ride the horse first, and give him the basic groundwork methods needed in the Hunter ring. I would also give the horses dressage bases, to make them more supple and easy to work with for the Hunters. After they had passed all their flatwork tests, Trina would take over to put jump training on them. I didn’t jump, and hadn’t since … the accident. Fear overtook me, and after Ghost had lost his trust in jumping too, I had decided that he knew best. We both became flatwork masters, but decided to keep it to that – flatwork. 
I walked over to his stall now, and clucked gently, “Ghostly grey, come sweet boy!” I called to him softly, from the outside of his stall. He pricked his ears and lifted his head from his pile of hay, sticking his nose through the iron bars of the stall. I tickled his nose playfully, and he in turn played with my finger with his upper lip. “Oh, you know I’d _never _forget your peppermints!” I reached in my pocket and offered his favorite treat. He still wasn’t mine, and would likely never be, but he still remained my favorite. The problem was, Trina also loved him, and I knew she’d never sell. He munched happily, as Trina turned the corner. “Ready to go?” 
I turned to her and smiled, “As ever! Let’s go!” I said my goodbyes to Ghostly, and we jumped in the truck to leave. “Got the trailer hooked up already? Did you get him sight-on-scene?” I asked quizzically, for it was hardly something Trina ever did. She liked to check for potential first, to see what the horse would be like to work with. She wasn’t one to go off a hunch. “Yep, sure did. I liked him. You will too.” She was being so short – she was normally one to talk for hours. It was clear something was a secret, so I let it lay. I casually turned up the radio (Country, of course!) and gazed out the window as we drove to our destination.

~*~

“Uh, Trina… I don’t think this is the horse we want,” was all I could manage to say about the topic. The gelding was black as coal, with nothing but a tiny, yet glistening, white snip. His eyes were a deep, almost orange amber color that blazed with fury. He had an attitude to match. “Now, Tee, I told you that this horse wasn’t for your little girl to ride. He’s a-goin’ to need all your attentions, and I mean _yours,_ Tee,” spouted Vince, a horse trader Trina had done business with for … well, forever. She liked to buy youngsters off of him, for he was good at finding some nice bloodlines in the auctions. How he did it, I’d never know, because I’ve never been one to be auction savvy. 

“She can ride anything I’ve got, and I know she can ride him. He’s got some fire, but she’s dealt with that before. Haven’t you, Kristene?” She only used my whole first name when she needed me to say something very specific. In this case- “Yes, of course! I’d love to give him a spin, he looks like he’d be .. er, fun.” I choke out as I walk up to the dark horse. He gave a few short, upward bursts with his head against the reins Vince held, connected to a bit that the horse chomped on unhappily. I gently placed my hand on his toned neck, as if he could shock me like an electric fence. He was a beautiful animal, really, if you weren’t focused on the fact that he had ambitions to kill you. 
Trina helped me into the saddle, as I gathered my reins. We were in a large round-pen, with high metal fencing. It looked safe to ride in, as I had ridden horses like this one in open fields, with no fencing at all. Yet Vince was still standing in front of me and the horse, with his hands on his hips and a troubled look on his face.

 “Now, Kristene, I don’t think this is a very good ideal, do you?” I sucked back a ‘no,’ and recited what I knew Trina would want me to say, “No, thank you Vince, but I’m fine. He’s being good, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Thank you though,” I tried to explain to the insistent man. But he shook his head, “No, I won’t allow it. I don’t usually deny customers, but I’ve known Tee too long. I ain’t goin’ to let you ride this horse, ma’am, seen him throw one a-too many. He get wild real quick, he don’t warn you or nothing. Just takes off buckin’. Threw a good ol’ cowboy into these fences. I’m a do you a favor, and get you down from there,” He began to walk to the side of the black horse, and as he did I gently squeezed the horse into a forward walk, away from Vince. “No, thank you. I’ll be fine. Ask Trina!” I called back, taking in the horse’s movements. He moved … largely. He was big, and powerful, like sitting on a hot wire. Ready to burst in flame at any given moment. Vince stood in the middle of the arena nervously. I kept a tight rein on the animal, hoping to limit his abilities to take control. Hesitantly, I asked for a trot.
Surprisingly, the horse moved into the higher gait beautifully. He accepted my contact, and moved out into a lovely stride. He pulled his hind quarters into action, and floated into the air. He felt simply wonderful. I smiled, now knowing what Trina came to see this horse about. His ground manners could use some work, but he just floated under-saddle. He’d be the perfect dressage prospect. But what about what Vince said? There was no way this horse could throw people, not with the way he was behaving now. I reached down carefully to pat his neck, remembering he said he’d blow without warning. After recollecting my reins, I reversed the horse, and trotted the other way. The same reaction. I looked to Vince, wondering what he thought. His face was awestruck. “Impossible …” he muttered. I just shook it off, and decided the horse was ready for a canter. He rocked back into it, knowing exactly what I wanted, almost before I asked. He pushed into the bridle, but careful not to pull through it. He rounded up, and took the gait like it was all he ever did. More magical than his trot, he danced through the arena. I loved him.

“Thank you Vince, he’s absolutely wonderful! Trina, your turn! You’ll love him, he’s such a dream!” Trina unlatched the gate and walked into the pen as I dismounted the black. I turned to Vince, realizing something about the horse, “I never got his name? What is it?” He still had that same stargazed look in his eye, but told me, “Kiro. The horse’s name is Kiro.” I nodded, liking the exotic name. I turned back to the horse, now admiring his blazed eyes. It was almost if he held secrets, that he didn’t dare share to just anyone. I stroked his small white snip, that acted as a flashlight against his coat. He accepted the touch, and pressed into it gently. “He likes you, Krista, I really think he does,” Trina said in a sincere, caring tone as she hopped into the saddle. I backed away, to the outside of the pen, and sat on a bench just outside it’s gate, watching to see how Trina did with Kiro. What I would see, would simply shock me.

She asked for his walk, which he did just fine. I could tell it was halfhearted, and not as forward and full as he had before, which I didn’t question – Trina was likely holding him back, fearing what Vince had told her about the horse. But then, she asked for his trot. I expected his beautiful, round, cloud nine of a trot he had produced before. What he gave Trina was not that. He was flat, with pinned ears. He brought his head into a rollkur motion, which was extremely unnatural, and I could tell Trina was not asking for it – she never trained with rollkur, and swore against it. I stood, confused by Kiro’s action. Why was he not behaving the same way he had for me? Trina kicked him forward, and he finally shaped up. Brought his head out of the twist, and rose his hind quarters. “That’s more like it…” Trina thought aloud. I smiled too, knowing Kiro would need to make a decent impression if Trina were to buy him. I wanted to keep him, more than anything. To have the opportunity to ride such an amazing animal every day would be a god given grace.
Trina then asked him for a canter. Asked. Not received. Kiro broke out into a hideous run, throwing his head into the air, nose level with his ears. He ran through the bridle, and stole away Trina’s reins. As soon as she had lost her grip, the horse threw his head down quickly and deliberately. She fell forward immediately, as Kiro then threw himself to the side, twisting his back into an awful buck. Then, for the first time in all the time I’d been with Trina, I witnessed her being thrown off of a horse.

She flew to the dirt, as Kiro ran away from his dismounted rider, coming directly toward me. He stopped dead at the gate, and stared at me, with the whites of his eyes glowing against the amber glare. I raced into the pen, and grabbed him, making sure he couldn’t run back to trample Trina or Vince. Vince went to Trina then, and helped her to her feet. She snarled, and pointed to me and Kiro, “Krista!! Get back on that horse, and you teach him to behave! I won’t have a horse get away with something like that! But I’m not getting on that wretched thing…” She snarled, walking quickly out of the arena. It was such a shock to me. Trina didn’t seem like the person that wouldn’t get back on after a fall. She was strong, able, and knew how to ride, and did it well. It was puzzling, but I ignored it, and did as I was told. Expecting the same treatment from Kiro, I treated him like a bomb, careful with my aids. But there was no need. He was an angel. Rounded back, on the bit, just the perfect horse I had been on just minutes ago. Trina was completely shocked. I expected her to go on a fit, running back to the truck, not even worried about getting her money back from Vince. But she surprised me, yet again, a popular trend now-a-days. 

“Load the horse in the trailer. He’s coming home tonight.” She said quickly, but softly. She turned on her heel, and opened the trailer doors. I dismounted and untacked Kiro. The entire time I handled him, he seemed lovable, careful, and calm. Nothing like I had walked into, and nothing like I’d seen Trina ride. I started to walk him to the trailer, but Vince decided he’d take him from me, and let me go sit in the truck. I began to oblige – but Kiro did not. He planted his hooves, and threw his head into the air as soon as Vince took the lead of his halter. I turned back to him to see him throwing himself backwards, away from the man’s grasp. He called, “Trina!” as she came running. She grabbed the horse as well, and tried to hold on to him as he went back, but he only went faster, shaking his head. I came to them now, managing to snag the end of the rope, and called to Kiro, “Woah, boy, enough!” The horse stopped dead in his tracks. No movement forward, no movement back. Just nothing. Vince and Trina looked to each other, to me, to Kiro, then back to me. And let go of the rope. I collected it, and asked Kiro to walk on. He did just that.
I loaded the black gelding onto the trailer, hooked him up, shut the door, and walked to the truck. He sat in the trailer quietly, and munched away at his hay. Trina came into the truck just watching me. I looked back to her to express that I knew just about as much about the situation as she did. Absolutely nothing.


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## queenie112

omg i love this i wish i had this relationship with my horse lol please put up more i want to know what happens. please please please!!!???


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## xJumperx

Wow, glad to hear someone is enjoying it! Of course I'll post more, as I write it  In the middle of chapter 3 now - as soon as I finish, I'll post


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 3*

After settling Kiro in his stall, Trina decided to have a chat with me in front of his stall door. “Krista, you are my star rider, and I love you. But please, tell me how in the world you made that horse do anything for you. He was a complete mess when I rode him – just strung out, heavy, and not listening. But you get on and he’s a perfect angel. I just don’t get it.” I honestly didn’t know anything about it either. I hadn’t done anything special, just rode how I normally do. “I don’t know,” I started, “I just … I guess we just clicked. What did Vince tell you about the horse before we got there? He said he threw people, but that’s all I know,” I inquired, curious of Kiro’s past. He did seem full of secrets, and not all of them kind. 
“Well, that’s the basis of it. He said Kiro would do anything to get someone off his back. Buck, rear, twist, bolt, even just stop dead in the middle of a run. I mean, you saw the measures he went to to get me off. Something is nasty about that horse, I’m sure of it.” She did seem hard on Kiro, and I felt bad for him, especially seeing as he’d done no wrong to me. “But, Trina, if you don’t like him so much, why did you get him? He won’t keep you on his back! So how will you train him to jump? I mean, he’s already got his dressage basics down. I don’t think I could teach him anything,” I admitted embarrassingly. Trina went silent for a moment, and looked to her feet. After pondering for a moment, she looked me dead in the eye, and told me, “I’m not. You are.”

I really didn’t know what to say. I wouldn’t jump, couldn’t jump, since the fall with Ghost. It’d left his hip cracked, my pelvis crunched in places. Not to mention my shattered confidence. I’d tried jumping with many of Trina’s school horses, all I knew would take me over gladly, with no issues. The jumps were tiny, 2 foot. But for some reason, it was always last minute – I’d pull the horse to a halt, or to the side of the jump if he wouldn’t stop. Trina would yell and holler, push me to do it, but in the end she knew she couldn’t. I trusted her more than any person I knew, but something inside me blocked me from soaring once again. The feeling I once loved, I no longer remember, and no longer desire. Ghost was now a lesson horse, whom I still ride and love. The only difference? Jumping is out of our schedules now. 

“No,” was all I could make out. “Well then I’m taking him back to Vince,” came Trina’s bitter reply. She turned to walk away, grabbing her truck keys off the table. “Grab him, load him in the trailer,” She called without turning. I refused the command, not willing to let go of Kiro. There was something about him I knew I had to hold on to, something I couldn’t release, “No! I won’t take him back!” I called back to my trainer. She turned swiftly, facing me again, “Well then you’ll have to train him. I obviously can’t do it, and that horse has the potential to _really _go somewhere – and you know it just as much as I do. So do something about it. Tack the horse up, and meet me in the arena in 5 minutes. That, or load him in the trailer. Those are your options, Krista, pick which one you want.” I stood there stunned for a moment, then nodded. It was lesson time. I grabbed Kiro’s red nylon halter, clipped it to his lead, and placed him in the crossties across from his stall. I took my red saddle pad, with white trim, and placed it upon his back. Then came the saddle, and leather girth, without a hitch. Kiro was truly a different horse from where we had picked him up - before he had been flighty and aggressive, stepping away from the tack, and even kicked out at Vince when he tightened the girth before. “Just playing favorites, aren’t you buddy?” I teased the big black boy. He looked back at me with his dark amber eyes, almost speaking back to me. I smiled, and bridled him. Led him to the arena, and mounted him.

“Okay, I’m ready,” I turned to Trina, standing in the middle of the arena. She smiled and nodded, pleased to see me on the big black gelding. “You know, you two do look pretty good together. But no matter. Let’s get started.”
She started with just putting us through the paces. Walking, extended walking, a collected walk, and all of the above at the trot and canter as well. All simple things I knew and could execute well. I could tell it was almost … a test. For something I knew was imminent. “Okay, go ahead and take on walk around the small field to cool off a bit. Then come right back.” I knew what she was doing – sending me away so she could set up standards. She was crazy. I wouldn’t jump before, nothing was changing now. But I obliged, letting her think that she could get away with her tactics for now.

The winter air was nice, and crisp. I always loved the winter. The pasture was low on grass, as they always were in the colder months. But they made for a lovely ride. It was just about February now, so not as bitter as it could be. The afternoon time of day made for a nice sun to ride by as well, so things were nice. I loved taking rides in the pasture. I always wished I could do more trail riding, but Trina’s property didn’t have any, and the closest trails were miles and miles away. So it was never really convenient. I reached down to pat Kiro’s neck, “No worries, bud. I’ll make sure to get you out there some time. It doesn’t look like anyone else will be riding you, so I bet we’ll be spending lots of time together!” I giggled. I liked the idea of having Kiro to myself, as he was so wonderful, and I really felt a connection with him – one that was almost as strong as me and Ghost’s, which was hard to say, considering me and Ghost had built that bond over many, many years, and Kiro and I’s came so … suddenly. 

Before I knew it, I had circled back around the pasture, and came back to the gate. I took a deep breath, then asked Kiro to walk on back into the indoor arena. And, to no great surprise, I found myself a series of three jumps set in a line. They were all tiny – the first a cross-rail, the second an extremely low vertical, and the third maybe a 2 foot vertical. All looked like skyscrapers to me though. Jumping was out of the question. It had put Ghost in too much danger before, and had ruined his jumping career – all because I didn’t give him his head. I wasn’t meant to jump. I knew this, and I refused to do it again. I wasn’t going to ruin another horse.

“Okay Krista. I know what you’re thinking. But please just try. Maybe you’ve found your horse, that can pull you out of this fear spot you’re having. Just please. For me? For Kiro?” She pleaded with me. I knew the outcome of this, but I simply nodded, much to her delight. “Great! Then let’s get started! Start by just walking over the jumps. I’ll make them poles for you.” I guided Kiro to the line of poles after Trina had finished lowering them. I had done pole lines several times before, and they didn’t bother me. I couldn’t harm a horse with pole-work, and actually rode Ghost through such practice frequently. None the less, I went into my jumping position, and walked Kiro over the poles with confidence. He was happy to do so. “Good! Now trot,” came my next instruction. I did the same exercise at the higher gait, still as easily as I had before.

In fact, this trend continued all the way up to the point where each pole was raised on one side – the poles may have been 6 inches off the ground on the highest side, but it was an accomplishment, at least for Trina. I had actually never gotten that far before. I always chickened out after the poles stopped being flush with the ground. Kiro was a champ – lifted each leg in the perfect form, never touched a single pole the whole time. “That’s great Krista, that’s fantastic. Just keep going around at the trot like that.” She took one of the poles, and made it a cross-rail. Still tiny. 6 inches off the ground, again, at the highest point. The point where I would actually jump was likely 3 inches. But for the first time in years, I let myself go over that 3 inch cross-rail. I couldn’t believe it, but it had happened. And Trina was overjoyed. As was I! I looked down at Kiro, unbelievably proud of the wonderful horse. “You may be a one-person horse,” I whispered to him, “But you’re _my_ one horse … and that’s all I need…”


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## smokinindigoblue

more please!!!!!


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## ilikehorses2

I love it!!!


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## queenie112

omg your a wonderful author try to publish this book/short story!! your great take your time making it as great as possible


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## xJumperx

Wow!! Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments!!  
Chapter 4 is really just getting to know Krista a little better, and to set the stage for later in the novel. It's going to be a larger book, just with shorter chapters. I've always liked the shorter chapters, so figured that's how I'd write too!! Chapter 4 follows that guideline. I'll have Chapter 5 up very shortly, which will likely just involve more of the same - life at school and such. Then we should be back to the horses 

*Chapter 4*

I left the barn that night feeling like I was on top of the world. I was always happy after a day with a new horse, but Kiro was even more than that. It was as if he were mine – my first horse, my perfect match, my … my everything. I smiled at the thought of him being mine, before opening the car door, and sitting inside, ready for the short drive home.

“Hey mom!” I called from the kitchen, where the back door was located. She was likely in the living room, drinking her hot chocolate, watching some sort of soap opera – it was her Sunday tradition. I always left her be on these days, to have her time with just her, and the wonderful Jeremy Skyy, to marry Robin and take care of his omniscient, yet weak, sister. I always rolled an eye at her sappy shows, but whatever made her happy would work fine. It was just me, her, and my little broth- “Kay is home!” A little blonde blur came running at me, and slammed into my leg, tightening around my thigh. “I missed you sissy, I really did! You was gone a long, long time!” I laughed at Navy’s enthusiasm, loving his fun spirit. He was a handful at times, but I loved him to pieces. He usually brightened my day if I was in a foul mood, just by being there. His naïve and audacious personality was certaintly contagious. “Hey, little buddy! Did you eat yet? Should I fix you and mom something?” He nodded, as I figured he would. This time of year was hard for mom – it was around the time that dad took off on us, 7 years ago - it wasn’t long after Navy’s 1st birthday. 

“Alright, little man. Go grab your momma a lap-table so she can watch her shows while she eats, and set the table for us. I’ll get your favorite running!” He bounced up to do as he was told. Spaghetti never ceased to put an even bigger spring in that boy’s step. After we had all eaten, and Navy had finished with the dishes, I went on to do my homework. I had been forced to re-do my senior year, for I had missed far too much school after my accident – a smashed hip, two shattered legs, and two broken arms to match could do that to a person. I was fine with it. I never really minded school, and didn’t exactly know what to do with my career after High School anyways. My phone interrupted my studies. I looked down to the caller ID and quickly answered. “Hello?”

“’Sup Krista-Kat?” Came the voice on the other line. I laughed at the stupid nickname, though it was what Jared had decided to call me, “Nothing much, just finishing Animal Science homework. Just got back from the barn, it was probably the best day ever for a while!” I continued to tell my best guy-friend about my day. He was a fellow horse lover, which was hard to come by. He actually owned a horse – a smaller bay Thoroughbred, named Northgate. He was a beauty, and was a wonderful eventer- what Jared specialized in. He was actually the only horsey friend of mine – Jeanna and Sam, my two favorite girl friends, weren’t much into them, but I loved them none the less. Either way, the conversation with Jared was a pleasant break from the homework – I loved Animal Science, but the homework given was a bit overwhelming. After a decently lengthy conversation, we settled on seeing each other at school the next day, and hung up. 

After finishing what seemed to be a month of homework, I felt the need to draw. It was a huge hobby of mine – to capture beauty, to be able to interpret it differently, was priceless. Not to mention fun to do. I ended up getting half of a Kiro done, before eventually falling asleep over his rough, outline sketch.


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 5*


We sailed over the final jump effortlessly. The flight was balanced and calming, Kiro gentle beneath me. We met the earth with an easy thud, yet we were safe. He cantered on across the line, and I pat his black, glistening neck. The crowd clapped loudly, and I smiled brightly. It had been a flawless round. His pace had been perfect the entire time, and I had been one with him throughout the course. The victory was sure to be ours! All of a sudden, a buzzer went off. What? This wasn’t jumpers, and there was no time, which meant no need for an alarm. The annoying blat kept on repeating though, over and over – before I finally realized it was my alarm clock.

Awoken from the dream, I tapped on the electric clock gently, shutting the annoying call off. Through foggy eyes, I checked the time – 6:30 AM – time for school. As I dressed, I couldn’t help but think back to the marvelous dream. It was a rare one, especially, considering I hadn’t dreamed of jumping safely since the accident. Anything I did have was just replays of the event, from a body that wasn’t mine. I watched in slow motion, as Ghost collapsed over the jump, somersaulting into me. He would thrash a bit, then go still as people rushed into the arena. They were more like nightmares, and I was overjoyed when I found them gone. But this had been different. I was thankful for the change.

After getting dressed and grabbing breakfast, I waved goodbye to mom and herded Navy into my truck. Per normal, I was to drop Navy off at the Elementary school, then head to the High School, that was just a few blocks away. Considering I was now 18, I had my own license, and was able to drive everybody to their needed destinations, which saved gas. When mom had a job, I usually dropped her off there as well. We were all pretty eco-friendly people. 

After I had sent my little brother on his way, drove up here, and parked, I walked myself to my locker. “Krista! What’s up?” Sam came bouncing around the corner, clearly in a happy mood. “Hey Sam, not much, just got here. Was the test in Trig today or tomorrow?” After chatting around with her a bit, I headed to class. Walking in the door, I was greeted with the familiar “there she is!” by Jared. “Here I am!” I plopped down in the seat next to him. We didn’t have a seating chart in Trig, but we all tended to sit in the same spot each day. “So, Kay, how’s that black doing?” I smiled, loving the opportunity to talk about him. “Great! I just had a dream about him last night. Jumping, of all things. I don’t know, I think he might really take me somewhere.” Jared nodded, but gave a bit of a concerned look, “Ya know, if he threw your trainer off, how can you be sure he won’t do the same for you? Maybe he was just being really good for you to hide his bad side, so that you’d be more surprised. From what you told me of his track record, he seems really nasty.” I just shook my head at the thought, “No, Jared, he’s not nasty. Well I mean, he’s nasty to other people, but not to me. He is so sweet once you connect with him. I can’t see him ever hurting me. Who knows, maybe he just really needed someone to see who he was, and actually give him a chance.” Jared shook his head slowly, giggling to himself, “You are a hard-headed one…” I laughed, and sat up straighter. “And don’t you forget it!” 

After school had gotten out, I made my way out to the barn. Not before getting a phone from mom though – “Hey, Krista, I need you to take Navy to the barn with you. I can’t watch him. Miranda is picking me up to go shopping for some counters for her new kitchen.” I sighed, not really liking taking him with, but agreed. It wasn’t that I didn’t love my brother, I did. It was just that he was a boy, and I feared him getting into things he shouldn’t. I had taken him a few times before, but Trina hadn’t been there both times. I wasn’t sure how she’d take it. I called her, and of course she said it’d be okay – but I was curious of her real opinion.

I gave Navy a briefing before heading in. “Okay buddy, you need to be on your best behavior. Don’t bother Ms. Trina, she is very busy, and doesn’t want to be your babysitter. I’m going to be riding, so I can’t have you messing with me. You remember where the bathroom and the mini-fridge is if you get hungry. Just chill in the lounge until I’m done. Don’t break anything – and if you do, tell me. Don’t try to hide it. Got it?” He nodded excitedly, loving to be here at the barn. He was a smart kid.

I walked him into the barn, holding his hand. “Hey Trina!” I called. She came around the corner, enthusiastic. “Hey there Krista! Brought me a little helper today, did you? How much fun will we have!” She clapped her hands, then motioned for Navy to go with her. He laughed and ran her way. I smiled, glad the two could get along. She looked up to me before turning back with my brother in tow, “Kiro, as you may know,” she said with a smile. I smiled and nodded back, then turned to head to his stall. “Okay buddy, let’s see what we can do.


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## Meganu657

I just love this!!! Please post more.


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## JumpingJiminy

I really enjoyed reading this, please post more.


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 6*

“That a boy, just take it nice and easy…” I spoke softly to the giant gelding. I stroked his blazing neck gently, as he walked out strongly in the middle of the arena. He stretched his neck downward, and let his shoulders free up as I put slack in the rein and asked for impulsion. He knew my cues so well. After a good stretch, I carefully asked to have his head back. He held it just where it needed to be, and set off into a lovely, flowing trot. I did keep what Jared said in the back of my mind – At this point, Kiro WAS still a bit unpredictable. I trusted him completely, for some reason, but I knew that he was still, in fact, a horse. 

Yet it was hard to think that the beauty could ever hurt me … His muscular black neck glistened in the light of the arena, like crystals dancing upon coal, diamonds forming from the black ash. His shoulders pulsed with energy, riveting and shocking the ground he would grace his powerful hooves over. Pushing off with such grace, to lift into the air and land again with such a beauty that could only be proven by sight. He truly danced through the air, with his entire body, his hindquarters driving the unstoppable force he presented. The gentle weight he put in my hands as he held the bit just so in his mouth was a contact to die for. He was truly spectacular to ride. I never wanted to get off.

We rode in all gaits, where he excelled. In the center of the arena was a small jump. It was a cross rail, in fact, but higher than yesterday’s. The center may have been about one foot off the ground. I thought back to my dream from yesterday. We were sailing over everything, and all of those jumps were hugely higher than the one I saw before me. He would likely just trot over the thing. No problem, right? Right … I convinced myself to give it a shot. Like a beginner, I timidly trotted toward the wooden setup. As we approached, I released my hands to his neck, and he did just as I expected – an easygoing trot. I smiled wide, patting Kiro with much enthusiasm. “That’s a boy! Good boy!” 

I peered back to the cross rail. It was nothing … and easy clear. Maybe, just maybe, today could be different … maybe we could finally get over a vertical. I hopped off Kiro, and tied his reins, deciding to let him walk about the arena as he pleased as I would put the jump up. The arena was designed to be safe for a horse at liberty, so he wouldn’t hurt himself. I released the reins, and took off at a brisk walk. When I stopped at the jump, I turned around to find … Kiro! I was startled by the big black nose that was being pushed into my back at first, not expecting him to follow me. But next thing you knew, I was smiling wide, hugging the sweet horse. “You are such an angel…” I muttered into his long, flowing forelock. After a moment of peace, I turned back to the jump. I lay one pole on the ground, and lifted the other end of the other into the jump cup. The jump was now 2’. Years ago, this had been the height I showed in as I was just getting into competitive showing. It seemed like a short forever ago, really. I looked up and grinned at the big black horse, who had his nose just by my shoulder. “You want to help?” I chuckled, patted his neck, and walked around to his side. I hopped on, and took a look at the small jump. It was certaintly daunting. “Kiro …” I muttered his name, hoping to gain some confidence.

I trotted around the arena a few more laps, before popping into an easy, flowing canter. Around and around we went, and I still hadn’t made the slightest attempt at the jump in the center. I noticed this, took a large breath, and quickly decided it was time to change that. “20 seconds. Twenty seconds of courage, and we are over it,” I tried to convince myself. I eased the rein toward the standards, using my leg to push his shoulder into the direction. Coming at the fence now, I hear footsteps come, then stop. Trina must have been watching. 5 strides out now. Almost there, almost over the jump, and it was all downhill from there. Downhill … Flashes of the accident went through my mind. Kiro falling. Crashing. Crippled. My fault. No. 3 strides out, I turned him away from the jump. This startled him, not knowing what to do, considering he had positioned himself perfectly to take the jump. Angered by his forced failed attempt, he threw his head in the air in protest. “No Kiro, easy!” I pulled back on his reins and pushed him forward with my leg, hoping to drive his head down. Unfortunately, this wasn’t effective.

Kiro did respond to the leg. He cantered on faster, hollow, with his head sky-high. The position of him under me felt very similar to how he looked being ridden by Trina. This couldn’t be good. “Easy boy, easy now! Settle down, it’s okay!” I tried to turn the big black, but to no avail. Yet, he did drop his head. He then shook his nose, clearly displeased with my actions as a rider. I finally brought him back down to a walk, and patted him on the neck. Suddenly, I remembered my trainer’s presence. I turned to her, expecting exactly what I got out of her face – pursed lips, head down, and slowly moving side to side. She turned away from the arena, and continued doing her chores with Navy at her heels. He was silent as well.


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## Cheyennes mom

Doesn't look like you've posted in a while but I'm gonna say this anyway, I LOVE this story!!! Are you still writing it? (please say yes!!) If so I'm SO excited to read the next chapter, keep up the great work!!


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## xJumperx

Thank you so much!!  I am in fact still writing it! I think I'll go ahead and power through, and get at least up to Chapter 10 by Friday. I am loving all the feedback, thank you so much!! Keep it coming! Anything you guys don't like, let me know.


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## Cheyennes mom

I'm so excited for the next chapter


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 7*

The drive home was quiet. I wasn’t too proud of myself, and I think Navy could tell. Wanting to improve the little guy’s mood, I tried some small conversation. “So what did you do with Trina today? She teach you anything?” He smiled a bit, probably glad to cut the air. “Well, she had me help her feed the horses, and give them water, and we even got to brush a pony! She said I was a really good helper, and that I needed to tell you that I was the best helper ever, and I had to come back and ride sometime!” I smiled, happy to know about Trina’s love for my little brother. She did do lessons with younger kids, but I’d never seen them, so I never knew how much she loved working with them. 

He giggled a bit, then continued, “She also said you was crazy.” I turned and glanced at him quickly, with a mock-shocked look on my face. “And did she tell you why she said that?” I asked jokingly. “Uh-huh! She said that horse of yours was crazy, and you was riding him, and that means you’re crazy!” I had to laugh out loud, not surprised at Trina’s teasing of Kiro. “Well I outta get both of you for saying such things!” I reached over with one hand and tickled his side, making sure the steering wheel was steady with the other hand. He exploded with laughter, which I joined in.
I did wonder what would come of Kiro. It scared me, knowing now that teaching him to jump could be impossible if I did it. Trina wouldn’t keep a horse with no potential. She’d sell him on a heartbeat now, seeing the event that occurred in the arena. I swore to myself, wishing I could just get over the past. But it was harder than you’d think.

~*~

“Wow Kat, that sucks.” I bowed my head at Jared’s reply to the telling of the previous day’s events. “I know. I just don’t understand! The accident was so long ago, and..” I went on, and could have gone longer if he hadn’t had interrupted me, “No, it was about 2 years ago, barely. You’re just scared, it’s natural. You’ve gone through a trauma, those things aren’t hard to get over. And you know I’m not fond of your trainer either.” I rolled my eyes playfully. Jared always teased me about Trina, seeing as she was a bit tough on her students. I liked it, but Jared was more fond of a positive reinforcement approach. Trina was anything but. “You’re terrible!” I gently punched his arm, and continued, “But still. I know Kiro would do anything, and he would do it perfectly. I’m not scared of him hurting me …” I looked for the words, not knowing what to say. Jared found them for me, “You’re scared of you hurting him.” I nodded. “That won’t happen, Kat, I know you. You’re just getting hyped up over everything. It’s not good for you.”

I sighed, knowing he was right. I didn’t know what else to do, though. We had done enough flatwork to win the Dressage Olympics, or so it seemed. Jumping was out of the equation, and I never really got into Western. Kiro wasn’t particularly the western type either. “Tell you what,” Jared broke my trance, “Come out to my barn with me some time. We’ve got trails all throughout. Maybe you’re just a little ring sour! A little woodland joy would cheer you up. They are beautiful around this time of the year, with the trees all frosty. You will love it, so will Kiro. Me and Northgate get awful lonely all by our lonesome…” I laughed, and after some pondering, agreed. Trail riding _was_ really good for green horses. It gave them the chance to see things, get them a bit more spook-free. And maybe he was right, I could just need to get some air. “Thanks, Jared, I appreciate it.” I smiled at my best friend, and we split up – him to Algebra II, me to Gym.

Upon coming home, I yelled a greeting to Mom. Navy came in behind me, as I had picked him up, per normal. No reply. “Ma?” I called again, then began looking through the house. No sign of her … finally, I spotted a scrawled note on the fridge. I read it aloud to Navy’s eager ears, “Kids – Out with the girls. There is some food in the fridge. Kristine, cook something up for your brother, I won’t be home until late. If I’m not back by tomorrow, make sure you two get up and go to school. Love, Mom.” I turned to my little brother, now sitting at the kitchen table. “Guess it’s just you and me, bud!” He nodded. He didn’t like being away from mom. I knew why she was always gone now – dad. Navy, on the other hand, didn’t understand, and didn’t need to. 

I patted the little guy on the back. “Come on, let’s go out back and throw the football around. We’ve still got a few minutes before it gets dark.” His dissatisfied look turned into a cheery grin, and he bolted out the back door. I laughed and followed him, grabbing the ball on the way out. As we threw the pigskin around a bit, me careful to throw it gently, and him eager to catch it, I thought about the upcoming weekend. Jared and I planned to ride Saturday at 4, just after Trina finished her morning lessons. I called her after school, and she agreed to let me borrow the trailer once she had finished. I’ll admit, an afternoon spent with my best friend and his beautiful horse would be really, really nice. I’d been so busy lately, with school and the barn, I hadn’t really had time to dote on my social life. It was never really a huge priority – the horses have always come first. I sighed, “A little buddy-buddy time certaintly wouldn’t hurt though,” I mumbled to myself. “Sissy, I’m getting hungry … can we go in now?” My little Navy popped my thought bubble, and I smiled and nodded. Once we were settled in the house, I pondered what to do for food. “What sounds good, little guy?” I asked, honestly not very hungry myself. “Pizza! Pizza!” Was the obvious reply. I could have guessed it myself. “You sure? We’ve got some roast in here, a few pieces of chicken, some fish sticks …”

About 45 minutes later, me and Navy were sat down at the kitchen table, set at the two ends, with a pizza box in the middle. He would play with the oozing cheese, before shoving the Italian delicacy into his mouth. I reached into the box for another piece, my meat-lovers side. We always got a half and half pizza – one side for me and my mom, a side of nothing but cheese for Navy. Typical 8 year old, never was a fan of toppings on his pizza. “Alright Navy, finish up soon, I’m going to get your bath running.” Navy grumbled, “But it’s Friday, I ain’t got no school tomorrow!” I laughed at his grammar, “’Ain’t got no…’ Boy, you probably _should_ be having school if you’re going to talk like that!” He just laughed, and stuck his tongue out at me. “Fine, fine, Mr. Too-Good-For-Proper-English, you can stay up late. But you still have to get a bath now.

He agreed to this, and soon we were preparing for our nightly slumber. It wasn’t half an hour after his bath that he was laying out on the couch, passed out, with Disney Channel playing softly in the background.


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## Cheyennes mom

Awe that was a cute chapter, good job


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## xJumperx

Thank you!!  I will be getting some more writing done really soon, sorry for the major delay before ... the next few chapters will move a lot quicker. These few small chapters have really just been setting up for what lies ahead. I still haven't decided if I want to make this a long or short story ... Opinions?


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## Roadyy

I just read this all the way through and called my wife, as well as my daughter and told them to read it. 

I enjoy the way you are writing it now and must admit I would like to continue reading it in the short chapters as you have been writing.


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 8*

[[ Thank you so much!! That means a lot!!  This chapter is just a bit longer than usual, but I just couldn't stop writing this one! The story starts to pick up a lot here soon. I think it's going to end up being a bit short. There's a lot I could do with this, but I think it would be best executed in a short, one or two sided way... Of course, opinions are always MORE than appreciated!! ]]

“You sure about this Krista? I mean, we haven’t had him very long. I have no idea how he is on trails, or anywhere away from home. I don’t think this is a good idea. At all.” Trina was ranting on and on to me as I loaded Kiro into the trailer. I simply smiled at my worried trainer, “Don’t worry, I promise, everything will be okay. He’s a good boy, I’ll take good care of him, and he’ll take care of me. It’s okay.” I clipped his halter into the manger as Trina did up the butt-bar in the back. She huffed, “famous last words,” but left it at that. After everything was all set, and Kiro was eating away at his hay, I hopped into the cab of my truck. I leaned out the window to call to Trina, “Thanks again for letting me borrow the trailer! We’ll be back by eight!” She smiled halfheartedly, gave me a curt wave, and headed back into the barn. She had just a bit of cleaning up to do before heading out.

I hadn’t driven the trailer a lot, so the drive itself always worried me. Of course, I’d never been in an accident (knock on wood), and neither had anyone I’d known. I was a good driver, so I really wasn’t sure why I was so timid. “Just nature, I suppose” I said to nobody. I checked the rearview at the trailer once again; everything was just fine, as I expected.

When I arrived at the stables, I was immediately impressed. I hadn’t ever actually been to the barn Jared kept Northgate at. “Green Lantern Stables” read the beautiful elaborate sign set out front of the property. Thankfully there was no gate – that might have been a little too intimidating for me. “Dang Jared, I knew your parents were doctors, but I had no clue they were _this_ wealthy …” I thought aloud. After driving up the long, concrete driveway, I parked in a spot farther back. Trina had lent me her nicer two horse trailer… but my truck wasn’t quite as fancy.

I unloaded Kiro from the trailer quickly, happy I had dressed him in matching red shipping gear. The sheet and boots complimented his jet black coat very well, not to mention the halter and lead I held. “Good thing we wore our nice threads to this place, huh Kiro?” I patted his glistening neck, then led him into the beautiful white barn, lined with a gentle green trim. Inside, the barn was stunning.

The stalls were perfect. A beautiful cherry color, matched with black, twisted iron. Cleaner than some of my dinner plates quite possibly, and matted and bedded with the finest material. The aisles were just as neat, with one solid piece of concrete going through the whole area. The wash-stalls were perfectly kept. I was almost scared to walk Kiro down the hall and place him in the cross-ties, afraid he may dirty something. I’d kill to see the tack room of this place. I didn’t have enough time to snoop some more before Jared turned the corner and found me.

“I thought I heard hooves! How you doing Krista-Kat?” Jared came up and gave me a big hug, before turning to my black giant. “Wow Kat …” was all he could say. He walked up to pat Kiro. I stepped toward Jared, about to warn him of Kiro’s habits with other people, “Jared, wai-… woah…” Kiro let him pet him. Jared had rested his hand upon his nose, and began to stroke his face, calmly. “What is it?” I just shook my head, more or less amazed. “He usually … won’t let anyone touch him.” I managed to throw out. Jared laughed, “he just knows who’s awesome and who’s not. NG is in the other crosstie, I’ll just tack him up and meet you here?” I quickly agreed with a nod. Jared smiled and set off, and I began to unload my saddle and bridle out of the trailer before placing them upon Kiro’s back. “Well buddy … I just realized I might like red just as much as you look good in it!” His saddle pad and SMB boots were both red as well. Well, at least he matched. 

It wasn’t long after I had gotten Kiro ready that Jared walked down the aisle with Northgate, or NG as he called him. He was already mounted, so I did the same. The doors were extra high in this barn, a luxury I wasn’t used to. Heck, this whole stable was a luxury I wasn’t used to. “Alright, I’ll take the lead. There’s this beautiful trail I’ve really been wanting to take you on. It will really get him going through everything, and you’ll have a blast with it.” I smiled and nodded, letting him go ahead. “That sounds perfect to me! He’s a good guy, I’m sure he’ll do great with the trails.” I gave him a good pat, and we set off.

The trail started really quiet. We had to go through one of the pastures to get to the woods, and when we did get to the forest, the trees were light. It was really quite silent, for being winter, there was little wildlife scurrying about. The frosty air did look simply beautiful against the trees though. A photographer would probably give an arm and a leg to see this place. “Jared, it’s gorgeous.” I mumbled. “Wow Krista, you really haven’t been trail riding … it gets a lot better than trees.” I thought my mouth would fall open. More beautiful than this? I was actually a bit jealous of Jared now. This was the norm for him, he could-and possibly did- see this every other day. It was really stunning. Northgate was looking grand as well.
I’d always been a fan of the big bay gelding. He moved almost flawlessly, and was muscled to the core. You could tell Jared had worked hard with his horse, in Dressage and Jumping alike. They also did Cross Country, and I knew that certaintly took a very, very fit horse. I was never one for solid obstacles, but I’d almost brave it if I could have Kiro looking like _that._ And … if I hadn’t had my accident. I suddenly noticed that NG had come to a halt, and Jared was looking back at me and Kiro. “In la-la land? Come up her, Kat, come see. Now this, this is gorgeous.” I rode up next to him, hoping Kiro would be fine with NG’s company. As soon as I saw what Jared saw, my reins fell from my hands, and my jaw fell from my face. “Oh my … Jared …”

It was probably the most beautiful landscape I had ever seen in my entire life. We stood upon a steep hill, looking down over a valley. There was a lake, crystal in color, with a cross country course wrapping around it. Stone walls, ditches, flowery jumps and hedges. Trees danced around the trail of jumps, stretching their bare arms to the sky. A light frost covered the grass, leaving the whole field in a subtle blue shade. The winter air and sky complimented the area perfectly, giving everything a clam, peaceful feel. The horses’ heat kept me from freezing where I was and never moving. Somebody nickered beneath us, and for just a moment my gaze was stolen from the breathtaking view. The horses were breathing into each other’s noses, seemingly perfectly content with each other.

 I said, with a breathy, amazed tone, “well looks like we have a friendship brewing here!” Jared laughed, then turned to me. “Haha, yea. They take after their owners pretty well, eh?” He grinned and leaned over, punching my arm gently. I returned the punch as we laughed a bit, looking from the horses, the view, to each other. I didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. Then Jared turned Northgate, and started to head down the hill. “Come on, Kat, let’s go try this thing out!” I stood there, not fully comprehending what Jared just said. “Uh … you mean …” He laughed again, and without turning called back, “The course, Krista, come on!” The course. Of jumps. Solid jumps. “Oohh, no …” I muttered to myself, before asking Kiro to make his decent down the hill.


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## hopie22

xJumperx said:


> “Now Krista, watch that combination, too. It’s a one stride, but it’s super forward. Don’t get behind it though, ‘cause if you try to fit two in there, you’re screwed.” I nodded, understanding what Trina meant. This was the top circuit, and if the judge caught you riding the wrong distances, you weren’t just out of the ribbons – you were out of the top 15. I gazed down to my grand dapple gray. Ghost wasn’t mine, but I loved him as if he were so. I’d been riding him for about 3 years now, bringing him up from a 3 year old, with Trina’s help. He was her horse – a project she bought with spare change. He turned out to be filled with promise, and became ‘my’ show horse.
> 
> In that time, we’d grown an amazing bond. I practically lived at Trina’s barn, considering I worked there as a stable hand, and also took lessons 3 times a week. So whenever I had free time, I always found myself playing around with Ghost. He had a spectacular personality, and was the type to follow you around the ring if you unclipped his lead, keeping your exact pace, but very careful to never run you over or go too far ahead. I patted him now, and scratched the spot on his neck where he likes. He stretched his nose out as usual, happy to be itched in his special-spot. “One-twenty-three, you’re on deck!” Words from the ring steward popped me out of my daydream. We were up next. This was the big time – if we came out in first in this Derby, are options were wide open. International teams, top colleges, everything. This was important, considering I was a senior this year, and was hoping for a scholarship on riding in order to get anywhere … because careers weren’t exactly something I had ever really thought about.
> 
> “Thank you, Ashlee,” came over the announcer. A rider on a smaller chestnut walked energetically out of the ring on a loose rein. His rider patted him, with a wide smile. Must have been a good run – good for them, not so good for me. I was nervous. Trina grabbed Ghost’s reins, and walked me up to the gate, as if though I could be trusted with her horse over 5 foot obstacles, but not to walk over to the in gate. “Listen, don’t get tense. Just breathe, and relax, and he’ll do the same. You ready?” She looked up to me confidently. I knew ‘no’ wasn’t an answer – Trina would rip my stirrups off my saddle and force me into the ring as is if I did. After a deep breath, I went with “As I’ll ever be! Come on Ghostly, let’s go.” I gathered my reins, so that I had a decent contact with his mouth. I gave him a gentle nudge, and we were off into a canter.
> 
> The course was actually a pretty easy ride, so I wasn’t much worried about it. I turned him down the long side toward our first jumps, a single leading to a diagonal line. I held him back at first, easing him off the bridle. He liked to jump strong, though it messed up his form at times. Only during the lines could he really push on, since they usually set them long. He flew over the single with ease, paying no mind to the hay and tree branches used to decorate the jump. I pushed him into the corners before turning him into the diagonal line. I asked for more of him, and he soared over the first of the two. I counted the strides between, “One, two, three, four, five!” A perfect spot, with the exact distance required between – so far, so good. I passed the in-gate, where Trina stood. Per normal, she gave me direction quietly, “Keep him moving, that combo is up after the gate. Don’t let him slow!” She was clearly worried … She’d been watching the previous riders – it must have been giving them trouble. If we could perfect it, we could be in the top 3 for sure. I squeezed him on, though careful not to get him leaning on the bit. The gate was a simple, open distance. But it was teasing for what lay ahead.
> 
> It was a regular pole jump, then one with barrels set up behind it. It looked like a two stride – in fact, it wouldn’t be impossible to fit three. Now I was starting to think that Trina didn’t just mean I’d be out of the ribbons if I didn’t make the distance – The jumps were big enough, that it was possible Ghost could get caught with his legs in the jumps if something went wrong. Huh. That made things a little more nerve racking. “Come on bub, you’ve _really_ got to get this…” I gave him a very quick pat, and pushed him on even further. I could feel him asking for more of his head, but I didn’t want him taking it and running with it after the combination – the judges would frown upon us greatly if he were too strung out. Ghost took what he could, and sized the first jump up as normal. With a kick, we were in the air. I gave him a decent release, and prepared him for the landing. As he needed to, he tried to stretch out to make the one.
> 
> But he yanked me forward with the rein in the process.
> 
> He brought his head back to a collected spot, as I accidentally cued. I tried to throw away my reins, put him back in a stretch, but it was too late. He’d already taken his first stride. And was now trying to take another half of one. But his feet were tangled. He was unsure. He didn’t want to make the jump. He didn’t think he could. He tried anyway. Oh god.
> 
> He threw his head in the air, almost as if he hoped his nose could carry his body over the large jump. He pulled his legs up in front of him, and I could feel his back legs level with them as he tried to do an almost deer-like jump. Feeling so uncomfortable and wrong, he kicked out with his back legs then, throwing his entire body mass to the side. He landed on his right foot first, then tumbled to his left knee. I tried to break the fall with my hands, before smashing into the ground with him. I fell to my side, then quickly looked up to find his side coming straight at me. Then everything stopped, and went black.


is this a different story?? Im confused cuz the other horses name is Kiro or something. I Loved the start with ghost just a little confused lol


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## xJumperx

hopie22 said:


> is this a different story?? Im confused cuz the other horses name is Kiro or something. I Loved the start with ghost just a little confused lol


The first chapter is sort of a preface. But I know that if that's what I call it, not everyone will read it. It needs to be read to understand a lot of the story. It's more of a mature way to read, the reader has to infer that time has passed. As you keep reading the whole story, it becomes more clear of this


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## hopie22

xJumperx said:


> The first chapter is sort of a preface. But I know that if that's what I call it, not everyone will read it. It needs to be read to understand a lot of the story. It's more of a mature way to read, the reader has to infer that time has passed. As you keep reading the whole story, it becomes more clear of this


Ok thanks sorry i just got really confused


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 9*

The bottom of the field was just as stunning as the top was. The details in the woodland area made it even more breathtaking, which I thought was impossible. The path was a beautifully manicured dirt/sand mix path, that was just hard enough for a good run. It was truly the perfect place to get some great practice in. If, that is, you were an avid cross country rider.

“Come on Krista! What are you waiting for?” He knew the answer good and well; he was just trying to make me get over my irrational fear that was jumping. “I think you should go first. Me and Kiro will just stay back and watch.” He rolled his eyes, and came up to me from his spot at the start box. “Come on,” were his only words. He walked away from the course now, on further down the path. “Where are you going? I thought you wanted to do the course?” He shook his head, stopped NG, and turned to face me, “I want you and I to both do the course. You are obviously a chicken. There is a huge field up ahead we use just for racing across. You win, we spend the rest of the trail on all four hooves. I win, we _both_ do the Cross Country course. This is the small course too, I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. I promise it will be fine. Deal?” I looked down to Kiro. I had seen him run in the field. He was always just a big black flash of lightning. It was always a marvel to watch him run. Though I’d never ridden his gallop, you could just tell it would be smooth as glass, and quick as a Lamborghini. I looked back up to my opponent. “Deal.”

So we rode, side by side, down the wide trail. I could see the open area ahead Jared had mentioned – it was an extremely large clearing. We’d definitely have plenty of space to get our horses into a full out run. The two questions of mine were: how far could Kiro go … and if I could stop him at the end. “You ready, kitty cat?” I laughed and rolled my eyes, “I’ve told you a thousand times not to call me that! My 5th grade nickname has no place … anywhere!” Jared laughed and laughed, as if he had just pulled the Senior Prank of the century. I trotted away briskly, letting Kiro’s long, flowing tail dance in front of Northgate. “Come on, dweeb, let’s get this over with! And don’t be crying too hard when we kick you and your pretty little pony’s butt!” I taunted my best friend, to which he responded to with cantering and sliding-stopping right next to us. It was a bit intimidating, but I believed in Kiro. “We say ‘go’ at the same time! Got it?” He nodded. 

“Three … two … one…” We alternated the numbers, gathered our reins, picked ourselves off our horses’ backs, and simultaneously shouted “Go!” Both horses took off like a rocket. Both were well trained, and instantly engaged their hindquarters, bringing themselves under their body to get the maximum amount of speed. It was horsepower at its finest really. We whistled in the wind, flying down the stretch. The cold air stung at my eyes, but I urged Kiro on. There was still the whole field in front of us, and I didn’t see Northgate in front of or beside us. “Get on boy! Go, go, go!” I called needlessly to Kiro. You could feel his entire body stretch, licking up the grass. We had the race bagged, and I was looking forward to a nice, relaxing trail.
Until Northgate showed up in my peripherals. 

The grand horse was shockingly toned, and barely breathing hard. His stride was immaculate, as if he was born to race. He was perfectly balanced, as was his rider. I was so taken aback by the horse’s impeccable beauty, I hadn’t noticed he had pulled ahead until they were two or three strides ahead of us. “No, Kiro, come on! Get up boy!” I called to him, using my leg to encourage him on. But he was out of gas, his pace slowing. I could feel it. No matter what I did, he was tired. And Northgate had only just gotten started. We were only just a dozen strides away from the tree line, and I knew it was no use trying to catch Jared. With a few silent swears, I pulled Kiro to a free walk. He was breathing pretty hard, and was happy to be at a gentle walk.
“That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time! Wow Krista, he’s quick! Usually I have no competition with NG…” He patted his magnificent horse. “He’s really beautiful, Jared. How in the world does he have that much stamina? Kiro is one of the most fit, amazing horses I’ve ever met … and look at him!” Jared looked overly pleased with himself, but you could tell he was trying to hide it. He was a good friend, but I knew what he was about to make me do was quite mean. “Cross Country! Which is exactly what you are about to do, princess!” He said as he walked by me, heading back across the field to the course. I punched him as he walked by, but was forced to follow him. “Could you at least go first?” I called ahead to him. He nodded, but kept walking on.

When we got back to the start box, he gave me a small pep talk, “look, I will go first. But I promise, this is easy. Just tell Kiro to run, and think of running. Don’t jump, just go. The jumps are all 2’6” and lower, it’s the smallest course on the property. They are low enough – even if he hit these, he’d be fine. Everything here is made of foam. It’s made for people just getting into Cross. You’ll be fine, and so will he. I’ve seen you and him all day, and you click like a puzzle. Trust me on this, Kat. I’d never do anything to put you in danger.” He looked at me straight in the eye, and I knew he was serious. And I believed him. His deep amber eyes radiated trust…

“Okay. You go, I’ll watch. Then … Then I’ll …. I’ll go.”


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## hemms

Next next next!! Love it!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Roadyy

Where is the updates on this story?!!!!!


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## xJumperx

It's coming soon!!  I'm away at Equine Affaire this weekend, but on Monday I PROMISE I'll give you guys three more chapters at once, to make up for my slacking off 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Roadyy

I'm holding you to this!!! lol


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 10*

[[ I meant to make this longer, but I simply don't have time to fill in all the details I'd like... sorry guys! Have to do a huge project today, I'll have to pile y'all up later on ... I'm working on it  ]]

“Alright Krista Kat, you go up there on the lookout – that’s where we were before when we came down the hill. From there you can get the best vantage point of the whole track without running alongside. That will tire the best horses out, so I’d just sit from up there.” I nodded at Jared’s advice, and begun to continue up the hill. Before I headed up, Jared called my name out from the start box, “And Kat?” I turned around, “Take it easy, okay? You’ll make the trees nervous shaking like that!” I rolled my eyes and laughed with him before trotting back up.

When I got to the top of the hill, I gave Jared my signal of, “I’m here, take off.” He nodded in response, and pushed Northgate on. The horse’s take-off was amazing, his muscles rippling in the sun. The gleam of the shine of his coat almost heated the cool breeze around him as he blazed forward, taking the first jump with ease. In fact, taking every jump with ease.

Jared was right – all the obstacles were pretty small, and looked very plush. “See Krista, you’re hyping yourself up for nothing. Nothing can go wrong. Nope, Kiro’s a good boy. Aren’t you buddy?” I reached down and patted the black horse’s neck as I watched the team run across the field. Jared was an amazing rider as well. He controlled NG nearly invisibly, having an almost telepathic connection with the horse. The two moved in sync perfectly. Jared gave the most perfect automatic release over the jumps, making a 2’3” jump seem as flawless and genuine as a 6’ Olympic hurdle. It was poetry in motion to see him. I was awestruck by not only the horse … but the rider as well.

The course wasn’t long for a Cross Country course, at only about 15 jumps. When I saw them spread out effortlessly over the last jump, I began to make my way back down the hill to meet Jared at the start box. When I got there, I looked out to the area ahead of me, staring straight down the marked path, with the first jump in the difference. Fake logs, at only 2’ high, looked impossible. How could I do this …? Finally, Jared and NG’s trotting team caught the corner of my eye. They had both worked up a tiny sweat, but it was more of a sweat after a normal horse completed a round of 5 jumps at high speed … not 15. The animal’s fitness always took me aback.

“You ready?” He asked. I bowed my head. I was ashamed to show my weakness to my bestfriend, afraid to show my pain. But he simply gave a sad smile, and brought his horse next to Kiro. They touched shoulders, we touched legs. He put his hand on my shoulder firmly, encouragingly. “Krista. You have the second best horse I’ve ever seen in my life. You have _the_ best connection I’ve ever seen in my life. Kiro will take you over anything, through anything, under anything, safely. You won’t hurt him, and he sure as hell won’t hurt you. You need to close your eyes, open your heart, and let this horse tell you who to be. You lost a piece of yourself in that accident, Krista. You, me, Kiro, and even Ghost all know that.” I looked up into Jared’s caring eyes. “It’s time to get it back.”

I smiled, my heart melting. He did always know just what to say. I gave him a hug as best I could between the horses, and finally came back asking, “Who’s the first?” Jared gave me a puzzled look. “You said Kiro was the second best horse you’d seen. Who’s the first? Hope you’re not about to say Northgate,” Jared raised his eyebrows, “’Cause I’m about to kick his butt!” I kicked Kiro into a gallop, pushing him down the stretch. I heard Jared call something to me, but his voice was drowned in the wind.

I let Kiro’s hooves pounding against the sand drown out my fears. The wind ripped the pain and worry from my head and threw it behind me with a force. The jump came to view. Small, foam logs … Bigger foam logs … just strides away … oh my … “Close your eyes,” Jared’s voice came to my brain, “Close your eyes …” I did so. Shut my eyes tight, giving Kiro all the rein he needed. “Open your heart … Open your heart … Open …” And we were airborne.

The feeling was priceless. I leaned softly into Kiro’s neck, letting his mane brush my face. I could feel my stomach jump with the horse, feel my body fall into the perfect position. Everything was perfect, effortless, flawless in the air. I called out to the world in victory, opened my eyes, brought everything together. We landed in epic ease, and continued down the course. “That a boy! Get it Kiro! Go!” We pulsed down the field, clearing each jump, one at a time, in flawless form and love. 

I came back to the start box, me and Kiro a little hotter than NG came in. Jared looked at me in … shock? I really couldn’t tell what it was. He stuck something round in his pocket and smiled at me. “See Krista! I told you you wouldn’t die!”

I smiled wide at Jared, finally thankful for him pushing me to do it. I then leaned down to pat Kiro’s slightly sweaty neck, “That’s my boy … just you wait Kiro, we’ll be taking the Eventing world by storm, just you and me!”


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 10 Continued*


I came back to the start box, me and Kiro a little hotter than NG came in. Jared looked at me in … shock? I really couldn’t tell what it was. He stuck something round in his pocket and smiled at me. “See Krista! I told you you wouldn’t die!”
I smiled wide at Jared, finally thankful for him pushing me to do it. I then leaned down to pat Kiro’s slightly sweaty neck, “That’s my boy … just you wait Kiro, we’ll be taking the Eventing world by storm, just you and me!”

~*~

“You _what!?”_ I nodded enthusiastically at Trina, like a little 5 year old. “Yes! Yes Trina we jumped! A whole course! A Cross Country course! It was so amazing! I felt like flying, and the scenery? Oh the scenery was beautiful. Everything was beautiful. Everything felt beautiful, smelled beautiful, looked beautiful…” My trainer’s laughing at my rambles cut me short. “Oh Krista, you’re wild!! I’m so happy for you! So you are ready to get back into showing? Think Kiro has what it takes to be a Hunter? Well we should get him schooling immediately…” My puzzled look stopped Trina short. “Uh, I don’t know how to tell you this …” I began, slowly. Trina gave me a hard look, and it took all I had to finish, “But I’m kind of … done with Hunters. I want to get into Eventing.” Her eyes changed in size and she stood there, stock still for a good amount of time.

“You … you want to do three day eventing? With Cross Country, and Dressage? And not Hunters, Krista, that’s Show Jumping. All speed. Tight turns. Crazy talk. You don’t want to do that.” She spoke quietly and curtly, and I knew she wasn’t happy. I sighed, because I saw this coming, though I was sort of wishing I was going to be wrong. “Yea, Trina. Listen, I’ve been thinking about it the whole ride here. Kiro was made for cross. You can feel it when you ride him. His dressage is flawless, you and I both know that. We can get into and through show jumpers no problem, it’s just hunters with a little speed in the mix.” 

I knew instantly I shouldn’t have said that.

“Hunters?! You think Show Jumping is like Hunters?! Now I _know_ you’ve lost your marbles, Kristene! Show jumping is nothing like Hunters, not in the slightest bit! The jumps look different, are set extremely differently – if you thought Equitation courses were wily, wait till you get to a Jumpers course – the rules are all different, the speed makes the whole thing stupid … You’re insane!” I could tell she wanted to continue on, but I wasn’t going to hear it if she did, and she knew this. “No, Trina, it’s not that bad. Yes, the courses and rules and jumps are different, but it’s only dangerous if you ride the course dangerously. Do you think I’m a dangerous rider?” I questioned my trainer with a bit more spite than what was necessary, but I felt that she needed some help to get the idea in her head, through all the nonsense she’d gotten from previous opinions. She sighed and threw it right back at me, 

“No, Krista, you’re not a dangerous rider. But _that horse,_ now he might be on the crazy side! You know and I know that that horse isn’t reliable enough to take to a small local Hunter show, much less some crazy event!” 
“‘that horse’ has a name. It’s Kiro. And he just took me through a whole Cross Country course without a hitch! Ghost would have taken it more flighty than he did!”
“Krista, the answer is no. I won’t take you to an event, I won’t enter that horse - sorry, Kiro – in an event, and therefore I won’t be driving you to the hospital or that horse to the vet!”

I knew that no meant no. It drove me insanely mad, and I wanted nothing more but to slam doors and storm out, but I also knew better in that subject. Instead of carrying on, I sighed and led Kiro to his stall, where he was put away for the night. “Don’t you worry, buddy,” I whispered to the big black, “I’ll get you in a trial. And we will take home the whole thing. We’ll show her who we are.” I smiled, gave Kiro one last pat, and headed for the door. “Goodnight, Trina.” I called behind me. “See you tomorrow, Kristene.” I gently shut the door behind me, and left the barn. “Yup,” I said to no one, “We’ll do it. If she knows … or not.”


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## Roadyy

I'll get myself in trouble here at work for reading them if they were too much longer as I can never stop reading til the end. 

I truly have the characters and scenery all depicted in my head from your descriptive writing. Thank you for making this enjoyable to read at my age of 42.


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 11*

[[ Bit of a short chapter, more to come!  ]]

Sunday was a pretty slow day. I didn’t get to go to the barn, which might not have been a bad thing. It seemed that me and Trina both needed a little space to cool down after Saturday’s big debate. The second portion of my weekend really consumed of carting my little brother around town – he had a birthday party to get to, and we needed to buy a present beforehand. The store experience was probably the highlight of my day.
What I did get a chance to work on was my sketch of Kiro. I sat down at my desk, sighed, popped my knuckles a bit, and began working on the sketch. I managed to get from a crude outline to a decent looking start to a nice drawing. Kiro was immobilized in a quarter turn, his right hoof extended in front of his body. His mane whipped away from his long, structured face, staring at whomever it was that faced the paper. I hadn’t gotten to the light feathering around his hooves, or any of the detailing and shading on him, but really it was looking to turn out well. I smiled at the piece, before glancing at my clock to see how much more I could do before I had to head to bed. As soon as I saw the gleaming green 11:43, I knew I really shouldn’t have gotten this far with the drawing. I jumped up to get ready for bed.

After getting ready, I realized that Navy was downstairs, watching something on the television. I could still hear it. He should have gone to bed an hour before I did – which was supposed to be about three hours and forty-five minutes ago, considering we both had school tomorrow. I ran downstairs to get him, ready to punish him for sneaking back out after mom had told him to go to bed. Halfway down the stairs, I realized that mom had never came up to tell me to go to sleep. I was worried now. When I got down to find Navy passed out on the couch, and no mother to be found, I was more angry than anything. “Where _is_ she?!” I growled, careful not to wake Navy. I immediately went to the kitchen to scour for notes. Sure enough, stuck on the fridge, was a pathetic excuse. Out with friends, Navy is asleep, wake him and take him to school in the morning. I mumbled to nobody, “Gosh, I don’t even know why she bothers living here if she’s never around.” I shook my head, flipped off the television, and proceeded up the stairs after giving Navy a blanket and a good night kiss. 

“No sense worrying about it tonight,” I spoke softly to myself as I tucked myself into bed, “it’s not like being a worrywart will change anything.” I glanced once more at Kiro’s sketch, then pulled the cord on my bedside lamp to immerse the room in darkness to compliment my slumber. 

~*~ 

I walked into Chemistry, one of my two classes with Jared. We shared a usual greeting, then began to discuss horses yet again – it was a fairly popular topic between us. “So, did you get any work in on Sunday?” Jared asked me. I sighed, shaking my head with a reply, “No. Me and Trina got in a pretty big fight after I got back from your barn. She’s … not very accepting of me doing Eventing. At all.” Jared got this puzzled look on his face, begging me to explain, “I have no idea why. She just says these things about her not wanting me and Kiro to be put in a hospital. Apparently she thinks that Eventing is ten times more dangerous than Hunters. Which isn’t true, if you’ll recall …” I glanced down to my forearm, taking note of the long, straight scar that showed exactly where my surgery was to fix my shattered bones.

Jared gave a sideways frown, “Yea, I agree with you, Kat,” he started, “No matter what discipline you do, riding is dangerous – that doesn’t make any one discipline more dangerous than another. You are living proof of that. I don’t understand what her beef is. So I guess you getting a small Cross course built at your place is out of the question?” I chuckled, amused by the idea of Trina ever even considering the thought. “Yea, there’s about as much chance of _that_ happening as me getting a Ferrari!” We both laughed at that one, before I noticed a light bulb go off in Jared’s head. “Hey … why don’t you just trailer up to my place? Any time you want to train over some Cross Country, or even Stadium, you just come to me. Take your Dressage lessons there, maybe cover some Hunter work, then just come by any other time for any other training. I’ll help you learn the ropes. Besides, it will be good to show you how much better I am than you,” He gave a sly, teasing smile. I rolled my eyes and laughed, “Oh please! Sounds like somebody is full of himself! You wait till I learn the ways of your game, I’ll beat you every time!” Jared laughed and rolled his eyes, before extending his hand, “So it’s a deal? I teach you stadium and cross, and when the time comes, we event together. Every show, you and me, an unstoppable team. Deal?” He smiled in a more sincere manner, sweet and loyal. I returned the grin, and took his hand for the shake. 

“Deal.”


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 12*

After all my chores were finished, I went to fetch Kiro out of his stall. Trina snuck up behind me, “So, Krista, have you made your decision on what you’re going to do?” I smiled a bit, and proceeded with my plan, “Yea, Trina,” I replied, before turning to face her, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to spring that on you, or talk to you in the way I did. I’ve come to my senses – no need breaking my, or his, neck.” I gestured to the black beast I had haltered. His head was lowered to my level in a loving way. “We will just worry about getting back into shape first, maybe not compete for a while.” Trina nodded, pleased with my answer. “Good, I’m so happy to hear about that. I care about you, Krista, I really do. I couldn’t stand to see you all laid out on a hospital bed because I let you get into something like that. You understand, right?” I simply nodded, and led Kiro forward to the crossties. “I do understand, Trina. You’re right. I’ve got to take it easy on myself.” She smiled, then proceeded to the arena, calling back a ‘see you there.’ 

I had previously decided to not tell Trina of me and Jared’s plan. It would do nothing but worry her. Later, I told her that I’d be trailering twice a week to a friend’s barn, which was true. Though, as far as she knew, me and my friend would just be doing some dressage and a few little courses, to watch each other and catch tips. She was really very happy to hear this, and said it was good with her. The one thing she requested was that she could have the trailer when she needed it. Of course, I obliged. I hated lying to my trainer – she really had become a friend – but it was necessary in this situation, to keep her from fretting, and me in eventing.

My lesson went really well. We came over a few small jumps, mostly at 2’. We practiced simple things – 5 stride lines, single jumps, stuff that you would be taught in a basic lesson. The main goal was to get me back into jumping shape, and to teach Kiro the same time. In a normal situation, it would be a bad idea to have a semi-green jumping rider on a green horse; but considering the connection I had with Kiro, and his odd ways with other people, it seemed there was really no other choice. We handled each other well. 
“I’m liking how he’s coming along! He’s got good foundation, you’ve taught him very well up to this point. He’s got wonderful potential and very decent form already, and he’s only been over a handful of jumps. He likes you, Krista, he really does.” I smiled at Trina’s kind words, reaching down to pet Kiro’s sweaty neck. “Yea, I really like him too.” I smiled, and saw a grin escape from Trina as we walked along.

 After a good long cool-down, I brought him out of the arena and checked the clock in the aisle, “What?! Half past 7?! Oh crap, Navy!” I had dropped my little brother off at daycare on the way here, after school, since mom still wasn’t home yet. I had said I would likely be back by 5. The care center closed at 8. It took a half hour to get there, and Kiro was still fully tacked, standing in crossties. “I’m going to be so late! I’m going to get charged, and Navy is going to be so mad …” I let a short profanity fly as soon as Trina turned the corner (of course, I hadn’t noticed she had), and received a small scolding, “Krista! Watch your mouth! What is it you’ve got some spite against?” I told her my predicament, and she seemed to understand completely. “Oh … Why didn’t you just bring him here?” She asked me. The real answer was that I really didn’t feel like worrying about him while I was riding. I always did, for some reason, worry when I brought him here. Not because I don’t trust Trina, but because he could be quite rambunctious, and I didn’t want him getting into anything. Especially since Trina didn’t have kids, he would definitely be a challenge.

“I just don’t want him bothering anything. There’s a lot he could get into here, and I don’t want him to be any trouble,” I explained best I could. She just laughed and shook her head, “Aw, but I like your little buddy! He’s great fun, loves the horses. You should bring him next time! Bring him every day if you like, I could always use a fun little spirit around like him.” Her comments puzzled me a bit – I didn’t think Trina really liked kids – but I laughed and agreed that, if she wanted him around, he was all hers. It would help with the money to go around, too. Daycare was pretty expensive, and with mom out of a job, her unemployment and what I made here at the barn was pretty much holding us up. “Krista, you go ahead and get Kiro taken care of. I’ll go get the little man.” I was startled by Trina’s offer. “Are you sure? He likes you, he told me that when we left the last time I brought him, but do you really want to drive all that way?” Trina just nodded, “It’s no trouble!” I just shook my head, surprised, and agreed to her deal. “Only if you want to, I don’t –“ She cut me short, “I want to! You get this big black taken care of – it’s not like I could do it for you!” I realized this, and laughed. “Yea, I guess you’re right. Thanks Trina! Really, you’re a lifesaver!” 

I didn’t have to wait around very long after getting Kiro put up in his stall. I watered all the horses, threw everybody except the few that are overweight another flake of hay for the night, and locked everything up; essentially, I did all the chores Trina usually does while I untacked the last horse of the day. Soon enough, I heard the noisy patter of sneakers running through the entranceway of the barn, and a voice calling behind it, “No running in the barn little man!” As soon as the words left her mouth, I heard a small skirt, and the running changed to a slower, walking pace. I stood up from the bench I was sitting on, and smiled when I saw Navy and Trina come around the turn. “What’s up little brother? How was day care?” He came up with big smiles and gave me a hug, “Great! I played with blocks, and outside on the slide, and lots of stuff! I liked it.” I smiled and ruffled his hair. He had a cute little Bieber cut, though my eight year old brother pulled it off a lot better, in my opinion. “Sounds awesome! Did Trina tell you about tomorrow?” He nodded very, very enthusiastically. “Yea! She said I was coming here from now on! She said I can help her, and we can have fun, and she can teach me all about ponies!” I chuckled a bit, and looked up to find Trina just a shade redder. I laughed a bit more, then thanked her. “It really means a lot to me. And sounds like it means a lot to this little guy too!” I patted Navy on the back, while he gave another dizzying nod.

After chatting just a bit about tomorrow’s plans, I head for the door with Navy in tow. We hopped in the truck and headed home. He told me all about his day at daycare, but also reminded me that he was much more excited to spend time at the barn. He then proceeded to tell me just how much he loves the barn, and wants to ride soon. The thought of him riding was a bit comical – I couldn’t fathom him focusing for a second – but I told him maybe, someday, it would be a possibility. He was happy with that answer, and by the time we pulled into the drive at about 9 o’clock, he was fast asleep in the passenger seat. I smiled, unbuckled him, and walked him into the house. On the way there, I noticed mom’s car. “So somebody finally made it home,” I muttered. After putting Navy to bed, I confronted her on the couch. 

“Listen, Ma. I know you are going through a tough time around this time of year. But you can’t just keep jumping town like this. We need you here, okay?” She just nodded, and flipped the TV off, “You really don’t need me anymore, Kristene. You can handle Navy by yourself just fine. It’s a small house, not much cleaning to do. If I need a few days off, I need a few days off. I don’t need you telling me I can’t.” I sighed at her response. She was partially correct – I really could handle the place – but Navy didn’t have school over summer break, and I couldn’t just haul him everywhere. And lord knows we can’t afford daycare. I tried to compromise, “Okay mom. Do what you want now. But get it all out of your system, because Navy will need you this summer.” I took a deep breath before finishing my thought, “He’s already had to come this far without a father. Don’t expel him of his mother too.” That left mom speechless, and I knew it would. There was really nothing else I could say, though. Eventually, she just nodded. I gave her a hug, and told her goodnight before heading upstairs to get some rest. 

“It’s definitely a struggle at times,” I spoke to myself, “But at least I have somebody. At least I have Kiro.”


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## Monty4ever

Oooo! This is a really good novel/story! Please keep going!!


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 13*

I went to Jared’s for the second time on Tuesday. He called to let me know that we would be in the indoor arena. He said he wanted to go ahead and take me over some Jumper specific exercises, and teach me the rules. He figured I would fair best with starting our training with this because jumping was something I knew how to do. I was more comfortable with it. He was certaintly right, and I was ready for today’s lesson. I was hoping that Kiro could easily take the tighter turns and more complex turns. I had always loved doing Equitation courses, which usually included these tighter turns, and more complex way of travel, so here’s hoping Kiro felt the same way.

“Sis, this isn’t Trina’s barn?” Navy had to come with me. This wasn’t an ideal situation, as I wasn’t exactly sure what he would do at this beautiful, top of the line barn while we were riding. But I really had no other way of keeping him anywhere. Daycare would be an option, but my mother informed me last night that we just didn’t have the money for it, and I did understand that. None the less, it was sure to be an exciting day. “I know, Navy, we are going to hang out with a good friend of mine today. Now, listen bud, this is a really big stable, and you’ll have to be real good and just watch, okay? Kiro and I are going to be really busy with riding, and nobody will be able to play with you. Okay buddy? We won’t be long.” He gave a wayside smile, and sort of nodded his head. I felt bad for him, but there wasn’t much I could do. He was a good sport.

After we pulled into the barn and got Kiro out of the trailer, Jared came out of the barn to meet me and Navy. “Hey there big guy! What have you grown since I last saw you, a foot?” Navy’s face lit up – I had forgotten that he and Jared really did get along well. We had met up once or twice before, and it was starting to come back to me – Jared had played a little basketball with Navy once at my house. The hoop was low, low enough for Jared to dunk the ball without jumping, but he had let Navy win their little game of HORSE just to put a smile on his face. It was obvious that Navy hadn’t forgotten this, because he strode up to my bestfriend and promptly fist-bumped him, confidently stating “Well isn’t it Jared, the Jared I schooled last summer!” I had to laugh out loud, and it took Jared everything in him to hold back. The sound of the eight year-old’s “cool” voice was hilarious, funny enough for me to nearly drop Kiro’s lead! Jared finally came back with “Yes, yes, it is me. Suppose you wouldn’t be up for a little rematch after me and your sister get a little riding in, would you?” I looked over to him with a pondering look, trying to express that I didn’t want to be any trouble. He just smiled and nodded, mouthing, “it’s fine.” He must have gotten the message. 

Navy’s face lit up with joy. Jared then led Navy to a viewing outpost on the second floor of the barn, overlooking the arena. Navy later told me that the area was stocked with chips and other snacks, with water in the mini-fridge. Jared had told him to help himself, but he said he only took two bags of chips and one bottle of water, to be polite. I praised him.

Meanwhile, I tacked Kiro and led him to the giant indoor. Jumps were everywhere, decorated like a typical jumper course. Colored gates, lattice, tarp, liverpools – many things you would only find in a jumpers course, not typically hunters. “Well, I guess we best take a look at these, huh Kiro?” I asked my gelding as I led him near the jumps. He took a hard look at them, but wasn’t too spooked till Jared snuck in behind us on Northgate, and called, “What are you doing? Step away from the jumps! Take the rail, don’t let him look at anything!” I jumped, as did my horse, “Jesus, Jared, you scared the crap out of us! Why all the hollering? Why can’t he look?” I accused him, slightly ticked that he had spooked my horse. It didn’t last long, for I saw the embarrassment, and bowed his head, “I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But you can’t look at the jumps before you jump them – that’s the rules of the ring.” He said honestly, quietly, and sincerely. It was my turn to feel bad, “No, no you’re fine. Just don’t be so crazy next time,” I teased him in a playful voice. He gave me a lopsided grin, and I continued, “But that makes sense, the rules. I understand now, not used to that one. Sorry.” He just shook his head, and mumbled, “rookie,” to which I playfully retorted. We laughed a bit more over our playful teasing ways while warming up before we began jumping.

“Okay Kat, everything here is below 2’3”. You’ve jumped twice this before, and you’ve jumped this height just the other day. You’ve got it. Now listen, he’s going to look hard at those jumps – that’s the whole reason I set the colorful ones up – he needs to get used to that. Once you really get him exposed, he will stop being so particular and shy, and you can start shaving seconds off your time. For now, don’t expect anything too fast, and don’t try for it either. We won’t time you yet, maybe after we jump around a second,” He explained to me, “Now let’s just start with this diagonal line – the paint splatter plank to the wave jump.” I nodded, and cantered Kiro around the ring to get a good angle to the jumps. The canter was a forward, but calm pace. He had his head at a comfortable, easy to obtain position. Jared soon spoke up, “That’s a fine pace for these warm up jumps, but you’ll need more out of him later.” I nodded then continued to ride. It was clear that the jumps he’d pointed me to were probably the easiest, which calmed my mind. I liked starting smaller and working my way up. It helped build both me and my horse’s confidence. 

The jumps were set at a smaller distance than I was used to, at three strides. Kiro ate up the ground pretty well with a large stride, so they came quickly. After I was out, I slowed him to a walk and patted him, looking to my buddy for instruction. He nodded with a smile, “That was great! I really like him, he’s got super potential. Now I want you to do the same thing, but make that a two stride.” I paused for a second, giving him a hard look. “It’s fine, Kat,” he assured me, “I know you can do it, I know he can do it. It’s not as hard as you think. You want me to go first?” I nodded, feeling more secure with having an example go ahead.

I was jealous of how Jared made the jumps. He simply pushed NG into a large, open stride, dialed in the small jumps, and popped over them with perfect pace – all in two strides. He then, I guess just to show it was possible, instantly shortened his mount’s stride. He cantered quickly down the long side, and took the jumps again. This time, putting four in the line. He halted and patted his horse religiously after the fact. “See Kat, it’s all a matter of adjustability. That’s so important in jumpers – you need to be able to come out of a tiny turn, push to get a bigger stride for the spread apart jumps, and then pull it all together to make the smallest, most ridiculous rollback you’ve ever done in your life. That’s all you need to do. Not hard, just necessary. Now you, go on.” 

I nodded, understanding what he meant. You would hardly ever have to do such a thing in a hunters class, in those rounds you usually wanted a nice, even pace through the whole course. Equitation, you could occasionally use that sort of practice with tighter turns and more complex courses. I had to remind myself to put all of that behind me; take what I learned from hunters and apply it to what I’m doing now, but also adapt to the new style. I took a deep breath, and went down the line, asking for a large, powerful stride that I knew I could get out of Kiro. Once I pressured him, he moved out beautifully. Staying on the bit, but pushing through his hindquarters to stretch out perfectly. He dialed in the first jump, and flew over effortlessly; the second obstacle was just as flawless – and we fit two strides in between. “Good!” Jared called, “Now make it a four!” I called back an okay, and promptly leaned my body back just a smidge, and asked him to collect and bring it back. After taking just a bit longer than NG took to collect, my Kiro switched from the forward and out motion to a more up and in approach. Amazingly, I was able to re-take the line with the perfect amount of strides yet again.

I turned after the line to stop next to Jared and NG. He was smiling, and laid a hand on my shoulder. “That,” he emphasized, “was perfect! You and that horse, I’m telling you …” He looked me and Kiro up and down, then met my eyes again, “you’re just amazing.” I smiled, reaching down to pat my steed. “Yea, he’s pretty great. Maybe one day we can be as amazing as you guys!” I said honestly. He really did amaze me with his skill on his horse. It was so amazing to watch Jared, and even more amazing to know that I’d soon be able to accomplish the same feats as him soon enough!

After a great lesson, with stride adjustment and introduction to interestingly colored jumps, we cooled and untacked the horses. “You can stick Kiro in that empty stall with some water and a flake of hay if you want. Stay a while, Kat, I did promise your brother a set of hoops!” I decided to go ahead and oblige. After filling a bucket of water for my boy, I head over with Jared. Navy came down, and we walked out back to find a basketball hoop and a few balls. Jared walked over to the hoop and lowered it to an appropriate 8-year-old’s height, and proceeded to hand my brother the smallest ball. “How about some HORSE, little man?” Navy grinned wide and smacked his little hands around the ball. “I ain’t so little anymore!” 

I laughed and watched as the two battled it out, and of course watched Navy take the lead. The two entertained each other a bit more, and I had a good time as well, before it was finally time to leave. I loaded up my Kiro, and head to the truck. “Thank you, Jared! Thursday, same time? Can’t wait!” Just before I buckled up and left, Jared popped up in the window of my truck, “Hey, Kat?” I nodded, gesturing him to go on. “I was thinking we could hang out after your lesson on Thursday. I figured I could totally school you, then we could grab some pizza and chill out?” I laughed, then replied with, “Well, maybe after _I school you,_ I think that would be super awesome!” We both laughed, rolled eyes, and headed our ways. 

With Navy chanting in my ear all the way home, “Krista’s got a boy-friend!” I proceeded along the road with eye rolls and hidden smirks.


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 14*

Wednesday went by a lot slower than the other few days of the week had. It seemed to drag on, sitting through all my classes with the same level of interest (or lack thereof), and one thing on my mind- tomorrow. Of course, I was left with a ton of homework. Story of my life, it seemed!

 After picking Navy up and driving on home, I decided to get started right away so that I could get to the barn. Navy started pestering me before I got my Calculus finished, asking for things to do. It was clear he was bored. “Little man, I can’t help you right now. See all this?” I gestured to all the paperwork laid out on my desk, “I’ve got to get all this done as quickly as I can. I want to get to the barn before it’s too late for me to ride. Why don’t you see what mom has for you to do? I’m sure she’d love for you to lift her spirits a bit,” I smiled and tried to be as cheery about it as possible, masking my annoyance. Not from Navy, but from my homework, though he certaintly wasn’t helping the case too terribly much. Finally he nodded and proceeded to head down the stairs, back to the living room. 

 I returned to my work, but not before catching a glance of the drawing I had been working on of Kiro. I looked back at my work, then back to the sketch, then back to the work again, before finally throwing my pencil down and walking out the door. Math can wait. 

~*~

 I walked into the arena on Kiro on a nice, loose rein. Trina was sitting patiently on the mounting block, waiting for us to come on in. “I thought you said you had tons of work to do?” She asked me, “It wasn’t but an hour after three; took me longer than that to do work for six classes when I was your age.” We both chuckled a bit, then I explained that it could wait until I was finished with my job here. “Yeah,” She scoffed, “Some chore you have here! You get to ride your horse, ride a few more, clean some stalls, call it a day. Wish this was my only job, that’s for sure!” We chatted back and forth a bit while me and Kiro warmed up, doing some nice walking exercises to get him all loosened up. After a bit of working trot, we were ready to get into the lesson. 

 The ride consisted of mostly flatwork, since Trina knew we had been working hard yesterday at Jared’s. Though, as far as she knew, we had just done some very simple jumping exercises. Which wasn’t being dishonest, but her definition of ‘simple’ corresponded with Hunter work; not exactly rollbacks and adding/subtracting distances to the extremes that we were. In all honesty, I probably could have told her all about my trip and have no harm done - those types of things were useful in the Hunter ring, just as they were in Jumpers – but I knew, as training progressed, she would have to be in the dark about the work I would be doing over fences. So it was best for her to never really have any good, solid details, so that it wouldn’t be suspicious later on. This sucked for me, as I hated lying to her. “Oh well,” I thought aloud, “Just a little white lie, won’t hurt anybody.”

 After ending the lesson with some 2’3” lines and a good cool down, I dismounted and untacked Kiro. I groomed him next, making sure to get every little hair on his body all cleaned and sweat free. I had always been a huge stickler on grooming, and knew it’s importance. This time, though, I noticed he was wincing a bit over the saddle area. “You alright, buddy?” I asked him, wishing I could get a reply. I massaged the area a bit, hoping it was just a small muscle catch. After leaving it and coming back to it with the same wincing motion, I decided to call tomorrow’s ride off. “That’s alright buddy. I’ll check your saddle out, see if I can get another saddle pad to go over your square one. Maybe I can find one in black sheepskin to go with your red! Wouldn’t that be nice, Kiro? In the meantime, you can have tomorrow off to rest up. We don’t want his back too sore!” I gave him some more pats and love, then sent him in his stall. After fixing his feed and water, I decided it would be good to call Jared and let him know about tomorrow.

 After two rings, he answered the phone. “Hey Krista Kat! How’s my best friend?” I smiled, though there was no one but the horses to see it, “Pretty good, but afraid I’ve hit a bump in the road for the moment,” I explained the situation with Kiro, and how I didn’t want to work him tomorrow. “Aw, send the big guy my best wishes! I’m sure he’ll be just fine in a day, I should have told you that all that jumping and riding could stretch him a bit thin, since he hasn’t done much speed stuff like that. I’m sorry, Kat.” He sounded extremely guilty, as if it was all his fault, “Don’t be sorry, Jared, soreness happens! I’m not mad or anything, I just wanted to let you know I couldn’t ride tomorrow,” After a short pause, I shyly added, “You still up for that pizza, though?” I figured it would still be nice to hang out after I left the barn tomorrow, I always loved having things to do. “Yea! That sounds awesome! Just drive over after you get done at Trina’s, maybe we can catch a movie or something with the extra time. See ya then, Kat!” I laughed, and said my goodbyes, before doing the same with Trina, and also telling her my plans with Kiro. “Okay then,” she started, “Since Kiro will be off, that gives you some space to get some of the other horses worked. No worries, I’ll turn you loose early enough to hang out with your boyfr- I mean, guy friend.” She smiled cunningly and winked, and all I could do was smile and shake my head. “Will do, Trina. I’ll be here right after school!”

 It was then that my eyes grew twice their size, and I snapped my watch up to my face. 9:30. “Oh crap!” I bolted out the door, with Trina’s, “what’s wrong?!” falling behind me. As I ran out the door, I barely had time to make out, “homework! I still haven’t done it,” before jumping in the truck to get home. My mom was going to kill me.


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## Roadyy

Nice..Looking forward to the next chapter!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## xJumperx

Thank You!! It's going to start picking up into the climax pretty soon, sorry it's taken a little bit to get this far. I like to put lots of character development in, though sometimes it's the death of my own stories, because I get bored... lol. I'm liking this one though. 

I'm thinking of writing another either right after this one or during it. It's more of a fantasy, involving Pegasi. If I post a prolouge here, could y'all let me know if you think you'd like it? I'll make sure there's a clear seperation if I ask. If it gets good feedback, I'll make a seperate thread for it, of course.


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## dommycob

Love it waiting for the next chapter!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 15*

Posting the next two in a row  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After a bit of a lecture from my mother, the homework did get done, and school went by pretty smoothly. Me and Jared discussed movies to watch after school, and finally decided on The Breakfast Club and Hidalgo, two of our absolute favorites. After school, I dropped Navy off at the house before heading over to Jared’s barn. We had decided to chill out in the loft above the arena. It was pretty secluded, and few of the parents used it, surprisingly. Mostly just the children of parents, and the lessons that were going on today didn’t involve those families. Just in case, Jared decided to just lock the entrance to the extra area. If anyone asked, it could just be under renovation or something. It was really an awesome view, with a small balcony that actually hung over the arena. We figured it would be fun to watch some lessons, since we both loved it. We ended up killing 3 hours doing just that.

 “Today is when the advanced riders take their lessons. I went ahead and told them I didn’t need the arena for our reserved time today, so that’s why there is someone down there now. I like the way they ride, super giving to the horse. Some of the boarders here just suck.” I chuckled a bit as Jared talked a bit more, and we quietly judged the riders, as if we were at a show. 

"Speaking of judging,” Jared brought up, “you and Kiro have come a long way in these past weeks, and I think you’re ready for a small event. Me and NG are going to a small local event next week to support the arena. It could use some help. Not too many people should be there, and you’ll be good to go in the 2’6” division and do pretty well on Kiro. What do you say?” I pondered it for a second before asking, “So we would take our four lessons this week and next preparing?” I asked, “Yup! I’ll get you going over the Cross Country course, we will talk about some stamina strategy … you will be more than ready for this. I’d love to bring you along. I’ll trailer you guys there.” It seemed way too good to pass up. I had to take the leap sometime … “Deal! I’d love to go! Pretty sure Trina is busy this week anyway, and she’s not having me teach lessons yet. Sounds perfect!” He was clearly ecstatic to hear this. “Awesome! Yes! I would love to have someone show with me again. Melissa used to, but she bought a new horse and decided to switch to Hunters. She’s in your world now, so I gave up on her,” He chuckled teasingly. 

 I was really happy to get the opportunity to event, finally. I knew I’d have to make up something to tell Trina, but it wouldn’t be a big deal. Right after I had time to think about that, the callbox rang. “Pizza’s here!” Jared exclaimed. We quickly walked down to eat, and got the movies set up.

 At the end of the day, when it was eventually time to go home, I found Jared waking me up. I had ended up falling asleep at the end of Breakfast Club (we watched Hidalgo first), laying my head upon his shoulder. I felt my face turn a shade of red, but he just smiled and hugged me quickly before we hopped up off the couch and got the movies out. We chatted a bit more about the films while Jared put the movies in their cases and stuck them under the TV where they belonged. 

He walked me out to the truck, as we said our goodbyes. “I’d love to do this again, Kat, I had an awesome time.” I smiled, “You and me both! We will have the whole weekend to ourselves, you’ll probably be sick of me by then.” He laughed, “never, never! And even before that, I’ll have to come to your house and bother the crap out of you and your relatives this weekend,” I looked to him puzzled, to which he laughed and replied, “You’re kidding? Your birthday, Kat! You are turning 18 this Saturday! How could you forget your jump to adulthood!” I thought about it for a second, then laughed out loud, “Wow! Talk about blonde moments!” I hopped in the truck and buckled my seatbelt, “Yea, Kat, smooth.” He laughed with me for a while before I drove to the end of the drive, pausing to make sure he got back in the barn. “Don’t know what I’d do without you, buddy,” I said to myself as I saw him shut the barn door behind him and I stuck the truck in drive, “No idea.”


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 16*

Saturday was amazing. I sat at the table, covered in a colored cloth and dusted with confetti, a large cake with 18 candles, all lit, sitting along the perimeter of the delicious desert. It was my favorite – Ice cream cake with whipped frosting. My closest friends and family all sang in unison, “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Krista…” Trina stood on my left with her hand on my shoulder, Jared sitting at the floor bobbing back and forth, making me laugh hysterically, poking my side playfully as he sang. Once the familiar tune was finished, the delicious cake was divided and dispersed. “Ya know Krista,” I heard Trina’s voice call for me, “You are a big kid now. I’m thinking about keeping you at the barn a little longer, get some more hours on that big pony. Make those hours count, and you’ll have a nice present next year,” She winked at me, and flashed a sly smile. It took all I had in me not to scream and jump around like a two year old. I gave a huge smile to my trainer, “Really?? You mean …?!” She simply smiled, pat me on the back, and walked off to converse with others at the party. I was on the edge of fan-girling before Jared came up behind me and gave me the biggest hug ever, picking me up off my feet, “how’s that for some birthday news? Go Kat!” I laughed again at the crazy boy’s tactics, hugging him back tightly after he put me down. “More like the best! Imagine Kiro being all mine! Oh it would be the best, taking him wherever, riding at all times, doing whatever with him, having him be all mine …”

 I rambled on about the possibilities for a while longer. The idea was almost too much for me to even bear, it almost exploded inside me with happiness. After the party was over, I was still beaming with joy. My whole family was in a great mood, but Navy had been left very tired. Mom went in to tuck him in as I head to my room, and immediately went to the sketch on my desk. I went straight to improving it, finishing the whole base layer and started the shading. He was really starting to pull together. I just had to finish the shading, details, and background before the drawing would be complete. Before I was finished shading, my mom came in to wish me a good night. “Happy birthday love, I hope it was your best yet,” she said sweetly, kissing the top of my head. I gave her a hug and kissed her forehead gently before turning back to what I was doing. She stayed with me for a moment, resting her hands on the edge of my chair. “Goodness, Kristene. That drawing is beautiful. Did you do it from scratch?” I nodded, “Yep, completely from memory. Have to give it to Kiro, he’s pretty gorgeous. You should come with me to the farm some time and see him for yourself. He’s even more beautiful than Ghost, if you can believe it.” I still loved Ghost dearly, and thought of him as the second most beautiful horse in the barn; but Kiro was incomparable to any horse I’d ever known. He was magical.

 She smiled and hummed a gentle laugh, “As soon as you get him to a show, I’ll see him in all his glory. It will be so good to see you riding again, too. Jumping those big obstacles, I’m so glad to hear that you are getting better and stronger again. Trina told me all about it tonight. She’s a very good trainer, she loves you even. I like her very much, you should have told me about her much sooner.” I shook my head so tightly, it was nearly invisible, “I have, mom. You just don’t remember.” I turned to face her, “It’s alright though. I’m glad you guys got to talk.” I smiled warmly, and hugged her once more before she head to bed, wishing me happy birthday once more before she left. I thanked her, then continued to completely finish the shading before calling it quits for the night, heading to bed. Tomorrow I had plans to head back to the barn for the whole day, riding a few horses along with Kiro, and watching a few lessons that Trina taught. She had wanted me to pick up a few of the intermediate lessons when I could, so that she could get a few more hours into her day job. I obliged, as I liked the kids that took lessons. Plus, one of the girls, Ashley, rode Ghost in lessons. It would be so nice to see the big gray in his new element. I fell asleep to the thought of tomorrow with a smile upon my face.

~*~

I walked into the barn just as Ashley was tacking up Ghost. Trina met me in front of the crossties after I said hello to the girl, and we spoke a bit. Ashley was only 13, but a great rider. She was jumping now, but every other week did a strict flat lesson, as was required for all riders. It was something Trina was a huge stickler about, and I was glad. She was really a great instructor. “Alright Krista, you’ll be observing this lesson. You are more than welcome to back-seat drive though, if you know what I mean. If you see things that could be improved, say them aloud to me. I might give you tips on how I would tell a student that, or whatever I think of your opinion. Good? So Ashley, you’ll have double the eyes on you. I figured with your assessment coming up, it would be valuable to you.” Ashley smiled and nodded, happy to hear about it. 

Assessments were tests on horseback. They were what separated you from beginner, novice, intermediate, intermediate-advanced, and advanced lesson groups. Your first lesson with Trina is an assessment. She will simply give commands – walk, trot, canter, cross the diagonal, jump this line, do this course, etc. Much like a spoken dressage test, but halfway through the lesson you do jumps as well, if you are at that point in your riding. However Trina sees you fit, that’s what group you go in. Ashley was currently an intermediate, so she would likely test up to intermediate-advanced, if she did well. Intermediate riders jumped a max of 2’3”, with good flatwork. Intermediate-advanced jumped a max of 2’9”, with impeccable flatwork. Advanced riders jumped 3’ and up, also with impeccable flatwork. Beginners didn’t jump. Novice riders were over poles and cross-rails. 

Ashley’s lesson went extremely well. She was a great rider, and I made few notes. When I did, Trina would tell me how to say that to her, or inform me why she wouldn’t say anything about it – “Correct, Krista, she is rounding her shoulders a bit, but that’s not a typical issue with Ashley. We are really trying hard to keep that leg steady, so I’m willing to overlook that right now if she can just focus on that leg. I won’t ignore it for too long, but for now I don’t want to overwhelm her.” Everything she told me made perfect sense, and I was really enjoying the lesson. Getting to see Ghost ride was certaintly a plus. He moved great for the girl, and looked amazing. He did everything she asked, but if she asked incorrectly, he was sure to inform her and correct her as much as he could. He was the perfect lesson horse. It made me miss riding him, but I could tell he was in good hands. Trina never let beginners ride him, only the intermediates and up. He was just a fantastic horse, and she didn’t want him spoiled. She had horses for the beginners that she had purchased as school ponies, that were broke as dirt, but just didn’t have the potential to be any good in any competition.

After the lesson, I informed Trina that I would be gone over the weekend, and that Kiro was coming with me, if it was alright with her. I told her that I was going to be camping with Jared, that he was picking us up, and that we would both be returned safely. After a bit of hesitation, she obliged. “Fine, Jared seems like a really good guy, and I can tell he will take good care of you, and I know you will take good care of that horse. So that’s fine. Does he have a living quarters trailer?” She asked, with a surprised tone, “Actually, sort of. It belongs to his barn that he boards his horse at, but he is allowed to borrow it for events-” Oh crap. That just slipped. I quickly recovered, and explained, digging myself out of the possible hole- “like camping, camping events. Like this weekend.” She nodded, “I understand that, silly. That’s fine, but that’s crazy … bet that barn is something special, huh?” I nodded, and proceeded to tell her about it, careful not to tell too much about the courses. “Well that’s awesome! Got yourself a pretty good, ahem, ‘friend’ don’t you?” She nudged me, winking and laughing to herself. I rolled my eyes, “Yes! A good _friend_ I have!” I laughed and proceeded to get Kiro out for our ride today, trying to keep Trina’s comments out of my mind.


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## Roadyy

xJumperx said:


> Thank You!! It's going to start picking up into the climax pretty soon, sorry it's taken a little bit to get this far. I like to put lots of character development in, though sometimes it's the death of my own stories, because I get bored... lol. I'm liking this one though.
> 
> I'm thinking of writing another either right after this one or during it. It's more of a fantasy, involving Pegasi. If I post a prolouge here, could y'all let me know if you think you'd like it? I'll make sure there's a clear seperation if I ask. If it gets good feedback, I'll make a seperate thread for it, of course.




I would be glad to read over it and give a like or dislike. You have a great story telling ability that draws the reader in. I'm glad you are doing this for us.


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## xJumperx

Roadyy said:


> I would be glad to read over it and give a like or dislike. You have a great story telling ability that draws the reader in. I'm glad you are doing this for us.


No, thank you! I'm so happy to have feedback, I really love it  Thank you for the lovely compliments, you have no idea how much I love them! I'll post the prolouge of the other story right here, in italics -

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_Ending the Beginning_ (Prolouge title, not the name of the story.)

_"Get in the air and fly to the northern most peak of the Calamine Mountains! There willbe less ash there, we can ready for battle before they overtake the rest of our lands!" Raiz slammed his powerful hooves into the loose ash-covered ground before spreading his blaze red wings and taking flight. His coal black body was all but swallowed by the shadow of dust that hung in the air like a nasty plague._

_The rest of the Auras joined him, a frenzy of colored horses sprouting their wings from their backs as quickly as one could bat an eye. You could hear the whistling of balled flame as it flew toward the winged horses, and it took everything you had in you not to cringe when you heard the blazing balls slam into contact with an Aura, bringing the beautiful animal to the ground in defeat. _

_Dancing through the air, multicolored and speeding, humans would normally see them as the Northern Lights, watching in awe as the horses would play in the stars. But this was no dance, and even the humans didn't care to look to the skies. This was war, and for once, the Voltans that lived beneath the exploding mountains were getting the upperhand. _

_"Mirage! Mirage! Come to the front! We are losing many, you cannot be one of them!" The ice blue stallion heard the leader's commands clearly as possible in the choking smoke, and flew reluctantly in front of the others. "My deputy," said the black and red Aura more quietly, "I fear we may not battle this time. Fleeing this will be more than enough," Raiz scoffed, "starting and continuing this very species, that will be enough." _

_The grave tone of the leader's voice brought the understanding of fear even closer to Mirage. But it was nothing compared to the sight of the firey red ball, aligned straight for the two Auras. _

_It was that fear, that moment, that would be eternally unmatched._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_


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## Roadyy

It's not exactly my kind of fiction, but it looks like it will be an interesting read.



_The rest of the Auras joined him, a frenzy of colored horses sprouting their wings from their backs as quickly as one could bat an eye.* You could hear the whistling of balled flame as it flew toward the winged horses, and it took everything you had in you not to cringe when you heard the blazing balls slam into contact with an Aura, bringing the beautiful animal to the ground in defeat*. _

Maybe change the bold part to something like this..remember I am no writer and took me awhile to think this up..lol 

You could hear the whistling of balled flames as it flew toward them, taking everything you had not to cringe from the sound of them slamming into contact with an Aura. Seeing the beautiful animals spiraling descent of defeat to the ground below kept the eyes looking up.


I have come to expect better writing from you so hope you accept my critique with honesty


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## xJumperx

No, thank you *very* much for honest critique! There were a few spots, one of which you mentioned, which I really didn't like how they were written, but I couldn't think of anything else. That helps a bunch, thank you!! I might continue it, I'm pretty emersed in this story at the moment. Much like you, I don't typically get into fantasy type reads, but after planning out the plot of that story, I like how it could go. Can't thank you enough for your input!! Chapter 17 is below vv


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 17*

The four days I was with Jared, he taught me quite a bit about the actual events. He took me to the XC course on Tuesday, and we worked on stadium on Thursday. He said the Dressage I could do easily on my own, at home. We worked on courses mainly on Thursday, making up the hardest courses we could think of. Kiro had gotten increasingly more fit, and was able to handle everything pretty easily. In fact, he was starting to look almost as buffed up as NG, which I was proud of. I had gotten lots of praise on my horse from Jared, which I was of course very happy about. After the two days of work during the week, it was obvious that we were ready to take our skills to the judges.

The trailer Jared pulled up in was beautiful. It was quite sizable, and though I had pulled trailers that size, they had never been this fancy. It was a 4 Star trailer, one of the best in the business. He allowed me to glance around the living quarter after loading Kiro. The whole thing was beautiful. I was happy to put Kiro in the area next to NG, as the trailer itself was beautifully padded, with some very nice hay in the manger. “You didn’t have to do that, I could have put in my own hay,” I noted to Jared. He said it was no problem, that he was happy to give Kiro some nice quality hay to keep him happy all weekend. I thanked him very, very graciously. The living quarter was splendid. Television, surround sound system, kitchenette, bathroom with shower … I really wanted to spend my time in it. 

After tearing myself away and saying goodbye to Trina, I was awed at the truck itself as well. It was a huge dually, super nice. I had seen the truck before, though – Jared owned this truck. I was always super jealous, and I told him that. “You can use it anytime Kat, I don’t care.” He laughed at my expression, “You are the best freaking friend I’ve ever had in my life! I’d bear-hug you if you weren’t driving!” We laughed, and continued the drive. It was a few hours north, and I spent a bit of the time sleeping, playing on my phone, talking to Jared, various things to keep my mind busy. It was Friday – we would get to the event, get set up and the horses comfy, and show in the morning. Dressage and Cross would be tomorrow, Stadium on Sunday. We would drive back after Stadium. I was very excited. I had recently purchased the items specific to eventing (safety vest, arm card, plus boots and such for Kiro, etc.) and was more than ready to use them. Not to mention the fun of showing again! With my best friend none the less! 

We got to the grounds at about 12:00 PM, we had left at 9:00 AM. Jared ended up waking me up again, and I proceeded to help him unload the horses and the tack. I was in charge of getting the horses out of the trailer, and into their designated stalls. After making a run to the barn office to get our stall numbers, I got Kiro and Northgate settled. We had nice spots, along the corner. We had gotten three stalls – two for the horses, one for the tack. After the horses were in their stalls, I ran back to the trailer to get their shavings and hay before taking off their shipping gear. Once the horses were 100% cared for, I helped Jared unload the tack into the tack stall. There wasn’t too much stuff, since it was just me and him, but it was enough to be a job. I offered to finish organizing while he went off and hooked the trailer up. 

By the time he was back, I was finished and sitting outside the stalls on some of the chairs we had brought along. “Dang, Kat, I need to bring you all the time! Fans are hooked up and running, chairs are set out, tack is organized better than I could ever dream of … I think I’ll keep you around!” I laughed, pleased at his reaction to the work I’d done, “Oh really?” I began, with a teasingly sarcastic tone, “You will? Oh thank you, kind sir! You are ever so sweet for embracing my presence! However will I repay you?” Jared picked up the tone and decided to play along, “Hmm, I suppose there is one thing…” He said, stroking his chin and standing tall, “You could offer me a ride on your fantastic steed!” My face turned instantly from playful to very serious. Under normal circumstances, I would have no problems with Jared riding my horse. He was an excellent rider, and I knew he would never do any harm to any horse. The issue was if Kiro would do harm to him. “You know Jared, I told you about Kiro’s track record … I mean, I’m the only one he’s let on his back for more than two seconds so far. I don’t want him to hurt you…” I was bashful, I hated turning Jared down, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings in any way, make him think I thought he was incapable. He simply smiled, per normal, “Such a shame, I would love to take a spin on him. He’s fantastic. What if I promised you I would get off as soon as I felt something, as soon as you said the word?” I still wasn’t fond of the idea. What if neither of us saw him flip? But I could tell he really wanted to ride him, and Kiro had been okay with Jared in the past … “Fine, but there is one condition!”

We walked into the smaller practice arena with our mounts in-hand, fully tacked in their respective gear. Jared called back to me as he unlatched the gate, “It’s a good thing we are the same saddle size, because these two have majorly different builds! No way my saddle would fit on this guy! I really like him though, he’s built just about perfectly for Stadium.” I simply laughed and nodded, watching Kiro closely for any sign of disapproval. He let Jared lead him almost as calmly as he let me, which I was very happy about. Kiro did continuously look backwards to make sure I was there, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, that’s for sure. He looked back to me now, watching me as I held Northgate. The big bay was just about the same size as Kiro, but didn’t have the same power as I felt in my big black. Maybe it was the coat, maybe it was what I saw in Kiro… who knows? 

I wanted to get on Northgate first, so that if Kiro took off with Jared, I could grab him. I was hoping for the best, expecting an average amount, but prepared for the worst. It’s how I had always been taught to look at just about everything, and it had gotten me along pretty well. I mounted NG, and immediately noticed two things – one, how much thicker Northgate was than Kiro, and two, how comfy Jared’s saddle was. I cued NG to a walk, and he listened immediately. His stride was pretty normal, not powerful and eating as Kiro’s. I’m sure if I asked more of him, he’d provide. I would test it out later, but for now I paced easily to grab Kiro’s reins to keep him steady as Jared mounted. After he was on, he had to remind me, “Now Kat, I do know how to ride. You can let go now,” He smiled jokingly as he said it, not being mean about the statement at all. I finally did let go, though very reluctantly. He asked my horse to walk off, cuing perfectly; and Kiro listened, without a hitch. He strode on, pulling his hindquarters forward, working beautifully. I had to just sit and watch for a moment, enjoying watching him move. So that’s what it looks like when I ride him! I was so happy to finally get to see. It was beautiful, and I was very pleasantly surprised at Kiro’s behavior. 

I watched for a moment more before asking NG to move to the rail. After some pace work at the walk (he was very adjustable, it was obvious how experienced he was), I asked for a working trot. He was less enthusiastic than my Kiro was, just like before, and I had to really push to get the same sort of feel Kiro gave me as I rode. Even then, there wasn’t as much connection. I could tell why Jared loved him so much, though – I don’t know how much more you could train a horse. I was almost convinced into stripping his tack and riding him bare, just to see how amazing he really was. I was honored to get to ride him. His canter was the same way – flawless. His stride was huge when cantering, though it was clear he had to be taught to make the stretch. I wondered what Jared thought of Kiro, and eventually I was forced to pull NG to a walk so I could watch them.

What I saw was really breathtaking. They worked in synergy, dancing through the arena like a fine tuned machine. Kiro was just amazing. He stretched into a large stride in everything he did, using every muscle in his body to its full extent. His muscles riveted as the sunlight sparkled upon his coat, highlighting each and every little move he made. The whole thing was beautiful, like watching a god spin and twirl right in front of your eyes. Jared asked him of everything perfectly, and Kiro provided. I was jealous at first, hoping I got the same response out of him as he was giving Jared. I was forced to snap out of my daydream by Jared’s voice, “Can I take him over that jump?” There was a jump set up along the side of the arena, standing at around 2’6”. I nodded enthusiastically, “please do!” I really wanted to see him jump. At this point, I was just standing in the middle of the arena on Jared’s horse, watching. “Sweet, thank you! Feel free to do the same!” I nodded, but stood a bit longer so that I could see Kiro. They came up on the jump with great pace, quick but controlled, and before I knew it they were flying. Kiro had perfect form. He bent his neck over the jump just a tiny bit, squared his knees perfectly, and took Jared’s automatic release in perfect stride. I could have just stood there all day, watching the two fly. But eventually, I got the curiosity at what Northgate could do. I pushed him into a canter, which he took immediately. Coming to the jump, I could sense that he wanted more rein, and I gave it to him. He seemed to be correct, as it appeared the stretch would fit perfectly. I used the same release as Jared did, and we were airborne. It was so quick, just a hop over the jump, before we had landed again. It was kind of lackluster, to be honest. I could tell that’s what he was trained to do though – get the course over with, in short time. I brought him to a walk again, to let him cool. The horse was very nice, but not quite Kiro. Soon enough, Jared did the same and we switched.

“I like him a _lot_, Kat! He’s really, really fantastic. The only thing is that … he kind of does everything how he wants it. You try to tell him what to do, and he won’t have it. At least, that’s how he was for me. I couldn’t get him to adjust his pace at all. I know he has it in him though, because he did it for you flawlessly every time we practiced!” We both mounted, me after hugging my boy. Jared looked at us with this look of … content? On his face. I couldn’t quite place it… “What is it?” I asked, to which he just shook his head, “He’s your horse alright. He loves you, you love him. You’re perfect for each other.” He directed his gaze from the horse, to me, “You are both fantastic.” That got a pretty sheepish smile out of me, “You are too; both of you, marvelous.” We stood there for a second, before finally turning to work with our horses. 

We schooled each other for a little while longer, commenting and directing based on what we saw. Eventually, we decided to call it quits and let the horses rest. We got back to the barn and tied in our stalls, chatting while we got the horses all taken care of. “So,” I began, “tomorrow is Dressage and Cross. How much time do we have after Dressage? I’d like to get him as rested as possible.” I pulled off Kiro’s tack and made my way to the tack stall while getting Jared’s response, “Pretty good amount of time, maybe an hour or so. But you don’t want to just put him in his stall. I would take his saddle off if he gets too hot, but to be honest, you need to keep him walking.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t want him getting completely cool before Cross Country. You need to have his muscles as loose and stretched as possible for the event. It’s by far the hardest one.”
“So he can’t go in his stall at all?”
“No, he can, just not for long. You can let him get a drink, let him eat a few bites of hay, but you need to start warming up about a half hour before you go in; nothing tiring, just walking and some trotting. No cantering, it’s too tasking.”
I nodded to myself, as it all made sense, “Okay. Thank you! Are you going in before or after me?”

He came into the tack stall now, finally finished with NG, “After. I’ll be right there at the start gate when you take off, and at the end when you finish. You’ll do great, you’re more than ready.” I took a deep breath, the show jitters starting to settle. “If you say so.” We checked up on the horses once more before deciding to go out for something to eat. We grabbed some burgers at a fast food joint, talking show talk as we sat in the truck and ate. I didn’t realize how much I had missed showing. The schooling, the commotion, the nervous butterflies, hanging with show buddies … The only thing missing was Trina. I hoped she would eventually come to my events … but of course that meant that I would have to tell her what was going on. I quickly decided to spend a few more events in the dark before telling her. It was for the best, right?

We ended the day chilling out on the couch in the LQ trailer, watching a movie. The TV did have satellite, but there was no luck in finding a signal. We settled on watching another horse movie, one I hadn’t heard of. It was pretty good, about a girl showing in Hunters, so I could relate to it. Once it was over, Jared explained the sleeping situation. “So, there’s only one bed in the gooseneck part, it’s a queen. This couch is a pullout though, so you head up there and I’ll get this out.” I nodded, and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for him to pull out the couch. Once he had set up the sheets and the pillow, I started to get down. “Woah, what are you doing?” He asked, puzzled. I returned the expression, “Going to bed? I thought I was sleeping there?” Jared laughed, shaking his head, “No! You’re taking the mattress, I’m sleeping here.” He started to climb into the make-shift bed, but I protested, “No way! You own this whole thing, you brought me, you are showing in bigger classes than I am, you sleep up here!” Jared shook his head quickly, and jumped into the bed before I could, “But I’m already so comfy here! I don’t want to get up again!” He said, laughing the whole time, obviously amused by his little trick. I just shook my head, “You’re impossible! You will sleep in the mattress tomorrow!” I demanded, but all I got in response was a very fake snore. I rolled my eyes, and turned in for the night, eagerly awaiting tomorrow morning.


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## Roadyy

That is a great chapter. I kept waiting for Kiro to dump him then was not sure how to feel when he didn't. After Jared's comment about Kiro wanting his way it worked out because Jared didn't force Kiro and Kiro has matured enough to recognize it.


Great read and keep up the good work.


I'm glad you are able to see what I was meaning in the Aura story. I could read it with content, but would be just like Kat on NG. Not the same satisfaction for me.


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## xJumperx

Thank you! I honestly felt the same way about Kiro not throwing J, and I'm even writing it! Lol but it's a necessary fact that J can ride him for later in the story. I love getting your feedback, by the way! Your comments are always so accurate and constructive. It's awesome, thank you!!


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## Roadyy

You are very welcome. I enjoy giving feedback to someone who knows what to do with it as well as how to receive it.

Now put more pen to pap...err.. characters on the screen for me to read..lol


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## dommycob

Are you planning on publishing this?

As for feedback, its great and it draws the reader in but I feel like something 'big' hasn't happened in a while. I feel like something bad needs to happen, like a fall or knock in confidence. Other than that its brill! Keep it coming 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Roadyy

dommycob said:


> Are you planning on publishing this?
> 
> As for feedback, its great and it draws the reader in but I feel like something 'big' hasn't happened in a while. I feel like something bad needs to happen, like a fall or knock in confidence. Other than that its brill! Keep it coming
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I want to disagree about something needing to happen now. This feels like the growth part in the story that is still leading up to something big. It's not meant to be a suspense thriller so it doesn't need dramatic action at every chapter. Albeit, reading this last chapter on the edge of my seat waiting to see if Kiro acted out was thrill enough without it actually happening. That in itself was enough to draw the reader into the story.

I have a feeling about the next big action, but excited to wait and see what really happens.


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 18*

[[As you wish!! ]]

I awoke to the single most annoying sound I’ve ever heard in my life. The blatting of the alarm clock next to the bed was terrible, and my hand swept the area quickly to find the source and hush it. When my blind hand finally felt the button, I was relieved – until all the lights in the trailer were flipped on.
 “Rise and shine sunshine!!” Jared’s overly enthusiastic call was the only thing that reminded me why I was up. I sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, “So this is why I stopped showing! What time is it??” I asked jokingly to Jared, who was already up and dressed, waiting for something that was in the small microwave. “Five bells, my dear Krista, prime time to get up! Your Dressage test starts at eight, mine at seven, we want to be more than ready by then!” He explained as the microwave went off and he pulled out a breakfast sandwich. “Breakfast is served, ready to be eaten as soon as you are ready for it. I’m going to head to the office and rent a golf cart, I totally forgot yesterday. I’ll be by to pick you up with it in about half an hour, try to be ready!” He head out the door, leaving me to get up. “Of course,” I thought aloud as I got ready, “I start off my new show career with the biggest morning person ever known to man.”

 It didn’t take too long for me to get ready, as I wasn’t the typical girl that took forever. Horse shows taught a girl how to be efficient. I ate my sandwich just before lacing up my boots, and getting all our show clothes together to take to the stables, all in their respective garment bags. After everything was together at the door, it wasn’t long before Jared pulled up in the puttering little golf cart, with two seats in the front and a small bed in the back, to put all of our stuff. “Alright, load ‘er up!” He called. I did just that, and we were on our way.

 “This thing is adorable!” I noted, enjoying the ride on the little mini-car. Jared looked at me funny, “you mean you’ve never rented a golf-cart for shows before?” I shook my head, “Naw, Trina never saw it as necessary, and the rates were kind of ridiculous. Besides, we don’t have on-site camping and we only show in one arena all day. So we just never needed one.” Jared pondered that, then nodded side to side a bit. “Makes sense. You’ll become really friendly with this little guy while we’re together. I always get them at events. They are super useful. Don’t worry, I’ll let you drive,” he said with a sly smile. I laughed, “good! That’s really all I was asking for!” 

 The ride to the barn was fairly short, but we did get the chance for Jared to show me a lot of the grounds we were on along the way. Which lines to take to get to certain places, where the food courts were, etc. He gave me a few warnings about where I couldn’t drive the golf cart, then handed over the wheel for the last part of the drive. It was awesome! I never had the chance to ride on ATV’s or anything of the sort, so this was actually pretty new for me. I was almost disappointed when we finally made it to the barn. But the sight of Kiro brought back all the joy, and I was happy to leave the golf cart behind. Jared took the keys, and we were ready to go.

 Kiro gave me a cute whinny as I came in, and NG offered Jared the same. I had noticed that the two were standing right next to each other, along their dividing wall. We saw this at the same time, looked at each other, and laughed out loud, “seems that they became just as good friends as we are!” I commented, while Jared agreed, “Yea! Those horses know who’s the bomb!” Shortly after our exchange, we went to grooming and tacking, as it was already 6:00. Jared stuck on his Dressage saddle, while I did the same. I had actually saved up enough money to buy one separate from my Close Contact saddle, since I thought that Dressage was all I would ever do. Thankfully, I had kept my CC in good condition still, and had been using it majorly for a while now. Kiro’s black bridle with white padding went on, and we were ready. “I must admit, Kiro, you look almost as good in black and white as you do in black and red,” I told my boy as we walked out of the stall. Northgate and Jared followed behind, and I noted the same color choices as us, which was obvious since it was standard for Dressage. I smiled teasingly and noted, “Yup, we look a lot better in our Dressage gear!” I said half-jokingly. He replied with, “you wish! We look amazing in everything, don’t we Northgate?” He said with a very proud, smug look on his face. I laughed and rolled my eyes, and we began the walk to the warm up arena. 

 Once we were on, we both immediately went to work. Kiro moved out perfectly, doing everything I asked with splendor. “That’s my boy!” I praised him with a pat on the neck several times during the warm up. We went through one practice test, then I decided to let him walk. He was ready. I watched Northgate while I walked. 

 In all honesty, it seemed NG was actually giving Jared some trouble. He had to work the bay to get him moving on the bit, and even more to get NG to extend and collect. When brought into a canter, Northgate was clearly pestered, occasionally throwing his head. Jared would respond with a kick, then would get him going again. I couldn’t tell if NG was just being arrogant … or … “Is everything alright?” I eventually mentioned. Jared pulled NG up to a halt. “I honestly don’t know, Krista. He’s not usually like this. Do you mind holding him for a second, I want to check him over.” Jared sounded really concerned, and I felt for him. I dismounted and walked Kiro over to the bay, and took the reins from Jared. Jared moved his hands over the big gelding, testing every muscle with patience, taking his time to make sure everything was examined. He opened his mouth to check for sores, and I noticed a clear drop in his shoulders and a sigh emit from his mouth. “Great. He’s got a wolf tooth back there. It’s probably bothering the crap out of him, and it’s right where the bit is.” Jared let the horse close his mouth and sighed, patting Northgate’s neck. “Well, I’m not going to ride him like that. Looks like you’re the only one showing, Krista,” he said sadly, taking NG’s reins back gently. I felt awful for him. I instantly turned to Kiro, looked him over. Not a drop of sweat, and we had done a good warm-up. He had been getting fitter and fitter … “No, Jared, you will show.” I said. He turned to look at me with a puzzled look, explaining, “I can’t ride NG like…” I cut him off, “No, you can’t, and you won’t.” I stepped to the side, and pointed to Kiro, “You will ride him.” 

 Jared looked at me with stunned surprise. “But he’s your horse! I will tire him out, he won’t have his all for you! I won’t do it, that’s not fair to you.” I shook my head, “You have done everything for me thus far. Trained me, trailered me, stalled me, let me sleep in your bed, got the golf cart… I’m not going to let you do all that for nothing. I’m not asking, Jared, I’m telling. Get on Kiro. He likes you, you are literally the only person besides me that he will even let touch him. Ride him exactly like you did yesterday. We will preserve him, keep him nice and cool, and we will be fine. It’s not even hot outside, and you said yourself that the courses here are short and easy. He’s as fit as Northgate is now, and we did your course at home without breaking a sweat. He can do this easily. I wouldn’t risk his health and you know that, and I know I’m not.” I offered Kiro’s reins in Jared’s direction, “Ride.” He looked at me, then the horse, then to me before giving me a huge hug. “You are an amazing friend. I promise I will do nothing to harm him in any way.” He took the horse’s reins and mounted, gently and quietly, patting my black boy. I looked into Kiro’s eyes, watching for any sign of discomfort. There was none. “That’s my boy,” I whispered, rubbing his face and resting my forehead against his before speaking to Jared again,
 “Just don’t let anyone touch him. I mean it. There is a red ribbon on his tail, I put it there this morning. If anyone even thinks about touching him, you tell them he bites, kicks, rears, whatever. Because it’s not a lie,” I warned Jared with seriousness. He took it honestly, and nodded. I checked my watch- 6:45. “Okay, you are going in in 15 minutes. Let’s walk up there. I’ll hold Northgate. I would take him back, but there’s no time, and I really want to watch.” Jared nodded, understanding, and we made our way to the arena, me on foot and Jared on Kiro. 

 “Dear god I hope this turns out okay …” I mumbled to myself just as the whistle blew and Kiro walked in to the center of the arena. It was show time.

[[ Next chapter immediately following ]]


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 19*

Jared saluted the judge, and the two walked forward to the rail. As soon as they arrived there, Kiro immediately went into a working trot, collected and on the bit, with almost no cueing from Jared. I hoped that Kiro would follow the test as needed, because I remembered Jared saying Kiro wouldn’t let him adjust. After a nice twenty meter circle, the team continued at a working trot. In the corner, there was the canter, also flawless. The hitch came when Jared brought Kiro down from the canter, and began trotting a circle, which was fine – but suddenly, Kiro wasn’t having it.

 Kiro threw his head up, flattened out, ears pinned and threw a hoof into the air, hopping gently with the other, a tiny rear, nothing Jared couldn’t handle, but my heart jumped around in my body so much I thought I would collapse. Oh god no. I looked around for a test to be posted, and thankfully I found it. I had memorized mine, but not his. He was in the Training level, I was in Beginner Novice. Looking over the sheet, I saw where they were – “Extended trot 20 meter circle; develop counter canter halfway through the circle” Ohhh dear. The issue was Jared was asking Kiro for essentially the wrong lead. For me, Kiro would have totally understood. For Jared, he understood, but believed that Jared was wrong, that he knew better. I just prayed that Jared could handle this.

 And he probably did the best thing he could do. He dropped the reins. Kiro stood there then, confused at what to do. Jared slowly picked up the reins, walked a few steps forward, then asked for the lead again. Kiro bucked, and gave him the regular lead. My heart was still on edge, and it took all I had in me not to run out and take my horse. There I sat, biting my lip, throughout the entire course. I was so thankful when Kiro and Jared finally returned to the center, saluted, and the announcer called a, “Thank you,” to the team. Jared let Kiro have his reins, and gave him a very big pat on his way out. I saw him talking to a few people around him, likely warning them, before he made his way over to me. As soon as he dismounted and got a good look of me, he laughed. “Oh Krista Kat, you can breathe now!” He patted me firmly on the back and traded horses. I took Kiro’s reins and patted him as well before getting on, but offered Jared my apologies, “I am so sorry he did that. I should have read your test, I should have told you he wouldn’t have done that, I am so, so, so sorry!” But Jared only snickered, and patted Kiro’s nose, “Oh Krista, stop being so sorry! It’s fine, I figured he’d not like that very much. He’s your horse, Kat, and I knew that! I was just overjoyed to get to ride him at all, I really do like him. Not sure how fond he is of me, now …” He said jokingly. I finally managed to snicker, and got out, “Don’t take it personally, he’s treated others a lot worse!”

 We had time to walk Northgate back to the stables and un-tack him before my test. On the way there, and back to the arena, Jared gave me very helpful pointers. The test was extremely easy, since Beginner Novice was as low as you could go in Eventing. I wasn’t ready to tackle any more than 2’7” yet, though, so I had to settle with the title. Soon enough, the whistle was blown for our entry, and we walked into the arena. Kiro was behaving perfectly.

 Throughout the whole test, everything went smooth as glass. Kiro extended when I asked, collected when I asked, got all of his leads … he was truly a fine tuned machine. I loved him to pieces, I was so glad I was riding him. He received the biggest pats and love on our way out, and I came out of the arena smiling wide. “That was an amazing ride, Kat! No way you’re getting beat if you keep this up!” I thanked Jared for the compliments, “I just wish he was mine!” Jared laughed, “Yea, I wish he was mine too!” I patted my boy again, laughing harder now, “Psh, you’ll have to come through me first!” 

 We made our way back to the barn, and I let Kiro get a drink before switching tack for the upcoming Cross portion. I told Jared about how I usually rode him over the natural courses, and Jared took in every piece of information, “Now, he let you jump him just fine yesterday, so I don’t see him having any problems today. But keep in mind, he’s never jumped 3’3” … so be careful with him. And yourself. If he doesn’t want to do it, don’t push him, because he’ll hurt you, and I can’t have that happening. Okay?” Jared nodded, with a grin, “Thanks, Kat, for letting me ride him at all. I promise I won’t endanger either of us, I’ll take it very easy. I’ll use as little energy as possible. But I’ll admit, I’m excited to see what he can do.” I nodded, “Yes, me too. Well, let’s get him walking around. You’re the one that said we can’t let him get stiff!” He nodded, with a chuckle, and we went out. I handwalked him for a while, then we took turns riding him around. We walked pretty much everywhere, exposing the big black and getting a tour of the grounds ourselves. It kept us very entertained until it was time for Jared’s run. I sat on the fence of the warm-up arena as Jared took him over just two jumps, one at 2’6”, one at 3’. He did perfectly over 2’6”, but didn’t want to do the 3’. I sighed, very upset at the refusal. 

Jared looked at me, “Kat … you have to do it. If you don’t want to, I’ll scratch. But he’s scared. He doesn’t trust me at all, and I think you’re the only one who can change his mind. You’ve jumped higher. You can do this one jump, I know that, but only if you want to. I’m not pressuring you, I’m just telling you the truth.” I nodded, and pondered for a moment. I knew Kiro could do it, I knew Jared could do it, and I think a piece of me (deep down inside) knew I could do it too. It was now or never … it was a simple jump, easy distance, nothing I couldn’t do. It didn’t even look that high, and my confidence had skyrocketed since I had started jumping again… 

“Let me have him.” I stated quickly, jumping off the fence rail I sat on. Jared smiled wide, and quickly dismounted. “You’ve got this, Kat. You’ve got this.” I nodded, and hopped on. “I hope so!” I turned my boy, cantered a few circles, then aimed for the vertical.

Five strides out. _It’s just three foot, you can do this … _three strides out, _Just up and over, no big deal, Kiro has your back, _one stride out …. And flying.

It was the single most beautiful feeling I had ever had in my life. We were completely in sync, one body with two souls. Flawless, amazing grace, carrying us into infinity. I could feel him lift, arch, hover over the jump with perfect form and excellence. He landed with a feather-light touch to the ground, and the bliss followed through. With a whoop and a huge pat, I brought him down to a walk. “That’s my girl!” I heard Jared call, coming back to the center of the arena, “and that’s my boy!” I called out loud to my fantastic horse. I was so happy, I was nearly in tears. I hugged his big, powerful neck, his mane swallowing my face. “I love you! You’re the best pony ever!” I hopped off and went to his head, looking into his deep amber eyes, “a team, we’re a team. Unstoppable, perfect, amazing team, never to be separated,” I spoke only to him, before rubbing my hand over his forehead, ending at the little snip at the bottom of his muzzle. I then looked up to Jared, “Go get ‘em, best buddy!”


----------



## xJumperx

*Chapter 20*

The cross country ride went smoothly. There were a few jumps that Kiro looked at, even hesitated at times, but eventually went over, with no refusals, and Kiro didn’t rub anything. Their time was very, very good, and it seemed if Stadium went well, Jared and Kiro could still place in the top three, despite their issues in Dressage. Jared came out of the course patting Kiro and smiling, so it was clear that he was happy with the ride as well. “Good job to both of you!” I praised as they came up to me. “Your horse is something special, I mean it Krista. You can go really far with him. He had less trouble with some of those jumps than my _own_ horse would have, believe it or not. He’s fantastic, and he’s not even giving me his all!” I have to admit, Jared’s compliments made me beam with joy, and meant a lot more to me than one could imagine. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, he’s so great. I just love him. I love that you are riding him too! Unlocking all this epic potential, getting him ready for the big stuff … you are really an amazing friend, Jared. No clue what I would do without you, seriously!” We continued chatting as we switched roles, me on horseback and Jared on the ground. Jared looked over him, and a look of shock danced across his face, which worried me for a moment, “What, what is it??” Jared looked at me, then down at the horse, then back.


“Kat, he’s not sweating at all. He’s not breathing heavy, his heart-rate is normal … He’s not even phased by that course! Your horse is like … superhorse or something!” Jared laughed, as did I, as I pet my horse, “I like to think so! I can almost promise that he’ll be pretty hot after running again though. I am really glad he’s alright with that course though; I was a bit worried about him being overworked. Looks like all that stamina practice paid off!” Jared nodded in agreement, and we made our way to the Beginner Novice course. Soon enough, I was up in the start box, and the whistle sounded.

The course really was pretty short. Only 10 jumps, and not a lot of running space in between. There was one lake that we had to cross, but it was small, and almost refreshing. I myself loved running through water, and Kiro didn’t seem to mind it. The only thing that would have cost us any time was the hills. I could tell Kiro was tiring by the end of the course, and was using less power to push up the last few with less speed. I was fine with this though, he had really given his all. The jumps consisted of many things, but nothing too crazy, and Kiro didn’t look at a single thing, hopping over the natural obstacles with ease. The end of the course came almost too soon, but I could tell Kiro was done for the day. With lots of pats and hugs, we made our way to the barn.

Me and Jared both worked to un-tack Kiro, and we made our way to the wash racks together. Wearing our barn clothes now, we made fun out of the trip, and Kiro possibly came out of the event with less water than me and Jared! It was amazing, being at a show with friends, and I couldn’t believe I had let myself miss out on it for so long. Soon enough, we were back at the trailer and nearly ready to turn in for the night. I had finally forced Jared to take the bed in the gooseneck, and I settled on the couch pullout. After a few short minutes, we were both out cold, sleeping as hard as the horses likely were in the barn.


[[ Alright, I must get away from the computer for a moment!  More later! 
I'll be on a plane tomorrow, so I'll likely get some done then as well. ]]


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## xJumperx

dommycob said:


> Are you planning on publishing this?
> 
> As for feedback, its great and it draws the reader in but I feel like something 'big' hasn't happened in a while. I feel like something bad needs to happen, like a fall or knock in confidence. Other than that its brill! Keep it coming
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
I am actually not planning on getting this published. Reason being I am not sure any publishing company would take it.

As for something big happening, I am contemplating having happen sooner or later ... I could either have the big thing I'm planning happen very soon, or just a bit later in the story. I'm thinking just a bit later, but I can promise that the climax IS going to occur within the next 3-5 chapters. Stay tuned!!


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## Roadyy

I think you would be crazy not to submit it to review for publishing!!!!! I am a 42 year old dad of 4 daughters which creates the ability for me to ease into a girls story such as this one. I've had to read a lot of the girl oriented books with them and this one has kept my attention as well as the best of them.

I really do hope you will reconsider submitting it.


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## xJumperx

Roadyy said:


> I think you would be crazy not to submit it to review for publishing!!!!! I am a 42 year old dad of 4 daughters which creates the ability for me to ease into a girls story such as this one. I've had to read a lot of the girl oriented books with them and this one has kept my attention as well as the best of them.
> 
> I really do hope you will reconsider submitting it.


Really? Thank you very much!! Any ideas on who I could send that to? I have no connections, as nobody I know writes. I will get you guys a little more eye candy tomorrow, I'm pretty tired today. Sorry!!


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## Roadyy

I'm not a writer either and not sure who to send it to, but I think it would be worth it to do some research on it to see.


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## Chokolate

Roadyy said:


> I think you would be crazy not to submit it to review for publishing!!!!! I am a 42 year old dad of 4 daughters which creates the ability for me to ease into a girls story such as this one. I've had to read a lot of the girl oriented books with them and this one has kept my attention as well as the best of them.
> 
> I really do hope you will reconsider submitting it.


My dad's an author, so I can help you here 

If you were ever to decide to submit a novel, it's best to have an agent first. An agent helps with publishers, is a bit of an editor, etc. and things like that. They get connections with publishers and do all kinds of stuff. So you would do best to send your manuscript to several first.

If an agent takes you, they'll help you with getting a publisher.

A word of warning, however: it is very, very hard to get published because so many people want to be authors and publishers can be a) very picky and b) unable to gain as much profit because the book industry is falling. Agents are also very, very picky. Apply to heaps and heaps.

Or you can get it self-pubbed. Costs a fair amount, though, and you have to do all the organisation with bookstores, libraries, etc. yourself.

Otherwise, awesome story! I love it!


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## Roadyy

xJumperx said:


> Really? Thank you very much!! Any ideas on who I could send that to? I have no connections, as nobody I know writes. I will get you guys a little more eye candy tomorrow, I'm pretty tired today. Sorry!!


Bump. I know the collaborative story is fun for you, but I am having withdrawals here..lol


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## Chokolate

Yes, please write more! Don't let the other story take over your own!


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## xJumperx

Thank you all so much!! Chokolate, I will definitely save your post, and keep it in mind. And I swear, I'm not forgetting this story!!  I know I've been slacking, I just got home from vacation and things are super busy here ... I'm gunna push out and get you guys some reading material very very soon, no worries!!


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 21*

The next morning was a bit easier to wake up to, as we got to add an extra hour to our sleeping schedule. Jared’s run at the stadium was at 9, mine at 10. I was happy to dress Kiro in our jumping wear, as I had just found a great deal on a beautiful 5-point breastplate that looked awesome on him. The black sheepskin saddle pad I had recently purchased came in the mail just in time for the event, and it looked great over the white baby pad. Jared walked over to my stall after finishing with grooming and caring for Northgate, “You know this isn’t hunters, right? They don’t judge you on how pretty you are!” He taunted, waiting at the front of the stall. I jeered back, “Of course! You can’t use this breastplate in hunters, silly!” He simply rolled his eyes as I unlatched Kiro’s stall and head out the gate. 
 Warm up went just as well as yesterday did. I rode first, getting Kiro warmed up and ready nicely. Someone had set up two more jumps in the arena, both set fairly low, around 2’6”. After making up some courses and popping over them, I could tell both me and Kiro were ready for our round later that day. This was my forte, something I had done before, something I absolutely loved to do. It was certaintly my favorite stage. 
 Jared mounted after I had jumped off, and warmed up in a very similar way as I had. I raised the jumps for him, to a more adequate height as he would have them for his round. Kiro flew over them effortlessly, and I started to feel a bit of jealousy. I knew how amazing it was to jump him that high now, and longed for it again. “Next time,” I told myself, “Next time we will have our fun.” I was grateful to show him at all, having to remind myself he wasn’t mine… yet. We heard the announcer call that the show jumping ring had opened, and that our first competitors were beginning their courses. From then on, Jared decided to just walk around until his turn was up. I decided to walk over and scope out the jumps.
 For what the show grounds lacked in their cross country, they made it up in their stadium jumping. The jumps were all very bright, colorful, and I had an uneasy feeling that they looked a bit spooky to a horse. Just as I got there, so did another rider. The whistle blew, and I stuck around to watch. It was a big flea-bitten gray, with a cute black bonnet and matching saddle pad. He was a thin build, and matched his rider very well. They looked like a nice team, though the big gray was a bit on the edgy side. He appeared green, or just never taught to settle down. The two cantered down the long side, headed for the first jump. All of the courses were the same today, no matter the height, so I was able to tell where she was going. The first jump was a bit demanding, and harder than some of the other jumps, which I didn’t like. It was an oxer with a gate, splattered with paint all over, with some pink flowers in front of that. The horse dialed it in, and picked up pace. The rider held him very hard, but the horse paid no mind. He sailed over the jump, and did a quick turn to catch the second jump. I watched their course fly by fairly effortlessly, though they did manage to knock a few rails, gaining them 8 faults. It wasn’t until the 6th jump in the course that I found myself very, very worried.
 It was an oxer, all dressed in black, with barrels beneath it. I found myself remembering the exact jump I had flipped over just a few years ago, the same as I saw before me with just a difference in color. “Oh my …” I mumbled to myself, wondering how it was possible that I could get myself over that. Just as I was about to really freak out, Jared and Kiro paced up behind me. “Hey Kat … good grief, what’s wrong? Did someone fall? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” I bowed my head, embarrassed at my fear, and told him the issue. He paused for a moment, fumbling for something to say. He finally made out with, “You’ll be just fine. You see this horse? Your horse, right here? He’s not afraid. He’s more than ready to do this, he wants this for you. You watch, Kiro is going to walk into this arena, and do a clean sweep of every single jump here. You will have nothing to worry about. Then you’re going to go in on him, and he is going to do a thousand times better than he would ever even consider doing for me. You’ve got this.” I nodded, trying to convince myself of that. Just as he was finished with his speech, the announcer called my friend and my horse into the ring for their first trip. If they went clear, they would go onto the jump off, where about half of the amount of jumps are used, and the final riders race to get the best time. I watched the ring closely.
 Kiro’s ears blipped around like little radars, checking out all the new sights and sounds of the arena. He looked around quite excitedly, and Jared did his best to calm him, stroking his big, black neck calmly. The bell rang for them to start their course, and the two were off in good time. Kiro did very well for Jared, over every obstacle, though he did hesitate at times. There were a few jumps where I could tell Kiro considered refusing, though Jared’s riding skills kept him over the jumps without a single rail pulled. They came out of the ring proudly, making the course in excellent time. Jared came out beaming, Kiro with a good step. “He was awesome! He flies over everything like it’s nothing, I’m starting to get jealous!” Jared laughed, and hopped off Kiro as I jumped on. I patted the big guy I sat upon, “yea, I got to admit, he’s definitely something special!” We walked around for a little while before it was finally our turn.
 We entered the ring in great spirits. Kiro was more calmed now, seemingly happy to be back in the ring, and more comfortable under my hands. “That’s my boy…” I whispered to the great horse. I knew I could talk as loud as I wanted in the jumper ring, that it wasn’t the same as in the hunter ring, but it was a habit and likely not a bad one. The bell chimed, and we made our way to the beginning of the course. The first few jumps were perfect. He flied, flawlessly gliding over every jump. He ate up the ground, taking every step with passion and grace. We worked in perfect harmony, lighting up the course. Until the fifth jump. The barrels. 
 They loomed in front of me dangerously. Flashbacks of the incident played over in my mind. Over and over, flipping over the jump, hooves tangled, broken bones, shattered confidence … Jared’s words rung in my head, “Your horse, right here? He’s not afraid. He’s more than ready to do this, he wants this for you…” “He wants this for you …” We were five strides out now. Kiro was aiming for the jump. He was going for it. “He’s more than ready … he’s not afraid …” I closed my eyes. I let the reins slip through my fingers, and I closed my eyes. By the time we were airborne, I no longer held the reins. They were laid against his withers, my hands spread on either side of me. Kiro flew over the jump effortlessly, and I joined him in flight. We both soared, like birds of a feather, jumping away from the barrels, leaving my fears behind me. Everything was going to be okay. I knew it in this instance, I knew that this horse would save me. Save me from the dark I’ve been hiding in, save me from falling. We landed softly, and head for the next jump with my reins on the buckle. We went through the rest of the course like that, jumping with the only contact being my legs, my seat, and our minds and souls. When the final jump had flew past, and the ending bell rang, we got a “clear round,” from the announcer, and a very, very gracious applause from all those that were ringside. I walked out red in the face, the attention embarrassing me, as I wasn’t used to such a thing. Jared look at me stargazed, “Good god Krista. You two … I can’t even explain …” I simply smiled and pat my horse, catching his amber eyes glancing back to me. He was my horse. I don’t care what anyone said; he was mine. And I loved him with every ounce of my soul.


----------



## xJumperx

*21 Continued*

Jared snapped me out of my trance with my horse, “Hey, we are both in the top three! Actually, we both are holding first in our divisions, given this big guy’s super horse abilities!” I looked to the scoreboard at the end of the arena, finding Jared right. “Dang! Go Kiro, Go Jared!” I patted my horse and high fived my friend, “Don’t forget yourself! You are just as amazing!” my buddy replied, returning the high-five. I jumped off Kiro so that Jared could go in for his jump off. “Okay buddy, let’s take this place by storm…” He spoke to Kiro, just as they entered the arena. This was only six jumps instead of ten, like the last course. 

Of course, Kiro and Jared dominated. Rollbacks and bending lines didn’t faze the team, and Jared came to be the winner of his division, as did I. Kiro placed his name across both score boards, and it had people turning heads. I patted my amazing steed, and hugged my amazing friend. “We are going to have to make up a team name if we keep this up!” Jared commented. I smiled wide and nodded in agreement as we took care of our horses. “It’s been an amazing show. When’s the next one?” I asked him, “Well, there is one next weekend, but I don’t want you getting Trina suspicious, and it’s just another small one like this. You two are an amazing team, you totally swept the competition here. You need something a little bigger, to give you some competition. Not next weekend, but the one after, there is a nice show that I love. It’s really fun, I think you’ll love it. It’s bigger, but you’re ready. Soon enough you will be in the same division as me and Northgate here. So be prepared when we kick your butt,” He teased me, winking slyly. I rolled my eyes, “Yea right! You just wait and see! But I’d love to go to that one, make it a date!” Jared smiled in a funny way and nodded, continuing his grooming with NG. 

 When the horses were settled, we made our way to the trailer for a meal and sleep. “Last night of our sleepover, this is!” I said sadly. I loved showing with Jared, I had come to find out. I couldn’t wait for the next show. “There will be more, no worries Krista Kat. I won’t let you get rid of me that easily!” He laughed as he made himself at home on the couch pullout, insisting I take the bed again. “Oh please!” I retorted, “Like I would ever want to!” We both laughed, chatting for a few hours before finally falling asleep, me with my head on the wrong side of the bed, facing the one person I realized I would rather have here above anyone else.


----------



## Roadyy

Amazing!!!!!!!!


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## EquineObsessed

Just read its all and I love it! I've been working on a story, but I'm not brave enough to put it up here yet!


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## Chokolate

I've been working on a story but I never actually finish them...

The new bit's really good!

And in case you were actually interested in making a query:

"Literary agents exist largely to provide services to authors. These services include connecting the author's work with appropriate publishers, contract negotiation, ensuring payment of royalties, and acting as a mediator if there are problems between the author and the publisher.[2] Agents also assist publishing houses and others in expediting the process of review, publication, and distribution of authors' works. Many well-known, powerful, and lucrative publishing houses (such as the Big Six) are generally less open than smaller publishers to unagented submissions.[3] A knowledgeable agent knows the market, and can be a source of valuable career advice and guidance. Being a publishable author doesn't automatically make someone an expert on modern publishing contracts and practices, especially where television, film, or foreign rights are involved. Many authors prefer to have an agent handle such matters. This prevents the author's working relationship with his or her editor from becoming strained by disputes about royalty statements or late checks. Another frequent function of the agent is often that of counselor, advising an author on various aspects of how to make writing a paying proposition on a timely basis."

(from Wiki) this is what a lit agent does, better explained than what I said. They're the knowledgeable ones - you write the story and they sell it. You make a query to them, not the publisher.


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## Gossip

Wow, this is nice, subbed! Can't wait to read more!


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## Roadyy

Now just because I was on stacation last week didn't mean you weren't suppose to update this....

Time for a some new chapters.


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## daddyspaycheck

love it


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## xJumperx

I know, I know, I'm sorry!! v.v Been so ridiculously busy, I PROMISE I'm getting more up!! Right now, I'm writing right now!!


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 22*

The drive home wasn’t long enough. It was early in the morning, and I spent the first hour or so sleeping, but the rest of the way was pure fun. Jared and I had an amazing connection, never tiring of each other. We cracked each other up, talked some strategy for the upcoming shows … I won’t deny that I was a bit disappointed when the truck and trailer came to a halt outside of Trina’s barn. “Hey, Jared, thanks so much for bringing me. I can’t wait to do it again. Kiro says thank you too!” I jumped out of the truck, and started to unload Kiro myself. Suddenly, Jared appeared around the side of the trailer. “You didn’t have to get out!” I apologized, but he shook his head, “No, I want to! I love your little barn. Besides, you owe me a visit!” He grinned teasingly and nudged my shoulder. “Uh huh, I suppose. You could carry something though, Your Highness,” I joked. We managed to get everything in the barn and tucked away before Trina stumbled down the stairs to meet us.
“Welcome back, kids!” She exclaimed enthusiastically, giving each of us a big hug. “I’ve missed you, Krista! I forgot how much riding you do for me; I’ve been exhausted! But anyway, how was the camping trip?” Jared looked puzzled, and it dawned on me that he didn’t know that Trina was in the dark on this. I quickly smacked his hand discreetly before he could get a word in, “Awesome! You have to come with us sometime, It’s simply beautiful. You can see the whole world from the hilltops,” my voice was a bit shaky, but Trina seemed to believe every word. “Sounds amazing,” she followed, “But there would be nobody to run the barn. Maybe if I get another hand,” I noticed then that Trina was looking tired.
She was slouched over just a tad, eyes a little droopy. She clearly had been working her butt off, and it made me feel terrible. I had really left her without any help. It was awful to think about, and I instantly apologized, “Oh Kristene,” she retorted, “you don’t need to worry about me. I ran this barn by myself for years before you were here, I can handle three days of alone time. It’s really okay.” I nodded, but still felt bad, “Well, I’m going to see Jared out, then I’ll get all the horses taken care of for you. Please go back to bed, Trina. Please?” It was a hard case to sell – it was already 9:00AM, but I could tell she needed it; and I think she realized it too. “Alright. Do a good job, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she smiled to Jared, “good to see you!” They shook hands, and Trina found her way back upstairs. I turned back out the barn with Jared, ready for an ear-full.
“Krista, why in god’s name doesn’t she know about you eventing?!” I could tell he wasn’t particularly happy about the fact, “I tried to bring it up, Jared. She won’t have it. I tried to convince her, I did; but there was no way. And I want to event! I know I can handle everything with your help, she’s worried for no reason.” I glanced at him, and found him giving me a hard look. We were at the truck now, and I leaned on the hood as he did. “Kat, I don’t like it. If something happens to you … I mean, god forbid, I’d never forgive myself; but what in the world would you tell her?” He did bring up a good point, but I disregarded it. “Don’t worry Jared, it’s going to be fine. You worry more than she does!” I offered a hug, which he took, before he got in the truck. “Alright, Kat, if you say so. I don’t like it though!” I simply rolled my eyes, “I’ll see you Tuesday, Jared!” 
I head back into the barn to get all the chores done. After everybody was all taken care of, I decided to go ahead and head home. I’m sure Navy and Mom were ready to have some help back. Hoping back in my truck, I noticed that I missed the fancy-ness of Jared’s. “Oh well,” I commented to myself, “maybe someday!” I backed out of the driveway, and head home.
When I got there, Navy was absolutely ecstatic. “OH MY GOSH SISSY IS HOME SISSY IS HOME!!” My leg was bulldozed by my little brother, with a grip so tight I could barely peel him off to pick him up, “How you been, little man? Where’s your momma?” He grinned so wide, showing his few missing teeth, “I been missing you, sissy! Holly been keeping me company, but I like you the best!” He hugged my neck, which was sweet, but I was startled by the name. Holly? That was one of Mom’s friends. Why was she keeping my brother company … Suddenly, she turned the corner. “Hello Kristene, It’s good to have you back!” She shook my hand with one hand, and I noticed she had been pulling a small suitcase behind her. “Uh, Holly, it’s good to see you and all, but what … where’s my mom?” Her face went surprised, and she instantly dug into her purse, “Almost forgot! You are to read this, it’s from your mother. Alright, dear, you seem to be all set. I’ve got other obligations, please call if you need anything!” She went out the door before I could ask any questions, and I was left there, holding Navy in one hand, and a folded piece of paper in the other. “Watch out, little buddy, let sissy read the note,” I explained, gently placing him on the ground. “Go play for a second, then we’ll take a drive to somewhere fun, have some brother-sissy time. Okay?” He grinned wide, nodded faster than I thought possible, and took off. I took my spot on the couch to read the letter –

_Kristene,_
_My dear, I do miss you, and I know I will after I leave; but I really think that this is the best option for all three of us. I will be back around May, so you will not need to worry about the summer. Maybe we will take a trip somewhere, or just otherwise take a break. But for now, I know you can handle yourself and your brother just fine. You simply don’t need me right now, and I think I need a little something else. I will be off with some friends of mine for a while, and I won’t always have cell-phone service. When I do, I will be sure to call. Do not think that I am doing this because I do not love you, for that is entirely incorrect. In fact, it’s the opposite of the reason I’m doing this. You two need some time to yourselves, and I respect that._
_As previously mentioned, I will call with more details later. I love you. Tell Navy the same._
_Love,_
_Mom._

I threw the note to the ground, appalled by my mother’s stupid actions. “That … that … that _*****!_” I wasn’t one for swearing, really. I saw no place for it in society – until now. I could hear Navy gasp from the other room, “Sissy!! Momma would wash your mouth with soup if she heard that!” I snickered, and called him into the room. He should know, and I doubt Holly told him anything. “Hey, little buddy, listen,” I placed him on my lap. “We are still going to play, but we need to chat first. Okay?” He nodded, I continued. “Momma is on vacation for a little while. She will be back in the summer. Until then, it’s going to be you and me for a while, okay?” I tried to put it lightly, but Navy seemed to already know this – “Yea! Momma told me all of that before she left! She said you’d be home soon, and we would have all kinds of fun together! I’m excited, sissy!” I was a bit taken aback, thinking he’d miss his mom more. It was possible it hadn’t set in, though, and I knew that. “Can we go to play place now?” He asked. I nodded, and he jumped up. We got in the truck, and drove off with me having my mind full of everything.


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## Roadyy

Well, this is getting interesting now. I like the way you tie real, everyday life into the story, rather than just making it about time around a horse lifestyle.

Great read again!!!!


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## dommycob

Really good, waiting for more!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## xJumperx

Thank you all! The climax will rise somewhat shortly, probably going to be two or three more chapters before that. I'm excited to get to it though, I want to write all about it right now  More coming tonight!


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 23*

[[ Ahem ... more _today_  ]]
[[ LOL, proofreading the previous chapter, I saw this - _"..wash your mouth with soup if she..." _With soup? Seriously Jumper? Wow :lol: ]]


After me and Navy’s fun day, he was dead tired. I put him to bed early, which gave me some time to think about what was going on. I sat at my desk for a moment, just pondering. I would have to take him to the barn with me every day; we couldn’t afford to put him in daycare for any longer than necessary, which would be on the days I went to Jared’s, and to events. Thankfully, mother was intelligent enough to leave a good sum of money. I huffed, “probably the only intelligent thing about this.” I would have to do all of the grocery shopping, cook, clean, all after school and work. I stuffed my face into my hands, confused and almost ready to break down in tears. I sighed, and glanced over the desk. I found my nearly completed drawing of Kiro, and decided it would be the perfect de-stress to go ahead and finish him. 

 Some two hours later, he was complete. The shading, the detailing … it was probably the best drawing I had managed to dish out. His eyes seemed real, his coat a perfect shade. It made me think of how amazing he was, how far he had come in such a short amount of time. I grinned, and instantly started searching my drawers for a frame to put the piece in. I was lucky enough to find one that was the perfect size, and was even black to compliment Kiro. I hung the drawing on the wall in front of my desk, admiring it. I wasn’t one to be self-centered or overly confident, but that drawing looked darn good. I smiled a content grin, and got ready for bed. It had been a long day, and I was ready to sleep it off and start tomorrow with a blank slate.

~*~

 I dropped Navy off at school as part of my normal routine, and made my way to my own. The day went by a bit slowly, but I was somewhat thankful. Jared got to hear all of my issues about my mother, and you could tell he was almost as displeased as I was. “If you ever need anything, anything at all, you know my door is always open,” he tried to reassure me. I smiled, hugged and thanked him. It was so nice to have such a great friend. “So, are you still going to come by and train with me?” I nodded quickly, “Oh yea! I figure I’ll drop Navy off at daycare on those days, because it would be a long while for him to sit in barns and hang out. I’m just hoping Trina will be okay with him coming every other day, because I have no idea how we will manage putting him in daycare all the time. She seemed to like him quite a bit when I had to bring him last time, so fingers crossed!” I really hadn’t thought about asking Trina about the situation until now. Oops. Navy was a good kid, though, and Trina wouldn’t have to babysit him. I was actually surprised when she wanted to last time, but I would still reassure her that it wasn’t necessary. Jared smiled, “Good! He’s welcome any time if it’s necessary, I like the little man, he’s a good sport. Will he be okay for the next event though? Surely that daycare isn’t overnight?” 

 Suddenly, all of the blood drained from my face. Oh crap. Jared was right. I’d have to find something to do with him, because he definitely couldn’t come; sleeping quarters are tight as it is, and I could just see him getting into everything at a show. No, that wasn’t a possibility. “I’ll have to see if one of mom’s old co-workers can take him. Holly stayed with him while I was at this one, I’m sure she can keep him again. She’s kind of ditsy, but she’s sweet and will take care of him.” Jared nodded, “Perfect. Man, this whole thing sucks, Kat. I’m sorry,” he frowned; you could see the sympathy all over his face. I gave a wayward smile, “Don’t be, it’s not your fault. It does suck, but I guess there’s not much I can do about it…”

 After school, (aka “time to worry about all the possible problems that may arise”) I went to pick up Navy and find some salvation at the barn. I had called Trina the night before and told her all about my predicament, and she was 100% okay with it. She did say that she might not be able to watch him 24/7, and I assured her I didn’t want that, nor did Navy need it. After explaining to Navy again how to behave, I dropped him in the lounge with Trina (she insisted yet again) and went and got Kiro. He was up for a good ride, but I wasn’t really down for some hardcore work. Instead, I decided to ride around in the pastures. On my way out, Trina called for me, “Hey, while you’re out there, check all the fences for me! Then come back and exercise Remmy for me – he threw Asha today, he’s starting to learn he can get his head up. I might ask you to ride him more often.” I nodded, wincing at the fact; Remmy was a tall Arabian cross, at 17 hands. He was usually a very good boy, and had lots to teach riders, but he did learn a few nasty habits. Asha was a tiny little girl, a good rider but not very strong. A fall from Remmy was definitely a _fall_, and I felt bad for the girl. “Alright, I’ll make sure to set him straight when I get back! I’ll let you know if I find anything out here.” 

 I really wished I could have the trails that Green Lantern had, but for now the fields would have to do. I decided to trek through the field where the pasture boarded horses lived, pay a visit to them. They were all very nice horses, varying in discipline and job purpose. Some were simple pets, others show horses. I pat the few that came up to me, and Kiro didn’t seem to mind any. I praised him for his kindness, and we continued along. 

 After checking every field, I had only found one board down and nothing loose or cracked. Trina was pleased to hear this, and after I told her exactly where the dropped board was, I proceeded to untack Kiro and get Remmy out. Remmy was a very pretty boy. Exquisite head and a beautiful chestnut color. A stripe complimented his dished face, ending with a large snip that just barely grazed the insides of his nostrils. Though his head and neck screamed Arab, that’s pretty much where it stopped. His hindquarters and legs were much closer to the part Thoroughbred he was. We didn’t know why someone crossed the two, as Remmy was another that came from Vince, the horse trader we had gotten Kiro from, and he had just gotten him from a hobby farm that couldn’t sell him. He didn’t look super fancy, and didn’t have the movement or form to be a good hunter. He was a good boy, though, and became a great addition to the lesson horse team. He did have the Arab attitude though, and taught riders how to ride every stride.

 He also gave me a run for my money, reminding me not every horse was as easy as Kiro was for me to ride. He insisted on having his nose in the air, and it took the full hour I was on him to get him back to working on the bit, head where it should be. He was also pushing from his hind again, not flat and hollow like he had gotten. I knew it wouldn’t be a one-time fix, so I did offer to go ahead and start riding him daily for the next few weeks, to get him situated. Trina was pleased, and noted to her left. I turned to see Navy in the next stall over … with a pitchfork! It was a miniature one, used for traveling in the trailer and such, but it was the perfect size for the 8 year old. He was beaming, clearing all the poo and urine from the stall. He looked at me and lit up yet again, “Look! I asked Ms. Trina if I could help, and she said I could! She said I do a good job too! I’ve already done two stalls!” I went wide eyed, and looked back at Trina. She giggled a bit, and then replied, “He wanted to, and it was a job! He is doing a great job, conserving shavings and everything. He’s a good kid!” I smiled, “good on you for putting him to work!” I turned to Navy and beamed at him as well, “and good on you for doing it, little man! I’m super proud of you!” He seemed to grow ten feet at the praise, and I went to put Remmy in crossties. Trina also noted, “no worries, I won’t work him any more than he wants to,” I laughed, “no, please do! He could use it, and he seems to enjoy it, so go for it!”

 After everyone was put up and had hay and water, I helped the other two muck stalls and do all the finishing chores. Navy turned out to be a real help, and I made sure to tell him this. He definitely slept better that night, and I was happy about it. Maybe we would be alright on our own for a while … as long as nothing happens …


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## Roadyy

More enjoyment. Keep up the great work.


I kinda liked the soup part as it seemed an appropriate mistake by an 8 year old trying to copy a punishment phrase. It added a smirked smile as I read it to be honest. I knew it was an unintentional misspelling of soap, but thought it was cute for an 8 year old too. lol

It had my mind think more of Navy's thinking of how bad soap would taste and as an 8 year old he imagined it to be soup so it wasn't so bad. Adds more to his character by associating with his ability to think. Connecting with characters makes a great read, especially when you can find yourself pondering their thought process.

Hope you can find a way to incorporate that ability into your writing. I think those little things make reading more enjoyable for me.


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 24*

Thankfully, the weeks flew by between then and when our next event was. Next thing I knew, I was helping Jared pack the trailer on Thursday. Navy had tagged along with me this time, wanting to help before sissy had to leave for another three days. It was agreed that he would stay at Holly’s house for the weekend. She had a little girl of her own, who was only a year older than Navy. They had played together before and got along very well, so I was comfortable leaving him there with Holly and Stacey. He came up behind me now, with his arms wrapped around two green buckets with hay bags folded and tucked inside of them. He looked to me and my friend and smiled, “is this the last of it?” I patted the top of his head and grinned back to him, “yup, you got it all finished up for us!” He swiftly turned to Jared with pleading eyes, “can we play basketball now? Please oh please!” Jared laughed before responding, “If you think you’re up to it! Come on little man, you know where the court is!” Navy took off full speed, leaving me and Jared laughing behind him. “Oh, I love him. Best little brother I could ask for.” Jared agreed, and we began walking after him.

 After the boys shot some hoops, we all head up to the lounge to cool down. With Navy glued to a movie, we discussed the weekend’s events, “Now this show is a lot bigger than the one we went to – a lot bigger,” Jared started, “This is one where me and NG will really have to fight to get where we want to be, and though Kiro is certaintly something else, don’t think it will be a walk in the park like last time was. I do have faith in you guys, but this is some stiff competition. That said, I want to get there really early tomorrow. That way we can walk the grounds and warm up before everyone else does, and we can have an easy show day. Each day has its own event, and Dressage is Friday, so we shouldn’t have many problems. Stadium is Saturday, and since we are in the higher divisions, we will probably be showing till late; might have to take turns driving. Are you okay with that?” I nodded my head. The truck and trailer were quite sizable, but I had towed Trina’s biggest gooseneck before with no issues. Of course, I was always very cautious on the roads anyway, so I figured we would be just fine. 

“Perfect,” came his quick reply, “then we set out tomorrow at three. I’m glad you brought Kiro down today; it will be nice for everyone to just spend the night. We drop Navy off at his babysitter’s, and we will be on our way. You ready, Kat?” I gave a slightly nervous smile, “I was born ready! I’m super excited to get to be a part of a bigger event – I love me some competition,” Jared grinned, happy to know I loved the sport as much as he did. “Excellent!! Well, it’s getting late, we should all hit the hay. There is a guest apartment above the arena that I’ve rented. You and Navy take the bed, I’m on the couch; and no, you cannot protest. I demand it. One word of opposition and I will make all three of us sleep in stalls,” he jeered teasingly. Obliging, I made the motion of zipping my mouth shut, and Jared led us to the space in question. Before we said our final goodnights, Jared needed one more piece of information, “Oh, so what lie did you tell Trina to get her off of your back?” My face went a shade of pink. I hated knowing I had lied to my trainer, and it was obvious Jared wasn’t fond of it either, “same thing as last time. Camping. Don’t worry, I’m thinking if we do well at this event, I’m going to tell her when we get home. She will want to know if we start doing big stuff. Don’t worry, I’ve got everything under control.” He gave a wayward nod, “Yea, yea, if you say so. Goodnight Kat. Sleep well!” I wished him the same and we went to pass out in our respective areas. “Everything under control,” I muttered to myself, “yea Krista, you keep telling yourself that …”

~*~

 The next morning did come _very _quickly. Navy was a bit of a trouble to awake and get moving, but after that it was pretty much smooth sailing. Everybody loaded easily, Navy went to Holly’s, and me and Jared were on our way. Jared did ask if I wanted to take the truck for a test drive while he slept a bit more, something I would have to do on the way back. I quickly agreed, wanting to help as much as possible.

 The vehicles were surprisingly easy to handle. Everything was definitely high dollar, so the trailer pulled flawlessly. The length wasn’t too much of a problem, and I got used to it easily. I had really been hyping myself up for nothing. In fact, I was enjoying myself so much, I didn’t bother to switch back. The next time I woke Jared up was when we were parked, and getting ready to unload the horses and drop the trailer. He was pleased, but also a bit guilty, “I could have driven more. I just thought you might want to see how it drove, I wasn’t asking for all that,” he tried to apologize. I waved him off, “Don’t be silly Jared, you and I both know I would have woken you up if I wanted to. It’s no big deal! Honest, I liked driving the truck!” He nodded, understanding, and we went to unpacking our things. It was still dark out, so it was a tiny bit challenging getting everything sorted, and we were glad when it was over and the horses were settled. After a small break and a Starbucks run, we decided to go ahead and tack up as the sun started to peek out over the hills.

 Northgate had gotten his wolf tooth pulled right after we got home last time, so he was fit and ready for this event. He looked very nice in his tack – all the finest quality stuff you could get, which complimented his sleek, classy build. Jared was clearly proud of his mount, and we both walked our horses to the warm up ring in confidence. My Kiro always looked stunning. Dressage tack suited him best, the black and white just accenting his gorgeously stunning jet black coat. All four of us looked like rock-stars, like we fit into the high-class show around us. We mounted and began working away diligently, occasionally checking on each other, much like we did at the last event. Though unlike the previous weekend, slowly more people came to pile into the arena; some lunging, some riding, all fighting for their respective spot in the pen. Eventually, Jared flagged me down, “Come on Kat, let’s go to one of the fields. It will be less crowded, looks like the good part of this place has run its course.” I nodded in agreement, and followed him to a small, sectioned off spot next to the cross country course. There we worked for a little while longer before deciding to call it until our tests.

We were much closer in division this time – he was doing the 4’, I was doing 3’6”. Our test times were much closer because of this, especially because there were two rings running. It was a good thing NG was well again, because I don’t think Kiro would have taken so kindly to being ridden twice so closely together. I was definitely glad we weren’t in the same division, though. Competing against my best friend wasn’t something I wanted to do quite yet – especially since he was mentoring me. 

Besides the work I had done with Jared, me and Trina have been really nailing Dressage lately, which has been more than convenient, as it had been her idea. That said, I felt much better about moving up in the divisions. Not only was my jumping stronger, but I had the dressage to match it. Sitting ringside going over my test, I was actually feeling pretty confident, minus the jitters that came along with showing. Jared and Northgate stood alongside me, helping me mellow and remember the test before me to perfection. Before too long, the bell rang out for me to enter the arena. “Go get ‘em, Krista Kat!” My cheerleader behind me chanted, leaving a smile across my face as we trotted down the centerline. Kiro halted right in the middle, and I felt him move his hooves around just a bit. I was hoping he was squaring himself up, because that was definitely something Trina and I had been trying to really get into his head. After I had saluted, I gathered my reins again, and we were floating off into the trot once more.

Every corner was sharp, every circle flawless in proportion. Kiro sent me no hesitation, and glided across the arena. It was like he knew just how high the stakes were, how much I wanted to win such a big event. Every movement was perfect, every hoof placement right on key. We worked with effortless synergy, and I couldn’t imagine getting a better ride out of the horse. As soon as we were out of the ring, my big black received a multitude of pats and praise. Jared applauded my round, having no critique. “You should get an excellent score for that, Kat! It was a perfect round! I can’t wait to get the scorecard from that one, if the judges have any sense, you will have to frame it!” I laughed, embarrassed from the insane amount of praise, and hugged him from the back of our horses. We couldn’t celebrate for more than long enough for him to recall the course, though, as he was in the ring for his trip. I watched attentively. I had never gotten the opportunity to watch Jared and Northgate work together in a show atmosphere, so I was excited to see just how well the big warm blood worked.

It was certainly a humbling experience. NG loved Jared, and Jared loved that horse. The two did everything for each other. It wasn’t so much Jared asking and NG giving, it was the two simply wanting the same thing and getting the perfect return. The two worked with a steady rein contact, but any other aid Jared might have given to NG was completely invisible. The horse balanced himself well, and set Jared in a position to really succeed. It was amazing to watch. Remembering how NG was to ride, I realized it was definitely the partnership between the two that was making this ride go so well. NG was a very well broke horse, trained to the nines, but there was no way I could have gotten a response like _this_ from him. It made me really appreciate the bond between a horse and their rider; not to mention my own mount. I reached down to pat Kiro softly, and he glanced back with a gentle amber eye, returning the affection.

Jared came out beaming, and I praised him just as well as he had me, “Good grief Jared, now we have to buy two frames! How in the world will we come up with this money?” I teased him, proud to be standing next to the team that just rocked the Dressage arena. Considering we were finished for the day, we decided to head back and get the horses taken care of before heading to the office to collect our score cards and check the results so far. The two weren’t terribly sweaty at all, especially since it wasn’t warm out yet, it was only late February. It was really the perfect weather in this part of the country, just warm enough to where we didn’t need to worry about hypothermia as long as everyone had a small fleece for the night. Summers were really, really awful on the other hand. 

After everyone was put up and happy, we hopped in the golf cart and drove up to the front office, where we would get our cards before heading to the trailer. Once we got our info, we asked for the current standings. The lady shook her head, “sorry, not up yet. We don’t do them till the second day’s events are through. You should know about where you are by your cards. If you did well today, you are probably high up. If you tanked, then better luck next time. Common sense, really,” the woman muttered as she turned her chair. Jared must have seen my look of disgust, as he whispered to me, “she’s probably had a long day, and it’s obvious her job isn’t particularly a fun one,” I nodded side to side, and we took off. “We will check them together at the trailer. Deal?” I offered to Jared. He smiled wide and nodded, “deal!”

After a short ride and we both got ready for bed, we sat in the actual bed together to read the cards. “On three! One … two … three!” We opened the small booklets, and immediately jumped to our scores. In this case of Eventing, the lower the number the better. I glanced at my score and couldn’t help but form a huge smile. When I glanced at Jared’s face and saw the same thing, I knew we were golden. We both laughed and gave each other a huge hug, and exchanged cards. “Holy cow Krista! A 16.4?! Oh my gosh, that is unheard of! I was ecstatic with my 23.9!” I looked up beaming, “That’s because 23.9 is an amazing score! We’ve got this place schooled so far! Here’s to a great show day!” We high fived, both very happy about our days. I sat in marvel for a little while longer after tucked into our respective beds (he insisted on the couch yet again!) just reading every detail of the dressage test. I was definitely keeping this one somewhere safe. Framing it didn’t sound like a bad idea, to be honest. I placed the folded piece of paper on top of my stuff neatly, and decided it would be best to get some sleep. It was certainly difficult though – all I could think about was the cross country course that would come the next day, and how exciting the trip would be.


----------



## Roadyy

Really looking forward to the next update.


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## xJumperx

The next installment will be up tonight, I am writing it in pieces because of the busy day. It will be quite a lengthy chapter ... but this part really kicks off the story 

Almost on the homestretch now!! If you are still reading, thank you very much for sticking it out, I hope it is an enjoyable read for everyone!!


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## Roadyy

??? yoohooo...hehe


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 25*

[[ I AM SO SORRY. I ... I kinda forgot to post this .... But it will be worth it I hope!! Ladies and gentlemen, the beginning of the climax. From here on out, it should be pretty quick posting. I'm excited to keep on writing this one out!! ]]

The next morning came quickly as I knew it would. I was quickly getting used to it though, and was even happy about it. We dressed and were on our way to the barn in a blink of an eye, Jared throwing me a small pre-packaged pastry to eat on the way to the barn. I was done by the time we were there, and we got tacked up. The cross country courses ran early in the morning, while Stadium ran at the end of the day. This was so that the horses could have the biggest break possible in the middle, and gave us riders time to rest as well. Northgate looked best in his Cross gear. 5-star breastplate and close contact saddle, lined with a white fleece pad laid against a light green saddle blanket, with “Green Lantern Stables” embroidered in gold lettering in the corner of the pad. It was very sophisticated, and I thought about asking Trina if we could do it for our barn. Green SMB boots completed the look, which I knew would be replaced with leather open fronts in Stadium. Jared shut his tack trunk, hiding a green fly bonnet for later use. I smirked, “I’d like a nice ret fly bonnet like that!” I turned to stroke Kiro’s ears, “I think my boy would look mighty fine with a nice little red hat!” 

 He already had a matching suit of red, much like Jared’s green – red saddle pad and wolf boots for the Cross portion, and leather open fronts for Stadium. We were both dressed to the nines, and proud of our mounts. We hopped on, and began walking over to the Cross warm up area. It was a small field, sectioned off with some temporary fencing. A few small jumps were set up, a log and a Liverpool with poles. Kiro cleared both with ease, so I knew we would need little warm up. Northgate, on the other hand, was giving Jared problems with the Liverpool. He looked hard at the jump, and refused twice. He tried ducking out both times, but Jared was a strong enough rider to not allow such behavior. It was clear that it was really annoying Jared, though. “Anything I can do to help?” I came near to Jared and asked, hoping there was anything I could do to help the situation. He simply shook his head, before glancing at me and changing his mind. “Do you … do you need your spurs?” I quickly shook my head, and reached down to remove them. I didn’t use them for cross, only Dressage, and had forgotten to take them off my boots. “I won’t dig him too hard, but he does need a little something extra, and I forgot my crop at the trailer. Thank you, Kat.” I nodded a “you’re welcome,” and handed him the spurs.

 That seemed to do the trick. The next trip around, a sharp jut to the side got NG over the tricky obstacle, and the team had no more issues. I smiled, glad we could continue without a hitch. Me and Jared had a strong standing to uphold, and though I knew winning wasn’t everything, it sure was nice. I had always been pretty competitive, and having Kiro come into my life only rekindled that type of fire that had been dulled for years from the accident. Thinking about it for the first time in a while, I was proud of how far I had come. I was finally jumping again, really riding again, and even competing! The tragedy was all but behind me completely, and I was happy to know I could overcome it.

 I wasn’t far into my daydreaming when the announcer called my name. Jared smiled my way, “Good luck! I’ll be watching closely for you when you come around the bends!” I nodded thanks, and made my way to the start box, ready to start. We had gotten the chance to take a look at all the jumps before, and nothing really screamed out at me. Not even a single barrel in sight. Water didn’t faze Kiro, so the small, shallow pond we would have to gallop through should provide no problems. I glanced to the stewards in the small viewing area next to the start boxes, showing them I was ready. They nodded, and a bell rung. I was good to go. With a short nudge to the side, me and Kiro were galloping down the straight stretch before us, getting to the first jump in good time. The optimum time for this course was a bit shorter than I was really used to, so I knew we would have to keep a good pace the whole time. Even then, I did check my new watch when I had the chance. The beeping that it did at certain time intervals definitely helped though.

 The jumps in between the stretches were also a little more complicated than the previous event’s had been. They were wider and taller obviously, but the actual course itself was even more troubling than I had thought. Many tight turns, with jumps coming out of odd places, some sneaking up on you over blind hills. It definitely was something I had to pay attention to, but I was up for the challenge. Soon enough, the watch on my wrist beeped four times – one minute to the optimum time mark. Thankfully, 16 out of the 17 jumps were complete, and the finish line wasn’t long after the final jump. The very, very long run to the final jump would also eat up the time I did need it to consume, so I was feeling good. I glanced down to Kiro’s sides and legs, and noticed quite a bit more sweat than he had accumulated the first event. His breathing wasn’t too labored, but you could tell he was pushing himself. I didn’t want to race him any faster than he was going, and decided being a little over the time was better than not having a horse to run in Stadium. Thankfully, the last jump was a simple, open distance, and we were out of the course in nearly perfect time. I pat my boy very graciously, and we walked on a loose rein back to the start to watch Jared.

 When I got there, Jared instantly praised me. “Awesome time, Kat! I had you going on mine here, too. So he took everything okay? Anything jump out at you? What’s the hardest part of the course?” I snickered, “Slow down, one thing at a time! Nothing is really scary, but jump 9 is coming out of a blind turn, and it can get kind of tricky, so watch yourself there.” Jared nodded, and we went over the rest of the course. We were able to converse and compare like this because these jumps were actually adjustable. It was a big bonus, and extremely rare in such big events. The jumps were very heavy though, so it definitely took some time to switch between divisions. We were able to untack, rub down, and re-tack the horses next to the cross country course before Jared’s trip, and the horses were thankful. Not long after Jared was back up and walking around, it was time for his trip. “Go get ‘em, buddy!” I called after him. He grinned and waved behind him before the bell rung. and he and NG were taking off down the grass. 

 I did the same for Jared as he had for me, and restarted the watch I was holding. I decided to walk Kiro around to find the best places to watch Jared’s course. I timed the place I went with where he should be on the course at certain times, and was able to catch the perfect spot where I could see three jumps and the finish line. I managed to get there just before Jared did. When he came into view, I was appalled at how amazing NG looked in full stretch. He pounded against the ground, muscles rippling with the power of his stride. Jared held him back gently, using a Pelham with both reins attached. He sat out of the saddle lightly, using his legs to hold himself up off of Northgate’s back. They came up to the first obstacle in their way in the three that I could see. It was a simple jump, logs tied up with just a bit of brush under them. The team cleared it more than easily, with the next two jumps readily coming ahead. After they were gone and out of the way, the two galloped home to end up just a bit short of the optimum time. “Well, I’d personally take too fast over too slow!” I called to no one, and trotted Kiro down to where the two had stopped. 

 “Awesome runs for the both of us! Come on, let’s get these guys up and check the standings! You guys rocked it, I want to see how you guys are doing!” Jared smiled wide, and nodded, “Heck yea! You two are doing better than we are! I’d love to see the smile on your face when you see your name by a number one!” We grinned and laughed, trotting on loose reins back to the barn. After getting everyone untacked and put up in their stalls, we made our way to the barn office to find out for sure how we were doing.

 Sure enough, our names graced the top of the papers for both of our divisions. We were doing excellently. The competitors weren’t too terribly far behind in Cross Country, but we had gotten them pretty well in the Dressage. “As long as Stadium proves no problems, we are set! What a perfect show to come back and tell your trainer about!” Jared chanted, patting me on the back. I smiled, “Same for you! Except your trainer is expecting such a victory; mine is expecting more along the lines of … a rock!” We laughed out loud, and decided to head out for lunch before coming back to ready for the stadium portion.

 After lunch had gone and past, and we had tacked up and warmed the horses, we checked out the ring and our courses. They were both the same, but _very _complex: rollbacks, half-moon turns, hairpin corners, the works. The jumps weren’t exactly going to be an easy over either. The show grounds spared no expense in making the jumps absolutely stunning, something I would expect to see in the Rolex. “Uh, Jared? These are kind of … scary.” He turned to the ring and glanced it over, but appeared to be much more comfortable than I was. “No, Kat you’ll be fine. These two will go over anything if you ask them right, they are good honest horses. I guarantee you are more nervous about them than Kiro is. He sails over stuff like he’s done it nine thousand times!” I gave a half grin, hoping Jared was right.

 He must have been spot on – we both had clear rounds. The turns were very tight, but Kiro took them with no problems, and Northgate looked graceful as a doe spinning around the course. We came out beaming, knowing we had simply taken the show ground by storm.

 After cooling and untacking our horses, I noticed a man, maybe 30 in age, come up to me and Jared in the golf cart on our way to the truck to get the trailer loaded so we could get home. “Young lady! You own the big black that won the 3’6” division today!” I nodded warily, “yes, this is true. Can I help you?” He smiled wide, reaching for my hand, “It’s good to meet you! That horse of yours, he is really something. I’d love to see him up close and personal, really meet him. Maybe we could make a little deal. He’d make a great addition to our show team at Willikur Ridge, and I’d be willing to pay a _generous_ price.”

 I couldn’t help but snort and withdraw, rejecting his hand shake. “My horse is absolutely not for sale. He is not for sale now, and never will be. Sorry, but no thank you. Go on, Jared.” I turned my head inside the cart, and Jared slammed the gas almost before I could finish speaking. I looked at him with disgust. He shared the look, responding “welcome to the world of upper class eventing. It’s the same in the hunter world I’m sure.” I remembered back, and realized he was right. What was different then, was that Trina usually handled them.

 After getting the trailer back to the stall, I noticed someone was at Kiro’s stall. Someone I didn’t know. Or did I … “It’s that creep!” I sneered. I jumped out of the truck, half-running to the stall. “What do you think you’re –“ My words were cut off. Suddenly, there was a crazy thud at the stall door, where the man was leaning against. Kiro’s nose came shooting out of the small cut out, ears flat and eyes nearly glowing with rage. His teeth extended toward the man, who narrowly escaped the powerful jaws. Kiro reared up again, kicking at the door, screaming. The man turned ghost white with fear, running away from the stall. “You’re insane for going anywhere near that horse! That horse is _crazy!!_” He took off, jumping in his golf cart and buzzing away before I could reply. I rushed to the stall to make sure my horse was okay.

 Sure enough, Kiro was just fine. He was happy to see me even, with his usual loving attitude toward me. “That’s my boy. Teach people to mess with you, won’t it?” I turned to Jared, who looked afraid to come up to my horse. I laughed, “Jared, he’s fine! I’ve told you, he doesn’t like strangers. You’re not a stranger. It’s fine!” He simply nodded, and sure enough, Kiro allowed him to pat and caress him as normal. Jared shook his head, and we continued to load the trailer.

 After everything was packed, we loaded the horses and began the long drive home. About halfway, Jared turned to me. “Hey, Kat? You up? I’m getting seriously tired. Are you good to drive?” I had actually just woken up, so was very alert and more than ready to finish the trip. I nodded, and we pulled over to switch drivers. I took the truck down the interstate, found the ramp easily, and pulled off. It was quite a few intersections before we got to the barn, and I got all the lights – or so I thought.

 Suddenly, I noticed two very different lights coming from the side. White and blinding, and coming too fast. There was no sound, no nothing, just light. I turned to see what it could be that was shining so brightly, and that would be the last motion I would make that night. In fact, it would be the last motion I did for the next week. A strike of painful fear shot through my body, before everything went black for the second time in my life.


----------



## Roadyy

I really need the next part of this story, now... 

Very startling stopping point...


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## Roadyy

Been 2 days, I'm ready now. lol

I miss my morning reading.


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## faiza425

xJumperx, I've read through your whole story with vigor in the past two days and you leave me HERE? Cruel... ;-)


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 26*

[[ Come on guys, a writer can't have a little fun with a cliffhanger?? Maybe I should end the story now ... :wink:

Naw, I'm not that evil :lol: A short chapter to start us off ... the next will be longer. ]]

Faint voices, clouded and unreal, like in a dream; lights going on, then off, then on again. I’m in motion, but I’m not moving my body. Where am I? I barely have time to think before I am gone again.

~*~

My head feels like lead, and I’m not sure if I should open my eyes. “Jared?” I whimper, a small, scared voice. Jared was there, he was there in the truck with me. “Jared?” I say it louder, remembering he had been dozing off. But it was bright now, we weren’t in a truck; and why would I be sleeping if we were in a truck? “Jared, Jared wake up,” I say in an almost normal voice. I want him to awake, to tell me what’s happening. To go check on the horses and see if –

 Oh god. The horses. The truck. The crash. Oh god. Oh no.

 My eyes shot open, though they protested with my swollen mind. I darted my cloudy vision around the room. A hospital, I was in another god-forsaken hospital bed. Jared was sitting in the seat next to the bed, sleeping soundly. I looked at him for a while, thinking maybe if he was okay, so was everything else. His face was undisturbed, besides a small scratch on his cheek. He had a patch on his other shoulder, showing only because he had worn a very short sleeved shirt. He seemed to be in no pain. I threw the blankets off of myself, noticing with the motion of my arm that I was hooked to an IV. “Fantastic. Nurse will have a cow if I pull this. Already had that incident once…” I muttered to myself. I decided the best thing to do would be to simply wake Jared. He would have to tell me everything. Though to be honest, part of me didn’t want to know. 

 I sat up all the way, crossing my legs. Every movement hurt, but I felt like if I pretended it didn’t, maybe it would go away. “Jared … Jared … Jared!” I yelled to him, increasingly louder until I saw him startle. His eyes slowly flickered open, and I could tell his eyes were bothered by the light. He must have a headache too. He turned to me slowly, completely waking up when he saw me upright. “Jared, what happened??” He looked at me still, startled, then finally made words, “Oh thank god you woke up! You’ve been out so long … I was getting so worried …” He stood from his chair quicker than I thought he may have been able to, and reached out for the hug. He was gentle, but clearly happy to see me breathing and awake. I returned the hug with as much strength as I could muster. I was definitely overjoyed to see him. I would die if …

 After a decent enough time, I finally leaned back to look Jared in the eye. “Jared,” I spoke quietly and critically, “What happened? Where are the horses?” He glanced away, and I immediately felt my heart give out. It was a bullet to the chest, after multiple stab wounds to the stomach. “No … No …” Jared’s eyes leapt back to my face, more confused than depressed, “No! Kat, no, the horses are alive! They are both at my barn, they are … they are alive.” He gave a wayside nod, and I knew they couldn’t have been in the best condition. They weren’t well. They were alive. “I want to see them. I want to see Kiro. I want to see him right now,” I began to stand up, to pull the IV. Screw the nurse, yell at me all she wants. “Krista no! You need to stay! You got hit really hard, you lost a little more blood than you should have … That stupid truck run a red light. It was their fault, not yours. They hit the truck directly, exactly where you sat. The trailer would have been fine, but it … it flipped. It’s a big trailer … Anyway, nothing is broken on anybody. Everybody should make a full recovery.” He took a breath, pondering. “But … Kiro’s medical bills will be very, very expensive. He’s in a sling as we speak.” I feel myself whimper, and tears build. “Like I said, he’ll make a full recovery. He just shouldn’t be moving very much right now. At all.” I stuck my face in my hands, sitting on the edge of the bed. Tears leak out of my eyes, and I do nothing to stop them. He had to be okay. Kiro had to be okay. 

 I felt Jared sit down on the bed next to me, rubbing my back softly as I just sat there, weak and helpless. I could do nothing. Kiro needed me, and here I was, sitting in this stupid hospital bed. I fell onto Jared’s lap, bawling my eyes out while he smoothed my hair. “I’m sorry, Kat …” He spoke softly, letting me cry it out. After I had calmed down, I sat up and asked him of my injuries. “It was really scary, Krista. I called 911 immediately, you were completely out cold. Face was all cut and …” he had to pause, eyes gazing off into the memory. “You will be okay. You did lose quite a bit of blood, though. Your wrist was also broken again, as you can tell.” I actually hadn’t noticed the cast much. I guess I had been used to it from last time. “The nurse said you can go a day or two after you wake up. She came in just a second ago, you didn’t notice her. She’s called some people to let them know you are awake. We’ve all been worried … Your mom and brother have visited. Trina too. Everyone has been worried sick.” I looked up, shocked, stopping him, “my … my mother came by? But she left! She was gone!” He shook his head, “she came back as soon as she got the call that you were in critical condition. Drove back and got Navy along the way. She said she’d be back later tonight, but she might be here soon now that she knows you’re up.” I nodded, wondering if I was ready to see her again.

 “Jared … how long have I been asleep?” He stared into me, gaining strength before finally saying, “four days and nine hours.” I was taken aback. Wow. I was only under for three days after my first accident. “And how much time of that have you spent sitting in that chair?” I pondered, just realizing that he seemed to have given me a play-by-play of each day. He smirked, gave a small chuckle, and replied with “after getting the horses settled and taken care of? Every second of every day.” He looked at me with such compassion, such care, that I couldn’t help but grab him in a hug, and it was no accident when our lips met and I found myself trapped in harmony. For a split second, the pain was gone, and everything would be okay. 

 Suddenly, I heard footsteps, and backed away to see who had walked in. My face went flush when I noticed it was Trina. I expected her to tease, to laugh, to jeer and say “I told you so!” But there was none of that; only a stern, angry look, while she held my jeans and shirt in hand. I was puzzled, until she finally spoke, “Now that you are awake, they allowed me to get your clothes for you,” suddenly, she flicked a neatly folded piece of paper out of one of the pockets. My blood instantly ran cold as ice, all heat falling out of my face, as I knew exactly what it was. “Kristene. What the hell are you doing with a Eventing Dressage test in your pocket?” She asked hotly, throwing the clothing on the chair next to her and unfolding the paper, “_and why does it have your and Kiro’s name on it?”_


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## xJumperx

I really want to go ahead and title this. Usually I'm pretty good with finding titles, but for this one I'm stumped :/ I don't really need something that directly relates to the story. For example, I don't want something like "Back in the Saddle" or "Krista and Kiro" or anything like that. If you've read Jodi Picoult, and how she titles her books, I like that quite a bit. "My Sister's Keeper, the Tenth Circle, Handle With Care," I just like how she titles her books. I also love how she writes, so if you're looking for reading material, I suggest her. 

So anyway, if you have ANY title suggestions, PLEASE post!! Thank You!!


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## Roadyy

"Trust"
"Crossing Bridges"
"Healing Hearts"

"How Krista Got Her Groove Back" (Thought it was funny)


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## faiza425

I'm horrible at thinking of titles, but here goes...

"Clearing Hurdles"
"Of One Heart"
"Overcome"
"Rebound"


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## xJumperx

@Roadyy "How Krista Got Her Groove Back" ... :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

@fazia I LOVE "Of One Heart." I'll be really very seriously considering that one. Thank you all so much!! More to come, soon enough ...


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## RedTree

Omg this is really good, I noticed a mistake when you were writing about there first jump course, you first said it was jump 6 then changed to jumpn5 n the next section  apart from that its awesome 

Have really enjoyed reading this


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## xJumperx

I'm SOO sorry guys!! More is coming rapidly!! I've just ... had some problems. A broken wrist and an unknown lung infection of some sort will put you away from things for a little bit... Oops!! I'm getting it done ASAP!!


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## Roadyy

Hope you heal quickly.


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## dommycob

Get well soon

And what about heartlines? Like after florence and the machines song, because eventing was what she was born to do?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## faiza425

I hope you are feeling better! I keep coming back to this thread in hope that you have written something haha


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## xJumperx

[[ Okay, finally back at it!! Sorry the hiatus was so nasty, I of course had TONS of schoolwork to do after healing ... fun stuff ... but things are slowing down now, and I've got time again! Lol, here is the next installment. Sorry again for taking so long to post. The hundredth reply, this chapter will be!! Thank You ALL for being so AMAZING!! ) ]]


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 27*

Jared looked to me as well, wondering how I could get out of this. After my fearful glance back at him, he seemed to realize I had no plans whatsoever. He sighed, then turned to Trina. “She and that horse are really something, Trina. They totally aced everyone in their divisions. Kiro has amazing potential, and Ka- Krista, is an amazing eventer herself. I really think it would be a good idea to …” She cut him off harshly, storming closer to us, “Shut up. I don’t want to hear a response from you, I want it from Kristene.” I was instantly infuriated with her for speaking so critically to Jared, but she gave me no time to tell her about it, “you are not an eventer. I don’t care what that horse is, he could be a freaking rabbit for all I care, you are not an eventer. You will not set foot in that ring _ever_ again, and if you think that it is acceptable to do so, I hope you have great luck finding a new barn. I’m half tempted to throw you out anyway, seeing as to how you lied to me. That horse is gone, Kristene, you did that to yourself,” her words cut so deeply, I wasn’t sure I could keep my composure. Trina had always been there for me. She had always helped me through everything – I was sure I would never leave her barn. As she was making her way out the door, her final words to me were most certaintly the most harsh, “don’t bring that horse back to my barn. He is for sale to the highest offer as soon as he’s healed. He can stay at your boyfriend’s barn until then. You defy me now, Krista, I’ll make sure that horse is sold across the country, and by god you can go with him.” 

 She slammed the door behind her and I lost it. Tears streamed from my eyes, and I couldn’t begin to comprehend half of what Trina had said. After too long of me sitting in Jared’s lap, bawling my eyes out, I took out every machine attached to me and began getting dressed. Jared tried to stop me, “Kat! Kat, what are you doing? You can’t leave yet, not until you are healed.” I ignored his pleas, until he wouldn’t stop pestering me. Once I was dressed, I looked him straight in the eye, and told him what was happening. “I’m in stable condition. I’m going to sign out of this hospital, and you are going to drive me to your barn. I’m going to see my horse, and I’m going to find a way to buy him. Okay?” He shook his head, “No Kat. I’m not letting you walk out of here-“ I cut him off, “What if it was Northgate? What if your barn owner was selling Northgate, and you had one chance to see him before he was gone?” 

 He paused, thinking hard about the situation. His closed his eyes slowly, then reached for some rental-car keys. “Go to the front desk and sign out. I’ll get the car warm and pull it around front.”


~*~

 It was terrible. Seeing my boy all strung up to the ceiling, weight off his hooves, held still. His glistening black coat had spots of blood where he had been scratched and bruised, and his perfect nose held a thin slice where the hay manger must have hit him. “Oh god …” was the only thing I could mutter. Suddenly, though, Kiro perked up. His ears swiveled to my small sound, and his eyes shot to me as he lifted his head in an overexcited way. He then neighed, loudly and with purpose, and somehow I knew he was going to be alright. I smiled wide through burning tears, and went into the stall to comfort him. “Oh my Kiro, I’m so sorry. It’s going to be okay buddy. You’re a fighter, and you’ll get through this. I’ll get a few extra jobs here and there, I’ve got my savings account, and you’ll be mine. It will just be us, Kiro.”

 I stood there for a little while longer, before checking on Northgate quickly. He was in a bit better condition, with no sling needed to hold him still. “They’re both very sore,” Jared told me, “but the vet said they’ll make full recoveries, probably be ride-able in the next 2 months. It’s great news, considering.” I nodded, understanding. Knowing that it was good news, and being happy about that, but also being disappointed that it had happened at all. Stupid trucks.

 “Kat, how are you going to buy that horse?” Jared asked me solemnly. I could tell he was doubt-full, and I wasn’t too sure of myself either. “I’ll get him. I have some savings; about three thousand. I’ll work what I can and get as much money as possible while he heals. Wait till the first buyer comes along, tell Trina I’ll take more than that, and she’ll have to give him to me.” I sighed, wishing me and Trina were still on good terms, “she may be upset, but she’s not stupid. She knows that horse is as good as mine.” Jared stared into the stall, as we were standing at the gates of them now, just watching the horses. “I’ll help,” he offered. “You don’t have to do that, Jared. I would never ask that after all you’ve done,” I rejected. There was no way I could ask him for money, not after he was already keeping my horse here for the meantime. “No,” he countered, “It’s not going to be cheap, Krista. These vet bills will be too much to handle. Heck, the vet bills _alone_ will eat up that three grand. There’s no way you can do this alone, and I’m not going to sit here and let this horse get away from you when I know I can do something about it. Consider the vet bills paid. I’ll get you guys taken care of there, that way you can put all your focus into just getting the purchase done. If you need any help with that, I want you to call me.” I tried to disallow this offer, but he simply hushed me, “I don’t want to hear it. Unless you are about to say, ‘of course Jared, I’d love for you to help,’ I don’t want to hear anything else.”

 I shook my head, giggling at the thought that I had been so lucky to have such an amazing person in my life, “Fine. Jared, I’d love for you to help.” He smiled and nodded, “Good. Glad we are on the same page! Now come on, let’s get you home. No worries, I’ll drive you back to the barn before school, and also get you home afterwards. No ‘buts’ there, either, missy,” he threw me a wayside grin, “good boyfriends take care of their girlfriends.” I smiled wide, in a childish, bubbly fashion, “and a good boyfriend you are.”

 I didn’t want to leave the horses, but settled on knowing I’d be back tomorrow morning. The drive home was a bit of a long one, as my mind was swimming with all sorts of thoughts. Walking in the door was worth it, though. “Sissy!” Navy cried out, running to the door and gently wrapping his arms around my legs, “Mommy said to be careful with Sissy, but I missed you so much! Sissy, are you hurt? Are you gunna be better?” I laughed, and knelt down to Navy’s level, “Of course Sissy is going to be better. I’m a little beat up, but your big sister has a little more fight in her than that!” Navy smiled wide, and gave me another careful hug around the neck. Jared picked him up as he requested, and I stood to find my mother standing before me. She frowned, obviously upset with herself, “Krista, I’m sorry. I should have never left you like that. I just didn’t think that anything could happen …” I really wanted to agree with her, tell her that her choice was stupid and pathetic. But the pain in her eyes told me that wasn’t the best idea.

 “No, mom. This could have happened to anybody at any time. There’s nothing anyone could do. I have good people that are helping, and I’m going to be fine; though I do have to talk to you about my situation later. For now, I think we owe Jared a dinner. He’s kind of doing a lot to help,” I suggested, hoping my mother would oblige. Thankfully she did. “Yes of course, he’s been wonderful while you’ve been at the hospital. It’s the least we can do.” Jared attempted to play it off as no big deal, but my mother was like myself, and wouldn’t let him carry on thinking in such a fashion. After dinner and a few minutes of relaxing and talking about what was going on with Kiro and Trina, it was time for Jared to leave and for me to head to bed. 

 It had been decided that Jared would drive me to the barn quickly before school, but he would drop me off at the house before he went. I had to take a few days off, he said, to recover. My mother obviously agreed, and I wasn’t opposed to the idea. Once I had head to my bedroom, I caught notice of the framed drawing of my spectacular horse. “Don’t worry, my boy. You’ll be back this way soon.” I stroked the glass carefully, before snuggling into bed, “You’ll be mine, soon.”


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## ColortheSky

I just spent all day reading this! It's soo good  Post more soon! I'm so excited to find out what happens next.


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## Clevelandbays64

Great job I love it sooooo much!


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 28*

My alarm clock started blatting its annoying cries at a ripe time of 4:00 AM the next morning. I slapped the snooze button a little harder than necessary, instantly regretting it as my ribs screamed out in protest to the sharp movement. “Ugh, why must I be so accident prone?” I whined to myself, slowly erecting myself to a sitting position. I rubbed my tired eyes, “and why must accident prone people have to wake up so dang early?” I stumbled about my room in the dim lighting, as I didn’t feel like blinding myself quite yet, and decided the lamp on the desk would be suffice. Thankful that my only stop today would be the barn, I threw on some comfortable sweats and a loose fitting, gray tee that read “Live Life at Full Gallop,” with the blue silhouette of a horse racing behind the black letters; my favorite outfit to wear around the barn. I threw my hair up into a messy bun and trudged downstairs quietly, slipping into my muck boots and taking a rest at the kitchen table, resting my head on my arms. Nobody in the house was up yet – Navy and mom didn’t awake until six for Navy’s school – so the house was peaceful and dark. I liked having the peace and quiet, and it had to be this early that we left for the barn so that Jared could get me back home before he left for school, so there wasn’t too much complaining that I could do. Not long had I been sitting there before my phone lit up, alerting me of Jared’s text that simply read “Here, you need help getting out the door?” I didn’t reply, simply pulled myself out of the chair and out the back door. I heaved the rental car’s door open, and slipped into the front seat. 

 I turned to look at Jared, and smile a thank you. His face seemed sympathetic, and he quietly muttered, “I suppose you didn’t need that help, huh? How you feeling this morning?” I shrugged a tiny shrug, for it ached to do any more. “I’m not too bad off. A little sore, but nothing I can’t live with. I’ve been broken worse,” I tried to use a joking voice to offset the slumbering mood, which caused Jared to snicker and roll his eyes before setting the car in gear and heading to the barn, “you’re crazy, Kat,” was all he could comment. The car ride was quiet. Both of us were quite tired still, and he even had to tap me gently to stir me when we arrived at the barn. “We’re here! Let me help you out of the car. No objections!” I simply smiled and returned the eye-roll, but decided to keep the protests in this time. I wouldn’t mind having the help at this point. He pulled me out of the car with careful gentleness, and we head into the barn.

 We walked over to where the geldings were stalled, and I was pleased to see that Kiro’s sling had been brought down a bit, where he was standing on his hooves, and even able to gingerly walk over to the door, where his warm muzzle warmed my hands. I smiled like a little kid, loving the horse’s enthusiasm at getting better. I turned back to Jared, noticing that Kiro had been able to walk about a bit, “Is this sling on a track?” He nodded, “he’s in great care. This is the most advanced stall in the barn. Sling with tracks, everything is smoothed out to be kick and scratch proof, padded walls and double matted floors. The stall Northgate is in – the one next to it – has everything but the sling.” He walked next to me to rub Kiro’s face, “I figured this big guy needed some extra TLC.” He smiled, then walked to see Northgate. The big chestnut also whickered to his master, walking over and sticking his nose through the bars. “There’s my big handsome partner in crime,” he hummed to NG, patting him and checking him over visually. 

 I did the same for Kiro. I entered his stall, rubbing him over gently, careful not to press or pat too hard for I figured he’d be around as sore as I was. Kiro didn’t seem to show any pain though. He was really only happy to have me there; I could just tell. He never took an eye off me, slowly turning his neck as I went around the black’s massive body. His muscle mass really hadn’t deteriorated much, though he had lost a bit of fat. “You’re just a superstar!” I smiled, patting his cheek gently. “Such a good boy; I wish I could just stay here and visit you when I wanted,” I muttered to the horse as I closed his gate, wanting to never leave. Suddenly, Jared turned to me, as if light-bulbs flashed in his head.

 “I didn’t think of that! The apartment upstairs! If you can get up the stairs fine, I can hand you the key and let the barn owner know you’re up there. They won’t mind, and it has full amenities. That way you’re always on one level, unless you want to come down and check on Kiro. I can bring you home on my way back from school. I can call your mom and see if it’s okay with her, if you want!” He beamed like he had just reinvented the microwave oven. He was so happy to have thought of the idea, and I loved it to the point where I was more than willing to accept. “Are you sure the barn owner wouldn’t mind?” I asked, not wanting to be rude. Jared shook his head, and pulled out his phone. “I’ll just give her a call!” After a small chat, he looked at me with a smile and a nod, thanking my mother … and apologizing for waking her … before ending the call. “You want to head up there now?” He asked. 

I looked to Kiro once more, patting his nose, and nodded. “Yea, that’d be awesome.” He took me up the flight of stairs, unlocking the door before disconnecting the key from his key-ring and attaching it to mine. He unfolded the pull-out bed from the couch before making sure the fridge was stocked. “Okay, you’re all set! There’s a few microwave meals and some fruit in here if you get hungry, plus pop and water. Bed is set with new sheets, and you know how to work the TV and the DVD player if you want them.” He gave me a kiss on the forehead before I decided to slip into the bed. “I’ll see you when I get back!” He called back, and I returned the goodbye. He flipped the light on his way out, and I fell back into a nice slumber, overjoyed to be in the most wonderful place I could have been at that moment. Well, besides on the back of Kiro, that is.

~*~

 I awoke some time later, letting myself sleep without an alarm. I brought my phone from the side table to my face, noticing the time was a little after nine. I decided to go ahead and slip out of bed – or rather, my _stomach_ decided it was time to wake up. I left the bed to putter over to the mini-fridge, liking my choices of brunch. After selecting my meal, I reached in for some milk and sat on the edge of the makeshift bed, slipping _“Second Chances” _in the DVD player. It was a good favorite of mine, and I figured it would be nice to see how others come back from accidents with flying colors. 

 About halfway through the movie, I heard sounds that I couldn’t quite place. It took a second before I laughed at myself, realizing that I was, in fact, sitting over the arena. I glanced at the digital clock that sat below the television on the entertainment center. It was about ten o’clock, around the time that some of the adults without school obligations would begin lessoning. I decided to pause the movie and head out to the balcony. Watching lessons was an awesome pastime for me. Some found it boring, but I preferred to learn from the lessons as well, much like watching a clinic. The one thing I did notice that I wasn’t used to, is that I was particularly anxious to get back on a horse – and now. I expected to feel the riding withdrawal, as any rider with an injury would, but not this bad. Heck, I didn’t feel this much of a longing when I had my accident with Ghostly.

 After watching for just a little bit longer, I knew I couldn’t take it anymore. I left the balcony, returned inside and bumbled downstairs to meet my gelding. He lifted his nose and nickered his usual welcome, which always brought a smile to my face. “Hey there buddy! Don’t you worry; we’ll be back up and running soon - back to eventing and having the time of our lives!” No sooner had I said that, though, did I remember the harsh words Trina had said. That not long after Kiro was back on his feet he’d be sold. I tried to shake the thoughts from my head, but to no avail. I slipped inside the stall quietly, sitting in the corner where Kiro could bring his nose down to me. I stroked his face while he held it there, and told him what was running through my head. 

 “Well, my stable job would have to be moved to this place; I have a feeling I’m not exactly on Trina’s good side right now. Who knows, maybe a place this nice can shell out a little more cash. Plus, you’re here now, so I could take good care of you. Then on top of that I’ll need to go somewhere else. Maybe work at the grocery store up the street, something that doesn’t guzzle gas out of the truck too badly, because that will cost an arm and a leg in itself if I don’t plan correctly.” Thinking about all the requirements to making this work almost made my head hurt, but watching Kiro munch his hay peacefully definitely calmed my brain, if only a bit. I had to laugh, marveling at the idea of Kiro ever having a nasty side. “Why, you’re just my little puppy dog! Here I am, half crippled, sitting in the corner of your great big, beastly self’s stall, and you don’t mind a bit!” I stood slowly, taking my time not to bother my ribs … or anything else, that is … Once I was up, I stroked Kiro once more, cooing and nurturing him, before deciding to head back up the stairs. I laid back out on the pull-out bed, flipped the DVD on play, and eventually fell asleep to the sound of horses, real and televised, all around me.


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## faiza425

More! More! Más! :-D


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## 40232

I need more!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## womack29

Awesome


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## xJumperx

THERE WILL BE MORE TO THIS.

I am SO sorry for my leave of absence. It is unexcusable. Things have been crazy, but I am going to finish this before the end of the year. Promise!!


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## 40232

Ahhhh I thought there was an update and got super excited ):


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## Roadyy

I have been patiently waiting for more of this story as it is one of the best on here.


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 29*

Sorry this next installment is so poor in quality. Just getting back into the swing of it. More tonight or tomorrow!

“Well good morning, sleepyhead!” I woke abruptly, sitting up much faster than I should. I groaned in pain, but turned to see Jared standing in the doorway of the loft, coming in and dropping his heavy-looking book bag. “Take it easy, Kat, it’s just me,” he almost commanded, clearly worried. He was a good friend. “What time is it?” I muttered sleepily, “about three o’clock. Just got home from school. Don’t worry about it though, you need to sleep as much as possible. It’s the best way for you to heal, considering you never sit still when you are up and about,” he teased, and I made a snarky face in turn. “Yeah yeah, you hush.” I pulled myself out of the small bed slowly, and began to strip the sheets to convert it back into a couch. Jared walked over quickly to stop me, “I’ll take care of it. You go see Kiro, I’ll be down in a moment,” he knew me too well, knowing exactly what I was aiming for. I nodded in agreement and went back down to see my horse.

 Just the thought … ‘my horse’ … was a sad reminder that he wasn’t yet mine. How was I ever going to get the money to purchase him? Trina would charge a hefty price for him, considering he now had a winning streak in Eventing. I knew the people that had been at the circuit Jared and I had entered before the crash would flock him like birds to a fishing hole. I could only hope that his anti-stranger ways could scare them away. “Is that bad to wish for?” I thought aloud, thinking I was out of earshot of anyone. Unfortunately, I wasn’t. “What did you say, madam?” The new voice startled me, causing me to jump uncomfortably. The voice came from a man, dressed in high-class riding gear, standing by the stall near Northgate. I knew it was the owner of the barn from his location – the horse stalled next to Northgate was Standfordshire Delight.

 Jared had told me many things about the barn owner and his horse. Standford was remarkable animal, one of amazing talent. Gary Richard had brought him up from scratch, born from one of the top Warmbloods in Germany. Gary had Standford shipped back to the US with him, and the rest is history. Today, Standford held countless awards, won about half a million Grand Prix’s, anything you could think of. Oddly enough, he wasn’t an Eventer, but a show jumper. Gary did own a mare that he evented with, but she was up and coming. I might have asked him why he spent all the extra money to make the barn one of the eventing type if I didn’t have other things on my mind. 

 “I’m sorry miss; I didn’t mean to startle you. You are Kristene, aren’t you- Jared’s friend, owner of that black over there?” I nodded quickly, wanting to seem more professional than I had so far. “Yes sir, I am.” I walked up to him and reached my hand out in greeting, “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Richards, Jared has said great things.” He chuckled to himself a bit, shaking my hand firmly. “Yes, I’m sure he has. He’s a good kid, and he has a nice horse. Much like yours,” he gestured his hand over to Kiro’s stall, and began walking to his door. I walked a bit ahead of Mr. Richards, terrified of what Kiro may do. “Please be careful sir, he’s a bit … afraid of strangers, I guess you could say.” Gary stopped just short of Kiro’s stall, continuing his content chuckle, “Yes Kristene, I found that out a little bit ago,” My face went pink, and I gave a stink eye to my black beast. He gave me a sparkly look, ears pricked, almost to say ‘well what’s wrong?’ 

 “I’m really sorry about that, Mr. Richards,” I muttered apologetically. He just shook his head and waved his hand, “Don’t be sorry little lady, I’ve met many a horse that has the personality like yours. Just good with his master, nobody else.” I smiled and nodded, glad that Gary Richards seemed so understanding. “Mister, I’m in a bit of a predicament. See, my trainer owns Kiro, he’s not mine. She wants to sell him, though. It would be devastating for both me and Kiro, and I really don’t want to see that happen. Unfortunately, I don’t have the funds to purchase Kiro right now. I’d like to ask for the opportunity to work at this beautiful stable. I can start as soon as I am well enough to lift a water bucket.” I didn’t have to inform him of the accident – considering he was stalling my horse, he had to know. 

 He nodded slowly, pondering the offer. “Kristene, as I’ve said before, I’ve met many horses like yours,” he paused, looking in at Kiro, “you need that horse. Jared has told me about how amazing of a team you two make, and I’m convinced that you need each other.” He turned back to me, a small kind grin on his face. Things looked hopeful. “The job is yours, Kristene. Welcome to the family. You’ll have to call me Gary, though, no need for over formalities.” I laughed, “In that case, call me Krista.” He nodded in agreement, “alright, Krista. You can start whenever you are well, you just let me know. You’ll get twenty an hour to do all the stalls, all the water, and bring everybody in in the mornings. Sound good?” I was somewhat shocked. Twenty an hour was a _lot_ more than I was expecting, more than Trina had ever been able to pay me. “Can I come in around 4 AM? That’s before school for me, I can do that.” Gary smiled wide, “4 AM is perfect! Most kids won’t come before _nine!_” I shook my head just thinking of the preposterous number. I could tell me and Gary were going to get along just fine.

 Finding another job, on the other hand, was a bit of a stretch. Sitting at my desk in my room, looking through my laptop, I realized my predicament. I didn’t have much experience in doing anything other than working at the stables. I knew this was my fault, but I really never needed another job. What I got from Trina was enough to pay my way and get by, as I didn’t really need much more than the horses and some art supplies to keep me happy. Now I had to really get a high sum in the bank, though, and it would be a challenge; but no matter what, I couldn’t let that horse go. After tallying everything up for endless hours, I decided I needed to know what Trina was planning on selling Kiro for. The only way I could find out was to call Trina … considering the last time we had spoken, I had low hopes for this event. 

 After a good amount of time just building up the confidence to dial the number, I picked up the phone and hit call. Three rings pass, but finally she picks up. “Hello Krista,” came a less-than-pleased response. “How is Kiro?” she asked, though I instantly assumed she was more interested in knowing so that she knew she’d have something against me. I know it was a terrible thing to think, but with what she had said, I had no other reason to think this way, “He’s coming along really nicely, Trina. Thanks for asking,” I replied lightly, in hopes to ease her mood. “So what is it you want? You didn’t call just to chat about rainbows and unicorns, I hope.” Guess it didn’t work. “Trina, look, I’m sorry I went behind your back. Kiro is really meant for that life, he’s so good at it! You should have seen him Trina, you would have loved to see…” she cut me off, “Kristene, I don’t care! I don’t care what he’s good at. He can do that with someone else! The fact of the matter is you _lied_ to me, more than once! You risked your life for something pointless, and his too! You could have been seriously hurt, Krista! I just don’t understand what was going through your mind, but you best know it was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done. There’s no sorry for this, Krista. You’re going to have to fix what you’ve done. You can figure out how to do it.” 

 I could tell she was ready to hang up, so I caught her before she did, “Trina, wait! Just let me know what you want to sell Kiro for. We can discuss … things later. I need to know what you want to sell him for.” She was silent.
 “Please, Trina.”
 A sigh.
 “Seven. Seven thousand. He’s got eventing potential. As ridiculous as it is, some eventer will take him for seven.” 
 “Thank you.”
 “Good bye.”
 I hung up. I wanted to cry. I wanted to just bawl my eyes out. All those years with Krista, all we’ve been through, and this is how it was going to end. It crushed me, made me want to curl up in a ball and just die. But I didn’t. I sat up, and wrote down the number. Seven thousand. 7,000. $7,000. Seven grand. I wrote it in a million ways. “I’m going to get that. I’m going to get that seven thousand, and I’m going to get my horse.

 After finally making up all the math, I realized with an income of $20 an hour starting in about 30 days, with 21 hours a week I could have eight thousand in twenty weeks. “Four months,” I said aloud. The vet estimated Kiro would be healthy and able to be ridden in two. Even after a month of bringing him back, which even Trina would probably accept, I would still need a whole month, and he’d be gone by then. I’d need a job that paid at least ten an hour. “Easy! A fast food joint! They’ll take me, no problem.”

 I searched the web all over, collecting phone numbers and contacts to call and apply for jobs. Before I knew it, it was midnight. Figuring it was too late to call, I slipped into bed. It would be an early morning, after all. I glanced to the framed sketch on my wall before heading to bed, as I always did. “We’re going to make it, Kiro. We’re going to make it.”


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## Tex1904

Can't wait for more this is really good !     please update quickly I'm starved for more ! 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clydesdales

I LOVEthis.
Can't wait until there is more.!


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 29*

_2 months later_

 I stabbed at the fine shavings with the pitchfork for the umpteenth time, cleaning out every morsel of manure and urine, any little imperfection that might taint the area the horses stayed in for a good amount of time. I finally finished with the last stall, tossing the pitchfork into the full wheelbarrow with a sigh of relief. I grabbed the small, portable misting machine from the ground and swept it over the stall, before turning it onto my forehead, washing away the sticky feeling the humid air left on my skin. “I hate spring,” I muttered to myself, tired of the boggy mess already. After turning the mister to its rightful place in the cleaning room (yes; Green Lantern had a specific room just for all the stall cleaning utensils), I grabbed the handles of the muck bucket and turned it toward the compost area with a heave. Since my wrists had healed, it was becoming easier to work each day. I remembered the first attempts with pain, but shook it off. “In the past, in the past,” I muttered to myself, throwing my weight into the bucket to send the poo over the edge, into the compost trench below.

 After returning the bucket, I slipped into one of the bathrooms to wash up. Once I was presentable again, I returned to the main barn where Kiro was stalled. “Hey there, big guy! It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, perfect for a nice ride,” I cooed, walking into his stall with red halter in hand. Bringing him back into work was still a work in progress, though he was coming along quicker than I thought he should. It was bittersweet, really. I had already been putting overtime hours in at the fast food joint a couple blocks from my house, saving all I could, and I really couldn’t afford a shorter time frame than I already had. I had talked to Trina only twice since she told me the final dollar amount, only speaking about Kiro’s wellbeing. I liked to think that she was coming around. Maybe she was, but maybe she wasn’t.

I had managed to save about three and a half thousand already. It was more than I’d ever had in my life, and it was incredible to think about having it. My mother didn’t know, she couldn’t – if she did, she’d probably see it as hers and take it. It was a shameful way to think, but since my accident jarred her vacation plans, she’d been searching for any getaway she could find. I sighed, feeling bad for her. “After I’ve got you, we can take care of mom. I promise,” I said to myself more than Kiro. I threw his saddle pad on after tending to his polos, preparing myself for his hefty Dressage saddle. I had briefly considered selling this very saddle to save some money, but realized I’d just have to buy it back later after getting Kiro. In the levels Kiro was capable of doing, an all-purpose saddle wouldn’t cut it for eventing. 

After slipping on Kiro’s black bridle and tightening the noseband, I led him into the large indoor arena. Nobody was ever here this early in the morning, and the owner didn’t mind if I rode whenever I wanted so long as I wasn’t bothering any of the other paying boarders. I had already flipped on the lights before I tacked up to give them time to warm up, and the arena was almost fully lit now. I nodded, deeming it sufficient, and hopped onto Kiro’s back.

 He was moving out from under me well, finally using his hind end properly again. He pulled from the rear, lifting his back to seem like he just floated across the ground. If it weren’t for the immense power to be felt in his neck and shoulders, if it weren’t for the sound of his massive hooves thumping the ground like a pair of Christmas drums, I might have believed that he was in fact flying. I couldn’t wait to jump him again.

 He wouldn’t be jumping till the end of the month, though. It was sort of a good thing, as it gave me the time I needed to keep on saving up to buy Kiro at the end of the term Trina had given me (just three months). I sighed yet again. I needed to stop thinking about my money troubles and focus on the riding.

 After finally rearranging my thoughts, me and Kiro had a wonderful ride, and I decided it wouldn’t hurt to take him out in some of the fields to cool him. “Gary won’t mind if I just check the fences, would he?” I asked Kiro, who of course would answer in the language only horses and riders knew. We walked calmly along the rails, watching the loose horses as they moseyed around, grazing or just nodding after their pasture mates. It was such a peaceful sight, one that I loved to watch. Once we had finished making our rounds, I noticed a figure at the fence of the gelding pasture, whistling a tune I was very familiar with. I smiled, knowing instantly who it was. I glanced around for Northgate, as I was back with the other geldings at the moment. Through the mist I found the chestnut, and noticed him pick up his head enthusiastically. After a second call, the large horse started off at a gentle trot, eventually cantering his way to the gate. I began to walk back after him, watching him as he went. Jared must have caught notice of me, because he waited there with Northgate after clipping his halter. After reaching the gate, I smiled teasingly, “well good morning sunshine! What’s got you up so early? I didn’t think you rolled out of bed until around noon thirty!” 

 Jared smirked and gave a playful punch to the leg, “oh you shut up, I’m here at nine on the weekends like clockwork and you know it!” He laughed before continuing, “my parents are going out boating, so I figured I’d just get up at 5 a.m. with them and spend my day here! I’m glad I caught you before you left. Are you watching Navy tonight?” I nodded, “yup, he’s on my watch. You want to come with us? I figured we could go to the little arcade up there with putt-putt and go-kart racing. I can spare about $30 for all of us to get in for 2 races and unlimited everything else. You in?” 

 Jared’s face grew a grin similar to a toddler’s in a candy store. “Do you need to ask? I’d love to! I haven’t been go-karting in so long! Heck yeah, just give me a call when you are on your way. I’m going to ride first, and then I’ll get ready! I brought clothes to change into.” I nodded, calling it a done deal. “I’ll put Kiro up and watch you ride until I have to go. I’d love to see how NG is coming along!” He nodded back, and we continued back into the barn, chatting about various things while we took care of our horses. When Northgate was ready, I stuck Kiro in his stall and followed Jared to the arena. Once he was on, I took a seat on the mounting block to watch.

 Unfortunately, NG was coming along at a … slower rate than Kiro was. He was still on his forehand a bit, not using his back like he knows how. He didn’t have his spring to his feet, and didn’t lift. He had been less injured than Kiro was, yet it seemed like he wasn’t coming as well as he should. I couldn’t say anything to Jared, though – it would hurt him terribly, and I’m sure he already knew. Jared spurred him on, trying to push him into the bit, but it just didn’t happen. Finally, my phone vibrated in my pocket, signaling it was time to get home to Navy. I didn’t want to leave, but maybe NG would perform better without an audience. I alerted Jared that I’d have to go, and he dismissed me with a grin and a wave.

 I hopped in the truck and began my way back home. I found myself feeling even more confused about Kiro. I should be ecstatic that he was making leaps and bounds, not worrying about a time frame. I’m sure Jared would kill for NG to have Kiro’s willpower to get better. I shook my head, “no sense feeling bad. Just focus on making it a good day for everyone, Krista.” 

[[ I can either continue the chapter and go into depth about the arcade, or skip ahead to more action-y, conflicting events. I'm fine either way, you guys let me know what you prefer!! As soon as I have feedback I'll start typing.]]


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## faiza425

xJumperx said:


> I can either continue the chapter and go into depth about the arcade, or skip ahead to more action-y, conflicting events. I'm fine either way, you guys let me know what you prefer!! As soon as I have feedback I'll start typing.


It depends. Will the arcade scene propel the story further into the action? Will it give us a better (important to the story) understanding of the characters? Or will it just be a good time for Krista, Jared, and Navy? (Not that that's bad, just is it necessary to the plot of the story? As much as I enjoy the banter between Jared and Krista and how adorable Navy is, there are already other scenes with the three of them together just having fun.) 

I'm really enjoying how the story is developing and I can't wait for more!


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## horsedream568

Wow! Amazing!


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## horsedream568

I'M DYING POST MORE!!!!:happydance::happydance:


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## xJumperx

I decided to skim over  The rest of the current chapter.

The time spent with Jared and Navy was a great one. Of course, Jared kicked my butt in the go-kart, though he let Navy slide by a couple times. My kid brother was grinning ear to ear when we returned home. “Oh big sissy, that was so much fun! Jared is so much fun, and everything was so …” I grinned, guessing his next words, “fun?” He let out a playful chuckle and gave my thigh a hug, “Big sissy, can we do more things?” My smile started to fade, as I knew I couldn’t afford a new game every weekend. I sat down at the kitchen table, where Navy joined me. I looked at my brother, so full of life. I was afraid to let him down, but was hoping he’d understand. “Navy,” I started, “Sissy has a lot on her plate right now. She has to save up a lot of money, so that she can buy Kiro. If sissy doesn’t buy Kiro, he’s going to be taken away,” with Navy’s concerned look, I could see this going decently well for me. Maybe he would understand. “Games over the weekend cost money, and sissy can’t spend that money right now. Maybe once I buy Kiro, and we don’t have to worry about him getting taken away, we can play games on the weekends. Is that okay, little man?” I looked to Navy, and was pleased with his response. He gave a big nod, “Yes! Sissy has to keep Kiro! I like Kiro! Can we still go to the barn to see Kiro and Jared, though?” 
 It was my turn to smile wide, and I gave Navy the biggest hug, “of course we can, little man. Any time you like.”


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 30*

[[ Deep chapter guys! It gets happier! Don't cry on me! ]]

“My price is firm, Krista, I’m not making an exception for you. You lied to me, you deceived me, you went behind my back and _betrayed_ me. It’s seven thousand. I’m picking him up tomorrow from your barn. He goes to the first person to give me that price, and that’s final.” A click, then silence. I threw the phone in anger onto a bale of hay, hating it passionately for a moment. After the moment was gone, I collected the cell and sat upon the hay I had tossed it on, throwing my face into my hands, sobbing helplessly.

 I hadn’t done it. I had worked endlessly for the past months, only to come up with six thousand. Six thousand wasn’t seven. I hadn’t made it. Somewhere along the line, I messed up my calculations. I hadn’t budgeted for all the expenses, and somehow had fallen short. I didn’t know how to survive from here. I couldn’t live without that horse. He had just gotten back into jumping, and was going through the motions like the accident had never happened. He flew over the fences, both stadium and cross country, like he was born for the events. I knew it wouldn’t be long before Trina came and got him, but I was hoping it would be postponed. Unfortunately, my prayers went unanswered. 

 I felt weight next to me, shifting the hay. By the scent and feel of the person next to me, I knew instantly who it was. I let myself fall into his lap, leaving Jared to wipe my hair from my face, and pat my back gently, “It’s okay, Kat, we’re going to make it work. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to keep him, Kat; you’re going to keep him …” he kept repeating soothing words, waiting for me to calm on my own time. When I was decent, I sat up and faced him, “she’s taking him tomorrow, Jared. He’ll be gone tomorrow! I don’t have the money, and she’s not waiving the price.” Jared looked at me with pleading eyes. He didn’t know what to do either. Instead of giving in, he simply shook his head, lacing my hand with his. “We won’t let her take him. Not without a fight. That’s your horse, Krista.” He nodded towards Kiro’s stall, which was in view from where we were sitting, “and he knows that.”

~*~

 On time, as she always was, Trina was at the door of Green Lantern Stables. Trailer backed up to the barn, doors open wide. Hay was stocked, with bedding laid. I stood in Kiro’s stall, stroking him softly, while he rest his face by my chest. Suddenly, Trina was at the stall door. She saw me there, and her expression instantly changed. “Krista, he’s not yours. You may think he is…” I cut her off, “You can’t have him, Trina.” She made the most horrific face, one of pure spite, “Kristene, get away from the horse. He’s not yours. He’s mine. I’ll do whatever I want with him.” I shook my head. “You’re being irrational, Trina. All I did was compete. I rode a horse. I did something I loved doing. I got back into jumping; I got back into loving it again. Isn’t that was you wanted?” 

 Trina looked to her feet, her face suddenly softening. “Kristene, is there a restroom in this building?” I was confused by her question, but answered honestly, “Yeah, it’s that door across the way, the one on the right. Why?” Trina shook her head in the direction of the restroom, “follow me, please.” I briefly wondered if she’d lock me in there, but I quickly rolled my eyes at the thought. Trina was upset, not a psychopath. I followed her into the spacious bathroom.

 She removed her shirt, showing a sports bra … and several large, thick scars. Two on her back to the inside of her shoulder blade, two more under her left ribcage; one by her collarbone on her right side, and the end of one peeking out from under the middle of her bra. Trina was beat to hell. I wondered how I didn’t know, but then recalled that I’d never seen her without a tee shirt. I’d never even seen her in a tank top, though I’d never realized it until now. “Trina … what …” She stopped me, pointing to each scar as she spoke, “Two split shoulders. Four broken ribs. Broken collarbone. Fractured sternum.” She looked back to me, with a glazed look in her eye. “Krista, what do you think those scars are from?” It took me a second, but I figured it out. My entire outlook on my trainer’s attitude towards me eventing had changed. “You … you used to event. You had an accident; a bad fall.” She frowned, but shook her head. “Not exactly; I was an eventer, and I was good at it – on my way to the Rolex, in fact. But it wasn’t a bad fall that did this. It was a bad jump.” Puzzled, I provided a confused look. “The jump, it wasn’t built correctly. The brush on top is supposed to be thin, able to be passed through with no problems. But this wasn’t. It was thick, tangled, mismanaged. I was the first on the course, by luck of the draw, so nobody knew that the jump was so … dangerous.” Her voice gave a tiny, almost unnoticeable crack, and her eyes began to water, “Nobody knew the jump was fatal. Me and my horse, whom wasn’t mine, but loved as dearly, came at the jump. The takeoff was perfect, the speed impeccable. We had a winning run, except for that jump. His legs went into the brush, and they never came out.”

 By the end of Trina’s story, I was crying silently, as was she. “I was pronounced dead for three minutes,” she finished, before quickly wiping her eyes and replacing her top, looking to me with red in her eyes, “I don’t want that for you, Krista. I don’t want that for Kiro. When you took that fall with Ghost, I was terrified. I thought that was going to happen to you right then and there. I though you’d have to live through that, and I almost died right there with you that day. But you didn’t. And neither did I; but Krista, I can’t take those chances anymore. I can’t risk that anymore. I care too much.”

 She went out the door of the restroom, leaving me dumbfounded for a moment before I collected my senses and walked after her. “So that’s it? You’re just taking the horse and leaving? We can come back from this, Trina! It doesn’t have to be the end of this.” When Trina didn’t stop unlatching Kiro’s door, I got desperate. “I got back on after my fall off of Ghost, Trina! And while it wasn’t … it wasn’t half as bad as yours, I still did it! I got back on, and I jumped again. It took me years, and it took me someone special, but _I did it._ Now it’s your turn.” She hesitated, and I walked before her again. “Get back on the horse, Trina.”

She looked at me for a moment, with soulful eyes, and I thought I’d done it. “I can’t do that, Kristene.” My heart dropped. “The horse isn’t here anymore.” 

 With those words, all I could do was watch as Trina entered the stall, clipped my horse’s halter, and proceeded to walk him to the trailer. I didn’t know why he went for her this time. Maybe he felt as miserable for her as I did.
Maybe he wasn’t strong enough to fight yet. 
Maybe I wasn’t either.


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## xJumperx

*Chapter 31*

I flipped the water hose from the filled bucket, letting it’s cool flow run over my forehead for just a moment before placing it into the next bucket. The summer was harsh this year, hot and sticky. The beginning of the summer had been worse though, and it had nothing to do with the weather. “Krista!” I heard a familiar voice behind me, and a small smile emerged, “Jared, hey! What is it?” He embraced me in a tight hug, “oh Krista, it’s good news!” I scoffed, “I haven’t had good news in a week, Jared. Each day Trina calls and says someone else comes to see him. It’s a matter of time before …” Jared shook his head, placing a finger in front of my babbling mouth. He handed me an envelope. “Merry Christmas in July, Kat.” I looked at him, then back down to the paper. I opened it slowly, astonished by what was inside. Two thousand dollars. More than enough to get Kiro. “Jared, I can’t take this …” He shook his head again, but in a nodding fashion this time.

 “Yes you can, Krista. My parents, they hit it big. Stock market flew up, and they said you need this. You need this. They told me if I come home with it, they’ll skin me. Honest!” I looked at the paper, then back at Jared, and repeated the cycle a few times before wrapping myself around Jared, letting my lips find his as quickly as possible. After moments of pure bliss, I only had one thing left to say before jumping in my truck to get my horse, “Jared, I love you so much.” He smiled wide, mumbling “I love you more” before kissing me back.

 Jared insisted he joined me on our trip, and so we were on our way. It wasn’t too long before I was pulling into Trina’s barn, a familiar place I had recently found spite in. All of the spite was gone now, though, as I killed the engine and jumped from the truck. Walking into the barn at a fast pace, I began to call, “Trina! Trina I have the-“ when I heard voices from inside, “Yes, he’s a fine horse. He’ll make a good way in the competitions. No need for a ride, he’s perfect for my girl.” My heart dropped faster than led in an ocean, _“No!”_ was the only thing I could cry.

 I ran into the barn, stopping in front of my horse’s stall. Trina was mortified, and the man next to her looked overly confused. Out of breath, I managed to mutter, “you can’t sell him. He’s dangerous. He’ll destroy anyone else. I have the money, right here, to take him off your hands.” Trina looked at me sourly, “You hush, Kristene. Kiro is over his bad habits. I’ve been working him, you’ll see. Mr. Johnson, feel free to take your horse.” I didn’t know what to do. As the large man came towards me, not moving wasn’t an option. He entered the stall and slid Kiro’s halter on. Everything was in slow motion now, as my brain couldn’t process what was happening.
 I was losing him.

 The lead rope came next. Mr. Johnson began to walk Kiro from the stall. And Kiro began to follow. One hoof after the other, as I watched in horror. I glanced to Kiro’s eye, trying to see into his amber soul. He didn’t return my glance for the longest time.
 But he went off with a bang when he did.

 His eye caught mine, his head flew into the air. His hooves danced beneath him, his muscles riveting under his glossy black pelt. He let out a shrill neigh, ears flicking in all directions. He pulled his nose to me, begging for me to take the halter. When a sharp, jabbing tension came from Mr. Johnson struck Kiro’s nose, furious would have been a kind way to describe the horse’s reaction.

Kiro pinned his ear instantly, whipping his head and neck around to the handler at the end of the rope. He pulled himself into the air, letting out his hooves like he had done the first day I had met him. Before I knew who he was. Before he became mine. Mr. Johnson’s face grew pale, his eyes widened as he dropped the rope and backed quickly. “That horse is mad! You are crazy for trying to sell such a creature!” He chastised Trina, escaping the barn. Once Kiro’s attacker was gone, he came back to me, his perky, loving self. I turned to Trina then, as Jared stood in shock at the corner of the stalls, watching everything play out.

 All of a sudden, Jared’s stifled laughter struck us. After a moment, he erupted in uncontrollable laughter, with me thinking he might just fall over. Trina’s small chuckle came as a ridiculous surprise, and in just moments all three of us were nearly on the floor laughing our heads off. “Oh Kiro, you spunky thing!” I falsely chastised him, with Trina’s “You must really be her horse!” Following shortly after. I collected his lead, and stroked his face with love, after passing the money to Trina, “Yeah … I’d say you are.”


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## xJumperx

*Epilogue*

“Krista, you listen closely now. That rollback there is a sharp one, and there’s an inside turn after the fifth jump that I’m willing to bet not many will take. That can shave precious seconds off your time. Your cross country and dressage were perfect, you nail this and you’re headed to the big leagues.” I smiled wide, plotting the course with confidence. Trina was in a promising mood, which was always helpful on show weekend. She patted my leg once more as I entered the entrance box. I was on deck. 

Jared came up beside me before my round, aboard Northgate, sitting on his new close contact saddle his parents had graciously purchased him. “Go get ‘em tiger!” he said to me as he reached over for a high five. I returned it, “Bet that new saddle will surely impress the judges in your division! Don’t forget your ol’ girlfriend when you’re in the big leagues!” He laughed, “You’re the one who will have to bring me along to the four stars! You’ve got that big black that’s looking mighty ready today!”

I patted Kiro’s glistening neck, smiling knowing he was mine. Six months later and I still couldn’t get over it. Suddenly, our name came over the announcer, and I looked back at my support team before entering the ring. Trina gave a proud smile, and Jared provided two thumbs up. I stroked Kiro’s neck once more before squeezing him into a canter.
“Let’s go big guy.”


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## xJumperx

The end of Heartlines!! Thank you to dommycob for the name, and Thank You to EVERYONE who read this!! You have all been so fantastic, I didn't think in a million years that this story would go so well, get so many views, or half as many followers. You all are so amazing, and I wouldn't have finished without you!! Thank you again!! Suggestions are always very, very welcome, and I hope to be starting up a few more short stories soon. 

Thanks Again!! Love you all!! ^.^ Please tell me what you think!!

Special thanks to Roadyy. Your help has been so helpful, and your insight was necessary to keep it all going. Thank you!


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## dommycob

Yaay please please publish it! Its far better than somee of the books I've read..
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Roadyy

You are welcome for such a very small role I may have played in this story. You are a talented story teller and have a niche for collecting the attention of your readers.


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