Back in the Saddle by Catherine Hapka Page A

she’d shared a stadium jumping lesson with Kyle—long enough to havealmost forgotten what it was like. Augie was super-reliable over just about any kind of cross-country fence, since the horse knew they were solid and wouldn’t give way if he hit them. But he was smart enough to recognize that the jumps in the ring fell down much more easily, and he tended to get lazy about picking up his feet. That was why he had so much trouble in that phase.
    And sure enough, as the lesson progressed, Augie stayed true to form. He was a little better over the panel and gate, but any top rail was more likely than not to end up on the ground.
    â€œSorry,” Kyle said breathlessly, pulling his horse to a halt after making mincemeat out of yet another line of fences. “We haven’t really done any jumping since the event. Guess it shows, huh?”
    â€œIt’s all right.” Jan slid down from the saddle again. “Let me put the fences down a couple of holes, and let’s see if it goes any better then.”
    Haley swallowed back a sigh of frustration. She’d hoped that today’s lesson would really help her and Wings, get them both sharp for next week’s competition. But herethey were spending their time on remedial stuff instead!
    I might as well have stayed home and schooled on my own, she thought.
    But she almost immediately shook her head. She always learned a lot in Jan’s lessons, no matter what the students did. This would be good for her and Wings. At the very least it was a reminder of what not to do.
    Finally, at the end Jan set up a full course at BN show height. She sent Andrew and Turbo out over it first, and then Haley and Wings.
    By the time Wings had landed after the final fence, Haley was smiling again. He’d felt great out there, attacking every jump with gusto and not even coming close to touching a rail.
    â€œGreat!” Jan called. “Wings is such a super little jumper—I swear he has more scope than most horses two hands taller than him!”
    â€œThanks.” Haley dropped her reins and leaned down to give Wings a big hug around the neck. “See? Told you we were ready for BN.” She grinned at Jan to show that she was just kidding. Well, mostly, anyway.
    Jan laughed. “Okay, okay. Now if you all don’t mind, I’d like to see if Cancun and I are ready for BN. If you’re in a hurry, you can go cool down outside; otherwise stay in the middle, okay?”
    â€œSure!” Haley quickly gathered her reins and nudged Wings into a walk, riding him toward the open area at the center of the ring. She was glad that Jan had decided to jump Cancun today after all. Haley loved watching her trainer ride, and especially loved watching her jump. The two boys joined her, letting their horses stand on a loose rein while Jan trotted and cantered around the ring a couple of times to get Cancun loosened up again. Then Jan aimed the big dapple gray at the first fence of the course.
    Cancun’s ears pricked sharply forward when he realized they were heading for the jump. His canter slowed, and he drifted sideways—first to the left, and then when Jan stopped him, to the right. But Jan kept his head pointed toward the fence the whole time, and when they got there, he hesitated only slightly before leaping over it and racing forward on the far side.
    Haley held her breath. She could hear Jan talking tothe big gelding, though the trainer’s aids were so subtle that it didn’t look like she was doing anything else. Haley knew she was, though, since Cancun tipped an ear back toward his rider, and his pace slowed and collected. He met the second fence neatly out of stride, though he jumped a little higher than necessary and swished his tail upon landing.
    Next came a vertical that Jan had decorated with brightly colored fake flowers to help prepare the horses for whatever type of filler they might find on the jumps at an event. Cancun