Comeback by Jessica Burkhart

moved their feet out of
     the stirrups, and swung around to face Khloe, Lexa, and me. Both of them had the same
     determined look on their faces. Drew’s gelding, Polo, moved forward, seeming
     unaffected by his rider’s backward posture.
    Fuego, however, sensed something wasn’t right almost immediately. He
     twisted his head from side to side. He had no one to guide him. He didn’t have
     Clare’s eyes or reins. Before Clare could react, he started to circle back.
     Quickly she turned back around in the saddle and halted him.
    â€œGreat job, Drew,” Clare said.
    Drew smiled, settling himself back in the right direction. “You too,
     Clare. I think Polo’s having a sleepy day, so I got lucky.”
    â€œYou were both awesome,” I said.
    Khloe and Lexa chimed in with their congratulations. Drew modestly
     accepted them and caught my eye. I smiled, and he returned my gesture.
    We went back to a side-by-side position and reached a grassy field. A
     shallow creek wound down from a hillside next to us, and water rushed over the pebbles
     and stones that covered the creek bed.
    â€œThis is the best trail!” I said. “It’s gorgeous
     out here.”
    â€œWe can keep walking and looking at the scenery,” Lexa said,
     “ or we could go for a gallop. . . .”
    I glanced at her. “Do you even have to ask?”
    â€œOn three!” Khloe said. I could feel the excitement in her voice.
    I squeezed my knees a little tighter against Whisper’s sides, made
     sure my feet were secure in the stirrups, and leaned forward a bit. My heart
     pounded—adrenaline pumping.
    â€œOne . . . two . . . three!” Khloe said.
    Four horses leaped forward at the same time. Dirtchanged to grass, and the hoofbeats sounded musical. Whisper matched Honor and Polo
     stride for stride. Each horse engaged in an immediate battle with the others. Ever and
     Fuego caught us. All the horses fought stride for stride—not one horse wanting to
     be a stride behind the other.
    Whisper’s gray mane blew back and she snorted, digging deeper. She
     found an extra burst of speed and jumped a half stride ahead. I rocked with her body,
     hearing only her. The horses around us disappeared. My only focus was Whisper and the
     feeling of her long, elegant strides covering the ground. It felt like magic.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO . .
     .
    Lauren Towers’s Blog
    8:55 p.m.: Weekend wrap-up!
    Yesterday was amaze! After my sleepover at R and C’s on Friday
     night, we went on a trail ride with D. The best part was watching Whisper have
     fun—she loved getting out of her stall and not heading
     straight to practice. K chose a trail I’d never been on, and it was très magnifique (really magnificent)! The horses got to
     stretch their legs, especially when we let them gallop. Whisper and I flew over the field, and I forgot that everything else existed.
    No classes.
    No R.
    No drama.
    No thinking about home.
    No missing my friends.
    No thinking abt boys.
    No worrying abt riding.
    Just riding . And loving it.
    When I pulled Whisper up, I was next to D. I glanced at him and was glad
     to be back to reality. D and I are getting closer, very slowly, and he seems like a guy I can trust. Plus, there’s just something so interesting about him that I always feel like there’s
     so much we have to talk about. So much I want to know!
    After the trail ride, C, K, D, and I walked our horses back to the
     stable, and D and I chatted the whole way back. We went as a group to The Sweet Shoppe
     and got ice cream. Everyone was excited from our ride, and we started talking about the
     schooling show.
    Oh, mon Dieu!
    It’s coming up faster and faster. One more weekend of practice and
     then . . . showtime.
    Can’t.
    Talk.
    About.
    It.
    Too nervous. But I will say I’m going to practice a zilliontimes harder and work every spare second with