Every Second Counts by D. Jackson Leigh

Tory said. “I’ll never forget her grinning down at us, grabbing a handful of mane, and saying ‘Tallyho’ right before she kicks that stallion hard in the sides and the reins jerk right out of my hands.”
    “Did you fall off?”
    Tory answered for her. “Hell, no. The reins were dragging and the leathers were too long for her to get her feet in the stirrups, but she hunched over Dante’s neck and hung on to his mane for dear life.”
    Ryder chuckled. “Sky was yelling her head off and Kate came running. It spooked the horse so bad, next thing I knew, he was sailing over the railing and we were headed down the driveway.”
    “Skyler ran across the road to the indoor ring where some kids were in the middle of a lesson,” Tory said. “She snatched one of them off a horse, mounted up, and went chasing after her.”
    “Actually, I was kind of glad to see Sky show up, because I didn’t have a clue how I was going to stop that stallion.”
    “I can imagine what she must have said when she caught you,” Leah muttered as she typed.
    “The weird thing was she didn’t say anything at first. She just grabbed the stallion’s reins and slowed us to a walk, then headed back.” Ryder ducked her head, surprised that the memory choked her throat and made her eyes tear. “We were halfway back before—”
    “Before I turned to her and said, ‘You’ve got the biggest balls I’ve ever seen on a girl.’”
    Now, Skyler stood in the doorway, and Ryder wondered if her two friends had appeared because they were curious or because they were being protective big sisters. She voted for the latter.
    “Then she asked if I was going to board a horse and take lessons here. I told her, ‘I guess that’s up to Ms. Parker. I think Eleanor is dumping me out here so she doesn’t have to deal with me anymore.’”
    Skyler nodded. “That told me she was going to be one of Kate’s kids like the rest of us, not one of those rich snots who always blamed their horses instead of their lousy riding when they didn’t win ribbons.”
    “Still, I know you must have chewed her out for taking off on that stallion,” Leah said to Skyler.
    “Nope. I told her the chewing out she’d get from Kate would be a lot worse than anything I could come up with.”
    Ryder nodded. “Then she told me not to worry about it. Just keep my mouth shut until she was done, then promise I wouldn’t do it again. She said Kate never stayed mad, and she was right.”
    Leah typed another minute, then looked up at Skyler and Tory. “This is good stuff, you guys, and I’m glad you popped in, but I need to finish the interview with Ryder alone.”
    Tory stood. “Okay. We get the message. Come on, Sky, I need to go over the foaling charts on the mares I just checked.” She gave Leah another quick kiss and the two of them disappeared down the hallway to the farm office.
    “Your background is—” Leah checked her notes. “Your background is dressage, eventing, polo and steeplechase racing in Europe. Those are really expensive sports, and people who participate aren’t exactly middle class. When you switched to rodeo and the tobacco-spitting crowd, did you find it difficult to fit in?”
    Ryder laughed. “Some of that crowd may have a chaw in their cheeks, but a lot of them aren’t exactly middle class either. There’s still big money behind it. It’s just a different culture. Besides, I’m not there to fit in. I’m there to be noticed.” The words were out of her mouth before she had time to evaluate them.
    “Like the kind of notice you get from stealing a stallion when you’re a kid?”
    “I meant that I have to stand out enough to attract sponsors and fans.”
    “And you have been successful at attracting several big sponsors. Was that hard?”
    “Not really. They back the riders they think will get their brand in front of the public the most. I do that.”
    “You have that many fans?”
    “Some people are there cheering for me. But probably