Crown Prince Challenged (9 page)

As she pedaled up the hill toward the O'Briens' bungalow, Sarah thought about her new fall schedule at the farm. Now that school had started, she would have much more work to do on weekends. Not only would she feed the horses in the morning, but on Sunday, which was Gus's day off, she would also scrub clean and fill all the water buckets. On Saturdays, she'd be doing a lot of sweeping—both aisles, the two tack rooms, the feed room, and the lounge—and it would be her responsibility to clean her horse's stall every day. Somewhere in between she would find time for her top priority: Crown Prince.

Braking to a stop in front of the barn, she felt a tingle of excitement. It would be like old times to connect with her horse at the beginning of the day. After parking her bike by the side door, she hurried to his stall, where Prince was standing by his window looking out at the turnout paddocks. He swung around when he heard her approaching, voicing a low nicker. She opened the stall door enough to slide through and went to her horse.

“Hi, buddy,” Sarah said, as she stroked Prince's face and gently pulled his ears. He nuzzled her pockets for the carrot he'd come to expect, and made short work of it when she held it out to him. She hadn't wrapped his leg the night before, and now she leaned over to check on it. A substantial scab had formed over the cut, and she felt no heat when she pressed her hand against it.
Awesome!
she thought.

Sarah spent a few extra minutes with her horse before heading to the feed room. It was off limits to everyone except the regular barn staff, and she closely guarded the key Gus had given her. It always hung on a sturdy chain necklace she wore to the barn. She remembered the dire warning Gus had given her when he first presented it to her.
If a horse ever got into the grain room, there'd be hell to pay. Most would eat so much they'd colic and die.
She slipped the chain over her head and fingered the key as she approached the grain room's extra-large door, wide enough to accommodate the grain cart that was pushed through it twice a day.

After she fed the horses their breakfast and refilled the grain pails, Sarah tossed down hay from the loft. Her mind kept coming back to her planned ride on Prince in a few hours. After working in the ring, they'd go part of the way up the old orchard trail. She tried to quell the butterflies she felt already starting.

With most of the paddocks unoccupied at that hour, Sarah decided to turn Prince out once he'd finished eating his grain. It would give her time to clean his stall and possibly get a head start on sweeping. On her way back from the paddock, Sarah saw Tim with Rhodes in the back aisle and considered stopping to say hello. But she wrinkled her nose when she noticed Kelly and Nicole standing close by while Tim groomed his horse.

Sarah decided to avoid that scene. She would check in with Paige instead. She found the blonde girl in Quarry's stall leaning over picking out her horse's feet. Sticking her head through the partially open door, Sarah said, “Hey, Paige. What's up?”

“Oh, hi.” Paige released Quarry's near hind leg and stood up. “Tim and I are going to ride to the beach. I think the summer tourists are gone, so we can actually ride right on the beach.”

“Cool!” Sarah said. “It must take a while to get there, though. Which trail do you follow?”

“There's an old path on the other side of Ridge Road that skirts around Quimby Farm. We discovered it by accident. Want to come with us today?”

“Hey, I don't really think you want me coming along when you're going on a beach ride with your boyfriend, do you?” After they both laughed, Sarah said, “Anyway, I don't think Prince and I are ready to go that far. I'm going to take him up part of the old orchard trail again.”

“Are you still planning to ride in Kelly's class next week?” Paige asked, as she picked up Quarry's near front leg and began picking packed bedding and manure out of his hoof.

“I guess,” Sarah said. “Have you heard anything about that?”

Paige hesitated a minute. “You should know that Kelly is telling people Jack won't let Prince in a class with other horses because he's a kicker.” Paige put down Quarry's leg and looked at Sarah to gauge her reaction.

Sarah swallowed hard as she felt a rush of anger. This is what she'd been afraid of! Kelly and Nicole were bad-mouthing Prince, and what they were saying was totally false. Apparently they didn't have a problem telling a flat-out lie.

“Paige, I think Jack would tell me first if he thought Prince couldn't be ridden in a group. I hope you didn't buy that ridiculous story.”

Paige threw her head back and laughed. “If I believed everything I heard around here, I'd really be a dumb blonde!” Sarah's grin turned into a scowl as she turned to go. “Look, Sarah,” Paige said, “don't let them get under your skin. Crown Prince will be able to tell you are tense and angry. Have a good ride, and stay away from the wild turkeys.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks, Paige,” Sarah said, as she walked slowly away toward the shavings shed to get a wheelbarrow. The smut campaign against her and her horse was in high gear. She just had to shake it off.

Later, after finishing Prince's stall, Sarah swept the two tack rooms and feed room. She'd do the aisles and lounge after she rode. She was leaving for the paddock when she heard the sound of paws skittering down the aisle behind her. Looking back, she saw her favorite Jack Russells bounding toward her, with Mrs. DeWitt not far behind. Sarah laughed and leaned over, clapping her hands to the dogs. Spin got to her first and jumped up to be petted. Cameo caught up to them a few seconds later. The puppy didn't know Sarah very well, but her tail was wagging just as furiously as Spin's. Sarah laughed as she stroked their backs and rubbed their ears.

“Good morning, Sarah,” Mrs. DeWitt called out, smiling warmly. “And how is that handsome horse doing these days?”

Sarah stood up. “His leg is healing great. I don't have to wrap it anymore, so I'll put the things you loaned me by your stall. Jack says I can ride Prince this morning, but I'm going to start using polo wraps on him in front.”

“It's wonderful that you can ride him again!” Mrs. DeWitt said, coming up to her. “How about polo wraps? Do you have any?”

Sarah nodded. “Rita gave me a box of things she didn't need when I first got Prince. The polos are a little tired, but they'll do.” She couldn't help laughing again when Spin approached her with a towel he'd grabbed from a tack box. He was ready for a tug-of-war. She grabbed the end of the towel and held on while Spin pulled on it with all his might, growling furiously. Cameo didn't need any encouragement to join in when Sarah offered the puppy her end of the towel. Turning back to Mrs. DeWitt, Sarah said, “Are you getting ready to ride?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I'm expecting my son to drop Grace off any minute. We're going to ride on the meadow trail. We have to go early because Grace has a piano lesson right after lunch.”

I wonder if I should ask her about Kelly and Nicole?
Sarah thought. She desperately needed some advice on how to handle those girls, and there was no one better to listen and help. Telling her parents anything negative that involved Crown Prince was out of the question.

“Mrs. DeWitt, can I ask you about something?”

Mrs. DeWitt's face clouded. “Of course, Sarah. What is it?”

Sarah shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to begin. Finally she told Mrs. DeWitt the whole story as quickly as she could. “I wish I could just concentrate on Prince and his training, but Kelly and Nicole are going to make trouble for us in that class. I just know it.”

“It's not an easy situation, Sarah,” Mrs. DeWitt said. “Sometimes as hard as we try to get along with other people, it just doesn't work. In this case, I suggest you try to stay away from those two girls as much as possible. When it comes to your class, you know Jack will be objective. He'll not be drawn into a false story about your horse, and he won't put up with any pettiness. Just ride into that class with the intention of learning all you can from Jack. He'll bring Crown Prince along in his training like no other instructor can.”

Mrs. DeWitt turned when she saw a tan Toyota Camry pulling into the parking area. “Here's my precious Grace, coming now.” Sarah embraced Mrs. DeWitt with a quick hug. “Thank you,” she said. “Talking to you always helps so much!”

Later, while she groomed Prince on cross-ties, Derek arrived at the barn. Dressed in rust breeches and brown field boots with his helmet under his arm, he was clearly planning to ride. Bismarck came to his stall door when he saw Derek and quickly devoured the large apple the young man offered him. After a quick greeting to Sarah, Derek went to the tack room to get his grooming tools and tack. He returned a few minutes later.

“How's your horse's leg?” he asked, as he walked Bismarck from his stall to cross-ties further down the aisle.

“Much better,” she replied. “He hasn't been ridden since our crazy ride on Wednesday, so I don't know what he'll be like.” She laughed. “It might be another wild ride. What are you doing?”

“Now that the rain has cleared out, I want to explore some of the hacking trails around here,” Derek said as he curried Bismarck's muscular neck. “I heard there are quite a few. Do you know where they are?”

“You're asking the wrong person,” Sarah admitted. “Prince and I have had one trail ride, and that one was pretty much a disaster. Check with Tim or Paige after they get back. They left about fifteen minutes ago on a trail to the beach.” She saw the look of disappointed on Derek's face.

“I think it's important to hack show horses a lot,” Derek said. “They can become ring sour if all they do is work. I'm not a jump, jump, jump kinda rider.”

Sarah hadn't noticed Kelly and Nicole show up, so she was startled when she heard Nicole's voice from the other side of Bismarck. “Kelly and I can show you some of the trails if you want,” Nicole said to Derek. “We were just getting ready to groom our horses. Then we're going on a hack.” Sarah continued brushing Prince, fighting a surge of annoyance while she listened intently.

“Sure, thanks,” Derek said, in a voice that thankfully didn't sound too enthusiastic. “How long will you be out?” he asked.

Kelly replied quickly. “We can be out for as long as you'd like.” Then the two girls made a beeline for the other end of the barn. Derek was quiet, focused on getting his horse ready for the ride.

Crown Prince stood fully relaxed on the cross-ties, one hind leg drawn underneath him. When Sarah was nearly finished grooming him, she lovingly went over his face with a soft brush and used her comb on his mane, trying to get all of it to fall neatly on the right side. She gave a sigh of exasperation when, as soon as she was finished, he gave his head a deliberate toss, sending his mane flying in all directions.

Now it was time to wrap his front legs. Sarah reached for one of the green polos Rita had given her. If only she could remember the video she'd watched in the lounge the other day that demonstrated how to put them on. It was different from the stable bandage she'd used to dress his wound. A few minutes later she discovered that wrapping it wasn't as easy as the video had made it seem. Several times she removed the polo wrap to start over, only to be just as frustrated on the next try. She finally had to admit to herself she needed help.

“Hey, Derek,” she called out. “Do you have a minute? I'm not doing so well here.”

Derek left his horse and came to take a look. A grin flickered on his face as he pointed to the front of the polo wrap. “Sarah, you've got to run the wrap so the bandage forms an upside-down V in front. Otherwise your horse won't be able to flex his ankle joint very well.” He bent down and took the wrap from her. After removing it from Prince's leg and rerolling it tightly, he showed Sarah the right way to run the polo wrap around Prince's leg, not so snug it might cut off circulation, but with enough tension so it would stay in place. “Now
you
try the other leg,” he said.

Sarah got down on one knee and started winding the bandage around Prince's foreleg, trying to follow Derek's example. She was nearly finished when out of the corner of her eye she saw Kelly and Nicole coming back. Sarah hastily did the final loop of the bandage and used the Velcro fastener to secure it. Nicole glared at her, slit-eyed, before shifting her gaze to Derek. Her face became sugary sweet. “Our horses are all ready to go.”

Derek rose to his full height and turned to the girls. “I'll be along in just a minute. I'm just helping Sarah get these polo wraps right.” This was not the answer Kelly and Nicole were looking for, and the girls huffed away.

Turning back to the polos, Derek said, “They look okay, and they'll keep him from reopening that cut.” His gaze followed Kelly and Nicole. “Time to obey my marching orders,” he said to Sarah with a grin before he went back to Bismarck. After putting on his horse's bridle, he buckled the chin strap on his riding helmet and led Bismarck away.

Sarah stood for a minute, deciding what to do. No way did she want to meet up with those two girls and Derek on the old orchard trail. Derek would probably suggest she ride with them, and even with Derek there, Sarah would prefer a date with a serial killer. She would just have to wait until they got back.

Then it dawned on her. Since Prince hadn't been ridden for several days, this was an ideal time to longe him in the ring before she rode. Sarah went to the tack room for her equipment. She saddled and bridled her horse and then fixed the stirrup leathers so they held the irons in place and secured the reins around his neck. With her longe line attached to his bridle and carrying her longe whip, she led Prince to the sand ring outside.

While Prince was trotting smartly around her, she thought ahead to their ride in the woods. It was a perfect day to go on the old orchard trail, even if they didn't go very far. The air was warm, and the sun shone brightly, with only occasional fluffy, cumulous clouds showing against the cobalt sky. After longeing Prince in both directions, Sarah gave him the voice command for halt. She was pleased when he remembered and obeyed. She quickly went to him and stroked his neck. “Good boy, good boy,” she said, removing the longeing equipment and putting it outside the ring, where she could pick it up later.