Touching ground defining.., p.15
Touching Ground (Defining Gravity Series Book 5), page 15
The other mare, Piper, was as slow as molasses, though. She trotted and cantered in a leisurely sort of way as if she were a dignified lady who could not be rushed.
“Well, that’s five of them sorted,” Justin said as he fitted Rocket and Piper with a set of tack of their own. Do you want to pick out another back-up horse just in case?”
“I’m not sure. What do you think?” I turned to Rob.
“I think we’re going to have our hands full as it is,” he said, raising an eyebrow, “but it’s up to you.”
“All right, let’s risk it. They all seem sound and sane. I think the five we have will be fine.”
We rode the mares back to the barn in their newly fitted tack with me leading Ice from Piper’s back, an arrangement that neither of them seemed to mind. We weren’t quite ready to stop riding so we let the horses saunter over to the corral where Nori was just finishing up cleaning up the ranch horses we hadn’t used.
“Wow, they look great,” Rob said.
“Yeah, well, they should. That took me forever. Thank goodness for that margarine trick. It would have taken me years to finish without that. Mara and Casey said they’d help me give them proper baths tonight after work.”
“That was nice of them,” I said, reaching down to take the lead rope out of Ice’s teeth. It was soggy where he’d chewed it.
“So, what’s going to happen to these ranch horses now if there’s nobody around to use them?” Nori asked, glancing over at the herd behind her. “You think there is any chance of them selling to good homes before the auction? I’d hate for them to end up there. They’re such nice horses.”
“I’m not sure,” I told her honestly. “Maybe we could take some pictures of them once they’re all cleaned up and put them on the Triple Hills website. There’s a chance we could sell them on there first.”
“They’re well-trained and even tempered,” Rob said reassuringly. “That type of horse is probably in demand.”
“Huh.” Nori leaned her elbows on the fence and reached through the bars to tickle the bay mare’s nose. “Then why are they still here if they’re easy to sell?”
“I think Aunt Lillian just sort of forgot them,” I said. “But I mean, they’re fed, they have an amazing pasture, and they get their feet done regularly. That’s more than a lot of horses have. It’s not like they‘re completely abandoned.
“They still shouldn’t just be forgotten,” Nori said stubbornly, “they’re good horses.”
There wasn’t much more we could say about that and our concerns were temporarily forgotten anyway when we dragged ourselves inside for an early dinner.
It was just us and Aunt Lillian that night, and the second we sat down at the table to devour our giant bowls of spaghetti, Aunt Lillian set a stapled stack of papers about an inch thick next to each of us.
“There’s the list of everything you need to know about the circus of chaos that is about to descend on us.”
Circus of chaos? I thought, laughing under my breath. That’s a little dramatic. But as I flipped through the sheets I suddenly realized what a big undertaking this was to organize. No wonder she’d asked for our help.
“I’ve written down the basic details on the five riders who will be using our horses. Keep them in mind while you work with the animals so you can try to make a good match between each horse and rider. The remaining riders will bring their own horses, of course. There is a list of them here too, so you’ll want to make sure there are stalls available for them and room in the tack room for all their things.
“I’ll be busy trying to figure out where they’re all going to sleep and how we’re supposed to feed everyone. Thank goodness some of them want to camp.”
She paused to eat for a few minutes, still frowning down at the sheet in front of her.
“The clinic itinerary is there, too. There will be two groups, beginner and advanced, and each group will have two lessons a day. At the beginning, half the lessons will be about archery skills on the ground without the horses. As the clinic progresses, the horses will be used for both morning and afternoon lessons, but there won’t be much speed work so they shouldn’t feel overworked at all.”
“Then of course there will be a small, friendly competition at the end during the ah, the festival. The Society people will be doing a jousting match and other non-horse things as well that will all tie in together over the festival weekend. There should be a fair amount of spectators, too.”
“Okay,” I said, leafing through the sheets with one hand. “I think we can handle this, right?”
I looked at Rob and Nori, who nodded reassuringly.
“The horses are doing well and we can set up a real archery course tomorrow to start walking them through it.”
“That’s another thing,” Aunt Lillian said, “we can’t stop our regular lessons and training in the indoor for a whole week to accommodate this clinic, and Laszlo said that he preferred a more realistic outdoor setting anyway. So we’ll have to find a flat area outside where we can section off a ring-sized area. Something with decent footing that’s not too far from the barn. Maybe you guys can start scouting around.”
“The pasture out behind the broodmare barn could work,” Rob said, “we’ve been letting the horses out there to graze and they’ve beaten it down a little.”
“Right, well, let me know what you decide. If there are grass and weeds that need to be cut down then we have a mower deck that hooks up to the tractor that you can use. And don’t forget that there are some targets to be built and that weird moving horse thing.”
“Weird horse thing?” I asked.
“Yes, um, I believe it’s on page 27.” She flipped through the pages until she found the one she wanted. “See, right there, barrel horse on wheels. I don’t get it.”
“Horse on wheels.” I flipped through the pages in front of me until I found the rough set of drawings that Lazlo Belko had sent to Aunt Lillian. He wasn’t the best artist and it took me a minute to sort it out.
“Oh, that must be the thing Justin was talking about. It looks like a kind of trailer that’s meant to be pulled behind a truck or something. See, he’s got a barrel fixed to it and then you attach a fake horse neck and head to it. You can practice shooting off it first to get used to the feeling of something moving underneath you and don’t risk hurting the horses. It’s kind of brilliant, actually. It would be perfect for beginners.”
“Well, I think it’s a bit much for him to ask us to construct something so complicated. I mean, we do have an old trailer, but I’d have no idea how to put it together.”
“I’m not sure it will be that hard. If we can find the barrel then Rob and I could build the horse head and neck. That can’t be too difficult. And we could mount an old saddle on it. Rob has a woodworking shop at home so he’s used to working with all the tools. And I’m good at painting. I think we could make something half-decent.”
“Well, if you think you have the time, then I’ll leave you to it. I can’t say how thankful I am to have you here, Astrid. You kids are doing some great work. I’m impressed and I wish you could stay with me year-round.”
The next morning was much more relaxed than our previous days had been. At least the pressure of having to choose and clean up our horses was done and now we could get down to the business of slowly conditioning them and making sure they were a hundred percent comfortable around the archery equipment.
All three of us worked each horse together this time. Nori still wasn’t up to riding, but she helped us groom and watched each of the sessions carefully. And she was the one who set up the target outside the paddock and practiced shooting while we double-checked the horses’ reactions to the hiss and thunk of the arrows.
None of the ranch horses were remotely alarmed by anything we did and by the end of the session, each of them could be trusted to walk in a straight line outside the paddock, past the target, while Rob and I shot off their backs. We would wait for higher speeds once we had our outdoor course set up.
When it came time to work with Ice, I first free-lunged him at a walk and trot in the little paddock, letting him get used to Red’s lighter dressage saddle. I’d left the stirrups dangling to see how he reacted to the light banging on his side but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Wow, you look so handsome, Ice,” I told him. “You’ll make a fancy little dressage horse someday.”
“I know he’s four but I think he’s still got a bit of growing to do,” Rob said thoughtfully. “I think he’s going to be a nice horse.”
“Well, you’re already a nice horse, aren’t you?” I crooned to Ice as I brought him into the middle of the ring. “Today we’re just going to work on walking and steering, though. We’ll save the trot for later.”
I fitted Red’s bridle over his head, glad they were roughly the same size. I only had to adjust a few buckles to make it fit properly.
He stood perfectly still as I got on and I gave him a minute to adjust to the feeling of a new saddle. Western saddles did a good job of distributing the rider’s weight over a big area, all across the horse’s back, where a dressage saddle had much narrower points of contact where the weight sat. The horse was supposed to be able to feel the rider’s seat aids very clearly.
Because of this, I had to remember to sit very light in the saddle and not put too much pressure on Ice’s undeveloped back.
We moved off at the walk and I was pleased to see that he was completely unfazed by the new tack. I just had him walk around the edge of the paddock and not worry too much about steering at first. When I felt his back relax and his head drop, I gently opened my inside rein, shifted my weight slightly, and asked for a change of direction. I would have to keep things very basic with him for a while.
He was a lot more comfortable than he had been for our first ride together so I was able to switch directions a few times and do some figure eights. When he’d done all that, I brought him gently to a halt and gave him an enthusiastic pat.
“That looked really good, Astrid,” Rob said. “Much better than last time.”
“Yeah,” I said, sliding to the ground and giving Ice another good scratch on the neck. “It helps that we know he’s a baby horse. I don’t think he had any idea what I was asking him to do last time. He was just doing his best to guess.”
After I hopped off, we led him outside the paddock and Nori fired off a few arrows. When he didn’t react, I shot a few with him standing beside me. I took my time, making sure he was standing in a safe spot and that he didn’t move or fidget when I took aim.
For the most part he behaved very well, although he did try to keep nibbling my bow, my arrows, the quiver. Pretty much anything he could get his lips on.
The three of us had already decided that we needed a break from working in the heat of the day again. Rob and I had made plans to ride with Liza that night. I was finally getting her to give me my first lesson on Red and she’d asked Rob to ride one of her horses for her.
Nori and Maverick were heading out on another trail ride with Casey and Mara after dinner.
So we took the afternoon off and lazed away drinking iced tea on the front porch where it was covered from the sun and a gentle breeze filtered in through the trees. Nori had found some cowboy romance book I was sure her mom would not approve of and had curled up in a chair with her bare feet up on the railing and her eyes fixed intently on the page.
Rob and I gathered up snacks and drinks, pads of papers and pens, and commandeered the big porch swing together where we both sat cross-legged facing each other with the paper spread out between us.
We had Aunt Lillian’s list of all the riders who were bringing their own horses plus a list of those participants who were riding our horses. It was easy for some of them to see who would be in the beginning section and who would be in the advanced, but some of them were not so clear. It was hard to mesh two completely different skills into one clinic. Someone could be a top level archer and yet had never sat on a horse. Which category would they fall into? It’s pretty hard to be a safe, accurate shooter when you can’t control your horse or you keep falling off.
We could pencil in which riders and horses might be a good match, but we couldn’t know for sure until they actually got here and we could get an idea of their personalities and skill levels.
We didn’t even really know the horses that well yet. I was sure we’d find personality quirks as the weeks progressed.
“Well, at least we’ve made a beginning,” Rob said. “We have the horses, we have the riders. Now we just need to get all the equipment ready. It’s like a puzzle.”
“You’re having fun with this, aren’t you?” I asked, grinning.
“Yes,” he said, smiling. “Aren’t you?”
“I am. It’s totally different and a little stressful, and I don’t want to mess up and let Aunt Lillian down, but other than that it’s pretty fun.”
Rob laughed and reached out and linked one of my hands with his. “You’re such a worrier.”
“I am. I truly am. But I really am having fun. I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“I’m glad you’re here with me, too.”
“Well, I’m glad that you’re glad that I’m…”
“Okay, you two, knock it off,” Nori growled from her corner of the deck. “Some of us are trying to read.”
We both snickered and I reached out impulsively, put both of my hands on Rob’s shoulders and kissed him firmly. Which would have been better if we hadn’t been on a swing because I nearly sent both of us toppling off sideways in a fit of laughter.
“Sorry if we’re interrupting your smutty romance novel, Nori.”
“It’s historical,” she said defensively. “And it has horses.”
“Uh-huh. And I guess that poor guy with the glistening chest on the cover just happened to misplace his shirt somewhere.”
“He’s a cowboy,” Nori said furiously.
“Sure, sure, whatever you say.”
It was a good way to spend an afternoon.
As soon as I knew Liza was taking her break I went and grabbed her painting from the tack room where it had sat for days. There just hadn’t been a good time to get it to her and I’d wanted to catch her alone. We were supposed to meet up to have some snacks and catch up a little.
Liza and Justin had bought a huge RV trailer that they’d parked behind the training barn. I’d caught sight of it the day before but I hadn’t been inside yet and now I paused at the small screen door, wondering whether I should knock or ring the bell.
“Oooh, Astrid, come on in,” Liza called as she caught sight of me just standing there indecisively on her porch. She pushed open the screen door and waved me inside.
“I brought your painting,” I said, holding it up.
“I’m so excited to see it. I have no idea what it could be. Do you?”
“No.” I shook my head and climbed the metal steps until I was inside. “She made one for me too, but she wouldn’t show me yet. She didn’t tell me what she was working on. Wow, this is amazing in here.”
“Pretty luxurious, hey? All leather furniture and a fireplace, too. We weren’t sure whether to get one of these or a tiny home but we knew we didn’t want to live up in the bunk house anymore. This is a perfect starter home. And it’s portable, too.”
She laughed and ushered me into the cozy living room where there was a little platter of tea on the table and a plate full of cake slices.
“This looks great, Liza. Thanks.”
“It’s not homemade but it is delicious. Better eat your fill before Justin comes home. He’ll polish off whatever’s left in under a minute. That man is always hungry.”
“Thank you,” I said, handing her the case, “here, you’d better take this. Hopefully it made the trip safely.”
Liza set the case on her lap while I helped myself to a cake. She clicked the metal snaps open and slowly lifted the lid. She pulled out the paper-wrapped canvas and then quickly moved the case to the floor. The paper was glued down to itself so she had to tear it and it made a little scritching sound as she carefully peeled the layers away.
“Oh wow,” she said, and I moved over to stand beside her so I could get a better look.
It wasn’t what I’d expected. I’d sort of assumed it would be a realistic painting of Liza riding Marcus or Folly, or one of the fancy dressage horses she’d ridden in Germany. But instead it was a more abstract painting of a girl in a long, pale blue dress, standing with her arms outstretched in a green field.
The features weren’t quite clear but you could see that she was smiling and had her eyes closed, and you had the feeling that it was Liza even if it didn’t completely look like her.
And galloping around the figure, like a blur of carousel ponies, was a circle of whirling horses, white, grey, and blue, moving so fast that they nearly blended in with the background. It was completely unexpected but also perfect. Like it was meant for Liza and no one else.
“This—” Liza’s voice broke for a second and she had to stop and wipe her eyes, “this is incredible. I need to call her. I need to thank her.”
“I’ll go,” I said, rising to my feet. I hated to cut any visit with Liza short, but she obviously wanted to talk to Oona. “I should check on the sheep anyway. I left them grazing on their own.”
“Thank you, Astrid. Don’t forget that you and Rob are coming up for lessons tonight after dinner.”
She’d already turned away to go find her phone and, after swiping a final slice of cake from the plate, I headed back out into the sunshine.
Our plans for lessons after dinner were abruptly derailed when Aunt Lillian announced that tonight was the night we’d have to send Antonio off to live in the hills with the other sheep.
“I saw that animal trying to butt my truck tires today, Astrid. Today is the day he leaves.”
Despite the fact that I’d known this was going to happen, and that I knew it was going to be the best thing for him, I still felt my eyes prickle with tears.
