Finding Talent (1)

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

I stand up tall, and stick my arms out. My knees bend and my the soles of my feet rise to the rhythm of Jazz's steady canter. A warm breeze passes my face, and the sun begins to shine more brilliantly in the late afternoon. Jazz works effortlessly, not even bothering to flick at the flies that occasionally land on his shiny hide. When Jazz is working, nothing bothers him, and everything else but my commands is tuned out.

Deciding it's time to try something new, I clasp the wooden handles in my sweaty palms, and bend over, so my back is arched. Then I lift one leather boot clad foot off the saddle, and hold it in the air, so that now only one foot is resting on the narrow saddle. Counting to five, and praying I don't die, I thrust all my weight into my arms, and rise into a full on hand stand! A smile spreads across my face, and Jazz curiously flicks an ear back in my direction.

"Good boy Jazz!" I shout. All to soon my arms begin to wobble, and my sweaty hands slip on the wooden handles. What happens next, is all to fast. My right hand slips right off, throwing me off balance and over Jazz's shoulder. The world blurs as the ground rushes up to meet me. I shut my eyes, expecting a hard painful jolt, but when I hit the ground the impact isn't that bad. A brown poof of sand blooms up around me, and it works it's way into my mouth, forcing me to sneeze. The wind gets knocked out of me, so I curl up on a ball, and count to thirty, waiting for it to pass. Eventually, it does and I carefully stand up to see Jazz standing stock still a few feet away from me.

I walk over to him, and nothing hurts. "You gotta get back on Sadie!" I say aloud, grateful that no one saw my fall. I slip my toe into the stirrup then swing into the saddle. Jazz pricks his ears forward and I command him to walk. I slip my feet back into the leather loops, and cue Jazz into a canter. I rise up and down, preparing myself for doing yet another handstand. I take a deep breath, grab the wooden handles, slip my feet out of the leather loops, and throw myself in a handstand.

After five seconds, I lower myself back down, so that I'm sitting on the saddle. I've been at it for half an hour, and I don't want to overwork Jazz. Especially in this heat! I tell Jazz to whoa, and after a perfect transition into a stop, I dismount and lead him back to the stable. Once he is back in his spacious stall, I untack him and place my saddle over the stall door and lay my bridle neatly on top of it. Then I go through my regular grooming routine. Finally, when I am satisfied with Jazz's cleanliness, I pour some fresh water into his bucket, and allow him to have a few small sips at a time. I don't want him to drink to much right away and get a stomach ache.

I check in on the other horses, taking stock of what needs to be done. Jay and Trika need some water, tack needs cleaning, and Rain's hoofs need trimming. I silently scold myself for not getting them trimmed before we arrived. I am able to rasp and clip hoofs, my Dad made it one of his priorities to teach me, but I was never much good at it. After a few minutes of contemplating over what to do, I decide that I'll ask Al if he has any spare time, and if he does, to come trim Rain's hoofs. Al has a farrier license, and I wouldn't trust anyone else but him to trim them. Rain has very sensitive hoofs, and if clipped wrong, she goes lame.

On top of all of that, I remember, I still have to come up with my trick riding routine. I set to work filling up Jay's water bucket with clean water, spraying myself in the face with the hose in the process. (Hey! How was I supposed to know you turned the handle clockwise to turn it on?) My face dries off quickly in the sun, and Trika soon has fresh water as well.

Deciding to take my tack home to clean, I load it all back into the truck. On my way back, I bump into Al (not literally), who is leading his championship reining horse back to the stable.

"Oh hey Al!" I smile. "Glad I found you."

"Why's that?" Al asks, stroking his gelding's sleek chestnut neck.