We come to a river, and Chrome immediately begins to freak out. He's not used to water yet, so Ashley gets off of him. He slowly leads Chrome across by hand, and shows him it's okay. The way he talks to his horse makes me smile. Pegasus, of course, just walks across without a problem. Ashley gets back on Chrome and we continue, talking strategy for the competition.
"Who's your backup? Just in case something goes wrong with Pegasus?" he asks.
"I think Echo would be good. Chrome isn't a barrel horse, and Kiki's in foal, so I can't use them. Besides, Echo and Pegasus are best friends. They'll do great together," I say.
***
We have made it to Vegas, and everyone is tired. Echo and Pegasus seem excited to get out of the trailer, though. Even though we made stops for them to stretch their legs and rest, it's still one of the longest trips we've ever taken. I take Pegasus and Ashley takes Echo, and we lead them to their stalls after walking them around a bit. I'm so nervous for competing tomorrow, and Pegasus is nervous about being in a new place full of unfamiliar horses.
"You're gonna be fine, (Y/N)," Ashley assures me, patting Echo's neck and putting her neck.
"I know, I'm just really nervous," I say.
"Come on, let's go get some rest. I'm sure everyone will feel better in the morning," he puts his arm around me and we begin to walk to the hotel across the street, where all the competitors are staying. Part of me hopes that I see some of them, but most of me doesn't want to.
I barely get any sleep, but I do get enough to be ready for competing. I put on my competition clothes, careful not to wake Ashley until it's time for me to leave. That doesn't work out so well, though, because I see him creep up behind me as I'm doing my hair.
"I'll go feed horses, you stay here and get ready," he kisses my cheek.
"Thanks, baby," I blush slightly. He puts on his boots and a black t-shirt and heads out the door. I stay in the quiet room and take deep breaths. I know I won't be coming back to the room until the competition's over, so I want to make sure I have everything. I make sure to grab a few water bottles, my hat, and some snacks for the day. I'm going to do a slow practice run with both Echo and Pegasus. Once I've decided I have everything, I walk to the barn, where lots of the younger competitors are warming up for their leg of the competition. I smile at some of the little girls and their ponies and wish them luck. I reach Ashley, who is grooming Echo. "Hey there, cowboy."
"Hey. I thought I'd get started with grooming. You're competing with the adults in the fourth arena in an hour," he forces a smile, as though not to make me panic.
"An hour?" I clarify. He nods. "I guess I'll take Echo for the first round, then. I have to make sure Pegasus has enough energy if we make it to finals."
"Good idea," he smiles at me. He puts the brushes away and goes to grab Echo's tack. "She'll do fine. You've been riding her bareback around the barrels," he assures me. I nod and grab her bridle. Once she's tacked up, I mount her, and Ashley leads me over to the fourth arena. Horses are crowded around, waiting for their turn. I start to watch some of the competitors. They're amazingly fast. My fastest time is 14.3 seconds, and a lot of girls are coming really close to that. I've only ever hit that time once, and it was with Pegasus. No offence to Echo or anything, but she's not the fastest under pressure. She'll be fast enough to get me to the next round, though. I take the reins. I know I'm next. Echo knows we're next, too. And that's what I need to focus on: Us, as a team.
"Next up, (Y/F/N) from Nashville, Tennessee!" the announcer calls out. As the cheering begins, Echo takes off in a full gallop, heading to the first barrel. All the noise in my head goes quiet, and I am in the zone. Nothing else matters at this moment except for my horse and these three barrels. We clear the first two with ease. As we come around the third, I lose my hat, but I can't help but smile. My heart is racing and the adrenaline is coursing through me. As we dash out of the arena, I come back to reality. Cheers are erupting from the crowd. I slow Echo down and we walk to cool her down. "And there was (Y/F/N) with a time of 15.77 seconds, that secures her for second place!"
Rodeo
Start from the beginning
