The Eventers Club

Chapter 13:

Evelyn's POV:

" Well, well, well " A smooth, confident voice pulled me away from my thoughts on my dressage test.

I turned in the saddle, locking eyes with non-other than Jake Markety. The blonde-haired, green-eyed and self-proclaimed rising star of junior eventing.

Who also happened to be my biggest rival in competitions since we first start competing together years ago.

" Evelyn Holloway. I'm surprised to see you competing in Preliminary, considering how I crushed you in Training level last summer " A smirk played on his lips, making my blood boil. Normally I could brush off what other competitors said to me, but not with Jake.

There was just something about him that got under my skin...

His mare, a beautiful white Anglo-Arabian, Selle Français cross named Lighthouse Saviour, or Luna, looked stunning in her freshly polished tack and tight button braids. The mare was hot-blooded, but Jake handled her well, unfortunately...

I turned back to face the arena, watching as Ashleigh trotted Beauty down the centerline, halting squarely at X and giving the judges a salute.

People politely clapped at her fantastic round, but I knew they were really waiting for Jake to enter the arena.

" So, who's that girl? " Jake spoke up, nodding to Ashleigh. " Is she somebody? "

I sighed in annoyance. Jake didn't give anyone the time of day unless they were considered 'somebody' in the world of eventing.

I nodded. " She is... "

He angled Luna closer to Hugo and they sniffed each other until the mare snorted and turned away.

" Well? " Jake replied. " You gonna tell me or not? "

I smiled, giving Ashleigh a thumbs up as she exited the arena, moving Beauty away so he could cool out.

I kept my eyes on her as I replied to Jake. " She's my friend "

" Oh, so in short, she'll be just as easy to beat as you are "

I glared at him. " Just shut up and go do your test already "

He smirked. " You love me " he teased before he entered the arena, making a few laps around before he was signalled to start his test.

As much as I didn't want to watch, my eyes were glued to him and Luna during the whole test. They were a great pair and usually always came in first in the dressage.

I had been so caught up in watching Jake that I hadn't noticed Ashleigh had halted Beauty beside Hugo. I nearly jumped as she spoke up.

" So...who's that? "

I kept my eyes on Jake, praying he would make a mistake so that Hugo and I could come in first for once in dressage. We usually always made the top three, but we've never secured a first place ribbon before.

I sighed. " His names Jake Markety "

Ashleigh nodded. " Oh! I've heard of him! " she replied. " He's one of the best junior male eventing riders in the country...and he's not too bad to look at either... "

I stuck my tongue out, pretending to gag. " Ugh, don't even say that. his ego will swell up more than it already is...he's so annoying... "

I turned when I heard Ashleigh giggle.

" What? "

" Oh, nothing... " she continued to giggle. " Just sounds like you think about him a lot... "

My eyes widened when I realized what she was trying to say. " No way! He's the worst! There is no way I would ever date a guy like him! "

" That's too bad "

I froze, feeling my face heat up as I turned to see Jake exiting the arena. His test was over...

I didn't even want to see how red my face was, so I quickly looked down at Hugo, playing with his reins.

Jake angled Luna closer to Hugo and me, leaning over in the saddle.

" Enjoy second place... " he whispered. " Hope this doesn't affect your feelings for me... "

I tightened my grip on the reins, only looking up when I was sure Jake and Luna were long gone.

I felt a surge of disappointment as I glanced at the scoreboard.

1. Jake Markety/Lighthouse Saviour, 71.804

2. Evelyn Holloway/King of Holloway, 69.786

3. Ashleigh Sutton/New Moon, 67.985

I turned to Ashleigh, who had a smile on her face.

" Not a bad start to the day " She spoke up, seeming happy with her placement.

She good attitude made me smile as I nodded. " Now we just have to make sure we beat Jake in show-jumping and cross-country and we'll be happy "

She giggled. " You mean you'll be happy when you beat him, I'm not the one who likes him! " she teased.

I felt myself blush again. " Shut up! " I playfully replied as we made our way over to the warm-up show jumping arena.

_______________________________________________________________________

Hugo huffed as we soared over the final jump of the show-jumping course, a high vertical.

Hugo was tired but had given an extra effort for the last jump, clearing it by miles. I patted his neck as I slowed him to a trot and finally a walk.

" And that was a beautiful ride for Evelyn Holloway and her horse King of Holloway. A clear round with a time of 78.95 seconds and no knocked rails. They are currently in the lead over Jake Markety "

I smirked as Hugo walked out of the arena and past Jake and Luna.

" Enjoy second place, or third " I called to him. " Hope this doesn't affect how you feel about me... "I used his words from earlier.

He rolled his eyes and continued talking with his coach, who was adjusting Lunas' girth.

There was only one rider left to go and it was Ashleigh. As long as she could get a clear round with no more than a time penalty, she could take second or even first, knocking Jake down to third, since he had knocked a rail in the triple combination.

As I dismounted and loosened Hugos' girth, a shrill whinny made every horse around the arena lift their head. I peeked around Hugo to see what horse had made the loud call.

Surprised, I saw it had been Beauty.

He was fighting against Ashleigh, shaking his head as he see-sawed the reins and stomped his back leg. Ashleigh struggled to settle him as the gelding threatened to buck or rear...or both...

The gelding was normally so well behaved, so this behaviour was alarming, not to mention dangerous.

I clicked Hugo on as I walked him over, but froze when I saw the reason why Beauty was suddenly all riled up.

Walking over to him and Ashleigh...was Lacey Dumar.

Beauty's original rider. The rider who had formed one of the closest bonds I had seen between horse and rider with beauty and then left him to be a pasture ornament to go off to school.

What the heck was she doing here?

I bit my lip, halting Hugo before we could reach Ashleigh and Beauty.

If the gelding didn't calm down soon, then beating jake would be the least of Ashleigh's worries...

Because just staying in the saddle looked like it was going to be a challenge...