Little White Lies

Chapter 33

"She looks great," Andy says as I trot the medium black pony past him.

"I really can't find any issues with her. She's been awesome every time I've ridden her. I think I need to see Hailey ride her to figure out what they are struggling with," I say as I break Vera back down to a walk then halt by Andy. "Mom said she was lazy and stubborn, but she moves right along when I ask her, even if all I do is use my voice. Watch," I says.

I drop my reins to the buckle so they are loose and floppy, and I drop my stirrups and let my legs hang. "Walk," I tell the pony with a click of my tongue. Vera walks off content, ears relaxed. "Canter," I give a small kiss and the pony canters right off just as relaxed and mellow. I pick my legs up and find my stirrup irons as Vera gently canters around the ring then I gather my reins too.

BAM!

Vera startles, her head shooting up at the loud sound of metal against metal. I break her down to a walk, looking around, "What was that?" I ask Andy, but then I see it. It's Mark. He's working on his Blazer in the yard by the front porch and he just hit the side of the car with a wrench. He looks exasperated as he paces around the hood of the old vehicle. I can't hear what he's saying but I can hear the tone, he sounds mad.

"Can you just go ask him to wait another ten minutes? I'm almost done and I just want her to focus," I tell Andy.

"Sure," Andy says as he turns and walks towards Mark.

Vera seems to have gone right back to being bored with her job, so I send the pony back to work picking up a quiet canter and pop her over the small 2' jumps I'd set up before our ride. This pony is perfect and so much fun.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Andy gesturing towards the Vera as Mark walks back to the drivers seat. It doesn't really matter now that he's not throwing things, Vera barely even spooked earlier. I shouldn't have bothered to send Andy over there. I canter Vera into the small line, a 2' vertical to a 2'3 oxer.

She jumps in great and I ask her to lengthen her canter stride just a little to make it down the line in the correct number of stride. Vera obliges stretching her step out just a little to make it down to the oxer which comes up in a comfortable six steps. As her front feet touch back down I hear a loud noise.

It cracks the air like a shot and Vera kicks out with her hind legs on the landing which unseats me. The next moment the pony is bucking like crazy. You've got this just sit up and pull her up, but in a split second the pony drops her shoulder and spins.

Shit, is all I can think as I hit the ground.

It takes a minute for me to move, she really knocked the wind right out of me. I lay there just doing that mental assessment, everything is okay, right? It wasn't even a bad fall, suck it up and breathe Sawyer. I prop myself up on my elbow and that's when I see it. My left thigh has an unnatural arch to it.

My mind races as I try to take in what I'm seeing, I've never even broken a bone before. I didn't just break my... I search for the name of that bone, femur. Yeah, that's my femur.

"Andy?" I call, I'm feeling oddly calm.

It takes a second but he finally answers, "Holy crap! Are you okay?"

I can hear foot steps as he runs over. "Can you just catch her please? And take her to the barn," I call before he can get to me. All I can think about is getting the pony out of her before she runs me over or hurts herself.

I hear Andy change his direction just as he's reaching the ring, jogging to Vera instead. Once he's left the ring with the pony I yell to Mark. "Mark? Can you come help me please?"