I've been barrel racing for nine years. I've made it to nationals five times, this year will be my sixth. I've never won anything, but I'm hoping to change that this year. I've been practicing a ton, and unfortunately neglecting my boyfriend, Ashley. The rodeo is in 3 days, and we have to leave tomorrow for the drive to Vegas.
"I'm going to go riding," I tell him, putting on my boots.
"Let me come with you. Let's just go riding for fun. You've been training so hard," he says. I sigh, thinking about it for a moment. "Plus, I think Pegasus would like to see the trails again."
He's right. My horse, Pegasus, has been in the arena every day for the past 2 weeks, and we haven't done anything fun. We have acres of trails on our ranch that we haven't been using. I've just been too focused, and Ashley doesn't want to go riding alone, even though we have 5 horses.
"Okay. Who do you want to ride?" I ask. "I'll get him out of the pasture for you."
"Chrome. I can get him," he smiles. Chrome has been his baby since we got him last month. He's still got a lot of work to go before he can be used in shows or lessons, but Ash is a good enough rider that he basically has him under control. Ashley puts on his riding boots and joins me in going out to the barn. I can see Pegasus grazing next to one of our other horses, Echo. My light grey horse stands out beside her dark black best friend. I grab her halter out of the barn and Ashley grabs Chrome's. Chrome is right in the front of the pasture, watching us intently. He misses Ash, I can tell by his loud greeting. "I'm coming, boy!" Ash laughs. The gelding throws his head and begins trotting over to his master. I smile. They have the best bond ever. I start walking over to Pegasus.
"Come on, baby! We're gonna have some fun today," I tell her. She looks up at me and then begins walking over to me. I slip the halter over her head and begin bringing my mare to the barn. Ash has already begun grooming Chrome, and I put Pegasus next to him. As we're brushing horses, Ashley begins to talk to me.
"Are you nervous about the rodeo?" he asks.
"Not nervous, just focused. I want to win pretty badly," I admit.
"You'll do fine. This has been your best season yet. You haven't come in second yet, (Y/N)."
"This is a national competition. I'm up against the best. They have actual trainers. I'm working by myself," I say.
"Which is why you'll do better. You've been working harder and spending less money," he smiles at me from over Chrome's back. I can't help but smile back at him. Maybe I do need to relax. I finish brushing Pegasus and go into the tack room to grab her saddle blankets and saddle. Pegasus turns to look at me, and snorts happily when she sees it's the trail saddle, not the training saddle. I giggle at her, and gently place the tack on her back.
Once our horses are all tacked up, we lead them out of the barn before mounting. I let Ashley lead the way to the trails. Chrome is clearly excited to get into the woods. I always forget how beautiful it is, and I realize how much I've missed it.
"You okay, babe?" Ashley asks me, twisting around so he can see me. "You're quiet."
"I'm good, I just forget how beautiful everything is. I've been staring at barrels for too long," I say.
"You're going to do great tomorrow. You and Pegasus know each other really well. She knows the pattern better than you do, and she'll be fine even if you drop the reins or something," he assures me. He's right. Pegasus is the smartest horse I've ever met. She could run the pattern without me. "And besides, I'll be right there beside you. I'm your personal assistant." His comment makes me smile. He's always been there for me, cheering me on. He doesn't even sit in the stands, he makes sure he's watching at the side of the arena.
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!"
Second place. My heart is pounding in my ears. I smile and pat Echo's neck.
"That's my girl!" I hear Ash coming towards me, clapping like crazy. He has my hat in his hand. "You did amazing! I told you you would be fine!"
"Thank you," I giggle.
I can still hear the cheers for the other competitors as I dismount Echo. I give her some water and some treats before putting her back in her stall.
"We should probably get back out there to hear who made it to the next round. I hear they're only taking 10 people," he says. I bite my lip. I could easily lose my second place spot in a heartbeat. My name is still on the leaderboard for second place, though. I exhale deeply. As the first round finishes, I have secured my spot. "Who are you going to ride for the next round? There are 4 rounds, so do you want Pegasus next?"
"Yea, she'd be great," I tell him, going back into the barn with him. He opens her stall to reveal my already tacked mare. "Baby! You already tacked her up? When did you do that?"
"Oh, when you weren't looking," he winks. "Now, get on and let's win this round!" He's getting into it with me and it makes me so happy. My anxiety is fading slowly, and my confidence is replacing it. Pegasus is the fastest horse I've ever known, and the most loyal. I mount her and we walk over to the arena, where the second round is about to begin. As the second place runner, I'm going second. First place is Kimberly Zeus, and her horse is a bay gelding named Bolt. Bolt, looks nervous, though, compared to my calm horse. Is this a new barrel horse? Either way, they messily race to the first barrel. They cleanly complete the course, surprisingly. They end with a time of 16.2 seconds, but only probably because of her nervous horse. A more experienced horse could have gone a lot faster, which is what I intend to do.
As the announcer calls my name, I nudge Pegasus the slightest bit and she knows what her job is. This time, I'm not as zoned in. I cleanly clear the first barrel, and then go onto the second. Feeling like I'm slowing down, I focus in and nudge her faster. We go messily around the third barrel and dash towards the finish. I'm disappointed, and I show it on my face. I still praise Pegasus for her hard work.
"And there was (Y/F/N) with a time of 14.9 seconds! That is the fastest time of the day! Can she keep her number one spot?" the announcer booms. My heart drops. Even with the mediocre planning, we still managed to secure a fast time.
"(Y/N), great run, but what happened?" Ashley asks. I dismount Pegasus and sigh.
"I got cocky and wasn't fully focused. I threw her off and couldn't regain my composure fast enough to clean it up," I admit gloomily.
"Babe, that was one of your fastest times ever. You should be proud. Plus, I think you made it to the semifinals," he assures me, taking my horse from me. "Go eat some food. You need to rest," he raises his eyebrows at me. Instead of going to go get food, I go see Echo, making sure she's ready for the next round. "(Y/N)." I hear from behind me. I turn around to see Ashley with a granola bar in his hand. "I told you to eat."
"Fine," I grumble and take the granola bar. "When's the next round?" I ask.
"In an hour. Everyone's taking a break," he says. I nod.
"Babe, I got lucky," I whisper in his ear. "I'm doing terrible."
"Are you serious right now?" he pulls me into a hug. "Babe, you're literally winning the whole fucking event."
"Luck," I mutter.
"No, not 'luck', you're an amazing rider. You're gonna go out there and blow them out of the water. You deserve to win," he hugs me tighter.
"I think this will be my last year competing," I say weakly. "I want to be done."
"Then, we'll be done. We can walk away and go home right now if you want."
"No...no. I have to stay and finish. It's only fair," I decide.
"Let's make it count, then," he smiles at me.
***
I'm sitting on top of Pegasus, ready for the final round to begin. People are already cheering for me, and it makes me smile. I'm in third right now, and this is my last competition run, ever. It's down to the final three, and my run is the last one of the night.
"Ladies and gentlemen, (Y/F/N)!"
I squeeze Pegasus's sides and she takes off running. I try to zone into what we're doing, and I end up pulling it off well enough to cleanly clear the first barrel. The second is a little rough, but I manage to clean it up by the third. I take a deep breath as we run towards the finish for the last time.
"(Y/F/N) ran up a storm with a time of 15.6. While that is not her fastest time today, it managed to get her in second place!" I pat Pegasus's neck gently and I can hear Ashley cheering from a few feet away.
"Second place! That's amazing, baby!" he cheers.
My smile is never-ending as I accept the awards, but I'm more excited to go back home. These years of racing were fun, but I can't wait to see what's next.
A/N: Sorry this is so long! I got carried away. I really liked this idea, so I kept going with it. Please request some more imagines!