particular horse.
But after twenty minutes , Sam just parked her mount at the side of the arena and had me ride Joker on my own. She talked me through the session and Joker responded perfectly to everything I did . I was actually having fun, especially because the horse was so well behaved and easy to manage. I didn’t like trotting on her —it wasn’t very comfortable for me—but when the other two riders exited the arena and we had the whole thing to ourselves, Sam brought Ridley out and we loped around the entire loop together. After I got my riding rhythm down it felt pretty fluid, and I would take loping over trotting any day.
“You look good on a horse !” Sam hollered at me. “We’re going to do this every Saturday , okay?”
I wasn’t going to argue; I loved it. But I’m sure being in an arena riding laps was probably pretty easy.
We continued with the loping , even switching to form a figure eight the length of the arena. After that we cooled the horses down with a walk, and then returned them to the waiting pen. By then a woman and a little girl entered the building, and Sam told me it was her next riding student.
“Well, thank you so much,” I told her as we both dismounted. “What do I owe you?”
She laughed and said, “Nada. We all serve each other; we’re just a big family here. When I need a favor I’ll let you know.”
“Okay, that sounds fair.”
“Sure. Now go humor my brother for a bit,” she said, nodding toward the arena office.
I saw Austin standing there leaning against the wall, and I honestly didn’t even know if he’d been there the entire time or not. Of course I was immediately embarrassed, and when Sam said, “Hey, Daisy !” to the little girl that approached, I made a quick exit. I almost wanted to walk right by Austin, but I think he seemed to sense that and got in step with me right away.
“Hey, what’s the rush?” he smiled as he followed me to the tack room.
I sat on a bench to put my shoes back on, and then returned Sam’s boots where they belonged.
“I think you’ve ridden more than you claim,” he finally said when I didn’t answer. “You looked pretty good out there.”
“And how long were you watching?”
“Just the last ten minutes.”
“Then you didn’t see the bloopers session the twenty minutes before that.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Nah, I doubt it. Not on Joker.”
“You’re right; she’s pretty easy. I’m sure that’s why a five-year-old can ride her, too.”
He laughed again and said, “You’ve taken offense to my compliment.” I eyed him carefully but didn’t respond, and he kind of shrugged. “Sorry, Nova. I thought you did well. I said you looked good riding a horse. How does that offend you?”
“It doesn’t,” I said quietly. “Sorry, it just…”
“It just what?”
“It makes me feel self-conscious.”
“What does? Riding? Compliments?”
“People watching me ,” I growled quietly.
He took a moment to think about it and said, “Oh . I’m sorry, I’m just…I’m used to seeing my sister s ride all the time and…I guess I didn’t think about that. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.”
I tried to shake it off like it wasn’t a big deal and said, “It’ s okay .”
He studied me for a few seconds , but it made me feel even more insecure so I left the tack room. He followed me and said , “I have to head into town for about an hour… You wanna come with me?”
I slowed my pace and said, “Uh, no , probably not. I actually have some things to go over with Jack if he has a chance yet. Lunch and riding kind of set me back a little bit.”
He smiled and said, “Ah, Jack doesn’t stick to a schedule anyway. He’s used to just going with the flow. He won’t mind if I steal you for another hour. ”
And there I was again, stuck in the middle of my two new obsessions. I wanted to go with Austin because I liked being with him, but I knew it was distracting me from the other
But after twenty minutes , Sam just parked her mount at the side of the arena and had me ride Joker on my own. She talked me through the session and Joker responded perfectly to everything I did . I was actually having fun, especially because the horse was so well behaved and easy to manage. I didn’t like trotting on her —it wasn’t very comfortable for me—but when the other two riders exited the arena and we had the whole thing to ourselves, Sam brought Ridley out and we loped around the entire loop together. After I got my riding rhythm down it felt pretty fluid, and I would take loping over trotting any day.
“You look good on a horse !” Sam hollered at me. “We’re going to do this every Saturday , okay?”
I wasn’t going to argue; I loved it. But I’m sure being in an arena riding laps was probably pretty easy.
We continued with the loping , even switching to form a figure eight the length of the arena. After that we cooled the horses down with a walk, and then returned them to the waiting pen. By then a woman and a little girl entered the building, and Sam told me it was her next riding student.
“Well, thank you so much,” I told her as we both dismounted. “What do I owe you?”
She laughed and said, “Nada. We all serve each other; we’re just a big family here. When I need a favor I’ll let you know.”
“Okay, that sounds fair.”
“Sure. Now go humor my brother for a bit,” she said, nodding toward the arena office.
I saw Austin standing there leaning against the wall, and I honestly didn’t even know if he’d been there the entire time or not. Of course I was immediately embarrassed, and when Sam said, “Hey, Daisy !” to the little girl that approached, I made a quick exit. I almost wanted to walk right by Austin, but I think he seemed to sense that and got in step with me right away.
“Hey, what’s the rush?” he smiled as he followed me to the tack room.
I sat on a bench to put my shoes back on, and then returned Sam’s boots where they belonged.
“I think you’ve ridden more than you claim,” he finally said when I didn’t answer. “You looked pretty good out there.”
“And how long were you watching?”
“Just the last ten minutes.”
“Then you didn’t see the bloopers session the twenty minutes before that.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Nah, I doubt it. Not on Joker.”
“You’re right; she’s pretty easy. I’m sure that’s why a five-year-old can ride her, too.”
He laughed again and said, “You’ve taken offense to my compliment.” I eyed him carefully but didn’t respond, and he kind of shrugged. “Sorry, Nova. I thought you did well. I said you looked good riding a horse. How does that offend you?”
“It doesn’t,” I said quietly. “Sorry, it just…”
“It just what?”
“It makes me feel self-conscious.”
“What does? Riding? Compliments?”
“People watching me ,” I growled quietly.
He took a moment to think about it and said, “Oh . I’m sorry, I’m just…I’m used to seeing my sister s ride all the time and…I guess I didn’t think about that. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.”
I tried to shake it off like it wasn’t a big deal and said, “It’ s okay .”
He studied me for a few seconds , but it made me feel even more insecure so I left the tack room. He followed me and said , “I have to head into town for about an hour… You wanna come with me?”
I slowed my pace and said, “Uh, no , probably not. I actually have some things to go over with Jack if he has a chance yet. Lunch and riding kind of set me back a little bit.”
He smiled and said, “Ah, Jack doesn’t stick to a schedule anyway. He’s used to just going with the flow. He won’t mind if I steal you for another hour. ”
And there I was again, stuck in the middle of my two new obsessions. I wanted to go with Austin because I liked being with him, but I knew it was distracting me from the other
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