South with Dixie

Chapter 1



"Go, baby, go." Kristen Brooks whispered to her horse, Dixie Grifter, as they raced towards the practice jump looming before them. Dixie took two more long, powerful strides and pushed off into the air. Kristen smiled as they soared over the jump, landing gracefully on the opposite side.

"That was amazing, Kris!" Jane Gray, her riding instructor, praised. "You have definitely improved over the year."

Kristen remembered her birthday last August, and receiving the three year old thoroughbred mare she owned and loved today. Her father had given her the retired racehorse as a gift, hoping she would use Dixie's grace and skill to lead her to higher jumps. Dixie was then known as What Luck Clover, and hadn't won very many flat races. She was difficult to train, stubborn and skittish, but Kristen had succeeded bonding with her not less than two months ago. It was now early June, and she and Dixie had already moved on to training level jumps.

"Thanks, Jane." Kristen replied, feeling the eyes of the other riders on her back. "My parents are hoping I'll enter in the Junior Jumping Competition in Oak Falls."

"Are you ready for it?" Jane asked, eyeing her with a stern look.

"Of course." Kristen reassured her. "I've always been ready."

Jane continued with the rounds, shortening the poles for the other riders. Kristen smiled to herself, knowing that Jane recognized Dixie's and her talents. The five other kids in the group less than gracefully completed the jumps, their ponies clumping across the dirt floor of the inside arena.

"Bailey..." Kristen heard Jane sigh. "You need to concentrate. Caspian will never work well with you if you don't communicate to him without mixed signals. Here, watch Kristen. Kristen, would you show Bailey what I mean?"

"Sure, Jane." Kristen smiled sweetly. "I'd be glad to help Bailey with her mistakes."

She didn't notice Bailey's furious scowl as she nudged Dixie forward towards the jumps.

"Bailey, I'll just show you without raising the jumps for Dixie's skill level." Kristen consoled Bailey, wondering if Bailey might be frustrated with how will Dixie jumped. "And don't worry, you and Caspian will get there eventually."

Without a second glass at Bailey, she set Dixie towards the first jump, timing her takeoff perfectly. Her front legs hit the ground gently and Kristen pushed in her legs slightly to urge Dixie on. When she had finished the round, Dixie had hardly broke a sweat.

"See Bailey, the most important thing is timing. I mean, for Dixie, she's so powerful she could probably pull off a jump with bad timing. But for a smaller horse like Caspian, distance from the jump at takeoff is key."

"Thanks." Bailey said coldly as she rounded Caspian towards the jumps.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Kristen stopped them, laughing a little. "Don't you think a lesser horse like Caspian will be too tired to jump the course again?" She asked amiably, not realizing the insult to Bailey and her horse.

"Just because Caspian isn't running in the Oak Falls Jumping Competition doesn't mean that he is a lesser horse to Dixie. Just because Caspian in a Quarter Horse and not a Thoroughbred doesn't mean that he has less than Dixie. I mean, isn't it true that Quarter Horses are much faster than Thoroughbreds running the quarter mile!?" Bailey rambled, a harsh tone set to her voice. She turned her back to Kristen and cantered smoothly towards the jump, and Caspian jumped it perfectly. His short body did not block his way as he finished the sequence without a flaw. With one more glance at Kristen, she rode out of the ring.

"Wow Kristen, you must have given her some great advice." Jane commented. "She looks a little mad, though."

"Oh, I'm sure it's just a touch of jealousy. I mean, it's not her fault that she can't have a horse like Dixie." Kristen replied casually, smiling knowingly.

"Well, I don't see why she should be jealous of Dixie." Jane pointed out. "She has a great horse right there."

"Haha, Jane, you're so funny." Kristen said, wondering if Jane really meant what she said. Kristen quickly rode out of the ring, trying to ignore the confused look on Jane's face.



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"Hey, girl." Kristen whispered as she entered Dixie's stall. Her parents were stabling Dixie at Gray Riding Center, though Kristen wished they could move somewhere big enough to keep Dixie at home. Her parents were very serious about her riding, having been competition riders themselves. They kept their horses at the center as well. Kristen thought lovingly of her fathers sterling silver gelding, Ghost of the Storm and her mothers buckskin stallion, Fire Eclipse. They were both prize winning horses, and Kristen recalled the shelf of trophies and ribbons in their dining room.

She picked up a curry comb and rubbed Dixie's bay coat until it shone. She brushed her thoroughly, combing her thick mane and tail until they felt silky. Dixie watched her with large liquid eyes, her trust showing in her face. Kristen kissed her soft nose and slipped through the stall door, leaving Dixie to sleep. She always passed her parents horses to say goodnight, and she rubbed Fire's shining neck as she glanced into his feisty eyes. The next stall down, Ghost was nickering softly for her attention, and she stroked his dished Arabian head as he blinked lovingly at her. A stable groom passed her to inform that it was closing time, and she left to wait for her parents outside.

It wasn't long before there red van pulled into the lot, and she hopped inside, grateful to rest her sore feet.

"Hi, honey." Her mother greeted her politely. "How did it go today?"

"It was great." Kristen said happily. "Jane asked me to demonstrate again today. I'm sure that I'll be moving up a level soon."

"That's wonderful." Her father praised, turning to smile at her.

"Eyes on the road, honey." Her mother snapped quickly, and the conversation was over.

Kristen spent the rest of the drive home daydreaming about the amazing jumps that she and Dixie would soar over as they rode ever faster towards that shining blue ribbon.





Chapter 2

"We're working on our jumps again today, class." Jane said, speaking loudly so the riders still leading their horses to the ring could hear her.

"To remind you, we were mostly trying to finish the course without error yesterday. Today we'll be focusing on our forms. Form is very important when we jump. The wrong form can confuse your horse, or cause your horse to jump incorrectly. The right form takes weight off the horses body, and helps to guide the horse over the jump."

Jane trotted the horse she was riding, Dancers Beat, around the ring, showing the proper form for a trot.

"Today I will lower the jumps so you and your horse can focus on form, and not getting over the jump."

Several students dismounted to help Jane lower the poles, and soon the challenging jumps had transformed into a beginners course.

"Now, my first demonstrator today is someone that I've seen improve greatly in this unit. Yesterday I noticed that their form was almost perfect without instruction."

Kristen sat straighter in the saddle, waiting for Jane to call her name, a smug smile pasted on her face.

Jane smiled supportively in the direction of the jumps, then walked over to the first fence.

"Bailey, you will demonstrate."

Kristen froze, failing to understand what Jane had said. It couldn't be...Bailey couldn't be a better rider than her. Surely Kristen had shown exceptional talent and form yesterday. Kristen watched as Bailey trotted Caspian to the edge of the ring. She smiled at Jane and awaited instruction.

"Now, Bailey, you'll want to keep your heels down tight, calves pressed in...yes, like that. Now your wrists should be held as so..."

Jane's voice faded out as Kristen began to wonder. 'Jane always picks me for demonstration. She's never picked anyone else. Could it be that Bailey is a better jumper than I am? She can't be. I'm a much better rider-'

"Kristen?" Jane's voice cut into her thoughts. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."

Kristen stared at Jane for a few seconds before her brain processed what Jane had said.

"Oh!" Kristen said, shaking her head casually. "Oh, I'm fine."

"Well then, Bailey, why don't you show the class?" Jane cued Bailey, gesturing for Bailey to begin.

Head held high, form perfect, Bailey began to trot smoothly towards the jump. She posted with the diagonal, rising effortlessly in the saddle. For the entire sequence of jumps, Bailey held her composure, looking almost like a professional. When she had finished, Jane applauded her, and all of Kristens' classmates except herself joined in. Bailey smiled gratefully at the class, walking Caspian to the back of the line.

"Wow, Bailey, that was amazing." Jane praised. "Kristen, did you see that? That's how you should have been holding yourself yesterday. Why don't you try it now, while it's still fresh in your mind? I would have had Maddie go before you but..."

Kristen trotted angrily to Jane's side, feeling that she might burst with outrage. So what was she now, third best behind Bailey and Maddie? She was determined to show Jane who was the best rider here. She smiled sweetly at Jane, sitting tall in the saddle.

"Alright, go ahead." Jane told her impatiently.

Kristen pushed her heels down as far as they could go, tightened her legs to the horses sides, held her wrists parallel to the ground and tucked in her elbows at her hips. Back straight, head high, she jumped the course without flaw.

"That was good, Kristen, but there are some things I might have you fix. We'll go over them at the end of class."

Kristen walked to the back of the line, speechless. Things to fix? End of class? That's what she always said to the lesser riders, the ones that made frequent mistakes. She couldn't believe it. She'd jumped just as good as Bailey. Fuming, she watched Jane give pointers to Maddie before she began. Maddie jumped fine, and Jane gave her only one suggestion. Maddie happily steered her horse to her spot behind Kristen, smiling contentedly.

"Good job." Kristen complemented Maddie. "Blue Marble did well." She said, gesturing to Maddie's blue roan Morgan.

"I did well, too." Maddie replied almost coolly. "It wasn't just him. But, thanks."

Kristen turned back to watch the riders, only to see Bailey smiling smugly at her, a gloating gleam in her hazel eyes.