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pressed her legs on Fanny’s sides as they approached. Fanny moved forward at a steady pace and pushed off easily to jump each obstacle, all taken from a straight and accurate line. When the oxer loomed ominously ahead, Kayla sat deep in the saddle while squeezing her legs harder to make sure Fanny knew they were committed. Fanny rewarded her with a beautiful round jump from just the right spot. Kayla was happy and relieved when Jack clapped his hands. “Brilliant, Kayla!”
    When it was Rita’s turn, she oozed her usual confidence as she turned Chancellor toward the hunt course. “Let’s show them how it’s done, Chance,” she said loud enough for the others to hear as her horse moved off in long rhythmic trot strides. Rita brought him back to walk for the canter transition, and after he obediently picked up canter on the correct lead, she rode a perfectly straight line into each jump with all the right striding. Jack complimented Rita for a first-rate ride when she had finished. “Nicely done, Rita. I expect you’ll be doing well when you compete him this year.”
    Rita trotted back to the group, a look of supreme satisfaction on her face. Sarah watched, her resentment feeding a slow burn. She couldn’t help being irritated by Rita’s cocky attitude.
Just because she has a to-die-for horse, does she have to look so totally smug?
    Sarah was the last to go. She walked Gray Fox onto the hunt course and was relieved when he smoothly picked up canter when asked, willingly moving forward. “A bit more impulsion, Sarah,” Jack called out. “Gray Fox will have trouble jumping the fences unless he’s moving with more energy.” Sarah closed her calves, being careful not to press hard with her spurs, and Gray Fox responded by increasing the pace. Coming out of the circle, she turned her head to look at the first jump. The gray gelding’s ears pricked forward as he also focused on the jump ahead, but as it loomed closer, Sarah felt him hesitate slightly. Again she squeezed her legs to urge him on, and Gray Fox responded with renewed energy. As the horse rose into the air to clear the jump, Sarah’s body went forward in unison with him.
    On landing, they made a right-hand turn to the in-and-out. Gray Fox wasn’t blessed with a long stride, but he managed to jump the combination in good form. Sarah again felt him lose energy as they approached the roll top, and she closed her legs firmly, moving him forward. He finished with a straight line and a good jumping effort over the oxer. “Very good, Sarah,” Jack said. “You kept your lower leg steady over the fences, something that’s surely important when you’re wearing spurs. Your lines were accurate, and you moved Gray Fox forward when you needed to.”
    As Gray Fox trotted along the driveway back to the other horses, Sarah noticed Chandler and Dorothy DeWitt standing by the stable entrance. Mr. DeWitt, a tall man with a thick head of white hair and a neatly trimmed mustache, was intently observing the lesson through steel-framed glasses over his steel-gray eyes. Mrs. DeWitt was leading their five-year-old granddaughter, Grace, on the chestnut pony Pretty Penny. Grace’s face looked tiny in her riding helmet, with her straw colored braids hanging to her shoulders. Even on the small pony saddle, her short legs barely extended below the saddle flaps. Sarah wasn’t sure how long the DeWitts had been watching, but she was glad Gray Fox had performed well. That would account for the Jack Russells being at the barn. Mrs. DeWitt waved and cheered her with “Good job, Sarah!” as she rode by.
    It was time for the hay crew to return to the north field for another load of hay, and at that moment Gus Kelso, the barn manager, tried to start up the tractor. “Dang,” he muttered when it sputtered and died. On the second try the engine caught, and the aging tractor began