Elite Ambition Read Online Free PDF Page A

campus.
Stop judging her and ride already,
I told myself.
    Heather rode Aristocrat away from Brit and toward the wall. Brit and her horse ended up between Charm and Aristocrat. We started the horses at a walk near the wall. Charm and I were behind Brit—I watched as she moved Apollo around at a relaxed walk.
    â€œTrot,” Mr. Conner called.
    Within strides, we’d all let our horses out at a trot and we were posting. Brit moved ever so slightly in the saddle—her arms tucked against her sides and her heels down.
    I’d only seen her at a trot, but I had a feeling the more I’d see of her riding, the clearer it would become why she’d made the YENT.
    â€œReverse direction and keep trotting,” Mr. Conner said.
    We crossed over the center of the arena and I sat for a beat to post on the correct diagonal.
    Now, I was in front of Brit and Heather was behindher. It made me a little nervous to have Brit watch me ride, but I tried to think of it like any other class and pretend Heather was the only one in the arena with Charm and me.
    Mr. Conner stood in the center of the dirt arena, his glance switching from us to the clipboard in his hands that he used to take notes. He ran a hand over his short black hair, his dark brown eyes intense on us. He wore his usual hunter green Canterwood Crest Academy polo shirt with CCA stitched in gold thread under the collar. Canterwood was big on school spirit and the school colors were everywhere on campus.
    I looked between Charm’s pointed ears and wondered how Brit felt about her first lesson here. I’d been terrified during my first class. But from what I’d seen so far, she appeared to be cool.
    â€œSasha,” Mr. Conner said. “Lower your hands and keep them still.”
    I eased my hands down a couple of inches and held them steady.
You’ve got to work on that,
I scolded myself. For the next few strides, I concentrated on my hands and made sure they stayed still and in the right position. The sound of hoofbeats on the arena dirt was almost like a tune I wished I could capture and put on my iPod. The rhythmicsound pulsed into my brain, relaxing my body. I didn’t have to concentrate on keeping the correct position—it was right without me thinking about it.
    â€œEase them into a canter, please,” Mr. Conner said.
    I squeezed my legs against Charm’s sides and gave him rein. He moved from a trot into a smooth canter. His Thoroughbred/Belgian blood helped him take long strides, and we were almost halfway around the arena before I realized it.
    â€œChange direction,” Mr. Conner said. “And Heather, your legs keep creeping too far forward.”
    We kept our horses at a steady canter as we switched direction. Again, I was behind Brit. At a canter, I was
really
able to see her in action. She rocked to Apollo’s easy strides, and I
knew
Brit had to have trained at a fantastic school. She’d probably tell us all about it the second we got off our horses.
    â€œBrit,” Mr. Conner said. “Watch your back position. You’re hunching forward too much.”
    In front of me, Brit straightened. Mr. Conner kept us cantering the horses around the arena for two more laps. It felt so good to be back in
my
arena. It had been fun riding at Heather’s old stable during break, but this was where I was most comfortable.
    Mr. Conner raised his hand. “Pull them to a walk,” he said.
    Heather, Brit, and I slowed the horses. I ran a hand down Charm’s neck. He was warm, but not even close to sweating. Mr. Conner’s lessons kept him well-conditioned. The exercise hadn’t fazed him.
    â€œWe’re going to stick to flatwork this morning,” Mr. Conner said. “We have plenty of time before the schooling show to work on jumping. Brit will be joining us at the show, so we’ll all be working together to get ready.”
    This girl wowed me. It was her first week here
and
she was