BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Ding! Ding!
Khloe and I slapped our alarm clocks and turned on our lights. There was no haze, no early morning sleepiness. I looked at Khloe and knew she felt the same way.
“Show day!” Khloe sang. She yanked back her covers and put her feet on the floor.
“Oh, my God. It’s really here. We’re showing. Today.” I blinked at the clock. 4:02 a.m.
Khloe got up and sat at the end of my bed. I’d scrunched my legs to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.
“How are you feeling?” Khloe asked. Her brown eyes met mine. “It’s okay if you’re scared. More than okay. But I know you’re going to be amazing, and so is Whisper.”
I took a minute to reply, considering how I really did feel. It wasn’t what I’d expected.
“I’m scared,” I said. “More nervous than I’ve ever been before a show. Even when I went up against nationally ranked riders. At the same time, I’m excited. I get to show with Whisper, and I’m proud of everything we’ve done together. That makes me want to get into the arena.”
“I’m sorry you’re nervous,” Khloe said. “I think it can act to your advantage, though, and keep you on your toes.” She smiled. “I’m really happy that you’re looking forward to your classes with Wisp. Trail is going to be a fun class and dressage, hello!”
I smiled. “Same for you. I love that we’re doing the same classes even though we’re not competing against each other.”
“Me too. C’mon.”
Khloe pulled me out of bed and, giggling, we started getting ready. After we’d taken turns washing our faces at the sink, we got dressed.
I sat on my bed to pull on my shoe boots. My BlackBerry button blinked.
I opened BBM and there were new messages.
Taylor:
Wanted 2 say good luck, Laur. (Why do these things start so early, btw?!) I know u’ll be great. Tell me how it goes!!
I stared at the message for a few seconds. Then I wrote back, typing fast.
Lauren:
OMG, I can’t believe u got up @ 4am 2 msg me. That was so sweet, Tay. Thank u. TTYL.
I opened the other message.
Mom & Dad:
Morning, honey. Dad and I wanted to wish you good luck again. You and Whisper are going to do so well, and we’ll be thinking about you! We love you so much. Xoxo Mom and Dad
They’d called last night and left a voice mail because I was already asleep. It was nice to have their voices on my phone in case I wanted to replay the message later. I locked my phone and put it in the kangaroo pocket of my sweatshirt.
I pulled on my boots and stopped in front of the full-length mirror. Side by side, Khloe and I put our hair into low twists. Minutes later, we’d grabbed our helmets and were out the door.
• • •
Campus was crawling with different horses and riders. Trailers and vans filled the parking lot. Horses unfamiliar with Canterwood let out shrill neighs that elicited responses from other horses. A WELCOME banner hanging above the main entrance greeted the four schools in attendance. Mr. Conner had enlisted help from the older riders to hang the banner.
Today Canterwood was facing off against Regent Country Day, St. Agnes Academy, and Sterling Preparatory. I’d purposely not Googled the schools or looked up their riding teams. I wanted to go in not knowing the competition. In my mind, each school trained as hard as Canterwood. True or not, I didn’t know.
Mike and Doug directed the guests where to go. I was so glad not to be one of them. Being on home turf comforted me more than I’d imagined.
Sunlight had started to cast a light glow over the grounds. The early October air was slightly chilly, but the forecast had called for a warmer afternoon. Mr. Conner couldn’t have picked a more ideal show date if he’d tried.
Khloe and I were quiet as we went to the tack room for our gear. We hugged, and I squeezed her extra hard.
“We’ll run into each other all the time,” she said. “Remember, the show won’t last all day. I’ll try to make it to your classes, I promise. If you hear someone in the stands yelling, ‘Lauren Towers is my bestie and roomie! YAY!’ then you know I’m there.”
I laughed. “What about if you just kept that to yourself? I’d like to keep you in the stands and not tossed out for cheering.”
Khloe grinned. “We’ll see. Good luck, but you don’t need it.”
“You too.”
We hugged again and split up.
I sidestepped horses and riders and scrambled around tack, grooming kits, and boots to get to Whisper. Schedules for today’s classes were posted everywhere. My dressage class was my first, and I had a break before trail class. I could watch Khloe and Ever do dressage while I waited for my trail class to start.
“Morning, sweetie,” I said, peering into her stall.
Though it was incredibly early, the mare was awake. Her eyes were wide open, and gray ears flicked back and forth at the unusually high sound level in the stable.
I entered the stall and hugged Whisper. Her coat was soft and shiny as I ran my hands along her neck. The extra grooming I’d done showed.
“You look beyond beautiful,” I said. “Thank you for not lying down last night.”
Whisper’s gray coat was as clean as when I’d left her. Her braids were in tight knots, and the braid in her tail looked as if I’d just done it.
“We’re going to stay in your stall while we get you ready,” I said. “It’s too busy out there.”
I didn’t want to take the chance of any unfamiliar horses making Whisper nervous.
“Knock, knock,” a soft voice said. Lexa peeked her head into the stall, smiling at me. “Morning.”
“Early enough for you?” I asked.
Lexa groaned. “Don’t even mention the time, please. How are you feeling?”
“Good,” I said. “I don’t want to stay in the stable too long and give myself a chance to stall.”
“Smart. Maybe grab a free spot in one of the arenas and warm up?”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
“I’m going to get ready too. I’m glad our dressage class is first so we can get it over with. Then we’ll be able to relax and have fun with the trail class. It’s so cool that we get to ride English and not Western for the class.”
“I know. Otherwise, I would have taken a pleasure class.”
Lexa said she’d see me at our first class and went to focus on Honor. I turned my attention back to Whisper. It didn’t take long to groom her already shiny coat. I tacked her up, applied fly spray, and painted her hooves with clear polish. Phase one: complete.