We walked out of the arena with the reins in our hands and our horses rambling proudly next to us. I was glad I placed sixth, but I knew I could have done better. Felicity and Sandra received ribbons, a yellow and a green. I received none. I felt like I should have at least received one for participation, but no!
We walked into the stable and tied our horses to the sides of the wash station. We looked through the grooming bucket and found brushes to bring all the dirt to the top of our horses’s coats. Finally we brushed their manes and tails, picked out their dirty hooves, washed the horses off with a water hose, and dried them off.
We took our horses to the trailer and walked them in. We hopped in the back seat, and Dad started to drive us home. We were all pretty quiet. I think Sandra and Felicity were afraid that I was really upset; I wasn’t sure what I was feeling, and I just didn’t feel like talking.
When we were about halfway home we stopped to eat at a Cracker Barrel restaurant. I had never been there before. I guess there is a first time for everything. In a weird way, that made me happy because I knew that I still had a lot of “first times” ahead of me.
We drove the rest of the way home. It felt like two seconds, and we were there. When Felicity’s dad came to pick up her and Sandra, Mom asked if we wanted to play our favorite game that we often play when we get home from a trip, Capture the Flag. My team always wins. The teams were my mom, my dad, and Felicity’s dad versus Felicity, Sandra, and me. We knew exactly where they had hidden their flag; we just had to get over there without them tagging us. The game was really fun, and it took my mind off the fact that I hadn’t placed in the competition. I think my Mom knew I needed that.
My team tagged two of the other team, so they were in jail. We had one person guard the jail and two people go over to their side. They only had one person left—Mom—and she can’t tag two people at the same time! I distracted her while Sandra grabbed the flag. I felt powerful again! I was good at winning!
A few days later, Sandra and Felicity were at my house again, and we were watching some movies. We weren’t talking much about the show, and I wasn’t asking them about the national competition or when it was. I wanted to know . . . but then again, I didn’t.
We got tired of watching movies and decided to check our emails. I checked first and I saw that I had received three emails, one of them had the subject of “State participation.”
The email said…
Thank you for participating in the state equestrian show. We are proud of your performance and are sorry that you will not be going to the national competition.
We wish you the best of luck for next year.
Sincerely,
Your friends at the National Equestrian Organization
That was very sweet of them I thought, even though I would rather the note had said I did make it to the national show. Bummer!
Then Felicity checked her email and screamed, “Yea! I am going to the national show. Sandra, the email was sent to you, too.”
I sat there silently for a moment, waiting for them to say something. They did, but not too much. I felt like a third wheel. I walked out of the room with tears welling up in my eyes. They followed me with glorious grins on their faces, like they had just won the lottery. They had, and I hadn’t.
My mom knew exactly why I was upset, but I didn’t think Sandra and Felicity even noticed. They were just so excited for themselves.
Then Sandra said, “Hey, Ellie, you should come with us to the national show.”
My back was facing them, but when I heard that I turned around fast as a roller coaster.
“Really?” I asked.
They nodded almost like they were smiling through their teeth, but they weren’t. I really was happy for them. I ran over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of sports drink and drank it all in about ten seconds. This was the happiest moment of my life—them going to the national show and me going with them. Nothing could top this.
I felt much better. Together, we walked to my room and sat on the bed. For the first five minutes, we just sat there looking at each other. Then I got a conversation going.
“So, guys, are you ready for the show? Do you know when and where it is?”
They replied with a crooked look on their face, “Uh, no, no, and no. We aren’t ready at all. I guess you could say we don’t know what we got ourselves into.”
As we talked, I thought about being friends. We don’t turn against each other. They accomplished something good—going to the national horse show. I knew that, and I was happy for them. As Mom says, “To have a friend, you have to be a friend.” So I would be a good friend, cheer them on, and and celebrate their accomplishments.
I know we will stay friends until the very moment that we die. We will never break apart. We do everything together now, and that is how it will stay—together, forever and always.