“Why?” Katherine was shocked at that news.
“The owners of the horses wanted to win, and if their jockey can’t qualify to even ride, they can’t run the horse, which means the horse can’t win, and the owner is out money. Sometimes, several thousands of dollars. Maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“Oh,” Katherine said as she looked between the screen and her friend. “What else is in that folder?”
“Applications, or rather contact information of jockeys that I’ve either heard of, or Clem and Cole have. We can’t race on the outside track with the snow on the ground, it’s too dangerous, but it’s going to warm up soon. I have at least a dozen horses for sale, but the interested parties won’t even come look at them until I can give them times.”
“Which are?”
“How fast they run the track. I can’t run them to provide the times without a jockey.”
“Oh, and that’s where I come in?”
“Yes. I would like you to research this website, write down any questions you might have, and look at everything in this file, and click on the websites. If you have any more questions, reach out to Cole and Clem.”
“Okay, just one question for now.”
“What’s that?”
Katherine pointed to the screen. “This says that jockeys can be both male and female, the only strict thing is that they have to be within a certain height and weight.”
“Correct, and I have the names of several of both male and female. I don’t judge, and they might look good on paper, but I want to see them interact with the horses. I’ve heard and seen some of the best jockeys actually abuse the horse they are riding. I will not allow that. I’ll let you do your work. I trust you.”
“Thank you,” Katherine said as she took the file and set it aside. She went back to the top of the page of the website, pulled out a fresh tablet, refilled her coffee cup, and settled down to read. She was excited about her new task. Her organizational heart was singing.
“Hello?”Faith Webber answered her phone as she paused in putting away her laundry.
“Hi, is this Faith Webber?”
“It is, who’s calling?” She hadn’t looked at the ID on the phone.
“My name is Katherine Miller. I’m an assistant to Naomi Alcott.” There was a pause and a huge sigh. “Do you have time to talk?”
“I do, but first, what is this regarding?”
“Being a jockey for Naomi.”
“Let me refill my coffee cup, then I’m all ears.” She hurriedly left her bedroom, and did a happy dance to the kitchen. She refilled her mug, then settled at the table with a pad of paper. She flipped the top page for her grocery list, and put the phone on speaker.
“I’m ready.”
“Okay, first, have you ever heard of The Double A Ranch?”
“Out of Wyoming? I had heard they closed down.”
“No, they moved. Lock, stock, and barrel. Or rather, horses, tack, equipment, all moved over to Colorado.”
“They still have racehorses?”
“Yes, we still have snow here, but Naomi, the owner, asked me to reach out to jockeys she knows, or has heard of. Your name is on the top of the list. The reason I’m calling is that we would like you to come for an interview with Naomi, and her team at what is now referred to as New Double.”
“How many horses?”
“Currently there are thirty, with at least a dozen to get ready to race. While there is an additional dozen that people are wanting to buy, however, the horses don’t have any times at the moment.”
“Wow, okay. Let me look at my calendar.” She accessed it on her phone and grinned to herself when it was completely blank for the next three months. “When were you thinking?”
“As soon as possible. As I mentioned, we still have snow on the ground here, but it’s warming up every day. We would like you to come out for the interview, and part of that will be us, or rather them, watch you physically interact with the horses.”
