It was Saturday evening at the horse show, which meant it was time for the Grand Prix, also known as game time, for me and Cash. For this show specifically, the Grand Prix would be set at 1.5 meters, or four feet eleven inches, and the prize money was fifty thousand dollars. Each show was different in terms of prize money and occasionally the height of the jumps. We had a solid eighteen entries for tonight.
The show so far had been very successful, and I couldn’t be prouder of my clients and their horses.
The divisions they competed in today consisted of twoover fences classes, where they jumped a predetermined course consisting of usually eight jumps, and then an under saddle class, where they walked, trotted, and cantered in the ring alongside everyone in their division (which could be anywhere from six to more than eighteen horses) in front of a judge. The judge assessed the horse’s movement and placed everyone accordingly.
Heather placed fourth and fifth with Tank in her three-foot Adult Amateur over fences classes, along with a solid third place in her under saddle. Jessica was just getting back into showing again, so I put her in some lower-level schooling classes, and she did amazing. She and Willow placed third and fifth in her two-foot-six over fences classes, along with a second place under saddle. Sarah moved up this show to the three-foot-three Adult Amateur division and was understandably a little nervous, but she pulled it off. She and Apollo placed fifth and sixth in her over fences, along with fourth in her under saddle class. And Little Gracie got first and second place in her walk/trot class on Waffles.
Cash won both of the smaller classes that I put him in for a warm-up, which really gave me confidence going into tonight. He felt great, and I felt great. Dahlia’s debut in the hunter ring was also a success. She placed second and third in the Baby Green over fences classes, along with winning the under saddle, which did not shock me at all. The horse looked like she was floating on air when she moved.
Mountain Laurel Farm showed up and showed out. We had a line of ribbons showcasing our success hanging across the top ofthe front stall where our barn curtains hung. Some of my clients still had a couple more classes tomorrow to close out the show, but this entire show had played out beyond my expectations.
As happy as that made me, I still found myself having to shove down the longing, the ache, the need for Dean’s presence because he should be here. I wanted to share this with him. I wanted his support and his encouragement. Getting ready for the Prix without him here felt all wrong.
Ava walked into the tack room, pulling me from my thoughts of Dean as I was putting on my helmet and gloves. I was going seventh tonight in the order. “Cash is ready when you are.”
I smiled. “Thanks, sis.”
“I’m so excited to watch you compete in a Prix again. It’s been too long. Walk wanted us to FaceTime him before you got on. Let me call him really quick.” Ava pulled out her phone and clicked on Walker’s name.
We waited a few moments, and then his face appeared on the screen. “Hey, Adds! Looking good, girl. You ready? Game time.” Walker was always one of my biggest cheerleaders.
“As ready as I can be. The course has a couple of tricky spots, but when I walked it, I found the path that I think will work best for Cash to keep us clean. How’s spring training going?”
Before the Grand Prix and before any class in the Jumper ring, riders were allowed to walk the course. We had the opportunity to walk into the ring and walk the route of the course to see the angles and the turns that we wanted to make, as well as count the number of strides between the jumps. Wegot to strategize how to approach the course for our best chance at going clean or jumping the course without any faults. Each rail that falls equaled four faults, and each second or fraction of a second over the time allowed results in one fault. The goal was to jump the course without any faults so we could participate in the jump-off, which was just a shorter course, and the fastest time without faults won. If no one made it to the jump-off, meaning everyone had faults, then the fastest time with the least amount of faults won. There was no judge like there was in the hunter ring. It was just us and our horses against the clock. Leave all the jumps up and complete them within the allotted time.
“So far, so good. Team is solid. I think this is our year.” He pulled his hat off his head and ran a hand through his hair before putting it back in place. “Well, I know how you like to be by yourself, meditating or whatever superstitious shit you do before you get on and go, so I’ll let you go, but I just wanted to say good luck, and you’re going to crush it. Text me later and let me know how it goes.”
I chuckled. “I don’t meditate, you idiot. I just like to be by myself in a quiet space to think through my course clearly without distractions.” We said goodbye, and Ava ended the call.
She looked back down at her phone. “Mom and Dad just texted that they got here, and West texted me to tell you good luck. He also would like you to call him when you’re done.”
Ava slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “All right, I’m going to leave you alone to do your thing. You’vegot fifteen minutes, and then you need to be on and heading to the warm-up ring.”
I saluted my sister. “You got it, boss.” She rolled her eyes and walked back to where Cash was waiting in the crossties. My sister was literally a Godsend this week, and I owed her big-time.
I grabbed my AirPods and put them in my ears, scrolling through my phone to my usual playlist that I liked to listen to before a Grand Prix. It always cracked my brothers up that I blasted old-school rap music, but hey, it got me in the right headspace. I saw I had some unread texts, so I pulled them up.
Harper:
So, one of the benefits of having a billionaire boyfriend… I made him fly us in to watch you compete tonight! We’re here in the stands rooting for you. Go out there and kick some ass.
I barked out a laugh and quickly sent a reply before I needed to think through my plan for tonight’s course.
Have I ever told you how much I love you? Thanks for coming. It means a lot! I’ll see you after.
Harper:
You have, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love hearing it. I saw your parents and flagged them over to sit with us. See you soon!
I put my phone down and sat down in the chair we had placed inside the tack room and closed my eyes, running through the course in my mind.
Cash felt great warming up, and he was jumping incredibly, firing off the ground with precision. If I executed my route as planned, we would be the ones to beat. Cash was careful, and he was fast.
I rode up to the ingate to watch the rider before me finish up their round. They unfortunately left one rail down and went two seconds over the time allowed, resulting in a total of six faults. As they made their way out of the ring, I moved Cash forward into a trot to enter.
The announcer introduced me and Cash to the crowd as I walked Cash around some of the jumps so he could take a peek at some of the more intimidating ones. I scanned the course, running it through my head once more. In typical James family fashion, my parents and Ava cheered loudly and shouted words of encouragement when my name was announced.
The buzzer sounded, signaling me to begin my course. I moved Cash into the canter, and we made our approach to thefirst jump.
