The Horse Race
Lucy ran her fingers through her horse's mane, untangling the slight knots that had appeared since this morning when she combed it. Finishing with a pat on the neck, Lucy sat back and settled deeper into her seat. The mare dipped her head, rubbing her eye on her knee before looking up again, her ears flicking as she surveyed the other horses around her.
Lucy glanced at her mother who stood off to the side. The older woman nodded with a smile, encouraging her. It was a race, but this was supposed to be a friendly race. Lucy tried to smile back, but found it difficult. While this was supposed to be a friendly race, Georgina tended to negate that aspect of it. She leaned forward and patted Thunder on the neck again.
The mare was young and untried in these competitions, but Lucy had faith that she would do well. She had to as this was the last ridable horse in her family. There were a few young colts that had survived the illness and some older horses, but Thunder was the only one sound enough and that had the stamina for this kind of race. It would last half a day, from the time the sun peeked over the horizon until it reached its peak at midday. There was no finish line, only a clear path to follow and who ever ended up the furthest won the race and the right to represent the village later that month.
Nudging Thunder sideways to avoid the exuberant antics of a colt nearby, Lucy watched the horizon nervously. Thunder was thankfully one of the horses that always stayed calm, no matter how their rider was feeling. While some riders would see this as a fault in the horse, Lucy was always thankful for it. She did sometimes mourn her old horse, Lucky, who had succumbed to the illness last fall, but she was still grateful for this opportunity. Thunder yawned, shaking her head and making Lucy chuckle. Calm indeed.
A whistle from the front caught all their attention and fourteen pairs of ears pricked towards it. Squeezing lightly with her calves, Lucy loosed Thunder's reins, allowing the mare to walk forward smartly. Thunder complied, picking up her feet as her curiosity finally got the better of her. The soft thunder of a small herd of horses rolled around her and Lucy looked keenly to the horizon. The whistle was the precursor to the start and to remind the riders to pay attention. There was no starting signal or wave to this race. The riders had to use their own judgment and if they were wrong, they were disqualified. There were always a few that swore they saw the sun on the horizon but were still disqualified for starting too soon.
It was safer in some minds to wait until others went to make sure they weren't disqualified, but it was a fine line between letting others get a lead and then having to catch up. Lucy ignored the chaos around her as everyone jostled into a line to see the horizon better. It was a deep blue, lightening into an indigo now. Any minute, she thought, they would see the first bit of light.
She practically jumped in the air as a horse exploded into motion to her right. A sharp whistle immediately disqualified them and the rider drooped in disappointment. Sometimes they would argue, but most knew that was a fruitless cause. The judges were the final call in when the race began, no one else. There were two more eliminations before Lucy saw the first glimmer of daylight. Glancing around, she saw Georgina had seen the same thing and was already cueing her gelding forward, pulling into a canter. Lucy groaned but urged Thunder forward as well, asking for a long-strided canter, not the frantic gallop that the rest of the crowd began to take on.
There were no harsh whistles disqualifying them and Lucy let out a sigh of relief. She refocused on Thunder, feeling the mare's steady stride. A few others had dropped back beside her, and one or two daring ones had dropped down to a trot to save their horse's stamina. It was a tricky balance, guessing how far the early leaders would be able to get before they lost their stamina and either had to walk or were disqualified for pushing their horses too hard.
Lucy had faith that Thunder would be able to keep up this pace for a good distance before she had to drop for a break. The goal was to keep this place in the line until near midday, then go all out and pass as many as she could. Placing first in this field was a long-shot, but she had to try. Representing her village would give her the prestige she and her family needed to keep going over the winter without pulling on the village's already strained resources. Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts from her mind.
She needed to focus.
The sun had been going steadily across the sky and had hit mid-morning. Lucy and Thunder walked easily, with a long, loose stride and her reins slack in her hands. Some sweat darkened her coat and Lucy could feel the trickle of her own sweat running down her back. Leaning forward, she stroked Thunder's neck, then eyed her breathing. Glancing at the sky and the other horses around her, Lucy took a deep breath. Cueing Thunder up into another canter, she pushed her a little harder now. Coming up on the main herd of horses that were currently in a canter, Lucy leaned forward slightly, asking Thunder to extend her stride even more.
Her long legs ate up the ground and the three beat gait pounding through Lucy's body made her blood rise. Ever so slightly, she continued to lengthen the mare's stride, keeping her just shy of a gallop and Thunder responded. That was one of the silver linings of only have the one riding horse. Lucy had spent a lot of time with her and she was exceptionally well-trained. Slowly, but steadily, Thunder began catching up and passing the other horses in the pack.
A few of the riders eyed Lucy as she passed, but no one really challenged her until the end. A few of the front-runners brought their horses up and kept pace with her. Lucy didn't push Thunder any harder, not yet anyway. The mare was keeping a steady pace and Lucy didn't want to risk a stumble. Eventually the pack slowly dropped off as they took a break until only Lucy and a few of the front runners kept their lead.
Reluctantly, Lucy pulled Thunder back down to a walk and let the others pass her. They didn't go very far, just enough to keep their lead, before resuming their walk. Lucy looked ahead, gauging how many horses were ahead of her. There were enough that she was slightly worried. Sliding her hand along Thunder's neck, she took a deep breath and looked at the sun. It was getting close. She could see other riders doing the same thing, gauging the height of the sun and how many riders were ahead of them. Taking a deep breath, she decided to go for it. Leaning forward, she wrapped Thunder's mane around her hand.
The mare's ears pricked, recognizing the signal. Within moments, Lucy pressed her calves and heels to Thunder's side and the mare lifted effortlessly into a full gallop. She lengthened her stride, running almost flat to the ground as she reached out. Lucy felt her braided hair lift behind her as Thunder shot forward. This was their secret. Thunder's ability to go so fast that she almost flew. Lucy half-expected wings to sprout from her shoulders with the speed they got to. Thunder was normally so complacent, so easy going, that no one ever expected this burst of great speed.
They blew past the few leaders of the pack and Lucy hunkered down, trying to stay light on the mare's back and out of her way. Thunder was true to her name, pounding past the leader of the pack and already drawing on the front runners. Lucy could see they were relaxed, doing a slow jog just to keep ahead. A few were paying attention and heard the hoofbeats, but when they looked back, Thunder and Lucy were already beside and then passing them.
Soon there were only two horses ahead of them. Lucy looked up into the sky. It was almost mid-day. Thunder was starting to breathe heavily, but the hours of endurance training they'd gone through was paying off.
"Let's get them," Lucy whispered, her head practically pressed to Thunder's neck. With a snort, the mare put more effort into her stride and Lucy felt they were flying. The horse's feet were in the air longer than they were on the ground now. Thunder soon passed the rider in second place, who whipped their flagging horse to try to keep up but failing to do so. Finally, it was between Lucy and Georgina, just like Lucy had predicted. Georgina had already heard Thunder coming up behind her and had put her gelding into a full canter.
Thunder blew hard as she pushed forward, soon reaching Georgina and they were side by side. Georgina looked at her, at Thunder pushing hard. Lucy glanced back as Thunder and the gelding drew head to head. Georgina seemed to hesitate a moment, then, suddenly, she drew back. It was barely noticeable, a tiny shift in her weight, but Lucy saw it. Thunder drew ahead and Lucy looked up. The sun was officially at mid-day height. With a gentle hand, she brought Thunder to a halt. The mare snorted but obeyed. Lucy slid off her back and thrust her flag into the ground before putting a hand to Thunder's neck and began walking with her. She didn't dare look at Georgina, not sure what the other girl had been up to with throwing the race the way she did, but she still couldn’t stop the big smile that crept across her face. They had done it. They’d won and had qualified to represent the village in the county wide race next month.
The judges soon came and confirmed her win, as well as approving her handling of Thunder. By the time they came, Thunder was breathing normally and as cool as she could be in the hot weather. They placed the wreath of wildflowers on Lucy's head and declared her the winner. Mounting back up on Thunder, Lucy glanced once more at Georgina, wondering, but the other girl just winked at her, before setting her gelding into a steady trot back towards home.