Free Home Sweet Drama by Jessica Burkhart

front of the jump. The gelding shuddered for a second, but took the obstacle. Charm, who’d been watching Lexington, tensed beneath me and I pushed him forward with my hands and legs. I wasn’t going to let him stop.
    â€œYou got it,” I whispered. “C’mon.”
    Charm’s back relaxed and his stride became confident. In front of us, Aristocrat leaped the jump easily and that seemed to give Charm incentive. He approached the zigzag and I kept both legs steady against his sides so heknew running out wasn’t an option. He lifted into the air and tucked his forelegs under his body as we cleared the low jump.
    We cantered for several minutes down the trail, weaving around trees until we reached an open clearing. Mr. Conner let Lexington into a faster canter and Heather and I copied him. The field of green looked as if it stretched on forever.
    Charm showed no signs of slowing down as we moved over the ground. He hadn’t started to sweat yet, but my T-shirt was sticking to my back. We’d lost the shade of the woods when we’d hit the clearing.
    We cantered up another hill and the ground leveled. Lexington and then Aristocrat took a brush fence. Charm hopped it easily. A few strides later, we approached an old wooden park bench. All three horses jumped it without pause and we cantered toward the next jump.
    I
loved
this! Not only did Heather and I get to observe Mr. Conner ride, but we also got to jump a new course. I loved arena lessons, but sometimes things got stale. And coming out here to a new place where Charm wasn’t familiar with his surroundings was good for him.
    Mr. Conner started to turn in a half-circle and we were facing the campus, even if we couldn’t see it. He easedLexington to a trot and we went down a sharper hill. At the bottom of the hill we trotted for two strides before leaping two tiny brush jumps in a row. I watched Heather and Aristocrat for a few seconds, marveling at Heather’s form over each jump. She never wavered, and her confidence transmitted to Aristocrat.
    â€œLast jump,” Mr. Conner called back to us.
    I was sorry the course was over so soon. I knew Charm would take it again if I let him.
    Mr. Conner let Lexington canter a bit faster to gain enough momentum to make it over a wooden gate with a small shrub on each side. Lexington, still greener than Charm or Aristocrat, started to rush the fence. Even though Heather was well behind Mr. Conner and Lexington, she slowed Aristocrat a notch in case the gray refused the fence. But Mr. Conner knew how to handle Lexington. He did a half halt and Lexington kept going at the same pace for a few seconds before listening to Mr. Conner. He slowed, collected himself, and lifted into the air. He cleared the gate without even coming close to touching it.
    Aristocrat and Heather went next and, as expected, had no problem. I gave Charm rein to let him canter fast. He hadn’t lost a bit of energy since we’d started the course.I counted down the strides in my head and at the right second, Charm leaped into the air. He hit the grass softly on the other side and we joined Heather and Mr. Conner at a trot.
    â€œThat was excellent, girls,” Mr. Conner said. “Both of you are strong in cross-country and you didn’t let any of the new obstacles or the new path become an excuse for allowing your horse to refuse a fence or get nervous.”
    â€œThanks,” Heather and I said.
    â€œLet’s keep them at a trot to cool down on our way back to the stable,” Mr. Conner said. “And be sure to check their legs for heat or any sign of stress after that ride.”
    We trotted the horses side by side back to the stable. I was pumped after that round. But with every step closer to the stable, I wanted more and more to go back to the woods until Homecoming was over.
    When we got back to the stable, I dismounted and loosened Charm’s girth. He was going to need extra walking and I