Page 131 of Wind Rider

Do we jump the deep ditch or go into it and climb out of it?

“I’m pretty sure they want us to do it the most difficult way, which would not be jumping it.” River snorted, sounding like Anjo. “Do they really think you’re going to balk at that patch of muddy water over there?”

I will not, but many mares would not walk into it. Could be snakes.

“Not on this course there won’t be. Trust me.”

Always.

“Then let’s do this, and do it fast and clean.”

Anjo’s answer was to sprint into the obstacle course. The jumps were first—and she sailed over them easily, even the double log jump that was uncomfortably close together. Then she went over the tottering plank with her head lowered as she watched her footing. Without pausing River guided Anjo down into a deep, narrow ditch, and then up the backside of it. She balked at nothing—not even the muddy puddles or skeletal hanging branches meant to spook her. She picked her way through a series of logs that had been arranged against larger logs so that they were partially off the ground, partially grounded, in a crisscross pattern, making it impossible to jump them. The final obstacle was a jump that had a water-filled ditch on the far side of it. Anjo sailed over both easily.

At the end of the course River glanced back at the Councilmember, who nodded and signaled that she’d completed everything.

“Okay, let’s catch those other two teams!” Anjo sprinted away.

The land kept lifting up and up, and Anjo attacked the ground, digging in and using her well-conditioned muscles to carry them forward with speed even Ghost would have envied.

They reached the top of the hill and looked down.

“I can see the finish flags!” River’s voice trembled with excitement. “There, in the distance! I can just make them out.” And then she glanced down to see the final obstacles before the sprint. The backside of the hill wasn’t dangerously steep, but it was covered with rocks—large and small—which made it deadly if a horse attempted to run down it.

And there, halfway to the bottom, were Skye and Scout. Farther ahead, though not much, were Alani and Doe, but Alani had dismounted and was checking her mare’s hoof.

Hold on. I’m going down this slope. Fast.

“Nottoofast. Those rocks will bruise your hooves—they can even make you lame.”

You know I am good at this. We have practiced.

River did as her mare said—she held on. Anjo was right. This was one of the obstacles they had prepared for, and it was also something her mare strangely enjoyed. Anjo liked picking her way down a rocky ridge. She’d told River once that it helped keep her mind sharp.

The mare attacked the rocky decline, moving nimbly around boulders, stepping lightly and carefully, and keeping her head low so that she could see her path. River had been concentrating so hard on the rocks that she didn’t even notice that she and Anjo had pulled up beside Skye and Scout until the dapple gray mare squealed and kicked at Anjo.

Quick as a snake, Anjo struck out, biting Scout on her rump and causing the other mare to jump sideways and grunt in pain.

“Hey, get her off Scout!” Skye shouted.

“You know better than that,” River said as she and Anjo passed the slower team. “A Lead Mare always disciplines the Herd—and Scout just got disciplined!”

They beat Skye and Scout to the bottom of the rocky ridge as Alani remounted Doe and galloped toward the final obstacle. A hundred yards or so from the bottom of the ridge the land opened again. This time it was a true gorge, with sides too impossibly steep to scale upordown.

“We have to jump the gorge,” River said, suddenly feeling her heart lodge in her throat. “They’ve marked three crossing places.” River usedher hand to shade her eyes against the glare of the setting sun. “The closest is also the widest. Then a few hundred yards that way they’ve marked another, narrower crossing.” River pointed to the left, where the gorge wrapped around, taking an opposite turn from the direction of the finish line. “And even farther that way I can see a third crossing. Look there—Alani is guiding Doe to the left. She’s not going to attempt the widest jump.”

I can make the widest jump.

River didn’t question her mare. She felt Anjo’s confidence and she trusted her completely.

“Then let’s jump over it and beat Alani and Doe to the finish line!”

Anjo kicked into a canter and then lengthened her stride to a gallop. River leaned forward, gripping Anjo’s sweaty sides and holding tightly to her mane as she readied herself to throw her heart over the gorge along with her mare.

They were just yards from the jump when Skye and Scout blew past them at a flat run, heading directly for the widest crossing point.

River knew what was going to happen before Scout balked. She saw the signs. Scout wasn’t gathering herself. Her ears weren’t pricked at the jump. And the mare looked spent, with white flecks of sweaty foam spraying from her shoulders and flanks. At the last moment Scout refused the jump, planting her hooves and digging into the earth.

With a sick stomach, River watched Skye fly over Scout’s head and tumble over the edge of the gorge.