AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In freestyle competition, the score is comprised of two separate areas: technical execution accounts for 50% of the total score; artistic impression, which is basically the harmony between the horse and rider, accounts for the other 50% of the total score. Our score reflected a perfect 150 points, the maximum allowed for artistic impression; technical execution was 135 points, giving us a total of 285 points. I was ecstatic! There were still quite a few contenders, but I was determined to remain positive.
After untacking Derringer and giving him water and a treat, I retired to my hotel room to rest. A few hours later the hotel telephone awoke me abruptly from my nap. It was Mark.
“Are you ready for this, Tylar? You took first in this morning’s competition.”
“No!” I exclaimed, totally in shock.
“Oh yes you did,” he confirmed, “You'll get your trophy at closing ceremonies tomorrow. You did an excellent job!”
“Right back at you,” I said. “You did all the hard stuff with the choreography and getting me prepared,” I emphasized.
“Tylar,” he said earnestly, “You're my success story. You had so little training when I met you. Don’t get me wrong, you could ride, but you had so little experience with technical dressage. I’m blown away at how quickly you learned. You’re a natural!”
“I don’t know about that,” I said. “I do know that Derringer played the major role.”
“He is awesome,” Mark agreed. “Hey, I’m getting ready to come back to the hotel, want to get some dinner?”
“I just need to catch up on my rest. I’m just worn out from all of this. See you tomorrow?”
“Sure thing. Have a good evening.”
The following day, I felt well rested for the closing ceremonies, which started at 7 p.m. Mark’s quadrille event had come in second place, securing a total purse of $60,000, which would be a $30,000 net purse for Sinclair Stables.
My first place standing in the musical freestyle captured a $75,000 purse. Not too shabby. Mark and I were seated and awaiting the beginning of the awards presentation. People continued to file into the grandstands, mostly owners who'd not been present during the various competitions, but had special interest in the awards ceremony. Mark was reading the final results from the latest printout.
“I wonder if Trey's staying for the awards ceremony.”
“What?”
“He was here for the competition, didn’t you know?”
“No,” I stated flatly. “I didn’t know.”
“Yeah, he was up in the grandstands with some woman. He came down after they announced that you and Derringer had taken first place to congratulate you, but you were back at your room.”
I was numb. Why had Trey bothered to even show up? Why did Mark wait until now to mention it to me? Just as I turned to say something else to Mark, I caught a glimpse of Trey, coming into the arena with Charlotte on his arm. They made their way over to our section, taking seats in the same row, just a few seats down. Trey caught my eye as they were being seated, smiled, and gave me a brief wave. I nodded and turned to Mark.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I stated plainly.
“What?” He turned to face me in his seat and noticed the Trey and Charlotte. He didn’t get what I was trying to convey.
“See, there’s Trey now with the woman he was with earlier,” he said, nodding in their direction.
No shit. I was really feeling nauseated, that part was true.
“You look green,” Mark acknowledged.
“Ahh, yeah,” I said my eyes wide. “I told you I felt ill.”
“Can you make it through this presentation?”
“I’ll give it my best,” I answered.
The closing ceremonies started, with each event being detailed as to the participants and placement after completed. Finally, they got to the dressage category of freestyle musical. The top five scorers were announced starting from fifth place. My stomach roiled.
My event was finally up. The master of ceremonies announced Derringer, owner Trey Sinclair, trainer Mark Montgomery, and talent Tylar Preston. We all proceeded up to the podium to accept the trophy along with the envelope that had a check for our take from this competition. Somehow it ended up that I was standing next to Trey as the presenter shook each of our hands, presenting the trophy and envelope to Trey while yesterday’s competition with Derringer and my performance was being shown on the backdrop screen complete with Lady Gaga’s music in the background. As we turned to leave, my stomach gave a final lurch. I threw up all over Trey’s shiny black shoes.
CHAPTER 31
