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“You can fuck right off,” I snapped.
Finn chuckled. “I call it as I see it! You can’t make this shit up!”
I punched him in the arm, but he kept laughing.
“Get on the damn horse!” He stood up and left.
I shook my head. He was right; I was overthinking this.
I got up, dusted off my jeans, and grabbed my saddle.
As I opened the stall door, Gambler eyed me and the saddle as if to say, You’re kidding, right?
“Nope,” I told him. “You and I are going for a ride. I know you don’t know me, but I promise I’m not that bad, and Kinsley will be out to visit you soon. You know, you gave her quite the bump on the head? So, I’m kind of inclined not to like you very much. That’s my girl you hurt.” I slung the saddle onto Gambler’s back, and he blew out his nose. “I mean, I know the point of barrel racing is to go fast, but you’re a little extra? You need to learn to focus.” Gambler shook out his mane. “We’ll work on it.”
I did up the cinch loosely, then went to grab his bridle. He took the bit easily, and I slid the crown piece over his ears, then led him out of the stall and walked out of the barn. He acted like a champ.
“You know exactly what you’re doing, don’t you?” I mused as we left the barn area. Stopping him, I tightened the cinch. “Do you like to play games, is that it?”
Putting a foot in the stirrup, I swung a leg over and sat down in the saddle. He didn’t move a muscle.
“You’re trying to trick me into a false sense of security, aren’t you?”
He sighed, looking bored.
“No need to answer. I’m on to you. I will not be easy to get rid of.” I urged him forward into a leisurely walk.
As we passed the riding rings, where other people were working their horses, Gambler pinned his ears at the horses passing us on the other side of the fence.
“Oh, don’t be a grump. They’re not bothering you.”
When we got to a nearby field, I let him trot at a nice, easy pace. He was happy out here, super responsive to cues, and a nice horse to ride. I did a few laps around the perimeter of the field at a trot and then at a lope. I had to admit I was enjoying him.
“Okay, so you’re not that bad. But you don’t want to be a trail horse, do you? There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but do you think that’ll be enough for you? I think you like to go fast.”
Walking him back to the arena, I stopped him outside the ring and watched the riders inside go around the barrel pattern.
The guys approached, so I raised a hand.
“How did he do?” Finn asked.
“Great,” I replied. “He’d make an excellent trail horse.”
“So, try him in there,” Finn suggested, pointing to the now nearly empty arena.
I liked ending on a good note, but part of me wanted to see what he’d do. Maybe I could figure out the issue, fix it, and make him a little safer for Kinsley.
“Do it!” Grady hollered.
“Cowboy up,” Finn added.
As the last rider left the ring, I took the opportunity.
Gambler saw the barrels and perked right up. He pawed the ground and tossed his head, yanking the reins from my hands. He was eager to go.
Here goes nothing.
When I let him loose, he took off towards the first barrel too damn fast. I tried to hold him back, but he wasn’t having it. I barely got him around the barrel; he had to dig in deep to make it, but fortunately, it slowed him a bit. He took the second and third barrels easier, then flew home.
