excerpt
“That may be true, but we have to be at the top of our game.
We won’t have a chance to do much training in Oklahoma City,
you know.”
“Tell you what, Joel. If you think this horse of yours needs
training by the time you get to Oklahoma City, then you are riding
the wrong horse, cowboy. This horse has every move in it
right now that it will ever need in Oklahoma City. The only question
is about your ability to draw those moves out of the
horse—how to ask for the right maneuver in the right way at the
right time. And none of that has anything to do with constant
rundowns and long slides. It is all about being in tune with your
horse. You have never seen me mad, but if you don’t take that
horse out to the pasture for a nice gentle ride, you are going to see
one very upset horsewoman. Do you understand me, Joel
Hooper?”
It was Tanya saying his full name that really got his attention.
He knew she was speaking from the heart. But he was the mature
adult here, and up until a few months ago, she was a struggling
teenage horse trainer, but he knew she was right.
“Tanya, you just amaze me. So much wisdom and so much
power in one young woman. I can’t wait to see what happens to
you when you grow up. Whatever it is, I know that it is going to
be something very special. And I am going to be able to say that I
knew Tanya way back when she was a nineteen-year-old just out
of high school.”
“Get out of here, Joel Hooper. Go ride your horse.”
And he did. Not only did he take it easy for the rest of the week
but also for the rest of the month as they prepared for the show.
Sure, there were days when he would run the patterns on the big
buckskin gelding, but even then he was only going at three-quarter
speed and saving the extra for when it was really needed.
For Tanya, it was pretty much the same: she would work hard
some days, but most days Tanya would lope a few circles with her
horse, work on something specific, like a spin or a lead change,
and then head straight for the hills.
Manolis Aligizakis 