Horsemen Trials, A Fantasy Story about Horses

Her name would be Destiny, for together we would make each other's future.

I slid off of Rejem and turned to Mr. Blair. "Thank you Mr. Blair."

He smiled. Then he said, "You know, you haven't ever told me your name. What is it?"

I chuckled. "No, I suppose I haven't. My name is Backwood, Iris Backwood."

"Well then, good day Miss Backwood. I hope you get the horse you want." With that he turned his horse and was gone.

The way the claiming stations worked was that there was one station for every twenty horses. You picked the station that had the number of the horse you wanted and went to claim it. If was already claimed, well, you had to pick another horse.

Destiny was number 192 so therefore I had to go to Station 10. Quickly I threaded my way through the crowd of youths. Where was station 10? Ah, there it was, by that big oak tree. I hurried, for there was no line there, and I didn't want someone to get to Destiny before I did.

I arrived panting. The man sitting on the chair behind the desk didn't seem surprised though. "Which horse do you want?"

"Number 192," I gasped out.

"Okay..." He wrote something down on his white pad. "What's your name and age, as well as the horse's name?"

"Iris Backwood, age 15. Her name is Destiny."

"Alright..." He wrote it down on the white pad and got up from the chair. There was a pile of halters and ropes on the ground. He sifted through them until he finally found the one he wanted. "Here you are," he said, holding out the halter and rope. "Here's number 192's halter."

"Wait," came a call from the crowd. I turned to see another young lady threading her way through. She came up to us. "Is that the halter for number 192?"

"Yes. But you're too late. I've already claimed her," I said kindly, feeling a little sorry that I had gotten to her before she did. But my sympathy soon vanished.

"No you haven't," she said with her nose stuck up in the air. "Mr. Werth, cross out this girl's name and write mine next to number 192."

My eyes flew open and my jaw dropped faster than a stone falling. "Now hold on a second," I protested. "I was here first."

She snorted. "That doesn't mean anything, girl. Nadia Veldworth gets what Nadia Veldworth wants." She turned back to Mr. Werth. "Go on Mr. Werth, cross it out."

Mr. Werth, however, was a man of honor. "No, Miss Veldworth, you know I can't do that," he said firmly, but with respect. "Miss Backwood was here first, and she claimed number 192. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to find another horse."

"I'll give you a hundred," she said sweetly.

"No, Miss Veldworth," he replied. Then he handed the halter to me. "Number 192 belongs to Miss Backwood now."

The girl's face turned bright red. But she smiled and turned to me. "Miss Backwood, would you be willing to sell your horse for, let's say, 1,500?"

That was a lot of money, more than the mare was probably worth, but now that I had Destiny, I wasn't about to let her go. "You aren't getting my mare, Miss Veldworth, no matter how hard you try," I bit back.

I nodded to Mr. Werth. "Good day, Mr. Werth, and thank you for your service," and then swiftly left the station.

There were not many horses left in the pens, as most of the contenders had already picked, claimed, and caught their horses. I walked slowly up to Destiny. I didn't know if she had any odd quirks like running away.

She didn't. She did watch me very intently as I walked up to her and put the rope around her neck. But she stayed and I slipped the halter on her head.

I folded the extra lead and put it in one hand, then grasped the lead half a foot below her chin. I walked out and she followed willingly. So far she was proving herself to be a rather sweet tempered mare.

Slowly we walked our way out of the town. Once claimed, the contestant could do whatever they wanted with their horse for the next three and a half months, so long as the horse was trained in time for the competition. I wasn't going home, as it was too far away.

Instead, I had scouted out and picked a nice clear area in the woods. It was just inside the woods, safe from prying eyes and suspicious characters. But it was close to a nice clear meadow area, where I could ride my horse.

When we reached the clearing I rustled through my satchel and pulled out a rope. Stringing the rope between two trees, I tied Destiny to it. This way she could roam and graze, but wouldn't be allowed to wander off.

Once she was taken care of, I began setting up a camp. I positioned a tough piece of fabric over two tree branches and tied with more rope the ends of the fabric. Stepping back I surveyed my work. It would keep me dry should a sudden thunderstorm come up.

Satisfied, I began building a fireplace and getting my camp ready for the long term. I would have to walk into town everyday and draw water from the well there, but that was alright. Once a week I'd go back home for food and to visit my family.

The next morning dawned quite bright and clear. I rolled over on my pallet and watched Destiny graze for awhile. The sound of her ripping off tufts of grass was soothing. So far she was turning out to be a pretty nice mare.

Lazily I stretched. Today I wasn't going to ride her, just spend time with her and get to know her. In the late morning I'd head into town to get water, and to attended one of the clinics being offered by Master Horsemen.

Clinics were offered throughout the competition, to give advice and tips from proven trainers. I was excited to have the chance to learn from the greats. I wondered if Mr. Blair would be teaching a clinic?

Finally I sat up and reached into my satchel. Pulling out a chunk of cheese, I nibbled on it. Destiny raised her head up, watching me for a moment.