The Crumb by Jean Slaughter Doty

Author:Jean Slaughter Doty
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Horse, Pony, Childrens, Show Jumping, Middle-Grade, Fiction
Publisher: Acme Book Continuum
Published: 2020-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

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In spite of the sloppy footing, five horses had clear rounds over the tremendous course. The jumps were raised higher and spread still wider. The horses collected near the ring gate and went in one at a time to jump again.

This time they were jumping against time. If there were two or more clear rounds, the fastest time would determine the winner. Cat Burglar trotted into the ring wearing bell boots, which buckled loosely above his front hoofs to protect his heels. I could see the flash of a white bandage under the left boot just before it got soaked in mud as the horse moved into a canter in the ring.

Though the cut had looked deep and unpleasant—Cat Burglar must have grabbed the heel of his front foot with a hind toe when he slipped during his first round—it certainly didn’t bother the horse; he moved and jumped with his usual grace. He never seemed to hurry. Alex cut corners and took one horrendously big stone wall almost at right angles, which would have been enough to bring almost any ordinary horse down, even in perfect footing—but Cat always seemed to have a foot just at the right place to keep his balance as he landed, and he flew past the electronic timer and left the ring a full three seconds faster than his nearest rival.

The huge chestnut fell over the brush and rails and for a few seconds his rider was buried under flying hoofs and splintered rails. But she reappeared grinning, covered every inch with mud, and patted her bewildered horse sympathetically as she led him from the ring. It has always amazed me how surprised a horse looks after he’s had a fall, almost as though he’s trying to remember what happened so he won’t make the same mistake again. Maybe that’s what makes the good jumpers as good as they are.

The three other tied horses had clear rounds, but slower times, and Cat Burglar went back into the ring for another blue ribbon. He cantered around the ring to wild applause with the blue ribbon fluttering from his bridle and with Alex clutching a huge silver cup and his hat in his hand, while a gray and a bay and a chestnut cantered humbly behind him.

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