she was beginning to relax. Unfortunately the next horse shattered that tiny bit of calm because it shied from entering the arena. This was one of the recalcitrant horses, intent on backing away from the opening his rider was asking him to go through. He was causing a lot of trouble, bumping into other horses and upsetting them. He took one step in and pushed back. He pushed the gate against Emily, who was backed up against another fence, sandwiching her. Emily was terrified, afraid of being crushed to death on the spot, when suddenly the pressure on her eased as the cowboy swung off his horse and quickly worked his way in beside her, pushing hard on the gate and yelling at the horse and rider.
“Damn it, Mark!” he yelled at the horse’s rider. “Get him off this gate before you scare this girl to death!”
“Sorry!” Mark yelled, kicking frantically.
Even as he kicked at the horse, two other men came behind the animal and locked arms behind the horse’s massive hindquarters, while a third grabbed the reins and pointed the horse’s head into the arena. Careful to avoid the animal’s hooves, the men pushed the horse into the arena. As the horse moved forward the cowboy next to Emily began to shut the gate, keeping a pressure on the horse, so that the only open space for the animal was the actual arena.
Some of the other riders even got behind the horse and slapped his rump, clicking at him and at the same time avoiding the horse’s hind hooves. They grabbed the reins and led the horse up to the edge of the gate. The longer all this went on, the more frightened Emily became. Due to the rules, they couldn’t lead the horse all the way in, they had to stop at the gate and push the horse in. Taking her cue from the cowboy, Emily kept pushing the horse using the gate to goad the animal into the arena. Finally the horse was in and the gate shut behind him. When they finally got the horse in, Emily turned to the man who had helped her.
“Thank you. I’m really glad for your help,” Emily said quietly, looking once again into the most handsome face she’d ever seen.
He was so good looking that Emily froze up the minute her eyes met his. Tall and trim with black hair and brilliant blue eyes, his face was filled with humor and a hint of the devil. Oh my God! Emily thought as she felt the pull of attraction, I guess my libido isn’t completely dead. Her next thought was: Down girl, he’s way too handsome for you, guys like that never even give you the time of day.
“It’s nothing. You looked like you could use some help.” He grinned back at her, feeling his own jolt of surprise. “Hey, you’re really scared, aren’t you? I guess you’re not used to spooked horses.”
The man smiled at her, but the smile didn’t seem real somehow and his voice was stern as he asked, “You obviously don’t know anything about horses. How did you wind up with gate duty?”
“My friend Laura convinced me to help out today. She said it was for charity. She also said it would be fun and that I wouldn’t have to be close to any horses. I’m sorry if I’m not doing a good job,” Emily dropped her eyes, “but I’m a little afraid of these horses, they’re so unruly.”
“That’s not what I meant, you’re doing fine. Don’t judge all horses by these. These are gymkhana horses. Gymkhana is a timed sport, and these are fast, high-spirited horses. Sometimes they get excited when they know they’re going to run. Also some of the riders are more concerned with speed than they are with their horse’s manners, since there’s no judge marking them on their form.” He paused, picking his words carefully. “Contrary to how it seems, some of these horses are highly trained and they really enjoy what they do. Watch that horse now. You’ll see that he’s running on his own, and that he turns easily, with very little steering from his rider.”
The horse they had fought so hard with to get into the ring was running around some tall poles. Even to Emily’s novice eyes the ride was smooth and balanced. The horse seemed to be running at breakneck speed with very little urging from the teenage boy on his back. The horse came to a stop with a toss of his head and pranced over to the gate. Emily opened the gate and let him out of the arena.
“See? He enjoyed his run. His rowdy behavior before was a sort of stage fright, maybe an equine form of performance anxiety that was causing him to act up going in, but it was not fear. That prance you see now is pure equine pride, he thinks he’s hot stuff. Hell, he knows it.”
“It’s the first time I’ve even seen horses outside of the movies,” Emily explained. “And they’re so big and intimidating, especially the bad-mannered ones.”
The horse walked away from the arena calmly. Together, they held the gate open and let another horse and rider enter.
“See how calm he is now?” the cowboy asked.
Emily turned her head and watched the horse and rider as they walked over to a nearby horse trailer. “Yes.”
“Some of those bad-mannered horses are just excited, it’s like pre-game nerves for any athlete before they compete,” the cowboy explained, before adding, “I’m David, by the way, David Silvan.”
David shook hands with Emily, noting her shy smile and also noticing something more, a deep sadness in her eyes. A sadness her smile couldn’t even begin to hide.
“I’m Emily Culver,” she answered shyly, surprised at the attention. “I’ve noticed your horse doesn’t act up like that. Your horse walks in quietly and then just sort of explodes through the course. Look at the way he’s just standing there now. Shouldn’t you tie him up or something?”
“Target’s okay, he’s well trained. It’s the training and treating the horse right, along with the nature of the horse that makes most of the difference. Most horses are calm, even lazy, although some horses will always be high strung,” David said. “Now answer a question for me: How did a non-horse lover like you wind up working the gate? That’s usually a position reserved for someone who-”
“Knows what the heck they’re doing?” Emily finished as David trailed off. “My friend, Laura, was supposed to volunteer to work at the show but she’s very pregnant, so she offered to stay home with my folks while I came here. She said I wouldn’t even have to see a horse. When I showed up someone asked if I could open and close the gate. It didn’t sound too hard so I said yes.”
“So here you are stuck out in the full heat of the sun, scared of the horses, thirsty and covered in dust.” David grinned, “Helluva way to treat a volunteer.”
“Excuse me, but I’m going to go find the idiot who put you out here on the gate and skin him alive.” The icy edge was back in his smile as he continued, “It’s just plain cruel to do that to someone who’s afraid of horses. It’s also dangerous, not only for you, because you don’t know how to avoid getting hurt, but also for the riders because you don’t know how to help them or even how to tell when they need help.”
“I don’t want to be any trouble.” Emily seemed panicked at the thought of drawing any attention to herself.
“Don’t give it another thought. It’s not just for you, it’s also for safety.” David yelled up at the announcer’s stand, “Hey Mac! Find Cliff and get him over here quick!”
“Cliff to the In-gate! Cliff go to the In-gate please.” Came over the speakers.
“What’s the problem. David?” A middle aged man with a cowboy hat, a florid face and a belly hanging over
