Excerpt From Chapter 1

 

Chapter 1 Rosie and Jet

“There’s Grandma’s house,” Rosie called out as she spotted the Sonrise Stable sign, with its horse and large cross, at the driveway entrance. The small, wiry eight-year-old pulled the latch and popped out of the car while it was still rolling to a stop. Her dark, braided pigtails bounced wildly as she ran down the drive toward the porch of the little farmhouse nestled in the trees.

“Take your sleeping bag.” Her mother’s voice stopped Rosie in her tracks. She turned and trotted back to the car, catching the sleeping bag her mother tossed in her direction.

“Sorry, Mom, I forgot. I just can’t wait to see Grandma… and Jet.” Rosie picked up a few more things from the car and turned toward the house, just as the front door opened.

Grandma stepped onto the porch, laughing as she watched her daughter and granddaughter, loaded down with items from the car. “I thought Rosie was just spending the weekend. I didn’t realize she was moving in.”

Kristy groaned as she wrestled with several suitcases. “Oh, this is just for the weekend. I think we’d have to rent a moving van to bring all of her things out here.”

“I have all the important stuff.” Rosie held up her riding boots and helmet. “And I brought carrots for Jet.”

“Jet will certainly be happy to see you again, especially when she realizes you’ve brought her favorite treat.” Grandma hugged her granddaughter. She had been looking forward to this weekend nearly as much as Rosie.

Kristy gazed fondly at the familiar farmhouse and barn. “Oh, Mom, the trees are beautiful this time of year. I wish we could afford to move out to the country. I really miss it.”

“I’d love to have you nearby, but you know you’re always welcome to visit anytime. Maybe someday you’ll be able to move to the country. For now, you and Eric enjoy your weekend together. Rosie and I have plenty to do around here while you’re gone.”

Kristy dropped Rosie’s suitcases on the front porch. “I’m sorry Mom, but I’m running late. I have to go.” She held out her arms to Rosie. “Hey girlie, give me a good-bye kiss. You help Grandma, and take good care of Jet. Love you. Bye-Bye.”

Rosie wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and gave her a big kiss. “Bye, Mommy. I love you too. See you Monday.”

Grandma and Rosie stood side by side, watching and waving, as Kristy pulled out of the driveway. Grandma grabbed a suitcase and carried it into the house. “Let’s get you settled in, then we’ll go out to the barn. Do you want your mom’s old room?”

“Of course. It’s my room now!” Rosie struggled to get a large suitcase up the stairs. Grandma smiled at her granddaughter’s determination. After depositing all of Rosie’s things in her room, Grandma left her to unpack. Rosie quickly arranged her things, pulled on her riding boots, grabbed her helmet, and raced down the stairs.

Rosie had begun riding that summer, taking lessons twice a week from her grandmother, who had given countless riding lessons to children over the years. The “horse bug” had bitten Rosie almost as severely as it had her grandmother fifty years earlier. Rosie read, dreamed, and talked constantly about horses. Rather than doing her schoolwork, her mother often found her daydreaming and drawing horse pictures in her notebook. Grandma was very familiar with the symptoms of this mysterious disease, since each of her three daughters had suffered from it also.

“Are you finally ready to ride? I thought maybe you had decided to take a nap up there.”

“Oh, Grandma.” Rosie was used to her grandmother’s kidding and could, almost always, tell when she was being teased.

Grandma opened the back door, and the two stepped onto the gravel path that led to the barn. Bordering the path on the right was a ravine with a bubbling creek at the bottom. On the left a grassy pasture stretched to the road at the front of the property. Today, however, Rosie was blind to the natural beauty surrounding her. She was going to be able to ride for four days in a row and couldn’t wait to get started.

“Do you remember everything I’ve been teaching you?”

Rosie pranced excitedly around her grandmother. “Keep my reins even, not too tight and not too loose, don’t jerk on her mouth, stay balanced, and… Oh, Grandma, you’ve told me so much. I don’t see how I can ever remember it all.”

“Well, you’ve remembered some of the most important things. But knowing and doing are not always the same thing. I’ll see how you do when you get into the arena.”

A friendly nicker greeted them as they entered the barn. A jet-black pony with a large star on her forehead poked her head over the stall door.

“Oh, Jet, you’re the most beautiful pony in the world.” Rosie put her hands on each side of Jet’s head and gave the pony a kiss on her velvety muzzle. Jet nodded her head as if agreeing with Rosie.

Grandma unlatched the stall door and led the pony out. “She certainly is. She’s even prettier than her mother, Ebony, was. You remember Ebony was your mother’s pony when she was a little older than you, Rosie. Ebony taught your mom to ride, just like Jet is teaching you. After your mom and aunt, Julie, outgrew her, many of my students learned to ride on Ebony.”

“Well, I’m never going to outgrow Jet. I’m going to ride her until I’m really old, like you, Grandma.”

Grandma laughed and patted Jet on the neck. “Let’s get this pony brushed and saddled so you can ride.”

The two worked contentedly together. As Rosie chattered away, Grandma found herself smiling often. Rosie reminded her so much of her own daughters at that age. Rosie brushed the pony’s soft black hair vigorously in circles with a curry comb. Jet loved being groomed. She stretched her neck out in an odd position as Rosie hit a particularly itchy spot. Next came the body brush, then Rosie carefully picked up and cleaned each of Jet’s hooves.

Grandma bridled the pony and placed a red blanket and black western saddle on her back. “It won’t be long until you’re big enough to saddle Jet yourself. Do you remember how to tighten the girth?”

“Of course I do, Grandma. A real cowgirl has to saddle her own horse, you know.” Rosie fed the leather strap through the ring in the girth and in no time she had the saddle nice and snug.

“You are getting good at that! Did I ever tell you about when I was a young girl and didn’t tighten the girth enough on my pony, Dolly? I was cantering across a field, and the saddle kept tipping more and more until I fell right off. I wasn’t hurt, but I always remembered to check the girth after that.”

Rosie laughed. “I can’t imagine you as a little girl, Grandma.” She took the reins and led Jet out of the barn to the riding arena.

“Need any help getting --” Before Grandma could even finish her question, Rosie had her foot in the stirrup and, with a little spring, was up on Jet’s back. “You’re going to be giving me riding lessons before long!” Rosie beamed at her grandmother’s compliment. “Walk her around a while and let her stretch her legs. Then let me see a nice slow jog,” Grandma instructed.

Jet started off obediently in response to Rosie’s commands. She is truly a natural, Grandma thought, as she observed Rosie’s skill in handling the pony. After going over several schooling exercises, Grandma returned to the barn to saddle her horse, Kezzie. Grandma had assisted with Kezzie’s birth and had begun training her almost immediately. A strong bond had formed between them over the past sixteen years, so much so, that Kezzie often seemed to know what Grandma expected of her, even before she asked.

As Grandma led Kezzie toward the arena, she could hear Rosie singing happily as she trotted around the ring. “Let’s ride down through the woods,” Grandma suggested. “I think Jet has had enough of that dusty, old arena.” She opened the gate to let Rosie and Jet out.

Grandma had spent her entire life in Ohio, never moving more than twenty-five miles from the place of her birth. She loved the variety of the seasons, but autumn was her favorite. “I never get tired of riding through the woods in the fall. Don’t you love the sound the horses make as they crunch through the leaves?”

“What? I can’t hear you. The leaves are making too much noise.” Rosie laughed with delight as she leaned over in the saddle, trying to catch the multi-colored leaves spiraling down from the trees. “It’s snowing leaves, Grandma!”

Grandma stopped Kezzie and waited for Rosie to catch up. “This is the kind of riding I love, a leisurely ride, enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. You know, it seems like only yesterday that I first started training Kezzie. She has really been a wonderful horse.”

“But she’s not as good as Jet.” Rosie insisted.

“Well, maybe not, but almost. Before too long I’m going to have another training project, and I could use your help with it.”

“Me, training a horse?” Rosie looked up inquisitively at her grandmother.

“Well, not exactly a horse. A foal.”

“A foal?” Rosie repeated, confused.

“Yes, Jet’s foal.”

As she grasped the meaning of her grandmother’s words, Rosie nearly bounced right off the pony’s back. “A foal? Jet’s going to have a foal? When? Should I be riding her?” The questions tumbled out.

“Calm down. It won’t be for a long time. It takes horses eleven months to have a foal. You can continue to ride Jet this fall. The exercise will be good for her. The foal isn’t due until early next spring.”

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Rosie had taken good care of Jet before, but now she was even more attentive to her, making sure she was properly groomed, her stall cleaned, and that she always had fresh water and hay.

The weekend passed by all too quickly. When Kristy returned to pick up Rosie, she eagerly told her mother the good news. Kristy was almost as excited about the new foal as Rosie. “It’s a good thing we homeschool, Rosie. You’ll have to work hard to finish your schoolwork early, so you can have extra hours riding and helping Grandma with Jet and Kezzie.”

“I will, Mom, I will.” Rosie promised. “I want to spend as much time with Jet as I can.”

And she did just that. Kristy suggested to her mother that maybe Jet could have a foal every year, if it would motivate Rosie to do so well on her schoolwork.

The days shortened and grew increasingly crisp and cool as winter approached. Rosie and Grandma noticed Jet becoming rather plump. “I think you’ve been feeding that pony a few too many carrots, haven’t you?”

Rosie looked up, a bit startled, then realized her grandmother was only joking. “Well, maybe I better not feed her quite so many, just in case.”

“We’ll have to be careful about her diet,” Grandma agreed. “We don’t want her to get too heavy too soon.”

On a cold December day, Grandma and Rosie snuggled together on a stack of hay bales as Grandma read the Christmas story from Luke’s Gospel. Although she had a heavy coat on, Rosie shivered in the cold. She moved closer to her grandmother and pulled Jemimah, the calico barn cat, onto her lap in an attempt to stay warm.

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. …” Kezzie and Jet contentedly munched their hay and seemed to be listening to the story also.

“I’ve never heard of anyone reading the Bible in a barn.” Rosie giggled.

“I used to read this in the barn to your mom and your aunts when they were younger. It seems appropriate to read the story here, since our Savior was laid in a manger after his birth, because there was no room for Him in the inn.”

As Grandma finished the verses and closed the Bible, Rosie popped up excitedly, sending Jemimah flying across the hay. “I have to give Jet her present.” She disappeared and returned in a few minutes with a big red stocking which she attached to a hanger on Jet’s stall door.

Grandma could see several carrots peeking out of the top of the stocking. Jet’s head suddenly appeared over the door. It didn’t take her long to discover the carrots. She pulled the first one out of the stocking and began to devour her favorite treat. Jet’s loud crunching attracted Kezzie’s attention. She gazed longingly at Jet and her carrots. “Hey, where’s my horse’s present?” Grandma protested.

“Well, I guess Jet can share, but Kezzie only gets one.” Rosie carefully selected the smallest carrot from the stocking and fed it to Kezzie, who bobbed her head up and down enthusiastically as she ate. Rosie laughed as she watched the two horses enjoying their Christmas treat. “Grandma, when will I get to ride Jet again?”

“You won’t get much riding in this winter since it’s so cold now. Then in the spring Jet will be close to her foaling date, but there will be plenty of time for riding next summer after the foal is born. I think you might even be ready for your first horse show then.”

Rosie’s eyes opened wide. “Do you really think so, Grandma? Now I have two things to wait for, the foal and my first horse show. I don’t know if I can stand it!”

Grandma laughed. “I know what you mean. I think I’m almost as excited as you are. Now, let’s go inside and have some hot chocolate. The only problem with reading the Christmas story in the barn is that it’s freezing out here!” Grandma rubbed her gloved hands together, trying to bring the feeling back into her numb fingertips.

“I’ll race you to the house.” Rosie gave Jet a kiss and took off running toward the house, not noticing that Grandma was following at a much more leisurely pace.

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Toward the end of the long, cold Ohio winter, glimpses of spring began to appear. Safe and warm in their cozy barn throughout the winter, now Kezzie and Jet began to get a little restless. On the warmer, drier days Grandma turned them out briefly for a little fresh air and exercise.

It had been nearly a month since Rosie had last visited Grandma’s. On her next visit, she was surprised when she looked into Jet’s stall. “Grandma, Jet is so fat. I think she’s ready to have her foal right now!”

“She still has almost a month to go, but she is pretty round, isn’t she? Don’t worry, I’m checking on her several times a day now. I wish your grandfather were still alive. Although he never enjoyed riding, he was one of the hardest workers I’ve ever known. He loved helping me take care of the horses. He would be so proud of what a good rider you’re becoming, Rosie.”

“I miss Grandpa too,” Rosie said sadly, “but I’m here to help you, Grandma.”

“I couldn’t do it without you,” Grandma said as she gave Rosie a hug.

After saying good-bye to Rosie that evening, Grandma sank onto the couch beside the fireplace to rest for a few minutes. The warmth of the fire made her drowsy, and she dropped off to sleep. She woke several hours later with the uneasy feeling that something was wrong at the barn. Quickly putting on boots, coat, hat, and gloves, she grabbed a flashlight and hurried out the back door to check on Jet. A late winter storm had moved in unexpectedly. Grandma pulled her coat tighter and shivered. The light danced on the path in front of her as she struggled through the new-fallen ice and snow to the barn.

 

Find out what happens next in "Sonrise Stable: Rosie and Scamper" by purchasing the book!