Winner Take All

July 3, 2024
​Summer had arrived, and with it, a rather large bear. In light of which, Grace thought a mule might make a good walking companion. Once the sun went down, the temperature dropped to a delicious 80 degrees. Wearing a generous cover of fly wipe, Tex and the girls looked southeast across Chilao. Chamise was in high bloom. The time of the yucca flower was over for good now.

Skye heaved a deep sigh. "I am conflicted" she said. "Part of me wants to keep the wild horses our little secret, and the other part of me feels guilty and selfish."

"I feel you" Grace said. "We've sort of had a private paradise for a while now. I'm not even sure I like knowing where they came from. Or probably came from. There was some magic to the mystery."

"Right!"

"Don't worry about it too much. Something will happen sooner or later, and it'll probably be completely out of our control, and we'll just deal with it the best way we can."

July 7
The girls lay sprawled on their beds.  Precious little else to do with the heat so all-pervasive.

"It's starting to cool off" Skye mentioned.

"How much?"

"Two degrees" Skye replied. "We're back in two digits instead of three."

For reasons the girls didn't completely understand, Chilao was actually hotter than the cities below, and the rest of the mountain. It had been 101 in the sun and 97 degrees in the shade for days. 

When they ventured outside, they found the evening sky was tinted with fire smoke.

"You think it's close?" Grace asked.

Skye thought about it for a moment.

"No. I remember what close looks like. I think it's pretty far away. But if we come out tonight and see a red glow then we'll know I was wrong."

The smoke drifted across the sky as the moon set.

July 9
The girls went for a pre-dawn ride, Grace riding bareback on tha appaloosa mare Lochsha, and Skye on her beloved BLM mustang, Ladyhawk.  The overnight temperatures had dipped just below 80. The morning, just before sunrise, was pleasant. And dry.

"I don't think we'll need to worry too much about keeping the wildies a secret right now" Grace said. "I know there's water above us and there should be water below us, but not right around here."

"I think you're right" Skye responded. "Maybe when this heat breaks we can go looking for them."  For today, their ride would be short, as the rising sun would bring an end to the pleasantries.

July 12
The skies grew ever more dramatic as the day cooled.  Grace and Skye looked out across the western horizon.  The clouds were a welcome sight.

"Think we'll get any rain?" Skye asked.
"I doubt it" Grace answered. "Seems like the thunderstorms are pretty fleeting, and fast moving. A few drops, a nice little cool down, and then they move on."

July 13
Saturday morning came early. Skye's laptop was still playing the Breyerfest Friday evening show. She'd watched it over and over, curled up in bed around the screen.

Grace couldn't tell if Skye was asleep or awake, but the dogs had chosen who they felt was most likely to turn them out, and feed them. Grace had spent the night watching Breyerfest rewinds too. 

The day dragged on, but at the last light, it was pleasant. Skye was bubbling with chatter as the girls took a walk to the back side of Mustang Rock.  It had been their lucky spot lately for finding wild horses, although the chances dwindled as the heat wore on.

"I want to try roman riding" Skye Said. " Those girls make it look so easy! And they are only eleven! Did you see the pads they used? It gave their feet some cushion, and the horse's back some cushion. And they had special shoes. Almost like ballet shoes. Once I saw them riding it all made sense."

Grace saw something move.

"And the trick riding rig where they stood up in the saddle? It was short just like the one you made. But the speed is what keeps you balanced. You lean way forward and the speed of the horse keeps you balanced, like riding into a strong wind..."

Grace wasn't answering.  Her gaze was focused on some shapes not too far away. The Newcomer and his mare and foal.

Skye fell silent. Grace took a seat on the rock ledge next to her.

The Newcomer was unruffled. Curious. He took a few steps towards them, trying to breathe in their scent, ears flicking back and forth as he watched them in the fading light.

And then, calmly, he and his harem moved off.

In a few more moments the sun would be down. The girls headed back to the ranch.  Skye's enthusiasm for the trick riding idea was undaunted.  They brought Sandstone and Granite down to the arena, the substantial grulla geldings that looked a bit like draft influence mustangs.

"These guys are pretty big" Grace commented. "Are you sure you want to start with such tall horses?"

"They're a matched pair, and they're gentle, and easy going. I think they'd be perfect." Skye explained. "Now if we could just figure out how...imagine if we could handle them like that Aussie, McLeod...total control at liberty..."

"McLean.  Guy McLean" Grace corrected.  
Grace held her mount still with slight hand pressure and Skye moved hers forward with a hand under his chin.

The geldings watched their human handlers intently, waiting for their next cue. Their eyes were soft. They were big and they had a lot of movement going on, but Grace could see in them a willingness. It was a crazy scheme perhaps, but if Skye worked at it, she might just succeed. And she'd been trying to learn how to stand up on a horse for some time now.

July 14
Big southern thunder woke the girls, the dogs, the horses. It was just light, perhaps 5:30 AM.

Lightning punctuated the pink dawn sky, and the rolling thunder shook the forest awake.  A mass of clouds moved swiftly overhead.

Skye ran down the road, camera in hand, chasing the rainbow to Mustang Rock.  A double rainbow, a faint bit of rain, the smell of petrichor as the sun rose. What a beautiful way to start the day.

July 20
The indoor arena was full of chatter. Skye was curious about the dogs accompanying Anahit and Lousin.

"The spaniel is Daisy. She is a certified therapy dog and mom usually has Daisy with her when she's working" Anahit explained. "Blossom isn't certified yet but she is a very good dog and she will pass her tests. We didn't know she was pregnant when we got her. She had just this one single pup. We call her Ada. She has the same odd head shape as Blossom. I think we'll be looking for a home for Ada."

Anoush straddled the big spotted drafter.  "He is so broad!" Anoush exclaimed. "What a great temperament he has. Very relaxed."

"I think the boss said he's a a German Cold Blood and Noriker cross. Skye calls him a German Cold Cut. Technicolor Lederhosen is his actual name. We call him Tech. Or the big spotted teddy bear."

The girls and dogs took a collective few steps back as Skye's Black Beauty loped by.  The boss must've turned her out.

Then Deer Medicine trotted past with her colt. Saddled. Skye was completely confused. She spun around to look at Grace. Grace was calm, her body language relaxed, her lips still. Skye turned back to look at Deer Medicine again. Saddled. Bridled. In a saddle she'd never seen before. Tooled. Stitched.

Skye caught the smell of new leather. The saddle pad was familiar, but nothing else.

The bosses' voice broke the now-silence in the arena. "Congratulations Skye. That's your saddle." The boss paused, but Skye didn't say anything, so she continued. "That's an Eagle Nest Ranch saddle. Brand new. There was a show in June we got invited to. Pretty sure I forgot to mention it to you."

The buckskin mare slowed to a walk.

"It was a Covid-style show.  Online.  Eagle Nest Ranch sponsored it.  And that's an Eagle Nest Ranch rig, even the bridle."

Silence.

"Anyway, long story short, it was a winner take all affair. And you won Skye. You and Blackjack, the Cassie Black mule." Skye was still silent.

"Now I know you aren't a saddle girl and I'm not forcing this one down your throat. I'm pretty sure Grace wouldn't mind taking it off your hands if you don't like it."

Skye swung up into the saddle.  Her feet just touched the stirrups.

"We get you some proper boots and that'll be a perfect fit" Grace interjected.

Skye had never met a saddle she really needed. But this one was a good fit. It squeaked of brand new leather. The tooling was amazing. The seat was comfortable. If she sat down deep, her feet found a little better traction in the stirrups. Skye still didn't know what to say. It was all a bit much to take in.

Outside, the moon rise lit the still, clear night. Sounds wafted in from the campgrounds, and the darkness was parted.

July 26
​The girls were alone for the weekend. The feeding, cleaning, exercising...dogs, cats, horses...everything.  They turned out groups of mares and geldings in the indoor arena.

The horses needed the exercise, and the arena was a bit cooler than the great outdoors.  Charmer was particularly energetic. No one had gotten out much in the long spell of heat.

"Meet me back down here after everyone is put up" Grace called to Skye.

"With or without a horse?"

"Without a horse."

"Your deer sold" Grace said, smiling.

"Awesome! I'll get a wheelbarrow."

"Can we just carry them?" Grace lifted the fawn. Took a few steps. Set it down.

"Are those solid concrete or what?"

"Some kind of ceramic" Skye answered. "Super heavy, huh?"

"Yeah, no kidding. Wheelbarrow it is."

July 28
Grace presented Skye with a pair of boots, albeit a bit apologetically.
"They aren't fancy boots" Grace said, almost cautionary. "In fact they aren't even real leather. But they might give you just enough leg to keep your feet in the stirrups on your new saddle."

Skye pulled on one boot.  It fit well enough.  The heel did make her one leg a bit longer than the other.  Grace was right.  There was a little bit of height with the sole and the heel.

"Stand next to me" Skye said, reaching up with her chin.

"I think I might be just a little bit taller. This might just work."

"Do they feel okay on your feet?"

"I think so. Let's go find out."

For the first time in weeks, the weather was beautiful. The insects less prevalent. The air delicious. And as Sunday evening fell on the forest, it was quiet, save for the sound of birds.

The horses became very alert.

It was Crazy's band, minus Crazy.

The lead mare that the girls called Lady Godiva was pushing the foals away from the conflict zone.  The girls didn't recognize the bay horse that Crazy was engaging.

Crazy seemed cautious.

La Barilla was getting increasingly active underneath Grace.

Skye looked at her saddle, rig, looked at Grace's.

"Your breast collar needs adjusting" Skye said softly.

Grace looked.
"So it does" she replied in a quiet tone. "I don't want to do it right now..."

"Oh come on" Skye teased, "what could possibly go wrong?"

After pushing the foals away a bit, Lady Godiva paused to watch Crazy and the bay.  Skye thought perhaps it was a mare.  A pretty big mare.  And not taking any guff from Crazy.  

While the dynamics of wild horse behavior has been the topic of so much observation, and the girls tried to learn what they could from other people's images and observations, they were rarely one hundred per cent sure they could label the behavior of their own local wildies.  But this appeared to be, as best as they could tell, a lone mare that was not looking to join Crazy's band, which seemed odd beyond  explanation.  A mare, any mare, wild or domestic, was first and foremost a herd animal.  So being alone would be frightening, and in the wild, dangerous.  

After a few more minutes of screaming and posturing, Crazy abruptly turned and rejoined his band, becoming one with the evening shadows and dappled light.

Grace and Skye watched until they couldn't see any horses. The bay moved off, over a ridge and out of sight. Crazy and his harem went in the opposite direction, the contours of the land folding them in.
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