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"Dinner Time!" Dad's voice cut through the warm Augustair. It was summer, and the apples grew ripe on the trees. The roses bloomedin full radiance. The lush, green grass in the fields and ripening corngrew in abundance. Our small horse farm in Virginia was a happy place.
"We're coming!" I yelled back. I went into the barnwhere my older sister, Brooke, and older brother, Joseph were cleaningtack. "It's dinner time." I told them. They looked up from their chore.
"Tell him we'll be right there." Brooke said.
"And tell him not to each our share this time!"Joe ordered.
"Yes sir!" I said and turned out of the barn.
The dining room glowed with the warm light of twobeautiful candles. "I thought since it was Sunday, I'd bring your mother'scandles out." Dad said. My mother had died when I was born. We rarely talkedof her, and when we did, it was brief. I never met her, but my older siblingstold me she was a great person. In all the pictures she was beautiful.She had long, flowing black hair and beautiful dark eyes. She had coppertanned skin and Dad said she had Native American blood in her veins.
Brooke and Joe walked through the door. We all satdown at the table and began to serve ourselves. "I'm going to Richmondtomorrow for supplies, do you all want to come?" Dad asked.
"Oh, yeah!" Joe exclaimed.
"Of course!" Brooke said.
"Luna?"
I was named after my grandmother. My mother namedme that before she died. Her few last words were my naming and a prayerthat I would live. Her prayer was granted, unfortunately she never livedto see it.
"Oh, yeah! Of course I want to come!" I said, combiningthe responses of both siblings.
"We leave bright and early tomorrow morning." Dadinformed us.
That night I couldn't sleep. I stayed up way pasteleven, reading my favorite book, Moccasin Trail. I had read it a milliontimes before, but reading calms me down, so I read it again.
"Rise and Shine!" Dad bellowed throughout the wholehouse. I turned over and looked out my window. Navy blue with the darkoutline of tree branches. I looked at my clock. Black with the outlineof red numbers reading 3:55. I promptly turned back around and pulled thecovers over me.
RING, RING, RING! The next sound in my ears was my trusty alarm clock.RING, RING, CRUNCH! I banged the black figure whose numbers now read 4:00.I dragged my feet to the floor and down the stairs. My family was alreadyin the kitchen. "Well, look who decided to wake up!" Dad said. I sat downin front of my bowl of grits. My head almost fell into it.
There were hardly any cars on the road on the wayto Richmond that morning. We took the money we had raised from last year'sharvest and the money from races we had won to the tack and feed store.It was the only stop on this trip and it was my favorite. It smelled likehay and barley, smells only a horse lover could appreciate. We walked bythe narrow hallway full of horses waiting to be sold. Out of every stalla curious head poked out. We had no choice but to pet them.
There was a light chestnut mare with a blond maneand tail named Buttercream, a flea-bitten gray gelding with a dark graymane and tail named Galaxy, and a black and white pinto gelding named Oreo.The last stall was a box stall with no head.
I looked in the dark stall and saw a figure lyingin the far corner. The store owner, Bob Fox, came over and leaned againstthe stall. "Don't be wastin' yer time wit' her." he said, "She ain't gonnacome for nobody. She's a dern nasty 'un. Down right purdy, though." Determinedto prove him wrong I held my hand out towards the figure. It didn't stir.
"Now ya see wut I mean. Nasty filly, jus' nasty."He said. I glared at him and opened the door to the stall. I slowly walkedover to the heap lying on the hay. I slowly held my hand out. The fillyput her soft muzzle in my hand. I started to sing a calming lullaby, softly,so Bob couldn't hear. I got up, backed to the door and closed it. The horsegot up and started towards the door.
"Well I'll be derned, ya did it!" Bob exclaimed.I smiled triumphantly. I turned towards the filly. She was magnificent.She was sleek yet muscular. She was a dark bay, with a coat like mahoganyand a mane and tail as dark as ebony. Her legs were charred black up toher knee. A single star inhabited her forehead. I immediately fell in lovewith her.
"What's her name?" I asked Bob.
He chuckled. "She ain't got one yet." He said. Iquickly turned to look him in the face.
"How much is she?" I asked deliberately.
"Wow now missy, jus hold on thar one minute. Youain't thinkin' o' buyin' this here critter are ya?" I put my hands on myhips and stared him straight in the face. He shook his head. "Now ya listenhere li'l girl n' ya listen good. Ya gotta break this filly before ya kin'ride 'er!" He said.
"We don't break horses we gentle them. And don'tthink I don't know how. We have ten horses at home." I told him.
"I don't know, Luna. She looks tough." Dad inspectedthe filly closely.
"But tough is good!" I defended my horse. "She'lldo great in the races!" I looked at him hopefully. His face showed no emotionor decision.
"She is pretty, dad." Brooke said, petting the filly'sface.
"See! Brooke likes her!" I said excitedly. Dad gaveme a look that said 'don't push it.' I stood there quietly awaiting hisdecision.
"What do you think, Bob?" My dad asked. 'No, don'task him!' I thought.
"Well, the filly seems ta me a bit tough. But Lunagot 'er ta come up ta the door. I think ya got a chance wit' Luna 'round."Bob explained. Dad thought for a moment. 'Oh please, oh please, oh please!'I thought.
"We'll put her in out trailer." Dad said finally.He paid Bob and we left the store.
"What are you going to name her?" Dad asked me whenwe returned to the car.
"Pine Mist." I said.
"That's a good name for a horse." Brooke said.
"Especially a filly." Joe added. I smiled. Todaywas the perfect day.
We took Pine Star home and I began her trainingthe next day. After long hours of training for a whole year, she was readyto be ridden. I started riding her on our weekend trail rides out intothe fields.
She was a dream to ride. She had almost perfectconformation and she listened very well. She never stopped to eat grassand when I cantered her along the fence, she was always on the right lead.Once I rode her up to see Bob, just to show him I could do it. When hesaw me on Pine Star he just laughed and said "Yup,you told me so!"
On August 16, about a year after we firstgot her, Pine Star ran her first race. It was a beautiful, clear, sunnyday. Blue skies with white cotton clouds, and the sun shining high in thesky. It was hot, but a light breeze kept us cool and more or less calm.
"How come Luna gets to ride her, Dad?" Brooke whined.
"She's Luna's horse, Brooke." Dad explained. SoBrooke, Joe and Dad sat in the stands and watched Pine Star and I win ourfirst race together. I can't even remember what the prize was. That wasn'timportant. All I remember is how happy we all were. All together, a family.
Well, by now Pine Star and I have won a millionraces together. We've won a million cups and ribbons. But it is not thetangible things that matter. With every race I run, I think our small farmin Virginia where I started out, and that warm, sunny day I first met myfilly. That perfect day...
