Champions
Terri glanced up from the sheet of paper. Room 2304. She took a deep breath and
knocked. The door was opened by a tall, gangly young man. Terri focused on his chin as
she stammered out a feeble hello.
“You’re Terri?” he asked with a small grin. “C’mon in. My name’s Blake.” Terri
shyly followed Blake into the room. She was always so shy around new people. Two
more new faces glanced up at her from the double beds.
“Hey guys, this is Terri, our other teammate,” Blake said, shoving her towards them.
The two girls stood up, and walked over to shake Terri’s hand.
“I’m Chrissa,” said the first one, a tall brunette who was wearing her riding pants.
“Angela,” said the second one, grasping Terri’s hand firmly. She was beautiful, her
golden hair cut at her shoulders, and her eyes a vivid green. “We’re so glad you got here
in time. We’re just about to head over to the arena for our first practice.”
Terri grabbed a pair boots from her bag. “Ready,” she said softly.
Angela laughed, throwing her arm around Terri’s shoulder. “I can see we’re going to
have to teach you how to speak, Miss Browning!” she said laughingly. “C’mon, let it
out!”
Terri bit her lower lip in a grin. “Ready!” she repeated.
Angela shook her head. “I have my work cut out for me, it seems.” she said sadly.
~
Three months ago, the first week in March, Terri had loaded up her horse, Song and
Dance-- “Dance” for short-- and driven up to New Jersey from her home in Orangeburg,
South Carolina. She was hoping to be one of four riders on the Young Riders
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International dressage team. Hundreds tried out for the elite dressage program, and the
competition was fierce. All of them had ridden a Second-Level dressage test for a variety
of judges, taken part in interviews, and then had driven back home to await the results.
Terri loved dressage, which means training of the horse, more than anything. While
some preferred the adrenaline rush of jumping, Terri enjoyed the discipline of dressage.
In
dressage, a horse must round its back, and push with his hind end, rather than his front.
He must bend smoothly around corners, and be obedient. She had progressed quickly
through Training and First levels, and when her trainer, Jenny, told her she was ready for
Second Level, she was thrilled. Dance was wonderful. He was very responsive when she
asked for difficult movements, and patient when she made a mistake.
She was competing solidly in Second-Level when she heard about Young Riders
International. She didn’t think she was ready yet, but Jenny encouraged her to go. Five
other countries, including Germany and England, had try-outs as well, and riders on
every
team traveled to other countries to compete. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. Terri
was ecstatic when she received her acceptance letter early in June. And now, here she
was, in Lexington, Kentucky, meeting her teammates and preparing for their first
competition. It was only one week away.
~
Blake, Chrissa, Angela and Terri were soon at the covered arena of the Kentucky
Horse Park, where their first competition was to be held. Terri sat in the front of the van
on the way there, so as not to be noticed, but Angela had included her in everything. She
had learned three new songs, and all sorts of useless, yet entertaining knowledge. Dance
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behaved wonderfully, fully enjoying the admiration of the rest of the team. Terri blushed
furiously when Angela proclaimed him to be the best horse on the team. Angela was
great
too; her horse seemed to be floating during her test. Their coach praised them all
incessantly, especially Terri, who blushed and hid her face. Angela, however, grabbed
Terri’s hairnet and made her face Coach Hannan. After they’d taken care of their horses,
they went back to the hotel for pizza and ice cream.
The rest of the week followed suit, practice once in the morning, and once in the
afternoon. Every night they ate somewhere different. Angela always got a reluctant
Terri
to come, and in the end, she would always have a great time. In fact, it was always
Angela, joking, laughing, and always happy, who convinced Terri to open up, and have
fun. By the end of the week, they were inseparable.
“The best riders, the best buds,” Blake and Chrissa would joke.
The night before the competition, they decided on a fancy restaurant for dinner.
It had been raining all day, and by six o’clock, it was pouring. Everyone was ready to go,
except for Terri. When Angela came to see if she was ready, Terri explained she
had an awful headache. Angela volunteered to stay behind and wait with her, but Terri
insisted that she was fine. Angela protested briefly, but then left with the others. Terri
turned on the radio before she fell asleep.
She could barely hear the announcer’s voice, always accompanied by a faint beeping,
“.....looks really bad out there folks. We repeat, don’t leave your house unless it’s
absolutely necessary.....”
Terri opened her eyes. Her head wasn’t hurting as badly now. The radio read nine
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o’ clock. Surely they were back by now..... the phone was ringing. Terri rolled over and
picked it up.
“Hello?” she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
“Yes, Terri, it’s me, Coach Hannan,” his strong voice oddly strained. Terri sat up
sharply. “I’m afraid there’s been an accident.”
Terri’s heart leaped to her throat.
“The van driver hit a large puddle of water on the way home.”
“....looks real bad out there folks.....” the radio personnel echoed through her mind.
“The van hydroplaned, and flipped over into the ditch. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”
“....we repeat, do not leave your house unless it’s absolutely necessary.....”
“Chrissa is in the hospital, so is the van driver. Angela and Blake were both killed
instantly...”
Terri slammed the phone down.
~
Terri woke up the next day, tired, for she had stayed up all night fighting back tears.
Crying was a weakness, and Angela couldn’t tolerate weakness. Angela....but Angela
was
gone. Gone in a minute, maybe a second. How long did it take a person to die? The
phone rang, and she picked it up slowly, as though it weighed a thousand pounds.
“Terri this is Bette, the new van driver. Are you coming down?”
Terri’s jaw dropped. Today was the competition! But she couldn’t, wouldn’t go....
“I...I don’t think I can come.” she stammered.
Bette said good-bye in a soft voice that caused Terri’s heart to ache. Terri sat back
down on the bed, forcing herself not to cry, till a knock on the door interrupted her. She
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opened the door slowly, to see a tired, disheveled Coach Hannan. He sat her down on the
bed, and talked to her slowly.
“Terri, I know you’re upset. We all are. This is something that never should have
happened. But Terri, it did happen. We can’t turn back the clock. We’re not going to
have the competition, but there will be a demonstration and memorial ceremony. We
need
you to come back to the arena. I won’t make you, but please, think of Angela. She
would have wanted you to go on.”
Coach Hannan left the room. She felt anger boil up inside her. How could he expect
her to go on? How could he go on? She slammed her fist down on the pillow, swearing
under her breath. She couldn’t face all those people, watching her, couldn’t face their
question-- why was she still there. They would watch her, and she would fall apart, into a
million fragments of sharp glass. Then a thought hit her like a bullet. Angela would go
on. Angela would go on, and look them in the eye. But I’m not Angela! she screamed
silently. I’m not brave, I’m not as strong as her! But a tiny voice teased the back of her
mind, telling her she was. Terri fell back on the bed, wondering what to do.
~
Tiny lights from a thousand candles flickered on and off, and only subdued murmurs
came from the crowd. They were starting to play a song over the loudspeakers. “We Are
the Champions” by Queen. Terri’s hands tightened on the reins of Angela’s horse, Mr.
Amazing. Dance was tied up in the back, waiting for her. Coach Hannan’s voice
whispered in her ear, “Go on.”
Terri closed her eyes, and walked out with Amazing, his bridle and saddle, cleaned,
polished, and empty. Two alternate team members walked behind her, holding Blake and
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Chrissa’s horses. All Terri could hear were the faint sounds of music, and the crunch of
the horses hooves. Empty horses. The candle light glinted off tears she had been holding
back for so long, but it wasn’t a weakness to cry. She could cry, and still be strong.
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