chapter six

The next morning Henry called to tell he’d be back today. So I wondered what I’d be doing today. In the car Alec told Henry about Kyle. “He’s no good for the spirit in the stables, guys like Ty are fit, so is Joan here, but how do we have to find people like them Alec?” I startled with the compliment. We arrived at the farm and as usually put the horses in and out. “o Alec today they’re coming to get two mares!”
“damn I forgot!”
“what time was it again…two?”
“half past one.”
“ok, One o’clock, Joan, these two mares have to get back in their stables” he pointed at the two stables we were standing by.
“ok…which horses are it?”
“right, uhm they’re both in the past with Black, the white one and the black one with one white foot.”
“ok”
“yeah?”
“yeah”
“she’s good with them horses, Henry, I trained ten horses yesterday.” Henry raised his eyebrows, “wow, let’s train that much today to, but good now” he smiled. They left to train Kumara and I groomed and saddled Bokay again. I got him to the pen and warmed up a bit already because Alec was still training. “She’s getting good Alec, but I think she doesn’t give us everything she has yet.” Then he looked at me. Bokay was acting a bit strange, he was being overexcited. “ she handles him well” Henry said to Alec, he nodded “yeah, she’s good with them horses.”
“ok Joan, all done” I turned Bokay to Alec and Henry, jumped off and got on Kunama. Alec turned Bokay and got surprised, Bokay reared up. Kumara startled and jumped away, but I had her and kept her in place. Bokay now for the second time reared up. The horse was standing very high up and Kunama got frightened a bit. Alec struggled hard and after a while succeeded in keeping him down. “son of a b… He’s acting like Satan!”
“it is his father...but he wasn’t like this yesterday!” He looked at me, “nope he wasn’t”
“wait a minute, you get back up, Joan”
“what?”
“Alec!” Henry said in disapproval. “don’t mind Henry she won’t get hurt. He jumped off, I gave the rains of Kumara to Ty, who’d come out to watch. I got up and Bokay stood still I walked and trot him round and the excited horse did what I asked, more or less. “he doesn’t try does he?” Alec asked.
“no”
“get back off now” so I did, he got on and the horse reared up again. “he looks angry…”
“ty, you try” so he did and the horse, again reared up. “we can’t race a horse like that…” Henry concluded two hours later.
“well I can’t, she can” he nodded at me. “what?”
“yeah, by the time she’s gone, he’ll have enough value to sell him. problem solved.”
“I’m not letting that girl race!”
“why is that I asked” from the back of Bokay. “well…doesn’t matter, we’ll get him back, he’s like Satan.”
“no he isn’t Henry” Henry looked in surprise at Alec. “what? You said…”
“take a good look Henry, he’s nothing like Satan…He’s like Black.” Henry raised his eyebrows. “…like Black, well I’ll be damned”
“uh, guys? your talking of things before we got here.” Ty said.
“Well Black wouldn’t allow anyone on his back, anyone, he even killed men, Alec is the only human that ever has rode him and make him do exactly what he wants…His sun, Satan, didn’t steal his name…He seemed like Black at first. But he was like a demon, his eyes turned red whenever you got in his neighbourhood, but after a lot of work we got him and he became a hell of a race horse. Black however never became one, he had the competition in his nature and besides that, Alec asked him, those two aspect formed a horse willing to run after trained race horses, having double weight of them on his back, with a wounded leg, he’d do it, and hell he’d beat them to!”
“this horse is just like him, he just picked another rider. And he’s not to extreme in it, I could ride him, but if I tried to much he’d get meaner…” Alec went on.
“waw” Ty just said. I looked at Bokay, he seemed a bit like Black. Bokay turned his head and looked at me. “HENRY!’ I startled. “the mares”
“Jesus Christ, get them, Ty along quick!” Ty and I ran to the pastures and got the two mares out and brought them in their stables. They were only just in for ten minutes when a truck arrived. Ty and I did some stables, to give ‘a good look’ of the farm. The man kept talking a bit with Alec and Henry. “Ty, Joan” Henry called and then talked on to the man. “load them up if you please” Alec said and both Ty and I got a horse to put up in the truck. Then we closed it and returned to the stables, when he finally left, the four of us took our break to eat.
“next week” Henry suddenly said.
“uh?” we all reacted.
“the races”
“ow, damn didn’t think of it anymore”
“me neither.” I looked at Ty, he raised his eyebrows.
“ok” Henry said. “next week we’ve got to go, there are three races we’re joining in that very week.”
“we don’t know which jockeys yet, I could go with Ty, you and Joan could train them horses..” Alec said. Henry looked up. “it are only some small races we’ll win, what so ever you can teach Joan” Alec easily continued.
“hmm, I don’t know.. you could ride, I could be trainer and Ty could train Joan to.”
“we could send Luke, he’s a good rider to.”
“yeah, may be…but it’s three…I’ll have to go what so ever, else your dad has to…”
“hmm, You go, it’s Joans birthday in that week, he'll want to stay then, take Luke, Ty an I can teach Joan a bit, by the time you get back she can do some stuff and you pick up from there.”
“uhu, yeah the races are nothing in itself, there easy, Luke’s good, ok, we’ll do it that way. I’d take you, but I guess with Kyle around you’re better needed here.” Alec nodded.
“I’ll go find Luke. “ And he stood up. Alec smiled, “you’re going to be a rider Joan”