As Pilar and Prince crossed the finish line, Elizabeth shouted with joy and ran to the fence, where Jorge was standing.
“She did it! They did it!” she crowed, laughing with disbelief and pride.
They watched and waited anxiously as Pilar finally drew Prince to a halt and turned him back toward the cheering crowd. When she got close enough to see them, she tore of her goggles, wiped the mud from her face, and stood up in the stirrups, shoving her fist into the air. The crowd cheered loudly and ran toward the gate, but Pilar only had eyes for her mother. She jumped from the saddle, handed the reins to the nearest man, and ran for Elizabeth and Jorge.
“Mama! Did you see me?” she shrieked, running right into Elizabeth’s arms. Did you see the other horses go down? We almost did, but Prince was smart enough to get ahead of them first.” She paused breathlessly. “Are they hurt? I couldn’t think about it at the time, but I was so worried for the horses.”
“They’re fine,” Elizabeth laughed. “Bruises, maybe, but they’ll survive. I couldn’t see you! I thought you’d gone down too! Then we saw your red jacket racing ahead, and knew you were going to win.” She paused for a moment, then grinned again. “Pilar, your papa would be so proud of you. I wish he’d been here to see it.”
Pilar smiled back. “I think he was there with me, on that turn.”
Elizabeth put her arm around Pilar’s shoulders. “Perhaps you’re right, little one. Come. There’s celebrating to be done.”
And with that, she led her daughter—the winner of the race—back up to the main house, where she knew there was food and drink waiting.
They hadn’t gone far, though, when Victor Vargas interrupted their walk.
“Congratulations, Pilar! That was some race. I heard from the other riders how you managed to come out of that tumble. One rider said you were directly behind the group that fell, and thought you had gone down, and then suddenly you were out front, in second place. Amazing!”
“Thank you, Señor Vargas. I have an amazing horse. Somehow he managed to see the tumble before it happened, and get in front of it.”
“Congratulations, again. Can you meet me in the courtyard with your horse in a few minutes? We want to present you with the prizes.”
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