Finally the morning of the race arrived, after a week of preparation for both the horses and riders. Everyone had gone over their strategies for the race, and even the trainers had declared their horses ready. That morning found the riders busy in their horse’s stalls, double checking their gear and reviewing their strategies again with their trainers. Jorge and Pilar were no different, and he caught her just as she was finishing with her boots and Prince’s hooves.
“Pilar, how do you feel? Did you eat breakfast and have juice like I asked you to? You know you need to make sure you have food in your stomach, so you can concentrate, and have the strength to race.”
Pilar grinned. “Jorge, I know you told me that, but I was too nervous to go to breakfast. I came right here. Now I am very hungry.” She rubbed her stomach reluctantly, unhappy to admit that he was right, but realizing now that she did indeed need strength for the race.
With a smile, Jorge pulled a towel from his jacket pocket and unwrapped it to show her warm biscuits with a lump of jam in a cup. “Then you’re lucky I thought of you while I was having breakfast.”
Pilar’s eyes widened. “Thank you, Jorge!” she laughed. She grabbed the food and turned away, gobbling down a biscuit. When she turned around, she saw that he’d also pulled a cup of orange juice from another pocket. Without a word, she grabbed it and gulped it down.
Jorge watched her, laughing. “It was your mother who told me to bring you food. She knew you’d forget to eat. Though I don’t think she suspected you would be too nervous.”
A large, bright smile came over Pilar’s face. After she swallowed the last piece, she wiped her mouth with her jacket sleeve and said, “Tell Mama, muchas gracias!”
He nodded, but then grew stern. “Remember that the riders have to meet at 8 o’clock. That’s only thirty minutes away. It’s time for you to get ready.”
Suddenly Pilar’s heart started pounding. This was it, then—the moment of truth. She assured him that she would be ready, then watched him walk out of the barn, to walk the track one last time and see what the conditions were. The trainers were allowed out once more, and then the track would be closed until the race.
Until the race. She gulped, suddenly wishing she hadn’t eaten after all. The biscuits had formed a hard ball in her stomach, and she wondered now whether she knew what she was doing. Whether she could actually win the race.
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