Over the next few weeks, Jorge taught Pilar to use the exercise arena for Prince, with the long line, to give him regular exercise outside of the barn. She was allowed on his back only once a week, when they ran a practice race with another horse and rider. They also practiced riding techniques by sitting in saddles on wooden stands, and reviewed what a real race would look like, and how she had to respond to things like running into other horses or tangling whips.
“Most importantly,” he told her finally, “you must remember to stay away from the other horses whenever you can. If there’s a chance to put some distance between you and them, so that they can’t touch you, do it. It’s safer for you to be on your own. But don’t give up your lead if you don’t have to. If you must stay in the pack, protect yourself, your whip, and your horse. They will see that you are small, and they will try to take advantage of you. We have to make you strong enough that they cannot do it.”
Their plan was to get to the ranch several days prior to the race and rest the horses. If they were there early, Jorge thought, they would get a chance to walk the track and see what the conditions were, there. They would know if there were tighter turns or weak spots, and Pilar would be prepared. No races would be permitted prior to the event, but they would be allowing people to either walk the track on foot or walk it with their horses. It would be Pilar’s best chance at seeing what she was up against.
“Mama, you will be coming to the Vargas ranch, won’t you? I want to know that you’re there with me,” Pilar said, when Elizabeth walked into the stable during one of their planning sessions.
“Absolutely! I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
“Do you think I can win?” Pilar asked honestly. She knew that her mother had faith in her, but also knew that her mother would tell her the truth.
She watched her mother hold her breath for a moment, and braced herself for the worse. But when she spoke, Elizabeth assured her that Pilar would in fact be the winner. “I know you can do it,” she said, squeezing Pilar’s shoulder.
Pilar turns her attention to Prince’s saddle and continued polishing it, smiling to herself. Yes, she believed she could win as well. She had been working so hard, and Jorge had been drilling her constantly. Prince was ready. She was ready. She would win her mother that gold, she promised herself. And a new stallion for the breeding shed.
She would be a hero. She and Prince.
“Your brother, Santiago, would like to come as well,” her mother said quietly. “Would you mind?”
“Oh, it would be fun to have him along,” Pilar agreed. “Maybe he will meet a young lady to dance with.” She smiled again, and continued to polish the saddle. She never tired of teasing Santiago about the many girls in the area. One of them would become Santiago’s wife, she knew, and come to live with them on the ranch. It was only a matter of time.
Until then, she would continue to ride him about which girl had caught his eye that day. And he would continue to tease her about loving horses more than she loved the people around her.
*******************************
The next day, as soon as Pilar finished her schoolwork, she ran out to the main barn and found Jorge finishing up some chores.
“Should I go get Prince saddled up?”
“No, chica, we need to go over some race details first. I want to describe to you what the race will look like, what the property looks like, and what will be happening. Then we are going to talk about getting Prince into shape to beat those horses. There will be some great horses there, and I want him to be ready. Then we will talk about getting you ready. We’ll be thinking about racing and nothing else.” He pulled out a few pieces of paper and a pencil, as if he’d had them in his pocket, just waiting for the opportunity.
Pilar leaned eagerly onto the table with her elbows, intently studying what Jorge was doing. He was drawing, she saw, and explaining as he drew.
“Here is where they will be doing the race,” he said. He drew a large circle on what she recognized as a sketch of the massive Vargas ranch. This ranch was older than Arroyo Ranch, and run by the fourth generation of a very large and wealthy family that sold cattle and bred horses. Martin Vegas, the grandfather, and his son ran the ranch now, and had been doing so for some time. Martin and his wife Ana had four children, and they’d had children as well, and these days the entire family lived on the ranch—much as they did here at Arroyo. Pilar had never been on the ranch, but she’d heard much about it, and knew that it was far more successful than any other ranch in the area.
It was, she thought, the model for what her mother wanted to do with their ranch. Vargas was what Arroyo would one day become. And they had the horses to prove it. She and Prince would have to be well-prepared if they were going to win this race.
“Here is the barn where you will keep Prince before the race. You will need to walk him from the barn to over here.” Jorge pointed to where he’d drawn a starting line. “There will be an official there, waiting. This is an official race, and it will be far more formal than what we do here. I will ride my horse along with you, to make sure that you get there safely. After that, you will be on your own.” He gave her a long look, then continued. “The track is both sand and clay, and can be soft, since it is part of the pasture where they allow cattle to roam. If it rains before the race, the ground will be muddy and sticky. It would be better if the ground were dry and hard—safer—so let us hope for dry weather.”
Pilar leaned forward to get a closer look at the map of the large ranch, listening carefully. It was the first time anyone had told her to hope against rain, and she suddenly felt very lucky that Jorge was willing to spend time teaching her these things. He had been around for a long time, and knew much about the horses and people. Surely he would be able to help her win.
She’d seen the way her mother’s eyes lit at the mention of the prize. And she’d do anything to be the cause of that. Anything to win this race.
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