When Pilar arrived, she saw that everyone else was already standing around, waiting. Someone had drawn a line in the dirt to indicate the starting line, and Andres was on his horse, speaking with some of the other ranch hands. Prince danced under her, taking the bit and letting it go again, as if he knew what was going on—and that they must be ready. This was her first big race, and Prince’s as well, and neither of them were going to be happy if they lost it.
She tore her mind from the thought. No, they wouldn’t lose. Prince had been bred for this by her own mother. He was the tallest and strongest horse on the property, and Pilar had been riding him since she could walk. They could practically hear each other thing, now. And she knew that he was prepared for this. Andres and his horse didn’t stand a chance.
She legged Prince forward, toward the starting line, and a roar went up from the ranch hands, maids, friends, and family around them. Each person yelled the name of the team they were cheering for, and Pilar was proud to hear her name screamed out again and again. The blood rushed through her veins and she grinned. Yes, this was what she’d been waiting for.
When she and Andres were both at the starting line, Manuel stepped in front of them, putting his toe on the line and standing between the two horses. “Are your ready?” he asked, looking first at Andres, and then at Pilar.
At Pilar’s nod, he brought his hand down sharply and shouted, “Go!”
And with that, they were off. Prince launched himself from the starting line, as if he’d known exactly what he was waiting for, and thundered toward the fences in the distance, his muscles heaving under her. Pilar pushed herself up into position on his neck—the position that Andres himself had taught her was best for racing, where she would be out of the horse’s way, and most streamlined against the air rushing past them. Here, she knew, she would be virtually hidden by the horse’s own neck. A fly weight, and almost an afterthought for the animal underneath her.
They galloped down the path in the field, Andres and his mount right behind them, and headed for the open gate to the next field. The course, she knew, would pass through several fields through the open gates, always following the road so that the horses stood the least chance of getting hurt. But the gates were narrow—not meant for two horses riding abreast—and when they approached, she saw that they weren’t both going to fit. Not the way they were currently riding, side-by-side.
One of them was going to have slow down, or they’d run into the fence and destroy the horse they were on.
But then she saw another option. She and Prince had been working together in the other pastures, when no one was looking, and she’d taught him something. Something that no one expected. Andres might think that she would slow to allow him to go through the gate first, and into safety, but he was wrong. Without another thought, she legged Prince on, leaning down to speak in his ear.
“Remember what we worked on, Prince,” she shouted. “Don’t fail me now!”
And then they were nearing the fence, and Andres was pulling ahead, shouting for her to slow down and go behind him. He’d told her mother that he would keep her safe, she realized, but he had no intention of doing so if it meant losing. No, he was going to go through the gate first, regardless of what it meant for her. He probably meant to win the race doing so.
Grinning, she refused to turn aside. Instead, she sent Prince forward, straight toward the fence. The horse took one stride, then another, then another, and then the fence was in front of him and the horse was launching himself off the ground. And they were flying, flying over the field and the grasses and the flowers, and then the fence itself, to land with a jolt on the other side.
She could hear Andres shouting behind her, but she was ahead of him on the road, now, and had no intention of looking back. Ducking lower, she urged Prince on, his hooves pounding along the road and taking them toward the barn in the distance. When they arrived, moments later, she was well ahead of Andres, and took the turn around the structure at a full-out sprint, leaning onto the horse’s inside shoulder to keep her weight balanced over him.
They passed Andres on the road again, before he’d even reached the barn, and she could hear him roaring at her to slow down. But it was far too late for that. The speed had worked its way right into her lungs, her blood burning with the pure ecstasy of it, and she couldn’t have stopped if she wanted to. Prince seemed to feel it too, and somehow increased his pace, until it felt like they were actually flying. Pilar gasped with joy, flew through the gate in the pasture again, and raced to the finish line, where she pulled up a full minute ahead of Andres, screaming with triumph.
Elizabeth sprinted toward her daughter and Andres, furious. The man had said he would go slowly and keep her daughter safe, and yet she’d seem him intentionally try to ride her out of the race at the gate. Even worse, she’d seen Pilar send her horse over the fence rather than slowing, as she should have. It was incredibly dangerous on both their parts, and there was no excuse for such behavior.
She slide to a halt at the cheering crowd and opened her mouth to begin shouting at her daughter for taking such risks, but then paused. Pilar looked happier than she’d ever seen the girl—lit up from the inside with joy and triumph at her win. The crowd was cheering and whooping for her, throwing their hats in the air at her bravery, and even Andres was smiling bashfully at having been beaten by the girl.
Elizabeth shut her mouth gently. She would allow Pilar to enjoy the moment, at least. The girl was an incredible rider—better even than Elizabeth had realized—and she’d earned this moment of happiness. In fact … now that she looked more closely into her heart, she realized that she was a bit envious. She’d always been an accomplished rider herself, but never would she have tried what Pilar had just done. And Elizabeth could never have beaten Andres in a race, even with the best horse on the ranch.
A slow smile dawned across her face, as she unwillingly admitted to herself how proud she was. Yes, her daughter was far more talented than she’d realized. Perhaps it was time to start letting the girl take advantage of that talent.
Pilar jumped from her horse, still amazed that the race had even happened, and ran around to give Prince a hug. Then she saw her mother at the edge of the crowd.
“Mama, did you see the race?” she shouted, laughing. “Did you see what just happened?”
Much to Pilar’s surprise, Elizabeth laughed. “I did! You were outstanding, my love. I didn’t know you could ride like that!”
Pilar ran to her, also laughing. “I didn’t know I could ride like that either, Mama. It just happened. Prince was so fast and so strong. I just let him go, and when he saw the other horse out front, he ran so fast to catch up with him and then passed him by and then ran all the way back to the house. I tried so hard to hold on and not fall off.”
“Señora, she is a very good rider,” Andres added, walking up to them. “I have heard of other ranches holding competitions on their property, and I bet she could beat other riders as well. If she can beat me, she can beat any of them.”
Pilar turned from Andres to her mother, her heart racing. Was the man suggesting what she thought he was suggesting? And would her mother let her do it?
But Elizabeth shook her head. “We can talk about that another time, Andres.” She quickly turned Pilar and began walking her back to the house.
“Mama, what was he talking about? Are there other races I could run in?” Pilar asked, unwilling to let this idea go.
“No. It’s nothing for you to worry about, little one. I don’t want you going to the other ranches. You must stay here with me. You are too young for that sort of travel.”
But the idea had entered Pilar’s head, and once she’d had an idea, she found it impossible to let go. “But Mama, maybe I can. Maybe I can race other people on other ranches. Why not? Prince is very fast. You know that. You saw the race.”
“Pilar, I don’t want you to get hurt. I have seen some very bad injuries in people who’ve fallen off horses, and I don’t want that to happen to you.” She looked to the side, though, and Pilar did her best to look heartbroken at that news.
It worked.
“I have no problem with you practicing here, however,” Elizabeth relented. “I will find someone to train you.”
At that, Pilar jumped on her mother, laughing and thanking her with kisses. If she could just get someone to teach her, and prove that she was good enough, her mother would eventually allow her to race. She’d have to.
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