Chapter 4 #2
She smiled slightly, clearly uncomfortable by my abrupt movement, before turning back to face the road, setting her hand back in her lap.
I turned up the volume on the radio from my steering wheel and drowned out the silence with some country music.
A new Morgan Wallen song came on, and she said softly to herself, “I love this song.” So, I turned it up louder, and we spent the last thirty minutes of the drive just listening to music, my eyes on the road, my hands firmly gripping the steering wheel, and her staring out the passenger window.
Coal was still snoring away in the back.
As we pulled up the long gravel drive of MVH Farm, I noticed as a man and a woman stepped out of the massive barn and made their way toward us, both waving hello.
MVH Farm was impressive. It had expansive pastures and small water features on both sides of the property.
There were no hills, since it was outside the Hill Country, but it was still a nice piece of land nonetheless.
“That’s Henry and Vivian. They own the farm,” Addison told me while climbing out of the truck with Coal following behind her—traitor dog.
Addison walked over to Henry and Vivian and shook both of their hands.
“Hey, I’m Addison James. It’s great to meet you both.
I’m excited to check out this mare you have.
Eli said I needed to see her.” She turned toward me.
“This is Dr. Adler. He will be conducting the PPE if all goes well with the trial ride.”
I stepped up, shaking both of their hands as well. “Hey, call me Dean. Great to meet you both.”
Henry and Vivian both smiled warmly at us.
“Great to meet you both too, and we’re happy you made the trip.
We think you are going to love Dahlia. We’ve seen what you can do with your horse, Cash, and Eli’s horses over the years, and have no doubt that you two will make quite the pair,” Vivian said with a wink.
We followed Henry and Vivian into the barn and toward the crossties where a beautiful black mare stood.
She had a white star on her forehead and a white stocking on each leg.
I watched as Addison walked up to her and held her hand out for the mare to smell and touch.
She then rubbed her hand up the mare’s face and patted her neck before she turned back toward Vivian.
“She’s gorgeous. Super flashy for the hunter ring, that’s for sure.
I hope she moves as good as she looks,” Addison said as her eyes still assessed the mare.
Vivian laughed. “You will have to see for yourself. We have her all ready for you. Henry is going to get on her first just so you can watch her movement from the ground and see her form over fences, then she’s all yours to try.”
Addison nodded. “Sounds perfect. Let me go grab my helmet, half chaps, and paddock boots from the truck to change into really quickly.”
While Addison hurried off to get ready, I spent some time asking Henry and Vivian questions about the mare’s medical history.
I explained what my examination would entail if Addison was interested in moving forward.
They provided me with her most recent X-rays to review, as well as a folder containing her complete medical history and bloodlines.
Dahlia was a five-year-old Dutch Warmblood by a pretty impressive hunter/jumper stallion that even I had heard of.
She was starting to jump and already showed great potential.
Addison could do a lot with her, and being that she was so young and inexperienced, she could get this horse for a steal compared to what this mare would go for once her training was complete and she had show experience under her belt.
Addison returned from changing into her riding gear as Henry placed the bridle on Dahlia. He checked that her girth was tightened and led her outside to the ring. Addison, Vivian, and I all stood up against the fence outside the ring to watch Henry warm up the mare.
“Her trot and canter are gorgeous. She really knows how to extend at the trot while keeping her neck relaxed. Her canter floats,” Addison said to Vivian, keeping her eyes on Dahlia the entire time she spoke.
“She’s just naturally a beautiful mover.
She also just started lead changes, and so far, so good,” Vivian responded.
Addison nodded and smiled. Henry took the mare over a couple of smaller jumps to show Addison her form.
I glanced over at her and smiled. She was entranced, watching the mare intently.
Then Henry brought the mare over to Addison for her to get on.
Addison took the reins from Henry. “She has a hell of a jump. This mare sure is something,” she said to him.
He laughed and nodded. “That’s an understatement.
” Henry took his spot next to Vivian and me at the rail while Addison walked Dahlia over to the mounting block and got on.
I’d been around horses all my life, between polo matches and even hunter/jumper competitions, as they were common sports among the crowd that my parents ran with.
I dated girls who competed in the hunter/jumper ring, but nothing compared to watching Addison ride this mare.
While watching Addison, I knew I was watching a nationally top-ranked rider.
Everything she did was graceful and effortless.
She made it look easy, and I knew that riding a young, inexperienced horse was anything but. This woman had talent.
After jumping the mare over a few fences, Addison trotted her over to us with a massive smile on her face. I couldn’t help but smile too, seeing her completely in love with this horse. I looked up at her with a smirk. “So, are we doing a PPE today?”
Addison threw her head back and laughed. “What do you think, Adler?”
I chuckled. “I’ll go get everything ready.” I knocked my knuckles on the fence before turning around to head toward my truck.
The PPE was uneventful, as I predicted that it would be after reviewing her files and X-rays prior to performing my exam and taking my own set of rads.
Addison was elated. She joined Henry and Vivian in their office to sign the bill of sale and to work out the details of wiring the funds, while I loaded my truck back up.
As I prepared the trailer for Dahlia, I turned to see Addison leading the mare toward me.
“Perfect timing. Everything is ready to go. You ready to take her home?” I asked.
Addison nodded and led the horse up the ramp to the trailer and settled her inside. I whistled to Coal to get in the truck. While we were dealing with the horse, Coal ran off with the barn’s yellow lab and did only God knew what.
Addison and I jumped into the truck and waved goodbye to Henry and Vivian. I glanced over at Addison. “Well, I’m glad this wasn’t a waste of a trip.” I smirked.
Addison snorted. “You and me both.”
We made our way down the long gravel drive with Dahlia in tow and Coal already passed out in the back seat.