Fright or Flight: Marigold pt1

Marigold sailed over the last jump and slowed to a stop. Breathing heavily, she tried to catch her breath while she glanced worriedly at the sky. The clouds that had been a picture perfect fluffy and white earlier that day, had since turned dark and grey, threatening a storm at any moment. She’d been nervous that a loud crack of lightning would flash while she was performing and would ruin her rider’s chances at placing in the top three of the competition.

Of course, her rider loved to come first. Most humans did. But he had trophies and ribbons galore back home and aimed to bring back another one from this show as well. This would be her first and she would have hated to be the reason he didn’t get one. He always said she could do better, and wanted to please him. He might be a bit rough sometimes, but he was just trying to get her to do the right thing, even if she didn’t always know what that was. He expected the best from her, just like he did from all his other prize winning horses.

The young man clucked his tongue and urged her forward. She followed his lead as he directed her out of the arena. He seemed tense. Had she not done well? She hadn’t hit any of the poles this time. Was she not fast enough? Did she need to take those turns tighter? Whatever was wrong, it was most likely her fault. It was always her fault.

They left the arena behind and headed for the staging area where the other showgoers were taking care of their horses. Many of the horses looked nervous, ears flicking, shuffling their hooves and swishing their tails. A few let out a whinny or two. She understood how they felt. The wind was picking up and all sorts of things were flapping noisily. Banners with sponsor’s names, flags and other decorations flapped in the wind, slapping against each other and whatever they were attached to. Between that and the wind itself, the announcers could barely be heard back here.

The young man met with his friend who was about to go on soon, seated on a sleek black mare.

“How’d you do?” he asked.

Her rider snorted. “No penalties but only got a good enough time for fifth, that’s only if nobody else does better.”

Fifth… so she hadn’t done well enough to help him bring home another ribbon. She just wasn’t fast like all the other horses.

Her rider complained some more about her performance, but she stopped listening. She already knew she wasn’t the most skilled of jumpers and speed wasn’t really her style. Too bad her leg work wasn’t better, dressage horses looked so beautiful the way they danced through the arena.

“Hey, at least your girl didn’t spook during your round, I heard one of the other guys had to be taken to hospital after landing on the jump,” her rider’s friend reported with a smug grin.

“Poor bugger.” Her rider smirked. “It's his own fault for not keeping his seat though. A good rider can stay on during anything.”

However, Marigold felt sad for them. She hoped that that rider and horse would be alright. She understood how a horse might spook at the moment. With so many sudden flashes of movement in the wind and strange sounds. It was enough to put the calmest of horses on edge. She certainly didn’t feel comfortable. Now that her round was over, she hoped that her rider would put her back in her stall where it was safe.

The next rider was called, along with an announcement that it would be their last round before calling the event to a close. The weather forecast was calling for a severe thunderstorm and they were advising everyone to get their horses and gear stashed away before it started.

“Hey, that’s me. I’ll catch you later.” Her rider’s friend urged his horse off, the mare looking worried. Marigold silently wished her luck.

“See ya,” he called before pulling on the reins to turn Marigold back towards the stable. “Going to have to set up a more rigorous training schedule for you. Clearly the one we had wasn’t enough.”

Marigold shivered. She didn’t particularly like his training sessions. They were difficult and long. She remembered one time where he kept her going until her legs ached. Why couldn’t she just have been better at this like all his other horses?

They were nearing the stable when lightning flashed through the sky, hitting a tree across the showground. It snapped in two and the dry wood caught on fire. The loudest crack of thunder accompanied it, one that all the showgoers could feel right to their bones.

Marigold startled, rearing up on her hind hooves. She whinnied loudly, pawing at the air. Her heart hammered in her chest, fear flooding her senses. She couldn't think straight. Everything was loud and frightening.

“Woah!” her rider called, slipping from his seat, even as he tried to hold on.

She dropped down only to rear up again in fright as many other horses and people shouted around her. This time her rider fell, landing on a heap on the ground. Marigold didn’t even notice as another clap of thunder sounded and this time she took off into the forest.

Her rider cursed, despite the wind having been knocked out of him. He cursed that stupid mare, as someone ran over to check on him.

Marigold ran, tearing out of the showgrounds and into the cover of the trees. The stirrups jangled and the reins flapped, all fueling her fright. The rain began to pour down, quickly soaking the terrified mare. Fear fueled her every move as she jumped at shadows, startled at branches and spooked at leaves. Each moment under the torrential rain had her running deeper and deeper into the thick forest. She’d never felt so terrified in her life.