Chapter 4

All this messing about had cost me valuable time—I was entered for one more class today and really wanted to ride in it. Not jumping but dressage, and it started in fifteen minutes. That was no time at all to adjust my horse’s thinking from clearing fences to an exhibition of flowing paces on the ground. I rode back to the trailer and changed saddles, figuring Crusader would calm down before I took him back to Ring Three to accost Smidgy and the man who had my dog.

I swung aboard my horse for the third time that day and was moving off to reclaim Blue when the dog appeared, still attached to the groom.

I gave his handler my fiercest look, but he disarmed me with a charming smile and said, “Hi, Felicity, here’s your dog. I’m sorry if I scared you, darting in front of you like that to catch him. By the way, well ridden! Everyone’s really impressed. Your enemy Caroline took some good shots, hoping you’d fall off, so she’d better publish those instead of the other ones.”