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typical. It didn’t seem fair that Zac never seemed to mind being attacked by fans and the press everywhere he went. Then again, he’d signed on for this. Nobody had ever bothered to ask Zara what she thought of being stalked like a freaking eight-point buck every second of her life, even when she was supposed to be doing something fun.
    But whatever. She didn’t want to let those jerks—or her father—ruin this for her. She watched as Jamie waved to the girl on the horse, signaling her back to the gate.
    “Ellie is willing but pretty sensitive, so you’ll want to take it easy until you get to know each other a little,” Jamie told Zara. “Stay soft with your hands and seat, but keep a light leg on her so she doesn’t feel abandoned.”
    “Yeah, okay,” Zara muttered, casting another glance around to make sure the photographers were really gone.
    She grabbed her helmet off the fence post where she’d stuck it and jammed it on her head, not bothering to fix her hair first. If these East Coast snobs didn’t like that, they could kiss her West Coast ass.
    By then the other girl had ridden over and dismounted. She led the mare to the mounting block and held her while Zara checked the stirrup length. It turned out she didn’t have to adjust them at all. Miss Rich Girl was a couple of inches shorter than her, but apparently had freakishly long legs for her height.
    “I guess Jamie already told you that Ellie here likes a light touch, right?” the girl said.
    Her tone was friendly, but Zara wasn’t in the mood for small talk. “I know how to ride, okay?” she snapped. Then she swung into the saddle, grabbed the reins, and gave the mare a firm nudge with her heels to send her back out into the ring.
    Ellie started jigging almost immediately, her whole body tense. “Chill out, okay, girlie?” Zara said, shortening her reins.
    That only made the mare toss her head and start backing up. “Easy with your hands,” Jamie called. “Why don’t you just walk around on the rail for a minute, get used to how she feels?”
    Zara wasn’t in the mood to be told what to do, especially by some overgelled short dude she’d just met. So what if everyone around here treated him like some kind of Supreme Trainer God? She wasn’t that easily impressed. Turning the mare back along the rail, she gave her another kick, planning to pick up a trot.
    Ellie had other ideas. With a snort, she leaped into a canter, yanking her head forward and down.
    “Keep her head up!” Jamie called, sounding a little panicky.
    Zara had already figured out what the horse was up to. “Oh, no you don’t,” she warned through gritted teeth. The mare only managed to get in one small crow hop before Zara pulled her head up and then spun her around to the left. Ellie stopped and planted her front feet, hopping up and down a few times.
    But by now, Zara’s annoyance was fading away and she was actually starting to have fun. She’d been right—this mare had spunk!
    “I knew it,” she whispered as she sank deep into the saddle and booted Ellie forward. “Let’s see what you’ve got, baby.”
    Ellie leaped into a canter again, though this time she kept her head high, evading the bit. Zara was vaguely aware that Jamie was still yelling instructions, but she wasn’t paying attention. She was fully with the mare, waiting to see what she’d do next, feeling the excitement she always felt when she climbed aboard a new horse for the first time. That rush. The sensation that anything could happen.
    The mare didn’t try bucking again, though she remained high-headed and jiggy. Zara was tempted to spin her around a few times with her nose to her boot like the stunt rider she’d met on one of her mother’s movie sets had taught her to do. But she resisted the temptation, instead just sitting chilly through it all until the mare finally started to settle down.
    After that, it only took her maybe ten or fifteen minutes to get Ellie trotting and cantering