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turned Jericho in a full circle. She looked at Tully. "You and Joan go ahead. I'll start about a minute after you so you can watch the approach to the first jump."
    "Jump?" Joan asked.
    "Jericho and I will take the jumps. You and Tully will only watch to see if this big boy does anything unusual."
    For nearly an hour, Evey and Jericho sailed easily over a series of fallen trees and negotiated a twisting course through the wooded area on the farm's property without incident. Joan watched in amazement as the slender woman encouraged the huge animal beneath her over the obstacles. There was something balletic about the movement of the horse and rider together.
    Evey rejoined Joan and Tully and allowed the prancing horse to catch his breath.
    "His breathing doesn't seem labored," Tully said.
    "Yeah, I haven't noticed a change in his stride or felt his muscles tense abnormally," Evey said. "But this was an easy course and we set a leisurely pace. Maybe I should try to push him a little harder."
    "Want me to do it?"
    "No," Evey said. "He's used to my voice and weight now. Ready?"
    "Which jump is he balking on?" Tully asked. "He looked perfect over the logs."
    "The owner didn't say, but I'm guessing it's on a more difficult jump than we warmed up on."
    "Be careful, Mom," Tully said as he turned his horse to leave.
    "Always," Evey replied. She cast a confident smile at Joan and said, "See you at the next jump."
     
     
    EVEY WAITED UNTIL the other riders were well ahead of her then patted Jericho on the neck. "Okay, big guy, let's try to keep my ass in the saddle," she said. She started at a run across an open field that led to the first jump, a wooden fence. Jericho's approach was flawless and he sailed easily over the obstacle. Evey could feel her confidence in the horse growing as she entered another wooded area on the course, ducking occasionally to avoid branches. She felt brush slap against her chaps as she urged Jericho forward. Ten minutes later they approached the next to last obstacle before the full out run to the finish line. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut for a moment and managed to take in a deep breath, keeping her memories pushed back in her mind. The course entered a downhill section forcing Evey to lean back slightly in the saddle for balance. She saw the approach to the water jump and tightened her grip on the reins. Then she noticed a change in the way Jericho was moving, almost as if he were attempting to back up. The next thing she saw was the blue of the sky above her as she was catapulted out of the saddle and over Jericho's head. She released the reins and braced for the impact. She wasn't quite prepared for the feel of cold wetness engulfing her clothing. She fell onto her back almost in the middle of the small stream at the base of the jump. The impact forced the breath from her lungs and she gasped for air.
    Evey finally managed a breath and pushed her body up onto her elbows. She heard Tully calling to her and knew he would be frightened. He hadn't been born when Les was killed in a jumping accident over a water obstacle, but had heard about it his whole life. She slowly raised a hand to signal she was unhurt, before dropping back into the water. Strong arms slid under her shoulders and lifted her. She opened her eyes and saw the worried look on Joan's face.
    "I'm okay. Just knocked the breath out of me for a minute. Help me up," Evey said in a raspy voice. Once standing she looked down at her clothes. "Shit. I'm all wet."
    The sound of laughter drew Evey's attention to the tall woman standing next to her, holding her arm. "Impressed?" Evey asked with a grin.
    "Absolutely," Joan said. "But you scared the crap out of me."
    "Scared you? You should have seen it from my perspective," Evey managed. "It's the downhill slide," she continued, looking at Tully, who was calming Jericho. "Right in the middle of the approach he tried to back up. When that didn't work, he threw on the brakes."
    "Can we fix it?"