Kerry barely held back the tears of relief as she pulled up to the KindleHope
Gate. The leaves were dripping of autumn: splashes of vibrant reds, yellows and oranges
softened the country to a watercolored canvas. She put the mountaineer in park, and hopped
down from the driver’s side. It even smelled of late fall. Thank god there wasn’t any snow
yet. She buzzed the gate open, and ran her hand over the farm’s seal. It was good to be
back. She’d been gone for too long. The job she had taken in New York with a marketing firm
for an opera company had kept her farther from the barn than she expected. There were some
small ‘perks’ though, in hindsight. Those ‘perks’ nickered to her as she returned to the
truck and trailer. She’d picked up a few imports, and decided to bring one of the broodmares
out of retirement. The New York extention of the farm, KindleHope at Winterglen, had turned
into more of a retirement facility. Or, at least, many of the retired from KindleHope had
ended up there.
She accelerated up the cobblestone drive, and stopped next to the
stallion paddock. No Duplicate was galloping full tilt across the field, and stopped abruptly
next to the gate to greet Kerry with a rich, baritone nicker. She giggled and continued up
the drive, as No Duplicate began to prance after her. He was stunning, and by far, her
favorite. If only he was as successful in the breeding shed as he was on the track. She
sighed and prayed a little as she pulled around the courtyard circle. Kevin, the barn
manager, emerged from the main barn, flanked by two stablehands. He ran his hand over the
silver hood of the truck and leaned against it as Kerry climbed down. He smiled and shook his
head.
“What kind of nags did you bring back for us this time?”
Kerry
shot him a playful glance and chuckled.
"We’ve got some good names on this
trailer. At least in pedigree anyway…" She unlocked the trailer gate and dropped the ramp.
She slipped under the partition, and snapped a lead to the first halter. Spectacular Star
was the first off: a pretty and delicate grey mare by the late Spectacular Bid.
"I
want to give her a chance to prove herself. She’s got a good daddy. I’m stallion hunting
for her for next season."
Michael, the assistant trainer, emerged from the house
with a cup of coffee and a sleepy demeanor. Kerry handed him the mare and laughed when he
reached the trailer. Star politely followed Michael on the long walk to the broodmare barn.
"I’ve got a good feeling about the next one. She’s a cute one! Always A
Princess…" The little chestnut filly by Hope To Succeed bolted from the trailer, nearly
colliding with Kevin. He held the filly until a stablehand came to take her.
“She’s a little skiddish…” He chuckled, “But I’m hopeful.”
Kerry grabbed the
next weanling and lead him off.
“He reminds me of No Duplicate. He’s stunning,”
She said, with a twinkle in her eye. “Citation’s Prince.”
"He’s beautiful. By
Citation?..I can’t wait to run him."
The sweet little colt looked around,
taking in everything, his ears flicking back and forth. After kicking Prince out to pasture,
Kerry paused.
"I’ve got one more. A colt… but… this might take a little
finesse. He’s a bit of a handful. A son of Black Legend." The little colt began to paw while
she was clipping the lead to his halter. Kevin opened the partition on the slant load
trailer, and Black Crimson exploded. Michael dropped his coffee, on his return from the
broodmare barn, and ran towards the colt as he flew off the trailer. As soon as they were off
the ramp, Kevin grabbed the colt, Michael opened the gate and the three let him go in the
paddock next to the farm stallion.
"Maybe Duplicate will teach him a thing or two
about manners." Kevin teased. Kerry put the leads back in the truck, and closed the trailer.
They stood, watching the little colt tease the much larger stallion through the fence.
"We’re glad your back. Your coming with us to the track next week for the
Month’s races, right?" Michael asked.
"It’s nice to know the boss-lady’s in
town," Kevin teased, with a hint of sincerity cutting in his voice. "We were worried when you
didn’t make the annual sale. I thought things were gonna fall through here…"
"I know…so did I… things weren’t working out like I thought they would… But I’ll be
there for the November races. We’ve got a couple shots at a stakes win, right? I wouldn’t
miss it for the world."