Ashleigh's pov

"Wow" I whisper in awe as I lead Beauty to his new stall.

We were finally here, at the J.O.P Stables! Huge doesn't begin to describe their barn. I'm certain that J.O.P.S was the largest stables in Canada. Even Holloway couldn't rival them. The property was nothing short from beautiful. There wasn't a single particle out of place here. All the riders I've seen so far looked incredibly professional and my thoughts couldn't keep up. The grooms were probably dressed better then me.

"This will be New Moon's assigned stable for the rest of your stay, and as you can see, your mares are close by" the groom explains.

Beauty was taking everything in his step so far. Coming from such a traumatic experience, I was thrilled to see he was already improving. I almost laugh when I see Florence and Navarre giving the grooms a hard time. Both mare and gelding were the more hyperactive horses. I've found that Florence can also be nit picky with who she tolerates. Whereas Navarre is super sensitive to his surroundings, new environments can put him on edge.

Both horses nostrils flared as they look around. I was happy to see that Beauty wasn't feeding off their energy. He was to busy observing everything to even think about prancing around. Venus was acting more ladylike for her groom and Hugo was being a gentlemen. Their grooms looked thankful after seeing how the other two were acting.

All horses would be let out to stretch their legs soon, but not before the J.O.P.S vet checks their vitals. After being on a plane ride, we were being extra cautious. I was just hoping Beauty wouldn't be to nervous about a stranger handling him. I would have to be with him when she does the check up, otherwise nothing good will come out of it.

As I shut the stall door, Laura, the woman who introduced herself as the head groom earlier, approached me. She gave out a brief set of instructions before addressing me. Normally I would be fine in starting conversations with people, but around new people I got shy. It wasn't one of my best traits when it came to socialising.

"If you would follow me, I'll show you the rest of the property" Laura said kindly, motioning for me to follow her.

I could only spit out a quick "okay" as I was still shocked we were at J.O.P.S.

For the following 5 minutes, Laura showed me around the facilities. There were so many places to remember that my head could explode. How much money did it even cost to board a horse here?

"Is there an outdoor ring where I could practice jumping..?" I ask shyly, not wanting to annoy the girl.

"Of course! I believe Jewel may be in the ring as we speak. Follow me" Laura said with enthusiasm, quickly walking off to our new location.

As we leave the barn, I'm shown to the outdoor ring which is solely used for jumping purposes. Immediately I was glad I had previously jumped over 1.60m. This was because every jump there seemed to be that height...

But in saying that, I never competed Venus in jumping classes over 1.40m... Jumping 1.60m consistently would be new. Not for the horses, but for me. If I had thought about that at the beginning of last summer, I would've been a nervous wreck. Now that I've been exposed to so much pressure, I was looking forward to my lessons.

For the time being, Florence would be my competition horse. Venus and Beauty will gradually be brought back into work again. I'm hoping to return Beauty to jumping very soon, but only after he's fit again.

As for the sores he got after being in Lacey's possession, they had disappeared a week after Christmas. Thankfully they hadn't been big or deep enough to scar him. Beauty has also gone back to his average weight, but the muscle had gone.

I wasn't concerned at how long it would take him to put it back on. When I started to ride him in the summer, he put condition on quickly. So right up until we left Holloway, I lunged him. The result was muscle being gained in his topline again, and even after weeks of harsh treatment he was still reasonably fit. What I've learnt about Beauty from this whole experience was that he was resilient, it would take a lot more to affect his physical health. Not that I would ever let that happen again!

It was his mental health that I had to monitor.

My thoughts are disrupted when I notice 2 figures propel gracefully over an oxer. If I didn't look closely, it would appear that they were mended together. My eyes immediately zone in on the pair and in an instant I recognise the horse. A black coat and four equally long white stockings made it easy for me to recognise Shadow, which meant the rider was Jewel Lockhart. If there was any young adult I had to idolize in the show jumping circuit, it was Jewel Lockhart. The 20 year old has been slaughtering her competitors this year. It made me wish that I could someday jump like that with Beauty or Venus.

"There's Jewel now" Laura says, waving over the girl as she finishes her round.

I almost faint when I see her trotting Shadow over to the fence.

"Good morning" she says brightly, a happy bubble surrounding her demeanour.

"Jewel, this is Ashleigh Sutton" Laura introduces.

Oh. Crap. Can't. Breathe.

"Nice to meet you" I said quietly so my voice didn't waver.

"Welcome to J.O.P.S" her smile, if possible, lights up even more.

"I'll leave you to it" Laura says, turning on her feet and marching away.

Do I follow her...?

Jewel looks at me closely before speaking again.

"Do you want to help me cool down Shadow?" She asks.

"Of course" my voice this time rises to a new level of confidence.

But my mind was mortified, I was literally about to be assisting two future Olympians.

Jewel and Shadow!