Thank you for reading part one of Tyler’s Folly from the Stories from the Backside. Here’s part two. Race day has arrived. What’s in store for Emma?
Tyler’s Folly – Part Two
All the paddock schooling Tyler had done with Folly seemed to have paid off. While the valet helped Emma saddle the colt for the Futurity, the ordinarily fractious horse stood quiet and alert. However, on the track next to the lead pony, Folly made up for his previous good behavior with an embarrassing display of bad manners.
Worse, she could see Tyler’s Folly was already hot as the horses approached the starting gate, his shiny coat dulled with sweat. Any spark of hope for winning that may have lingered in her heart was extinguished as she acknowledged and accepted that at least this disaster would soon be over.
Behind the gate, Folly took his appalling attitude to another level. He refused to enter the gate, alternating between rearing and kicking at the assistant starters. Emma watched in horror as a man slipped a blindfold over the colt’s head to gain enough control to get him loaded.
How could Tyler have been so wrong about this horse? Her thoughts whirled as she watched the colt Tyler had loved so much behave more like a cheap claimer than a Futurity contender.
The announcer’s voice rang out. “They’re all in.”
The last tailgate latched, and the horses were under the starter’s orders. Emma cringed as she watched Folly wallowing and lifting in his assigned stall. When the gate sprang open, she fully expected to see him in last place as the rest of the field left there running. But that’s not what happened. Tyler’s Folly burst out of the gate in front and stayed there.
Emma’s heart pounded harder with each furlong that passed under the hooves of the magical colt. Tyler’s colt ran like an experienced racehorse who knew how to win.
Hours later, and with all the hype that accompanied winning a race of that caliber behind her. Along with the fading memory of a winner’s circle surrounded by all the previous doubters now professing they’d always been believers, Emma stood alone in the shedrow. She watched the colt her husband had gambled on happily pull bits of Timothy from his hay bag.
Thoughts on Tyler, Emma reached a tentative hand to pet the colt’s keen head. Instead of nipping at her, Folly turned into her touch and rested his head on her shoulder. Her arms went around his neck, and she quietly sobbed against the horse’s warmth.
In the tack room, the phone rang. Emma felt sure it would be the first of many offers to purchase Tyler’s promising two-year-old.
Slowly, she stepped back, smiled, and gently straightened the colt’s forelock.
“I love you, Tyler.”
~~~
Thanks again for trusting me with your time. Every minute counts in my life, and I am sure it is the same for you. Feel free to comment, share your own stories, and come back next week. I’m still trying to figure out what I’ll be thinking about, but I hope it’s entertaining. Take care, Shelley
Please continue the story. Thank you.
Hi Cassy, Thank you for reading Tyler’s Folly, part one on May 30th and part 2 on May 31st. Unfortunately, it was written as a short story, though Emma’s story could be lengthened into a novella or, quite possibly, a novel. However, I’m presently completing the second book of a trilogy, and I have several other starts that need to be finished. If you like a story about a strong woman who believed in her horse and persevered through a constant barrage of criticism and ridicule, take a look at my memoir Casual Lies – A Triple Crown Adventure, which was in some parts the basis for Tyler’s Folly. If you’re not opposed to light fantasy, in Labyrinth of Ruin, I used my twenty-four years of training racehorses to write the story of Jackson and Tivet. It’s only been out for a month and has been well received. Take care, Shelley