Ashley ran to the barn, excited. Today was when her father said she could start training to ride a horse. Even though Ashley had been feeding the animals for years, she had been waiting every day for this very morning. The cool fall air against her skin brought a smile, as did the carved pumpkins out front of the dark green barn.
“There you are – good morning, sweetheart,” Tom said to his daughter. His hands were wrapped around a cow’s udders, milking her. “If you want to get started, you can prepare Terrance.”
“Terrance?” Ashley replied, curious as to why her father would want her on the most horribly trained animal on the farm. “I’d rather try Lightning or Ripley.”
“Nonsense,” Tom replied.
“Why not Lightning?” Ashley questioned. “He’s my favorite!”
Tom stood to his feet. “You need to learn on the harder animals first. After you’ve had training with Terrance, you’ll be able to ride any of the others.”
Ashley thought about it before nodding, “That makes sense. Okay – I’m going to saddle her.”
“No, you aren’t,” Tom said with a sigh. “Come here, sweetheart, and sit on my knee. He beckoned to his daughter. Seeing her short brown hair, he said, “I love your new haircut.”
“Aren’t I too old to sit on your knees?” Ashley was uncertain. What was her father up to?
Tom chuckled, “I mean, if you don’t want to…”
“I do, Daddy!”
“Well, okay then,” Tom replied, “sit down and look at these animals with me. I’ll go over the basics.”