A Military Match

“I can’t order you to enter the individual classes,” the captain continued, “but I’m asking you to do it for the honor of this company.”

What if he entered and failed to win?

His grandfather would expect him to fail.

According to him, I fail at everything except spending money. So why do I still care what he thinks? I’m not a failure.

He did care what his captain and the men in the unit thought of him. Could he face disappointing them? “I’ll think about it, sir.”

“Let me know by tomorrow. Dakota is assigned to you, but you can pick another horse for the competition if Dr. Cutter doesn’t think Dakota should participate.”

Lee, who had been waiting nearby, came over after the captain walked away. “Are you going to enter?”

“I said I’d think about it.”

“You can enter, but don’t plan on winning.”

Avery cocked his head to the side. “And why is that?”

“I’ve seen a couple of the riders from the National Guard Volunteers in action. You’ll be outclassed.”

“You just heard the captain say that I’m the best he’s ever seen with a saber.”

“Oh, I agree, but that’s only a quarter of the overall score. You might be as good with a pistol as those boys, but they’ll ride you into the dirt in Military Horsemanship. That’s like dressage and no offence, but you stink at that.”

“Okay, my fancy riding could use some work. You seem to know so much about it, why don’t you give me a few lessons?”

“Me? I’m worse than you are. You need someone who really knows how to work with you and your horse.”

Avery glanced at the men leaving the building. “So which of the guys in the unit is better?”

Lee shoved his hands in his pockets. “I hate to say it, but most of us are pretty average.”

Exasperated, Avery said, “All right, you go to horse shows all the time. Who’s the best in this area? Who can I get a few pointers from?”

Lee burst out laughing.

Avery scowled at him. “What’s so funny?”

Controlling his mirth with difficulty, Lee managed to say, “Jennifer Grant is the best dressage rider in the area, but from what I’ve seen, she isn’t going to give you the time of day.”

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