Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Five

"I think I'm going to be sick," said Ruth, who was sitting in the stands with Beau. "No wonder." Bo replied. "Why?" She asked in surprise, Bolai's reaction was unexpected to her. "I ate a big crab and swallowed three servings of ice cream." "It's not because of what I ate," she said coquettishly, "It's because people's nerves are too fragile, and they feel dizzy and nauseous when they are excited." "It's nothing, it will be fine after a while." Bolai coped like this. "You say it's nothing disgusting?"

"That feels good!" "I'll be all right if I just sit still," said Ruth, and fell silent. In fact, it was Ruth who felt that she didn't seem to be noticed today, so she resorted to this trick.In the past year, she has been too negligent about horses, so that she has no room for performance at the Burnong Exhibition.She had no choice but to wear that beautiful flannel dress and sit quietly in the stands.She cares about her twin sister's game, which is a nice touch. "Look, Roger and Eileen are over there." Bolai also saw them. "Who is Roger?"

"He has a farm not far from here." Roger was a dark-browed young man who looked familiar to Eileen. "He's in love with Eileen," said Ruth, wanting something new again. "He looks very good." Bo Laiman responded, but his heart was in a ball. "It would be nice if Eileen and Roger married. He's rich, and has a big house, and a lot of horses." Ruth began to picture. Bolai reluctantly asked Ruth if Eileen wanted to marry Roger.Now Ruth could seize the opportunity to show her talents, and she began to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of Eileen's marriage to Roger.

"Eileen is still whetting his appetite, just like Rebekah in the Bible who made Jacob have to work for her for seven years in order to marry her. You know, Eileen is Roger's dream girl. " Eileen and Roger said good-bye and went up to sit with them in the stands, ready to watch the Under Tens play. "Did you know that Tony was only a little short of not being able to play in this group?" Eileen said to them, and sat down beside Bolly. "He's going to be ten the day after tomorrow." A total of 11 children participated in this group of competitions, the youngest one was only about four years old, a fat mass of flesh, piled on a strong horse, almost useless to control it.

"At least Tony doesn't look so scary, even at his worst," Elaine said. "Tony looks great," Ruth said.In fact Tony had always been very good, as Elaine said, he was a horse riding material. This group of young knights let the horses walk slowly at first, and then gradually speeded up to run lightly. Eleven contestants were eliminated by the referee, and the remaining four entered the final.But these four finalists are all similar in strength, it is difficult for the referee to determine the winner, so they have to repeat various actions over and over again.Since there are only three medals, one of the four must be eliminated.

At this juncture, Tony pulled out all the stops and performed an action that he thought he was proud of.He dropped to his knees as his horse trotted across the referee's stand.Then there was another movement, and the whole person stood on the horseback with a smug look on his face. "My God," Eileen cried out in disbelief. There were waves of laughter from the audience, but Tony wasn't done yet. He returned to the kneeling position, grabbed the front of the saddle with both hands, and stood upright on his head, his two thin legs dangling in the air.After the laughter, there was another round of applause from the audience, and Tony returned to his original sitting position with a smug face, urging his poor panic-stricken horse to run again.

Tony's trick made it easy for the referees to decide who should be eliminated.Tony watched blankly as his three opponents carried away the medals—but he was probably not as excited as his teacher. "I hope I don't see the boy until I calm down," said Eileen angrily, "or I'll grab an axe and kill him!" But after Tony handed the horse to Arthur, he still walked over with a relaxed face. "Tony! You idiot! Look what tricks you're playing!" Eileen said in a cannibal tone. "I just want them to know how good I am at riding." "Speak! Where did you learn these tricks?"

"I practiced on a mowing horse. At school, you know which one? Its back was much wider than this horse, so I couldn't stand as straight today as I used to. I think those People don't know how to appreciate horsemanship." He said and shook his head at the referees. Eileen just didn't know what to say. Bolai quickly gave him a copper coin and told him to buy ice cream. "If I didn't want to watch Jenny play again, I would have gone to the bathroom to hide. This is such a shame!" Eileen said angrily. Jenny was riding on the back of "Leijie" at the moment, wearing a complete riding suit, looking quite dignified.Bolai always only saw her in sloppy clothes.Seeing her dressed like this today is refreshing.

"Jenny's riding skills are the best in the family." Ailian looked at the serious Jenny and said emotionally, "The girl on the gray horse over there is her only opponent." The tall girl was fifteen years old, and the gray horse was fine; but the judges seemed to prefer Jenny, and she won! Jenny nearly cried, and Ruth was ecstatic! "What a Jenny," Simon said as he walked towards them: "I'm only nine years old, so I'm so skilled." "Hey, Simon, did you see that just now?" As soon as Ailian saw Simon, she couldn't help mentioning the unhappiness she had just felt wronged.

"Don't be sad," Simon put his hands on Aileen's shoulders understandingly, expressing comfort: "It's not too bad!" "How bad can it be?" "At least he didn't sing a song on horseback," said Simon narrowly. She couldn't help laughing, and couldn't stop laughing. "Oh, that's ridiculous," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sure it'll be funny when I think about it later, but now I just want to be in a hole all afternoon!" "Let's go, Lian'er," Simon called affectionately, "It's your turn to play." After speaking, the two of them left together.

At this time Jenny also came to their seats. Bo came to congratulate Jenny, but Jenny replied: "It's nothing, it's just a horse riding competition for under fifteen years old. There will be more exciting programs in the future. One day I must also compete with adults.With Aunt Beatrice, and Simon, and Peggy, and Roger. " Yes, and Roger.Eileen was riding Scarlett now, and Roger beside her on a handsome sorrel horse with wonderfully handsome legs like white stockings. "Who do you think will be first?" Jenny asked him. Bolai struggled to look away from Eileen and Roger, and began to observe the situation of the whole game.Just now the referee asked Bitui to ride Qierun out for a light jog, and now she has come back riding Qierun.Bolai had never seen Bitui wearing a formal riding outfit, and the fully armed Bitui in front of him really had a new look and was very impressive. "Bo Lai, who do you think will win?" "Tippo, of course." "Isn't it Paige's horse? The one Dick used to ride?" "Whirlwind, you mean? That horse might win in the jumping, but not here." Bo was right.Although the referees saw Tibo for the first time, they had a good impression of Tibo, so even though Cyclones had a good reputation, they still liked Tibo more.The referee's decision was unanimously affirmed by the audience. When Simon rode Tippo to receive the award and passed the stands, the audience burst into applause. "Isn't that the horse that threw Philip to death?" A voice behind said, "It should be shot to death. How can we give it back the medal?" The second place went to Peggy and her whirlwind, and she was also very happy.Sure enough, she did not disappoint her father's painstaking efforts. The third place is a bit unexpected, it is Bitui and her Cherron. "It's the world of the Asyubie family again." The voice behind said again, and immediately someone hissed him to stop disturbing the situation. What follows is the jumping competition, which is the most exciting event of the day.Beicui came to the stands to watch with them. "Number One, please take your place." The loudspeaker announced.Eileen appeared riding Scarlett.Scarlett was a careful and unexcited horse.She jumped so high that she almost touched the moon, but when she landed, her hind feet touched the fence. "Poor Lian'er, training for so long was in vain." Numbers Two and Three acted as if they were untrained. "No. 4, please take your place." The loudspeaker announced again.At this time, Peggy's whirlwind appeared.Paige's new horse looks a little tight around the waist, and the color seems too pale, but the overall look is very good.She made no effort on horseback, but let the whirlwind do its thing.Whirlwind is worthy of being a master jumping horse, it has completed various performances vigorously and gracefully. "No. 5, please take your place." The loudspeaker announced again. Number five came Roger, on his sorrel horse with four legs like four stockings. "Do you know what his horse's name is?" Beatrice asked. "I heard it was called 'Thighstocking.'" "It's so ugly," Bo said, "it looks like you just walked through a white lime pond." "But she can dance very well." The horse was able to jump as expected, but it seemed to be suffering from hydrophobia. "Poor Roger," Bitui smiled, watching the stockings lingering in front of the pool and refusing to jump over. "He didn't know how many times he rode this horse back and forth by the pond at home, but in the end it still refused to dive!" The stocking hesitated and refused to dive, so Roger had to ride it away, and the audience applauded encouragingly. Numbers Six and Number Seven each made a mistake. Number eight is Simon and his Tippo.Tipper came into the arena with the same vigor that Boley had seen him come out of the stable for the first time—full of confidence in himself, and waiting to be applauded.When he ran to the fence, his ears pricked up with concentration.Simon rode it lightly and came to the first fence.Although Bolai's seat is far away from Tibo, he can still feel Tibo's skillful jumping movements.This skillful and elegant movement, when Bo Lai first rode it in Leicester, he was deeply intimidated.The horse deftly leaped into the air and landed on the far side of the fence, to the sound of soft admiration from the audience. Bolai looked at Simon's impeccable riding posture with full respect.He thought that even if he could live to be a hundred years old, he would never be able to practice so perfectly. After Simon and Tipper finished their performance, the audience almost lost their minds in the situation created by Tipper, and it took a long time for them to applaud. The next three dropped out temporarily, so Simon was arguably the last performer in the first round.After he left, the second round began immediately. Eileen came back riding Scarlett.After seeing Scarlett's performance in the first round, and now seeing her progress in the second round, the audience applauded encouragingly. No. 2 behaved a bit out of order, but he didn't make any big mistakes. No. 3's performance was not so good.Then it's Peggy's turn again.The blush on her face from the perfect performance just now hasn't faded yet. She was still the same as the first round, no matter how high the whirlwind lifted her because of her strenuous jump, she still sat quietly on its back as if nothing had happened.The whirlwind's jump is impeccable, as if it can dance with such skill and grace all day long.Its concept of distance is so precise. In front of the fence, it never needs to slow down and hesitate, it can start to take off at the most appropriate point, and then land without any muddle. "Peng! Peng!" came the music of the Bull Drum and Horn Band from the gate, and they were about to start their performance this afternoon.Cyclone's ears perked up, as if he was a little distracted because he didn't know why.At this moment, it had already run in front of another fence, and its ears turned to the front again, a little overwhelmed by the fact that this fence was too close, it shortened its steps, trying to adjust its position properly in front of this fence. But it was too late, its judgment was wrong! It leaped vigorously, and although its whole body successfully crossed the fence, its front hooves touched the top of the fence, knocking off a piece of wood on the fence. "Oh!" The audience cried out regretfully. Peggy turned her head and saw that a piece of the fence was missing. She knew what had happened, but she turned her head unmoved and encouraged Cyclone to continue to accept the challenge of the next fence. "What a Peggy!" Beetui murmured. The band's performance became louder and louder, but now the whirlwind was completely undisturbed by the music, and the whirlwind was actually very familiar with the band's sound.Doesn't the whirlwind win in the sound of the band every time? So the whirlwind continued to run and jump, and finally completed its performance with a diving action that made the audience hold their breath. "Simon can't compare to this girl." Bitui said, "It's already a miracle that Tippo can perform like that just now." Roger's stockings were very neat at first, but they failed as soon as we got to the pool.The stockings stopped before the last fence, not knowing what to think.No matter what Roger tried to persuade, it just refused to jump forward.It's like saying, "I know what's on the other side of the fence, and I'm telling you, I don't like that thing!" But all of a sudden, it ran lightly towards the fence as if it had made up its mind again, and Roger sat securely on the saddle, ready for the next jump; at the last moment, the horse made up his mind again: Stop jumping! Its two front hooves came to an emergency stop in front of the fence, and because it ran too fast just now, it rubbed against the ground for a long time before it stopped completely. The audience laughed, and Roger himself laughed helplessly.He took the stocking to the other side of the fence, so that he could see what the pool of water looked like; then he took it back to the fence.He patiently led the stockings and walked towards the fence, as if telling it: "This is the last hurdle, jump over and you'll be fine." But the stockings seemed to be against him on purpose, and knocked over the fence forward , and ended by stepping on the pool indiscriminately. The audience laughed again, and Roger showed his white teeth. He raised his hat and waved to the audience, but without looking at the audience, he rode out with style in his stockings. Number Six made two mistakes.Number Seven made two and a half mistakes. "Number Eight, please take your place." The loudspeaker announced again.Jenny trembled all over, and she put her hand in Aunt Beatrice's.Ruth doesn't need any special performance this time, she is already full of drama.Her mouth was opened wide, her eyes stared, and she completely forgot who she was. Compared with Peggy's whirlwind, Tippo has neither rich racing experience nor the innate mechanical jumping ability. It has to be ridden to perform well, so if you want to win Peggy, Simon's judgment and control are extremely important.Bolai found that Simon's face turned pale from nervousness at this time, and he knew the importance of this game to Simon.In addition to the silver cup, what is more important is that Simon cannot be defeated by the girl he likes. When Tipper came on stage, he seemed to be a bit puzzled, as if to say, "Didn't I perform just now?" When he saw the fence, his ears perked up again, and then he quivered a little suspiciously.It had lost the eagerness it had had in the first turn, but it was still compliant and moved forward over the first barrier with little effort under Simon's control.Bolai could almost hear the beating hearts of the Asybe family members.He heard his own too—like the drums of a distant band.At this point Simon has completed half of the schedule.I saw Ruth with her eyes and mouth tightly closed, as if she was praying desperately.When she opened her eyes again, she saw Tipper cross another fence in a graceful arc, and now there was only the last high fence and the pool of water left. "Thank you, Lord," Ruth murmured. Just when Tipper was about to jump over the last high hurdle, a strong gust of wind blew off the big round hat Simon was wearing on his head, and he rolled on the ground behind him.Bolai believed that Simon didn't feel that the hat was blown off at all. At this moment, all he was paying attention to was probably only himself, his dark horse, and this last leap.Nothing big enough to distract Simon in the slightest.All his training since he started riding at around two years old seemed to be for this moment. He had just led Tipper to the fence, and was about to make a leap, when suddenly a puppy came running across the stands, chasing the tumbling hat.Its nimble little body was like a ball being kicked violently by a player, and it passed quickly in front of Tippo, and it also made a squeaking sound that is characteristic of a puppy. Startled by the little thing, Tipper writhed uneasily for a moment, then gasped again. Ruth closed her eyes tightly and continued her prayer.Simon patiently comforted Tipper, leading him to walk slowly around and around to calm him down.At this time, someone has come to take the puppy away and return it to its owner (someone quietly said: "Poor puppy, almost trampled to death!"). Simon patiently soothed Tippo despite the relentless passing of the seconds.He must have known that time was running out, that the uncounted time due to the puppy incident had passed, and that the more time was delayed, the worse it would be for him. Bolai has always admired Simon's ability to control himself, but he has never seen Simon calm down like this moment.He must have had a great urge to let Tipper jump right away, but he didn't want to take the risk: he'd rather delay a little while, maybe so that Tippo could calm down and be better prepared. Now Simon, evidently counting the time he might have, led the still terrified but better concentrated Tippo to the fence.When he was about to run to the fence, Tipper seemed to hesitate. Simon sat on the horse's back breathlessly. If it was possible for Bolai to like Simon, then what he liked was Simon at this moment. The horse concentrated all his attention, undisturbed by what was going on around him, leaped over the high fence in front of him, left him far behind, and then, like a black bird, , quickly and lightly across the pool. Simon won! Jenny took her hand away from Beatrice's and wiped and wiped on a crumpled handkerchief. Beatrice put her arm around Beau's and gave it a pinch. An earth-shattering cheer drowned out the voices speaking. After the ensuing silence, Ruth said, as if suddenly reminded of something embarrassing, "My God! I've mortgaged my allowance for the month." "To whom?" Aunt Beatrice asked her. "To God," Ruth replied.