Field Obstacles: An Equestrian Women's Lit Story

By Mary Kit Caelsto

Zahra's used to having the farm to herself, so when Rose is rehabilitating at Cardinal Oaks while her condo is up for sale, Zahra realizes she has to confront her feelings for her friend and either see what can happen or let it go. The not knowing is frustrating her, and more importantly, it's impacting her riding.

With her next competition coming up and garnering attention among the other barns, Zahra worries she's juggling too much. This was the dream she's always had, and right now there's nothing better than a penalty-free cross country run. Eventing is everything she's ever wanted, pushing herself and her horses to their limits. A chance offer could change everything...including her relationship with Rose.

Each book in the Cardinal Oaks series continues the story, though you can start anywhere. You will get a fuller picture of Zahra's story if you start from the beginning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mary Kit Caelsto
• Release date: Jul 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005158316

Book preview

< Field Obstacles >

Cardinal Oaks Book 2

Mary Kit Caelsto

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Also By The Author

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Field Obstacles

Fox Hunt Inn

Steady On Course Preview

Correction on Course Preview

Spins Are Wild Preview

About the Author

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Permission is granted to make ONE backup copy for archival purposes.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

FIELD OBSTACLES

Copyright © Mary Kit Caelsto, 2021

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Cover Art ® 2021

Cover art by Epona Author Solutions

Book formatting by Epona Author Solutions (http://eponaauthorsolutions.com)

Electronic Publication Date: July 2021

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

Please support horse rescue and rescue organizations. You may just find your next best friend.

Also By The Author

Equestrian Women’s Fiction

Noble Dreams Series

Steady On Course

Standing On Course

Correction On Course

Walking On Course

Course Perfect

Shadbelly Faults

Husband On Board

Double Clear

Riding Double

Rompers and Rosettes

Crossed Rails

International Obstacles

Baby Green

Mare Stare

Future Courses

Western Star Series

(women’s fiction w/ romantic elements)

Spins Are Wild

Turn And Burn

In The Chute

Back In The Saddle

Winning It All

Sweet Equestrian Romance

Shiloh’s Second Chance

Racehorses and Romance

Riding Home

Claiming His Irish Trainer

His Irish Proposition

Roping Paige

Fantasy/Magic Realism

The Musimagium

Hidden

Tonic Chords

Of Songs & Horns

Of Songs & Paperwork

Chasing Neptune’s Cat

Draco Magus

The Pegasus Project

Pegasus In Flight

Tempus Magic

Radio Arcanum

Mythology

Racing Luck

From the Deep

Bad Luck Titan

Tyche’s Trials

Called to Rota

Want Free Stories?

Visit https://marykitcaelsto.com/newsletter and sign up for Mary’s newsletter. She offers free serial stories – one equestrian and one fantasy – to her subscribers.

Get even more free stories by becoming a Patreon at https://patreon.com/marykitcaelsto.

Chapter One

I’m going to town. Do you need anything? Zahra called down the basement stairs as she breezed toward the door, slinging her purse over her shoulder.

I’m good. Thanks, Rose yelled back.

Okay. I’ll be back soon. Zahra opened the door and stepped outside. The muggy summer air had hit earlier than normal, and she breathed deeply of air so thick she might as well be drawing it through a warm dish rag. Being outside, even in this heat seemed less stifling than the house. It’d been a week since the show, and if anything Rose tried too hard to make up for her earlier behavior. Zahra understood. And yet, it was starting to get stifling. Getting out of the house, going to town, even for the regular feed run, would help clear her mind.

She ran errands, thinking how nice it was to be out on her own again. Not that she wanted Rose to return to living at her condo in town, working long hours, and in general not being there. It was just with the pain in her shoulder subsiding, she started to become more frustrated by the things she couldn’t do, and that kept her more in the center of things, often to Zahra’s frustration. With the truck full of feed, a few groceries picked up, Zahra stopped by the local ice cream shop and ordered a vanilla malt. She sat in the shade and sipped it, taking a much-deserved break. She mentally went over the next training plans for Sooty and James. It’d be a while before she moved her horses up a level, but that didn’t mean they could slack off the training.

By the time she finished the malt—it was a small after all—she had a good idea for how she wanted to ride and where. She sent a text to Catarina to confirm their next lessons, then returned to the farm. Once home, she stepped into the barn to find Rose’s mare in the arena, galloping around, and Rose sitting on the bench just outside with a book in one hand, and a water bottle on the table next to her. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. You’re back!

I am, Zahra said. She bit back a sigh, feeling rather bitchy for being upset that Rose was in the barn. She owned the place; she had every right to be there. And her horse needed exercise, so it wasn’t like she was somewhere she shouldn’t be. Zahra hid her frown. She’d gotten used to being the only one in the barn, feeling like it was her domain. All of it really because Rose had been spending most of her time at her condo. But with it on the market, or so Zahra understood because it seemed as if it were taking a very long time to sell, Rose had been staying at the farm. All the peace and quiet, all the time she’d had to herself suddenly evaporated.

You don’t need the arena, do you?

Zahra shook her head. No. I’m going to do some galloping outside today. Take all the time you need. She hurried back to the truck, and soon lost herself in the routine of unloading bags of feed, dumping them into the large bin, before going back for more. By the time she had the truck unloaded sweat plastered her shirt to her back. She grabbed a drink of water from the bottle she kept in the tack room, then carried her tack outside. She’d leave the barn to Rose.

James pranced as she led him from the pasture to where she groomed him and put on his tack. A light breeze dispelled some of the humidity, and though she sweat beneath her helmet, it really wasn’t a bad day to ride. She paused by the mounting block and stepped into the saddle. She rode to the cross-country field. The gelding’s ears pricked forward, as if he were excited to go jump.

We’re just galloping today, she told him as they rode through the gate. She closed it behind them, thankful she’d taught the horses to do so to make it easier to practice. Then, she set him along the rail. He must have gotten the picture because he picked up a trot, stretching and lengthening as if they were in the dressage arena, before stepping into a canter. Zahra wished she could canter him all day. The easy three-beat gait was so nice to sit to and simply romping in the field promised to be so much fun. She, and the gelding, had work to do, so putting aside thoughts of cantering the afternoon away, she cued him for a gallop and began the hard work of conditioning. It took work for horses to be able to cover a cross-country course and the fitter a horse and rider pair, the less likely they were to have accidents. She suspected a lack of fitness, not to mention a lack of practice, had contributed to Rose’s fall. It sounded as if her horse had run out, given up halfway through the course.

That’d be something Rose would have to work on once she had the all-clear to get back into the saddle. At least then, she’d not be in the house all the time and Zahra could feel as if she had some of her privacy back. She sighed, hating herself for thinking that way. At some point she and Rose would have to confront their feelings, or in Rose’s case maybe a lack thereof, for one another. There would need to be a reckoning. She didn’t want that to happen in a rough way, but it did need to happen.

James veered off his track, and she put him back along the