How she become Louisa Anne Horton

“I quit!” That was all that Louisa said, all those years of sacrifice were gone, and all because of Amber. Louisa had a hard childhood, however, when she was nine years old she found something she was passionate about. Riding horses, she couldn't love a single thing more than she loved horses. Horseback riding was her escape, the only thing that enabled her to escape her problems. While riding, Louisa felt a connection with the horse as well as with nature. The breeze on her face, that adrenaline that made her heart race, she loved everything about riding. 

If you dare to ask her she would say her favorite horse was Luck, well she did not own him, however, she treated him as if she was his owner. Louisa lived not too close to the city, it was a rural zone where there were so many farms. One day when walking back home from school she saw an advertisement. Some farmers were looking for a strong and helpful employer who could work at the farm. 

Louisa considered herself a strong and helpful woman, even though she was only nine. When she entered the farm and asked to apply for the job the farmers both laughed at her. “We are looking for a man, not even a boy and you are a tiny and weak girl”.

Louisa didn't care, she kept insisting to them “I am strong enough for this job,” she said. A middle-aged farmer who owned a farm close to there was on that farm picking up some merchandise when he heard the girl. When the other farmers kicked her out, that one farmer talked to her “My name is Dave, and I also own a farm. Let me tell you, you are a very enthusiastic young lady”.

Louisa liked that Dave didn't refer to her as a girl, he called her young lady. Then the farmer asked Louisa.“Would you like to work on my farm? I need some help”. Of course, Louisa accepted. The next day when Louisa entered the farm the first thing that caught her attention was seeing Dave riding a horse. Then Dave gave her a tour of the farm, it was clear what Louisa liked the most were the horses, which were kept in a stable. There was one horse in particular, it was as white as a cloud, but it had a dark spot on its back which characterized it. “What is his name?” She asked. 

Dave answered, “More than a name, it is a meaning”. Louisa insisted so Dave told her the story behind his name. “This horse was a miracle,” Dave said while looking at Luck. “I was there when he was born, as well as the vet. When the vet took her out of the womb, he immediately die”. Louisa's heart stopped beating then, she wanted to know more about Luck's story. “What happened then?” she asked.

“Well the vet gave up, she looked at me with that kind of face that tells you, there is nothing right. I didn't give up so easily, I put my hands on the horse's chest doing a CPR technique. The horse came back to life before I could tell”. 

Dave trusted Louisa from that moment on, he had lost his daughter and Louisa had lost his father, it seemed that they were both meant to know each other. 

After school every day Louisa went to the farm, she got used to all of the tasks and chores she had. Once she was done Dave taught her how to ride Luck, he started by teaching her how to saddle the horse. It took a few days for Louisa to get used to it, however, she seemed to be a natural. She was riding Luck as if she had done it for a long time, but speeding up was not one of her problems. The faster the better, that's what she used to say. After a couple of months Dave began to teach her how to jump through obstacles, he was surprised by how good Louisa was getting.

One afternoon Dave gave Louisa a gift, it was wrapped in blue wrapping paper, Louisa had told him it was her favorite color. “What is this?” Louisa asked. 

“Open it and you will see,” Dave told her. Louisa broke the wrapping paper, she opened the box and inside there was a riding suit. Louisa seemed to be confused, she thought farmers wear ranch boats, as well as hats. “There is this riding competition, I would like you to attend”. Louisa immediately smiled, no one had ever done something like that for her, she felt that Dave truly knew her. Louisa hugged Dave, and she whispered into his ear “Thank you! It means a lot”. Again, she accepted Daves's offer and would join the competition. 

Louisa was ready for the competition a month later, it was a horseback riding club where people were taking lessons, and there were some girls older than Louisa. She was not nervous, Louisa was not like that. When Louisa did something she always felt confident about, this time was no different. She put on her helmet, then she kissed Dave on the cheek, and then went to the stable where Luck was. 

“I am sure we are going to win,” she told Luck while smiling. 

A blonde girl and two other girls were staring at Louisa, she looked at them waiting for them to say something. “Hi?” Louisa told them once she felt uncomfortable. 

“What club are you representing?” The blonde girl said, another girl who seemed to be older said “You don't have a club uniform?”

Louisa kindly told them “I came here with… with my dad who owns a farm”. 

The three girls laughed at her, the blond girl told her “Good luck! You will need it”. Louisa was still confident, she would not let anyone destroy the confidence she had and she mostly feel loved, Dave was acting as if he was her father. Louisa's mom was an alcoholic woman, after Louisa's dad passed away when she was four her mother didn't have the strength to smile again. Since then Louisa was by herself until Dave found her. 

The competition started, the horses and their riders were all at the starting point, and the first round would only be running. The first horse to reach the final goal would be the winner. 

“Ready…. Set….Go!” The whistle sounded, and everyone was running as fast as possible, including Louisa. You could tell how focused she was, she didn't even realize she was the fastest until she reached the goal. The first thing she saw was Dave, he was shaking his hands while saying “That's my Louisa! Good job!” Louisa was proud, she patted Luck. 

Louisa had won first place in the first round, and the blonde girl Luisa had talked to earlier was Amber, who won second place. When the other competitors reached the finish line they were surprised that Amber hadn't won, no one could believe it. “It was my horse, he stumbled,” Amber told them, she again stared at Louisa with an angry face. Louisa understood what kind of person she was dealing with. 

The second round included jumps, again the whistle sounded and they were all running fast, this time Amber was beating Louisa. She did not seem to be enjoying the ride, she had a frustrated face and you could also see that she was suffering because she was giving much more than she should. This time Amber won, Louisa won second place, and she was still glad about it. Dave had never been happier, he was proud and excited since he trained Louisa, he had seen her turn into an amazing rider. 

The competition was done, Louisa got a big golden trophy with a horse on the top, and she got a medal for winning second place. “Dave! Look what I got!” She said excitingly while running to Dave's arms. “Thank you!” She whispered. 

After a long day, Louisa was exhausted, Dave took her home since it was eight o'clock Louisa thought her mother would be out, drinking. Dave hugged Louisa “Have a good night, little speedster”. Louisa laughed then she walked inside her house. 

Her mother was sitting on the couch looking through the window, she had seen how an old man who she did not know hugged her nine-year-old daughter. She was not a role model mother, but she didn't want Louisa to end up like her. 

“Who was that man?” Danielle screamed as soon as Louisa walked into the house. Louisa had no idea what to answer, so she stayed in silence. 

“I am talking to you!” Danielle screamed again, and this time she punch the table with her fist, she made Louisa scared, it was not the first time Danielle acted violently. 

Danielle started telling mean things to Louisa, she was about to hit her when Louisa raise her voice. “You have never been there for me, never since papa passed away. Why do you care who that man is?” Louisa took a deep breath, she was not scared anymore. 

“That man has been like a father to me, and I want to live with him”. 

Danielle let a tear out of her eye, she didn't scream or say anything. She went to her room, took a big blue suitcase out of the closet, and she started packing, putting all of the clothes unfolded from one side to another on the suitcase. Louisa ran to her mother's room, she was scared “Mom! Mom! What are you doing?” She said over and over again, but there was no answer. 

When Danielle finished packing, Louisa kept crying thinking about what her mother was doing. Her mother finally said something “I'm leaving, I have not been a good mother because I don't feel like being one”. 

“What do you mean?” Louisa asked her, her mother answered shortly “You did nothing wrong, now that you find someone who can take care of you is better for both of us”.

Danielle left, and Louisa ran to her mother's room and used a chair to look in the highest part of the closet. Her papa's ashes were supposed to be there in an ash chest, she knew her mother was not ever coming back. If her mother took the ashes, her biggest treasure, she was forever gone. Louisa had a weird sensation, she had lost both of her parents now. She wanted to keep all of the good memories, some of them were blurry since she was so young when her family was complete. She first started tearing up until fear invaded her mind, she was no longer sure if Dave would accept her as her daughter.

Louisa started crying, she got out of the house and then she ran to Dave's farm. The farm's fence was open so she went inside, it was ten already so Dave would be inside his house. She ran to the house and she started ringing the bell over and over again while screaming. Dave opened the door, and she saw how heartbroken Louisa was. “What 's wrong?” Dave asked her, Louisa hugged him with all her might. 

“My mother left me, she is gone!” Louisa screamed, Dave was not catching what Louisa was saying, she was just screaming and he could barely catch some words she was saying. Dave understood one sentence Louisa said which melted Dave's heart. “Are you going to send me away from you? You don't want me as a daughter?”

Dave grabbed Louisa in his arms, let a tear out of his eyes and he said “I will never let you go, you are my daughter now”. 

For both of them life changed that night, Dave turned into Louisa's father and Louisa turned into Dave's daughter.

Time passed, and Louisa grew into a sixteen-year-old girl. She and Dave never parted ways, she learned from him everything a girl could learn from a father, and even more. Dave continued to train her, and Louisa continued to participate in horse competitions she was in love with horses, especially Luck. Her main rival was still Amber, she seemed to haven't changed, Amber was still mean to Louisa. Soon there would be an important national competition that would define who would represent the United States in the 2022 world equestrian championship. 

Two weeks before the big national competition Louisa came back from school, Dave promised her that they would go horseback riding up a mountain that had a nice view of the valley. “Dad! Where are you?” Louisa asked while walking through the house.

“Louisa, come here,” Dave told her from the basement, he was only there when he was working on the computer, and Louisa wondered why.

“I need to talk to you,” he said. Louisa knew there was something wrong going on, then Dave kept talking. “I need to sell Luck,” Dave said shortly, without any other explanation. Louisa had different emotions all mixed, 

He knew that Dave did not own the horses, if someone offered to buy one, the owner would decide. Then Louisa calmly replied, "I don't understand. Why would you sell it?" Dave continued saying "Well, apparently there is a client that offers double the value of what a horse like Luck costs, my boss decided it and I tried to convince him but he refused". Then the tears began to come out of Louisa's eyes, and she ran to her room, Dave was behind her while saying "I'm sorry sweetie, I'm sorry. You know I love Luck too".

Louisa wasn't mad at Dave; she understood it wasn't her fault but was still very sad. Luck had been the most faithful and supportive horse she had ever known. He didn't have the same confidence with horses other than Luck.

The next morning they both had breakfast together, as usual, it was Saturday so Dave thought it would be a good idea to ride, Louisa could ride Luck one last time. Returning from the top of the mountain, Dave and Louisa could see that Thomas, Dave's boss, was talking to Amber and Zara, Amber's mother. "What is she doing here?" Louisa asked, Amber, said in a cold and rude tone "Mother, why is this cowgirl riding my horse?"

Louisa understood Amber would buy the horse to make her lose at nationals. "You're not taking Luck! You're crazy, crazy!" Louisa yelled at him as she walked towards Amber. Thomas calmed Louisa down, even yelling at Dave to control his daughter.

"Amber will buy the horse!" Thomas yelled, he had always been an understanding boss talking about his horses, which were kept on Dave's farm but when it came to money Thomas was unrecognizable.

“I quit!” Louisa screamed, she let out an uncontrollable cry and ran to her favorite corner of the farm, she was sitting in the shade of the big trees next to Luck, but now he would be no more. Dave came running up to her and hugged her as he listened to what Louisa was saying. "It's not fair! She just wants to make me lose! I've lost so much in my life."

Dave immediately got upset. "That's not true! If you have lost a lot, but life has given you in return, you don't see it, there are orphans out there who never had someone who loved them as I did with you."

Louisa yelled again "I quit!" She was angry with Dave now, she didn't like what he had told her, so she ran away.

The days passed, and Louisa said goodbye to Luck and had given up the competition and riding because she didn't want to do it if it wasn't with Luck. Dave knew that Louisa wasn't really mad at him, she was hurt. Dave made a decision, he sold a gold watch which had been a gift from his grandmother since he was a teenager. Dave's boss agreed to sell the horse, so He went to Louisa's room without telling her that he had retrieved it. When Louisa saw Luck in the stable she didn't understand. "I bought it, it's yours." Louisa looked carefully at Dave "How?" I ask him, and he replied, "I love you more than anything my daughter". They both hugged each other and Dave whispered: "Now you must win, you must be the fastest Equestria in the world".

When the national competition arrived in Ohio, Amber was there, her plan had failed. Everyone got ready and ran but there was a competitor who stood out among all. It was Louisa, she and Luck were about to reach the finish line first as usual. The second place did not go to Amber, she had been in sixth place which meant that she would not go to the world championships. Louisa couldn't believe it, she was going to compete against the best horsemen in the world. She had finally achieved what for many years she had worked so hard for, she achieved it together with her father, and everything she had lost had been for a special reason, something that had led her to be Louisa Anne Horton, the world champion. riding.