{"id":11119,"date":"2015-01-15T17:23:27","date_gmt":"2015-01-15T21:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thegreathorse.com\/?p=11119"},"modified":"2017-06-04T13:01:41","modified_gmt":"2017-06-04T17:01:41","slug":"book2-excerpt-6-throw-your-heart-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/2015\/01\/book2-excerpt-6-throw-your-heart-over\/","title":{"rendered":"“Throw your heart over!”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"GH2-2ndEd_cov_5FIN_142px\"
\nThe Legend of the Great Horse<\/strong> trilogy is an adventure through history. The Golden Spark (Book #2) won the 2011 Written Arts Awards<\/em> for best Science Fiction\/Fantasy.<\/p>\n

The year is 1816 and Meagan has found an obstacle she can’t jump…<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
But I freely admit that the best of my fun I owe it to horse and hound.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\u2014George John Whyte-Melville (1821-78)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"Jumping<\/div>\n

\u201cDanvers, look!<\/em>\u201d Meagan<\/span> shouted. A field of horsemen streamed from behind a distant rise on the horizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThundering heavens, there they are! Going by the mill where they\u2019ll lose the fox for sure. We\u2019ll cut short. There\u2019s a lane here somewhere that leads to town and goes right by the mill…\u201d Danvers stood high in the stirrups, surveying. They tramped across tall weeds, letting the horses pick a path through. \u201cThere it is!\u201d he called, pointing to an ancient wall buried in brambles and overgrown brush. The wall\u2019s stones had loosened, and many of the large rocks had fallen to lie scattered on the ground. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit sticky, I dare say, and I can\u2019t recall it having a gate. It\u2019s not so bad as the stile out of it, so hold your breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, Danvers released Finnigan into a canter. Meagan urged Banjo forward, letting the leaders\u2019 enthusiasm fire them both. Finnigan wavered, looking for a way through, and launched himself at the overgrown wall. A crashing followed, and Finnigan and Danvers vanished into the brush behind the wall. Meagan pulled Banjo off her planned line to the wall and circled away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right!\u201d came Danvers\u2019 cry from inside the brush. \u201cMaybe come on a wee strong to get all the way in the lane!\u201d<\/p>\n

Meagan turned toward the wall again, asking Banjo for a faster canter. The horse opened his stride and pricked his ears, raising his head as he came toward the thick brush. He bobbled, tripping over a loose stone, and at the last moment Meagan pulled the horse away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, love?\u201d Danvers called. \u201cI\u2019m back up. Come on over!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere? I can\u2019t see you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m on the other side, where did you think? I can\u2019t bloody well raise a flag.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meagan felt warmth pass from her into the cold air, leaving a hard, frozen spot in the pit of her stomach. She urged Banjo back into a canter and swung back to the wall. The brush behind it seemed impenetrable. Furious with herself, Meagan pulled out and circled again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t, Danvers!\u201d she called.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy bloody not? Just kick on … he\u2019ll have a go!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s me.\u201d The dreadful admission hung in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve heard the trick, love. Throw your heart over and follow it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I can, Danvers. I can\u2019t even see the landing. It\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBother, the finest things in life are ridiculous! Leave it to the horse. He doesn\u2019t mind a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meagan inhaled deeply and circled again. This is going to be fine<\/em>, she told herself. Banjo shook his head, thoroughly confused, but opened his stride again and pricked his ears at the wall buried in dense thicket. Banjo picked through the stones as Meagan sat tall and waited for the bounce into the air. Instead, Banjo swung violently to the left and the wall swerved away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d came the voice from the other side of the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe <\/em>stopped that time, Danvers.\u201d She hated the miserable moment of missing a difficult jump with a refusal and having to make another attempt. \u201cMaybe you should go on by yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Nonsense. He\u2019s had a runout, that\u2019s all. You\u2019ve shaken his confidence, all that mucking about you\u2019ve done. Now he thinks it\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is <\/em>dangerous!\u201d<\/p>\n

A loud call interrupted: \u201cYou there! I\u2019ve told the lot of you to stay off my land!\u201d Meagan turned in the saddle to see a man approaching on foot, waving a pitchfork and shouting.<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like Old Baker, that does. You\u2019d try that wall again if you knew what was about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a pitchfork, Danvers!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you coming then, love?\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n__________<\/p>\n

Quick Links:<\/p>\n

<\/strong>\n<\/div>\n

\u00bb See All Excerpts<\/strong><\/a> from The Legend of the Great Horse<\/strong> trilogy.<\/p>\n

\u00bb Read the 1st Chapter online<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00bb Check out Reviews<\/strong> <\/a> for the trilogy.<\/p>\n

\u00bb See the Media Kit<\/strong><\/a> for more information about the trilogy.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy is an adventure through history. The Golden Spark (Book #2) won the 2011 Written Arts Awards for best Science Fiction\/Fantasy. The year is 1816 and Meagan has found an obstacle she can’t jump… But I freely admit that the best of my fun I owe it to horse … Continue reading ““Throw your heart over!””<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[315],"tags":[118,332,396,301],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11119"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11119"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15269,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11119\/revisions\/15269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}