Summary: What holds a man like Adam Cartwright up when his confidence wavers?
Rating:  G   Words:  1,825

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The Brandsters have included this author in our project: Preserving Their Legacy. To preserve the legacy of the author, we have decided to give their work a home in the Bonanza Brand Fanfiction Library.  The author will always be the owner of this work of fanfiction, and should they wish us to remove their story, we will.

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Author’s Note: A special thank you to Southplains and her son for confirming certain technical aspects of horse breaking for me. Thank You!

 

Faith, Hope, and Family

The steel dust mare quivered as he adjusted the saddle a little more forward, but the only movement she made was a flaring of her nostrils and a flicker of her ears back as he pulled the cinch tight again. Adam paused to watch the ears for a minute, moving a little closer to her head out of the reach of her back legs. He waited for the ears to relax again before finishing with the cinch and slipping the excess leather into the buckle. That saddle had moved just a little too much in the last go ’round.

“Hope you got ‘er cinched down tight this time.” Hoss crowed from where he was perched on the corral fence.

“Don’t matter if he does, she’ll have ‘im in the dust the minute he takes that blindfold off.” Joe predicted from beside him.

Adam threw his brothers a confident smile. “Just sit back and watch how it’s done, Boys,” he said, pulling his gloves on a little tighter and checking the cinch one last time. Though, if the truth were known he was feeling anything but confident. This little mare had already thrown him more times than he cared to count and he was feeling it in every bone in his body.

He settled his hat a little firmer on his head and standing close to the blindfolded mare’s head, he grabbed the long lead rope in one hand and slipped a foot into the stirrup. In one smooth motion, being careful not to jar her, he swung up and into the saddle. The mare didn’t flinch, but Adam could feel the tension in every nerve of her body. She was wound as tight as a too sharp guitar string and just waiting until she could see to pop on him. He settled down snug into the saddle, moving well forward against the saddle swell and taking a firmer grip on the rope with his left hand. If he could just get past that wicked twist she was throwing in there he was sure he’d have her.

Hoss and Joe were still offering facetious advice and ribbings from the corral fence but Adam tuned them out and focused his entire attention on the gray mare quivering beneath him, as aware as he was of the contest soon to begin. Slowly he reached forward and removed the blindfold.

The next moment he was eating dust and his brothers’ roar of laughter came rolling over from the corral fence.

Slowly, he lifted himself to all fours, spitting sand as he rose, and then turned over to sit in the dust. He looked over to where Hoss and Joe were slapping their knees and nudging each other in the ribs and gave them a rueful smile. “Sure laugh it up. I’d like to see either one of you do better.”

“Don’t look at me, I ain’t suicidal.” Hoss laughed and nudged Joe again.

“Yeah, only a Yankee granite head like you’d keep takin’ that kind of abuse.” Joe assured him.

Adam laughed but had to admit they were probably right. He’d been working on this particular horse for several days now and still hadn’t managed to sit her. It was beginning to annoy him, too. He knew each time she threw him it was that much harder to sit her next time, but it only made him that much more determined.

He sat in the dust and watched her a moment as she moved around the corral, stepping wide of where Hoss and Joe sat, but otherwise hugging the fence as far away from the human as possible. If she wasn’t such a fine looking animal and if he wasn’t in particular need of another horse at the moment he’d just turn her out for brood stock.

In the meantime, Hoss had gotten himself under control enough to slip through the corral bars and walk over to give his brother a hand up.

“Ya ain’t hurt are ya?” he asked, concern showing in the blue eyes, in spite of the grin.

Adam grabbed the hand and stood, brushing the dust from his jeans, “Nah, nothing but my pride.”

Hoss laid a hand on his shoulder and chuckled in sympathy. Joe joined them and together they watched the compact little mare move back and forth along the far side of the corral looking for a way out. Her movements were fluid and graceful and the tightness of her turns were impressive. Adam knew she had the potential to make a fine cow pony and with the recent loss of one of his best cattle horses, he’d set his heart on replacing it with the flashy steel dust mare.

“I don’t know Adam, she’s a good looker and all that, but she may just be a lost cause.” Joe observed, “How many times has she thrown you now? And that was the quickest yet.”

The glare Adam threw at him was lost on his little brother, but it made him feel better anyway. He didn’t need to be reminded how often the gray mare had thrown him. He knew it.

“Shush, Joe. Adam knows what he’s doin'” Hoss said and Adam gave him a grateful but wry smile, he wished he felt that confident.

“How’s it going?” Their father’s voice from behind them turned them all around.

Joe and Hoss looked at Adam and he reluctantly shook his head. “Just can’t seem to stick, Pa. I don’t know, she does something after that first jump that loosens me right up. I can’t seem to stay with her and the next thing I know I’m eatin’ dirt.”

They walked together to the fence where Ben stood resting his forearms along the top rail. Joe and Hoss resumed their position on the fence while Adam turned to lean his back against it. They all studied the horse in silence and Adam wondered if he was just being too hard-headed. How many times do you get bucked off a horse before you realize it’s just one of those untamable mavericks and let it go? And why was he pushing himself so hard to break this particular mare? True, she’d caught his eye the minute the hands had brought her in from spring round-up. Her sleek coat covered a perfect conformation, her eyes were wide and intelligent and her gait and movements were smooth as a deep flowing river, but if she was unpredictable and unrideable what good was it?

“I don’t know, Pa. Maybe I ought to just turn her back out on the range. She’d still be good brood stock.” He found the expression of his doubts hard, but he knew Pa would tell him truthfully if it was time to give up.

He felt a broad hand on his shoulder. “Is that what you want to do?” Pa’s voice was soft.

Adam shrugged. No, it wasn’t what he wanted to do, but it might be the wisest thing to do.

“Come on, Adam. Ya ain’t never giv’n up on anything.”

“Yeah, Hope springs in the eternal beast, remember?”

Adam was glad his back was to Joe. Hope springs eternal in the human breast he corrected to himself with a silent chuckle, but he was touched, too. Joe, who had just last week been moaning over another failed romance, had been getting ready to take a different girl out this week as happy as a lark and Adam hadn’t been able to resist the temptation to tease him a little. It was a little funny to hear Pope’s words repeated back to him now, albeit a little altered, in an attempt to encourage him.

“Thanks, Joe.”

Pa gave his shoulder a pat. “Why don’t you give it another try, Son. She’s just as wore out as you are now. She’s got to give in some time.”

Adam pursed his lips and watched the mare thoughtfully for another moment.

“Come on, Adam, you can do it.” Hoss assured him.

“Yeah, Adam, no horse is gonna best a Cartwright.”

Pa gave a low chuckle. “With a cheering section like that, how can you lose?” the voice was soft in his ear and Adam laughed low to himself. He couldn’t. With his confidence restored once again he started across the corral toward the wary mare. He could feel the faith and love of his family behind him every step of the way.

“Whoa, whoa,” he crooned to the mare with his arms spread wide. She allowed him to catch her just as she always had and he slipped his handkerchief out of his pocket and around her eyes once again. He stood a moment stroking the soft nose and talking to her and then moved back toward the saddle – he felt her stiffen as he moved the reins into position.

Behind him Joe and Hoss called out encouragement, as much behind him now as be they had been ribbing him before and he smiled. Who knew? Maybe it was all the difference he needed. Taking a breath and holding it, tuning out the sounds coming from the corral fence and focusing solely on the living, breathing animal beside him he slipped a boot into the stirrup and eased into the saddle. He settled himself down into it and then reached forward to remove the blindfold.

The next few seconds were like riding a tornado and afterwards Adam never really knew how he’d managed to stay on. Perhaps it really was the shouts from the corral fence, maybe it was the love and faith and hope of his family buoying him up and keeping him balanced squarely in the saddle atop that wildcat of a mare. Whatever the reason, he found himself still upright and in control when a few short minutes later the little mare stopped her corkscrews and lined out in a steady trot around the corral that slowed to a walk at Adam’s gentle pull on the rope attached to the halter. Another pull and she stopped completely and Adam sighed. A nudge in her side and she stepped out in a fast walk that was smooth as silk and Adam grinned. Oh, but she was a fine animal.

From across the way, the shouts of his family finally registered and he looked over to see Hoss and Joe slapping each other on the back and waving their hats, while pa leaned against the fence a broad smile on his face and Adam knew in that minute that not only did hope spring eternal but so did faith and the greatest of all – love.