Dedication 

I would like to thank my family for their love and constant support. I love you all!

    One day my mom came inside for a break after a long day of work in the stables.  My mom and dad work right outside on our farm training horses.  

    "Kennedy," my mom yelled from downstairs. "Yes?", I answered.  My dad came in with a big smile on his face.  "We have a surprise for you." he said. "We got a new horse to train!" they exclaimed, "but that's not even the best part, we are keeping her.  And you get to name her."  After a while of thinking of a name I got it.  Duchess!     

   Weeks passed and I hadn't seen Duchess go out  to be trained.  At dinner that night, I asked my dad why he wasn't training Duchess.  "Well, a couple weeks ago I tried to get a saddle on her, but she just didn't like it, he said."  That's when I got a great idea.

    "Can I train her?" I asked.  "Kennedy, honey she won't even let me get near her." he said.  "No one has been able to tame this horse since she was born."

    ''Duchess has gone through so much.  Her first owner passed away, and her husband sold her.  Duchess was neglected and then rescued by your aunt Eliza.  She tried training her for a year without success before selling her to me."  "I can do it dad!" I cried!  "Alright, I guess," said dad.  "Yes!" I cheered with all my might.

    After working with my dad for a few weeks, I was ready to train Duchess.  I went to get my saddle I used with Firefly, so I could use it with Duchess. 

    I set the saddle on her and she bucked it off. Dad came to check on me to make sure I was okay.  I decided to train her by first putting on her blankets and things that I would put under the saddle.

    I started by setting a blanket that belonged to Firefly on her.  She was a little bit uncomfortable with it at first, but then she got used to it.  I kept on adding blankets to Duchess, and after about a week and a half, I finally got her to keep the saddle on!

     Now I just had to get Duchess to let me sit on her.  This would be a little bit tricky because it was so much work to get the saddle on, so I asked my dad to come help me.

    "Daddy!'' I called. ''Yes?'' yelled dad.

''Can you come and help me please?'' ''Okay.  I will be down in a little bit.  "In a couple minutes, he was in the barn.  ''You know how to mount a horse right?" he said with a chuckle.  

    ''Well Duchess took so long to get the saddle on, and she bucked so I would feel more comfortable if you were here."  "Okay let's get this show on the road." he said.  Dad helped me to put my foot in the saddle. 

    For a second, she looked scared, but she did great.  My dad took her by the reins and led her out to the arena.  "We can start her out with a walk." said dad.  "Dad, I would like to do it by myself please." I said. "Okay, I'll watch from a distance," he replied.

     I started off with a walk.  We did about seven laps, and then I made her trot.  At first she was throwing her head side to side, but she calmed down.  I did ten laps, and then I made her run.  She ran so smoothly, and I was so glad that I had asked my dad if I could train her.

    My birthday was coming up, and during dinner, my dad told me something that would change my life.  He told me, if I could train Duchess by my birthday, I could race her.

    Finally, after months I was done training Duchess.  My birthday was in three days, and dad would let me and Duchess race.  I had a great time at my birthday party!  All my friends came over, and we played for hours.  After my birthday Duchess and I started practicing.