Chapter 2: High Hopes, Olympic Dreams

Entering the ring at the National Horse Show was gut-wrenching. Adoré had never ridden in competition at this level before. But both her parents, good riders themselves, encouraged her. Her horse, Champ, the one she'd selected for herself, was strong, elegant, and well-schooled.

The past year had been full of both joy and frustration for the beautiful teen. She'd known transcendent joy when she'd been with her cousin and lover, Marty-the lovemaking was just an added attraction for her. She loved everything about him and took the attitude that everything they did together was making love. And her work with Champ was very satisfying. Between the horse and schoolwork, she didn't have time to mope around missing Marty. But of course, that was the frustration: They wanted to be together, but were separated by the whole continent.

Oh, well, her parents had promised she could fly to Oregon right after Nationals.

Champ had an exceptional tournament, inspired by the excitement of the competition, they guessed. And Adoré always looked very elegant in a saddle. She'd been taught from infancy to sit still and erect, with 'quiet hands', whenever she was on a horse. Her ability to form a rapport with the animal made it better. To her surprise-though her dad kind of expected it-she won dressage and was second in the arena jumping competition. Her dad said she'd have won that, too, except she was just a bit tentative.

Completely unexpected was that her performance qualified her for the Olympics. She hadn't even considered participating in the Games. And the thought of the hours she'd have to spend in the saddle to prepare meant that much less time with Marty.

On the phone that night, Marty was enthusiastic. "Of course you have to do it! This is a lifetime opportunity that lots of folks spend millions and years and never get. You've got to go-and WIN, Dory!"

"But Marty, if I do this, I won't be able to come to the ranch. And I really need the time with you."

"Maybe I'll just have to spend more time in Richmond this year," Marty commented dryly. "I can do that-for you. Personally, I think you're worth it."

"Oh, darling. Can you? That would be so cool."

"If you promise to keep me out of the 'society' stuff... I hate 'socializing'. It's a bunch of snobs who never worked an honest day in their lives trying to impress each other. Who needs it?"

"Neither you nor I, darling. But sometimes the contacts are important, when I need to butter up a horse show judge, for example."

"Yeah. I can see that. And maybe I can find some buyers for Steele Ranch beef... but can we keep it to a minimum? I'd love to spend the time with you and your family, and our friends; not a bunch of snobs."

"Sure. And I'll be happy to have your comments on my practice sessions, too."

"You got it, baby. And you've just got to do this. Congratulations again."

So in August, Rick showed all the Steele Ranch cattle at the fair-including two heifers and a bull from a promising Black Angus strain he and Marty thought would do well. Marty spent the summer in Virginia, concerned about other things.

Over the summer, Marty learned a lot about show horses and the people who ride them and became a pretty fair weekend show rider himself. They found that he was an excellent coach for Adoré. He could spot the subtle flaws in a performance and explain to her what she'd done wrong and how to correct it in a way that she accepted gratefully. When the problem was the horse, it was up to Adoré-Marty never did learn to talk to horses.

They worked daily and competed most weekends. The tougher the competition, the better Adoré liked it.

"Nothing here is as tough as nationals. And that wasn't so bad, compared to the Olympics. I need to compete to stay sharp-and keep Champ sharp. And I need you with me. Daddy critiques me pretty well, but he doesn't have your eye, darling. So you'd better figure on some heavy time here."

"Anything you say, baby. I'm enjoying the competition myself, even though the horse your mom loaned me isn't in Champ's class."

"Few are. But you're not trying for the Olympics, either."

Working together bonded them even more. They were a couple in every way except the wedding.

When Marty couldn't understand why Adoré insisted on hanging her damp bras and pantyhose on the shower rail in the motel during a competition, they had a lovely fight, too... And a wonderful time making up once they cooled down. The little differences in their lifestyles intruded and they were still learning how to live with the other. Their well-developed sense of humor and even stronger sense of the absurd saved them often. Many times, when they were squaring off for a fight, one of them would start to grin-fighting it all the way. The other would see... and they'd collapse in each other's arms, laughing aloud.

The result, all their lives together, was that they would have some very intense, serious discussions, but for one to blow up at the other was very rare.

Marty developed a need to find little ways to delight his lover. It wasn't just that it was fun-he needed to please her. And Adoré, in turn, quickly learned to never take him for granted. She also learned that he would take her for granted, but not because he didn't love her or wasn't sensitive to her. He just had certain expectations-and she would live up to them.

With all that, they each improved both in horsemanship and intimacy daily.

In the months leading up to the games, the pair spent as much time together as they could arrange, but it was difficult. Marty ended up moving to Richmond in March, so he could coach Adoré in the crucial months before the games.

By the time the Olympics were upon them, Marty was recognized among the eastern 'hunt club' establishment as an 'up and comer' in the horse world. Not as a rider, but as a young man who was VERY knowledgeable and able to accurately judge the performance of both horse and rider. In fact, when he participated in a weekend competition-he was mostly there to support Adoré and rode just for fun-the meet organizers often prevailed upon him to judge the junior competitions. He could explain to young riders what they were doing well and where they had missed it, in a way that did not talk down to them. Parents loved him. Of course, being a cousin of the Parmentiers helped, too.

They'd planned that he would go to the games with Adoré, as a groom for Champ. In the end, that wasn't necessary. The US equestrian authorities sent him as a judge! Of course, he couldn't judge events when Adoré was competing, but they were glad to have him.

Sitting in the first class section of the airplane carrying them to the games, Marty was still stunned by events.

"I can't believe I'll be able to be in the village with you. I expected I'd to have to sleep in a drafty old trailer out by the barns."

"Well, I think it's a good thing the committee figured out just how good you are..." her lovely face broke into a huge, sly grin. "And I'm happy I'll be able to have my talented lover handy to keep me content and focused."

"I'll do my best," he replied smugly. "But this way, we can be together a lot more. I can even participate in the opening and closing ceremonies. What a rush!"

"You've got to hold my hand the whole time, darling. This whole thing is getting scary."

"Whenever I can, baby. You know that... I wish they'd come up with better outfits for the US team though. That stuff we have to wear for the opening doesn't flatter you very much."

"Bull! I look gorgeous no matter what I wear."

Marty smiled. "That you do, baby. But you'd look more gorgeous in something with a better cut."

"Well, I'll get mom to have somebody tailor it a bit, if that's your concern."

The senior Parmentiers had arranged a large suite in a luxury hotel near the Olympic site. And they'd sent their two best grooms to care for Champ. Hazel and Ad had too much on their plates at the ranch to take the time off, but were rooting hard for Adoré and made sure Marty knew that they didn't begrudge him the time away from the work of the ranch-their price was frequent phone calls to keep them up to date.

On arrival at the site of the Games, they were taken to the Olympic Village, where they discovered that they'd been assigned rooms in different buildings. The Village was a college dormitory complex, with the Spartan facilities associated with student life. On the bright side, Adoré did not have a roommate, since she was the only equestrienne from the US that year. Marty had a roommate-another judge, of weightlifting-who was a nice guy, but didn't have much to say that Marty understood.

The obvious solution was that Marty simply moved in with Adoré. They didn't make it a secret, or rub anybody's nose in it, but they didn't ask permission, either. A bedroom in the Parmentier suite was reserved for Adoré, too-which meant both of them, in practice.

Champ, once he'd recovered from the flight, seemed to like the new venue. The acoustics in the arena were better than he was used to, and the footing was good. Adoré's practice sessions were excellent and she and Marty began to feel that she might just pull it off. Up to that point, they were just glad to be there.

Champ was jumping better than he ever had.

"Hey, babe, guess what?" Marty hustled into their room.

"Not a clue, Marty. What?"

"I'm judging the three-day."

"So?"

"So, I'll be able to spend all the time I want with you while you're competing. I won't have to miss any of it!"

"That is nice, honey. I always seem to do better when you're watching... knowing you'll catch any mistakes, and make me do it over."

They were not much impressed with the opening ceremonies. They had to stand, in a huge crowd of athletes, outside the stadium while all the good stuff was going on inside. Marching in-hand in hand of course-into the huge stadium and taking their place with all the other athletes was an awesome experience, but they agreed they'd pass next time.

Two days later, Adoré successfully qualified for the finals in dressage and, the next day, in arena jumping. She made passionate but tender love to Marty in celebration, after a good meal in the hotel with her parents.