Sarah's Stallion Ch. 01

I want to thank Ladyfalcon for her assistance by making constructive comments and editing this story.

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Growing up on a farm in rural southern Illinois, unlike city kids, I had few other children to play with, and I had no siblings. Luckily, our farm neighbors, who lived on the farm next to ours, had a daughter, almost the same age as me. She was also an only child, so at a young age, we were thrown together as playmates, because the only other child our age lived three miles away. Her name was Sarah Kolb.

If you're familiar with southern Illinois, there are many hills mixed among the flat spots. Sarah's family grew corn, soybeans, and hay on their farm, because most of it was level. There was a small creek that flowed through a corner of Kolb's farm. That same creek flowed through the middle of ours, and about half of ours was hilly. On the flat part, my parents grew apples in an apple orchard, and on the hilly half we raised Christmas trees.

From about the third grade, Sarah and I would frequently ride our bikes to each others farm after school to have someone to play with. We spent a lot of time playing outside, wading in the creek, chasing butterflies, and riding our bikes. Sarah could run as fast as me and she didn't cry if she skinned her knee. She wasn't afraid of spiders, nor was she afraid to climb trees or to catch frogs. I liked her a lot because she was a rough and tumble girl. At the same time, she could be as sweet, ladylike, and pretty as a princess.

One time when I was playing at Sarah's house, I saw several trophies, medals, and ribbons on her mantle. I asked about them, and Sarah told me they belonged to her mom, Virginia. She said her mom had grown up on her grandfather's horse farm and that her mom had won all the prizes for horsemanship at horse shows.

When I asked why her mom didn't have a horse, Sarah said, "She was in a car wreck when I was two. She had a broken pelvis that didn't heal right--that's why she walks with a limp. She couldn't ride a horse after that, so she had to sell it."

Sarah went on to tell me she wanted a horse, but her parents said she was too young. So instead of a horse, Sarah had a black, mixed-breed, mostly-Labrador dog, named Abby. She told me her parents promised her a horse when she turned fifteen, if she maintained good grades. In return, she had to promise she would be the one who took care of it.

Over the next few years, Sarah dedicated herself to her school work and was always at the top of the class. Because of her love of animals, she always wanted to be a veterinarian.

By the time we reached high school, Sarah started developing feminine curves in all the right places. She blossomed from a cute girl into a beautiful young woman. She was slender, at 5-feet 5-inches, and 110 pounds. I loved how her blue eyes sparkled. She let her brunette hair grow and usually wore it in a ponytail that hung just below her shoulders. She had a small, turned-up, button nose and delicate rosy cheeks. Looking at Virginia and Sarah together, you might have thought they were sisters. Dad always said Sarah was "cuter than a spotted pup."

In mid-August of our freshman year, Sarah received one of her grandfather's prize horses, a registered, four-year-old, chestnut quarter horse, for her fifteenth birthday. She was his only grandchild, so he lavished her with a magnificent gift. Sarah's horse, named after the Greek mythological flying horse, was Pegasus. She was extremely proud of him. Pegasus was an elegant horse--strong, muscular, and fast. He was sixteen hands high and had a white star on his forehead.

As a stallion, his disposition was mostly gentle. Occasionally, he would act up, but he was much calmer than most stallions. His worst habit was to rub against wooden fences, and he broke some, requiring numerous repairs.

Pegasus was saddle-broke and had been ridden before Sarah received him, so she started riding him within a week after his arrival at Kolb's farm. Sarah and Pegasus bonded quickly. Virginia helped Sarah train Pegasus, and within several months, Pegasus could perform all the maneuvers required in horsemanship competition. Besides all the maneuvers required for horse shows, Sarah taught Pegasus several tricks and behaviors. On command, he could bow, shake his head, rear up on his hind legs, and paw the ground with a hoof. Sarah also used several special whistles as commands. She could call Pegasus from the pasture with one whistle. Another whistle would send him into the barn. With yet another whistle, she could get him to urinate on command.

When I heard that Pegasus would urinate when Sarah gave a special whistle, I was skeptical. One day when Sarah rode Pegasus to our farm, I told her I didn't believe it, so she said, "Stand back." Then she gave a warbling high-low-high, 'wee-oh-wee' whistle, and sure enough, he peed nearly a half gallon right there in front of us. She smugly smiled at me.

I asked, "Why would you want him to do that?"

"I don't like to muck out wet straw from his stall. Horse urine smells bad, so I put him in the pasture and get him to pee before I put him in the barn for the night. Otherwise, he pees on the fresh bedding I put in his stall."

"Whatever gave you the idea to train him to do that?"

"Grandpa trains his horses that way. He doesn't want them to pee during a horse show, so he gets them to pee before they go in the arena."

"Oh." After that, I never doubted Sarah.

With Virginia's guidance and training, Sarah became an expert horsewoman. Within about six more months, Sarah was winning showmanship and riding awards at local horse shows. Then she became interested in barrel racing. Her horsemanship and Pegasus' speed were responsible for winning a number of barrel races at rodeos and county fairs. Sarah and Pegasus won many ribbons and several cash prizes.

Sarah labored long taking care of Pegasus. Maintaining him was hard work. Beyond that, it was dirty and smelly. There were the daily feeding, watering, currying, bedding, and cleaning horse manure out of the stall. She had no days off, or days when she could sleep in. But Sarah enjoyed taking care of Pegasus. Caring for him made her a responsible, strong, young woman.

In the early summer before Sarah and I began our high school junior year, her father died of a heart attack. It shocked the farm community, because he was only 35 years old. His death left the burden of running the farm to Virginia. The Kolb's farm neighbors for several miles around pitched in and helped Virginia by harvesting the farm crops and helping with farm jobs that she and Sarah couldn't do. I also volunteered to help the Kolb's whenever I could. My ulterior motive was, of course, to spend more time around Sarah.

Sarah and Pegasus continued winning awards in various youth halter and showmanship classes. As a team, they excelled in barrel racing. Just after she turned seventeen, they won the state barrel racing title in the "youth 18-years and younger class." Several local newspapers published photos of Sarah, holding her trophy (which she dedicated to her father), while sitting on Pegasus. The American Quarter Horse Association picked up the story, and published an article in their quarterly about Sarah and Pegasus.

The publicity of their wins generated interest from a number of quarter horse owners who owned breeding mares. As a registered quarter horse, with a prize-winning lineage, plus numerous ribbons and trophies, Pegasus' foals could fetch a handsome price. Sarah and her mom would collect a substantial stud fee when Pegasus bred a registered quarter horse mare.

Other than having Sarah as a best friend in grade school, I really hadn't paid much attention to other girls. However, by the time I was in high school, my hormones dictated I pay more attention to the female of the species. There were several girls at Jackson who caught my eye, but Sarah was my first choice--we knew each other since we were kids, and her parents' farm was only a short distance away. Given the small mileage between farms, she represented the girl-next-door.

Sarah and I dated several times when we were sixteen and seventeen, and our relationship was slowly transformed. There was now something more delightful about being around Sarah than when we were kids growing up. When the weather was nice, we'd sit on the Kolb's porch swing and I'd put my arm around her. We'd talk about this and that, but nothing in particular. When we kissed, my heart began turning somersaults. Sarah's lips were so soft and sensuous that I couldn't get enough of her kisses. Our teenage infatuation was heating up.

Just after we turned eighteen, we started going steady. I told Sarah I loved her, and she responded saying she loved me. She would blush when I told her she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Her personality was pure sunshine.

During the late summer, Sarah entered a couple local horse shows. She invited me to go along and I was more than happy to accompany her and to cheer her on. At a September horse show, Sarah introduced me to her widower grandfather, Arthur. He seemed like a kindly old gent. I guessed his age was somewhere between 65 and 70. He had white hair, looking slightly like Colonel Sanders, except he had no mustache or beard. He'd come to the horse show to see Sarah compete.

Arthur asked if I minded if we sat together in the grandstand. I didn't know anyone else at the show, so I agreed. We chatted about his farm and his horses. He said his farm was several miles north of Mattoon. There were about twenty-five horses on his farm, he said, and a couple stable hands to help him take care of them. He'd bred pedigreed quarter horses on his farm for more than thirty years. Arthur told me he was proud that Sarah had trained Pegasus so well. Then he said Sarah had mentioned we were going steady.

"She likes you a lot, you know. The last time I saw her, you were the only person she talked about."

"I like her a lot, too," I said.

It was now Sarah's turn to compete in a Western Horsemanship event, so we both turned our attention to Sarah and Pegasus. Arthur pointed out how Sarah's saddle posture was perfect, how she placed the toes of her boots in the stirrups, and how she held his reins just right. Pegasus' ears were alert, and he obeyed each of her leg cues and reins to pivot, turn, stop, or back up. Pegasus and Sarah moved around the arena so smoothly, it was as if they were one. Arthur beamed when she and Pegasus finished. I thought she was doing well, but not being an equestrian, I couldn't tell if Sarah was doing better than her competitors. However, Arthur predicted she'd win another first place.

Sure enough, Arthur was right. We both stood and clapped with enthusiasm when Sarah's name was announced as the first place winner. Afterward, Arthur and I went to the stalls outside the arena and found Sarah and Pegasus. We both congratulated her on her first place win. Sarah hugged her grandfather and then me.

"I appreciate both of you coming to the show." Then she asked, "Grandpa, isn't he just about the most adorable boy in the whole world?"

Arthur agreed, leaving me somewhat embarrassed and proud at the same time, while Sarah's slender fingers held my hand. He and I helped Sarah load Pegasus into the horse trailer, and later we said goodbye to him, before heading home. While Sarah drove the pickup home, she told me stories about her grandfather and how, as a little girl, she learned to ride horses on some of his gentle mares.

When we started going steady, Sarah and I said we were "engaged to be engaged." As our mutual affection escalated, there was little doubt we'd eventually be married. During our dates, we kissed and did some light petting, but Sarah was such a lovely creature that I didn't want to wreck our bond by going any further. One time we were talking about marriage in generalities, and Sarah said she wanted to remain a virgin until she married.

Sarah and I continued dating through the winter, and we both kept busy with school work and activities. Even though our parents limited our dating to the weekends, there were the holidays, basketball games, the school play, and two school dances when I could spend some time with Sarah. Being in love with Sarah helped the winter fly by.

At long last, winter's hold diminished. About four months before our graduation from high school in 1963, Sarah, and I went on our first double date with two of our close friends, Bill and Kathy. We were all 18, except Bill, who had just turned 19. Bill and Kathy had been going steady for a couple months longer than Sarah and I.

Bill's car was in the shop for a few days, so I suggested we double date on Saturday evening. We'd attended a movie in town, then downed a hamburger and milk shake at a popular hamburger joint before heading home. About halfway there, Sarah and I heard some giggling coming from the back seat, followed by "Oh... Bill... oh... oh..."

I glanced toward Sarah as she turned to look into the back seat. She put her hand over her mouth, and with wide eyes, returned to her original position, staring straight ahead. A few seconds later, even from the dim illumination of the dashboard, I could see her cheeks turned crimson.

Driving Sarah home after dropping off Bill and Kathy, I asked, "What did you see in the back seat that made you blush?"

"You won't believe this, but Kathy had her knees up and her panties were around her ankles. Bill had his hand under her skirt."

"You're joking," I said.

"No, I'm not joking."

Sarah's disclosure astonished me. I didn't expect Bill and Kathy to be making out in the back of my car with Sarah and me in the front seat. Sarah and I had never engaged in that sort of behavior, so I understood why Sarah blushed. When we began dating, Sarah made a comment about not wanting to date a boy who "fooled around," so I tried not to cross the line for fear of losing her--she was the girl of my dreams.

When we reached Sarah's house, we sat and talked in the car for awhile. We talked about a number of things, but Bill and Kathy weren't discussed. The chilly air finally got too cold for us, so I walked her to the door. She gave me her usual polite kiss and a hug before going inside. On the way home, I wondered why Bill and Kathy were behaving the way they did. I knew they were going steady, but still I was surprised.

As I looked back on our relationship, I think it was shortly after our double date with Bill and Kathy when I sensed something began to change with Sarah, because it wasn't too long afterward when she started getting a little bolder. At first, she made a couple oblique statements about how surprised she'd been when she saw Bill's hand under Kathy's skirt. I didn't make any comments, trying to stay neutral about the whole affair.

I knew Kathy and Sarah had been best girl friends for a long time. They both owned riding horses, which is why they probably became best friends in the first place. Like most high school girls who are best friends, I was sure they never kept secrets from each other.

Until that time, Sarah and I had kissed and done some light petting, but it hadn't moved beyond that point. One evening a couple weeks later, it was just Sarah and me on a date. We came home from a movie and were sitting outside her house talking about our upcoming graduation, when she surprised me with, "Did you know Bill and Kathy have been having sex?"

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Kathy told me. She said they did it the first time just a few days before our double date."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I guess it explains why Bill had his hand under her skirt when we double dated."

"We've been going steady for four months. Do you want me to put my hand under your skirt?"

"Well, that's not exactly what I meant. I don't want to get pregnant."

"Putting my hand under your skirt won't make you pregnant."

"I know that. I'm just afraid that we might not be able to stop."

"What if we both agreed about how far we'd go?"

Sarah shifted in her seat and I sensed she was about to say something, but she just sat there and appeared to be deep in thought. Several seconds of silence went by and I heard her sigh. She turned her head toward the passenger window and said in a low voice, "Steve, I'm all mixed up inside. Kathy says Bill gives her the most intense orgasms she's ever had..."

"And...?"

"Kathy and I were talking, and she said she and Bill really enjoy it. She said we'd been going steady for several months... Well, she said she thought we'd enjoy it, too."

"Are you telling me you want to have sex?"

"No. I'm telling you what Kathy said, but if you promised not to push me to have sex, I'd be willing to go farther than we've gone before."

Sarah had revealed something about herself I hadn't anticipated. It occurred to me that she was telling me what Kathy had said to distance herself from her comment.

"Maybe we ought to talk about this some more," I said.

She abruptly straightened in her seat and said, "I think I'd better go in—it's getting late."

I walked her to the door again. Her goodbye kiss and hug were about the same as always, leaving me wondering if she really believed what she'd said in the car.

Over the next day or so I replayed our conversation, trying to separate Sarah's thoughts from Kathy's. Was Sarah acting on her own, or was Kathy pushing her?

The following weekend, Sarah and I had another date. We both seemed to be skirting around the issue of making out that Sarah had brought up the previous date. Finally, I decided to clear the air once and for all.

"Sarah, you've known me since we were kids, and we've gone steady for four months, so I think you can trust me, right?"

"Yes."

"So if I promise not to force you into sex, how far are you willing to go?"

Sarah thought about my question for a few seconds, then in a quiet voice said, "I'm not sure."

"Would you let me touch your breasts?"

"Yes."

"Would you let me put my lips on your breasts?"

"I think so."

"Well then, would you let me put my hand under your skirt?"

She considered my question a little longer than the previous questions. "Only if I could slide my hand down your jeans," she said.

"There, that wasn't so difficult was it? Sarah, I give you my promise that I'll never go farther than we've agreed."

"Thank you, Steve. I know I can trust you and that you'll live up to your promise."

Now that we'd come to an understanding, our sexuality was out in the open. It really didn't change my feelings toward Sarah, and I don't think it changed hers about me.

Before our date ended, I slipped my hand under Sarah's sweater and placed it on her warm breast as I kissed her. I could feel her nipple swell and her sigh told me she enjoyed it. Even though I'd have liked to continue by suckling on her nipple, I thought I ought to go slow so as not to scare her off.

When I took Sarah home and walked her to the door, she gave me a lusty kiss before going inside. "Good night Steve, and dream of me," she said.

Our next few dates were interesting in that Sarah let me be bolder than I'd ever been. I was able to unsnap her bra and feel her breasts under her sweater. One date, I was able to put my mouth on her left nipple and flip it with my tongue, which brought a deep moan from Sarah. Each time after our dates, I had to go home and relieve my erection by hand.

At long last, on a date I'd suckled both her breasts and from her moans, I knew she was getting sexually aroused. Sarah finally slipped her hand down my jeans, and I don't think I'd ever had a harder erection as she fondled my penis. It felt so incredible that I ejaculated all over her hand. It was so embarrassing, but Sarah laughed it off, "At least one of us got some relief," she said.