[horses whinnying]
[horse nickers]
♪ I'm gonna ride ♪
♪ I'm riding free ♪
♪ So come along, let's go along ♪
♪ Come on a journey with me ♪
♪ I'm gonna ride ♪
♪ I'm riding free ♪
♪ As long as I am here with you ♪
♪ I feel the spirit within me ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
[Lucky] I can feel it. Jack, today's our day.
It's your day.
Maybe our day is next week, or the week after that.
Relax, Lucky. You've got this. You've won every ranking race.
Coach is bound to assign you to the relay anchor position.
[sighs] I hope so.
Coach just makes me nervous with her,
[as Coach Bradley] "Your rankings from these practice races determine your spot
for the next regional competition."
And her, "If you mess up, I'll be disappointed in you, Lucky.
You're off the team forever!"
[scoffs] She's never said that.
It's implied!
Listen, Lucky, anchoring the relay's the most important position on the team.
Coach isn't going to give it to just anybody.
No Foal has ever been considered for it.
[sighs] Is this supposed to make me feel better?
My point is, as second leg,
I think you two are everything we need to make the relay team unbeatable.
Thanks, Jack.
Dusty and I are gonna get some laps in before the relay practice. See you there?
[Dusty nickers]
Ready for some breakfast, Spirit? Bacon, eggs and--
[foal snorts]
Hey, little fella. Where did you come from?
[panting] You can't run off like that!
-[Abigail] Phew! -[Pru] Phew!
I see you've met our Ranch Management class project.
-[Abigail] This is Charles. -Charles?
-Abigail named him. -Boomerang was almost a Charles.
-But he doesn't have Charles-y eyes. -[Charles nickers]
So, what's this project about?
One of us is manager and the other is employee.
At the end of the week, we switch.
I'm manager this week, which means I handle the schedule and supplies.
And I'm the employee, which means I handle everything else,
including baths, and naptime, and breakfast.
Oh, speaking of, we need to get some food in this little fella.
Hopefully this little cutie doesn't give you too much trouble.
I'm not worried. I help my dad all the time back at the ramada.
Besides, schedules are fun.
And I love taking care of itty-bitty-teensy-weensy foals.
This little Charles reminds me of Governor.
-[Charles sneezes] -[Lucky gasps]
Inhaled some oats. I do it all the time.
Here you go, little buddy.
I'm not late, I'm not late, I'm not late!
Wait.
I'm actually not late.
Why is everyone standing around?
Coach said she had an announcement. I think it's about the anchor position.
I haven't even talked to her about it yet.
Told you Coach noticed you. Can't wait to pass you the baton.
[Coach Bradley] Listen up, racers.
As you know, there's an open position on our relay team: the anchor.
This racer has a tough task,
to carry our relay team across the finish line.
And I think we've found that racer.
This is it, Spirit.
A new student's joining us.
Eleanor Kimble and her horse, Beans.
Wow! She actually recruited Eleanor Kimble!
That's right.
I'm sure you've all heard she's nationally ranked.
Been scouting her for a while now.
She heard how strong this team is,
and she finally said yes.
-[excited chattering] -Yay.
Oh.
Lucky, I'm sorry.
[Pru] All right. One more time. Water in the stall?
-Check. -Hay bales stacked?
Check.
-And sunlight for circadian rhythm? -Check.
There's a note here from Dr. Cope saying Charles is a rough sleeper.
So I've put together a meal list, activity chart, and sleep schedule
that should help him get on the right track.
Mealtime, playtime, sleep time.
We're in charge of Charles's schedule.
Pru, these things don't leave a lot of time for Charles to be Charles.
He should play when he's bored, sleep when he's tired, eat when he's hungry.
[Charles snorts]
Aww.
It's time for our little fella's first nap in his new stall.
No, no. If he sleeps now, he'll never sleep tonight.
But he looks tired.
It's called sleep training.
We do it all the time with the foals at my dad's ramada. It's normal.
Trust me. I know what I'm doing.
You're the manager...
I guess.
[Pru] You OK, Lucky?
Your face is all scrunchy like when I eat a lemon.
[gasps] Ooh! Are there lemons today? How did I miss that?
[sighs] We're getting a new rider on the racing team.
Oh, a new student. That's exciting!
You don't look excited.
I'm excited, kind of.
Coach says Eleanor's a fast racer, so it will be just what the team needs.
You're fast, too, Lucky.
Yeah. Spirit is the fastest horse I've ever seen.
Yeah.
I just have to work a little harder.
Um... How's your project with Charles going?
-Good. -Fine.
You sure?
[Charles whinnies]
-[whinnies] -[Pru] You were supposed to hitch him up.
-I thought you were hitching him up. -But you were watching him all morning.
Exactly! Lunch isn't morning anymore.
Don't blame me because you don't know what time lunch is.
[Lucky sighs]
I'm not worried about this new rider showing us up, Spirit.
She hasn't met us yet.
[girl] Hey, Eleanor!
[excited chattering]
[Spirit nickers]
You must be Eleanor.
-Lucky Prescott, and this is Spirit. -[Spirit neighs]
Welcome to Palomino Bluffs.
Excuse me, but do you mind moving over a smidge?
Beans and I always study the track we're about to race.
[Spirit snorts]
[Beans whinnies]
That's right, Beans. We're ready to win.
[Lucky laughs]
Uh, well, you'll have to beat Spirit and me first.
He's the fastest horse on the frontier.
That's nice. But this isn't the frontier.
-[whistles] -[Beans neighs]
Whoa! I've never seen a horse kneel on command before.
[Eleanor whistles]
Wait until you see us out there.
OK, line them up, team!
Welcome, Eleanor,
Beans.
[Beans neighs]
With a new racer, we need new rankings.
Everybody to their marks!
[Spirit nickers]
-[Beans snorts] -Don't be intimidated, boy.
She might be good, but doesn't mean she's better than us.
[Coach Bradley] On your marks... get set...
-[pistol fires] -...go!
-Come on, boy! -Let's go!
-Hyah! Come on, Beans! -Hyah! Come on, boy!
Whoa!
Come on, Spirit!
Hyah! Hyah!
We can catch them!
Come on, Beans! Hyah!
[Lucky] Let's go! Hyah!
Now, Beans!
Hyah! Hyah!
Hyah! Let's go, Spirit! Come on, boy!
[Spirit snorts]
You got this, Beans.
Yes. Yes. Yes!
[Spirit whinnies]
Boy howdy, Beans!
-That was amazing, Eleanor! -So amazing!
-That was amazing, Eleanor! -That was so fast!
Congratulations, Eleanor!
[Eleanor] Thanks, everyone.
Hey, Lucky.
Look, you're a good racer, too.
I was beginning to think you were unbeatable.
I guess I'm not.
-Hey, Lucky! -[Beans snorts]
Great race. You almost had us.
Mm-hmm. Almost.
I'm sorry if I came off a little strong earlier.
Beans and I like to stay focused before every race. It's our thing.
Sure, sure. Don't worry. Spirit and I will win next time.
-[Spirit nickers] -We'll see about that.
[Coach Bradley] Circle up, racers. Here's the weekly rankings.
I'm in the relay! I see my name!
[excited chattering]
-[Eleanor] What? -[Lucky] How could we both...?
Coach, I should be first. I won.
Barely.
Coach, I think there's a mistake.
No mistake. Both of you are good riders.
But you're not great, and I need greatness if we're going to win championships.
You both have potential to be the relay anchor.
[both] Really?
Eleanor can take curves like a speed demon.
And Lucky, you do better on the straightaways.
So we're both going to anchor the relay? How's that going to work?
Well, that would be interesting, but no.
You'd do well to pick up techniques from each other.
-What? -Why?
You'll spend the next week training together,
learning one another's strengths.
By week's end, you will decide who's better to anchor the team.
We decide?
You heard me.
[chuckles] Coach Bradley's got some unusual training techniques.
Well, look on the bright side.
Training with a nationally ranked champion will be really helpful for you.
Yep. And I can't wait to show you all the things you're not great at.
-Fine. -Fine.
Where have you been?
Out. It was time for Charles's morning walk.
It's on the schedule, Abigail.
I got up early to make Charles a big oatcake breakfast,
hoping it would make him full and sleepy, and now it's cold.
Taking care of him is my job. I'm the employee!
If the employee doesn't follow the schedule,
then the manager has to step in, and, well... manage.
It's not time for him to eat, anyway. Or nap, for that matter.
[sighs] Poor Charles doesn't have any time to just be a baby.
And he's only sleeping for 20 minutes at a time, so he's up all night.
What's that about?
That's the four-month sleep regression. I promise, my schedule works.
I based it on my dad's last batch of foals.
[Charles sniffs]
Mm!
Hmm. They're just as good cold.
-[Spirit snorts] -You ready to start, hotshot?
Go ahead. You're the unbeatable champion.
You're right. Put our best foot forward.
And best hoof forward.
-Come on, Beans! Hyah! -[Beans neighs]
When you take turns on a racetrack,
you have to shift and move with the horse.
That way, Beans can make tighter turns
and I don't have to worry about falling off.
Uh... OK. I'll try.
Whoa! [grunts]
[Lucky groans]
I'm fine!
Spirit doesn't have a saddle, so there's nothing to lean into.
-Isn't there a better way? -It's the only way I win.
Let's come back to the turns.
Focus on speeding up on the straightaways.
In order to minimize drag, I flatten myself to Spirit.
Now you go.
That's not gonna work.
You're not even going to try?
I've already fallen once with your saddle method.
Fine.
[Beans snorts]
Faster, Spirit! Leave them in our dust!
-Come on, Beans! -That's it, boy!
-[Lucky] Wahoo! [laughs] -[Spirit nickers]
This whole thing isn't working.
I won that ranking race.
That was just one race.
I've won the last four ranking races.
[Beans snorts]
Look, we told Coach we'd do this.
I've been on the team longer than you.
She always has a reason for her training lessons.
Although, I have no idea what this one could be.
[sighs] We have to keep trying.
All right, take that curve again.
I noticed you've been brushing Charles's teeth after dinner,
but not after breakfast.
-I brush them before breakfast. -Maybe I'll take over that, too.
And with him only sleeping in 20-minute spurts,
we're upping his activity time to four hours instead of three.
I'll monitor that, too.
-Are you listening, Abigail? -Uh-huh.
Hey, Lucky.
Whoa. What's the rush?
It's our first relay race practice.
I have to get out to the woods before the starting gun. I'm the anchor!
Yay, Lucky! That's wonderful.
So, you and Eleanor decided it was you?
Uh... After a week of practicing,
I think we both know who's the more deserving racer between us.
[gasps]
-What are you doing here? -What are you doing here?
[both] I'm anchoring the relay.
-You really think you're better than me? -[Beans snorts]
I'm the fastest rider on the team.
I earned this position.
You haven't worked your way up the team rankings.
You just got here.
I'm here because I win.
I've beaten you this week.
In practice! I'm not moving to third position.
Neither am I.
[Spirit nickers]
Sweet dreams, boy.
[Charles snoring]
-[both] Whoa! -[Charles whinnies]
Pru, you woke him up!
Why is he asleep? If you look at the schedule, it's dinnertime.
He was asleep for almost an hour. He was going to sleep through the night.
I told you, we have to train it out of him.
[sighs] But it's fine. I'll take over his sleeping pattern.
Then there's nothing left for me to do. You've taken everything.
If you had stuck to my lists, I wouldn't have to.
Those lists haven't worked so far.
We're following my schedule because I'm the manager, remember?
If you followed them, Charles would sleep more than 20 minutes at a time.
Don't you talk to me about sleep, Mrs. Manager.
I quit! And Charles quits!
We're starting our own ranch.
You're the bossiest boss I've ever worked for.
And I once worked for Snips!
[cracks knuckles]
[cracks spine]
Stop setting up. You're not running the anchor leg.
Says who? I deserve to be here as much as you do.
I had to work plenty hard to be this good.
You know what? You sound jealous.
-You're jealous I beat you. -[gasps] I am not!
-And you didn't beat me. -Are, too, and did, too.
[Jack] Lucky! Eleanor!
-[Lucky] Jack! -[Jack] Finally! There you are.
Why weren't you back at third position?
Dusty is drained. So am I, for that matter.
You rode the whole way?
OK. So, which one of you is supposed to run third?
[both] Her.
You OK, Dusty?
[Dusty whinnies]
She looks a little unsteady.
I'm sure she'll be... Dusty! Oh, no!
-[Jack screams] -Jack!
Jack!
-Jack! -[Jack groaning]
-What do we do? -Give me a rope.
[Abigail] OK, little fella. No rules, no schedules.
Charles is in charge now. Do whatever you want.
Go!
Have fun! Run around!
[Charles snorts]
Come on!
[laughs] Come get me!
[Charles snorts]
-Ooh! [laughs] -[Boomerang neighs]
Wahoo!
That's right. Run and run until you tire yourself out and sleep like a rock.
And then I can sleep like a rock.
Finally.
[Charles yawns]
Yay!
-[laughs] -[horses neighing]
[Lucky grunts]
Stay with me, bud.
-[Jack groans] -I got you, Jack. It's gonna be OK.
[Spirit nickers]
Hyah! Hyah!
[Lucky grunts] Come on. You got this.
-[Jack grunts] -[Lucky] Easy.
Almost.
OK, stop.
[Jack grunts]
We've got to get him to a doctor.
[Jack groans]
You take him. You're faster.
-You beat me a couple of times. -Barely.
-[whistles] -[Beans snorts]
[Lucky grunts]
[Beans whinnies]
Come on, Dusty! Come on, Spirit!
-Hyah! -[horses neighing]
[Abigail] "When the little horse saw the butterflies for the first time,
he was afraid, but also wondered if they would be his friends, and they were."
Shh.
He looks happy.
Sweet buddy ran himself silly, had a snack, and then fell asleep.
He's been like this for an hour.
I'm sorry, Abigail. I should have listened to you.
Our project was about working together, and I didn't do that.
I just assumed I knew better.
And, well...
[Charles snorts]
I was wrong. I should have let you do what you're good at,
rather than hovering over you, second-guessing your every move.
I forgive you.
You'll get to see next week exactly what a manager should look like.
Deal.
Doctor said Jack has a concussion,
but he'll make a full recovery.
Hats off to Lucky and Eleanor for making quick work of that ravine.
It was all Eleanor.
She got him back here in no time.
She's the fastest rider I've ever seen.
But you should have seen Lucky.
If she hadn't pulled Jack out of that ravine,
"being fast" would have been useless.
But if you hadn't had the idea to help me pull him out--
Enough. Racers, five laps!
Prescott, Kimble, follow me.
I hate to put a damper on this newfound sisterhood,
but your bickering got someone hurt.
I can't have that kind of foolishness on my track.
I gave you one task:
to make your own decision.
Anchoring the team isn't just about being the fastest.
It takes maturity.
And neither of you have impressed me with that.
I'm, sorry.
Me, too.
What are we going to do?
Coach Bradley, Eleanor should anchor.
She really is the fastest.
You two sure about this?
Fine. Warm up with the others.
Thanks, Lucky. That really means a lot to me.
You're the best on the team... for now.
Ooh, a challenge.
I'm going to earn that anchor position.
You keep trying. I've been waiting for a real competitor.
You know, if we train together,
Palomino Bluffs will be first place in no time.
[groans] I knew Coach had a hidden lesson.
[Coach Bradley] All right, racers! Olson, Alice, Brown, you're first up.
Let's go!