All seems well at Heartland on this morning, with Georgie taking Flame around the jumping pen; un-official coach Amy likes what she sees, telling Georgie everything looks good and that no changes are necessary. New daddy Ty shows up just then to place “smiley-pants” Lyndy in Amy’s arms so he can head off to the clinic. Just before he leaves, Ty suggests dinner at Maggie’s; Amy readily agrees.
At Tim’s rodeo school: It’s time for his students to learn the fine art of bulldogging (steer wrestling), or for the ladies in the class, ribbon-grabbing. Caleb and Tim have a little disagreement over Tim’s chosen method of instruction, something that threatens to become a huge problem. Jade overhears their little spat and tries to reign them in a little before things escalate.
Tim was so irritated with Caleb’s “suggestions” as the episode progressed, he was about to fire him. Caleb-the-Clueless thought he was contributing invaluable assistance. So funny to see these two on totally different pages. Caleb’s hero-worship of Tim has clearly never ended. But Tim does owe him one: when the students were close to ridiculing the old rodeo legend for banging himself up during a steer wrestling demo, Caleb indignantly talked about Tim’s successes, and that they should be grateful to be learning from him.
Back at Heartland, Val is disappointed to find Georgie and Amy are done practicing already. She’s skeptical when Amy tells her they accomplished a lot. The show in Okotoks is next week, and Val lays a guilt trip on Georgie about where her priorities lie. She whips out an iPad with a detailed schedule for Georgie, and it’s clear that between practice times and competition dates, she won’t have much time for anything else, particularly Trick Riding.
If Georgie thought riding Flame would be a fun, Val Stanton can really suck the joy out of it. Many others have commented on this, and I agree: it’s like Val hasn’t learned anything from when she pushed Ashley and Apollo. She pushed so hard, Ash grew to hate the sport and took up barrel racing just to spite her mother.
So, one wonders why Val is pushing so hard… Flame is apparently an Olympic hopeful. Is it the prestige? Is it the money? I’ve posited in other quarters that since Lisa is experiencing financial difficulty in the “expensive” horse business, could Val be experiencing similar troubles? (It’s been pointed out that show jumping and horse racing are different, so maybe the show jumping scene isn’t going down the tubes and Briar Ridge is staying afloat quite nicely.) But if Val’s business is suffering like Fairfield is, maybe she’s desperate for a winner in Flame in order to keep from folding.
Georgie tries to make the grueling schedule work, especially since Olivia has approached her to do a tandem trick as headliners in an upcoming rodeo. When Georgie pulls a muscle during a practice run, upsetting her training schedule, Val pretty much forces her to choose between continuing to work for her and riding for the Extreme Team.
Side note: Helen Colliander does a brilliant job as Olivia trying to mask her glee when Georgie breaks the news she’s quitting the Extreme Team. Olivia knows the polite thing to do would be to sound disappointed, but she just can’t help herself. It’s a comical scene (I actually burst out laughing) since it’s clear Oliva is really jubilant that her “rival” is no longer going to be a challenge to her solo “headliner” chances.
The other “decision” that had to be made was by Mitch, who seems to be hating his job in Calgary, even though it’s what he trained to do. Jack, seeing how much he misses the great outdoors, offers him a stake in his cattle business. In a really comfortable scene around the dinner table, Jack happily announces that Mitch has agreed to come on board. (Wonder what Lou will think of this when she gets back!)
For Amy and Ty, Baby Lyndy has been a pretty happy infant… until she starts teething. Her sleep patterns are upset, and the new parents panic and rush Lyndy to the hospital when she starts running a fever. Of course, the kid is all right, but her whiny, cranky behavior shows new godparents Cass and Caleb that maybe now isn’t quite the right time to start their own family.
Last but not least thread: Jade and Avery, the new kid in class. Not satisfied with ribbon-pulling, Avery gets into the thick of things by wrestling the steer to the ground, just like a pro. Jade is instantly intimidated, and treats Avery with open hostility. To her credit, Avery takes Jade’s constant maltreatment and comes across as humble, yet self-assured. By the end of the episode, the two of them come to an understanding. Jade realises Avery isn’t there to be a threat, and (maybe) convinces her to stay on as a student in Tim’s school; offers her a chance to partner with her in team roping. Avery says she’ll think about it…
Final notes: Baby Lyndy is seriously cute. Not-so-cute when she’s cranky and bringing up her food on poor Cass, but when she’s happy, she’s adorable.
Caleb had a poster of Tim on his wall when he was growing up; Tim had a poster of Farrah Fawcett.
Adam is still hanging around, though he's stuck with Olivia. Still, he seems content to be chummy with Georgie, and the two seem comfortable with this arrangement.
Val was clearly relieved to hear Georgie had chosen to quit Extreme Team, but at least she acknowledged it was a tough decision. Maybe there’s hope for her, yet!
Ty claims he *sings* to Lyndy for bedtime. This, I wanna hear. (I would have thought songbird Mama Amy would be the one to sing lullabies.)
