The sound of laughter echoed through the rolling hills of Goslar, Germany. A young Jewish boy with dark, brunette hair and freckles, Gunner, carelessly rolled down one of the hills with his best friend, Kurt. Kurt, however, was a German boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. The summers weren’t always the warmest, but they were enough to go outside and have fun. The pair had been rolling down these hills every summer since they were five. Gunner’s tenth birthday was in the fall, but as an early present, his parents had purchased him a colt from the horse auction in town. He was a dark-bay Hanoverian, a German breed of horse. The only markings that stood out on him were the four white socks on his legs and the long blaze that fell down his face. Once the cold was settled inside their small barn next to Gunner’s house, both Gunner and Kurt decided to name the colt Remi.

Every day the boys worked with Remi. In the next seven years, Remi became a strong and hard working stallion. Within those years, a lot had changed in Germany. Hitler rose to power and Kurt joined the Hitler Youth when he was fifteen. Gunner’s family began to worry what Hitler would do to the Jewish citizens of Germany. Despite this, Gunner and Kurt continued working with Remi. They were focused on one thing: the Berlin Olympics. The summer approached quickly, and they still had to fill out entry papers for Remi and pay the fees. Since they weren’t on an equestrian team, they would have to pay extra to catch the judges attention. Remi was ridden through jumping courses and cross country courses that they had created in the meadow next to Gunner’s house. Nothing could stop them after how far they had come. At least, that’s what they thought.

Hitler had begun sweeping Germany, mainly Berlin, of Jews and the mentally and physically disabled because they were uninviting and a disgrace to Germany. Even though Gunner’s family lived hours away from Berlin, where the olympics would take place, the Gestapo surprised him by showing up on their little farm. Gunner was in the barn with Remi, where Gunner stayed as he watched in horror as his parents were dragged out of the house. The Gestapo wanted to know where their son was, but Gunner’s parents refused to tell them. When they walked towards the barn with Gunner’s parents, they talked about putting up a search sign for Gunner with award money. In a panic, Gunner climbed up to the loft. The Gestapo looked around, and one began climbing up to the loft. Before he could make it up, though, Kurt walked in.  The Gestapos turned and asked what he was doing here. He simply replied that he was here to take care of his horse. The Gestapos grunted and forcefully took Gunner’s parents away. Once they were gone, Gunner slid down the ladder from the loft. With the Gestapos looking for him, he would have to go into hiding. When Kurt offered his home, Gunner gladly accepted.

A long week passed after Gunner’s parents were taken away. He felt lonely and fearful everytime they left the house to go see Remi. Kurt’s parents found a stable that was close to their house where Gunner could board Remi. Since not only the Gestapo but also the public who want the reward money were searching for Gunner, Kurt would have to ride Remi in the olympics. The only problem Gunner and Kurt faced, though, were a disguise for Gunner and transport for Remi. Kurt’s parents owned a Ford pickup, which they could use for transportation. Gunner mapped out backroads they could drive on to get to the olympiastadion, where the events would take place for the riders.

At last, the day everyone had been waiting for arrived. Gunner loaded Remi into the trailer that was attached to the pickup, while Kurt and his parents organized the luggage they packed for the weeks long stay. Once everything was loaded, they carefully hid Gunner in the back of the pickup. They didn’t agree that they should be hiding Gunner in their house, but Kurt had convinced them to let him stay and compete. It was a three-hour drive from Goslar to Berlin. Along the way, there were Gestapos everywhere. The officers were either alone, drunk, taking families away, or flirting with girls. It was a disgusting sight for Gunner to see. After the long drive, Kurt’s parents pulled into the driveway of the stables where Remi would stay during the Olympics. There were already people at the stables walking their horses, unloading horses, or preparing their horse’s saddles and bridles for the show the next day. Kurt lead Remi down the long aisle to his stall. Remi’s parents parked the truck, and when they were out of sight of Kurt and Gunner, walked up to a Gestapo officer to inform them about Gunner’s location.

The day of the show, Kurt groomed Remi until there were little to no specks of dust on his shining coat. Gunner cleaned the saddle and bridle, just to be sure Remi looked professional in the stadium. As Gunner saddled Remi so Kurt could warm Remi up before the show, a Gestapo officer walked into the barn and started asking around for Gunner. As soon as Gunner heard his name, he ducked behind the stall door. When the Gestapo officer approached their stall and questioned Kurt. Calmly, Kurt denied knowing anyone of that name and suggested checking the warm up arena. Gunner stood up and looked at Kurt, who was still watching the officer exit the stables.

Once Remi was warmed up, the announcer called for number 145, Sarah Combly on MR Poko Irish. As she competed, Kurt put his and Remi’s number on, 150. They would compete in show jumping. Gunner went up into the sitting area with Kurt’s family, who covered him with a black blanket, to watch the show. Horses of all colors entered the showring, bays, chestnuts, grays, and whites. When the announcer called number 150, Kurt Snikinolzen on Ryck O Shay, Remi’s performance name, Gunner perked up and watched as Kurt and Remi entered the arena. They jumped the fences with ease and floated around the arena, making a clear round without knocking any fences down. Gunner began clapping and whistling for his best friend when Kurt’s parents stood and dismissed themselves to the bathroom. When they returned, the same Gestapo officer followed them. They grabbed Gunner and handed him to the officer, who dragged him out of the sitting area and to the truck they used for collecting Jews. Gunner tried resisting, but the officer was stronger than him. He was tossed into the truck and locked in. It was cold and Gunner was terrified of what would happen to him next. The engine stuttered and the wheels trudged along down the road.

What seemed like hours of traveling, Gunner fell asleep. He worried about Kurt and Remi, and what Kurt’s parents would do next to them. The truck stopped and the officer closed the door and left Gunner alone in the August heat. When the officer came back after an hour, he struggled to turn on the vehicle, too drunk to see the ignition. Once he had figured it out and started back on the road at a speed too fast for the bumpy roads, Gunner began pounding on the walls of the truck. A huge bump in the road took a tire off of the truck and sent the truck rolling down a ditch. Gunner was flung around like a ragdoll, hitting his head on the sides of the truck. In seconds, his life flashed before his eyes. Rolling down the hills of Goslar with Kurt, working with Remi, his parents love, everything in one thought. Then everything went black.