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Post by Amber Collins on Jun 8, 2008 11:58:51 GMT -8
Show season was quickly approaching, and everybody was apprehensive, even the dogs. Annie had barked madly as she herded the horses inside that morning. Now the dog laid lazily under a bench next to the outdoor arena where his owner and her horse were about to get going.
The girl was dressed in lilac riding tights due to the heat and a white tank top. The stallion had navy blue polo wraps on as well as a brown leather saddle with a navy blue saddle pad. A smooth single jointed d-ring bit was attatched to the brown raised bridle. Around the black horse's chest was a brown breastplate; they were jumping that day. Amber checked the girth, sliding her gloved fingers between the jumping girth and the horse's stomach. Seeing that it was good, she pulled down the stirrups and walked the stallion over to a mounting block. The horse snorted in anxiety as he was cued to walk into the arena. "All right boy, let's see how much work we have ahead of us," Amber said and began the warm-up.
She walked Thomas in both directions throwing in occasional circles, serpentines, figure eights, shoulder and haunches-in. Once both of their muscles were warm and ready for some real action, Amber gathered her reins and Thomas instinctively put his hanches under him and rounded his neck, lowering his poll. "Good, glad we haven't forgotten that," the rider told her horse as she did a checkover of her posture. Heels down, knees closed, thumbs up, eyes & chin up, shoulders back, butt tucked, hips swinging, lower back working; they were set. Amber nudged the stallion with the rubber heel of her paddock boot, sending the black horse into a comfortable tracking trot. Thomas was quite stiff in the corners, so his rider circled him with a short outside rein and a bending inside rein until he was more rounded and not stiff. Then they reversed with a teardrop and didn't have any bending issues this time, so Amber cued the Thoroughbred into a canter. It was a great transition as he lifted his shoulders without lifting his head. "Good boy!" the girl said, a little suprised.
When Thomas was nicely warmed up and excited to get going, Amber started his jumping warm-up. They went over five ground poles at a trot, helping the nine year old stallion get his balance and remember his striding. Then they replaced the center pole with a cavaletti, and soon adjusted that small grid's striding to cantering distance. When the first, middle, and last poles had been replaced with small cavalettis and Thomas was taking them perfectly, Amber had a passer-by remove them so they could start the course that was set up.
The course height was 3'3" to 3'6", and they warmed up over the first fence, a ramped oxer. Thomas snorted as he was cantered up to it, and lengthened his stride so there wouldn't be a need for a chip. Amber smiled and patted him as they landed before taking a turn to the eigth fence, a red and white vertical. These were their weakest point because Thomas had so much width to his jump. The girl shortened her reins which led to shortening her horse's stride. "Easy," she said quietly, then let her horse do his thing as they soared over it. "Nicely done, bud," she said and did a flying lead change to take a turn right back to the start. The whole course now loomed ahead, all thirteen fences.
After a completed courtesy circle, Amber pointed the stallion to the first fence which they had already taken, so it was a breeze as they sailed over. With a soft nudge from his rider's left heel, Thomas picked up a right lead as they did a semi-tear drop to the second fence, a blue and green vertical. The horse picked up unneccessary speed, and Amber squeezed the reins and raised her two-point position. In response, though unwilling, Thomas slowed down in the last two strides and took a wide jump, barely clearing the top rail. Amber sighed inwardly, but looked to the second jump just six strides away. It was a red and white square oxer with a roll-top filler. Thomas thought nothing of it as he picked his front legs up neatly and cleared it with ease, his rider keeping her legs forward and back flat.
With a flying lead change to the left lead, they took a slight arc to the fourth fence, a scary joker. Thomas faltered, very sensitive for his rider's cue. "It's all right boy, just do your stuff," she told him. Uneasily, the Thoroughbred took off over the single bare rail, clearing it with five or six inches to spare. "See, you're fine," Amber told him as they took a wide left turn to fence number five, another vertical. Now that the pair was settling into the groove of the course, they flew over this effortlessly and had a nice landing. Then it was a slight left turn to a Swedish oxer. This confused Thomas a bit, and he clipped the far pole with his front hoof. Then it was a right arc to a yellow and white paneled vertical. After clearing this one with a fantastic automatic release, they made a right half-circle to an identical jump that they cleared just as well.
Now came the extremely difficult line of two oxers to a vertical. It was one stride to three strides. The first oxer was square, the second offset, and the vertical was regular, painted brown and red. "All right bud, here we go," Amber said as she pointed him to it. Thomas wanted to rush it, so once again the girl raisedher position and shortened her reins quietly and quickly. Up and over the first one, a clean landing. Not much time to recover as they were up and over again, except Thomas clipped the far rail and made it rock but not fall. This was sheer luck, but the vertical was not, as they pulled the top rail. Oh well, they finished the rest of the course with class.
After they were done, Amber let him walk a bit to catch his breath before gathering him up and heading him to the line again. Thomas snorted, knowing what to do now. He took the first jump perfectly, second jump just as well, and the vertical was soon far behind them as the girl cooled her horse off. "Good job, you did well today bud," she told the black horse. She patted his shoulder and hugged him around his neck before untacking him, hosing him off, and putting him back into his stall with a kiss on the nose and a big juicy apple.
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