Post by Lottii on Jan 10, 2011 17:42:26 GMT
Lily-Mae jogged down to the stable yard, heading back from the indoor arena where she had just set up and then roughly paced a simple show-jumping course. Normally when she was jumping a course she would pace it perfectly, matching to her mount's stride so she could complete the course with striding correct to the millimeter. But today she would be jumping her latest acquisition, Luna, over a course for the first time, hence the ease and low-height of the course. It was designed to train over, not to challenge. The girl had a fair idea of the large pony's stride - she'd ridden her twice so far, and the second time the pair had gone over a single jump a few times. Lunes was already tacked up in her stable, a halter slipped over her bridle to loosely tie her up. Her speed slowed as she entered the yard and untied the mare, leading her out to the indoor arena.
Her thin frame vaulted delicately onto the gray's back, and she started her warm up. So far she had learnt the Connemara loved to go fast - and would probably be spectacular in jump-off's - loved to jump and would listen if she respected you. They had built up a bond in their short time together, and by the end of the second ride Lunes was listening carefully to Lily's instructions and waiting calmly for the next. Circles and serpentines and walk, trot and canter went without a hitch, Luna was behaving impeccably. Lily's soft laughter echoed around the arena. The equine wasn't stupid, she knew she had to behave if she wanted to jump. Doing a neat canter circle at the top end, she approached one of the uprights which would be in the middle of the complete course. Three, two, one. She still counted down the strides to a jumping, even after having ridden for her whole life. The need for good, measured striding had been drilled into her from a young age and it was an automatic habit now. Folding the top half of her body forward, she felt Luna rise up and make a perfect arc over the jump, clearing it by a couple of inches. Lunes was 14.2hh and the jump was about 2'6. The height wasn't testing for the mare, but it showed her rider that the mare knew how to jump nicely, not just throw herself over. And after all, she was only a five year old.
Keeping the canter, she rubbed her mount's wither as a reward before they circled again to reach the first jump, an upright of the same height as the previous jump. All of the jumps were about that height, apart from an oxer which was a little over 2'9. The strides counted down easily, and Luna repeated the pretty jump from before. Turning, the next few jumps passed in a similar style - an upright, cross pole and another upright flashed beneath the pair. The next turn would bring them up to a triple bar. Even if the third pole was only 2'6, they could look quite intimidating. Her confidence faltered two strides away from take-off, just for a second. Lunes' stride covered a little more distance than normal, and they were too close to take another stride. Luna's determination carried them over the jump, taking off a little early and using the power of her back legs to clear the fence by a long way. A grin spread across Lily's face, Luna was showing not only the jumping ability but the intelligence for competitive jumping. Praise came in the form of another scratch on the wither before they did a smooth turn to the penultimate fence. Not wanting to need to rely on Luna again, she calmed herself and they jumped the fence neatly. A rather sharp turn followed to the final fence, the highest on the course and an oxer. Her confidence didn't waver this time, and the take-off was timed perfectly. Her folded body made a perfect jumping position and Lunes' front legs tucked underneath as the jump vanished underneath them.
Grinning, Lily slipped off the horse and rubbed her on the neck and head, murmuring words of praise. She led her round in hand to cool her off for a minute - she wasn't in prime fitness yet and she was huffing a little after the course. Satisfied the mare had cooled down, she found the old halter and leadrope she knew was hanging around over the fence and used it to tie Luna up to the edge of the arena. She walked around, adjusting the distance between jumps slightly and raising poles until the lowest jumps sat at 3' and the highest were probably a small distance over 3'6. Casper was only four inches bigger than Luna, but Lily had been working with him since she arrived at the academy, he was in top condition and she knew him inside out. He was a cross-country horse by nature though, and had a tendency to charge over show-jumps, forgetting the poles would fall. The height would be fine for him, and hopefully the simple course would give her time to work on slowing him down and getting him going nicely.
Putting Luna away only took a couple of minutes and she was soon down in the stallion barn. Casper was spotless already, despite his gray coat he wouldn't dream of getting it muddy. The thought made her laugh as usual whilst she was sliding his tack on, and it wasn't long before she was leading him into the arena. No one else had arrived whilst she was gone, but the automatic call of Gate! slipped out her mouth before entering and vaulting up onto Casper's back.
Her thin frame vaulted delicately onto the gray's back, and she started her warm up. So far she had learnt the Connemara loved to go fast - and would probably be spectacular in jump-off's - loved to jump and would listen if she respected you. They had built up a bond in their short time together, and by the end of the second ride Lunes was listening carefully to Lily's instructions and waiting calmly for the next. Circles and serpentines and walk, trot and canter went without a hitch, Luna was behaving impeccably. Lily's soft laughter echoed around the arena. The equine wasn't stupid, she knew she had to behave if she wanted to jump. Doing a neat canter circle at the top end, she approached one of the uprights which would be in the middle of the complete course. Three, two, one. She still counted down the strides to a jumping, even after having ridden for her whole life. The need for good, measured striding had been drilled into her from a young age and it was an automatic habit now. Folding the top half of her body forward, she felt Luna rise up and make a perfect arc over the jump, clearing it by a couple of inches. Lunes was 14.2hh and the jump was about 2'6. The height wasn't testing for the mare, but it showed her rider that the mare knew how to jump nicely, not just throw herself over. And after all, she was only a five year old.
Keeping the canter, she rubbed her mount's wither as a reward before they circled again to reach the first jump, an upright of the same height as the previous jump. All of the jumps were about that height, apart from an oxer which was a little over 2'9. The strides counted down easily, and Luna repeated the pretty jump from before. Turning, the next few jumps passed in a similar style - an upright, cross pole and another upright flashed beneath the pair. The next turn would bring them up to a triple bar. Even if the third pole was only 2'6, they could look quite intimidating. Her confidence faltered two strides away from take-off, just for a second. Lunes' stride covered a little more distance than normal, and they were too close to take another stride. Luna's determination carried them over the jump, taking off a little early and using the power of her back legs to clear the fence by a long way. A grin spread across Lily's face, Luna was showing not only the jumping ability but the intelligence for competitive jumping. Praise came in the form of another scratch on the wither before they did a smooth turn to the penultimate fence. Not wanting to need to rely on Luna again, she calmed herself and they jumped the fence neatly. A rather sharp turn followed to the final fence, the highest on the course and an oxer. Her confidence didn't waver this time, and the take-off was timed perfectly. Her folded body made a perfect jumping position and Lunes' front legs tucked underneath as the jump vanished underneath them.
Grinning, Lily slipped off the horse and rubbed her on the neck and head, murmuring words of praise. She led her round in hand to cool her off for a minute - she wasn't in prime fitness yet and she was huffing a little after the course. Satisfied the mare had cooled down, she found the old halter and leadrope she knew was hanging around over the fence and used it to tie Luna up to the edge of the arena. She walked around, adjusting the distance between jumps slightly and raising poles until the lowest jumps sat at 3' and the highest were probably a small distance over 3'6. Casper was only four inches bigger than Luna, but Lily had been working with him since she arrived at the academy, he was in top condition and she knew him inside out. He was a cross-country horse by nature though, and had a tendency to charge over show-jumps, forgetting the poles would fall. The height would be fine for him, and hopefully the simple course would give her time to work on slowing him down and getting him going nicely.
Putting Luna away only took a couple of minutes and she was soon down in the stallion barn. Casper was spotless already, despite his gray coat he wouldn't dream of getting it muddy. The thought made her laugh as usual whilst she was sliding his tack on, and it wasn't long before she was leading him into the arena. No one else had arrived whilst she was gone, but the automatic call of Gate! slipped out her mouth before entering and vaulting up onto Casper's back.