1st day (Chance Grant & Justa Flawless Karot)

[Maggie]

Weather: Cold with few snow flakes falling.

Indoor/outdoor: Indoor

Limit: You have two days to complete your post, if you do not make the limit you will be disqualified from the event.

Course: Dressage Test

Tips: You may add in flying lead changes pirrowets and so forth to earn judges attention. Make post longer than 150 words.

[~*Crimson Rain*~]

Starring;;

C H A N C E G R A N T
J U S T A F L A W L E S S K A R O T



Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. The sound of Sox's hooves landing on the dirt was in perfect rhythm with my heart. Even though I had been in this show ring only an hour before, I was still quite nervous - maybe even more so than I had been with Flame. With Flame, I knew he wasn't going to act up, but Sox was unpredictable. Yeah, she looked calm and collected now, but she was the type that would rear and jump over the rings fence in a split second of being so. She was beautiful though, she truly was. Her black pelt was gleaming, a shine running through the fur with every shift in movement. Her mane was braided in the same fashion as Flame's had been, it was sort of a French braid horse style. Her hooves were polished and shiny - she was gorgeous. I, on the other hand, didn't look too different from any of the other riders. My hair was in a braided bun and tucked away and I wore the normal attire for such a show - nothing extraordinary in the aspect.

Squeezing my legs ever so slightly, I pulled on the reins lightly and halted Sox at the X. Putting out my arm and bowing my head, I saluted the judges. I waited two to three seconds before rising and letting Sox move forward. She walked nicely, with her ears flickered back to wards me listening for the vocal commands that would never come. I sat tall and still in the saddle, letting my hips move with Sox's movements and act as pain absorbers - to any I might have, anyway. My back was straight, shoulders back, head up and toes down. I was sure to keep my eyes trained forward but a hint of smile on my face, your body follows your eyes after all. While we were at such a slow pace, I tested her willingness by putting pressure on her inside to give her a nice curve. To my surprise, she obeyed - which really said a lot. This wouldn't be so bad, she obviously wasn't going to go crazy on me.

When we reached the next marker, I eased her into an easy trot. Though her gait was a little more choppy, she was lifting her legs nicely and I was pleased. I rose and fell in time with her strides smoothly, obviously accustomed to such a bouncy ride. When we crossed the middle once more, I decided to do a sitting trot; maybe show off a little bit. Hey, if those other riders were going to do pirouette's and the such then I could do I sitting trot. I didn't like them all too much, they made me dizzy. I sat like glue in the saddle, feeling a small amount of discomfort in my thighs and hips; but it was totally worth it if we were doing as well as I thought we were. Pulling on the reins slightly, we walked again. I was tempted to reach out and pat her, but I knew I couldn't do that.

At E I pulled on the rein lightly and pressed on her sides to round her over to the B marker, her body nice and curved. Pulling on the right lead I pressed with the left foot and signaled a right lead canter. She picked it up beautifully, I was so proud of her. Her neck was relaxed but her head arched and nicely curved as she flicked her high flying tail. I rocked back and forth with her sloping body, swinging my hips forward to keep her going but a firm hand on the reins to keep her from going too fast. When we rounded the ring again and ended up at E once more, I tried something quite daring on top of this outgoing equine: A pirouette. Though I have mentioned that I don't like them too much, I wasn't about to miss out on the chance for a judges attention. Applying the correct signals, I felt her do exactly as I had asked - mark this down on your calender folks! Her footfalls made a round pattern in the dirt, her head and neck raised slightly as she tucked them in. I pushed her out of it with a good amount of pressure on my leg, shifting my weight accordingly, we continued the canter till C. Turning her, we trotted half-way and then slowed to a walk - halting at X. Bowing my head I saluted, waited for the judges signal, then left the ring.

The minute we were out I dismounted, kissed her muzzle and hugged her tightly. "I'm so proud of you! You're going to love the next show, it's so your forte." I exclaimed, stroking her muzzle with a soft hand. Grabbing the reins I led her to the pasture and let her go. She was obviously happy with what she had accomplished because she bucked and ran like there was no tomorrow.

[/blockquote]