The Riders Academy

The next morning, I woke up, and ran quickly to the shower, and then got dressed. We had a free day, so I was going to go on a few hacks, and then work Taz. I put my long, dark hair in a plait, put on a bit of makeup, and went outside, with my roommate, who's name was Skye. I tacked up Bambi in her purple kit, and we hacked out. Skye's horse was called Monster, but he was a wee sweetie. Monster was a chestnut warmblood, with a blaze and four white socks. Skye loved him to bits.

We decided to go on a track that led into the woods, and joined up with some of Skye's friends: Jodi, Scout, Rachel and Jenni. Bambi was being a bit naughty, so I did a few circles, got her on the bit, and she behaved better. "Wow, your horses are amazing! Wish I could ride like you!" Scout said, "Thanks, and you will! It just takes time and practice!" I replied. We got to a five bar gate, and everyone went around it, except me. I approached the gate at a canter, and Bambi jumped it with ease. Everyone clapped, apart from Rachel. She glared at me, for no reason at all. No one else noticed though, and we carried on riding.

After I took Bambi, Dragon, Mushu, Sapphire and Fanta out on a hack, I schooled Taz. The big palomino was a big handful, really hard work. I put up some jumps, set at about 3 foot. I warmed Taz up, in a few canter circles and a change of lead. I noticed a few people had begun to gather around the arena to watch me, Lucy and Rachel included. Taz threw his head up, spun around, and then bronced. He bucked 3 times, pig-rooted once, and then, once having got my feet out of the stirrups, he reared up. I didn't fall off, though, and got him back down onto the ground. I shoved my feet into the stirrups, and made Taz go on the bit. I trotted him for a bit; horses find it really hard to buck when they trot. He did an extended trot, a collected trot, and then a working trot. After he settled down a bit, I pushed him into a steady canter, and we approached a jump. He cleared it easily. Everyone clapped, we did a few more jumps, and finished our session.

That night, I put Taz's Aqua stable rug on, and went to check my feed bins and storage boxes. Fanta-Black, Sapphire-Blue, Dragon-Red, Bambi-Purple, Mushu-Pink, and Taz-Aqua. Everything was there. All my feed buckets, rugs, boots, grooming kits, saddlecloths and head collars are colour co-ordinated, and my saddlecloths, rugs, and head collars are personalised. It's a lot easier that way, to find stuff, and to not loose stuff. I have leather head collars and white saddlecloths for the horses that are personalised as well, but that's just for shows. All of my stuff must cost a fortune, but I'm very lucky to have sponsors, and wealthy parents. I gave all the horses their evening feeds, and went back to my room.