Fallen in love on a cruise

IX

We take the horses to the cleaning station. Chester behaves like an angel. Hades is short tempered today; Dancer is dancing around because she's excited and Prince is calm but let's see for how long.

Cleaning them and then tacking them up, with their saddle, bridle, harness for Prince, Hades and Chester and their splint boots.

After we finished tacking up, we go to change.

"I don't have any clothes with me." Veronica says.

"You do know that I always have spare clothes here, because I come here more often than I should without being really good prepared." I answer her.

We go into the tacking room where I go to my locker tacking out a second pair of ridding leggings and shoes.

Samy goes and waits outside while we change.

I change into a black riding leggings with a navy-blue shirt, so that I'm matching Hades for today.

Veronica changes also into black riding leggings and a pick shirt and Karolynn into a black riding legging and a green shirt.

We walk out of the tack room with all the equipment we need. The helmet, our riding boots and a whip.

Samy goes and changes and comes out two minutes later completely in black, just like I know he likes his outfit.

"Let's go."

We go over to the horses and bring them outside to the jumping arena. The workers from the stable already put up a parkour. It looks hard and I know I'm going to have a lot of fun.

"Ivory, you start." Samy tells me.

"Why, do you want see a perfect routine for once?" I ask him

"Just go and ride. I know how much you like to shine bright like a diamond." He quotes Rihanna and Lynn and V start laughing their ass off.

I walk over to Prince and with Samy's help get on him. Prince is calm and ready to ride.

"Let's do a quick warmup first." I tell them. They nod also getting on their horses.

We ride over to the small arena and warm the horses up. First, we walk easily then trot for a bit and after that we go and change to cantering. We do a few easy figures in canter and then transition back to trot and then walk.

When I see Prince is warm enough we ride back over to the jumping arena. The others get back down from their horses and tie them down at the fence of the jumping arena.

I ride into it and feel the excitement coursing through me. Prince also starts to get excited. We start to canter around the Arena so I can get a better look at the jumps.

I throw a thumbs up to Samy and ride over to the start. Samy shouts "Go" and me and Prince start.

We gallop to the first jump and he jumps it perfectly. The second jump also gets well and Prince is still completely focused on the parkour. We ride over to the third Jump and he nearly gets into touch with a bar but he manages.

I start to talk to him.

"You're a good boy Prince. You can do it. It's not long anymore. I believe in you."

He takes the other two jumps with ease and I hear Samy, Karolynn and Veronica shouting for me.

Prince doesn't get scared about loud noises anymore and I'm pretty happy about it. Because two months ago he would've bucked right then and there and I probably would've fallen off.

By now I can actually hold myself pretty well in the saddle and me and Prince are soon to be a dream team.

It's going well with him. It will never be the exact same as with lady but it will come near with him.

Lady is my absolute go to horse. She's my true favorite and riding with her always is so much fun.

But while we ride to the last jump I feel Prince getting scared of a Person that walks near the jumping arena. But he wants to finish so I ride over to the last jump and before Prince jumps he becomes scared and he starts bucking and kicking out.

The force of it takes me by so much surprise and I fall, even though I try my best to stay on Prince nothing works. I try to fall to the side of him but I can't even do that. I fall right over his head and head first onto one of the bars.

I hear Samy's shout and getting my Name shouted from another Person but I can't really put a Name to the voice even though I know the voice and then I don't hear anything at all anymore.

And before Samy, the other guy, Veronica, Lynn or even Prince can get to me, I black out and don't wake up.

__________________

Destiny is a pretty Story we tell ourselves. Lurking beneath it there are only people, and the terrible choices we make.

- Alix E. Harrow
The Ten Thousand Doors Of January