Burning Desire

Chapter Thirty-Six

{ a/n - i had a lot of words for this chapter that i was excited to write but couldn't seem to make them come out in the right order :( also.....constructive criticism would be much appreciated! anyway, please vote, comment and enjoy }

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The world of four-star eventing is designed to push both horse and rider to their extreme limits, testing the boundaries of their endurance, skill and bravery in three different phases. Only the fittest and most talented partnerships make it to the top level of the sport, and even fewer excel there. There are only six four-star events in the world, and America hosts one of them; the infamous Kentucky Horse Trials.

Though Brenna was passed as completely healthy, for two weeks she did nothing more than plodding around the horse walkers, spending time in the equine solarium and doing light schooling. In the times between, I would groom the mare for hours whilst rambling on about everything and nothing. The efficient shuffling of the yard – horses nickering and hay bales sighing and stirrups clinking – fell on a backdrop of softly soaring strings and delicate piano riffs; Ed insisted that classical music was effective in calming the horses. The regime of love, pampering and serenity helped craft a generally more relaxed and placid Brenna. By the time we eased her back into her intense training regime in preparation for Kentucky, Brenna had never looked so sleek. Her muscles rippled beneath a gleaming auburn coat; the sun's rays danced on her toned figure to make her look like a freshly polished copper coin. She didn't just look like a four-star eventer; she looked like a dream come true.

For the past four months leading up to Kentucky, our training regime had been very strict. Two days a week were dedicated to fitness training, one day would be spent on dressage schooling, another on jumping training, one day of rest and the remainder spent at competitions. Of course, this routine was peppered by the occasional hack or the order of the training was varied to keep Brenna interested; if the routine was too repetitive she would grow bored and start playing up.

The cross-country course at Kentucky Horse Trials is around four miles long, and with jumping questions factored into the equation as well as repetitive acceleration and deceleration, the demands on fitness should not be underestimated. Every year, large proportions of the field pull up with tired horses or don't finish the course within the optimum time. In order to prevent us being amongst them, Brenna's fitness training had commenced four months prior to the event. Occasionally we would intersperse the fitness training with a trip to the gallops at Carolina Horse Park, but most conditioning was spent on a two furlong hill where we would work anaerobically to improve her fitness without overloading the forelegs. The mare started by going up twice during each session, but the workload was gradually increased every fortnight as she became fitter: six weeks prior to Kentucky we were going up six times. The speed did not increase throughout, though the work load was amplified through repetition. The walk down between each gallop allowed Brenna to partially recover, the principle behind interval training.

However, it was not just Brenna's fitness that needed to be factored into account; mine needed to be taken into account as well. I was reasonably fit considering I rode several times a day, seven days a week and ate a healthy plant-based diet. But if I was to aid Brenna around Kentucky's demanding cross country course, I would also need to be as fit as possible. Callum, who was a bit of a health-freak when it came to working out and pretty much subsided on protein shakes, gladly volunteered as my gym partner. At first, my muscles screamed – a full day of riding followed by an intense work out nearly killed me – but the closer we got until Kentucky and the longer I trained for, the easier it became.

But fitness was not the only component needed it order to excel at a four-star event; finesse was also a crucial factor. Camilla, who had won a bronze medal representing Spain in the dressage at an Olympics several years ago, took it upon herself to fine-tune our dressage skills. Most lessons would be hosted in the dull indoor arena, but occasionally we would train outside instead; the change of scenery would keep Brenna focused, more forward and brighter.