Stone Valley Equestrian Center: #1

Chapter 2: The First Lesson

A/N: Are my chapters long enough? Also, for a visual reference, the above horse is supposed to be Hope.

The day of my first lesson, I woke up at 8:30, got ready, and ate breakfast. By 9:00, I was down in the barn. Harper already had Baylor out on the crossties and she began to groom him. Thanks to the tour yesterday, I knew where everything was. I put Hope out on the crossties and groomed her and tacked her up.

At exactly 10:20, I reported out to the indoor arena. We were all waiting for the trainer. It was me and Harper, and 4 other girls.

"I'm Ivy," the Asian girl on a grey pony introduced herself. 

"This is Merrylegs," she pat her horse.

"Hey! I'm Maisie, and this is Wellie," a short girl with mousy hair told me as she adjusted her stirrups. Wellie was a bay with white stocking and a snip. His forelock hung into his big, brown eyes.

"Hi, I'm Grace! Nice to meet you. This is my horse, Luna." Grace had beautiful, straight, dirty blonde hair tucked up perfectly in her hair net. Luna was a dappled grey horse and she snorted at the dust.

"Hey guys! I'm Stella, and this is Hope," I stroked her soft coat. "Nice to meet you all! What's your name?" I asked a girl on a chestnut horse.

"Nikki," she said with her nose in the air, as if it was obvious.

"Don't mind her," Grace mouthed.

Well, it was only the second day and I'd already found the stereotypical snotty equestrian girl. I took a deep breath and looked at the girls who I'd hope would be my new friends, and their horses.

...

At 10:30 on the dot, the jumping trainer, Morgan, entered the beautiful indoor arena. She was tall and slim, dark hair pulled back into a braid. She wore pressed tan breeches and her blue polo shirt was tucked in with a shiny leather belt. She had laced-up paddock boots on, and in one hand she held a black crop and the other a clipboard. I'd never had a trainer so professional before. Maybe it was just the clipboard, or the neat appearance.

"Good morning, girls. Let's get started at a walk," she smiled at me. "You must be Stella and Hope. What a wonderful pair! Welcome," she greeted me warmly.

"Thank you!" I called back at her from the rail, careful not to turn my head.

We all warmed up around the arena under the cooling fans. When we'd done enough walking normally and in half-seat and standing in our stirrups, Morgan asked us to trot. It was then when she started writing on her clipboard.

"Maisie, put your leg behind the girth," she called.

"Ivy, why is Merryleg's head stretched out like a giraffe?"

It wasn't a rhetorical question, because Ivy answered her right away.

"Very good, Harper. Keep him steady," she said as she scribbled on her clipboard some more.

By the time we'd done all sorts of flatwork, Morgan decided that it was time to tackle the cavaletti in the center of the arena.

Grace went first and trotted smoothly through the simple exercise. Then, Nikki executed the task, followed by Maisie, Harper, and Ivy. When it was my turn, I confidently squeezed Hope into a forward working trot and strided through the cavaletti.

"Well done, everyone. Now, we're going to do some group work," she glanced at her clipboard.

I'd never done peer work when riding. It seemed fun and interesting, though I hoped the girls would think that I was good enough.