Kinswood Academy: Dressage Queen

Chapter 21:

Tracy pushed Big Stride into a working trot, but held his head almost to his chest, so his movements looked mechanical instead of free-flowing.

" She's already starting off too harsh! " I whispered to Stacy.

She nodded. " I wonder what music she choose? Remember she has like, 5 different freestyles on standby "

" Don't remind me... " I groaned.

Tracy halted and raised her hand, the cue for Dubois to start her music. Dubois, arena side, clicked a button on the sound system remote. We had speakers set up all around the arena so that riders could hear their music, even over chatter of crowds on show days or clinics.

I immediately recognized the music. It was a mashup of songs from the Opera Carmen. I had only seen Tracy preform this freestyle a few times for clinics and shows in the previous year and  it was no doubt her most difficult freestyle. The tempo changed from slow to quick and i knew Big Stride would find the transitions difficult, heck, to me they looked difficult just to preform as a rider, never mind a horse.

Tracy cued Big Stride quickly into a passage, making her way down centre line. She tugged the reins to get Big Stride to halt at X and saluted quickly, keeping her death grip on his reins.

I bit my lip, wanting to close my eyes, but finding myself unable to. 

Big Stride snorted and bobbed his head as Tracy cued him to piaffe while the music continued to play.

Big Strides Piaffe was bouncy and he was already foaming at the mouth. I almost felt like i was feeling the pain he felt as he took a step. Tracy pushed him into a passage from X to C then let him pick up his pace into a working trot, where they made a left and preformed a half pass from H to R.

The music then sprang into a faster beat and Tracy, almost seeming like she had been startled, kicked Big Stride into a working canter. Given his nickname, Big Stride made it around the arena from R to K, where Tracy had him stretch into an extended canter to M. Tracy, obviously not used to Big Strides rocking canter, braced with her body, digging her spurs into his sides and balancing herself using the reins, pulling on his mouth.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Stacy wince. " Ouch... "

Big Stride shook his head, his ears flat against his head as Tracy cued him to switch leads. She slowed him into a collected canter at C and preformed a canter pirouette. 

I found when I was riding him that his canter pirouettes were his weakest area, and i knew that this freestyle Tracy had chosen had a lot of those. Wether she was playing smart and showing off that she could get him to preform them for the Harrison's, or just didn't know about his weakness, I had no idea...

The music slowed again as Tracy and Big Stride moved out of the pirouette and back into a passage, making their way from C to S, where they did another piaffe, this one longer. Foam from Big Strides mouth splattered onto his chest and legs. 

The music became even slower as Tracy loosened the reins and let Big Stride move from S across the arena to P. Big Stride happily lowered his head, but fought Tracy once they reached P and she gathered her reins for the collected walk. Tracy, obviously frustrated with Big Strides lack of cooperation, tugged harshly on the reins. Big Stride immediately but his head down and mouthed the bit.

The music picked back up to a medium tempo and Tracy cued big Stride into a collected canter, preforming another pirouette at A, then, as the music picked up, preformed another half pass from K to p and then P to X. 

On time with the music, Tracy cued Big Stride into two time lead changes from X to C before bringing him down to a trot to and making a right to M. From M all the way back down to K Tracy let Big Stride move into an extended trot. She then collected him at K and circled with a piaffe pirouette before passaging down to E, where they transitioned into a trot half pass from E to R and then R to H.