Briarwood Elite Riding Academy: Take the Reins

Chapter 7: The Real Competition Begins

Everyone scrambled into the barn and headed straight for the tack room like we’d been doing for the past week; just now everyone felt tense.

The competition between us all was truly beginning today.

I tried extremely hard to fight away the urge to throw up or scream as I pulled open Winter’s tack locker and grabbed what was needed.

I placed Winter’s tack in a groom stall to claim it as my own then left the stable with a few other competitors to get Winter.

As I walked I attempted to cool my head and wiped my sweaty palms on my beige jodhpurs anxiously. I knew I had to get all the negative energy out of my system before I even approached Winter knowing that she would be perceptive and pick up on my insecurity.

So I lifted my head and tried to stop swiping my palms.

Winter was waiting by the gate as if she knew what day it was and an aura of seriousness bombarded my nervous one.

I grabbed her lead and halter from the halter box on the fence and slipped the supple leather over her pretty face before opening the gate and leading her to the barn.

I clipped her halter onto the bungees of the groom stall and quickly began my work.

Unlike some of the other horses Winter had stayed relatively cool and not sweaty by chilling in her shelter box so she didn’t require any towel drying or sponging. I moved onto her hooves; cleaning and picking them.

After a rigorous hard curry on her body and legs, I flicked her off with my dandy and finishing brush and brushed through her mane and tail; picking out any grass or wood shavings.

I washed her face free of any dirt and cleaned her nose and ears.

Then I slipped on her black bell boots and her matching open tendon boots and both her running martingale and breastplate.

I put on her white saddle pad and gel pad then her black Butet Premium Jumping Saddle and matching black Butet girth. Lastly I slipped on her black leather cavesson figure eight bridle.

I fixed her forelock before I lead her out of the groom stall and into the large arena.

I mounted using the mounting block and asked Winter for a working walk.

During my grooming and tacking up session I had forgotten about my nervousness and now that I could feel Winter moving beneath me I let the nerves slip even further from my mind letting only the riding matter.

After I walked the entire length of the arena in both directions I asked for a trot which Winter happily gave me and I repeated the length of the arena but on the left rein and not the right. Then at the trot I weaved about the jumps; doing serpentines and circles.

I cantered large along the rail for the final bit of warm up in both directions then slowed Winter back down to a brisk working walk.

A few of the stable hands were setting up a few practice jumps in the center and I waited for them to be done before jumping all three.

Winter was a bit fresh over and after the jumps but I kept a steady leg and hand to reassure her.

After that most of the people in the ring were warm and just as I finished another lap of the ring at a trot to get Winter more calm Sebastian appeared.

“We shall be riding outside in the outdoor today” he informed us before striding from the ring and down the aisles into the summer air.

We’d ridden outside thrice this whole week so it was a bit nerve wracking; I’d always preferred riding indoors where the variables were smaller and my horses couldn’t find very much to spook at but Winter seemed calmer and I hadn’t had a spook on her yet.