Kiera spent the next week studying all kinds of horsemanship.
She watched cowboys on on squatty, heavily muscled Quarter horses manipulate cattle so cleverly that she could hardly tell when the rider gave a signal.
She watched Thoroughbred racers fly down tracks at speeds that meant sure death to any jockey unlucky enough to fall.
She watched Irish Hunters sail over fences higher than she could reach, over water, over little sheds, over piles of flower pots, even over fires.
She watched the Lipizzaner stallions from Vienna perform effortless feats of grace and power while their riders sat utterly still and straight.
She watched horse shows on YouTube; Equitation, Park, Country, English, Western Pleasure, Western Reining, Team Penning… she watched horses until she was dizzy.
It was hard to imagine being able to do anything like that when she thought of Ghazi and Ruadth Móhr looming over her.
“Mom?”
“What, Kiera?”
“ If you could learn any riding discipline, what would you learn?”
Mom chuckled. “Dream big, I guess. I always wanted to win the Kentucky Derby. But now I would probably choose something more sensible, like cattle work. That’s a useful skill.”
Kiera wondered at that. Did she want to be one of those girls in jeans and overlaid shirts with a huge number on her back, flying around barrels and catching cattle?
She wandered outside. Dad was fencing in a run for Hank, their dog.
“Dad, if you could learn any riding discipline, what would you choose?”
“Well, I would probably get disowned by the Rancher’s Association for admitting this, but I wish I could do dressage. When I was a kid, I even asked my dad if I could take lessons so I could do Airs Above Ground, but he said only fa- uh, weird guys do that, unless you’re German. So I never got the chance. I always kinda regretted it. Hyn coming along with those horses, it brought it all back.”
Kiera pondered on that. Would I regret it if I can’t make up my mind? She wondered. Then it came to her. I want to learn to ride well. Just to ride in a style of excellence, so that those big horses want to carry me.
YOU ARE READING
The Horse Man
General FictionAn immortal man who cares only for horses discovers that the world has built up around him while he ignores it. While hidden from prying eyes, he has preserved ancient bloodlines of certain breeds, and developed a type of his own; something that uns...
