Equine Ballerina [Sebastian Stan AU]

Chapter Fifteen

I sighed to myself, walking into the arena, I had asked Alice and Amber to help with Carol and Sebastian with the warm ups. I was still trying to figure out what I was going to be doing with the mares. Neither wanted to co-operate under liberty. Luke had suggested I train them alongside my two geldings, but I was worried about overworking them both, now we had morning, afternoon and evening riding sessions in preparation for week two of the boot camp. I had managed to convince Sebastian to try a few strides of canter and now i was going to try and get Carol to build up her confidence, After reading the script I knew both of them would need to be a bit more advanced as there was only so much a stunt rider could cover for.

Jacob had told Luke he was too busy this morning to help with this session, which made things easier for me, he was still pretending he only had my best interests at heart when ever he offered to 'help'. As I walked up alongside Alice and Amber who were in the middle of the arena, I saw Sebastian turn Soldier into the centre, I shook my head, "Just cause I'm here doesn't mean you can slack off just yet, I want you both to do another lap around the arena and then bring them to a halt on the track". Sebastian rolled his eyes, but kept Soldier moving forward, I was surprised at how fast he seemed to pick up the aspects of horse riding, and hoped he would feel confident as we moved forward, and when he eventually would have to change horses and ride in front of a bigger audience. I made a mental note to check in with Carol when they had both halted, before moving on with some new exercises this morning.

"I just need one of you to stay down here with me, if you still have stuff to do up at the stables, Luke said he wanted me to try and work with the entire herd later too" I said, looking between Alice and Amber, both girls seemed to have grown up over the last few weeks, both realising they had responsibilities that needed attention, particularly as more of the film crew seemed to be arriving daily. As far as I knew most of the filming locations were still up in the air, as a few locations had pulled out. Luke was no trying to get local property owners on board so they could film parts of the movie here in our small town.

Alice and Amber looked between each other, before deciding the best way to decide who stayed and who left was a game of rock paper scissors, I laughed at their antics as I realised both Sebastian and Carol were coming down to a slow stop on the side of the arena. I reached over the fence to grab a lunge line, before walking over to the both of them. I reached out to give each gelding a quick pat on their neck, before offering a smile to each of the actors in front of me. 

"Okay, today we need to focus on your transitioning skills as these are going to be filmed in a number of the scenes, particularly for you Seb, and Carol I really want to try and get you up to a canter today, It's going to make the next few days much easier for you too". Carol nodded, though I noticed she tensed up slightly, I tried to offer her some support, "Don't worry for most people its the easiest gait to manage, its more like a rocking chair, and way less bouncy then the trot"

I decided to push through with the lesson, and for the next 45 minutes we focused on their transitions between, Halt, Walk and Trot and for Sebastian his canter transitions for a few strides. I knew Terrance wanted to have a scene showing this both racing through the scenery and coming to an abrupt halt as they neared the town. I laughed at Sebastians antics, over the last few lessons, he had decided to try and make me laugh, which in turn made me want to keep a poker face, particularly when Jacob was around, but today I decided to give in and laugh alongside him as we were walking out of the arena.

"So am I finally a cowboy yet" he asked, as he dismounted from Soldier swiftly, and walking around to stand next to me. I laughed, 'You're getting there, I wouldn't say full on cowboy yet, you still need a proper western saddle and a thicker accent' I laughed, walking a few steps ahead to ensure there were no trucks around on the road back to the stables. Sebastian laughed at my comments, but continued to lead Soldier up to his stall. Sebastian had become hands on over the last few lessons, I was still yet to decide if it was to help and and learn or whether it was to just spend more time with me.