Pas(sade) de Cheval

Shoulder In

Ryan took the brush from Shane and ran it along Betty's neck. She was admittedly covered in shavings from rolling in her stall, but he wasn't making much progress as he brushed the same small spot over and over. He tried to focus on the simple task before him and not Brendon's voice coming from across the aisle where he was talking to someone. 

"I'm going to set up the tent and try to find the barbecue in the truck." There was a pause while whoever he was talking to must have nodded. Ryan rolled his eyes at the idea of Brendon sleeping in a tent. He could just imagine his eyes lighting up with child-like excitement as he convinced whoever was with him that it'd be so much more fun than a trailer.  "Are you coming with, or did you want to... stay here?" Brendon's voice had taken on this weird tone, full of meaning. Ryan had no idea what that meaning was without being able to see his face, and he tried to lean a little closer to the aisle. 

From where they were standing, he could only see the back of the other guy's head, so nothing was clarified. "Ohh, uhh, later, yeah, I'll catch up with you." The guy answered in a rush. He grabbed Brendon by the shoulders and gently pushed him in the direction of the door. 

Brendon laughed and called over his shoulder, "I'll see you in a bit, Ryan." Ryan grunted in response, moving back into the stall before anyone realized he'd been eavesdropping.

Once he was actually focused on getting the horse ready, he managed to finish getting the tack on and was looking for his helmet when he noticed the guy Brendon had been talking to was chatting with Spencer. 

Spencer was standing in the aisle with his horse Bay tacked up and ready to go. He seemed to be studying the guy with intrigue. "Just ask the question you want to ask, Jon." Spencer was saying with no small amount of sass.  

"You named your horse Baymax? Like from Big Hero 6?" Jon asked. He didn't say it in the mocking way that it was usually posed to Spencer, and Ryan appreciated that. He seemed genuinely curious. Spencer nodded, a small smile forming on his face. "But your horse is black."

Spencer nodded again, fairly used to this comment and also the reply he tended to give. "Oh my god Jon, you can't just ask someone why their horse isn't white!" Spencer joked in his best impression voice.

Ryan braced himself for the reaction. Not everyone appreciated Spencer's sense of humour as much as Spencer himself did.

Jon slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle the laughter he couldn't control. "Why do I feel like you did that purely to make that joke?" Jon asked incredulously.

Ryan relaxed and made to leave the barn, knowing Spencer would follow when he was finished his conversation. Ryan just barely caught Spencer's wink and response of, "Because you're a very clever man."

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Ryan had been, admittedly, showing off for about an hour by the time Brendon showed up. A small group of people had gathered on the bleachers to watch him as he took Betty around the ring, lengthening her trot until it became extended and her legs flicked out in a way anyone with a knowledge of horses would drool over. Betty liked to show off when there was a crowd watching, and Ryan appreciated that about her. 

Spencer was lazily walking Bay around the outside track of the ring, partially watching Ryan do pirouettes and other dressage moves that would be on his test tomorrow, and partially waiting until he got to where Jon was standing so he could talk to him again.

Brendon stopped his horse, Brandy Ryan was pretty sure he'd called her, and was watching Ryan with a small smile on his face. Once Ryan realized Brendon had been doing this, he felt a little embarrassed about showing off. He dropped Betty down to a walk and rode over to where Brendon was waiting.