Horse Academy

UNEDITED CHAPTER 8

Waking up I realise its Sunday. I promised the head teacher a demonstration for a last year class. I have 40 bloody minutes. I throw on some black jodhpurs a random top and a huddie. Then toss my black riding boots and my black velvet riding hat on. I quickly brush my teeth and splash my face before grabbing an apple from the kitchen. I rush down the stairs and into the parking lot to see the arena starting to fill up. i grab freedom from the field and groom her, pick her feet out, plaited her mane and tail , etc... then I slip my best saddle on her and mount up. We make our way to the arena with seconds to spare, the headmistress explains why I'm here and gets all of the students to put their horses away and sit in the stands. I warm freedom up whilst the students do that and notice the head mistress ask for me to go bareback. I slip her expensive saddle off and put it on the side I ask if she wants me bridle-less and she tells me she doesn't mind either way. So I slip the bridle off and sigh I wish I knew this earlier so I could of just came without tack. A stable hand takes away her tack. After asking who I was riding he scurries off to put it away. He comes back with a neck rope so I put it around freedoms neck and instruct her to lie down. I can't be bothered remounting properly. I sit on her back and she returns to her full height. The stands are full and the head mistress nods

"Right hello, 5th years today I have an amazing rider to show a demonstration. She is completely tackless except for a neck rope that I assure you is only for safety. I'm sure she could ride without it" I nod "so today we are doing tackless/bareback jumping. I know you have jumped bareback before but we are spending the next month on trying to get you riding tackless and jumping your maximum height bareback/tackless. Okay so I am going to ask sky here to jump this 1.5m high jump for me." She says and points to a fully purple jump.

She moves out the way and I get freedom into a canter. We head towards the jump and soar over it easily. She puts it up to 1.8m and we go towards the jump. This time freedom has to bounce a bit in the strides before to get over but we jump it smoothly and it looks as if freedom was fully tacked.

"You can see how sky uses freedoms strides to sit deep and look confident. Now sky this jump is 2.1m high, I am allowing you to if you chose take your tack back or if you feel like fore of a challenge you can take away the neck rope." She says.

Without speaking I pull the neck rope off freedoms neck and toss it to the ground. I set off and just go with freedom. She sees the jump is higher and pins her ears back but I encourage her to jump and they go forward and she starts doing bouncy strides. They get bouncier until she gets to the jump. She leaps up and starches her neck high. She gets over and lands perfectly before cantering away pleased with herself.

"Now sky will you please dismount, I want you to allow freedom to free jump I want to see if you can tell her what jump from the ground." I slip off and walk away from her.

"To the purple fence please sky." The head says.

I point towards the jump and click freedom on. She starts cantering and then decides gallop would help get her over the jump. She makes her way to the purple jump and lifts her hooves off the ground she flies up and over the jump and lands perfectly on the other side. Freedom then continues to canter and jumps many of the other jumps and I tell her where to go.

"You can see how sky has great control over freedom and she is calm about the whole aspect of letting freedom have control. Right sky call her over." I call her and one of the 5th years jumps down from the stands. "I bet I could jump that on freedom, it's all in the horse the horse is just trained to be controlled by her she does nothing!!" the head mistress looks at me and nods.

"Then you can have a go." The head says.

I help the guy onto freedom and he kicks her on. He couldn't control him so I toss him his riding helmet/