expectations are everything [open]

[allyson grace devon]

Ally bit her lip as she slipped her foot into the iron and mounted Reno, the black stallion shifting slightly beneath her, feeling her unease. The thing is, it wasn’t the fact that Ally was on a new horse that was worth thousands of dollars that made her nervous, it was the fact that Jess had brought him back and decided to throw Ally on him. If Jess was putting her on a horse, it was for a reason- and she felt like if she failed Jess would leave again, and she’d be stuck alone again. Ally sighed almost silently before shifting in her saddle and doubling checking her girth, it was now of never. She glanced to Jess in the middle, who simply gave a nod- not of encouragement but of ‘hurry the fuck up already’. Jess was blunt, straight to the point. She wasn’t afraid of being honest or hurting your feelings, but sometimes Ally wished she was.

Allyson collected her reins and pushed Reno into a forward walk, the stallion stretching himself out beneath her and feeling like the powerful horse he was. He was fairly young, only seven, but her jumped the moon- literally. She’d seen Jess school him last night only briefly and he’d jumped a 3’ oxer from a near stand still after some pony cut him off. Jess had nearly cut the poor kid’s head off, Reno hadn’t even pinned his ears. He’d swerved, trotted two steps and popped over it like it was a cross rail. To him, it probably was. Ally pressed her heels down and lengthened her leg before squeezing her calves against him and pushing him into a trot.

“More leg, he’s got a big step- make him start to use himself. Drop your heel, you’re lower leg is atrocious lately. Somebody with an equitation title shouldn’t be using their heel to send a horse forward- if you want to ride like crap I’ll find you something crappy to ride. If you want to ride something like Reno, ride like I taught you to”

Ally flinched at the words, but she bit her lip and corrected herself. Jess had always had high standards for her, for all her students, it was her job to live up to them. She’d developed a new bad habit- she needed to fix it. It was Jess’ job to tell her about it, even if she didn’t always want to hear it. Ally opened her shoulders slightly and dropped her heel to bring Reno down to the walk, knowing Jess’ game plans for warm up were always a combination of the same things. It was one of the main reasons that Ally had stood out as a younger student- she’d picked up on stuff like that. She didn’t need to be told what to do every step, and often Jess was silent throughout her warm up. It wasn’t because she had nothing to say, she was simply testing Ally to see if she could fix it herself. Usually, Ally did.

Ally started Reno into the canter, his stride all of a sudden too long and a little hectic. Ally sank into the saddle and collected him immediately- already hearing one of Jess’ lectures in her minds about keeping horses balanced throughout the transition. Jess didn’t even need to speak anymore, Ally often read her mind. It was just one of those things she was blessed with, but all she could do was let out a groan of annoyance when Reno started to root.

“Leg. Put your leg on, wrap it around. You aren’t a little kid I shouldn’t need to be on you about your leg position. Reno is a soft horse, he shouldn’t be rooting- at all”

Ally didn’t speak, she just nodded and fixed it. She knew it was her fault, she’d watched him float around effortlessly yesterday. Ally did a double take of her eq, adjusted herself and balanced him again- this time keeping a light contact and ensuring not to take back with her reins. Reno softened, didn’t root and worked effortlessly as Ally circled. Thank God. Ally relaxed herself, breathing softly as she let the stallion canter but keeping her leg solid in order to help him balance. She touched her inside rein softly every two strides, barely even touching his mouth, simply to keep him in check. He was the kind of horse that let his mind wander, and Jess had told her this was his number one problem.

“Much better, you’re remembering how to actually ride. Okay, it wasn’t that bad but still I expect perfection from you. You’re not a little girl in garters anymore.”

Ally did her usual nod, pissed off at herself now. She used to fight back tears in lessons when she first started with Jess, but now she just kept the same expression on her face that showed nothing but determination. She needed to be the best, and that meant caring about the little things. Jess got rid of the little bad habits, but you also had to remind yourself that she’d always find something. Your leg may be less than an inch out of place but she’ll yell, because if she let an inch slide soon it’d be five. Ally glanced as she heard hoof prints in the isle off the arena, hoping somebody was coming to join. Though for the most part they just got in her way, but she still enjoyed company. She got enough private lessons from Jess, sometimes it was nice to hear her yell at somebody else.

outfit!

[/blockquote]

[taylor lynn anderson]

Taylor sighed slightly as she led the familiar Warmblood to the crossties. She stroked the gelding's muzzle quietly, pulling her hand away quickly as flashbacks from the accident came back. The sudden movement had startled Oliver. "Sorry, Oliver. I did not mean to scare you." She quickly curried the coat of the bay horse, soon moving onto the hard brush. She quickly moved the brush along his coat before starting with the soft brush. As she brushed his coat with the soft brush, Oliver's coat started to glisten slightly.

She put the brushes back into her grooming kit. She picked up her hoof pick. She moved to Oliver's front right leg, bending down and picking it up, removing all the manure, mud and other things that had been packed in his feet. She repeated this step for all of the other legs. She stood up and rubbed her eyes slightly. Ever since she had started to work with the gelding more, nightmares had been occurring and keeping her from sleep late at night. She walked to the grooming kit, letting the hoofpick fall into the box. She unclipped the crossties from Oliver's leather halter, that had a name plate that read 'A Classical Debut'. She grabbed the white cotton lead rope before leading the horse back to his stall. She let him in, taking his halter off before shutting the door, latching it, before placing the halter on the door.

She looked at her phone for the time. She had a lesson soon and would need to start getting ready. She went to the stall next to Oliver, smiling as she saw the grulla tobiano pinto inside. "How are you today, Cochise?"she asked the pony with a slight smile upon her face. The pony just yawned at her as he lifted his head up from his food. Taylor took the opportunity to place the light lime green halter on the pony before buckling it up. She took ahold of the light lime green and dark green striped lead rope before leading him to the crossties.

Taylor soon had the pony clipped in and started to groom. She had quickly curried him and also had brushed with the soft and hard brush. She took the hoofpick and picked his feet as well. "Ready for a ride?" she asked, mostly to herself since the pony couldn't exactly talk back to her.

Walking into the tackroom, Taylor grabbed her saddle pad, her saddle, her girth and her bridle. She walked back to the crossties, placing the bridle on a hook before putting the saddle on a rack, the saddle pad on top of the saddle and girth. She placed the navy blue saddle pad on his back before placing the saddle on top of the pad. She made sure that the saddle was in the correct place before tightening the girth. She then placed the bridle on the pony, tightening all the buckles, making sure everything fit before placing her halter and lead on a hook.

She grabbed her helmet, placing it on her head before grabbing a small crop, since she did need it on occasion. She led the pony to the indoor arena, though staying at the gate, not wanting to make Jess mad by entering the arena at an inconvenient time. She stood quietly and waited for instructions from Jess, as she also didn't want to get in the way of Allyson's lessons.

[allyson grace devon]

“Come on in and start warming up, Ally can ride around you. I’d like to think she’s capable of that by now- in fact if you hurry I’ll school you around with her, Coach will be fine with the height”

Ally glanced to the side to and noticed the large pony, but waited till they’d passed before she allowed her face to from into a glare, sometimes the sarcasm got to her. Which said something, seeing as she rode with her every day- multiple times a day. She was really getting irritated lately, she felt as is no matter what she did she was never good enough. She could win a Grand Prix tomorrow, but she still wouldn’t have rode hard enough. Jess always found something, and sometimes Ally wished she were just a bit more forward with compliments. Ally pushed the stallion into a more upright frame, knowing Jess would want him in a proper frame for a jumper- not wandering around like a hunter, something she preferred due to her time in the pony hunter ring. She glanced at the girl, who was fairly old for a pony rider and wondered why she hadn’t tacked up the other horse she owned- Oliver was it? He was gorgeous, and she’d been thrilled when Jess had said that Ally could school him whenever she wanted. He was one of the few she’d been thrilled to see join the roster, let alone to be one of the many names scribbled across a white board in the main office. Jess had spent hours organizing that board, to ensure that everyone got the proper care, but still it seemed messy to the outside eye. It was just her way of doing things, her OCD kicking in and driving her to do things a little narcotic and outside the box. Pink for horses that needed to be rode, blue for horses that needed to be lunged, green for hand walking- the list went on. Luckily she only ever dealt with horses that needed to be rode.

Ally pushed Reno into a canter and sank softly into her tack, engaging his hind end and feeling his back round underneath her made her smile. He was a gorgeous horse that carried himself well, but she knew he was the kind of horse that was different in bigger crowds. Her polo was damp with sweat due to the constant precise movements that ensured she kept his attention, especially since the new pony had arrived- Jess called him Coach because she well, always made up her own names for things. Ally couldn’t remember his real name, but the stallion continued to glance at the pony with intense interest. The thing was, she knew it wasn’t his hormones- it was simply him being too curious. Ally nudged him slightly with her inside leg as he attempted to bulge out through his shoulder in attempt to see the pony going around the ring. She collected him slightly simply by opening her hip angle slightly and he dropped his head once again, maintaining the perfect look- as if he was an easy ride. Though he technically was, compared to some of the others she rode regularly.

“Ally, just start brining him over this to get him warmed up- he’s a lot greener than Coach. Just make sure to be fairly open through your hip angle so he doesn’t land in a mess. Be prepared with an auto release, he really uses his neck over the fence- even baby verticals like these”

Ally glanced to make sure she wasn’t going to cut the pony off before brining Reno back to a trot and calmly riding towards the cross rail that had a ground pole on each side. She remembered Jess’ advice, but it was something she already knew- sometimes she just wanted to say ‘thank you captain obvious’, but she never did. She respected Jess, even if she seemed to direct her about obvious things some times. It was still better than not having her around though, that was for sure. Ally felt the stallion reach for the canter stride and prepared herself for the large leap she knew would follow, ensuring her heels were down and keeping her hip angle open as Reno gracefully jumped up to her. Ally sat up a little early on the backside of the small vertical, knowing he’d be forced to scramble if she didn’t . She kept herself out of his way but opened her hip angle a little more, keeping Reno from running out from under her as he landed. He had to compress heavily to fit in a stride after leaping over the small fence, but he made it without any real errors. Ally smiled as she asked for a lead change and then patted him as she brought him back to a trot- her eyes immediately shooting towards Jess, knowing there’d be feedback. Their always was.

“I liked what you did to keep him balanced through the down side, but you won’t be able to do that over a wide spread oxer without taking a rail down. You need your shoulders to be a little more independent from your seat. You’re pretty good on Callie though, but she doesn’t use her neck as much.”

[/blockquote]

[taylor lynn anderson]

Taylor gave a quick nod to Jess, relieved that she was allowed to go into the arena. She bit her lip slightly as she saw the glare from Ally but she didn’t think much about it. She led the pony into the arena, shutting the gate quietly behind her. She checked the girth, tightening it slightly before mounting Cochise. She collected her reins and moved the pony into a well-paced walk for now. To warm up Cochise before the lesson, she let him walk with a looser reins so he could stretch his muscles out. The previous owners had trained him for dressage and he always seemed to work better after being able to stretch during the warm up.

Jess had told her that Ally would be allowed to school Oliver whenever she wanted. It was either that or Taylor's parents would lease him out. Taylor didn't want do lease him out, always thinking she would get the guts to ride him again. Lucky for her, her parents thought it would be a bad idea to sell him, just incase Taylor did ever come around to riding the magnificent warmblood again. Oliver was a sweet horse, there was no denying it. As they made a lap around the arena, Taylor slowly started to collect Cochise's head, making him listen to her a be polite.

As the pony underneath her began to slow his walk down, she nudged him with her heels, keeping them quite quiet. The pony sped up slightly, but not enough to be moving at a forward pace. She soon had to give the pony a small tap of her crop. The small tap had gotten Cochise's attention and he then began to walk at a forward pace once more. The pony was stubborn and loved to do things his way on occasion, today could be one of those days, or it could not be. You couldn't tell until the middle of the ride.

After a few laps of walking, Taylor moved the pony into a nice, well-paced trot. The pony had an even stride, though he wasn't as soft as Taylor would have liked. She kept asking for the pony to soften, being gentle about asking him, knowing that the pony always did this while in warm-up. Cochise finally softened his mouth against the bit and moved easily, keeping his head round, and collected. Taylor posted evenly with the pony, making sure her heels were down, chin was up, and hands were not flat.

[allyson grace devon]

Ally collected Reno softly, almost invisibly, as she went down the long side humming softly to him. He wasn’t a hot horse, but he definitely needed to be balanced constantly- which with his age often meant compression. Ally sank closer to her saddle as she started into the corner, not quite sitting but allowing the close proximity o help balance the gangly stallion. He was a gorgeous boy, but his youth was evident in him compared to the other stallions in the barn, like Leno. Though none of them had ever actually been used as stud’s, simply because their life was all about competition. Reno had done some development stuff, but it was this season that would be his true debut as a high end jumper- where he’d take all the inside turns, where he wouldn’t be allowed to get distracted on course. Something that she was sure was a major problem, seeing as he could barely contain his enthusiasm for the large pony. A pony, imagine a crowd of hundreds.. It was a good thing he wasn’t at the Gran Prix level yet or his rider would be screwed, whoever Jess decided to put on him. Often Jess rode her own horses, but seeing as she had three stallions on the go Ally had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before she handed one off- simply because she’d acquire numerous projects during the season that were offered cheap simply due to the fact people wanted them gone.

Ally stayed close to the tack as she approached the small vertical, being sure not to collect him using her reins but simply by opening her hip angle and keeping her upper body back slightly. Reno picked up the canter over the first pole, effortlessly setting himself up for the small vertical. Ally kept her hip angle fairly open as he jumped up to her. She kept her leg on to keep him balanced as she landed, but her body remained upright in order to keep the stallion form landing with a strung out stride. Reno effortlessly navigated the second pole and snorted as he cantered towards the end of the arena, listening intently on Ally for the first time the entire ride. Ally smiled, she could keep his attention if she rode him perfectly throughout every second of the course. Too bad that wasn’t exactly easy once you put in coaches screaming, ponies cantering around- it was all a distraction, not only to Reno but to Ally as well. She was good at concentrating, but she often found her mind wandering during her schools lately. Not due to work ethic, but simply because some memories didn’t wait for the right time to enter your brain. They just showed up, in full colour, and then disappeared once they’d disrupted your life.

“Okay, that was actually really nice. Your equitation was solid, his jump was incredible. The only thing I’d really watch is that you loosened your grip on the reins slightly over the fence because you were anticipating his bigger jump. It works well for him, almost mandatory, but just make sure you don’t let them get too long on course. Oh and Taylor watch your lower leg, you need to ensure your using the back of your calf to move him forward rather than your heels. When you use your heels you pinch with your knee, which in turn is throwing your upper body forward. I don’t know exactly what your plans are, if you want to go into eq or not, but I like my students to do equitation. Whether you doe the CET or simply a basic equitation class, I just like to see my riders look professional. I can tell you right now I wouldn’t coach you at the Royal if you went around with your shoulders slumped, legs sloppy and hands that moved like they were conducting a symphony. I’m not saying you do all of those things, just be prepared to work on equitation. In fact, drop your stirrups and go for a canter. Put your left hand in the middle of your back and ensure to lengthen your leg as you do so”

Ally brought Reno to a walk and watched the girl, she was good. She wasn’t text book perfect, but nobody was. The girl rode effectively and obviously spent a few hours working on her equitation, she was far from sloppy in the tack. She seemed like she had it together, and rode her hunter really well. She was a little too perched for Ally’s liking, but she was a jumper at heart. For hunters, she was nearly flawless- somebody that would be a good contender for the Jump Canada medal. She watched the pony move, he was cute but nothing compared to Oliver. It kind of made Ally wonder why the girl chose Coach to ride, seeing as he gave the look of simply a nice paint pony. It made Ally wonder if Jess would put her on something else for another client, a large pony or a children’s hunter. The girl was quite talented and Ally wasn’t sure if the pony had what it took to be a top contender at pony finals or the Royal. Ally smiled to herself, she might have something up her sleeve for that girl. But she wanted to get to know her a little better first.

[/blockquote]

[taylor lynn anderson]

Taylor took in a quiet breath as she heard Jess start to speak.She listened to every word that was being said. She almost immediately checked her shoulders, making sure they weren't slumped. Cochise started to pick his feet off the ground more, showing his actual stride. Taylor also slightly checked her hands, realizing that they were still and quiet.

Taylor obeyed Jess's instructions as she dropped her stirrups, still posting for a couple strides. Within a few moments, she sat down deep in her saddle, moving Cochise into a canter. She smiled ever so slightly as she felt the pony canter, probably his best gait. He moved effortlessly and was smooth strided. Cochise tried to stick his nose out during the transition but Taylor fixed it before it became evident. As she kept her heels down, she lengthened her leg. She put both reins in her right hand before putting her left hand in the middle of her back as Jess had instructed. She bit her lip slightly as she worked on using the back of her calf to keep the pony moving forward instead of her heel.

She wondered if her parents had told Jess the fully story about her accident with Oliver. Surely they had, considering she hadn't been questioned on her choosing of Cochise over Oliver. The pony stayed soft and collected as he went along, obviously enjoying cantering along the rail. She also thought about the fact that Ally could possibly know, but there was no way in telling. Some people have told her that riding Oliver again was a stupid thing to be afraid of, but then again, they weren't the ones riding that course, at that time. It didn't happen to them and she hated it when people were calling her stupid for being nervous of that same thing happening again.

[allyson grace devon]

Ally moved to the center of the ring and let Reno stretch his neck as she did walk and halt transitions to keep him preoccupied well the pony canter around the ring. He had a ncie canter, a big enough stride to make the lines, but he still didn’t have that wow factor. The one that said ‘I’m going to win this class’, he was flashy in colour but he neglected to have the presence that others had. Maybe it was just her, she’d talk to Jess about it later- or not. Sometimes she just kept to herself, avoided the conversation. Sure, she loved Jess but sometimes she just wanted to step away from all the expectations and just be allowed to mess up- not feel like one wrong move had a chain reaction that left her dead. That was how it was always explained, if you don’t ride right every time you’ll never win, if you don’t get him off his front end he’ll kill you when he trips over a fence- whatever it was, it always had a major consequence. Which is why she was contemplating selling the two horses she had, she just wanted something new- she wanted projects. She loved Boston to death, the horse could jump the moon and was an absolute dream- but his only real problem that he was sensitive, something Ally had learned to deal with awhile ago. She was simply a ribbon stealer with him in anything but hunter derbies, since she couldn’t make any really movements over the fences. Then there was Callie, who she’d probably keep simply due to the fact she was a hard still- nobody wants a quitter. Except retards like Ally, who find comfort in a challenge. Though all in all she really just wanted to go back to the days were she wore garters and won every class with her eyes closed- and nobody ever said anything if she didn’t win. Ally eyes moved form the pony when she heard Jess’ ring tone- the only person in the world who had a ring tone that wasn’t some sort of song. She watched carefully as Jess spoke in a muted tone and then hung up- what was that about?

”Um, I just got a call about a horse loose in the North paddocks. Ally, just cool him out and can you finish Taylor’s lesson for me? Thanks.

Ally just nodded her head and watched as Jess jogged out of the arena. Ally laughed under her breath, as if a horse had got out. She wasn’t sure what the call had been about, but she knew it wasn’t a horse- Jess wouldn’t have left the arena for that, and swear words would have flown had something bad actually happened. It was some sort of personal call, which meant one of two options- to do with an ex student or to do with her ex husband. The thing was, Ally would never know- she didn’t bother to ask anymore. If it was about a student Jess would tell her, if it wasn’t she’d never mention the phone call again. It was just one of those things. “So, I guess I’ll finish you off then. Pick up your stirrups and canter the other way, make sure to use the inside of your calf. Think of a dressage rider and how their legs bang against the sides when they do an extended trot- you want your legs in the position to do that, without actually doing it” said Ally as she gave Reno a light pat and halted him beside the small gymnastic- slightly saddened by the fact she hadn’t been able to school him around a course a few times. She actually really liked this stallion, in fact she’d probably offer to let Jess sell Boston in exchange for keeping Reno around and possibly getting a couple projects in. Heck, she might even offer up Callie- not for sale, but simply as a trade off. Though Jess would toss Ally on her anyways at shows, simply because the horse took too much warm up to juggle when you’re hopping from ring to ring with students.

Ally watched the girl ride, her canter was nice and her equitation seemed solid. She was working hard to fix the small errors she had and it was evident that she wanted to win- a quality that meant more to Ally then even she understood. Winning was everything in her mind, and it was all a competition. Ally compared prize money won at the end of the day, she compared everything- simply because she always needed to feel like she was better at something- well, at everything really. “So trot back and forth over the small gymnastic. Make sure to keep you hip angle open- simply think about keeping your shoulders really square throughout it and that’ll help. Make sure Coach picks up his canter over the pole, especially on the landing side. It is a he right?” said Ally as she watched the pony go around, hoping it was in fact a gelding. Especially since she was already calling it the wrong name, due to habit since Jess said “who’s that” anytime she referred to the pony as anything but Coach. It’d been quite funny, since Jess had gotten the name due to the brand of purses- since she’d thought Cochise had been the name of the brand, but when Ally had correct her that it was Coach Jess had simply resulted in calling the pony that.

[/blockquote]

[taylor lynn anderson]

Taylor hadn't paid all that much attention to Jess’ phone start to ring. She was more or less concentrating on herself and Cochise. Over the last few months, Taylor had started to work with Cochise on stepping under himself, and getting him show ready, though, she knew that they probably wouldn’t do well in the higher classes, just because she had been training Cochise since she had got him from a lesson barn, who had gotten him from a hunter/jumper barn. Cochise kept his stride even, and if you cantered over a pole, he probably would just jump it. Cochise loved jumping and shows, he could be the star pony at a high quality show, but an average pony while schooling, it has happened before. The year before, Taylor had qualified for Pony Finals easily on him, but they weren’t able to go because he had gotten lame a few days before they were to leave and the vet said it would be wise not to go.

She looked up slightly as she heard Ally’s voice. It was a fairly nice change from Jess, but, atleast she was still getting a lesson in. Taylor smiled and easily picked up her stirrups, and from showing a bit of dressage while she was in the United States, she knew exactly what Ally was talking about. She put her legs where they should be and brought to pony to a trot, which was more….’showy’ like, but not the kind he would throw at Taylor at shows. She didn’t know if Ally had wanted a flying lead change, or a simple. Taylor decided just to do a simple lead change and she turned the pony around easily before asking him to canter, which he did with pleasure.

Taylor looked at the small gymnastic slightly and just smiled, Cochise would have fun doing this. Taylor brought the pony back to a trot, the pony obviously wanting to jump. She smiled slightly and had Cochise trot over the poles, she smiled slightly once more as Cochise picked up the canter over the pole. “Yeah” she said with a smile, in response to Ally’s question. Taylor brought Cochise back to a trot and went back over the pole, doing the same thing she had done before.

[allyson grace devon]

Ally watched as the girl rode and nodded her head as she went, it was her signal that she was paying attention when she coaching. She had a lot of weird quirks like that, like tapping when she was annoyed somebody was going too slow. The thing was she didn’t do it to be rude, it just made her feel like they’d speed up- even though she never did it if they could see it. “That was good, you kept your hip angle open nicely and he obviously understands this exercise. He has a nice front end on him and listens fairly well, in fact I’m quite surprised that he jumps so well since his flat doesn’t have a lot of ‘flashy’ movement. He’s very correct, he’s just not a hack winner in my opinion. Anyways, the only thing is that you need to bring your heel down more on the landing. Kind of step into your stirrup over the fence. Just pick up to vertical on the outside, it’s only 2’3”-2’6” ish, he shouldn’t have a problem with it” said Ally as she nodded to a fairly simple vertical on the quarter line- a gate, pole and a small brush box. Nothing tricky, in fact it was the typical warm up jump for anybody that didn’t ride a pony.

Ally played with Reno’s mane as she waited for the girl to organize herself, she didn’t want her to rush- but she didn’t want to over coach. She hadn’t seen her ride before and wanted to see what she did without her help, or if she was the kind of rider that needed her hand to be held throughout the process. She wasn’t really sure what to think of the girl, since she rode this pony so well but wouldn’t touch her horse. Ally wondered why, but she’d never had the courage to ask. It wasn’t any of her business and Jess had never pushed the girl to ride Oliver, so far, so Ally simply assumed it was something she wasn’t supposed to know. Which bothered her, she hated not being ‘in the know’. She liked to know all the inside information, she hated being surprised. In fact, she was a bit of a control freak sometimes, in the fact that she didn’t want to feel left out. She was the barn manager, she should know everything- but that meant nothing to Jess, who sometimes was kind of oblivious to Ally’s feelings. Jess didn’t really pay attention to the fact Ally was quite sensitive, yet she always expected Ally to know what bothered her. It got under Ally’s skin quite frequently, she hated the mystery that surrounded Jess- the fact that Jess knew almost everything about her life and Ally knew nothing about Jess’. It was frustrating, and sometimes Ally wished she could just voice her opinion- but then she got scared, crawled back into her hole and refused to hurt anyone’s feelings. Something that she did often, despite the fact that she come off as rather blunt and harsh to most people.

[/blockquote]

[taylor lynn anderson]

Taylor smiled slightly as she heard what Ally had to say. It was true, Cochise didn’t have a lot of ‘flashy’ movement, and he only had it when he wanted to have it. Taylor had always had a problem with keeping her heels down on the landing, if not a lot; it was always a bit of a problem. She used to ride with flat hands as well. Her eyes looked over to the vertical on the outside, making note of the jump and how she would prepare Cochise to go over it. Since he had a stubborn attitude at times, he would probably try to run out or refuse. Taylor knew that she would need to keep a strong leg on him and make sure he went over, no matter what.

Taylor moved the pony into a canter. Cochise picked his ears up as he saw the jump, wanting to eagerly go over it. No running out of refusing today. The pony was too eager to jump rather than run out or refuse. Taylor used her seat to slow the pony down slightly so he wouldn’t trip over the jump. Cochise then slowed back down to a proper speed for a hunter before taking off, his knees tucking up, even. Taylor made sure to put weight into her stirrups so her heels wouldn’t come up during the landing. She wondered if this jump had been any better.

Taylor brought the pony back down to a trot, then to a walk, wondering what they were to do next. Plus, Cochise was being somewhat hard on the bit and needed to soften. She soon picked up the trot again, just going in a circle close to Ally, that way, if she said anything, she’d be able to hear her. Cochise swatted at a fly with his tail, continuing to trot, listening to Taylor, also wanting to jump some more.

[allyson grace devon]

Ally smiled as she watched the girl ride, she really did enjoy coaching even if she rarely did it. It wasn’t her strong suit- she got annoyed too easily, she was too much of a perfectionist and she preferred to be in the ring rather then outside it. Coaching took up a ton of time, and it wasn’t very often that you actually got to show because you were too busy running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off trying to balance rings. Ally didn’t like that, she liked getting off one horse and getting on another. She liked to win, she liked to be the best- she wanted the red ribbons, the coolers and the championship titles. Ally contemplated the fence, it was good and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to provide any corrections or not. She was always afraid of ruining a students confidence, but this girl had talent and she put up with Jess right? “That was nice, try to settle him sooner. For now just ride close to your tack to keep him settled” said Ally with a nod as she turned to observe the other fences, it was time for a course. This girl wasn’t the kind to need three million warm up fences- at least not with this pony.

“Okay, so do that fence again. Then around to the oxer, then outside line, diagonal line and then outside again. Fairly simple for now” said Ally as she moved Reno out of the way. He was fidgeting now, chewing at the straps of his leather open fronts. Ally pulled his head back up and decided to keep him walking, merely to keep the young stallion entertained. He had a short attention span that was for sure, and it worried her. It made things difficult for the rider, and she hoped he’d be able to concentrate on course. Jess had been skeptical about letting her ride him, so she hoped she was able to make it work. She needed to. She hated when she wasn’t able to ride a horse to Jess’ expectations. She always needed to exceed them, to blow people’s minds. She was always looking for somebody to say ‘hey, that was good’. Not because she needed the attention or was a complete suck up, but because sometimes she needed to be reminded why she spent hours slaving away in the barn. Remember why she rode large ponies that kids couldn’t handle, why she spent more hours on a horse then she did anywhere else. Why well everyone else was getting married she was getting more horses. Why her life was so different.

[/blockquote]