It's Only 8 Seconds

Chapter Twenty Three

I stood back and watched as Austin led Sunday out of her stall and tied her to the hitching rail. She was so much bigger than the horses I had dealt with for the past twenty years. Austin slipped into the tack room and I followed him, the back wall was covered in roping saddles, bronc saddles and the tiny little jumping saddles. There were fancy bridles with glitter on the browband and a pair of boots that were tall and seemed to look like they would fit like a glove. 

Austin grabbed one of the small brown saddles and a forest green saddle pad and some other fluffy woollen pad. He took these out to Sunday and threw the saddle pad over her back adjusting it to the right place, every move he made looked so natural, as if he had been doing it for years. Austin lifted the light saddle up and swung it up onto the mares back, he adjusted it and did the girth up. Austin finished tacking up Sunday and walked over to me giving me a quick kiss. 

''I'll teach you all that later,'' he anounced. Ausin slipped into the tack room and came back with two helmets. I'd never worn a helmet in my entire life, but if this was some English thing then I was willing to do it, Autin handed me a helmet and I put it on my head and did up the chin strap, it felt weird to wear. I guess I just wasn't used to it. ''We'll take her out to the arena.'' I walked next to Austin as he led Sunday out and behind a row of pine trees neighbouring the pastures.

Behing the trees I was amazed with what I saw, a huge outdoor arena filled with different sized jumps, pine trees planed all around it excluding the one side that was a amaculatly trimmed hedge that overlooked the back of Austin's house. There was a pool and a deck filled with tables and chairs and a bareque. I had just realised that Austin's house was quite literally the most lugsurious house I had ever been in and his property was priseagous. But I didn't let anything that he had change the way I looked at him, I still loved him the same.

''I'll give her a ride around before I let you on.'' Ausin smiled at me and I nodded my head at him as I watching him mount the giant horse. He looked like he belonged on the back of these big horses, the way he sat looked so natural. I stood back and leaned on the rail as Austin gathered the reins and walked Sunday around the arena. Her head placed perfectly and each movement he made to guide her she responded so instantly. I had never seen a rider have so much control over the horse with so little touch. He picked up her speed and she began to trot around, bending her figgure of eight and prancing over trotting poles lying on the ground. She lifted her legs and glided over the poles with such ease as Austin rose in the saddle and landed back down lightly. 

He changed leads through the center of the arena and went off cantering around the sand ground. Sunday had her head kept tucked and moved foward though her chest. Austin cantered around over some of the trotting poles and then he lined her up to a jump, it looked huge to me but was probably nothing to him. I held my breath as he cantered closer and closer to it. Until Sunday pushed off and into the air, Austin held the reins steady and pushed his body foward with Sunday's. It was like watching a magnificent dance as the two worked as one to get over the jump. Once they landed Austin slipped back into the saddle and Sunday continued cantering at the same pace. He did this a few time, did some flying changes and cooled her down with a bit of trotting. 

Austin stopped in front of me and climbed off Sunday, he put an arm over my shoulder and hugged me with it.''That was amazing.'' I told him, I watched as he smiled and then looked down at the ground. ''Thank you,'' he said ''now we better get you on.'' I felt my heart begin to beat faster, I had never done this before, but how had could it be?

''Grab the reins and I'll give you a leg up.'' I was hoping he was going to say that, because there was no way I could just slip onto this horse like he did. Ausin grabbed my leg and pushed me up until I could swing my own leg over and sit in the saddle. It felt weird, I kept feeling like there was meant to be a horn there in front of me but there was nothing there for me to grab at all. I put my feet into the sturips and Austin came over to move them to where they were meant to be. ''Heels down Ail, and keep your knees close to the saddle. Remember that, okay?'' 

''Alright.''

''Now get her to walk off, just walk around.'' I took the reins and squeezed Sunday off into a walk. Her stride was bigger than any other horse I had ridden, I kept making sure my legs were sitting right and I was holding the reins the way that Austin was when he was riding.I made sure that I was sitting straight up with my shoulders back, I remember reading that somewhere. It wasn't as rexaing as when I rode Bird, my body just sat how it wanted most of the time. But now I was having to critique everything and make sure I was doing it all right, but I wanted to learn. I really wanted to learn how to jump, this might just be the thing I needed.