Ignore Me to Please Me

Journey to the Unknown

I dragged my suitcase along the airport lounge floor, riding hat in my other hand, my riding boots on making me stand out like a sore thumb in the crowd. I was on the first part of my journey to become an international dressage rider, the first step in the journey is to fly to Spain, in the countryside of Granada and spend 6 months training with Dressage trainer Catalina; if all being well after those 6 months I may come back home to England with my own Iberian warmblood to compete with or may stay on to further my training depending on the success of the next 6 months. I'm planning on flying my own horse out for the 6 month duration, I don't want him stuck in a field whilst I'm away and I certainly don't want anyone else riding him in case they undo all of the hard work I have put into him, that would be eight years of hard work down the drain! Instead I plan to train him whilst he is over here with all the skills I learn with Catalina on her already trained horses; over the last three years I have worked in an office job gaining enough experience to add to my CV as well as saving enough money to purchase a Spanish horse of my own to train and compete whilst I am in Spain. 

I only have about 30 minutes to wait for my flight to Malaga to start boarding so I go to Costa to grab a bite to eat, a caramel latte and a ham and cheese toasted croissant should set me up for the flight. Luckily the queue wasn't too long so the wait was quick leaving me enough time to sit down and eat before rushing to the gate. Once I finish I decide to give my mum a quick call to let her know how I have got on so far and that I am already missing her. It has been tough deciding to leave my parents and friends; They have been so supportive over the years with my riding career and I just want to do them proud although have never stayed away for as long as I am staying now, although I have visited the centre of Granada on a school exchange trip which made me fall in love with the city so when I found this opportunity at a yard only a 30 minute drive into the centre of Granada I couldn't say now, especially with the opportunity to have my own car provided by Catalina to be able to use freely, I can't wait to get out and explore and especially have some free time away from horses. As much as I love my horses and if I want to carry on doing it as a part time career I think it is healthy to have a break from them, it stops you from burning out. 

Finally the screen flashed up my boarding gate so I gathered up my things and started making my way to the gate. Everyone around me who I presumed was on the same flight as me started speed walking and rushing, there was really no need, you would all still get on at the same time. I used to work at the airport, it was my first job after college and I used to check in passengers and board them so I am pretty confident with the system and know my way around fairly well, there was no need to stress. I made my way to gate 7, not really a far gate from the lounge, that was when the butterflies began in my stomach and my mind started to race. I couldn't believe I was actually about to get on a plane and go to Granada, a dream of mine for about five years and it was finally happening. I was getting nervous at the thought of leaving familiar territory for so long and not knowing anyone over there, plus I have never flown on a plane on my own before which was a pretty nerve-wracking thought in itself! Luckily the language barrier shouldn't be too much of a problem for me as I already talk a little Spanish and first started learning it when I worked with a Spanish girl at the airport, she was awesome but unfortunately she had top return home to Cordoba to be with her family during a tough time, since them I have carried on practicing and am pretty excited to carry on learning whilst I am over there, immersed in the language which I think  is the best way to learn.

I get to my gate and make my way down the steps, walk through the doors and find some old work friends are actually the gate staff today which is comforting. As I get to the desk they recognise me, "Hey girls" I say to them, one a short brown haired girl called Julia stood with a taller blond lady call Lydia, they both smiled at me"Oh my gosh Olivia! How are you? I can't believe its you" Julia gasps at me as I hand her my passport and boarding pass, Lydia finishes with her passenger and turns to me "What are you doing flying on your own to Malaga, you must be much more confident now than you were? There was a time you would panic at the thought of even flying with family" Lydia says, so many questions from them I thought to myself, "I am really good thank you, its been so long since I last saw you both. You're right, I am a lot more confident now. I am actually going to be staying at a dressage yard near Granada for six months to train in dressage" I reply to them, fully not believing what is coming out of my mouth is actually happening, I never do anything like this so its a big deal for me, which I am sure is obvious from telling by their reactions as their mouths hang wide, "Wow that is amazing!" Lydia says, "You'll do amazing" Julia says with a smile, "thank you, I'll see you again soon, bye!" I say back now making my way to a seat, I don't want to hold them up and then them have to rush through the last remaining passengers who were starting to tut and shake their heads. 

I took my seat on the plane, happy to see that it wasn't a full flight and I actually had a whole row to my self. I clicked my belt on and got out some sweets ready for take off, my butterflies now fluttering like crazy due to excitement more than nerves, I was so ready for this. 

4 Hours Later

The plane landed gently and I was directed off to go through customs and grab my suitcase. I was feeling fairly apprehensive about going out in the arrivals lounge to meet Catalina who was picking me up herself, I knew she spoke good English as have spoken to her a few times on the phone to arrange my trip and also my horses trip over and stable. My bag was fairly heavy, I accidentally overpacked and was over my weight limit having to pay for extra as it was 26kg, it was a lot of weight to pull especially with my holdall bag and hat, my hands were fairly full! I step out through the sliding doors to see a crowd of expectant faces waiting for friends, family and business associates to step through the doors too. I scanned the crowd but could not see Catalina anywhere, I scanned again still no sign of her, I tried walking through the crowd to see if she was waiting at the back, still no sign of her until out of the corner of my eye I see a sign with my name 'Olivia Atkins' in big writing on a white bit of paper, although Catalina was not the one holding it, a young guy was holding it, I must say a very hot one at that, I would say he must be around my age, I am 23. This mysterious man catches me looking at him and gathers I could be his passenger; I head over to him. "Hey, my name is Olivia, I was expecting Catalina from Blanco Caballo farm" I say to this random guy, trying to portray a confident exterior although feeling very shaky on the inside. "I am Luis, Catalina's son. She is caught up with one of her mares foaling so I'm afraid you are stuck with me. Perhaps if you checked your phone you would realise that she tried to call and text you as soon as you landed at the ETA you told her" He replied, really not looking very amused, "Oh right, okay" I say as I turn on my phone and it starts to ping with messages from friends and family sending me well wishes and at the bottom of the notification list, Catalina's name with a missed call and a text explaining where she was. "Happy now, I'm no kidnapper" Luis responds with a smirk as he walks off heading towards the doors to the car park, I quickly pick up my stuff and try to catch up with him, dragging my heavy bags behind me. How rude, can he not see I am struggling, definitely not a gentleman.

We get to the car, which by the looks of it Is his, a smart Mercedes A250, finally he takes my suitcase from me and hauls it into the boot of the car, he must be strong as he didn't look to struggle at all, not like me. I throw in my other bag and riding hat and get into the passenger seat where he is sat waiting to go. He doesn't seem like the chatty type, I strap myself in as he drives off, spinning around the car park and giving off bad boy vibes, I decide then to not bother trying to make conversation and try to stay out of his way when at the farm, hopefully he won't cause too much trouble for the 6 months I am there for, surely he must be used to his mum having pupils in to train.