Briarsridge Riding School

Chapter 24

"Scarlett! Try to keep your shoulders up and back and Kermit will keep his head in a better frame! And keep your tongue in your mouth!" Mr. S added, and I shut my mouth, blushing.

"Nice one!" Luke called from across the arena.

"Luke, I don't think you should be talking with your over-the-fence face." Brandon snickered under the shade of his helmet. We transitioned into the canter, and I shifted my shoulders up. Kermit lowered his head and loosened his back, enabling me to sit deeper and ride his awkward canter.

"Very nice Scarlett!" Mr. S commented, and I grinned inwardly. "Luke! Get control of your horse!" Briefly glancing over, I noticed that Luke's stallion was tossing his head and throwing out a few bucks. Luke gritted his teeth and half-halted, and the stallion quieted down. He looked at me, and I nodded to him, earning a small smile.

We crossed the diagonal, switching leads with a flying change before rising into half seat. Kermit yanked on the reins, and I reciprocated it with a firm tug, reminding him that we're still working. He tilted his ears back.

"Drop your stirrups!" My trainer called from the centre of the arena. I did what he said, tightening my lower leg slightly so I stayed in a collected half seat. We worked on canter-halt transitions, and by the time we picked our stirrups back up, I was out of breath.

"Alrighty, let's warm up over the gymnastics!" Mr. S called, setting up the jumps. I went first, since the boys were busy sending each other glares. The jumps were only about 2'6 high, and Kermit was tall, so we hopped over them as if they were oversized cavaletti. It was a simple vertical, bounce to a cross-rail, two strides to an oxer, one stride to a vertical, and a final one stride set to an oxer. Kermit focused on the middle, making it easier for me to work with the distances. We hand-galloped away, and I patted him.

"Good boy, Kerm!" I cooed, waiting in line. Brandon finally got the hint and pushed his chestnut Arabian gelding forward. The gelding picked up a nice canter and went through the gymnastics perfectly, picking up his legs nicely. Brandon's equitation looked amazing as well, he was just a little too loose in his hands.

"Good job Brandon, just more contact in your hands!" Mr. S called. I high-fived him as he trotted his gelding past. Luke cantered off, asking his Friesian for a more forward canter. The stallion surged under him, keeping a good contact with Luke's hands. They jumped the gymnastics, perfectly, complete with Luke's weird faces.

"Very nice Luke! Just focus on keeping your heels down, and you should be set!" Mr. S called from across the ring. "Now for the fun. Drop your stirrups and be prepared to go over a course!" Our trainer called, allowing us to trot on the rail. I focused on seat and took a deep breath when he called my name to go over the course. Patting Kermit, I picked up the canter and said a silent prayer.