𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 [ Adopted by Elizabeth Olsen ]

Chapter 17: "Watching Nova's lesson"

⚠️TW:⚠️ nothin' pretty much

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Nova's pov:

The clock was nearing 12 and it was time for me to go fetch Billy. I brought him in and gave him a quick brush, Mr. Miller had requested for her to tack up by herself so that she could learn that. When Billy was all done, I still had some time before Lizzie was supposed to be here, so I went and got Luna in.

I didn't want keep Lizzie waiting longer than necessary. Brushing Luna before-hand would mean I could just tack her up right after Lizzie's lesson and not have to brush her. That way I could be in the arena earlier and Lizzie wouldn't have to wait for that long.

Lizzie ended up coming as I was finishing up with Luna. "Hi! How are you?" She asked me. "Good day miss Elizabeth", I smiled. "I'm doing good, what about you?" I asked her. "I'm good, thanks for asking", she smiled. "And once again, please, call me Lizzie."

"Am I riding her?" She asked, giving Luna a little pet. "No I'm sorry, you'll be riding Billy today as well. Luna is a bit explosive sometimes and definitely not as safe as Billy, I think you should be happy you're not riding her", I explained.

"She's your horse right?" Lizzie asked. "Yeah she is", I answered packing up her grooming brushes and putting on a rug so that she hopefully wouldn't get dirty while I was helping Lizzie with her lesson.

"I have to say, she is cute", Lizzie commented. "She is, and she is such a sweet horse as well, it's just when you get on her that she tends to get sassy", I laughed.

Lizzie then tacked Billy up, while we chatted casually. She actually did it fully by herself today, she didn't need any help.

-Time skip until after Lizzie's lesson bc I'm lazy-

Lizzie's lesson had gone very well, her trotting was a lot better than last week. She hadn't fully gotten the concept of posting trot, but she had been close multiple times. And... drum roll please.... she wasn't scared to trot as she had been last time! Billy was turned back out again after Lizzie had untacked him.

I was currently tacking up Luna before my lesson, and Lizzie was asking lots of questions about the tack I use, as a lot of it was different from what Billy uses during lessons. For example, I use both a breast plate and boots, which both were unfamiliar to Lizzie.

"So what are the things you're putting on her legs?" Lizzie asked me. "They're called boots and their main purpose is obviously to protect their legs, both from hitting stuff like poles, but also from their legs hitting each other", I explained.

"These are called tendon boots and are the boots I use the most for showjumping as they give a lot of protection, but still allow the horse full movement and they can still feel the poles without hitting them too hard."

"I'm sorry if that's confusing", I laughed. "No, you're good, I think I understood."

I managed to put on the saddle pad and saddle without questions, but when I got to the breastplate, the questions started raining down on me. "What the hell is that?" Lizzie asked, making me laugh,

"That's a breastplate, it goes on the horses chest like this, and then it hooks to the saddle and to the girth", I explained.

"It's main job is to keep the saddle from slipping, but also to relieve some pressure on their back over a jump."

"Okay, I'll be fair. That does make sense", Lizzie said. I put on my boots, helmet and gloves, before replacing Luna's headcollar with an ear bonnet and her bridle. "You ready to go?" I asked her and she nodded.

I led Luna over to the arena and told Lizzie to stand by the fence. "You can stand here, but if it gets boring, feel free to leave at any time", I told her. I didn't want her to feel obligated to stay, watching someone ride can be boring.

"Of course I want to watch you!" Lizzie exclaimed. "Why wouldn't I?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, as I said, it can get kind of boring"

"You're never boring, I'm pretty sure I could watch you ride forever, you're so good at what you do!" She complimented me.

Lizzie's pov:

Why would she think I wouldn't want to watch her ride? That's very quickly become my favourite thing in the world, even though I've only done it once.

Nova went to go warm Luna up, and we would chat casually while she did so. I had no clue how she managed to effortlessly talk while trotting, and with one hand! I couldn't even trot with two hands and with someone (*cough* Nova *cough*) running beside me!

Anyway, the point is, Nova is so good at riding, and she hasn't even gotten to the hard part yet, she's just warming up right now. Warming up took her a while, but Mr. Miller eventually came. He was the one having her lesson, and he started off by putting down one of the fences so that Nova could warm up over it.

She jumped it a couple times, both ways, and Mr. Miller gave some pointers here and there, except I didn't understand a thing. Like what does "change your diagonal" mean?

Mr. Miller then split the course she was doing today into different parts, and she started jumping all of the different parts. The jumps were massive, almost as big as Mr. Miller, and I was sure Nova was going to fall of at some stages.

At one point, Luna decided to buck after a jump and my breath got stuck in my throat. Nova almost fell off, and it really scared me. I don't think I realized how much I care for her until now, when even the thought of her getting hurt made my heart clench.

I realized what she had meant with "Billy is much safer than Luna" now. Billy had never done anything like that, and I'm really happy he hasn't. Nova stayed on though and continued her lesson as if nothing had happened.

After Mr. Miller shouting directions I didn't understand, like "more leg", "sit, sit, sit, and release", "look up" (okay I understood that one), and what felt like a thousand directions in a different language, Nova was finally done with her lesson.

Mr. Miller left the arena, and we exchanged a couple of greetings while Nova cooled Luna down. She trotted her around for a while with long reins, and I still have no idea how she manages to do posting trot without holding on to anything!

After trotting around for a while, she finally jumped off Luna and told me she was just going to lead her around for a while. So, I did what anyone would do, I walked beside her.

"I just wanted to say, you're really good at riding, I have no idea how you managed to stay on", I said. "Thanks, that means a lot, as for the staying on, I'm used to it. She gets a bit excited and likes to bust a few moves here and there, but I usually manage to stay on", she told me.

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Hi! How are you all doing?

I'm all right, it's been a bit stressful lately, with a lot of school work and exams coming up. I'm also getting confirmated this weekend (that's like a Norwegian celebration btw) and the Norwegian national day is also coming up.

Oh yeah, I live in Norway btw, I don't know if I've mentioned that before xD

Anyway, remember to stay safe. If you haven't eaten yet today, please at least try to eat something. I'm always here if you want to talk or ask me about something. I always enjoy talking to you guys <3

Love, Frida xx