Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2014 17:50:24 GMT -8
On the McAleese farm, there had been a long stretch of land called the gallops, which weren't inaptly named, as it had been the same as the land used for training racehorses, but the McAleese farm didn't train racehorses. Ronan had loved the gallops, just stretches and stretches of land and grass and subtle hills that fell into deep shadows in the morning and at dusk. He would bring Tally there and she would just run, and it was so raw, and so free, and she seemed to like it as much as he did.
The closest place Ronan could find at Blue Ridge was the cross country course. He did, of course, already spend a great deal of time there, training on the course, so he knew the land pretty well, and figured that he could just gallop her over it, beside the jumps. Before going to the barn, he laced on his protective vest and zipped his jacket over it. He always wore it on the course, just in case, and didn't quite know yet whether or not he would be jumping Tally.
Arriving at the barn, he gathered her tack and brushes and met Tally in her stall, where he greeted her fondly, groomed her, and tacked her up to go out on the course. Buckling on his helmet, he led her out of her stall and to the mounting block, where he mounted and walked, then trotted her out to the cross country courses. They covered a great deal of land, and he figured that he could gallop in a fairly straight line for a while. If it didn't work as planned, he'd just work her over a few jumps, which would be nearly as satisfying. What he really needed though, he'd decided, was a good gallop, to clear his mind, and to satisfy Tally, and to just be free and do everything and nothing at once.
Once she was warm enough, Ronan walked her to the start of one of the course, and patted her shoulder before pressing his legs to her sides, putting slight pressure on his right rein, and asking her to gallop. She picked it up quickly, eagerly, ears pricked, and muscles surging, eager to go. The grass passed quickly under them, and Ronan perched himself securely over her back, giving her her head for the most part.
The closest place Ronan could find at Blue Ridge was the cross country course. He did, of course, already spend a great deal of time there, training on the course, so he knew the land pretty well, and figured that he could just gallop her over it, beside the jumps. Before going to the barn, he laced on his protective vest and zipped his jacket over it. He always wore it on the course, just in case, and didn't quite know yet whether or not he would be jumping Tally.
Arriving at the barn, he gathered her tack and brushes and met Tally in her stall, where he greeted her fondly, groomed her, and tacked her up to go out on the course. Buckling on his helmet, he led her out of her stall and to the mounting block, where he mounted and walked, then trotted her out to the cross country courses. They covered a great deal of land, and he figured that he could gallop in a fairly straight line for a while. If it didn't work as planned, he'd just work her over a few jumps, which would be nearly as satisfying. What he really needed though, he'd decided, was a good gallop, to clear his mind, and to satisfy Tally, and to just be free and do everything and nothing at once.
Once she was warm enough, Ronan walked her to the start of one of the course, and patted her shoulder before pressing his legs to her sides, putting slight pressure on his right rein, and asking her to gallop. She picked it up quickly, eagerly, ears pricked, and muscles surging, eager to go. The grass passed quickly under them, and Ronan perched himself securely over her back, giving her her head for the most part.