It's Just You and Me

[Ashley Andrew Stephens]

Drew waited until Ms. Carr left before heading to the tack room to grab Remi's grooming kit. He reached up to his left shoulder where Sininen would usually sit and felt a wave of disappointment that the little bird wasn't there. At his old barn, the boy had his parakeet close at hand for grooming and tacking. Usually he sat on the metal rail on a stall door which was usually used to store blankets, but one of the older school horses didn't even care much if the bird sat on his back. During the lesson, the parakeet went back into his cage. Drew much preferred the company of his feathered friend to any of his classmates. Except for the one time Sininen overheard swearing from The Wolf of Wall Street, the bird had a polite vocabulary. Even the swearing went away after a month of no reinforcement. Drew thought it was hilarious to hear Sininen and some of the other birds yell expletives at each other; his mother was not nearly so amused.

Grooming and tacking took about fifteen minutes, and it was still too early to go out to the arena. Trying to brush through all the curly hairs was a new experience and not in a good way. He hated that the brushes didn't feel nearly as effective on Remi's coat compared to any other horse with a smooth coat. The hairs also gave the illusion of more bulk, and Drew wondered if this horse had lichen covered trees for legs. Remi just didn't look as muscular and noble. Definitely sheep-like. At least she was well behaved and didn't make a fuss with the girth or bridle. Drew seriously hoped that Remi was as good of a dressage horse as Ms. Carr claimed to make up for the humiliating fact that he was riding a curly horse. Sure, they looked sort of cute in pictures, and their hypoallergenic properties were intriguing from a scientific standpoint, but the boy wasn't looking forward to riding one.

He led the mare out to the indoor arena and arrived a few minutes early. He double checked the stirrup length even though he knew he would have to make some adjustments once he got into the saddle. He lengthened them in the barn as whoever rode Remi before him had shorter legs or primarily jumped. It was really impossible to tell. He stood by Remi's head holding the reins and waited for the instruction to mount up. One benefit of being a guy with short hair was never having to worry about how a ponytail would affect the fit of his helmet. Drew preferred the Ovation helmets for their look and feel. He never rode without a solid plan of what he wanted to accomplish. Today was just a chance for him to see what the mare could do and show Ms. Carr his own skills. Walk, trot, half turn, trot once around, walk, canter, circle, lead change, canter, collect, circle, extend down the long sides, collect through the short, lead change, circle, collect, circle, trot, leg yield to the quarterline down the long sides, walk, shoulder-in, walk, cool down.

Tag: Katherine Carr

[Katherine Carr]

Leaving Drew with the mare, she hoped that he seriously wouldn't just the horse by her coat, while she may not look it she was an excellent dressage horse and she would give the boy the confidence he needed to extend his own riding before he would move onto another horse who would take him even further in his equestrian studies.

Once she had sorted the phone to be picked up by the machine, she attached her mobile phone to the thigh of her beige breeches, pushed her feet into her field boots and made her way over to the arena. She was pleased to see that no one else was using it, which was always the chance in the colder months, and she positioned herself in the middle of the arena as she waited for the boy to arrive with the mare.

Once Drew had arrived and seemed to be organised, Katherine gave a warm smile. "When you're ready, please mount up. Today is just seeing how the two of you work together. This is not a lesson, so I'm not going to be telling you what to do. I am but a ghost." She smiled again as she swept her hand across the arena. "The floor is yours."

[Ashley Andrew Stephens]

Drew led the mare to the mounting block. He took a deep breath, gathered the reins, and swung easily into the saddle. Just stick to the plan and nothing could go too horribly. He walked forward and clear of the mounting block before halting and checking his stirrups. The boy made sure to sit up straight and open his hips. He let his stirrups down another hole and turned Remi towards the rail to start the ride. He walked once around the arena making sure his center of gravity was correct before asking for a trot. Soft and steady hands came naturally to Drew, and it was easy to imagine he was holding two small birds in place of reins--firm enough so that they wouldn't fly away, but not so hard so as to squish them.

He continued following his plan. Drew picked up the canter in the corner to the long side and cantered once around to get a feel for the mare's rhythm. He used the whole far end to circle and asked for a lead change through X. He asked her to collect from F to K, and had to grudgingly admit she was a good dressage horse. He asked for another circle and even smiled a little bit at her quiet responsiveness. He was even happy to find that she could extend nicely without just speeding up. Drew asked for another lead change through the center of the arena and rode her through a fifteen meter circle. Without losing imupulsion, he collected her for a ten meter circle and let her continue for a few strides down the long side before slowing to a trot. Once she was properly balanced and in good rhythm, he asked her to leg yield to the quarterline a couple of times being careful to keep contact with the bit and not let his leg bounce too much.

Drew took a deep breath before slowing Remi to a walk and preparing for a shoulder-in. He still had trouble getting it reliably at home on retired show horses. He moved his outside leg back some to support the haunches and used the inside rein to bend her head slightly while using the outside rein to direct the motion. He could get a few steps in correctly before he accidentally bent her neck and head too far to the inside. As soon as he caught himself messing up, Drew corrected and managed another couple of steps with a correct shoulder-in before he could feel her haunches move to the outside. He struggled to get her back on three tracks for the shoulder-in instead of four tracks for a leg yield. He finished strongly with the last four steps to M being a proper shoulder-in.

The boy let himself relax and breathe a sigh of relief. Sure, he still needed to work on his form, but the funny-looking mare could do the work. Drew gave her a few good pats on the neck for her patience and a long rein. He let her walk around to where Ms. Carr was standing so that he wouldn't have to yell across the arena.

"How was that? Remi's pretty patient, and she's fun to ride."

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine watched the boy, a small amused smile on her face, as it was as though the boy didn't believe her when she had said the mare was good with her dressage and he was testing the mare to see if he could prove her wrong, and Katherine found the whole thing more amusing than annoying as all it was doing was showing off the mare's lovely gaits and responsiveness.

She smiled as he approached her and she bowed her head at his words. "I think the two of you are a good fit for each other." She replied smoothly. "She will help you while you establish a perfect seat, and you'll help her by letting her do what she's good at." She knew that the mare missed doing dressage when she wasn't assigned to a student, as when she was ridden by the barn hands, she was generally just worked enough to keep her fit and happy without actually focusing on any one thing.

"I have seen what I need to, and am happy with the pairing." She gestured around the arena. "You know have two choices, you can continue riding her or take her back to her stall." Katherine knew that she needed to return to her office as there was always work to be done when managing a barn.

[Ashley Andrew Stephens]

Okay, she won. Maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to judge Remi based on her unusual breed. It wasn't like she chose to be born looking like a sheep-horse, but she didn't have that immediate 'dressage horse aura' like some of the fancy warmbloods at his old barn. Then again, Sininen didn't look like much either. He was just an average sized budgie with blue and white plummage. And yet, he could wow people just by opening his mouth.

He nodded at her comments. For his level in dressage, Remi really was a good match. In just a year and a half, he doubted he would ever be at the top level, but she could clearly go beyond what he knew. And based off the few steps of a shoulder-in they managed, he could tell that the problem was with him and not her. She could do everything he needed to learn, he just had to learn how to ask. It would certainly be weird telling his parents that he rode a Curly Horse and not an Andalusian or Hanoverian like they were expecting.

"I think I'll walk her around for a few more minutes and be done for the day. I want to make sure I know where everything is in the barn before classes start."

Drew wasn't the type to gush the mare's praises. The horse was good, and they could be an effective team. He understood the value of responsibility and planned on taking care of Remi just like Sininen--nothing but devoted and attentive care. If so much as a hair was out of place, Drew would know about it. He gathered his reins and turned the mare back to the arena to walk around some and mentally decompress. It was winter, so she didn't need a long cool down, but he needed a couple more minutes to let the whole 'this is basically my horse' situation sink in. And well, he wanted to spend a little more time with her.