Show Jumping A

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

Alexa Rae Kline
Cara-Jean Kitchi
Gavriila Shahar
Indigo Blume
Khalid Al-Kuwari
Noah Sorley
Serenity Oliver
Tinsley Elena Rutherford

Course

Gail was looking forward to teaching show jumping and seeing what sort of talent she would be working with. Their first lesson would be fun so she could get a guage of their skills as a rider as well as the horses she would be dealing with. There was time in the rest of the semester to develop individual skills and hopefully instill good habits into their riding. The weather was agreeable, so the class could be held outside in one of the dedicated jumper rings. Gail kept her appearance professional with tan breeches, tall boots, and a plain polo under a warm jacket. Her students were riding and getting exercise while she was standing in the arena. The mild wind was enough to make her wish she had a hot mug of coffee.

She waited for the students to arrive and went through her lesson plan one more time. It was a big class, and there was no way Gail could devote as much attention to each student as she would have liked. Private lessons were great for the individual attention and being able to have lessons tailored specifically to the student's needs, but a group lesson offered peer support and critique. Besides, there was value in watching other people ride. Her previous trainer always encouraged her students to watch each other at shows and left an open invitation for any student no matter what level to get a feel for the show atmosphere. A minute before the class was to start, the young woman turned on her clip on microphone. It was easier on her voice to use a mic than to try shouting across the arena. She waited a minute after the class period was supposed to start in case there were any stragglers.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Please continue to warm up your horses tracking left. My name is Mrs. Sorenson-Faulkner, and I will be your jumping instructor. I also teach the hunter class. As this is an advanced class, I will assume all of you are comfortable jumping a minimum of two feet three inches. I expect all of you to come to class prepared. That means, I expect your mount and tack to be clean and in working order. If you need to use a stick or spurs, have them with you before you mount up. If for whatever reason you or your horse are unable to participate in the day's lesson, let me know before class starts. You will sit on the sidelines and observe, not doing other homework or playing on your phone. As a heads up, February is No-Stirrup month, and you're all in luck. This year is a leap year, so there's an extra day without stirrups."

No-Stirrup month was a tradition at her old barn and viewed with very strong mixed reactions. Her trainer loved it as it forced students to work on a more independent hand and seat. Leg muscules always got stronger, and regularly games and small competitions kept the students motivated. Students however usually dreaded no-stirrup month as it meant going home barely able to walk and very exhausting workouts. Like a good alumni of her old barn, Gail intended to keep up the tradition of no-stirrup month because its benefits far outweighed any student grumbling and moaning.

"Now that you're all warmed up, line up over here."

Gail was standing next to jump six down the long side from the gate. Once they started jumping, it was the one part of the arena she was sure would be clear.

"I want you all to introduce yourself, your horse, and another activity that you enjoy besides riding. I'll start. My name is Mrs. Sorenson-Faulkner, I ride Rabbit, and I enjoy cooking."

She marked off each student as they spoke and wrote down the name of their horse and any preferred nicknames.

"The course you'll be jumping is single angle away bending six to the oxer, roll-back to the bending eight, two-stride vertical oxer, roll-back to the angle away tracking right, the vertical by me, bending six to the oxer, roll-back to the oxer away, and back to the angle towards home."

She pointed to each jump in turn as she explained the course. In case anyone forgot or needed a second reminder, she pointed to each jump again and called out the numeric order and roughly indicated the lines.

"For now, focus on accuracy rather than speed. You'll do yourself no favors being fast and taking rails. When you finish the course, I want you to come back and say one thing that was challenging. The rest of you should be watching, and I want to hear one thing that was good or bad about the ride. And be specific. Any volunteers want to go first?"

Everyone would end up riding the course, and the exact order didn't really matter to her. For now, it was better to let those who wanted to go jump first. Some students just needed to watch a couple trips to have the best performance.

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara was trying to do everything that was asked of her... it was just that lunch wasn't a happening thing that day, and after dumping her untouched she, purchased a protein bar and went to her room to get changed for the equestrian classes. Once dressed in beige jodhpurs, a turquoise shirt with mandarin collar and a navy sleeveless jacket, she slipped her feet into her paddock boots and made her way down to the barn.

It didn't take her long to get Pyre's black coat shining like polished marble and she pulled the mare's currently unruly mane into a running braid and began to get her ready for jumping class. She was feeling more than a little nervous about the class, but had no idea where her nerves were coming from - other than the fact that she had skipped lunch.

When the mare was ready to go with her red saddle blanket, black tack, and red sport boots, she fastened the helmet beneath her chin, swapped her paddock boots for her tall ones, pulled her gloves on, and lead the pony outside. Tightening the girth, she vaulted into the saddle and rode toward the arena, as it was never too early to start warm-up. Entering the arena, still mounted.

She nodded her head to the information about February being no-stirrup month, it probably didn't bother her as much as it should have, but she'd do as was expected of her, and she continued warming the mare up, making sure that she was supple and responsive as they worked their way around the arena.

When asked, she reined the mare in and went to line up as asked and turned her attention to their instructor. Her face balked as they were asked to introduce themselves, and she played with the end of the mare's braid. "I am called Cara-jean Kitchi, and this is Pyre..." She paused in thought as she tried to think of how to finish her introduction. "I am a gymnast." Yes, technically she hadn't really done as she was asked, as to whether she enjoyed gymnastic or not was still a touchy subject, though she knew it was something, other than riding, that she was good at, and with a lack of hobbies, there was really nothing else she could use.

She followed the line of jumps as the woman called them out, remembering the strides, knowing that she was going to have to work the mare hard to keep the number that Mrs Sorenson-Faulkner called. When asked for volunteers, she bowed her head in acquiescence, she had spoken first, she may as well rider first too.

Drawing in a deep breath, she sat up tall in the saddle as she pushed her weight into her heels and circled away from the rest of the class. Circling the mare in a canter, she felt her cheeks heat up as the mare let out a stream of excited farts as they headed toward first fence and they were off. Keeping the mare at a steady canter, and silently begging the mare to keep her wind in check, they went around the course, silently counting out the mare's stride, asking her to extend when they had a bit of a distance between the fences and half-halting the mare when she felt her rushing.

When they had finished, she circled the mare and brought her back to a trot and then a walk before returning to the group. She caught the right corner of her bottom lip between her teeth as she remembered that she was now supposed to talk. "Pyre and I had a little communication problem with the combination and she tried to put in three strides when we only had room for two." That had been her own fault as they had approached the vertical too fast and the mare had over jumped it, if they had been going slower, the mare would have been able to squeeze and extra stride between the jumps.

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity could have wept as she brought Plot in from the pastures after lunch. It had rained the night before, not for long, but enough to create mud, and it seemed that the bay mare had found the largest mud puddle and had slept in it. "You sure know how to keep me busy." She laughed as she bumped the mare affectionately with her hip.

It didn't take her too long to get the mare scrubbed up and looking good enough to be in a show ring... Ok, maybe not a show ring, but she was passable for a lesson, as she was a sigh cleaner than she would be if the girl was just working her in the arena. She sprayed her own concoction of conditioner into the mare's mane and tail and combed them out until the black hair lay smoothly and tangle-free.

When the mare was ready, she clipped her helmet into place and led the mare to the show jumping arena. She tightened the girth and hushed the mare as Plot lifted her head and called out to the black pony already in the arena. She then swung into the saddle and they entered the arena. "Sorry about her." She said as she smiled toward the teacher. "She likes to make herself known." She squeezed the mare forward and followed Cara's example and began warming her own mare up.

She lined up with the other riders when they were called in and she listened to the instructions. Once Cara had finished, she quickly followed suit. "I'm Serenity Oliver and this is Plot." She rolled her eyes and shook her head as the mare chose that moment to announce herself. "I enjoy working with herbs; from growing them to making potions, salves and the likes." While she wasn't open about being a witch, she knew that the word potion could be taken in any context, including beauty treatments.

She listened intently as their instructor spoke her way through the course and she carefully watched as Cara took the course on the pony.  She remained silent when the girl rejoined them though, as she wasn't going to critique her fellow gymnast, their coach made them do that enough twice a day, she wasn't going to do it here too.

"I'll go next." She said with a smile as she squeezed the mare forward and they rode an opening circle. She had good feelings about the course, but right from the get-go as something happening outside of the arena caught the mare's attention just as they got to the second fence and the mare ran out. Circling back, they cleared the oxer and went around to the next jump. The rest of the course went well enough, other than a couple of other times that the mare's mind drifted and when the joined the others, she wondered if she should have just let the mare go all hell for leather, but their teacher had said accuracy, not speed. "I'd say my challenge was not keeping her focused on me." She said with a laugh as she affectionately rubbed the mare's neck. 

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

Khalid couldn't help but feel a little excited for show jumping. It was his favorite discipline, and he had the perfect horse for the sport. He skipped lunch after his midday prayer and headed straight to the barn to get Nasr ready for class. He brushed the gelding until his coat had that glossy and healthy look. Sure, this wasn't a show, but Nasr always needed to look like a champion. A Google search of his new instructor revealed that she was a really good rider, but sometimes the best athletes made for the worst teachers. Either way, the boy was determined to make a good impression. Even his black softshell jacket was kept in rather good condition despite the solid coloration. Once the bay Holsteiner was all tacked and ready, Khalid shoved on his Samshield helmet and mounted from the nearest mounting block. Nasr was big, but he had no problem getting his bulk over fences.

As they entered the arena, Khalid gave a quick nod to the instructor and started his warmup. The boy felt like he was half halting every other step to keep Nasr's big stride in check. Especially considering there was a pony in the arena, and one of the Holsteiner's strides was at least two pony strides. But, it was a cute little thing. He listened as Mrs Sorenson-Faulkner explained the expectations. There was nothing in there he wasn't already planning on carrying out. Except for no-stirrup month. That sounded like pure torture. Could she seriously do that? He lined up with the rest of the class. Serenity was the only person he actually liked in this class.

"I'm Khalid and this is Nasr. I also hunt with falcons."

Jumping courses on the first day was a good way to start the term. He followed her guide and did his best to memorize the course. As much as he wouldn't admit it, Khalid was glad he wasn't first to go. Watching a couple riders first made it easier to memorize. He thought Cara looked pretty good with her trip considering she was riding a pony on a course designed for horses. He watched Reni and Plot go next, and the course wasn't nearly as smooth. He couldn't agree more with the fact that she needed to work on keeping her horse's attention.

"I agree that Plot wasn't always focused on you, but the course overall still looked good. All the rails stayed up, and the strides were good."

He was next in line and nudged Nasr to the rail. He picked up a steady canter and rode the first line in a slow six. Nasr's big stride just ate up ground, and if he was going any faster, Khalid thought they would be dropping a stride in every line. He jumped the three as a slice and had to half halt to fit his gelding's stride into the eight. For the two stride, the boy sat back hard, but it was still deeper than he would have liked. If the jumps were any higher, it was unlikely Nasr would have been able to get his front end clear of the rail. Khalid could just about feel his leg brush up against the standard as he passed the first fence en route to five. He had a death grip on the outside rein to six just to keep Nasr from turning too sharply. The gelding launched himself over the next to last oxer jumping Khalid out of the tack. It took a couple strides to regain composure, so the turn to eight was wider than it should be. Despite jumping away from home, the Holsteiner was practically galloping over the jump, and his rider barely managed to keep with him as he raced through the turn to the final vertical.

Khalid circled a couple times before he could bring his gelding back down to a respectable trot and rejoin the group. There was no doubt that Nasr was still a lot of horse to control, and he never got close to touching a rail.

"The hardest part is keeping Nasr under control. He likes to speed up and get away from my hand and leg."

[Deleted]

love is a dangerous game

Nicole was nervous while she ate her lunch. She was sitting alone and had already eaten her chicken salad, so she was now munching on some carrot sticks and listening to music. Nikki had no idea what to expect when it came to the new teacher. She took the rest of the carrot sticks and her bottle of water in her backpack before heading towards the barn. She saw that other students were already brushing when she had arrived. Wow...alright it's show time. she thought to herself. Nicole picked up a halter and lead rope and put it on Mars once she made it to his stall. She opted to brush him in his stall, so she tied a quick release knot with the lead rope after putting his halter on. Nicole closed the stall door and picked up her backpack again, heading towards the bathroom. She changed from her school clothes into beige riding pants, baby blue polo shirt and plain black knee high riding socks. Nicole put her school clothes and shoes back into her bag before opening the bathroom door and walking down the barn aisle. She headed towards the tack room, waving at the other students she saw on her way there. She unlocked her locker and picked up Mars's grooming kit. When she was back at Mars's stall, she picked up her phone and headphones before playing music quietly for herself and Mars. The soft classical music piece from Mozart filled her ears as she began brushing Mars, making sure his coat, hooves, mane and tail were in pristine condition, even braiding the gelding's black tail in a simple french braid. Nicole smiled and let the music play as she left the stall, closing the door behind her. She walked to her locker and switched from her barn shoes into a pair of black tall riding boots, zipping up the zippers and doing up the buttons before she picked up a white saddle pad, matching half pad, breastplate and saddle. Nicole carried these items back to where Mars was and set them down on top of the saddle rack. She opened the stall door and placed each item on Mars, doing up the girth after sliding it through the breastplate. Nikki left the gelding again to go get her helmet, gloves and the jumping bridle that was hanging in the locker. She put her blonde hair up in a ponytail and placed the helmet on top of her head, doing up the chin strap before picking up the black jumping boots that belonged to Mars. Nicole took a deep breath and took her headphones out of her ears, turning her phone off and sliding it into her locker before she closed and locked it behind her. She carried these items back to Mars's stall and finished off getting the gelding ready. She held the bridle in her hands and slid the simple D-Ring snaffle bit in her hand and put his ears in the headstall, fixing his forelock before putting the reins over the head and leading Mars towards the show jumping arena. Once both horse and rider made it to the arena, Nicole closed the gait behind her and stopped Mars once they had reached the mounting block. Nicole checked the girth again before rolling down both stirrups. She put the reins over her horse's head and mounted up, nudging the gelding into the walk. She turned her head when she heard the instructor speak and nodded when it was supposed to be no stirrup month. She dropped both stirrups and worked Mars around the arena, practicing serpentines, circles and flexion at all three gaits. After Mars was warmed up, she lined up with everyone else. "I am Nicole Kingston, but I prefer Nikki and this here is Mars. Other than riding, I am also interested in music and cheerleading." she said, introducing herself with a friendly smile. Nicole watched the other riders go, making mental notes in her mind and looked around, noticing it was her turn to jump. 'I would say that the pace was the problem." she said, after Nasir and Khaild had done the course. She nudged Mars into the trot directly out of line, coming down the long side before picking up the canter. Nicole looked for the first vertical and steering Mars towards it. Nicole sat back and let Mars decide when he wanted to take off for the jump, once they landed over the first fence Nicole looked at fence number two, making sure that they didn't take the direct route. She counted six strides in her head and shifted slightly into her jumping position. Mars jumped smoothly over the fence and continued at the canter while Nicole turned her head and saw fence number three. She turned a little too early to the jump but straightened Mars out, making sure he jumped the centre. The teen looked for the next fence which was the first fence in a two stride. She held her two point position and slightly threw her body before the jump, thinking that Mars was going to take off sooner. Nikki quickly fixed her position and nudged Mars forward, counting two strides in her head before waiting for Mars to jump the jump again. She jumped the rest of the jumps with Mars, really making sure that she waited until Mars jumped the fences to go into jumping position. After the last fence, she circled Mars before brining him to the trot. "I need to be more patient at the jumps, I thought Mars was going to jump sooner than he did." she said, patting the dark bay gelding on the neck before walking him into line.

notes

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