And a one, two, three

[Vincent Fiordalis]

Vincent was standing in the outdoor arena, his eyes trailing on thr view that the arena had. He was confident that this would be a test of will and determination for this group of students. He hadn't met them before and he was quite frankly a little bit excited to see what they would be able to do within this lesson. He moved across the school to stand on the right hand side, long side edge leaning on the fence. He waited reading his clipboard as he did, a list of names, he would have to start getting used to them. For now it was acceptable to not know any of them. As they started to arrive he stood, watching. Not saying anything. Digging the heel of his brown long boot into the sand. Nodding in approval at how much leway there was. He then said loudly and clearly. "I want a line on the center line facing me. Two horses distance between each of you." He waited and watched carefully. Once all were in he started to move closer, clipboard in hand. He then spoke again. "I am Vincent Fiordalis! I am your Dressage Instructor and I don't like to waste my time. So here's a few ground rules. Rule one in no way or form will i tolerate shouting, or cutting up of any kind! Rule two there is a saying left to left, if you don't know it you shouldn't be riding! Rule three no one mounts until I say so! And rule four, what I say goes. No defiance. No arguing. You do it or leave." he then smiled and looked from each rider to the next, he was sure to catch them out some how. He was in the mood for a little defiance he could feel one or two students would satisfy.

He went on looking at his clipboard, when he was ready he spoke up again. "Today I want to do some no stirrup work. But before we even think about doing that! I want each of you to tell me somethig about you and your horse, something that as a pair you struggle with, a weakness that you both have that gets in the way of the best pdrformance you can share." he pointed at the first rider You first." He wasn't trying to be rude he just didn't know their names.

---

Karina Fuchs
Liana Mars
Serulis Keller
Victoria Greco

[Victoria Greco]

Tori moved in time to the music playing through her bluetooth ear plug as she got Stella ready for their dressage lesson. She was both nervous and excited about having a new teacher, thus the need for music at the moment.

When the mare was ready, and she'd but the ear piece away and turned the music off, she clipped her helmet under her chin and led the mare out of the barn, Tightening the girth, she swung into the saddle and squeezed the Warmblood forward, rubbing her neck as she could feel the tension running through the horse. "I think you could have done with some chilling music too." She laughed.

She let herself and Stella into the arena and latched the gate behind them and then rode to the middle of the the arena where she halted the mare and rubbed her shoulder as they waited. Listening to the intro, she nodded, as it all sounded the same as for ever other class. She blushed at the no mounting until told they could part, but she couldn't fix that.

Tori's eyebrows shot up as she was pointed at, though she shrugged. "I'm Tori and this is Cosa Nostra, or Stella. We often struggle with remembering to listen to each other, and Stella working out that I get to have some input in what we're doing too." She pressed her lips together as she thought of a weakness. "My biggest weakness is probably that I'm not as serious about competing as my instructors think I should be." She smiled and shrugged again.

[Liana Mars]

Liana had been going back and forth between Nasir and Leil all morning, trying to pick which of the two geldings she would use for which class. Finally, she decided that she wanted to give the new teacher the best impression, and so, here she was, grooming Nasir. Leil was just as good in practically every way, but Nasir just had a way of moving, of being, that made everyone take notice.

After she'd done that, she took the gelding by the reins and walked him over to the arena, letting herself in and leading the Arabian over to stand by the other girl who was already present, although she didn't bother mounting. Let the instructor tell them to do that, she needn't rush. It was the first day, they'd only introduce themselves anyway. As they waited, she glanced over the warmblood they stood besides, "She has nice markings." She'd never bothered looking too closely at the other girl, who wasn't anywhere near her radar competitively, but she had no compunction about giving compliments as they came to mind.

When the instructor started speaking, she listened. The rules weren't unusual, although ferociously given. She found herself slightly pleased that she hadn't mounted, although there was no way any student would have known what this particular instructor wanted - Plenty at the school wanted their pupils ready to ride from the minute their class time started.

After the girl next to her - Tori - had introduced herself, Liana spoke, "I'm Liana, and this is Nasir al Shaqab. He struggles with putting his heart into practice sessions where there is no audience, so that makes it hard to perfect movements sometimes."

[Serulis Keller]

Serulis waltzed into the arena, his horse was prancing, excited to see so many other horses. Even if it were two. Serulis went and stood two horses distance from Liana, the rude girl he'd already met. He started to get his tack ready, folding his right stirrup over the saddle and then the left over the top of the right. He checked his bridle keepers and his girth. Before standing on his horses left side to listen to the man.

Serulis was looking around, but still listening. The rules were boring, but it was a good start. He didn't want stuck up girls to come and ruin his horses rhythm. Not that he had much of one anyway. When he heard the man start talking about weaknesses he laughed slightly he had so many it was unreal. He had been thinking of selling his horse, but he hadn't found anything to swap it with. But he culd 't go into the lesson thinking that.

When it can to his turn to speak he did so loudly and clearly. So that everyone could hear him. "I'm Serulis but most call me Li. This is my horse Little Bit of Luck 12* but Luckie is fine. We struggle with Rythm, Tempo and Pretty much anything done on the right rein, it makes him go into a bucking frenzy. I'd say that ruins our chances of winning any dressage contest." He reached his arm around the horses shoulder and smiled at the instructor.

[Karina Fuchs]

Kari walked Ella to the dressage arena, sitting on the mare easily, her slight nerves hidden under an impassive face. New teachers always had that effect on her - What would this one be like?

She dismounted to open the arena gate and walked Ella through. There wasn't any way of telling what this teacher wanted, so she boosted herself back into the saddle and then walked Ella to join the group, leaving two horse lengths as directed between herself and the next student.

When the instructor started listing his rules, she noted them, berating herself for mounting, and making a note so that she'd know better for the next time. The rest of the rules weren't abnormal, and she'd have no issues with those. She waited her turn patiently as the others started introducing themselves, noting the name of the new boy next to her whom she hadn't seen before. Then it was her turn, and she spoke up, "My name is Karina Fuchs, and this is Color Between the Lines. We have a bit of a disconnect in training sometimes. I have trouble stopping practice when she tells me she's had enough."

[Vincent Fiordalis]

Vincent took note of all that his students said, raising a worrying eyebrow when it came to came to serulis, his comments worried him slightly with the plans of the lesson today. He kept noting what they all had said and then he spoke up again. "Right then, that is a good start. Now! I want you to make sure you check your tack before we start. We are going to do this lesson in open order, that means not following each other and doing your own school figures and movements. If you didn't know that already" He tapped his pen on the clipboard. Vince walked towards each student, taking another note of who'd cleaned their tack and who'd left their tack greasy and unwashed. Then once he'd done that he spoke again, another thing that was nothing to do with the lesson but he wanted to be sure they all understood. "There is also one thing that I ask from you. If you have spurs on and don't know how to really use them properly, I will allow a quick two minutes now before we get started for you to take them off." Vincent looked around the group. He then smiled and put his clipboard under his arm, holding his pen he rubbed his hands together. He was about to start his first lesson in this new place and he wanted to make sure he did a good job.

He spoke loudly and clearly, looking at each rider in turn as he spoke. "Right, I want you all to warm up. Open order, both reins. I am giving you ten minutes to warm up, use this time wisely and do activities and school figures that you know will make your horse engage. But also be aware of the left to left rule and to each other. Once the ten minutes is up I will shout to you, when I do I want you to stop what you're doing and walk around the school on the left rein, while you're walking you can make girth checks and remove your stirrups. Relaxing your lower leg down by your horses sides and sitting as much as you can on your backsides with your back straight and elbows bent." he smiled at his riders. Then said towards them "When you're ready! and mounted if you're not! You may start!"

[Victoria Greco]

Tori's eyebrows shot up at the thought of only having a ten minute warm up. Though he had said that they would be doing their own warm ups for the ten, he didn't say that's where the warm up would end; even if she did like to spend at least ten minutes walking the mare around to get her nice and loose.

Not wanting to deviate from their routine too much, she started out walking the mare around on a long rein, letting the Warmblood settle into a nice pattern, while keeping her lower legs on the mare to drive her from behind. After five minutes, she did a half halt, preparing the mare for a new command, and then asked her to trot.

With only five minutes left, she worked the mare in trot and canter in 20 metre circles, being conscious of the other students, half the circle in a forward movement and the other working, making sure that the horse remained in front of her leg throughout the exercise. She then changed the tempo a little and at the end of the arena in a balanced trot and then when they were on the long side, she asked the mare to lengthen her stride until they got to E, where she asked the mare to shorten her stride so the trot was balanced again as they did another half circle and she asked the mare to lengthen her stride again.

[Liana Mars]

Liana bit back a sigh as she spotted the boy from a few days prior walking through the gate. Just her luck that he'd be in class. She rolled her eyes as the boy talked about his horse. And this thing was supposed to be safe to ride in lessons with sane horses? What an idiot.

She stood and twiddled her thumbs (literally), looping Nasir's reins over her arm to do so, as the man gave them two minutes to remove spurs. Anyone that was wearing them without being trained was dumb to start with, why should they waste precious class time catering to that? However, once they were finally given the instructions to start warming up, Liana glanced at her wristwatch and then mounted smoothly, before she had Nasir start walking along the track. They had better make good use of the time they had.

[Karina Fuchs]

Karina waited somewhat patiently as the instructor spoke further, She didn't have to worry about spurs, since she rarely used them unless actually showing, and then she used the lightest thing she could get away with under the rules. Ella didn't need them.

Once they were released to warm up, she turned Ella and gave the mare some loose rein to walk on for the beginning. After they'd settled the basics of cooperation for that day, and she felt that Ella was pretty responsive, she moved up into trotting and cantering, collection and extension.

[Serulis Keller]

Serulis nodded his head before getting his gelding to walk forward, he practiced walk and halt transitions before even thinking about trotting, once he was confident he could stop. Serulis squeezed his gelding into a trot, he worked on extending and collecting, he performed school figures like 20, 15 and 10 meter circles. When he was confident he pushed his horse up into his great big lollapy canter. Sitting well with him, doing more school figures like figure eights and extending and collecting. Changing the reign he did the same, his horse seemed to be behaving today. But he didnkt want to jinx it.

He kept his horse going, he wanted to try and get the fear of the right reign out of him, he pulled him up at the last second, taking to the inside track and walking around, watching the others, he’d warmed up enough. At least he thought so.

[Vincent Fiordalis]

Vince stood in the center of the arena, watching everyone closely, noting down what he thought could be improved on, which he would share at the end of the session when he had them all lined up again. He looked around, each student was doing everything right, in his mind. Keeping their horses focused, on the bit and the movement was behind the shulder, which was always good. He looked at his watch then spoke up ”Right, evryone! Times up! Please proceed to stop what you’re doing, walk, check your girth and remove your stirrups.” He watched waiting patiently for his students to do as he’d asked, once he was sure that they had he continued.

He crossed his feet and looked at his noteboard, he had several things down that he wanted to get them to try. He didnkt know what their levels were within stirrupless riding, he was about to test them. He spoke again loudly and clearly ”I want you to start in walk, just getting relaxed and finding your balance point, that’s important for obvious reasons. I also don’t want to have to fill out any accident report sheets so do listen up.” He watched his class, he took into account everyones positions and their lower leg, that was important. ”Okay! When you feel confident enough. I would like you to move forward into a steady working trot, remember to sit tall and do not tense with your lower leg, otherwise your balance will fail you.”

[Victoria Greco]

Tori pulled a face as she reined the mare in and turned toward the centre, hoping that Stella was warmed up enough - to the mare's standards - and wouldn't throw a hissy during the rest of the lesson.

On instruction, the girl dropped her stirrups and pulled the left leather from the keeper and rested it over the pommel of the saddle as she moved her left leg forward, pulled up the saddle flap, tightened the girth as much as it would, and returned her leg to where it should be, and then removed the other leather from the keeper. With both stirrups lying over her pommel, she was in two minds of what to do next. Rather than draw attention, and the possible scorn of the instructor, to herself, she remained silent as she squeezed the mare forward and headed back to the track. Halting by the fence, she moved the leathers so they were both facing the same way, then leaned over as she dropped them to the ground on the outside of the arena.

Squeezing the mare forward again, she relaxed into the mare's stride, allowing her legs to hang down, while making sure to keep her heels down. Doing her best to let all her weight fall into her feet and when she was comfortable, she squeezed the mare again and smiled as the Warmblood moved into a trot. Keeping herself relaxed, she allowed her hips to roll with the movement of the mare's hind legs coming under her and she kept her balance easily - thanking all the bareback riding she did with Poe.

[Liana Mars]

Liana was pleased with how Nasir was working by the end of their warmup, and paused the gelding just off of the track to check her girl and remove the stirrups. After dropping them outside of the arena, she brought the gelding closer to the instructor to listen to the plan. With a nod, she asked Nasir to walk, falling in behind Tori. She felt no need to barge ahead just yet, not with this simple of a plan.

After the girl in front had moved into a trot, Liana asked the same of Nasir, making sure she kept her back straight without being stiff, letting herself move with the horse.

[Karina Fuchs]

Karina had crossed her stirrups in front of her as the teacher spoke, and that made removing the leathers much easier. Unsure of what to do with them, she watched the two other girls in the class, and followed their lead, dropping them outside of the arena. She'd just have to remember to pick them up at the end of class!

She fell into line as they got their instructions, realizing it had been a while since she'd done stirrupless work - much to her chagrin, because her instructors at home had been fans of using it at least once a month, if not weekly. She should get back into the habit, but for now, she didn't feel as if she'd forgotten too much. It came easily to her again, even with Ella's stride, and before long, they'd moved into the trot.