Onward and Upward

[Saraphene Blackwell]

Saraphene mounted her horse, sun on her back and a smile on her face, as she sat up on her geldings back she held her leg up to zip up her boot fully doing the left then thr right. Her horse standing, not even trying to get into the arena. She tightened her girth and saueezed gently with her spurs to get the stubborn horse to walk into the arena. Stopping to shut the gate behind her.

She smiled and shut her eyes, letting the sun beam on her face. She couldn't help but smile, she then resumed to her thought process of how the session was going to go. She hoped to get him over some fences using the right striding today. Letting him walk with a long rein while she sat with her hands on his shoulders. Leaning over his neck singing loudly to herself, her favourite song of the moment was demi lovato - sober.

[Kallistos Rolleston]

Dressed in jeans, long-sleeved polo and his everyday paddock boots, Kall hopped once and swung into the saddle, settling on Jett's back before he nudged the Hanoverian forward. Today he wanted to work on the gelding's stride and take-off, so they made their way to the show jumping rings.

He saw that one had a good course set up, as well as a rider, and made his way toward them. "Don't be a goose." He chuckled as the black horse came to a halt and shook his head. "Just let me ask if they mind some company." He really hadn't thought his ride through, and using an arena that was ready to be used was easier than using the empty one and having to set up his own course.

Squeezing the gelding forward, which Jett did while dragging his feet, and halted ringside. He waited until she paused in her song. "Would you mind some company?" He asked with a grin, shaking his head as Jett flattened his ears, showing exactly what he thought of the idea.

[Saraphene Blackwell]

Saraphene was shocked as she realised someone was standing at the gate awaiting her approval. He stopped singing and forced herself to reply, still embarrassed. ””Oh, yes sure. Come on in!” Saraphene had a huge smile on her face, out of respect she stayed down the other end of the school allowing an easy access into the ring.

She was now looking around the layout of the course, she was figuring out what way she wanted to go around it. Pointing at each jump in turn and counting its place in her course. She was very serius when it came to choosing the jump layout, making the course easy first of all. Then creating a harder one further into the session.

She was still walking around, she normally walked for ten/twenty minutes before taking her horse through his gaits, she made him extend his strides and then back to his normal strides. ”My name’s Saraphene, most call me Sara or Phi though. Just thought you should know since you will be riding with me.” She smiled towards the boy as she started to do walk to haltransitions and halt to walk.

[Kallistos Rolleston]

Kall returned her smile with a disarming grin as he asked Jett to back up and then lined him up at the gate to open it, move the horse into the arena and latch it closed again. Then, just to make sure it was latched properly, he kicked a foot free of the stirrup, hooked it under the top rail of the gate and pulled, nodding when it didn't budge.

Giving the girl and her horse the room the needed, and making sure that Jett was going to play nice - not that the Hanoverian was known for not playing nasty - he got the black horse settled and they worked through their warm-up, giving him the time to make sure that Jett was listening and responsive. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sara, welcome to Blue Ridge Academy. I'm Kall... Well, Kallistos, but everyone calls me Kall. It's less of a mouthful."

[Saraphene Blackwell]

She was now focusing on her horses trot, but listening as the boy spoke, she started using the full arena again once he’d entered. She wasn’t to sure about jumping in front of others yet, which was why she wanted to take part in the jumping class. She feared she’d make a fool of herself. ”As is it nice to meet you Mr. Kall.” She couldn’t stop smiling, she worked on extending and collecting her horses trot and did some lines from H to F and E to B just to focus on straightness.

She then started to do trot to walk transitions and walk trot transitions, flavio was enjoying himself. His ears were alert, one on Kall and the other on her, he was starting to get prancy. But he looked good doing it. She kept him trotting, making him slow his trot to a near walk and then to a near canter trot. Trying to keep his attention mostly on her. She then spoke again. ”So you ride around here often?” She didn’t really know why she was trying to start up a conversation. It was just happening.

[Kallistos Rolleston]

Kall chuckled as her return comment was phrased similarly to his own.

He was pleased with how well Jett was working, and it seemed that now the gelding wasn't sharing his attention with another horse, the Hanoverian seemed easier to work with and happier to listen... or it could be the fact that Kall wasn't riding him as though he were the school-master that Cue had been. The question caused him to shake his head in amusement, as it could almost be a line from a really bad made for TV, movie. "Just when we have specific jumping things to work on." He preferred the main arena to do schooling in, and even the trails at time, but there were days, like today, when he had something he wanted to work on, and the jumping arenas had what he needed.

"Eventer or a show jumping specialist?" He inquired, working Jett in a spiral so he had a chance to watch the other horse.

[Saraphene Blackwell]

Saraphene nodded at the boys reply to her first question, she should have known as she did the same. She was now making her steed do half halts and giving him a looser reign than usual as she was using her seat instead of her hands to control him. She didn't know what else to ask after his reply. She kept riding, making sure she was keeping him forward but not forward enough to fall on to his forehand. She did circles and school movements to keep him awake, eventually allowing the horse to pick up canter at the KC corner. She did a few circles and then made him extend down the longside and collect on the short.

She then spoke again once she heard the boys second question, she grinned as she spoke "A show-jumping so we will see what his future holds." she looked at the boy now as he watched her horse, she smiled again and asked the same question, sort of. "And yours? What does yours do?"

[Kallistos Rolleston]

Kall worked the gelding in slowly, knowing that if he rushed the horse through his warm-up too quickly, the Hanoverian just got over-excited and they wouldn't get anything accomplished that day, and coming here would have been a complete waste of time. It also gave the black horse a chance to get used to the way the other horse behaved, and gave him a chance to observe the other pair too.

He nodded at the reply, and he knew a number of the top equestrians had horses that specialised in one discipline and then had their eventers for the one to three day events. He grinned as he rubbed Jett's neck as the horse began to actively reach for the bit. "Jett here does eventing, though he forgets that he needs to slow down when it comes to showjumping." The gelding tended to forget that there was a lot more turning in jumping than in cross country.

[Saraphene Blackwell]

Saraphene had finished her ten minute warm-up, she let her horse walk for a while, she did this after every warm-up it gave her a chance to go over the course she wanted to do and just to let her horse catch his breath. Saraphene smiled, feeling the sun on her face and the slight breeze against her also. The day was good, she had a good feeling that today would be a great session for her and flavio.

She laughed slightly at his comment, he was right though. Show-jumping was more turns than cross-country was, she spoke loudly for the other boy to hear her. ”Oh, really? I used to do cross-country, but i decided show-jumping was the strongest discipline for this horse.” She smiled using the inner track to walk on allowing the boy free reign off the school if he wanted it. ”Yea that’s a problem especially since show-jumping is all about lines to get to the next fence.”

[Kallistos Rolleston]

He nodded at the information about the horse having previously done cross country. "You should take him over the novice course at some point." He suggested with a shrug. "At least I find a good blast over the course is a great way to get this guy's mind out of the arena and allow him to focus again." Pretty much, stopped his horse from becoming ring-sour by working on the same kind of jumping over and over again.

He half halted Jett as the Hanoverian began to throw his head around, the horse was getting bored of all this flat work, and he wanted to do what they were in here for! Circling the horse, he got him settled again and as they reached the corner, he asked for a trot down the short side and then a canter at the next corner, before he turned the horse toward a simple upright and popped him easily over the low fence and cantered him away from the jump, getting him settled again.

[Saraphene Blackwell]

Saraphene nodded in a slight approval to the boys suggestion, she thought about trying that, maybe it would help to do something outside of an arena with her gelding, Flavio was always so laid back on grass, even more so than inside this arena, or any arena at this point. She pointed her fingers at the jumps makng a course, but first she wanted to let him over one, just limber up.

Saraphene watched as the boy beat her to it, she watched his horse jump, he looked great. Now it was her turn, she walked Flavio, when she got to the corner she sat tall and deep, gave with the reigns a little, gave him a nudge and started to rise to his canter, looking at the same jump Kall had just done, she counted down the striding in her head, Flavio took the jump and Saraphene performed her position. She sighed with relief, sitting tall and soothing him with a low whistle and a slappy pat on the neck. ”So, you have a course in mind or just a free for all?.”