Cara-Jean Kitchi
Master
Vet Student[M:2668]
Life is the art of drawing, Without an easer -John Gardner
Posts: 615
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Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Oct 25, 2012 19:34:55 GMT -6
Cara released a long breath when they were finally said they could ride out to the rail. She was glad that she was riding Ella as Ember hated flatwork, with a vengeance.
She used her seat and legs to guide Ella back out to the track and asked for a nice forward moving walk, sitting lightly in the saddle and keeping a nice gentle contact with the mare's mouth. Even though the Hanoverian may not like entering an arena and had her days when she hated working in one too, once she had been set a task, she moved nicely - though almost too nicely at times.
When instructed to transition, the small rider did a half halt, gave the mare a little more rein, sat deep and squeezed her forward, driving her from her haunches and Ella gracefully broke into a trot. Making sure she was on the correct diagonal, Cara began posting to the trot, the movement coming from her hips,not her legs.
As the cue to canter came, Cara made sure to keep her breathing steady, she sat to the trot, supported Ella's outside shoulder with her rein and lightened the horse’s inside shoulder. Keeping the contact with the inside rein, but not pulling. Leaning on her outside buttock by lightly shifting her outside shoulder back (but making it subtle enough that no one watching could tell). She then asked for the canter depart by putting her outside leg back and touching lightly, while keeping her inside leg at the girth. She nodded as Ella struck off perfectly as they headed around the arena. Then they changed rein and repeated the process.
She watched the mare's inside ear flickering back and forth as the horse saw what the instructor was doing every now and then, but Ella kept her attention on what the girl was asking of her.
When asked, Cara pulled the mare back to a trot, used her legs to guide the mare off the track and moving into two-point position, they trotted easily over the cavaletti (she didn't know them well enough to attempt cantering over them and injuring her mare). Afterwards, Ella threw her head down in annoyance at the little jumps and all her rider could do was pat her neck.
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Post by madison on Oct 27, 2012 2:56:50 GMT -6
Madison waited patiently to hear from Ms. Fare, she still thought it was odd that the woman was willing to demonstrate – she didn’t know many trainers to teach this way but if it worked for her that was all that mattered. The equine, Lash also struck Madison as an interesting choice for jumping – but again it wasn’t exactly Madison’s business. She nodded to the woman as she spoke about demonstrations and peered down to Tilly for a moment. She hoped that the mare would hold it together and not be the one that needed visualizing. Flatwork, more of it was good for Tilly the mare couldn’t do enough as far as Madison was concerned.
Adjusting the waist of her jodhpurs she took to the track a few horse lengths behind Cara and her spotted equine, giving her lots of room. Asking the mare to trot and canter on as asked she rode her in a higher more collected frame as her muscles were warm – Tilly was tense with the change at first though after the first canter the mare snorted and relaxed, Madison was light in her seat – her equitation natural, she just needed to remember to ride Tilly like she would be perfect and stay soft and relaxed. She watched the poles be placed, the spacing indicated trot which made sense for the first step of their lesson.
Eyes watched Cara and her mare navigate them with little issue, she knew Tilly wouldn’t refuse the poles – she knew what to do through them as she had done them more times than Madison could count. She did however know the mare was likely to navigate them with extreme care – it was in her nature. She had kept her mare moving at a walk along the rail, though in preparation of her name being called the petite blonde asked Tilly to pick up a trot. The mare obliged with enthusiasm, by this time Dillon would be dead quiet – Tilly on the other hand would only get more excited as the jumps got bigger. It was what Madison loved about the mare.
She waited to hear her name and nodded, smiling to the teacher. Ensuring her track to the line of cavaletti was straight she used her outside rein to balance the mare, controlling Tilly’s desire to rush through she posted softly using her body to collect the mare. Soft with her hands she looked up past the poles, focusing on a point to ride to she kept the mare straight through the poles. The mare picked up each leg much, much higher than she needed to. The result was an almost passage like movement without the collection, Madison was accustomed to the movement, it wasn’t the first nor was it the last time Tilly would act this way. Rounding the corner she slowed the horse to a walk, when Tilly snorted instead of jigging a hand reached to her shoulder.
ooc: Sorry, I didn't even see there was a second page -_- clothes&&tack
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Post by Becca Walsh on Oct 27, 2012 7:02:19 GMT -6
Becca listened to the teacher's plan for the class, and even though she would have liked to do some jumping, she was fine with just some flat work as well. It was good for working with Frye, and if she spent the time to get him balanced and responsive, it would probably pay off later.
She guided him out to the rail at a walk, trying to get him to lower his head and not be so stiff. After a while, he relaxed a bit, and thy settled into a nice working pace, although it could be described as rather brisk. When asked to trot, Becca only needed to squeeze her legs a bit around Frye's sides, and he quickly transitioned. She worked to collect him and make his strides even, and achieved this eventually, having to hold him back all the while though.
When it came time to canter, Becca hesitated before asking him, wanting him to wait for her to ask him, rather than just following the other horses. He leaped into a canter once she asked, strong and heavy on the forehand, and Becca sat deep, holding her knees tight against the saddle and collecting him as best she could, trying to get the power onto his haunches.
When it was their turn to take the cavaletti, Becca collected him to a trot, slowing him to the best of her ability and tied to keep him pace even. They took them rather nicely, in comparison to past attempts of theirs but Frye was clearly very high strung, with his neck strained up, and his rushed movements. Becca patted him once they were done, knowing that even though it still didn't look very nice, they were making improvement.
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Post by Oliver Pattersen on Oct 29, 2012 17:15:54 GMT -6
Oliver ran his fingers through Casper's forelock, removing any last tangles and helping it sit flat. He stood back and looked at the baby blue saddle pad with the navy pipping that stood out against the bay gelding's mahogany coat. On the gelding's back sat a brand new black close contact saddle - it had been suggested to him by the man who ran the saddlery in Blue Ridge - and he nodded before slipping the bit into the gelding's mouth and did up the throat latch.
Leading the gelding out of the barn, the slowly walked toward the showjumping arena. To say he was a little nervous, would be a complete understatement as Oliver's palms became clammy as they got closer to the arena and already saw the riders working over small jumps. Pushing his nerves down, he entered the arena and walked up to the woman who seemed like she was in charge. "Excuse me, Miss?" He said, his normally strong voice cracked slightly. "My name is Oliver. I was wondering if Casper and I could join your class?"
The large bay Hanoverian gave the boy a gentle nudge, as though he was trying to offer the boy some confidence. Then the tall horse lifted his head and watched the other horses and riders with his eyes bright and ears pricked forward.
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Post by Peter Holden on Nov 4, 2012 18:45:41 GMT -6
Peter was rather excited for his first showjumping class, and entered Thimble's stall with a smile on his face. The huge mare butted her head against his chest playfully, and he pushed her cheek back gently, telling her to respect him without offending her. He brushed her trim coat till it shone from her lighter bay withers to her black forelegs. The mare's single white sock on her back left remained meticulously clean. Thimble stood nicely the entire time, seeming to know that if she tolerated him, she'd look beautiful as usual. He combed out her jumper cut tail quickly and picked out her hooves.
Peter tacked her up in his jumping saddle and a royal blue saddle pad, as well as her jumping boots. He looped her standing martingale to her girth and tightened it, tapping her stomach. It still amused him that Thimble, a well seasoned show horse, retained the school pony trick of holding her breath when he tightened the girth. The mare seemed to find it amusing when his saddle slipped to the side, and Peter had quickly learned to check his girth several times and taps her stomach to discourage her.
He put on her bridle and patted her neck before leading her out to the Show Jumping Arena. His stomach sank as he saw that riders were already working in the arena. He mounted Thimble, having to hop a couple times, and led her to the gate. He called out and entered, closing it behind him, and moved her quickly to the center of the ring where a woman was on a horse. He spoke in a quiet tone, though loud enough that she could hear."Hello Ms. Fare. I'm Peter Holden, and I am a new student at Blue Ridge Academy. I apologize deeply for being late." He waited for a response, watching his classmates work around him. Most of the horses weren't as tall as Thimble, but he was used to towering over other riders. One thoroughbred, a fiery chestnut, was nearly her height, but his rider looked tiny on his back. He held back a smile, knowing that Thimble and him were a good match, with him being so tall and lanky.
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