It had taken hours. By the end of the day, my fingers and feet had ached. I was covered in dirt, sweat, and water that was suppose to end up on my horse. Riley’s mane and tail were braided, ready for the show tomorrow. His coat gleamed and all excess hair had been trimmed off. I could practically see my reflection when I looked at my saddle. Riley is one of the largest horses I have ever been on. He stands above 16 hands, but he is a gentle giant. He’s covered with chestnut hair, with only his bald face pointing towards his Paint lineage. He has a long tail that almost kisses the ground and a freshly pulled mane. His walk is beautiful, and is even accompanied by an incredibly smooth trot, so unlike my own horse’s jolting gaits. I had agreed
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I worked on Danny’s body while Preslee and Kendra worked on getting his fake tail in. Once the tail was secured, Preslee started polishing his hooves. It took a while to get both horses ready, but they looked stunning once they were. Avery and Preslee did really well, taking first and second. Their winning streaks continued throughout the rest of their classes. Avery took two other blues, and one second place. Preslee had two other seconds, and one first. They took High Point and Reserve High Point.
Macey did exceptional as well. She took first in both her classes, also taking home a High Point trophy. It was much easier for Macey to win, since she was the only one in her classes. Sue, on the other hand, didn’t do as well. Her nervousness prevented her from winning what should have been all blues.
Riley and I were up next. I re-braided his tail before brushing him until his coat gleamed. His hooves were polished, forelock braided, and face cleaned. Once I tacked him up, I went into the trailer to get dressed.
We headed over to the warm-up arena. After a few walking laps, I asked Riley to transition into a trot. The first few gait changes were a bit sloppy, but he slowly got better. I was working on his stride length when they called my class. Anxiety surged inside of me as we headed to the main arena. It was our time to …show more content…
They never had. It was about the coaches who had pushed me, the friends I had made, and those who had believed in me. It was the long hours of schooling, the sore thighs and tired arms. It was the money I had spent, the miles we had hauled, and the ribbons I didn’t win. It was the hours of preparation, the aching fingers that formed the perfect braids, the wet jeans and the shining horse. It was trying over and over again until I got that diagonal, and the feeling once I had. It was about the little girl who fell in love with a horse and never looked back. It was about companionship, the horses I had given my heart to, and everything they had taught me. It was about never giving up, going just a little farther, even when your body was screaming at you to stop. It was cheering on your friends, celebrating with them when they’d had a good ride, and comforting them when they didn’t place. It was about improving, and learning that your biggest competitor wasn’t the other riders, but the kid staring back at you in the mirror. It was the heartache, the tears, the joy, and every second in between. It was the fun I’d had, and the moments I could never forget. It was about learning, and living. It was about the moment that I discovered that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and when I learned that the sound of my heart matched the thud of hooves. It was
I worked on Danny’s body while Preslee and Kendra worked on getting his fake tail in. Once the tail was secured, Preslee started polishing his hooves. It took a while to get both horses ready, but they looked stunning once they were. Avery and Preslee did really well, taking first and second. Their winning streaks continued throughout the rest of their classes. Avery took two other blues, and one second place. Preslee had two other seconds, and one first. They took High Point and Reserve High Point.
Macey did exceptional as well. She took first in both her classes, also taking home a High Point trophy. It was much easier for Macey to win, since she was the only one in her classes. Sue, on the other hand, didn’t do as well. Her nervousness prevented her from winning what should have been all blues.
Riley and I were up next. I re-braided his tail before brushing him until his coat gleamed. His hooves were polished, forelock braided, and face cleaned. Once I tacked him up, I went into the trailer to get dressed.
We headed over to the warm-up arena. After a few walking laps, I asked Riley to transition into a trot. The first few gait changes were a bit sloppy, but he slowly got better. I was working on his stride length when they called my class. Anxiety surged inside of me as we headed to the main arena. It was our time to …show more content…
They never had. It was about the coaches who had pushed me, the friends I had made, and those who had believed in me. It was the long hours of schooling, the sore thighs and tired arms. It was the money I had spent, the miles we had hauled, and the ribbons I didn’t win. It was the hours of preparation, the aching fingers that formed the perfect braids, the wet jeans and the shining horse. It was trying over and over again until I got that diagonal, and the feeling once I had. It was about the little girl who fell in love with a horse and never looked back. It was about companionship, the horses I had given my heart to, and everything they had taught me. It was about never giving up, going just a little farther, even when your body was screaming at you to stop. It was cheering on your friends, celebrating with them when they’d had a good ride, and comforting them when they didn’t place. It was about improving, and learning that your biggest competitor wasn’t the other riders, but the kid staring back at you in the mirror. It was the heartache, the tears, the joy, and every second in between. It was the fun I’d had, and the moments I could never forget. It was about learning, and living. It was about the moment that I discovered that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and when I learned that the sound of my heart matched the thud of hooves. It was