A.J. was on her second outing on her off the track thoroughbred buddy. They'd entered pre-training at Equus 3-D, and been eliminated by something that wasn't even flagged as an obstacle. They blew the 5 minute time limit with the bay's refusal to cross a puddle on course, with no option around it. An Olympian had had to pass them on course. A.J. was mortified to be in the way. The property owner was yelling at her, but she couldn't get the horse to go.
When his horse splashed on through and past, she tried to use them for a lead, but that failed just like every thing else sh'e d tried to get that &^%$ beast over an unflagged PUDDLE.
A.J. told Jill she could now look back fondly on the Equus 3D Event, even the courtesy stadium round they were allowed to do, for schooling purposes, in those days... She even thought she should find a way to import some photographs of the historical event to her blog, because there were some great-action-terrified-grimaces caught on film. Stoney blew through every single jump on course, and while clearing them by a mile with crazy take off points, was knocking rails flying, leaving strides out and taking off WAY too early, galloping up to the base and stopping dead in front of others (til she kicked on at him to jump from a standstill) and he was otherwise careening around. It was a terrifying round.
A.J. had been surprised when it was her best former mentor who met her at the gate. Not the official gatekeeper, or Jo, her current coach or Deni, owner of the horse and corporate sponsor. It had Peggy. A.J. hadn't even known to that point that Peggy was even, actually AT the show and there she was saying to Jill, who was on the brink of tears on a high strung maniac leaving the ring, and seeming on the brink of some kind of additionally mortifying scene... Peggy calmly said, "
That was well ridden."
It was? A.J had gulped, and circling her mount back around, both were listening. "You set him up for every line. You even brought him back to a trot in some of the corners, and you gave him every opportunity to figure it out. And, if you keep riding like THAT, that horse WILL figure it out. And, he certainly demonstrated his scope." Peggy said, "he's got talent too," as she also did the gate keeper's job for him, snapping the clip closed effectively behind the horse and rider. She raised her voice as Stoney and A.J circled again, further out of the way of on deck competitors, to say "Good Job" and then she was gone and Jill was back at the trailer wondering if she could actually try to hold her head up...
*
It was always nerve wracking to compete Stone cross country. He was a spazzy thoroughbred from the track, like many others, but while he was one that was actually fast enough for that world, he was deemed an impossible race horse because he was too unruly for anyone's health in the starting gate. Perhaps he's claustrophobic. Anyway, when A.J. had started eventing him, her starting gate strategy was just to go in late, like after they started the count down, and take time penalities right away. Her coach helped her come up with it, Jo said it was always the fastest horses who ended up with time faults. They felt they had to choose no clear rounds consciously, up front, to avoid the additional safety risk, not to mention risk of elimination that would follow if he were to continue to rear up and bolt out before the official time keeper said go.
So, Jill went in the box when the man said seven. Six he said, and then they, with much static on the walkie talkie, then stopped the count down at five because a horse and rider on course were down at obstacle no. 3. Tessa came running over and said there were broken bones everywhere, and she tried to go on and tell A.J. why, but she couldn't listen. Why would my riding buddy bring me such news? she wondered. Even before the ambulance came speeding by over grassy fields, Stoney was FREAKING out. And I mean, freaking. The officials were freaking out. A.J., inside, was also, freaking out.
It turned out to be a 10 minute delay that day. And they broke the rule, thank god, and let the pair come back out of the starting box til the injured were removed from course... and then, alas, they had to get back in and start it all over again.
When A.J. had walked the course, earlier that day with Tessa, she planned, after jump number three, to head straight through the break in the trees and circle back to obstacle #4, since there was no way in heck for her to make a turn like that with the unstop-able, unslow-able galloping machine formally known as Stonehenge. Underway, and in the air at said obstacle, A.J. saw a girl seated on the ground through that exact break in the trees. She had no idea what action she took to change the plan or what Stone did to avoid killing that kid, the jump judge for the god's sake, but the two of the parted company. A.J. hit the ground hard. "That had been what Tessa was trying to explain to me!" she thought, wind knocked out of her. "This jump judge sitting foolishly in the path was the cause of the previous rider's misfortune also..."
By some miracle, or misfortune, she wasn't sure, but at least against all rules, A.J. was still holding a rein, and thus, still had a hold of Stone. Somehow she was quickly on her feet and he was pulling, and scrambling frightened backwards somewhat, but mostly just shaking like a leaf. It was all Jill could do, straightening up from her knees, with barely any breath in her to say "Stoney, STAND." And you know, that horse stopped quaking that instant. He surprised her, but he had really always responded well to vocal encouragement or reprimand, and it really gave A.J. stregnth that day, to see him step up to the plate like that.
And so, she got back on. She was still shaking, though with the vests she hadn't known in her youth the wind wasn't knocked out of her as she would have expected. But the horse was also nervous and upset and would not stand still as she tried remounting. And it was not easy to reach up, hopping. For crying out loud, with such a big horse, getting on without a mounting block isn't easy, at the best of times. Here there was no mounting block, and this was NOT the best of times...
