moving in [open]

[Aubrey Wilder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #d96a70 solid 10px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] cos baby, you're a firework At home it was normal for Aubrey to cool out horses bareback. At home she liked to feel a relaxed, tired-out horse after her ride. At home the horses always appreciated a cool breeze on sweaty skin. Apparently bareback was Not A Thing here at Brass Ring, as Aubrey had recently discovered. Her story was simple: Winston had suffered through eleven hours in trailer over the past two days, and his layover in Middleofnowhere, Ohio wouldn't let Aubrey ride him around. Liability issues and things like that; she understood, but that didn't make it any better. The gelding was stiff and sweaty from standing so long, even if he did trailer well. So Aubrey did what she would do at home: brought him to the indoor arena and jumped on him bareback in skinny jeans, flats, and a tee shirt. No big deal, right? Wrong, apparently. A groom had yelled at her and practically pulled her off the horse. Aubrey barely bit back a string of curses and walked Winston as calmly as she could back to his stall and put him away, still a little damp. She was fuming with dual anger and embarrassment. Maybe she could just forget all this and start bringing in her things from the trailer. She had a trunk that weighed about a million pounds by itself and a saddle to boot, and it wasn't going to bring itself in. Aubrey walked out to her trailer, where her trainer was talking with some other woman. Probably another trainer, by the looks of her breeches and boots. Aubrey jumped into the tack room portion of the trailer and hauled out her trunk; thank god her dad had installed wheels, or she would never get it places. After a few minutes of pushing and groaning, Aubrey got it set up in front of Winston's stall. She flopped down on the top and leaned back against the stall wall, a picture of relaxation. "Hey, buddy, we're home," she murmured to Winston as the chestnut gelding poked his nose out of the feed door. come on let your colours burst tagged open words 346 muse decent notes first post, woohoo! credits irisheyes of C.20

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[Amber Michaels]

Amber hated trailering. So did Royal. He was a good boy about it, but it had been a ridiculously long drive. Her family didn't have the money to send him by plane, so it was a grueling four day trip. Amber had long since forgotten what the meaning of sleep was. Two thousand, seven hundred, fifty one miles. The computer had told her it was one day and twenty one hours of driving. They had stopped ten times along the way. For the last two nights, Amber had been driving straight through. Ninety five miles per hour on the open freeway. The last day, she had drank two monsters and a cup of coffee she had picked up on the way. She'd been able to ride Royal twice, and get him out to stretch two other times. By the time she had pulled in, she'd been somewhat delusional. She had parked the truck and trailer lopsidedly in the parking lot, unloaded her horse and his hay bag, found his stall, put him in, checked into her room, and collapsed onto her bed and slept for four hours straight.

Once she'd woken up, showered, and put on some makeup, she moved her trailer. She got shouted at by a groom, but Amber had the magic phrase: "I just trailered here from Washington State." and she was given immediate pardon for her mistakes. She had re-parked her trailer, and made her way to the stables.

Amber ran all of this through her mind as she approached Royal's stall, feeling refreshed, but still exhausted. It did not help that she was pushing her massive trunk of grooming gear, tack, and various other horse related accessories. However, this time, there was somebody next to Royal's stall. A chestnut, accompanied by a red haired girl who was sitting on a newly moved trunk. So, she was also a new move in. Amber was extremely happy with the trolly her dad had gotten her for the trip, as it made hauling her fifteen thousand ton trunk a million times easier. She pulled it in next to Royal's stall, and with a grunt and a bit of red faced glory, she shoved it into place, and collapsed onto it. Royal poked his head out through the feed door, and immediately began searching her pockets with his upper lip. She giggled a bit, then realized there was a person next to her.

"You new as well?" she asked, still somewhat out of breath. She fed Royal a treat from her pocket, and shoved his head gently back through the door so she could see the other girl. She would have adjusted herself so that she was sitting up straight, and not looking like a pile of rags, but she was so tired that any form of movement that involved anything other than her mouth seemed like an endeavor that was far too much to handle. She looked up at the chestnut horse that was with the girl. "I like your horse." She said. That was it. She was done starting a conversation.

words; 514
muse; good
notes; :D lol....

[Aubrey Wilder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #d96a70 solid 10px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] cos baby, you're a firework Winston tried to reach out through the feed door to nudge Aubrey's shoulder, but he couldn't quite reach her. She felt him breathing on her hair and scooted closer so the chestnut could rest his muzzle on her shoulder. "Some day you're gonna bite me doing that. I know it's coming," she told him affectionately, reaching a hand up to scratch his cheek. Winston settled in easy enough. He always did. She heard the telltale rumble of a heavy trunk rolling over the ground. Aubrey glanced over to see a girl in a similar situation to what she was just a minute ago: muscling a tack truck into place. No matter how much you oiled the wheels they never rolled quite right. In Aubrey's case it was because the oak was heavy by itself, and add in everything she kept inside, the friction was just too much. The two girls looked rather similar in posture for a few seconds: flopped on trunks, reclining against stall walls. Aubrey would have been happy recovering her breath for a few more seconds (upper body strength, she had none) but meeting new people was just as well. "Yeah, just pulled in from Indiana. I'm Aubrey. Gotta say, you look worse than I do. Where are you from?" she said. Two days, six-ish hours both days, was a long haul, but it was by no means the longest Aubrey had heard of. Some of her friends back home trailered down to Wellington for the winter, which according to the horror stories was 24 hours, in the snow, uphill both ways. "Thanks! His name is Winston. He's actually a jerk. Don't let his face decieve you," she said. "Yours... oh, I would guess Thoroughbred by his face, but he's thicker than your average TB. He's cute, though!" Aubrey shrugged Winston off her shoulder when he started to lip at her shirt. Cute though it was, the gelding was a big baby and chewed everything in his stall; given the chance, he would probably eat Aubrey too. She liked her record of not being bitten by her own horse, and although she was okay with Winston resting his (very heavy) head on her, starting to groom her was not okay. come on let your colours burst tagged amber words 372 muse good notes :) credits irisheyes of C.20

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[Amber Michaels]

Amber grinned at the girl's comment to her horse. Almost as if on cue, Royal stuck his head back out of the door, and in an amazing feat of flexibility, grabbed the zipper of her jacket pocket, and proceeded to unzip it. "Oi!" she growled halfheartedly. Royal let go of the zipper after a moment, and resumed eating his hay bag. He was such a weirdo, but she loved him anyways. It appeared that he was alternating between eating and staring out the window, as well as poking at Amber. She would probably need to ride him, or at least give him a good hose down and a stretch - being in the trailer for such massive periods of time was not good for him. Really, it had been stupid, but Amber had failed in her preparations to find good campgrounds. Apparently, there were very few in the plains states.

She let out a snort of laughter. She was worse than her, hah, that just went to prove how much she'd killed herself. The sound of her laughter was somewhat retarded, but at this point, she really didn't care anymore. "And that's after a shower and a four hour nap. Figures. I just pulled in from Seattle, if you can believe that." Amber paused a moment, thinking of the incredible distance. Really, that was insane. "I'm still not sure if I do." She remarked. She stared off into space for a moment before she realized that the girl was talking again. Winston, a nice name for a horse, but as she looked at him, she couldn't quite figure out what breed he was. Thoroughbred cross? Warmblood? Shoot, she didn't know. Though she actually didn't care.

"He's an Irish Thoroughbred," she said, answering her question. "Thanks." She sat there a moment, pondering what to do next. She really needed to pop on Royal for a bit, but tacking up seemed like so much work....perhaps she could take him out in a halter, walk trot canter and call it good. That sounded might appealing. "I wonder if they let you ride bareback here...." she wondered aloud. It wasn't necessarily a question, but it was...oh, she was too tired to think.

words; 368
muse; okay
notes; lalala

[Aubrey Wilder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #d96a70 solid 10px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] cos baby, you're a firework Aubrey realized that her horse still hadn't really stretched out, and although he would probably do it himself walking around in the spacious stall, she still wanted to get him out and get him familiar with the surroundings. Tomorrow would be a ride day for sure - probably a long hack around the grounds and maybe popping over some jumps. The big oaf probably didn't even notice he was in a new place, but he absolutely would notice the new scary things... everywhere... for about a week. Aubrey wasn't looking forward to it. Aubrey gave a low whistle at the immense distance. "Seattle. Christ, no wonder," she said. "That's gotta be, what, five days? Six? This is the first time I've hauled more than two hundred miles, and you'd have to pay me to do it again." It was rough on all parties, and now Aubrey could see the merits of commerical shipping. Handing Winston off to some guys with a 15-horse semi and getting on a plane... well, that sounded just about perfect. Although Winston probably wouldn't fare quite so well. The gelding was outgoing with new people and horses, almost to a fault (who was Aubrey kidding, of course it was a fault, he was a pocket pony and there was nothing for it), and the shippers probably wouldn't appreciate it if he tried to make friends with a not-so-friendly horse and got himself beat up in the process. Which had happened. Bareback? A person other than herself who wasn't scandalized by the idea of riding without a saddle? Aubrey brightened a little. "I got kicked out of the indoor just now for hopping on bareback, but that might have also been because I wasn't wearing a helmet or boots or anything," she said. "If you want, we could go try the outdoor. There's probably not so much supervision there." Fifteen minutes here and already getting into trouble. Actually, it wasn't so much trouble as pushing the rules a little. For the horses' benefit. Always for the horses' benefit. "What was your name again? You probably told me, I'm just terrible at names." Partners in crime? Well, maybe. come on let your colours burst tagged amber words 374 muse okay notes meep credits irisheyes of C.20

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[Amber Michaels]

Amber sighed heavily when the girl estimated her trip time. As she listened, even two hundred miles sounded like hell on earth. Or...more than two hundred miles. "Yeah, I think I'm going to go camping on the way back...whenever that is," she said. "It was actually four days and sixteen hours." Alright. It was time to stop dwelling on the trip, and get to more important and relevant things. Like going for a trail ride, or riding bareback, or getting settled into her new dorm room with her new room mate. Things like that.

The girl almost visibly brightened at the mentioning of bareback, and it was so contagious that Amber herself brightened up. She frowned a bit as the girl mentioned being kicked out, but the frown was soon replaced by a somewhat devilish grin. "Sounds good to me," she said with a smile. Then, she realized something. Had the girl told her her name? Amber tried to remember, and as she did this, she realized that the girl was asking for hers. Had she told her her own name? Then, she fell out of her stupor, and remembered. Aubrey. That was her name. And she hadn't said hers. How rude. "Sorry!" she said, getting off of her trunk. "It's Amber, I didn't actually say," She smiled at Aubrey, and then grinned surprisingly perky for being somewhat delusional.

"Let's go!" she said cheerfully. With that, she rummaged through her trunk, and pulled out a soft brush. Going into Royal's stall, she slid his black halter over his head, and tied him loosely to the stall as she began running the brush over his somewhat dirty back. He hated being groomed, so she made it quick. After that, she went back to her trunk, grabbed the chocolate bridle, a jumping bat, and a helmet, and went back into his stall. "Are you a hunter, jumper, or both?" she asked conversationally as she slid the bridle onto her horses head. Royal took the bit without too much complaining, curious as to what they were about to do. She had ridden him bareback loads of times, though not in strange places. Would she fall off? Possibly. Did she care? No, not really.

words; 370
muse; good
notes; this could be interesting....

[Aubrey Wilder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #d96a70 solid 10px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] cos baby, you're a firework Aubrey whistled again. If you could make the drive across country in less than five days, you earned some respect in Aubrey's eyes, especially if you manage it with a horse and a trailer. It was one thing to drive eighteen hours a day on nothing but Monster and McDonalds, but a horse couldn't exactly be fed energy drinks to ward off malaise. "You made good time," she replied. Comparing drive times was well and good, for a few minutes, but there was the draw of riding sometime soon. Despite her tired body, Aubrey jumped to her feet when Amber agreed to go riding. Her previous stress was nearly forgotten; all that remained was mild stiffness in her lower back and the nagging urge to go to her dorm and take a nap. She would live for another half an hour... or hour... or really however long it took. Aubrey was used to showing, and therefore used to riding long past the point where her body said "no more." "Awesome!" Aubrey exclaimed, entering Winston's stall and putting his halter on. She tied him off to one of the posts and curried him quickly, loosening the all-permeating highway grit. The chestnut nickered as she rubbed high on his neck, but was plenty happy to get on with the grooming session and closer to playing. Well, working, but Winston always thought it was play. Aubrey retrieved her bridle - dark brown, well oiled, but obviously well used too - and her helmet. She hung the crownpiece of her bridle over her shoulder as she adjusted her red hair into a low ponytail before flipping it over her head and cramming her helmet over the whole mess. She didn't bother with pulling the sides over her ears; too much trouble for schooling, and it fell out without a hairnet. "Mostly hunters right now, but I've done the jumpers before. I'd like to get back into it, but Winston's too slow. How about you?" she replied before reentering Winston's stall. She flipped the reins over his head and undid his halter, leaving it hanging in his stall, before slipping the D-ring bit between his teeth. Aubrey adjusted the reins and took hold of them, guiding Winston to his stall door. "If you want to try the outdoor, I think it's to the left. There was also a big field kind of by the parking lot? Either one, I don't care," Aubrey proposed. come on let your colours burst tagged amber words 417 muse good notes ohh yess! credits irisheyes of C.20

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[Amber Michaels]

Amber was wondering if this was a good idea. Something told her she was being a little bit stupid, but the rest of her was screaming at how much fun it would be. In fact, there was that little nagging voice that was telling her it was a bad idea, and that she should put a saddle on. Yet of course, Amber was very good at ignoring that little voice, so with little hesitation, she slapped on her horses front bell boots, open fronts, and hind fetlock boots, and lead him out of his stall. He certainly was a handsome fellow, long legged and muscular, chewing contentedly on his French link egg butt. Amber smiled when Aubrey commented on her jumping. "I'm mostly a jumper, though I've done equitation and hunters as well," she said. The exact opposites.

Amber pondered the question of the field or the outdoor arena for a moment. Which one would be more fun, and which one was she less likely to get bucked off? It was extremely obvious, and it really needed no pondering, but she decided to anyways. The arena would be safer, and she would most likely get something mildly productive done. She would also get Royal oriented with the jumps, and everything in and around the arena. The field was open, and far more dangerous bareback. She was riding a racehorse who loved to run, and throw in a few good bucks as well. There would be jumps that would be good to get him oriented too there as well, but being productive was far less likely. Amber weighed her options, and then made her decision. "It's such a nice day, I bet it's good footing out in the field, and the arena's probably dusty, so lets head out there. Also, we're less likely to get yelled at..." she paused. "Unless I get bucked off, then I'll get yelled at...so really, either way it looks like I'm going to get yelled at." She wasn't entirely sure how serious she was being, but hopefully she wouldn't get bucked off at all.

She looked over at Aubrey, shrugged, and began leading her horse out of the barn. "Let's just go to the field and see what happens." She said happily. This was how she lived her childhood. She was young, damn it, and she was going to act that way. So what if she got bucked off a little bit? So what if she got yelled at? So what if she ended up galloping around like a mad, crazy idiot who has nothing better to do? Honestly, she really couldn't have cared less. "Tally Ho!" she said with a grin. She also didn't care that she was about four years old right now, but she was tired, hot, bored, and she needed to DO SOMETHING. Which was why her judgement was somewhat off. But you know what? She didn't care.

words; 468
muse; pretty good
notes; trolololololol

[Aubrey Wilder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #d96a70 solid 10px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] cos baby, you're a firework Aubrey only remembered boots when she saw Amber putting them on. Damn. She had such a good record of always remembering. She reached into her tack trunk and pulled out a pair of hard shell open front boots, then velcroed them on quickly. She considered hind boots, almost decided against them, but changed her mind just before closing her trunk. She stretched to put them on while still holding on to Winston, who thankfully was preoccupied with the latch on his stall and not trying to follow her everywhere. Bell boots? She rarely used them unless she was doing gymnastics or a lot of sharp turns. Not worth the trouble of digging out a matching pair. Whatever. As soon as Amber said "field," a devious grin split Aubrey's face. There was one thing that fields meant: racing. The winner was obvious already (a race between a Thoroughbred jumper and a warmbloo hunter wasn't likely to be close), but it had been ages since Aubrey really galloped. So what if she had to spend the next few days doing canter-halt-canter transitions to get a hunter lope back, today she was going to have endless amounts of fun. "Easy solution: don't get bucked off," Aubrey laughed. She was fairly certain she could stay on, but if it had been ages since she had galloped, it had been aeons since she galloped bareback. She followed Amber out of the barn. "YOLO, right?" Aubrey said, trying to keep a completely serious tone. She failed, and not more than half a second had passed before she broke down in giggles. "Sorry, I've never said that before in my life. I don't even..." pause for giggles "I don't even listen to rap." They passed the barn doors, and Aubrey blinked in the bright sun a few times before her eyes adjusted. Her trainer was just checking the trailer as they passed, and Aubrey thought she could get off without a word, until Liz looked up and noticed her student. "Aubrey, are you being responsible?" she asked, and although her tone was serious, she was smiling. "I'm wearing a helmet, aren't I? Mom," she replied, knocking her Charles Owen with one hand. Liz laughed and carried on with her trailer check while Aubrey turned back to Amber. "She's cool with danger, I promise. Oh! There it is!" she said, pointing out the big grass field. come on let your colours burst tagged amber words 422 muse good notes danger and high excitement! credits irisheyes of C.20

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[Amber Michaels]

Amber let out a snort of laughter. "But of course, why on earth would I ever be bucked off of a seven year old off the track thoroughbred? I cannot see a reason," she said in a mock serious tone. It was fabulous, she hadn't been here half a day and she was already having a blast. If it was possible, Amber could practically see Aubrey's thoughts on her face....race....race...race....race....Perhaps it wasn't hard for her because the same thing was going through her own head. It wouldn't be much of a race with a warmblood going up against a racehorse, but it would still be fun. Galloping was always fun. As much as she thought she probably shouldn't be galloping around like a madwoman on her first day, she really, didn't give a hoot. She'd been cooped up in a truck for the last four-ish days, and Royal had been cooped up in a trailer. They deserved it.

With the use of "YOLO" Amber was completely silent for a moment. Then, she turned around to face Aubry, and in a loud, harsh whisper she repeated, throwing up a peace sign, and a duck face for good measure. "YOLO!" She stared at Aubrey intensely for a moment, before bursting out laughing at the exact same moment that she did. The two giggling teenagers could not have been more stereotypical in appearance, but they couldn't be farther from in intentions. "Me neither," she said with a grin, finally recovering from her laugh attack. It took her a moment to realized they had reached the field, and Royal was staring around, practically shaking with excitement. He knew what big fields meant. Amber smirked at her horse, and then realized a problem; no mounting block. "Dang, no mounting block out here." She observed.

Amber looked around, then at her horse, then at Aubrey. Her grin widened. "YOLO." she said. With that, she grabbed a hunk of mane, and with a bit of a running start, she attempted to vault up onto her horse. Many things were working against her in that moment. Firstly, she slipped a bit on the grass, which slowed her upward momentum in the first place. Secondly, she started to giggle. And thirdly, Royal decided to put his head down for grass at the same moment Amber tried to get up on his back. So, needless to say, she didn't quite make it. If it hadn't been for Royal putting his head down, she would have landed on her feet, but instead, she did a backwards somersault off of him, and landed at his feet, near his head. The horse's head went up, but he did not seem concerned. In fact, he seemed faintly amused.

Amber rolled out from under her horse, and barely managed to stand because she was laughing so hard. "Well," she gasped. "That didn't work too well did it?" She gave herself a moment's breather, and this time, she did it right. She closed off the reins so Royal would not put his head down, made sure she had good footing, and leaped. This time, it was far smoother, and with a little bit of grunting, she managed to right herself. She felt slightly irresponsible, but then again, she knew Royal so well. She knew he wouldn't do anything, he was about as spooky as a rock. Punching the air in triumph, she smiled smugly. "Success!" she cried.

words; 571
muse; great!
notes; trolololol! This is fantastic!

[Aubrey Wilder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #d96a70 solid 10px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] cos baby, you're a firework Was it a particularly good idea to be galloping around? Well, no, but when had that ever stopped Aubrey? If she was going to ride around a grass field bareback, she wasn’t going to do it halfway. Aubrey laughed at Amber’s serious tone. Well, if you were here at Brass Ring, you could probably stick a buck or two. Although probably most people here focused on riding with saddles, not without. Aubrey had never heard another person at an A show talk about 4-H, where bareback was an essential skill. Aubrey was scared for half a second when Amber turned back and flashed a peace sign and duckface. Oh god. If Amber used YOLO seriously… well, Aubrey wasn’t sure she could continue this budding friendship. She was a country girl at heart, and while she’d kind of branched off into the rap-y side of pop, Drake was not something she would ever choose to listen to on her own. But when they broke out laughing at the same time, Aubrey was completely relieved. Winston sidestepped a little, unsure of why, exactly, his owner was making screechy sounds. Aubrey checked the ground reflexively when Amber pointed out the lack of a mounting block. This would be interesting. She watched with increasing hilarity as Amber tried (and failed) to jump onto Royal. It looked like it was going well, until Royal moved unexpectedly and she rolled off his neck onto the ground. No one hurt? No one hurt. Aubrey broke out in more laughter – she’d laughed more in the past five minutes than she probably had in a week. If every day (and every one) here was like this, Brass Ring would never get old. The second attempt was much better, and although Aubrey hadn’t recovered her breath enough from laughing yet to congratulate Amber, she gave her a thumbs up and glanced at Winston. Could she manage the same thing? She didn’t have a lot of options. Aubrey checked her helmet with one hand and arranged her reins in the other, so she could hold Winston’s mane and the reins at the same time. She took a deep breath and positioned herself at Winston’s shoulder. She grasped a double handful of Winston’s mane and got herself prepped. After a second, she took one giant step and pushed off, throwing her left leg over Winston’s back. She just got her heel over and hooked into the thick muscle of the warmblood’s butt, and although the gelding pinned his ears, Aubrey was not about to give up. She braced her left elbow on the side of his wither and squirmed vigorously, trying to get some purchase and shift herself into place. After a few seconds of frantic movement, Aubrey got herself safely square on Winston’s back. Another deep breath and some pretty extensive pats for Winston. ”That was not graceful. If anybody filmed that, I would probably win America’s Funniest Home Videos,” she said through giggles. ”Thanks, buddy,” she told Winston. Tentatively, she squeezed with her calves and asked for a walk, getting comfortable on Winston’s back before asking for anything difficult to sit out. After a circle or two, Aubrey felt confident enough to trot. Winston, of course, didn’t have a collected trot and just moved into a working trot, bouncing Aubrey around uncomfortably for a few strides. ”Maybe I should just skip the trot. Too haaard” she complained, although not really considering going straight to canter. come on let your colours burst tagged amber words 575 muse good notes i love this thread. credits irisheyes of C.20

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[Amber Michaels]

It was here where Amber really appreciated how outgoing she was. She had always had no problem being herself around new people, and Aubrey seemed to be a cool person to boot. Amber had never had trouble making friends, because she wasn't afraid to laugh at herself, and she wasn't afraid to talk. So what if people thought she was weird? The people she was friends with were weird too, and they were nice people. She felt absolutely no guilt whatsoever as she lied on top of her horse, laughing her brains out. There were probably a couple of people, five hundred miles away who couldn't hear them. She was almost afraid she would fall off Royal again, but after a moment, she managed to recover enough to grin at Aubrey's thumbs up. She still hadn't managed to recover.

"Alright, let's see you do better!" she called in mock challenge. She watched as Aubrey prepared herself, and just before she got on, she called out "Don't fall off!" to her. As Aubrey struggled to get on her horse, Amber kept as straight a face as she could; which was pretty good, considering the manner in which she scrambled and wiggled onto her horses back. She looked over as Aubrey got herself upright and let out a snort as she proclaimed herself worthy of America's Funniest Home Videos. "Heck yeah, you looked like my grandmother trying to work out," she said with a giggle. "Except less graceful." It was all in good fun, and Amber snickered as she turned her horse and began walking towards the field. Royal's ears could not have been more far forward, in fact, he almost looked like an Arab because they were practically pointing inwards.

Amber watched as Aubrey began trotting, and felt her eyebrows crawling towards her hairline. She snorted a bit, watching the girl bounce around for a bit before letting out a long, whining complain. Royal immediately began walking faster as the other horse trotted, but she allowed for a bit more warm up first. On the coast, they had often packed up the horses, gone to the beach, and flung themselves on horses. She, and her two horse buddies would often go for wild gallops bareback, into the water, out of the water, sometimes even swimming. She was very accustomed to riding bareback, so watching the other girl bounce around was highly amusing for her. "Plleeeeeaase," she said waving Aubrey away. "Let a pro show you how it's done," she said with a grin. With a cluck and a nudge, Royal leaped lightly into a trot, and Amber began posting with him. "When you go to the beach bareback all summer every summer, you get rather good at this." Her posting was almost as good as it was under saddle as she circled around Aubrey.

Royal wasn't super round, but she allowed him some stretch and wiggle room on the first day. After all, he'd been cooped up in a trailer for the last five days. He deserved it. "Do you want to trot out to those jumps out there and then we can go canter?" she asked, pointing a little ways out to a couple of log jumps in the field. She had to get a good warm up in before they really did anything. Especially after the long trailer ride.

words; 560
muse; fab
notes; trololololol. Such sass.

[Aubrey Wilder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #d96a70 solid 10px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] cos baby, you're a firework Aubrey blushed a little, despite her good humor about her admitted inability to do the whole run-and-jump onto her horse. "At least I got on on my first try!" she said, pretending at indignation. Aubrey had always been terrible at Michigan pickup; it was the one game she just didn't play. The girls who could swing up at a gallop had more upper body strength than Aubrey could ever hope to have. Aubrey could have posted correctly. She just... wasn't warmed up. Winston was a jerk. The ground was uneven. Okay, maybe she just wasn't very good at posting bareback. She wasn't very good at posting with a saddle, either, so it wasn't much of a surprise. She just gave up after a few strides and just sat the trot. Enough years of riding greenies gave her a seat that just would not be separated from most backs, bareback or not. Winston slowed a little, finally, and Aubrey released a little with her lower leg so he couldn't even get the idea to move faster. Good at sitting trot though she was, it was much more comfortable when it was slower. Thank god Winston was a freaking barrel, without a shark fin wither, otherwise just sitting would be uncomfortable. Aubrey would have very much liked to scoff at Amber and show off her own bareback posting trot. As much fun as she was having, a bit of her brain still added "bareback trot" to the ever-growing list of things to improve. "You win this time," Aubrey said. "In my defense, the largest body of water in a five-mile radius from my house is a koi pond in my neighbor's backyard." Beach riding just wasn't in the agenda for landlocked Indiana, and the closest thing Aubrey had ever done to bareback swimming was riding in an outdoor arena right after it rained. Puddles counted, right? Winston perked his ears up at something on the ground, and that was all the warning Aubrey got before he shied to the right. She tightened her thighs and dug her right knee into the roll of muscle over Winston's shoulder, remaining centered over his back. A quick glace back at the ground revealed absolutely nothing. On any other horse, this would be abnormal. For Winston, it was part of everyday life. Aubrey looked up at the jumps Amber pointed to. "I don't think I want to trot at all," she joked, before continuing. "Sounds good. Let me do some circles and get him listening to me." Aubrey guided Winston in a medium-sized circle, still glued to his back, and bent him to the inside. Bareback or not, a proper (or at least mostly proper) warmup was necessary. The gelding tossed his head a few times, but eventually his head down to a reasonable level and started working from his hind end. Although she could have done much more (and probably should have, for her own safety) Aubrey opted for the quick version of the warmup. They were nearly to the appointed cantering spot, and although Winston was a little wary of the log jumps - which prompted a come on, you jump crap like this in derbies from Aubrey - she felt suitably prepared to canter. "Whenever you're ready. I don't want to get too far ahead too early!" she said. Like that would ever happen. Winston was as slow as they came - if you wanted to go fast. come on let your colours burst tagged amber words 595 muse awesome notes Too cool for school. credits irisheyes of C.20

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