Riding out in arena

[Cowboy Lover]

Sorya

I grab my friesian mare Midnight and put her western saddle on her back. I walk back to my trailer and grab her bridle. I put it on her head and put the bit in her mouth. I smile as i look at this beautiful black mare. She was my favorite and we have been together for about 3 years. She is only 5 years old. She has one good personality. Sometimes she can be a goof.

Anyways, i untie her from the trailer and take her to the arena. I decided that i did not want to ride at the arena at hime because i wanted to look at this stable. I know that the stables at home are getting full of horses, so idecided that if i like it here and if i get another horse, i was going to keep it here.

I bring her out to the arena and mount. I start Midnight out at a walk, then to a trot and then to a gallop.

[Bix]

‘Lordie, lordie, lordie, I can’t help it I like to party it’s genetic, it’s electrifying...’

Iz clutched a black mug tightly in both hands, taking tiny sips of the boiling liquid. The heat seeped softly through her hands, as she perched restlessly on the edge of a wooden outside deck chair. The early afternoon sun sent a bright glow over the stables, although the wind still held an annoyingly biter chill.

Sighing softly, Iz flicked a fallen part of blonde hair back from her eyes. Curiously and somewhat nosily, she watched as a trailer bounced up the drive. Pulling into the arena, a large horse was unloaded, and saddled to ride.

Usually Iz had to go over and greet visitors as a part of her job, see if the needed anything etc. Only this time, she watched slightly shocked as the mare was tacked with a western saddle. A small laugh fell from her lungs, as placing her weak coffee on the arm rest, she smiled. Now she was actually drawn to see the young lady ride, ask her things and meet her out of pure interest. A western saddle here was very, very rare and often her own saddles were the only western ones that some of the children had ever seen – in real life. Of course she also enjoyed the English style of riding, but western was her past, her soul, and her love. It was Iz. Fullstop.

Swiftly rising to her feet, Iz walked quickly to the arena. By the time she arrived to the gate, the mare was already being galloping briskly around the arena. Keeping out of the way, Iz stopped at the fence, leaning casually on the wooden railings. It now showed that the mare was a Friesian, and obviously very close to her rider. Iz knew they could be quite strong tough horses, yet the mare eagerly answered her rider’s cues without fight. She winced slightly, dust rising as the speed was accelerated. Speed wasn't her thing - At all. Iz much preferred the delicate manoeuvres of training and keeping control. She liked gracefulness, neatness, presence in her showing. She would get her horses to the fine points, and although they would never be race horses, they were acknowledged for there movement. Gallop? Not a word in this trainers dictionary, unless it had a ‘don’t’ in front of it.

By the looks of the horse, Iz had already figured that whoever the young rider was – wasn’t into the western performance. Firstly, the horses suited for the jobs were Quarter horses, paints and appys. Friesians plainly weren’t the type, and didn’t do the job, no matter how they were trained. Iz did have to admit however, they were very majestic horses. They probably would do well with enough work, but then wouldn’t get into the nationals because of the breed anyways. Then again, the rider may have been training for something else. There were various reasons she could have been doing something else. Iz was terrible at that. Jumping to conclusions.

Shifting her weight, Iz tucked her hands into her black jacket pocket. A rough chin of whiskers rubbed on her jeans, making her jump slightly. Turning in silence, Iz giggled slightly under her breath – sure not to interrupt the horse and rider.
“Benny dear – You really shouldn’t do that to me you know!”
She whispered softly, crouching down to be the same height as the small horse. Rubbing his small face, she toyed around with his thick chestnut forelock, before turning to watch the Friesian again. When they were finished she would be sure to introduce her self... and Mr Ben too. For now, it was very interesting just to watch.

‘‘Wind me up and watch me go, where she stops nobody knows...

A good excuse to be a bad influence on you.’

[Cowboy Lover]

I noticed the girl looking at me. I then turned Midnight around the barrel and galloped towards the fence. Many people do not seem to understand why i love Friesians and why i use them for western riding. But it was a good thing i had my other horse Cowboy, my dunn gelding in the trailer as well. I used him for my western pleasure and ranch work, while i use Midnight for barrel racing for the fun of it. I also have been using her for trail riding as well.

Anyways, i then stopped Midnight at the railing with a trail of dirt flying behind me. I then got down from Midnights back and walked her to the gate. I opened it and looked at the girl again.

I am sorry for not letting you know that i was riding here, but i just needed some time to get some stress off my mind. I said in my Okie accent. I then watched the other horse and heard Cowboy in the trailer start nickering. I then walked back to the trailer and tied Midnight up. I then walked to the back of the trailer and grabbed my gelding and led him out. Cowboy was a beautiful golden dun American Quarter Horse. As he came out, the sun started gleaming on his coat.

My name is Sorya Jones. And you are?

[Bix]

‘Lordie, lordie, lordie, I can’t help it I like to party it’s genetic, it’s electrifying...’

Iz snorted lightly, standing up and quickly backing as the horse galloped up to the fence. A cloud of dry dirt washed over the area for a second, causing Iz to let out a small cough. Keeping a slightly fake smile, she ruffled Benny’s chestnut mane. He softly nudged her leg again, before slowly wandering of to graze on the grass. Tucking her hands back into her pockets, Iz listened as the lady began to speak.
‘I am sorry for not letting you know that I was riding here, but I just needed some time to get some stress off my mind.’
Nodding slightly, Iz glanced toward the girl.
“That’s fine. Horses are great for that – when all goes right.”

A nicker fell from the distance, as they both turned to face the other lady’s trailer.
Was there another horse, still in the float?
Iz was already slightly confused about this woman. She seemed nice, but muddled Iz’s brain like nothing on earth. Then again – last night she didn’t receive as much sleep as she probably needed. That could have played a part in her confusion.

As the lady briskly led her mare to the trailer, Iz’s mind wandered after her. They had a Friesian mare once, Vampirate. Her mother had brought her cheaply, after the rider ended up in hospital with a broken back, wrist and collarbone. She wasn’t one of those horses that were plain nasty – but she liked to be boss, and showed that to the cocky riders that thought they knew what they were doing.
She looked a lot like the galloping mare she had just seen, only trained for dressage...Not barrels. As she had come to know, they weren’t the fastest horses, as they were heavy and solid. But as she had noted before, very magnificent. Vamp had definitely stolen a few heart when she was out and showing.
As it was when Iz was young, she was never allowed to ride that mare. Oh how she desperately wanted to though. She had been sold easily before Iz reached the age to be able to control her.

Flicking back to the visitors, Iz watched as a nice looking buckskin was backed from the vehicle. The sun hit his pelt, shining slightly in reflection. This horse was more in her interest scales. A quarter horse no doubt, his heavy muscles and short bold appearance.

Removing her hand to swipe her fringe from her face once more, Iz awaited the lady to return to her – before a voice echoed back from where she was.
‘My name is Sorya Jones. And you are?’

Maybe there was no need after all.
Walking forward a bit, Iz approached the lady. She felt no need to shout, and purely couldn’t be bothered with the effort anyways.
“I’m Izzy Johnson. The...Err…manager, I guess you could call it.”


‘‘Wind me up and watch me go, where she stops nobody knows...

A good excuse to be a bad influence on you.’

[Cowboy Lover]

I smiled as i looked at her. I took my cowboy hat off and out it on the horn of the saddle. I then patted Cowboy and let go of his reins. Izzy, that is an interesting name. But it fits you well. Nice Chestnut. Whats his name? Cowboy leaned his head towards the stallion. I grabbed his reins so that i could get a good grip on him if he reared.

I then let Cowboy reach up to the other horse before he moved his head back and nuzzled my pocket for a treat. I then took one out and gave it to Cowboy. I listened as he chewed on the treat before mounting the gelding. I patted his neck again. So, you want to go for a ride out on the trails or something?

[Bix]

‘Lordie, lordie, lordie, I can’t help it I like to party it’s genetic, it’s electrifying...’

“Thanks.” Iz shrugged lightly, slightly embarrassed. No one ever mentioned her name often.
Iz looked toward Benny, the small miniature horse grazing. “Benns...” She called, as the small gelding turned his head. “This is Benny. He is like the stables mascot.” She smiled, as the tiny gelding trotted over. Arching his neck like the colt that he thought he was, Benny nibbled at Cowboy’s whiskers. Calmly, the dun horse turned away and nuzzled his owners pocket for a treat. Benny’s ears perked. Nickering lowly, he nudged his way over to Sorya’s noisy pockets.

Iz laughed slightly, patting Benny’s rump.
Looking up, she smiled toward the two new visitors.
“Your horse is really gorgeous. A very nice colour. I like him.”
Gently bighting her bottom lip, Iz scanned Cowboys muscular body. He had a nice round hip, and a pretty head. His neck was well toned, and limbs straight. A fine specimen of Quarter horse. Staying around her dad caused her to look at these things, no matter how hard to tried not to. Back on the ranch, her father would never let any low quality horses into his heard. All the foals were bred to his standards, and if any low quality arrived – they were sold as soon as possible. Iz found this hard when she was growing up, as many of the odd foals had the greatest personalities. She always used to sneak out before they went, feed them treats and give them cuddles. Who knows when they went afterwards. In some ways, she still had a soft spot for the weird babies. But she had learnt now, that she needed to go for the best to get them anywhere.

Sorya mounted the horse, Bringing Izzy’s gaze back to the young lady. ‘So, you want to go for a ride out on the trails or something?

A smile spread over Iz’s face. Nodding softly, she glanced back at the office. She would just have to tell Belle that she was going to be of for a while, and grab her horse... And saddle it up... And...
Awkwardly Iz looked up. She did need to take her stallion for a ride. She hadn’t had time earlier. And it would also be nice to socialize him with horses he didn’t know.

“That would be awesome, If you don’t mind waiting.. I don’t want to hold you up.”



‘‘Wind me up and watch me go, where she stops nobody knows...

A good excuse to be a bad influence on you.’

[Cowboy Lover]

I smiled and gave Benns a treat after i mounted Cowboy. If you dont mind, can i keep Midnight in a stall so she does not have to stand out here in the sun and roast? I really did not want her to be out here in the heat with her black coat and attracting heat. I looked over at Midnight, dismounted Cowboy and grabbed her reins and patted her head. I gave her a treat for her great work for the day.

I waited for her to reply. I really did not want Midnight to get sick or anything like that.

(Sorry it is so short)

[Bix]

‘Lordie, lordie, lordie, I can’t help it I like to party it’s genetic, it’s electrifying...’

“Sure!”
Smiling softly, Iz turned and gestured to a small block of covered pens over on the other side of the area.
“She will be fine there for while. There is a tap on the left hand side wall, and Buckets beside it – If you want to give her some water.”
Nodding slightly, Iz began to walk off to the office.

It wasn’t long before she bumped into the owner, Belle. Explaining that she was going to be on the trails for a couple of hours, Iz scurried off to the back paddock to catch Tex. Tex was only a 2 year old raised on her ranch at home. She broke him in herself – and was just now in the efforts of training him for performance western showing. He was a nice enough horse, and defiantly too good to geld, according to her father. Although, with his fiery, playful personality he sure could be a handful a lot of the time.

Grabbing a thin black rope halter off a hook from the barn block, and a carrot from a small container in the barn, Iz swapped her gumboots and easily slipped on a black pair of riding ones. They had a lot of different areas here at Willow creek. The first building you saw was the huge white painted office, which conjoined into rows of indoor stable blocks on either side. The black gravel drive split into two, one going left to a small grass parking area, and the rounding a corner to the back of the office/stable building. Surrounded by post and rail fences, many paddocks bordered the land, a large outdoor arena and covered pens near the centre. On the other side was a large, newly built indoor area, and another group of well built pens. A barn kind of building laced the other side, with various tie up blocks, wash down bays and tack areas. A small dirt path at the back faded into a winding area of trees, where a few different tracks and trails ventured off. Over all Willow Creek was a smart looking place, and the closest to home that Iz could get for now.

Her large studded spurs jingled a tune as she moved her feet, swiftly walking through the mown grass. Tex was as far away as he could possibly get, his paddock surrounded by growing trees and hot tape. As of yet he wasn’t too colty, but as he was destined to be a stud, the paddock was all set up for the future. He had to be sure not to see any other horses from his field, as well as a rule set for the members not to go and visit him unless supervised.

As Iz approached the paddock though a small path in some trees, Tex raised his head and nickered excitedly. His golden Cremello coat barely showed through his expensive purple covers, although it showed already to be well filled with muscle. As he trotted over to the tall gate, Iz unhitched the electric connection and slipped the halter easily over his arched head. Leading him out of the gate and to the barn, Iz placed a sleek pat over his gorgeous neck.

In only a few minutes Iz had mounted the leggy stud, and wandered the excited horse over to the arena where Sorya had been waiting. A lime green fleece saddle cover sat over her tan show saddle, protecting it from any grime or scratches. Toying with her boots in the thick stirrups, Iz held control of the snaffle bit in the stallion’s mouth, waiting for Cowboys and Sorya to return.


‘‘Wind me up and watch me go, where she stops nobody knows...

A good excuse to be a bad influence on you.’

[Cowboy Lover]

I put Midnight out into one of the pens after taking off her saddle. I smiled when i saw her trot around the pen looking at the other horses that were around her. I then walked back to Cowboy, mounted and sat and waited for Iz to return with her horse. I patted Cowboy while he stood in show position. Sometimes i never got the reason why he always loved to be in the show position. He did not even seem bothered by Midnight nickering to the other horses that were around.

[Bix]

‘Lordie, lordie, lordie, I can’t help it I like to party it’s genetic, it’s electrifying...’

Iz reached down her hand, softly patting the coats sleek neck. His muscles rippled as he stood, watching everything around him. Blue eyes pierced with curiosity, nostrils flared with excitement. Iz didn’t like the way his eyes were a full light blue. Infact, she hated it. But with everything else this colt had to offer, quite frankly she had to ignore that. She much preferred the dark, near black eyes. Often, nearly every horse that had nice eyes had a lovely personality as well.

A deep wicker rumbled from the colt’s lungs, his head darting up slightly. Catching the reins quickly, Iz backed the colt, tucking his head downward.
Sat happily on cowboy, Sorya approached, before halting slightly. Cowboy looked up contently toward the excited colt, before easily shifting his weight, squaring his hooves. Iz laughed lightly under her breath, letting Tex walk forward, approaching the two.
It would have been nice to have a horse that naturally squared himself – yet all the horses she had seemed to have liked to be the exact opposite. It took a long time to teach them to, but eventually with a click of her tongue and pressure on the lead, they soon got the idea.
Halter wasn’t Iz’s favourite class, although she usually did reasonably okay at it. She much preferred to be in the saddle, on the horse. Running somewhat turned her off the event.

“Hey there! Did you find everything alright?”

Moving her head to gesture to the pens, she smiled lightly. There were a few trails that they could take today. One went down by a wide river, which in the summer was great to swim the horses. Although at this time of the season, it was much to cold for that. The horses would most defiantly catch a chill. Another went through a forest path, covered with lots of natural trees and fauna. In the middle was a wide field, where on organised treks lunch stops would be held. These all somewhat joined together, only folks coming off the track separating the trips. Depending on how far and what speed you wanted to go, these trails could last from 30 mins, to nearly 2 hours.

‘‘Wind me up and watch me go, where she stops nobody knows...

A good excuse to be a bad influence on you.’

[Cowboy Lover]

Yeah i did. Midinight is happy. I got back up on cowboy and patted his neck. I loved the way that he was so calm. He was even calm when i had him as a stallion. Cowboy had some great looking flillies and colts as well. Anyways, i looked at the horse who was in front of me. I smiled and grabbed cowboys reins. Ready? I feel like we could find a wide feild and le these boys run. Cowboy really needs it. He has been couped in the trailer from the ride from Oklahoma to here.

[Bix]

‘Lordie, lordie, lordie, I can’t help it I like to party it’s genetic, it’s electrifying...’

As Tex rumbled away to himself, Iz smiled, pretending to ignore him. Sharply nudging him with her spurs, she nodded, listening to Sorya. The Friesian mare nickered to others, but looked safely locked away in the sheltered pens. Although, to Texas’s interest, she seemed a bit lonely. Oh well. She would soon get over it once the small group left.

‘ Ready? I feel like we could find a wide field and le these boys run. Cowboy really needs it. He has been cooped in the trailer from the ride from Oklahoma to here.’

Picking up on her long leather reins, Iz nodded softly.

”That sounds great. We have just the place down the track!”
Shifting her left leg up the colts shoulder, Tex dropped his head, easily stepped off and pivoted as he was asked. Pushing him forward again, he swiftly completed the quarter turn . Iz let the colt walk slowly on, waiting for Cowboy and Sorya to follow.

It wasn’t long before Iz was going to breed a few personal Mares to Tex, before he was up to the public. This thought often ran though her mind, as she smiled with excitement. As he was only young, 2 years old to be frank, she knew she had a while to wait. But when he was out and showing, she knew it wouldn’t be hard to get a good selection of dams for his future progeny. He was a great colt. A few quarter horses at home were already kept for him when they returned, as well as a few riding school horses. Belle said she would pay Iz the stud fee, and happily keep his offspring for her to train while she was here.

There was also Sky, Iz’s prize show mare. She was in line for Mr. Texas too, the foal going to be the young ladies next horse to bring on. Iz had a lot on her plate, also having to juggle the up coming school term as well as new friends etc. It was hard enough being a teenager, without the ongoing projects of her horse life too. But, she loved it, and literally the horses were her life. She couldn’t live without them.

Turning back to check the pair were coming, Iz remembered a question that lingered in her head a little while ago, that she had completely forgotten about.

“Oklahoma! Excuse the delay..”
Laughing softly, Iz sat back asking the horse for an even slower walk. A pleasure walk. Naturally, he dropped his head, the reins loose. Patting his neck, Iz continued.

“That’s very cool. I am from Colorado.”

‘‘Wind me up and watch me go, where she stops nobody knows...

A good excuse to be a bad influence on you.’

[Cowboy Lover]

I have been there for a few compititions. I like it there. I looked at Cowboy for a moment. He seemed to be getting along with Tex. And i was glad. The seemed to be making great friends. Anyways, i looked back at Iz. She really semed to know what she wsa doing. I liked that in a person. I smiled. Cowboy then tossed his head for a second. I then losen the reins and asked Cowboy to trot with a quick nudge of my spurs to his sides.