Serenity

Horse: ´Ittay

Rider: Nei Sarris

Class: English

Story:

I stepped away to inspect my work. I frowned, spotting a place that was less shiny than the rest.

,,You know, if you brush him one more time, you will make a hole," said Gi from behind me.

Tay snorted softly in agreement.

I glared at her. She stepped back, throwing arms in the air in defence. ,,Okay boss, point taken."

I noticed the clock behind her. OH NO! I pushed her aside and rushed to the tack room.

On my way back, not seeing anything though the saddle in my arms, I collided with somebody.

All my tack flew to the air, then fell to the dust on the ground. As a cherry on the top, a toast landed on it. Ketchup red as blood spilt over anything.

I reached for the stall door to steady myself. The stable boy looked at me, terrified.

,,I´m soo sorry!" he mumbled.

I didn´t remember his name. He was too new for that. But at that moment, I wanted to rip him to shreds.

He must have sensed that, because he ran away, not daring to tear his eyes from me.

,,Great! What now?!"

Gi forced something into my hands. I looked down at the object. It was a neck rope.

,,But... We haven´t practised enough!" I said, panic rising.

,,I think you are great," she said with a smile.

I bit my lip and nodded. Neck rope put in place, I opened the stable door. ,,Come!"

Tay followed me though the stable, then though the archway to the smaller arena. The arena was closed from both sides by two long stable buildings and on the far end by a flowerbed and the house. Only this side was open, allowing view of the bigger arena and wilds beyond. The sun was setting behind the distant hills. The sky was slowly turning bright red. Tay´s fur was shining like melting gold.

I jumped on, taking hold of the neck rope. ,,Do you have the camera?" I asked.

,,No, but it will be fully set-up before you finish warming up."

I made a few rounds, testing his reactions. He tripped multiple times, then spooked at a corner. I cursed softly. This was going to be a catastrophe.

,,All done! Are you ready?" Gi asked from the middle of the arena.

,,This is a bad idea! It will be a total embarrassment!"

,,Oh come on! Relax! I´ve seen you handle worse situations like a pro! Besides, the point of doing the show round in your own stable is so you don´t have to stress!"

,,Easier said than done!"

,,Forget that it´s a competition. Pretend that you are riding just for the fun of it! Because that´s what it is!"

I wanted to argue further. But why? She was right. There was no reason to stress. I leaned down and hugged Tay around his neck. ,,We can do this, right?"

The golden stallion licked my hand.

,,I take that as a yes." I sat up properly again. ,,Okay, ready!"

It was just one calm ride. I closed my eyes feeling the sun on my cheeks.

With me getting my emotions under control, Tay transformed into his real self. No more silly mistakes. No more spooking. I forgot that this was a competition. I forgot that Gi was there, looking, filming. I forgot where I was.

Because at that moment, it was only me and Tay. And that was the only thing that mattered.