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Rp between myself and ValiantShadow

Featuring Mikayla and Firestorm

ValiantShadow 's Kalima A209 and Alex MacArthur

Dressage training!

Extra image and story for FRC Winter Tournament 2018

The morning air was crisp and sharp against Mikayla’s face as she unloaded her mount for this week’s competition. They’d arrived a good day early so her waler had the chance to adjust to the environment. They had been traveling a lot recently, often to places that were suffering from winter- while back home it was bright, sunny, and a little on the too hot side compared to the rest of the world. She opened the horse trailer doors, carefully lowering it down onto the gravel, before removing the bar that kept the mare from backing into the door while it was being lowered.

“Alright gal, go ahead.” Mikayla clicked at the mare, who carefully started backing out. When the mare’s head had come close enough, Mikayla clipped on the lead to her halter. It had taken several days to teach the mare how to unload without the use of someone going in the side, but it was just one of those things Mikayla made sure to teach all her reliable horses. They obviously weren’t the only ones arriving, so Mikayla wanted to get her horse unloaded and settled as soon as possible. They didn’t need any accidents on the first day.

----

The weather here was far colder than Alex and his black and white Nordanner were used to, considering that they came from the far more mild Texas climate. Shivering, Alex stuffed his hands under his armpits in a vain attempt to warm them for a moment before he began fiddling with the cold steel trappings that kept his mare locked in her trailer. Sighing, he pushed a strand of loose hair out of his eyes and meandered to the back of the black and gold trailer, sliding the bolt out of its place and dropping the door. Then, he shuffled inside the trailer, speaking slowly and quietly to his mare as he backed her out of the trailer. As she backed up, the horse moved carefully, but the second that her hooves touched grass, her demeanor changed. Kalima was, to say the least, unhappy. She had been trucked on a plane, kept in quarantine, then driven in a stuffy trailer to this strange place. Unlike the trained show horse that she was supposed to be becoming, the mare reared up suddenly, jerking the lead rope out of her handler’s frosty grip.

“Kalima!” called Alex hoarsely, watching in terror as his mare kicked up her heels and dove away, using her naturally bred speed to bolt away from her handler. For a moment, he wasn’t sure exactly what to do. He didn’t want to encourage her to run farther away by chasing after her, but he also could not be responsible for his horse running out of control and injuring herself or someone else. He settled upon a quick jog, cupping his hand around his mouth and calling out, “Loose horse!” as he hurried after his mare. All the while, he was cursing inwardly, and he could feel his cheeks burning brightly. He was anxious by nature, and was worried about putting out a bad impression on the other competitors. So far, no one else had lost their horse within five minutes of unloading. All he could do was pray that the mare wouldn’t do something stupid before he could reach her side.

As she realized that there were other horses surrounding her, the mare slowed to a trot, then a walk, and finally came to a halt, her ears twitching. She reached out her neck, sniffing the air to fill her nostrils with the scents of other horses and their riders. Whinnying, she shook her head, her short mane bobbing on her crest. She was just about to make her way towards a bay roan mare to say hello when her rider caught up with her, grabbing her lead rope and giving her a death glare.

“Don’t do that,” Alex chided his mare. He was about to unload a tongue lashing on her, when his eyes caught sight of the horse and rider that had interested Kalima. Oh, that was just great. He recognized the woman and horse immediately from the covers of his horse riding magazine. He had just lost his horse in front of a three time Australian Olympian. Great. Great. Great.

__

Firestorm snorted softly, pinning her ears momentarily before her own handler poked her in the side, reminding the mare that they were guests in this place and when push came to shove- she was the leader. The silver bay roan lowered her head towards her handler’s hands, ears flicking hopefully. Mikayla tried to hide a smile as she rubbed the mare’s forehead.She’d seen the whole thing, but had done her best not to tense up. It wouldn’t do well to imbue her own horse with anxiety.

“You seem to have your hands full.” Mikayla said conversationally as she moved out of the way of the trailer that her crew finished closing so they could take it around back. She’d brought Siohan and Toryn with her, to help pack and unpack everything. She only really needed Siobhan’s help, but she had figured it would be a learning experience for her newest employee.

Firestorm extended her neck, one ear on her own handler as she sniffed as close to the mare that she could get. The black and white mare’s energy seemed to seep into the naturally alert mare, making Firestorm a little more excitable than Mikayla would have preferred. Still, the red-head kept a loose grip on the nylon lead. Horses would do as horses would do, as unpredictable as they could get- it was all about taking each moment in stride and keeping a cool head when accidents did happen.

“Are you new to the showing circle?” Mikayla tilted her head, mismatched eyes narrowing as she looked him up and down, trying to see if she could recognize handler or horse. She’d been a bit stuck in her own world lately, so it was no wonder she wouldn’t recollect seeing them in any of her previous shows.

---

Kalima had an expression that could only be described as smug, while she introduced herself to Firestorm. She’d won this battle, and it appeared that she was well aware of her victory. Her tail flagged slightly as she pawed at the ground, her movements electric. No matter how many times she’d been lunged, or how many circles she’d trotted in the ring, she always had extra energy to spare. Kalima was a fast mare, both on the racetrack and in life. Go go go, push push push was how she did things, and it was a rather large point of contention between herself and her rider. In fact, that was why she was here; Kalima was going to learn the discipline that it took to perform in the Dressage ring if Alex had to kill himself trying to teach her.

Alex’s eyes were wide as he stared at the redhead, unable to form a proper sentence. The nerd in him was rearing its head, as all he could think of were statistics that he’d read about the woman and her horses. It took him a moment to realize that she was speaking to him, and so his response was delayed by a moment.

Once he realized that Mikayla was addressing him, Alex flushed bright red.

“Er, no, I’ve just not been showing internationally very much recently,” Alex stammered, his deep Southern drawl easily detectable in his flustered state. Usually he attempted to keep his accent in check, as Southerners had their own stereotypes overseas, and he would rather fly under the radar, but he made no such attempts now, due to how flustered he was. “Kalima’s pretty green,” he blurted, as if this would excuse the fact that he’d let his horse slip through his fingers and go cavorting around the castle.

“Uh...I’m Alex...and you’re Mikayla,” he added, scrabbling to fill the space with words, in some vain attempt to feel less awkward.

__

She was accustomed to awkward moments, her six year old son prone to them where he stood trying to find the right words, so it was no issue for Mikayla to wait for the blonde man the find his words.

Mikayla blinked confused for a moment.

“Have we met before?” She dropped her mare’s lead, letting it rest on the ground. The waler hardly even noticed as she investigated the other mare, polite as she was. The 15.3 hand high mare was quicker than she looked, but always respectful of her handler, and was prepared just in case the other mare turned sour on her. Firestorm ducked her head down slightly, as Mikayla offered her fist to the new mare- as a flat hand usually signified treats- while a fist was the equivalent to a horse’s muzzle in shape. When the mare sniffed her for a moment, Mikayla was the first to move her hand back- a way to show the pied mare that the redhead was the one truly in charge of the encounter.

“Well, we all have to start somewhere. She’s got so much energy in her- I don’t think just letting her sit in the paddock or the stalls they’ve provided is going to do her any good.”

-----

“No...sorry...I’m just...well I’m kind of a fan of yours,” Alex confessed, using his free hand to adjust the hair tie holding his ponytail back. “I’ve been following your career for a few years now. I’m hoping to get myself to the Olympics someday as well...but we’ve got a lot to do before I manage to get there,” he exposited in a rush. He always talked too much when he was nervous, a habit that he hated but hadn’t ever been able to get a handle on fully.

“Yeah, she’s a bit of a firecracker,” he said, chuckling. He was beginning to relax now, his social faux pas fading in importance as he was enveloped by the sheer coolness of getting to meet Mikayla and Firestorm.

“I wonder if there’s somewhere I can take her for a ride before the competition,” he mused, hoping the woman would know more than he, despite the fact that they had both just arrived.

__

“Well, that’s new.” Mikaya rubbed the back of her neck blushing slightly, but did her best to take it all in stride.

“Hey, Siobhan- check us in for me.” Mikayla called to the woman who’d been walking up towards them, turning ever so slightly so her voice carried.

“Sure thing, Mik. Taking, Stormy for a joy ride?”

“Just about.” Mikayla turned back to Alex. “So, Alex, do you need to get tack for her, or are you good with just a lead? I’ve been here before, so I know where the outdoor training arena is. They’re probably still setting up the indoor, so the outdoor is our best bet.” Mikayla patted her mare’s neck as the waler snorted, dipping her head to lip at the gravel. She was sure her mount wouldn’t mind.

__

Alex realized quickly that he might have gone a tad overboard with the gushing about his awe for the woman, and shut his trap. Beside him, Kalima nickered and dropped her head, cropping at a few small sprigs of grass that she found on the ground with her velvety muzzle. She was still brimming with energy, but so motivated by food that she forgot her angst for a moment.

“I’m good with a lead,” he said, nodding to Mikayla. “She’s actually just now starting to accept tack. Usually, if I’m training or flat racing her, I have to work with just a hackamore and a blanket,” he explained, still spewing words every time that he spoke. Some might call that habit endearing, but Alex hated it, and as soon as he realized what he was doing, he snapped his mouth shut, then muttered an embarrassed “Sorry. Talk a lot.” He was silent for a moment, as if holding in all the things he wanted so say, then added, “Lead on.”

__

“No worries, I’m pretty used to chatty people. A lot of my students are teenagers, so getting the attention of people who get distracted easily is something I seem to do for a living.” Mikayla winked teasing him, as she picked up Firestorm’s lead from the ground.

“It shouldn’t be too far from here.” She started walking, the silver bay roan mare following behind her easily- looking that she hardly needed the leadrope that casually swayed between her and the waler.

“So how long have you had her, how good is her ground work?” Mikayla was rather curious about the nordanner. She seemed to be lacking in manners, which kind of made her wonder why the mare was even at the show, but there were multiple classes, and you could only gain experience from each show. The pied mare was rather nicely conformed as far as she could tell, a little too cresty for a mare as far as Mik was concerned- but that could just be the breed itself and not reflect on the actual animal.

“From my experience, if she accepts a hackmore and a blanket, she should accept any fitting saddle just fine, unless your ground work isn’t as solid as you think it is. Ground work is one of the most important steps in training a horse, you can’t skip it and there’s always something to work on. Firestorm here, will try to anticipate what I’m going to ask for, before I ask for it- so I have to constantly switch up my routine with her.”

------

As he walked alongside Mikayla, Alex answered questions as they came. One part of his brain went to verbal interactions, while the other kept tabs on the Nordanner mare. She seemed to be doing all right for the moment, content now that she was moving about.

“Well she came to the farm about a year ago, but I was...away at the time,” he said, not wanting to get into how he'd been kicked out of his home for almost six months due to his less than legal street racing habits. “My husband started her, and trained her under saddle, so she wouldn't be sitting green in a pasture,” he explained. “But I took over when I got back. I’m the only one who works with her on the regular now.

“Her ground work is good, and she's taken well to a saddle since we've started showing. Funny thing is, she's an absolute monster unless she's showing. Then, she's a doll. I swear, she knows what to do, but she's so pig headed that she only does it when it's needed to impress somebody,” he rambled.

“So, in effect, her ground work is beautiful...when a judge is involved. Otherwise, she's a little shit.”

__

“Huh.. good at shows, bad at home. Sounds a bit like a respect issue. She trusts you enough to lead her and to hide behind you when she’s insecure, but doesn’t respect the rules you set in place- like not running away the moment she gets off the trailer. If you put the lead on her back right now, but kept walking, Do you think she would follow you?”

For example, Mikayla did the exact thing, just swinging the lead onto Firestorm’s back. The mare snorted softly, not really wanting to get into training just that moment, but when Mikayla kept walking she followed- ears pricked. When Mikayla made a sharp turn right, the mare followed. When she did a few hard stops the mare stopped, even going to far as to step backwards a bit- all her focus on her handler.

“Expect the unexpected. If you’re predictable in your training the horse will get really casual with you, finds it easier to ignore you- but if you switch it up..” Mikayla started jogging, the arena coming into view. It was rather unexpected to pick up the pace, but Firestorm did so as soon as she knew what was being asked of her.

“The more unpredictable you are- the more they go ‘aw shoot, this person is crazy, I dunno what they’re gonna do or ask for next’ and pay attention to you.” Mikayla slowed, Firestorm followed suit, though it was obvious to where they were headed.

-----
Alex hesitated, not sure he completely trusted the idea of turning his mare loose without a lead. If it had been Polaris or Bloodborne, he wouldn't have a second thought about the action, but this was an entirely different situation altogether. Sighing, he decided to plunge in headfirst, and threw the blue and white rope over his horse's shoulder, and kept walking. He stopped a few paces later, and waited. As much as he wanted to turn around and look for her, he forced himself to look ahead.

The sound of footsteps behind him excited Alex immensely. She was following him! He broke out into a grin as he felt Kalima's whiskers touch his neck, and felt her warm breath on his ear. His exhilaration was short lived, however, as she merely paused, before continuing on past him to stop behind Firestorm.

“Dammit,” groaned Alex as he trotted to catch up, pulling the rope off Kalima's shoulders and leading her away from Firestorm. “I thought she actually had it for a moment there,” he said, sounding just a touch frustrated. He had always struggled with failure, and that was only exacerbated by the fact that a world champion was observing him.

“I swear, none of my other horses have this little respect,” he assured Mikayla. “My main mare...she would follow me to the moon and back, no questions asked. I have no idea why this gal is so fighty, but it's driving me crazy. I KNOW she can do great things, but she doesn't listen to anyone. I don't want to break her of her personality...but I'd like if she could show even a little bit of respect outside the ring,” he explained, sounding like a trainer who'd tried numerous methods only to come up empty handed each time.

__

“Well, we’ll see how she fairs in the training arena. It’s not a hard fix- the worst case scenario you end up doing ground work with her for an hour or so and she learns something new. Best case scenario- she’ll treat this training session like she does showing- and you’ll get time to do some leg work.” Mikayla shrugged. She opened the gate for the both of them allowing Alex and his horse to go in first. Firestorm stood at her side, only going in behind her, and when she turned away from the mare, the waler turned around with her- as if preparing herself to go out if Mikayla asked for it.

“I start working on ground manners when they’re young. Saddles won’t do you any good if your horse doesn’t listen to you on the ground. Walers are hardy horses, and you could start them really young- but we don’t do any saddle work, bareback or otherwise until at least the age of four, maybe five depending on the horse. Firestorm here, she’s about seven right now. Alert, but doesn’t spook very easily.” Mikayla set the leadrope on the side of the fence and turned her full attention to Alex and his nordanner, her left hand on Firestorm’s hindquarters, though the mare needed little reminder that she was there.

“Show me your basic ground work and we’ll go from there. We’re not looking to tire her out right now.”

_____

Alex nodded, listening to everything that Mikayla told him about training his black and white horse. While he'd trained his fair share of horses in the past, he was not one to turn down good advice, especially free advice at that. He wasn't too proud to learn from another rider, not by a long shot.

Clucking to his mare, he gave her the lead, urging her to walk in a circle. At first, the mare snorted and pawed at the earth, refusing to move. But, as Alex asked a second time, lightly flicking the end of the rope in the direction of her hindquarters, Kalima broke into a sulky walk. As she moved, Alex smiled, proud that she was at least slightly listening. Now to get her to really pay attention.

“Better, but get after her. She wanted to run from you earlier- so now we’re moving. Make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy.”

Nodding, Alex flicked the end of the rope towards the ground, hard. It popped loudly, and Kalima's ears flicked in the direction of the sound. Her walk speed up, then melted into a trot. The first few strides were choppy, but as her handler gently swung the rope towards her hindquarters, she arched her neck, and began to engage her hind end, rounding out as she trotted.

____

Mikayla’s eyes narrowed. The mare might be engaging her hindquarters, but that wasn’t what they were asking.

“You see how she thinks she knows what you want. She thinks she has this all controlled. Have her stop.” Mikayla waited for Alex to stop the mare before she walked over. She let the mare sniff at her for a few moments, before she pulled her hand away- being the one to stop the encounter again.

“She pulls you around on the ground a lot, I reckon. Just stand over there by Firestorm for a few moments.” She waited until he did as she asked. Firestorm sniffed at him momentarily, before moving so her body was facing him and her back wasn’t facing the two near the center of the ring.

“See how she’s not really paying attention to me. She doesn’t care who I am, who you are.” The mare tried to turn away from Mikayla, who took a sharp step back. Yes, it tugged on the halter- but it wasn’t like she was jerking the rope around like some crazy maniac. “See how she’s trying to push me aroun- get lost” Mikayla raised her hands in the air and the mare backed up, tossing her head, but didn’t freak out.

“See this right here?” Mikayla asked as the mare got right up in her face. “So I’m just going to.. She pulled an extendable ‘whip’ with a white flag on the end of it. “You go over there” As she waved the mare out of her space. The mare immediately bolted away, but Mikayla’s hands were firm on the rope, so she ended up just running in a large circle.

“Okay, so let’s just go the other way.” Mikayla applied the lead rope first and then followed up with the flag. “See, now she wants to move her feet, so we’re just gonna let her move her feet- but I’m going to make it hard for her- so we’re going to do transitions. Everytime she thinks she know what I want, we’re gonna switch it up on her, because if she just runs around and runs around- she’s not paying attention to me, now she has to pay attention to me.”

For a moment the mare tried running her over to get away from the flag, and she waved it in front of her. “See how she tried to run me over, like she thinks I’m going to deal with it for her, well I’m not her mummy. This is like basic dressage. Your lead rope is your leg aid, your flag is your whip aid. Leg aid…”Mikayla pulled on the rope, “..and Whip aid” followed it up with the flag.

____

Alex watched in awe as his horse was worked before him, her body skittering back and forth as Mikayla asked for transition after transition. He was impressed by how well she handled the mare, especially when Kalima tried to run her over. Mikayla wasn't taking any flack from the black Nordanner mare, and it was impressive to the young trainer how well she handled the unruly mare.

He took in all the details of what Mikayla was saying, almost wishing he had a note pad to jot down the most important bits. But he would have to make do with what he could remember. As he watched, Alex began to feel that he understood what it was that Mikayla wanted to see from the mare.

“Mind if I try?” he asked, sounding timid despite how badly he was itching to attempt the training technique in a hands on setting.

___

“Absolutely, I’ll keep her in on this side, because she obviously doesn’t want to stop doing work,” Mikayla explained as she asked for a half-halt, that would normally follow up with a full halt, but the mare instead kept trying to move how she wanted to move.

“See, I’m asking for a halt, but right there she said she wanted more work, so come in to the center, and I’ll come off without giving her a chance to go “Oh, I know this person- he’ll be easy.” It hadn’t even been four minutes yet, but the mare was obviously improving in her attention span, as Mikayla let her lope around for a few moments once more, before asking for a half halt, and then following up with a full halt and turning her to continue trotting around the other way.

When Alex reached her, she handed him the rope and the ‘whip’ with the flag on the end. “There’s no trick here, The flag isn’t special, it’s all about pressure and release. Make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy.”

___

Alex switched places with the more experienced trainer fumbling with the flag for a second before getting his bearings. Then, using the rope, he asked for her to trot in a circle. Immediately, she turned her shoulder in, and Alex frowned at her, flicking the flag up at her. As though she had been bitten by something, the mare instantly changed her tune, backing away from the flag and out of Alex's space.

“That's it,” he told his mare, as he asked her to change directions. She fumbled her front hooves a bit, but obliged, turning around and broke into a lope when asked. After a round or two, Alex asked for a half half, then full halt. Kalima ignored him at first, but slowed, then stopped, when he asked more firmly. He asked again for a trot, and this time, Kalima did not cut in when she started to move. Her ears were pointed towards her handler, and she dropped her head slightly.

“What else should I ask her to do?” Alex inquired, speaking to Mik though he never took his eyes off his horse.

___

“Flip the lead over her back. If she pulls away, make her trot- then work on her half halt, full halt again. Try to flip the lead over her back again, keep doing it until she realizes that it’s just easier to stand still. When she’s standing still and you can flip it onto her back without her moving, then we’ll move onto the next phase.”

Mikayla walked out of the practicing duo’s way for a moment to attend to Firestorm who had just been standing there waiting ever so tired and patiently for them to pay attention to her. “That’s my good baby girl.” Mikayla murmured, rubbing the waler’s face.

“It’s all about them learning to control themselves, and listening to you. You can’t control and animal that big, they have to control themselves and everything we’re doing is paving the way for them to understand that.” Mikayla flipped the lead onto Stormy’s back before using the fence to help her up onto her mare. It wasn’t that she couldn’t just leap onto her horse’s back, but she wanted to lessen the strain on the mare’s back by meeting her half-way.

“Just like riding, if the mare moves when you try to get on her- move with her until she stops, then release the pressure. This means, like you put the lead on her back, if she starts moving, keep with it. It’s easier with a saddle, but just keep up the pressure until she stops moving, then take the pressure off.” Firestorm snorted as Mikayla adjusted herself to properly sitting up on the mare’s back.

__

It certainly wasn't a magical transformation, this training regime. At first, he couldn't even get the rope over Kalima's back. She kept skittering away, circling time after time. Ten, fifteen times he attempted to throw the rope over her back before the mare even began to slow her roll.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, she stood still. As soon as the rope was on her back, Alex stopped what he was doing and praised the mare, telling her what a good job she'd done that time. Gently, he reached over and patted her shoulder, his way of thanking her for doing what he'd actually wanted. Kalima mouthed a bit, showing that she was more responsive to his cues now that he was proving himself to be more of a herd leader.

“All right, Jedi master,” he called, turning his attention to the woman and her Waler. “What's next for us Padawans?” Alex really didn't care if his nerd was showing at the moment; he was too excited from success to care.

“See if she still respects you. Is she going to push into your space, or is she fine standing further away again? You have to find the right balance between trust and respect. After that, we’ll see if she’s got enough energy to start riding.” Mikayla called as she urged Firestorm into a trot- might as well let the mare stretch her legs while they could before more people came. A small group of people- possibly some of the staff that had time between arrivals had already lined up on the fence to watch them.

Alex was completely unaware of the people watching as he focused wholeheartedly on his mare. He flicked the rope, asking for a walk. One hoof stepped forward to cut into his space, but the mare suddenly adjusted her course, giving her rider enough space as she walked. Another flick sent her into a trot, followed by a half halt, and lastly, a full halt. Each movement had a fair share of small hiccups, but were overall much improved from Kalima's first attempt.

As he looked up to check with Mikayla to see of he could ride, Alex caught sight of the crowd. Immediately, he blushed bright red, dropping the flag in his flustered mood. “Oh...we have visitors…” he commented, scrambling to pick up the flag stick again. For someone who competed on the regular, he was not one for audiences.

___

“Don’t mind them. If they had questions or needed to use the ring, they would speak up. Your horse is your focus.”

Mikayla had slowed to a near halt, urging her mare into a piaffe, letting her trot in place as she called out instructions. She could have sworn that there were actually note-taking people in the crowd. A lesson was a lesson, who cares if she gave it for free or helped her competition improve. She knew she wasn’t perfect, but she got results and her horses enjoyed the work she gave them.

“Now, try flinging that rope on her back again, keep it up until she stops moving. You’ll notice this time that it won’t take her as long to realize the answer is to stop moving.” Mikayla clicked her tongue and offered the leg aid without moving her hands, and Firestorm started to work a Pirouette. It was a higher dressage move- something Mikayla only taught horses when she thought they would go far and when she believed they could handle it. Firestorm wasn’t quite at the right level, as she stopped after the third circle- usually a competition worthy pirouette you did 7 circles at a time.

----

Alex nodded, turning his attention back to his mare. He tossed the rope at her, and she skittered away again. Alex frowned slightly, but kept at it, not willing to get defeated now. As much as he hated it, he could not help but be brutally aware of the other people watching him. It made him want to perform perfectly, but he knew that would be completely unfair to expect of his mare after such a short punt of time.

Either way, people or not, he had a job to do. He tossed the rope at her again, and again. This time, it only took a few tries before the mare stood still as he tossed the rope over her back.

“That's the stuff,” Alex told his mare, beaming at the black horse and patting her shoulder heartily. “We'll get there eventually, yah?” he said to her, before turning to his tutor for further instruction.

___

Mikayla brough Firestorm over, the mare hardly having broken a sweat compared to the black mare who was obviously shining with the stuff.

“Well, she looks a bit put out- so you could stop the lesson here, walk it off, wipe her down when you set her in the stall, or we can work on actually riding.” Mikayla offered as Firestorm lowered her head and sniffed at the mare, but still keeping a respectable distance.

“I think she could probably handle some riding, since this is just a basic warm-up. There’s plenty of room, and you should find her a little more compliant than she was before. Just make sure she stands still when you get on. If she starts moving when you try to get on- keep leaning on her until she stand still, then relieve her of the pressure. Same concept, different way of doing it.”

__

Alex nodded gravely, leading his mare to the fence and clambering up on the railing to ease the stress on his mare's back. The first time he attempted to mount, Kalima moved, so he used Mikayla's techniques to apply pressure until she calmed herself, and he could swing his leg over her back.

The mare was conformed, but that didn't stop her spine from digging into Alex's sacrum as he settled into position on the mare's back.

“Oh that blanket would be nice about now,” he commented with a chuckle. Taking the lead like a set of reins, he asked the mare to walk along the arena fence line. To his surprise, she actually complied.

“Well, lookie there,” he commented, smiling as he felt his mare move beneath him, doing just as he asked with his leg cues.

____

Mikayla winced as the mare waked right along the fence line. Yes, she was doing what he asked, but it was clear after a bit that she was ready to just lean right into that fence- nevermind that there was her rider’s leg there.

“See how she’s putting all that pressure on your leg at the fence? You want a leg after this exercise, I assume.” Mikayla trotted to the opposite side and gave him the example of what she was about to have him do.

“So in this case, the easy thing is to do what the horse wants to do- keep going left- or in my case, right- into the fence. So we’re going to make it a little tough on her. Keep turning her. Let her drag your leg against the fence, but ask her to walk into the fence then. “Mikayla gave the example- though it was obvious Firestorm knew what was up, because as soon as Mikayla asked her to go towards the fence, the mare faced the fence and turned around, giving them room between the fence and herself.

“Make the right thing easy, and the wrong thing hard. If she wants to walk into the fence, then by golly she’s going to walk right into that fence.”

___

Silently, Alex nodded, and changed his approach slightly, allowing the mare to put herself in the awkward predicament of running into the fence. He felt the cloth of his Jean's snag against the fence boards, but ignored it in an effort do do what was asked of him.

A few moments later, Kalima found herself in a puzzling predicament. Instead of fighting her, her rider had let her dead end herself against the fence. Snorting, she attempted to back up, but was met with subtle pressure, forcing her to either turn around into the fence, or run into it again. She hesitated for a moment...then chose to turn her body, ducking her head as she turned around towards the fence, putting space between herself and the fence line. Alex asked her to move forward again.

This time, she left a bit more space between herself and the wall. To his surprise, Alex found that he was not being dragged along the fence...at least for a few steps. As her attention waned, the mare veered towards the edge of the ring again. And once again, Alex forced her into the rail, letting her choose to put space between herself and the arena fencing this time.

“This is not gonna be a one day thing “ Alex commented, as he adjusted his seat. The mare was doing well...for a reckless hothead of a horse on her first lesson with an outside instructor.

___

“That’s fine. There are plenty of exercises out there for horses, and this is just one of them.” Mikayla relaxed as Firestorm kept walking along the fence, keeping a distance between herself and the fence, but not shying away from the many peering eyes staring at them.

“Just keep remembering, you are the leader- not a bossy mare, but the leader. You command respect and earn trust. You are a part of them as much as they are a part of you. I’m not saying you have to act like a horse, but you should understand the horse’s way of thinking to get them to work for you.”

Mikayla urged Firestorm into a trot, catching up to the black mare. “A wise man said, first you go with them, then they go with you, until finally you go together.”

___

Alex chuckled at the idea of being a bossy lead mare. He'd known a few horses like that in his time, and he definitely didn't want to be one of them. But being a leader to his herd, that was something he was very familiar with, and something he had grown to love. He smiled, and patted his mare's shoulder in praise as he turned her quickly once more. As time was progressing, he found it less necessary to turn her into the fence; she wasn't trying to scrape him off any longer.

To make sure that the mare didn't get too comfortable just ambling along the fence, Alex asked for a circle by applying leg pressure and slightly adjusting his “reins.”

The mare dropped her head and tried to cut the circle far too short, but Alex applied pressure to her until she gave way to his command, stepping in a mostly round fashion.

“Well, she kinda respects me,” he said with a chuckle, as he asked for another circle. This one was still not perfect, but more round than the last had been.

“Just let me know what you want to see...and when we need to go in,” he called to Mikayla, checking his watch to make sure he still had time to check in, which he did.

_____

“Well, I don’t technically need to see anything. There’s obviously a lot more ground work to be done with her. I’m not saying break her spirit or anything, there’s no Clint Anderson bullshit in my training. Your horse keeps it’s personality, but you’re the one that’s changed in your horse’s eyes.” Firestorm snorted, tossing her head as if she was in on the conversation.

The waler mare was more than glad to get in on the action, practically leaping into action when Mikayla asked for a canter. Mikayla laughed softly, doing her best to stay in place. Riding dressage with no saddle was more difficult than it looked, some moves- like flying lead changes, were a lot more difficult to keep your seat than when you did bareback jumping.

“I also suppose it would be rather unfair of me to watch you train or work on your routine - since I’m not currently here to size up my competition, unlike some of our viewers.” Mikayla could give them a show. Truly, with Firestorm- who was willing to try almost anything, she could probably shock some people out of the competition from shere will or audacity of trying higher tier dressage moves with such a young mare. That’s not what she wanted though. She liked a going up against all the other riders, what was a show if you didn’t have riders of all walks of life?

----

Alex snorted derisively at the mention of Clint Anderson. He wasn't a fan of those training methods by any stretch of the imagination. Strongarming a horse into submission was no way to train a proper mount, especially one who you needed to stake your life on as Alex did with his racing horses.

“At least y'all got rid of him,” he commented referring to the man's Australian heritage. “I'm stuck in the same state as that guy.”

As he talked, his attention wandered, and he expected Kalima to take the moment and run when he turned his attention back to her. To his surprise, she had stayed near, but not on, the fence, walking at the pace he requested.

“Well, that's good,” he told his mare, patting her shoulder, which was slick with sweat, but cooling off nicely. “I'm gonna finish walking her out, and wash her down. Gotta get registered and settle in still,” he informed Mikayla. “Thanks for the help, especially since I'm part of your competition,” he acknowledged. From what he could see, Firestorm was going to be very difficult - perhaps impossible - to beat. But he'd be damned if he wasn't going to try.

___

“Rough stuff, although there are quite a few good trainers who come from Australia, but now live in the states. I did for a short while, but I’m only average.” Mikayla shrugged, “Home always calls you back eventually.”

“Yeah, it’s getting to be about that time. I don’t doubt my staff aren’t still arguing over who gets the bigger bed.” Mikayla laughed under her breath, shaking her head. She walked Firestorm around. The mare hadn’t needed as much training- certainly not enough to really break a sweat. This was mostly for the benefit of Alex, or when it came to her horse- stretching the mare’s legs
out so she wouldn’t find reasons to make life in the stalls interesting for everyone.
As if knowing they were basically done wit the free training lessons, people started to scatter. Staff members headed towards the entrance to help other. Mikayla patted Firestorm, dismounting, before leading the waler towards the gate.

“See you later. Good luck in the competition.” Mikayla called as she lead Firestorm out of the ring. If she didn’t have to ride, then there was no reason she couldn’t cool down the mare without having to be on her back.

___

Total Word Count: 7,246

Rosela 's Word Count: 3,629

ValiantShadow 's Word Count: 3,617

No reference for Alex and Kamila

Personal reference for Mikayla and Firestorm (Ask if need to see, I have very limited personal stock which is why I don't post them/have a stock account)

Description

Rp between myself and ValiantShadow

Featuring Mikayla and Firestorm

ValiantShadow 's Kalima A209 and Alex MacArthur

Dressage training!

Extra image and story for FRC Winter Tournament 2018

The morning air was crisp and sharp against Mikayla’s face as she unloaded her mount for this week’s competition. They’d arrived a good day early so her waler had the chance to adjust to the environment. They had been traveling a lot recently, often to places that were suffering from winter- while back home it was bright, sunny, and a little on the too hot side compared to the rest of the world. She opened the horse trailer doors, carefully lowering it down onto the gravel, before removing the bar that kept the mare from backing into the door while it was being lowered.

“Alright gal, go ahead.” Mikayla clicked at the mare, who carefully started backing out. When the mare’s head had come close enough, Mikayla clipped on the lead to her halter. It had taken several days to teach the mare how to unload without the use of someone going in the side, but it was just one of those things Mikayla made sure to teach all her reliable horses. They obviously weren’t the only ones arriving, so Mikayla wanted to get her horse unloaded and settled as soon as possible. They didn’t need any accidents on the first day.

----

The weather here was far colder than Alex and his black and white Nordanner were used to, considering that they came from the far more mild Texas climate. Shivering, Alex stuffed his hands under his armpits in a vain attempt to warm them for a moment before he began fiddling with the cold steel trappings that kept his mare locked in her trailer. Sighing, he pushed a strand of loose hair out of his eyes and meandered to the back of the black and gold trailer, sliding the bolt out of its place and dropping the door. Then, he shuffled inside the trailer, speaking slowly and quietly to his mare as he backed her out of the trailer. As she backed up, the horse moved carefully, but the second that her hooves touched grass, her demeanor changed. Kalima was, to say the least, unhappy. She had been trucked on a plane, kept in quarantine, then driven in a stuffy trailer to this strange place. Unlike the trained show horse that she was supposed to be becoming, the mare reared up suddenly, jerking the lead rope out of her handler’s frosty grip.

“Kalima!” called Alex hoarsely, watching in terror as his mare kicked up her heels and dove away, using her naturally bred speed to bolt away from her handler. For a moment, he wasn’t sure exactly what to do. He didn’t want to encourage her to run farther away by chasing after her, but he also could not be responsible for his horse running out of control and injuring herself or someone else. He settled upon a quick jog, cupping his hand around his mouth and calling out, “Loose horse!” as he hurried after his mare. All the while, he was cursing inwardly, and he could feel his cheeks burning brightly. He was anxious by nature, and was worried about putting out a bad impression on the other competitors. So far, no one else had lost their horse within five minutes of unloading. All he could do was pray that the mare wouldn’t do something stupid before he could reach her side.

As she realized that there were other horses surrounding her, the mare slowed to a trot, then a walk, and finally came to a halt, her ears twitching. She reached out her neck, sniffing the air to fill her nostrils with the scents of other horses and their riders. Whinnying, she shook her head, her short mane bobbing on her crest. She was just about to make her way towards a bay roan mare to say hello when her rider caught up with her, grabbing her lead rope and giving her a death glare.

“Don’t do that,” Alex chided his mare. He was about to unload a tongue lashing on her, when his eyes caught sight of the horse and rider that had interested Kalima. Oh, that was just great. He recognized the woman and horse immediately from the covers of his horse riding magazine. He had just lost his horse in front of a three time Australian Olympian. Great. Great. Great.

__

Firestorm snorted softly, pinning her ears momentarily before her own handler poked her in the side, reminding the mare that they were guests in this place and when push came to shove- she was the leader. The silver bay roan lowered her head towards her handler’s hands, ears flicking hopefully. Mikayla tried to hide a smile as she rubbed the mare’s forehead.She’d seen the whole thing, but had done her best not to tense up. It wouldn’t do well to imbue her own horse with anxiety.

“You seem to have your hands full.” Mikayla said conversationally as she moved out of the way of the trailer that her crew finished closing so they could take it around back. She’d brought Siohan and Toryn with her, to help pack and unpack everything. She only really needed Siobhan’s help, but she had figured it would be a learning experience for her newest employee.

Firestorm extended her neck, one ear on her own handler as she sniffed as close to the mare that she could get. The black and white mare’s energy seemed to seep into the naturally alert mare, making Firestorm a little more excitable than Mikayla would have preferred. Still, the red-head kept a loose grip on the nylon lead. Horses would do as horses would do, as unpredictable as they could get- it was all about taking each moment in stride and keeping a cool head when accidents did happen.

“Are you new to the showing circle?” Mikayla tilted her head, mismatched eyes narrowing as she looked him up and down, trying to see if she could recognize handler or horse. She’d been a bit stuck in her own world lately, so it was no wonder she wouldn’t recollect seeing them in any of her previous shows.

---

Kalima had an expression that could only be described as smug, while she introduced herself to Firestorm. She’d won this battle, and it appeared that she was well aware of her victory. Her tail flagged slightly as she pawed at the ground, her movements electric. No matter how many times she’d been lunged, or how many circles she’d trotted in the ring, she always had extra energy to spare. Kalima was a fast mare, both on the racetrack and in life. Go go go, push push push was how she did things, and it was a rather large point of contention between herself and her rider. In fact, that was why she was here; Kalima was going to learn the discipline that it took to perform in the Dressage ring if Alex had to kill himself trying to teach her.

Alex’s eyes were wide as he stared at the redhead, unable to form a proper sentence. The nerd in him was rearing its head, as all he could think of were statistics that he’d read about the woman and her horses. It took him a moment to realize that she was speaking to him, and so his response was delayed by a moment.

Once he realized that Mikayla was addressing him, Alex flushed bright red.

“Er, no, I’ve just not been showing internationally very much recently,” Alex stammered, his deep Southern drawl easily detectable in his flustered state. Usually he attempted to keep his accent in check, as Southerners had their own stereotypes overseas, and he would rather fly under the radar, but he made no such attempts now, due to how flustered he was. “Kalima’s pretty green,” he blurted, as if this would excuse the fact that he’d let his horse slip through his fingers and go cavorting around the castle.

“Uh...I’m Alex...and you’re Mikayla,” he added, scrabbling to fill the space with words, in some vain attempt to feel less awkward.

__

She was accustomed to awkward moments, her six year old son prone to them where he stood trying to find the right words, so it was no issue for Mikayla to wait for the blonde man the find his words.

Mikayla blinked confused for a moment.

“Have we met before?” She dropped her mare’s lead, letting it rest on the ground. The waler hardly even noticed as she investigated the other mare, polite as she was. The 15.3 hand high mare was quicker than she looked, but always respectful of her handler, and was prepared just in case the other mare turned sour on her. Firestorm ducked her head down slightly, as Mikayla offered her fist to the new mare- as a flat hand usually signified treats- while a fist was the equivalent to a horse’s muzzle in shape. When the mare sniffed her for a moment, Mikayla was the first to move her hand back- a way to show the pied mare that the redhead was the one truly in charge of the encounter.

“Well, we all have to start somewhere. She’s got so much energy in her- I don’t think just letting her sit in the paddock or the stalls they’ve provided is going to do her any good.”

-----

“No...sorry...I’m just...well I’m kind of a fan of yours,” Alex confessed, using his free hand to adjust the hair tie holding his ponytail back. “I’ve been following your career for a few years now. I’m hoping to get myself to the Olympics someday as well...but we’ve got a lot to do before I manage to get there,” he exposited in a rush. He always talked too much when he was nervous, a habit that he hated but hadn’t ever been able to get a handle on fully.

“Yeah, she’s a bit of a firecracker,” he said, chuckling. He was beginning to relax now, his social faux pas fading in importance as he was enveloped by the sheer coolness of getting to meet Mikayla and Firestorm.

“I wonder if there’s somewhere I can take her for a ride before the competition,” he mused, hoping the woman would know more than he, despite the fact that they had both just arrived.

__

“Well, that’s new.” Mikaya rubbed the back of her neck blushing slightly, but did her best to take it all in stride.

“Hey, Siobhan- check us in for me.” Mikayla called to the woman who’d been walking up towards them, turning ever so slightly so her voice carried.

“Sure thing, Mik. Taking, Stormy for a joy ride?”

“Just about.” Mikayla turned back to Alex. “So, Alex, do you need to get tack for her, or are you good with just a lead? I’ve been here before, so I know where the outdoor training arena is. They’re probably still setting up the indoor, so the outdoor is our best bet.” Mikayla patted her mare’s neck as the waler snorted, dipping her head to lip at the gravel. She was sure her mount wouldn’t mind.

__

Alex realized quickly that he might have gone a tad overboard with the gushing about his awe for the woman, and shut his trap. Beside him, Kalima nickered and dropped her head, cropping at a few small sprigs of grass that she found on the ground with her velvety muzzle. She was still brimming with energy, but so motivated by food that she forgot her angst for a moment.

“I’m good with a lead,” he said, nodding to Mikayla. “She’s actually just now starting to accept tack. Usually, if I’m training or flat racing her, I have to work with just a hackamore and a blanket,” he explained, still spewing words every time that he spoke. Some might call that habit endearing, but Alex hated it, and as soon as he realized what he was doing, he snapped his mouth shut, then muttered an embarrassed “Sorry. Talk a lot.” He was silent for a moment, as if holding in all the things he wanted so say, then added, “Lead on.”

__

“No worries, I’m pretty used to chatty people. A lot of my students are teenagers, so getting the attention of people who get distracted easily is something I seem to do for a living.” Mikayla winked teasing him, as she picked up Firestorm’s lead from the ground.

“It shouldn’t be too far from here.” She started walking, the silver bay roan mare following behind her easily- looking that she hardly needed the leadrope that casually swayed between her and the waler.

“So how long have you had her, how good is her ground work?” Mikayla was rather curious about the nordanner. She seemed to be lacking in manners, which kind of made her wonder why the mare was even at the show, but there were multiple classes, and you could only gain experience from each show. The pied mare was rather nicely conformed as far as she could tell, a little too cresty for a mare as far as Mik was concerned- but that could just be the breed itself and not reflect on the actual animal.

“From my experience, if she accepts a hackmore and a blanket, she should accept any fitting saddle just fine, unless your ground work isn’t as solid as you think it is. Ground work is one of the most important steps in training a horse, you can’t skip it and there’s always something to work on. Firestorm here, will try to anticipate what I’m going to ask for, before I ask for it- so I have to constantly switch up my routine with her.”

------

As he walked alongside Mikayla, Alex answered questions as they came. One part of his brain went to verbal interactions, while the other kept tabs on the Nordanner mare. She seemed to be doing all right for the moment, content now that she was moving about.

“Well she came to the farm about a year ago, but I was...away at the time,” he said, not wanting to get into how he'd been kicked out of his home for almost six months due to his less than legal street racing habits. “My husband started her, and trained her under saddle, so she wouldn't be sitting green in a pasture,” he explained. “But I took over when I got back. I’m the only one who works with her on the regular now.

“Her ground work is good, and she's taken well to a saddle since we've started showing. Funny thing is, she's an absolute monster unless she's showing. Then, she's a doll. I swear, she knows what to do, but she's so pig headed that she only does it when it's needed to impress somebody,” he rambled.

“So, in effect, her ground work is beautiful...when a judge is involved. Otherwise, she's a little shit.”

__

“Huh.. good at shows, bad at home. Sounds a bit like a respect issue. She trusts you enough to lead her and to hide behind you when she’s insecure, but doesn’t respect the rules you set in place- like not running away the moment she gets off the trailer. If you put the lead on her back right now, but kept walking, Do you think she would follow you?”

For example, Mikayla did the exact thing, just swinging the lead onto Firestorm’s back. The mare snorted softly, not really wanting to get into training just that moment, but when Mikayla kept walking she followed- ears pricked. When Mikayla made a sharp turn right, the mare followed. When she did a few hard stops the mare stopped, even going to far as to step backwards a bit- all her focus on her handler.

“Expect the unexpected. If you’re predictable in your training the horse will get really casual with you, finds it easier to ignore you- but if you switch it up..” Mikayla started jogging, the arena coming into view. It was rather unexpected to pick up the pace, but Firestorm did so as soon as she knew what was being asked of her.

“The more unpredictable you are- the more they go ‘aw shoot, this person is crazy, I dunno what they’re gonna do or ask for next’ and pay attention to you.” Mikayla slowed, Firestorm followed suit, though it was obvious to where they were headed.

-----
Alex hesitated, not sure he completely trusted the idea of turning his mare loose without a lead. If it had been Polaris or Bloodborne, he wouldn't have a second thought about the action, but this was an entirely different situation altogether. Sighing, he decided to plunge in headfirst, and threw the blue and white rope over his horse's shoulder, and kept walking. He stopped a few paces later, and waited. As much as he wanted to turn around and look for her, he forced himself to look ahead.

The sound of footsteps behind him excited Alex immensely. She was following him! He broke out into a grin as he felt Kalima's whiskers touch his neck, and felt her warm breath on his ear. His exhilaration was short lived, however, as she merely paused, before continuing on past him to stop behind Firestorm.

“Dammit,” groaned Alex as he trotted to catch up, pulling the rope off Kalima's shoulders and leading her away from Firestorm. “I thought she actually had it for a moment there,” he said, sounding just a touch frustrated. He had always struggled with failure, and that was only exacerbated by the fact that a world champion was observing him.

“I swear, none of my other horses have this little respect,” he assured Mikayla. “My main mare...she would follow me to the moon and back, no questions asked. I have no idea why this gal is so fighty, but it's driving me crazy. I KNOW she can do great things, but she doesn't listen to anyone. I don't want to break her of her personality...but I'd like if she could show even a little bit of respect outside the ring,” he explained, sounding like a trainer who'd tried numerous methods only to come up empty handed each time.

__

“Well, we’ll see how she fairs in the training arena. It’s not a hard fix- the worst case scenario you end up doing ground work with her for an hour or so and she learns something new. Best case scenario- she’ll treat this training session like she does showing- and you’ll get time to do some leg work.” Mikayla shrugged. She opened the gate for the both of them allowing Alex and his horse to go in first. Firestorm stood at her side, only going in behind her, and when she turned away from the mare, the waler turned around with her- as if preparing herself to go out if Mikayla asked for it.

“I start working on ground manners when they’re young. Saddles won’t do you any good if your horse doesn’t listen to you on the ground. Walers are hardy horses, and you could start them really young- but we don’t do any saddle work, bareback or otherwise until at least the age of four, maybe five depending on the horse. Firestorm here, she’s about seven right now. Alert, but doesn’t spook very easily.” Mikayla set the leadrope on the side of the fence and turned her full attention to Alex and his nordanner, her left hand on Firestorm’s hindquarters, though the mare needed little reminder that she was there.

“Show me your basic ground work and we’ll go from there. We’re not looking to tire her out right now.”

_____

Alex nodded, listening to everything that Mikayla told him about training his black and white horse. While he'd trained his fair share of horses in the past, he was not one to turn down good advice, especially free advice at that. He wasn't too proud to learn from another rider, not by a long shot.

Clucking to his mare, he gave her the lead, urging her to walk in a circle. At first, the mare snorted and pawed at the earth, refusing to move. But, as Alex asked a second time, lightly flicking the end of the rope in the direction of her hindquarters, Kalima broke into a sulky walk. As she moved, Alex smiled, proud that she was at least slightly listening. Now to get her to really pay attention.

“Better, but get after her. She wanted to run from you earlier- so now we’re moving. Make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy.”

Nodding, Alex flicked the end of the rope towards the ground, hard. It popped loudly, and Kalima's ears flicked in the direction of the sound. Her walk speed up, then melted into a trot. The first few strides were choppy, but as her handler gently swung the rope towards her hindquarters, she arched her neck, and began to engage her hind end, rounding out as she trotted.

____

Mikayla’s eyes narrowed. The mare might be engaging her hindquarters, but that wasn’t what they were asking.

“You see how she thinks she knows what you want. She thinks she has this all controlled. Have her stop.” Mikayla waited for Alex to stop the mare before she walked over. She let the mare sniff at her for a few moments, before she pulled her hand away- being the one to stop the encounter again.

“She pulls you around on the ground a lot, I reckon. Just stand over there by Firestorm for a few moments.” She waited until he did as she asked. Firestorm sniffed at him momentarily, before moving so her body was facing him and her back wasn’t facing the two near the center of the ring.

“See how she’s not really paying attention to me. She doesn’t care who I am, who you are.” The mare tried to turn away from Mikayla, who took a sharp step back. Yes, it tugged on the halter- but it wasn’t like she was jerking the rope around like some crazy maniac. “See how she’s trying to push me aroun- get lost” Mikayla raised her hands in the air and the mare backed up, tossing her head, but didn’t freak out.

“See this right here?” Mikayla asked as the mare got right up in her face. “So I’m just going to.. She pulled an extendable ‘whip’ with a white flag on the end of it. “You go over there” As she waved the mare out of her space. The mare immediately bolted away, but Mikayla’s hands were firm on the rope, so she ended up just running in a large circle.

“Okay, so let’s just go the other way.” Mikayla applied the lead rope first and then followed up with the flag. “See, now she wants to move her feet, so we’re just gonna let her move her feet- but I’m going to make it hard for her- so we’re going to do transitions. Everytime she thinks she know what I want, we’re gonna switch it up on her, because if she just runs around and runs around- she’s not paying attention to me, now she has to pay attention to me.”

For a moment the mare tried running her over to get away from the flag, and she waved it in front of her. “See how she tried to run me over, like she thinks I’m going to deal with it for her, well I’m not her mummy. This is like basic dressage. Your lead rope is your leg aid, your flag is your whip aid. Leg aid…”Mikayla pulled on the rope, “..and Whip aid” followed it up with the flag.

____

Alex watched in awe as his horse was worked before him, her body skittering back and forth as Mikayla asked for transition after transition. He was impressed by how well she handled the mare, especially when Kalima tried to run her over. Mikayla wasn't taking any flack from the black Nordanner mare, and it was impressive to the young trainer how well she handled the unruly mare.

He took in all the details of what Mikayla was saying, almost wishing he had a note pad to jot down the most important bits. But he would have to make do with what he could remember. As he watched, Alex began to feel that he understood what it was that Mikayla wanted to see from the mare.

“Mind if I try?” he asked, sounding timid despite how badly he was itching to attempt the training technique in a hands on setting.

___

“Absolutely, I’ll keep her in on this side, because she obviously doesn’t want to stop doing work,” Mikayla explained as she asked for a half-halt, that would normally follow up with a full halt, but the mare instead kept trying to move how she wanted to move.

“See, I’m asking for a halt, but right there she said she wanted more work, so come in to the center, and I’ll come off without giving her a chance to go “Oh, I know this person- he’ll be easy.” It hadn’t even been four minutes yet, but the mare was obviously improving in her attention span, as Mikayla let her lope around for a few moments once more, before asking for a half halt, and then following up with a full halt and turning her to continue trotting around the other way.

When Alex reached her, she handed him the rope and the ‘whip’ with the flag on the end. “There’s no trick here, The flag isn’t special, it’s all about pressure and release. Make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy.”

___

Alex switched places with the more experienced trainer fumbling with the flag for a second before getting his bearings. Then, using the rope, he asked for her to trot in a circle. Immediately, she turned her shoulder in, and Alex frowned at her, flicking the flag up at her. As though she had been bitten by something, the mare instantly changed her tune, backing away from the flag and out of Alex's space.

“That's it,” he told his mare, as he asked her to change directions. She fumbled her front hooves a bit, but obliged, turning around and broke into a lope when asked. After a round or two, Alex asked for a half half, then full halt. Kalima ignored him at first, but slowed, then stopped, when he asked more firmly. He asked again for a trot, and this time, Kalima did not cut in when she started to move. Her ears were pointed towards her handler, and she dropped her head slightly.

“What else should I ask her to do?” Alex inquired, speaking to Mik though he never took his eyes off his horse.

___

“Flip the lead over her back. If she pulls away, make her trot- then work on her half halt, full halt again. Try to flip the lead over her back again, keep doing it until she realizes that it’s just easier to stand still. When she’s standing still and you can flip it onto her back without her moving, then we’ll move onto the next phase.”

Mikayla walked out of the practicing duo’s way for a moment to attend to Firestorm who had just been standing there waiting ever so tired and patiently for them to pay attention to her. “That’s my good baby girl.” Mikayla murmured, rubbing the waler’s face.

“It’s all about them learning to control themselves, and listening to you. You can’t control and animal that big, they have to control themselves and everything we’re doing is paving the way for them to understand that.” Mikayla flipped the lead onto Stormy’s back before using the fence to help her up onto her mare. It wasn’t that she couldn’t just leap onto her horse’s back, but she wanted to lessen the strain on the mare’s back by meeting her half-way.

“Just like riding, if the mare moves when you try to get on her- move with her until she stops, then release the pressure. This means, like you put the lead on her back, if she starts moving, keep with it. It’s easier with a saddle, but just keep up the pressure until she stops moving, then take the pressure off.” Firestorm snorted as Mikayla adjusted herself to properly sitting up on the mare’s back.

__

It certainly wasn't a magical transformation, this training regime. At first, he couldn't even get the rope over Kalima's back. She kept skittering away, circling time after time. Ten, fifteen times he attempted to throw the rope over her back before the mare even began to slow her roll.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, she stood still. As soon as the rope was on her back, Alex stopped what he was doing and praised the mare, telling her what a good job she'd done that time. Gently, he reached over and patted her shoulder, his way of thanking her for doing what he'd actually wanted. Kalima mouthed a bit, showing that she was more responsive to his cues now that he was proving himself to be more of a herd leader.

“All right, Jedi master,” he called, turning his attention to the woman and her Waler. “What's next for us Padawans?” Alex really didn't care if his nerd was showing at the moment; he was too excited from success to care.

“See if she still respects you. Is she going to push into your space, or is she fine standing further away again? You have to find the right balance between trust and respect. After that, we’ll see if she’s got enough energy to start riding.” Mikayla called as she urged Firestorm into a trot- might as well let the mare stretch her legs while they could before more people came. A small group of people- possibly some of the staff that had time between arrivals had already lined up on the fence to watch them.

Alex was completely unaware of the people watching as he focused wholeheartedly on his mare. He flicked the rope, asking for a walk. One hoof stepped forward to cut into his space, but the mare suddenly adjusted her course, giving her rider enough space as she walked. Another flick sent her into a trot, followed by a half halt, and lastly, a full halt. Each movement had a fair share of small hiccups, but were overall much improved from Kalima's first attempt.

As he looked up to check with Mikayla to see of he could ride, Alex caught sight of the crowd. Immediately, he blushed bright red, dropping the flag in his flustered mood. “Oh...we have visitors…” he commented, scrambling to pick up the flag stick again. For someone who competed on the regular, he was not one for audiences.

___

“Don’t mind them. If they had questions or needed to use the ring, they would speak up. Your horse is your focus.”

Mikayla had slowed to a near halt, urging her mare into a piaffe, letting her trot in place as she called out instructions. She could have sworn that there were actually note-taking people in the crowd. A lesson was a lesson, who cares if she gave it for free or helped her competition improve. She knew she wasn’t perfect, but she got results and her horses enjoyed the work she gave them.

“Now, try flinging that rope on her back again, keep it up until she stops moving. You’ll notice this time that it won’t take her as long to realize the answer is to stop moving.” Mikayla clicked her tongue and offered the leg aid without moving her hands, and Firestorm started to work a Pirouette. It was a higher dressage move- something Mikayla only taught horses when she thought they would go far and when she believed they could handle it. Firestorm wasn’t quite at the right level, as she stopped after the third circle- usually a competition worthy pirouette you did 7 circles at a time.

----

Alex nodded, turning his attention back to his mare. He tossed the rope at her, and she skittered away again. Alex frowned slightly, but kept at it, not willing to get defeated now. As much as he hated it, he could not help but be brutally aware of the other people watching him. It made him want to perform perfectly, but he knew that would be completely unfair to expect of his mare after such a short punt of time.

Either way, people or not, he had a job to do. He tossed the rope at her again, and again. This time, it only took a few tries before the mare stood still as he tossed the rope over her back.

“That's the stuff,” Alex told his mare, beaming at the black horse and patting her shoulder heartily. “We'll get there eventually, yah?” he said to her, before turning to his tutor for further instruction.

___

Mikayla brough Firestorm over, the mare hardly having broken a sweat compared to the black mare who was obviously shining with the stuff.

“Well, she looks a bit put out- so you could stop the lesson here, walk it off, wipe her down when you set her in the stall, or we can work on actually riding.” Mikayla offered as Firestorm lowered her head and sniffed at the mare, but still keeping a respectable distance.

“I think she could probably handle some riding, since this is just a basic warm-up. There’s plenty of room, and you should find her a little more compliant than she was before. Just make sure she stands still when you get on. If she starts moving when you try to get on- keep leaning on her until she stand still, then relieve her of the pressure. Same concept, different way of doing it.”

__

Alex nodded gravely, leading his mare to the fence and clambering up on the railing to ease the stress on his mare's back. The first time he attempted to mount, Kalima moved, so he used Mikayla's techniques to apply pressure until she calmed herself, and he could swing his leg over her back.

The mare was conformed, but that didn't stop her spine from digging into Alex's sacrum as he settled into position on the mare's back.

“Oh that blanket would be nice about now,” he commented with a chuckle. Taking the lead like a set of reins, he asked the mare to walk along the arena fence line. To his surprise, she actually complied.

“Well, lookie there,” he commented, smiling as he felt his mare move beneath him, doing just as he asked with his leg cues.

____

Mikayla winced as the mare waked right along the fence line. Yes, she was doing what he asked, but it was clear after a bit that she was ready to just lean right into that fence- nevermind that there was her rider’s leg there.

“See how she’s putting all that pressure on your leg at the fence? You want a leg after this exercise, I assume.” Mikayla trotted to the opposite side and gave him the example of what she was about to have him do.

“So in this case, the easy thing is to do what the horse wants to do- keep going left- or in my case, right- into the fence. So we’re going to make it a little tough on her. Keep turning her. Let her drag your leg against the fence, but ask her to walk into the fence then. “Mikayla gave the example- though it was obvious Firestorm knew what was up, because as soon as Mikayla asked her to go towards the fence, the mare faced the fence and turned around, giving them room between the fence and herself.

“Make the right thing easy, and the wrong thing hard. If she wants to walk into the fence, then by golly she’s going to walk right into that fence.”

___

Silently, Alex nodded, and changed his approach slightly, allowing the mare to put herself in the awkward predicament of running into the fence. He felt the cloth of his Jean's snag against the fence boards, but ignored it in an effort do do what was asked of him.

A few moments later, Kalima found herself in a puzzling predicament. Instead of fighting her, her rider had let her dead end herself against the fence. Snorting, she attempted to back up, but was met with subtle pressure, forcing her to either turn around into the fence, or run into it again. She hesitated for a moment...then chose to turn her body, ducking her head as she turned around towards the fence, putting space between herself and the fence line. Alex asked her to move forward again.

This time, she left a bit more space between herself and the wall. To his surprise, Alex found that he was not being dragged along the fence...at least for a few steps. As her attention waned, the mare veered towards the edge of the ring again. And once again, Alex forced her into the rail, letting her choose to put space between herself and the arena fencing this time.

“This is not gonna be a one day thing “ Alex commented, as he adjusted his seat. The mare was doing well...for a reckless hothead of a horse on her first lesson with an outside instructor.

___

“That’s fine. There are plenty of exercises out there for horses, and this is just one of them.” Mikayla relaxed as Firestorm kept walking along the fence, keeping a distance between herself and the fence, but not shying away from the many peering eyes staring at them.

“Just keep remembering, you are the leader- not a bossy mare, but the leader. You command respect and earn trust. You are a part of them as much as they are a part of you. I’m not saying you have to act like a horse, but you should understand the horse’s way of thinking to get them to work for you.”

Mikayla urged Firestorm into a trot, catching up to the black mare. “A wise man said, first you go with them, then they go with you, until finally you go together.”

___

Alex chuckled at the idea of being a bossy lead mare. He'd known a few horses like that in his time, and he definitely didn't want to be one of them. But being a leader to his herd, that was something he was very familiar with, and something he had grown to love. He smiled, and patted his mare's shoulder in praise as he turned her quickly once more. As time was progressing, he found it less necessary to turn her into the fence; she wasn't trying to scrape him off any longer.

To make sure that the mare didn't get too comfortable just ambling along the fence, Alex asked for a circle by applying leg pressure and slightly adjusting his “reins.”

The mare dropped her head and tried to cut the circle far too short, but Alex applied pressure to her until she gave way to his command, stepping in a mostly round fashion.

“Well, she kinda respects me,” he said with a chuckle, as he asked for another circle. This one was still not perfect, but more round than the last had been.

“Just let me know what you want to see...and when we need to go in,” he called to Mikayla, checking his watch to make sure he still had time to check in, which he did.

_____

“Well, I don’t technically need to see anything. There’s obviously a lot more ground work to be done with her. I’m not saying break her spirit or anything, there’s no Clint Anderson bullshit in my training. Your horse keeps it’s personality, but you’re the one that’s changed in your horse’s eyes.” Firestorm snorted, tossing her head as if she was in on the conversation.

The waler mare was more than glad to get in on the action, practically leaping into action when Mikayla asked for a canter. Mikayla laughed softly, doing her best to stay in place. Riding dressage with no saddle was more difficult than it looked, some moves- like flying lead changes, were a lot more difficult to keep your seat than when you did bareback jumping.

“I also suppose it would be rather unfair of me to watch you train or work on your routine - since I’m not currently here to size up my competition, unlike some of our viewers.” Mikayla could give them a show. Truly, with Firestorm- who was willing to try almost anything, she could probably shock some people out of the competition from shere will or audacity of trying higher tier dressage moves with such a young mare. That’s not what she wanted though. She liked a going up against all the other riders, what was a show if you didn’t have riders of all walks of life?

----

Alex snorted derisively at the mention of Clint Anderson. He wasn't a fan of those training methods by any stretch of the imagination. Strongarming a horse into submission was no way to train a proper mount, especially one who you needed to stake your life on as Alex did with his racing horses.

“At least y'all got rid of him,” he commented referring to the man's Australian heritage. “I'm stuck in the same state as that guy.”

As he talked, his attention wandered, and he expected Kalima to take the moment and run when he turned his attention back to her. To his surprise, she had stayed near, but not on, the fence, walking at the pace he requested.

“Well, that's good,” he told his mare, patting her shoulder, which was slick with sweat, but cooling off nicely. “I'm gonna finish walking her out, and wash her down. Gotta get registered and settle in still,” he informed Mikayla. “Thanks for the help, especially since I'm part of your competition,” he acknowledged. From what he could see, Firestorm was going to be very difficult - perhaps impossible - to beat. But he'd be damned if he wasn't going to try.

___

“Rough stuff, although there are quite a few good trainers who come from Australia, but now live in the states. I did for a short while, but I’m only average.” Mikayla shrugged, “Home always calls you back eventually.”

“Yeah, it’s getting to be about that time. I don’t doubt my staff aren’t still arguing over who gets the bigger bed.” Mikayla laughed under her breath, shaking her head. She walked Firestorm around. The mare hadn’t needed as much training- certainly not enough to really break a sweat. This was mostly for the benefit of Alex, or when it came to her horse- stretching the mare’s legs
out so she wouldn’t find reasons to make life in the stalls interesting for everyone.
As if knowing they were basically done wit the free training lessons, people started to scatter. Staff members headed towards the entrance to help other. Mikayla patted Firestorm, dismounting, before leading the waler towards the gate.

“See you later. Good luck in the competition.” Mikayla called as she lead Firestorm out of the ring. If she didn’t have to ride, then there was no reason she couldn’t cool down the mare without having to be on her back.

___

Total Word Count: 7,246

Rosela 's Word Count: 3,629

ValiantShadow 's Word Count: 3,617

No reference for Alex and Kamila

Personal reference for Mikayla and Firestorm (Ask if need to see, I have very limited personal stock which is why I don't post them/have a stock account)