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Description

In which Greg and Soma meet.

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Greg loped down the barn aisle towards Garry's stall. As always his excitement for his jumping lessons overrode caution about getting into trouble for running around the horses. Neaghe would likely yell at him if she caught him, but he knew she was up at the house with the baby and it was just Harley and Von in the barn at the moment. Mark and Sarah had taken a trail ride out and wouldn't get back for another hour at least. Skidding to a stop in front of the grey gelding he smooched at him and grinned as his favourite horse perked up and popped his head over the door.

Garry gently bumped his nose into the offered hand as Greg gave the warmblood a scratch hello. Greg had been taking lessons at KhanCohban for nearly 6 years, and Garry had been his main lesson horse for nearly the last two of those. It was during these last few years that he had improved in leaps and bounds. In his heart he knew that was mostly due to Garry, but he had worked really hard to make sure he was worthy of riding such a nice horse. All those early mornings, long weekends had paid off. Together they had taken out a few ribbons at local shows and as such they had graduated from the group jumping class to one on one lessons with the best jumpers at the stable.

Normally that meant lessons with Ryan, who Greg idolised and saw as a role model. However, with is regular teacher away he was now under the instruction of Harley Cooper. Harley was an equally talented and well known competitor, she had been the rider that took Wren to the Olympics before the mare had retired after the tendon injury. Greg had been incredibly excited when Ryan told him who would take over his training, and he had been enjoying Harley's more fast paced and aggressive style, though at first it had been confronting after all the time with Ryan's gentle and encouraging approach. But there was no denying that he had gained more confidence and learned that sometimes you need to push the boundaries to get the best out of your horse.

"Greg!" Harley's voice rung out from the barn door as she ducked her head inside. "Tack that horse up and then come help me get the jump poles and standards set up in the outdoor." The blonde vanished from sight for a moment before popping back up. "Oh and tack up that new roan gelding too, his tack is in the trunk that arrived yesterday."

Greg frowned, and looked across the aisle at the roan gelding who stood happily munching away at what remained of his hay net. The gelding had arrived a week ago and had peaked all the students curiosity as they were always hopeful that new horses would be added to the lesson roster. The fact that the newcomer was a sporty looking gelding with the personality of an angel had stoked rumours that had led to everyone dreaming of possibly riding him. Greg had been curious about him, but the grey gelding was firmly entrenched in his heart and a new horse was exciting but not interesting enough to drag him away from his focus.

But as he tacked up Garry he felt his mind wander to why he was tacking up the gelding now, given that his jumping lesson was the only one scheduled for the rest of the morning. Maybe Harley was testing him out during the lesson. She had ridden some of the horses while teaching him before, especially when they decided to ride along the cross country trails to practice jumping outside the arena, but if that was the case then why would she want to set up the jumps in the outdoor as well? He tacked up Garry and clipped him into the ties before making his way to the tack room to unearth the new horses gear. Running his hands over the new saddle and the pristine bridle he felt a touch of envy. One day he would get his own tack just like this.

Tchotchke, or ChaCha as his feed bucket stated, was very polite as Greg gave him a quick groom to make sure he was clean before tossing the saddle pad and saddle onto him and quickly tacking him up. The roan curiously watched him and eagerly accepted the friendly pats and scratches from Greg as they got used to each other. ChaCha was a little heavier around the stomach than Garry, but he had a sweet face and was obviously well loved. Greg was certain that once he settled in and began to take part in the lessons that he would become a firm favourite. Which would be fantastic in Greg's mind as less people would be wanting to ride Garry. He would love to have more time alone with the grey to train instead of having to share him with the other students.

Quickly clipping ChaCha up as well he jogged out to the arena, just in time to help Harley carry one of the standards in through the gate. "I tacked up ChaCha for you, though i wasn't sure if you want him in jumping boots or anything as i couldn't find them in the trunk with his other gear."

Harley smiled at him, "He doesn't have any at the moment. We wont be doing anything too crazy today so he should be fine until Neaghe sorts something out for him. We are just going to set up some small jumps and cavaletti today as his new rider is only just starting training here and we want to give everyone a chance to get used to each others style." She fumbled slightly with the standard as Greg nearly dropped his end. "Easy there, if you break it you bought it."

"A new rider? I thought you were... why is in the jumping lesson with me if he is only new?" He cringed at the slight whine in his voice as he said it.

"He is new to the area, but he apparently has ridden for years. Von gave him a private lesson on Garry a week ago when he first arrived but we hadn't gotten ChaCha yet so he couldn't join in the lessons as we didn't have any other horses that were the right height and training level for him." She leaned around to shoot him a look, "No need to be jealous though. I'm sure i can manage to keep two students busy enough that they don't feel neglected."

Greg bit his lip and scowled as he adjusted his grip. He wasn't jealous, he liked meeting new people. He just didn't like the thought that some new guy was muscling in on his lessons and his favourite horse. They put the standard down and made sure it was in place before Harley walked over and put her arm around his shoulders. "Its fun to have someone that is at your level and can train with you. Its part of the reason we decided to merge the lessons once we realised you were at a similar level. This is good for you Greg. Why do you think Ryan, Cavan and I train together so much? We get to help keep each other motivated and support each other if we run into problems with a horse or our training approach." She ruffled his hair and then laughed as he scowled and automatically tried to brush it back into place. "You never know, you might even like the guy."

Liking the new guy was seeming less and less likely as the morning wore on. He was late. Greg had warmed up Garry, and Harley had even begun to lose hope and had gotten on ChaCha to warm him up in case the new rider was still coming. The roan gelding moved as nicely as he acted. Harley was all smiles and even Greg thought that he might like to try him out at some point. They had just started to pop over a few low jumps while Harley got him working on his position and distances, when they heard a few people approaching.

Two women and a young man made their way from the barn towards the arena. Neaghe was clearly recognisable with the baby strapped to her chest and the big sun hat, but the other woman and the teen were unknown to Greg and he assumed that this was the new guy. He pulled Garry up beside Harley once he finished the combination and watched the new comer as he quickly strapped his helmet on and started to open the arena gate. "Stop!" Harleys sharp shout startled the guy and Greg had to hide a grin. "When we have horses in the arena we always ask for permission from the riders before entering. Call out and when the trainer or rider allows then you can enter if it is safe." The young man looked sheepish for a moment before calling out, "permission to enter?" Harley smiled at him and responded with an affirmative.

Neaghe and the other woman had watched the exchange before returning to the animated discussion as the young man jogged over before slowing down near the horses. "Sorry, my old barn had the same rules i was just really nervous about being late." He looked over at the chatting women for a moment before rolling his eyes, "Mum would not stop talking." Turning to Harley he smiled as she dismounted and held out a hand, eagerly shaking her hand when it gripped his. "Names Soma. You are Ms Cooper?"

"Yep, and don't stress with the Ms Cooper thing. Call me Harley. We will be working together a lot if you are serious about your riding so we need to get to know each other." Soma's expression regained some of its impatience as she talked about riding and Harley frowned slightly. She liked the eagerness but she liked students who listened to her. "This is Greg, he will be your riding buddy if you stick with the jumping class." Greg gave a small wave and smile but returned to his serious expression as he watched Soma lazily greet ChaCha. "Is this my horse?" He looked over at Harley to confirm, and Greg frowned slightly at the ownership in the term. ChaCha belonged to the barn.

"Yes, this is Tchotchke, though his old stable called him ChaCha and he seems to respond well to that." She patted the gelding on the neck as she handed the reins over. "You will need to adjust the stirrups as i was riding him to warm him up, and next time try to arrive with around 30 minutes before the start of the lesson. You will be grooming and tacking him up yourself, as well as helping set up the arena for your classes. Greg here has done it all this morning but from now it will be up to you."

"Better make sure mum listens to you, as she doesn't listen to me." Fixing his stirrups quickly he vaulted onto ChaCha's back with the easy grace of a regular rider. Something that Greg noticed with a touch of envy. "Thanks for the help today bro," Soma turned to Greg and grinned. "I'll make sure i'm here extra early to help out in future."

"No problem" Greg replied, trying to smile but grimacing instead as he dealt with the growing sourness at how friendly and casual Soma was. He was not used to feeling shown up, but as Soma casually chatted with Harley, and then started riding ChaCha around the arena with an easy elegance, Greg realised that he was definitely jealous of the other guy. He could definitely ride. Even on a strange horse he had already gotten the gelding working in a nice frame and was almost lazily showing off whatever direction or pace changes Harley asked of him.

"Alright Greg, wake up Garry and lets get you both working over these cavaletti for a bit and then get back to working on the jumps." Greg rolled his eyes as Soma shot a grin in their direction. The guy was clearly full of himself. Garry did take a little urging before he settled back into a good working trot and focused on the work again. They bumped several of the poles on each pass the first few times while ChaCha elegantly stepped over them. After a few passes it improved, but again Soma seemed to naturally click with ChaCha and they were nailing the distances on the smaller jump course Harley was getting them to ride through.

Garry was doing well as always, but Greg found himself riding poorly as he focused on what the other guy was doing. They began to knock rails on jumps they had easily cleared earlier. His distances became even more erratic and Harley looked on with a little sadness as she saw his frustration building. Greg was normally a really focused rider and had seemed so relaxed earlier when it was just them. She motioned him to come into the center after she replaced the pole he had just knocked. "Soma, do the figure eight starting from C and then take the cavaletti down the long side."

Making sure the other boy was out of earshot she walked over and scratched the grey's forehead as she looked up at the frustrated young man. "Take a moment and breathe Greg." Keeping an eye out as Soma cleared a jump behind them she scratched harder as Garry pressed his ears into her hands. "You can do all of this. So take a breath and ignore what Soma is doing. Focus on your horse, and then try to relax. Garry knows what he is doing, and you don't need to prove anything. Just set him up as best as you can and then let him take you over it." She smiled up at Greg encouragingly, and patted Garry on the neck. "Try to have a little fun with it and loosen up."

Greg took a deep breath and played with Garry's mane for a moment while Harley walked off to chat to Soma about his riding. Trying not to focus on what they were saying he stretched his legs, rolled his shoulders and then patted Garry's neck before collecting his reins again. Relax. Easier to say than do, but he tried to ignore Harley and Soma as he picked up his reins and asked Garry for a nice canter as they passed C and headed towards the first jump.

Just breathe. Right.

The jump was fast approaching and he tightened the reins to try and control their takeoff and Garry slowed with a flick of his ears.

*KNOCK*

The rail thumped to the ground and he cursed as Garry cantered away, faltering slightly as he waited for Greg to direct him.

"Ask him forward!" Harley shouted from the center as they approached the next jump. Greg used his legs and the geldings pace evened out until a few strides before the jump when Greg started to tense up again. "PUSH HIM FORWARD!" Harley yelled and Greg reacted out of habit, reaching forward and pushing the gelding onwards. Garry pricked his ears and popped over the jump neatly.

"There you go. He knows his job. You don't need to hold his hand. Just set him up and get him moving into the jump."

Greg pointed them across the arena and towards the next jump in the pattern. Garry's ears pricked and when Greg felt the urge to pull back he pushed forwards and they cleared it again. "Fantastic Greg, keep pushing him forwards into the jump. YES excellent again. He can feel it when you are second guessing yourself and he falters which throws off the distances. You need to be confident. Either don't jump it and circle around and re approach, or commit and ride it like you stole it." Greg smiled at the phrase as they cleanly landed after the last jump and slowed to a halt as they approached Harley and Soma. Running his hands along Garry's neck he let the gelding stretch out and come to a halt.

"Great work. When you feel like you are starting to get frustrated guys, take a minute. Horses reflect your emotional state back at you. Even the calmest horses like these two will pick up on that and it will throw them out of whack. Some riders let their emotions take hold and it makes them feel competitive. but it can only take you so far, and its a dangerous way to ride." Harley looked at them both very seriously. "And there is a difference between having a truly difficult horse, and a horse that is just picking up on your emotional state or lack of focus. Next show, i want you guys to watch and see if you can spot the difference."

Greg looked over at Soma who tossed him an easy grin. Greg tensed up and Garry shifted underneath him again, making him force himself to relax and reach down to reassure the gelding. He definitely needed to work on that so he didn't mess with Garry during an event. Especially if he was going to be training with Soma in future. It was not going to make lessons fun if he had to share his weekend class with the other guy all the time. But maybe if he was lucky he would still get to ride after school on Tuesdays alone. At least that would be one ride he might enjoy.

"Now, i want you both to walk these two until they are cool and relaxed. If you both promise to stay at a walk you can loop around the training paddocks and Greg can give you a tour." Soma shot a wide grin at Greg as she said this, and Harley caught sight of it and frowned at him. "Just a walk though. If i find out that you went any faster, you wont be riding with us again."

Greg looked over and was pleased that Soma was looking a tad more serious, but the dude was still smiling and slouching in the saddle as they walked the horses to the arena gate. Harley opened it and let them out before turning back to set up the jumps an poles for the afternoon training's. Soma grinned over at Greg as the walked around the perimeter fence, enjoying the shade of the trees and the cool breeze instead of the hot sun they had been riding in the entire lesson. "So how long have you been riding here?"

Greg shrugged, "Since i was a kid." He hoped that would be it, but Soma seemed determined to chat. "Have you been riding Garry long?"

Greg scowled at him, "a couple of years, why?"

"Oh just curious. He's a nice horse. I got to ride him the other day and he was really fun." Soma grinned and Greg shrugged, staring ahead as he tried not to rise to the bait. Clearly Soma thought he wasn't a good enough rider. Which he had already felt today and didn't need to have it rubbed in his face.

They rode in silence for a while, looking at the barns and the few horses that had been turned out to graze in the day paddocks. Greg had begun to enjoy the easy rhythm of the walk when Soma piped up again. "So what do you do for fun around here? do you surf?"

Greg shrugged, "I don't. My old instructor does, but he has been competing in the HCL." He side-eyed Soma to see if that would catch his attention and was satisfied when the other guy perked up a tad.

"THE HCL?"

"Yep"

"Woah, so...." he looked like he was thinking hard and then frowned at Greg. "So, he's not the guy that had the accident right?"

Greg looked away, "Yea."

"Damn. He was doing really good too."

"He still is good."

"I just mean its a shame he wont be in the running anymore."

Greg scowled for real then and nudged Garry into a faster walk. "Winning isn't everything," he shot back over his shoulder as he led them back through the car park and towards the barn doors. Clearly this guy had no idea what it was like to lose a horse. Surely Soma would realise that Ryan would be way more upset about that than losing any points. Greg dismounted and led Garry in without a backwards glance and steadfastly ignored Soma while they untacked and groomed their horses. At least he stuck around and actually looked after ChaCha.

Greg was taking his time with Garry, making sure the white hair gleamed as he knew his mother wouldn't be arriving for another hour. Soma however was in a rush and after a quick brush he shot a "Next time dude," and a casual wave towards Greg and strolled out of the barn. Greg took a deep breath and rested his arms over the grey's back and laid his head against them. Garry turned his head around to peer at the human curiously for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and turning away again.

"You said it bud." Greg shifted back and stared down the barn to where he could hear people laughing. "What a dick."

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Greg + KhC Garrawi , and Soma + MRE Tchotchke

no refs used

Description

In which Greg and Soma meet.

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Greg loped down the barn aisle towards Garry's stall. As always his excitement for his jumping lessons overrode caution about getting into trouble for running around the horses. Neaghe would likely yell at him if she caught him, but he knew she was up at the house with the baby and it was just Harley and Von in the barn at the moment. Mark and Sarah had taken a trail ride out and wouldn't get back for another hour at least. Skidding to a stop in front of the grey gelding he smooched at him and grinned as his favourite horse perked up and popped his head over the door.

Garry gently bumped his nose into the offered hand as Greg gave the warmblood a scratch hello. Greg had been taking lessons at KhanCohban for nearly 6 years, and Garry had been his main lesson horse for nearly the last two of those. It was during these last few years that he had improved in leaps and bounds. In his heart he knew that was mostly due to Garry, but he had worked really hard to make sure he was worthy of riding such a nice horse. All those early mornings, long weekends had paid off. Together they had taken out a few ribbons at local shows and as such they had graduated from the group jumping class to one on one lessons with the best jumpers at the stable.

Normally that meant lessons with Ryan, who Greg idolised and saw as a role model. However, with is regular teacher away he was now under the instruction of Harley Cooper. Harley was an equally talented and well known competitor, she had been the rider that took Wren to the Olympics before the mare had retired after the tendon injury. Greg had been incredibly excited when Ryan told him who would take over his training, and he had been enjoying Harley's more fast paced and aggressive style, though at first it had been confronting after all the time with Ryan's gentle and encouraging approach. But there was no denying that he had gained more confidence and learned that sometimes you need to push the boundaries to get the best out of your horse.

"Greg!" Harley's voice rung out from the barn door as she ducked her head inside. "Tack that horse up and then come help me get the jump poles and standards set up in the outdoor." The blonde vanished from sight for a moment before popping back up. "Oh and tack up that new roan gelding too, his tack is in the trunk that arrived yesterday."

Greg frowned, and looked across the aisle at the roan gelding who stood happily munching away at what remained of his hay net. The gelding had arrived a week ago and had peaked all the students curiosity as they were always hopeful that new horses would be added to the lesson roster. The fact that the newcomer was a sporty looking gelding with the personality of an angel had stoked rumours that had led to everyone dreaming of possibly riding him. Greg had been curious about him, but the grey gelding was firmly entrenched in his heart and a new horse was exciting but not interesting enough to drag him away from his focus.

But as he tacked up Garry he felt his mind wander to why he was tacking up the gelding now, given that his jumping lesson was the only one scheduled for the rest of the morning. Maybe Harley was testing him out during the lesson. She had ridden some of the horses while teaching him before, especially when they decided to ride along the cross country trails to practice jumping outside the arena, but if that was the case then why would she want to set up the jumps in the outdoor as well? He tacked up Garry and clipped him into the ties before making his way to the tack room to unearth the new horses gear. Running his hands over the new saddle and the pristine bridle he felt a touch of envy. One day he would get his own tack just like this.

Tchotchke, or ChaCha as his feed bucket stated, was very polite as Greg gave him a quick groom to make sure he was clean before tossing the saddle pad and saddle onto him and quickly tacking him up. The roan curiously watched him and eagerly accepted the friendly pats and scratches from Greg as they got used to each other. ChaCha was a little heavier around the stomach than Garry, but he had a sweet face and was obviously well loved. Greg was certain that once he settled in and began to take part in the lessons that he would become a firm favourite. Which would be fantastic in Greg's mind as less people would be wanting to ride Garry. He would love to have more time alone with the grey to train instead of having to share him with the other students.

Quickly clipping ChaCha up as well he jogged out to the arena, just in time to help Harley carry one of the standards in through the gate. "I tacked up ChaCha for you, though i wasn't sure if you want him in jumping boots or anything as i couldn't find them in the trunk with his other gear."

Harley smiled at him, "He doesn't have any at the moment. We wont be doing anything too crazy today so he should be fine until Neaghe sorts something out for him. We are just going to set up some small jumps and cavaletti today as his new rider is only just starting training here and we want to give everyone a chance to get used to each others style." She fumbled slightly with the standard as Greg nearly dropped his end. "Easy there, if you break it you bought it."

"A new rider? I thought you were... why is in the jumping lesson with me if he is only new?" He cringed at the slight whine in his voice as he said it.

"He is new to the area, but he apparently has ridden for years. Von gave him a private lesson on Garry a week ago when he first arrived but we hadn't gotten ChaCha yet so he couldn't join in the lessons as we didn't have any other horses that were the right height and training level for him." She leaned around to shoot him a look, "No need to be jealous though. I'm sure i can manage to keep two students busy enough that they don't feel neglected."

Greg bit his lip and scowled as he adjusted his grip. He wasn't jealous, he liked meeting new people. He just didn't like the thought that some new guy was muscling in on his lessons and his favourite horse. They put the standard down and made sure it was in place before Harley walked over and put her arm around his shoulders. "Its fun to have someone that is at your level and can train with you. Its part of the reason we decided to merge the lessons once we realised you were at a similar level. This is good for you Greg. Why do you think Ryan, Cavan and I train together so much? We get to help keep each other motivated and support each other if we run into problems with a horse or our training approach." She ruffled his hair and then laughed as he scowled and automatically tried to brush it back into place. "You never know, you might even like the guy."

Liking the new guy was seeming less and less likely as the morning wore on. He was late. Greg had warmed up Garry, and Harley had even begun to lose hope and had gotten on ChaCha to warm him up in case the new rider was still coming. The roan gelding moved as nicely as he acted. Harley was all smiles and even Greg thought that he might like to try him out at some point. They had just started to pop over a few low jumps while Harley got him working on his position and distances, when they heard a few people approaching.

Two women and a young man made their way from the barn towards the arena. Neaghe was clearly recognisable with the baby strapped to her chest and the big sun hat, but the other woman and the teen were unknown to Greg and he assumed that this was the new guy. He pulled Garry up beside Harley once he finished the combination and watched the new comer as he quickly strapped his helmet on and started to open the arena gate. "Stop!" Harleys sharp shout startled the guy and Greg had to hide a grin. "When we have horses in the arena we always ask for permission from the riders before entering. Call out and when the trainer or rider allows then you can enter if it is safe." The young man looked sheepish for a moment before calling out, "permission to enter?" Harley smiled at him and responded with an affirmative.

Neaghe and the other woman had watched the exchange before returning to the animated discussion as the young man jogged over before slowing down near the horses. "Sorry, my old barn had the same rules i was just really nervous about being late." He looked over at the chatting women for a moment before rolling his eyes, "Mum would not stop talking." Turning to Harley he smiled as she dismounted and held out a hand, eagerly shaking her hand when it gripped his. "Names Soma. You are Ms Cooper?"

"Yep, and don't stress with the Ms Cooper thing. Call me Harley. We will be working together a lot if you are serious about your riding so we need to get to know each other." Soma's expression regained some of its impatience as she talked about riding and Harley frowned slightly. She liked the eagerness but she liked students who listened to her. "This is Greg, he will be your riding buddy if you stick with the jumping class." Greg gave a small wave and smile but returned to his serious expression as he watched Soma lazily greet ChaCha. "Is this my horse?" He looked over at Harley to confirm, and Greg frowned slightly at the ownership in the term. ChaCha belonged to the barn.

"Yes, this is Tchotchke, though his old stable called him ChaCha and he seems to respond well to that." She patted the gelding on the neck as she handed the reins over. "You will need to adjust the stirrups as i was riding him to warm him up, and next time try to arrive with around 30 minutes before the start of the lesson. You will be grooming and tacking him up yourself, as well as helping set up the arena for your classes. Greg here has done it all this morning but from now it will be up to you."

"Better make sure mum listens to you, as she doesn't listen to me." Fixing his stirrups quickly he vaulted onto ChaCha's back with the easy grace of a regular rider. Something that Greg noticed with a touch of envy. "Thanks for the help today bro," Soma turned to Greg and grinned. "I'll make sure i'm here extra early to help out in future."

"No problem" Greg replied, trying to smile but grimacing instead as he dealt with the growing sourness at how friendly and casual Soma was. He was not used to feeling shown up, but as Soma casually chatted with Harley, and then started riding ChaCha around the arena with an easy elegance, Greg realised that he was definitely jealous of the other guy. He could definitely ride. Even on a strange horse he had already gotten the gelding working in a nice frame and was almost lazily showing off whatever direction or pace changes Harley asked of him.

"Alright Greg, wake up Garry and lets get you both working over these cavaletti for a bit and then get back to working on the jumps." Greg rolled his eyes as Soma shot a grin in their direction. The guy was clearly full of himself. Garry did take a little urging before he settled back into a good working trot and focused on the work again. They bumped several of the poles on each pass the first few times while ChaCha elegantly stepped over them. After a few passes it improved, but again Soma seemed to naturally click with ChaCha and they were nailing the distances on the smaller jump course Harley was getting them to ride through.

Garry was doing well as always, but Greg found himself riding poorly as he focused on what the other guy was doing. They began to knock rails on jumps they had easily cleared earlier. His distances became even more erratic and Harley looked on with a little sadness as she saw his frustration building. Greg was normally a really focused rider and had seemed so relaxed earlier when it was just them. She motioned him to come into the center after she replaced the pole he had just knocked. "Soma, do the figure eight starting from C and then take the cavaletti down the long side."

Making sure the other boy was out of earshot she walked over and scratched the grey's forehead as she looked up at the frustrated young man. "Take a moment and breathe Greg." Keeping an eye out as Soma cleared a jump behind them she scratched harder as Garry pressed his ears into her hands. "You can do all of this. So take a breath and ignore what Soma is doing. Focus on your horse, and then try to relax. Garry knows what he is doing, and you don't need to prove anything. Just set him up as best as you can and then let him take you over it." She smiled up at Greg encouragingly, and patted Garry on the neck. "Try to have a little fun with it and loosen up."

Greg took a deep breath and played with Garry's mane for a moment while Harley walked off to chat to Soma about his riding. Trying not to focus on what they were saying he stretched his legs, rolled his shoulders and then patted Garry's neck before collecting his reins again. Relax. Easier to say than do, but he tried to ignore Harley and Soma as he picked up his reins and asked Garry for a nice canter as they passed C and headed towards the first jump.

Just breathe. Right.

The jump was fast approaching and he tightened the reins to try and control their takeoff and Garry slowed with a flick of his ears.

*KNOCK*

The rail thumped to the ground and he cursed as Garry cantered away, faltering slightly as he waited for Greg to direct him.

"Ask him forward!" Harley shouted from the center as they approached the next jump. Greg used his legs and the geldings pace evened out until a few strides before the jump when Greg started to tense up again. "PUSH HIM FORWARD!" Harley yelled and Greg reacted out of habit, reaching forward and pushing the gelding onwards. Garry pricked his ears and popped over the jump neatly.

"There you go. He knows his job. You don't need to hold his hand. Just set him up and get him moving into the jump."

Greg pointed them across the arena and towards the next jump in the pattern. Garry's ears pricked and when Greg felt the urge to pull back he pushed forwards and they cleared it again. "Fantastic Greg, keep pushing him forwards into the jump. YES excellent again. He can feel it when you are second guessing yourself and he falters which throws off the distances. You need to be confident. Either don't jump it and circle around and re approach, or commit and ride it like you stole it." Greg smiled at the phrase as they cleanly landed after the last jump and slowed to a halt as they approached Harley and Soma. Running his hands along Garry's neck he let the gelding stretch out and come to a halt.

"Great work. When you feel like you are starting to get frustrated guys, take a minute. Horses reflect your emotional state back at you. Even the calmest horses like these two will pick up on that and it will throw them out of whack. Some riders let their emotions take hold and it makes them feel competitive. but it can only take you so far, and its a dangerous way to ride." Harley looked at them both very seriously. "And there is a difference between having a truly difficult horse, and a horse that is just picking up on your emotional state or lack of focus. Next show, i want you guys to watch and see if you can spot the difference."

Greg looked over at Soma who tossed him an easy grin. Greg tensed up and Garry shifted underneath him again, making him force himself to relax and reach down to reassure the gelding. He definitely needed to work on that so he didn't mess with Garry during an event. Especially if he was going to be training with Soma in future. It was not going to make lessons fun if he had to share his weekend class with the other guy all the time. But maybe if he was lucky he would still get to ride after school on Tuesdays alone. At least that would be one ride he might enjoy.

"Now, i want you both to walk these two until they are cool and relaxed. If you both promise to stay at a walk you can loop around the training paddocks and Greg can give you a tour." Soma shot a wide grin at Greg as she said this, and Harley caught sight of it and frowned at him. "Just a walk though. If i find out that you went any faster, you wont be riding with us again."

Greg looked over and was pleased that Soma was looking a tad more serious, but the dude was still smiling and slouching in the saddle as they walked the horses to the arena gate. Harley opened it and let them out before turning back to set up the jumps an poles for the afternoon training's. Soma grinned over at Greg as the walked around the perimeter fence, enjoying the shade of the trees and the cool breeze instead of the hot sun they had been riding in the entire lesson. "So how long have you been riding here?"

Greg shrugged, "Since i was a kid." He hoped that would be it, but Soma seemed determined to chat. "Have you been riding Garry long?"

Greg scowled at him, "a couple of years, why?"

"Oh just curious. He's a nice horse. I got to ride him the other day and he was really fun." Soma grinned and Greg shrugged, staring ahead as he tried not to rise to the bait. Clearly Soma thought he wasn't a good enough rider. Which he had already felt today and didn't need to have it rubbed in his face.

They rode in silence for a while, looking at the barns and the few horses that had been turned out to graze in the day paddocks. Greg had begun to enjoy the easy rhythm of the walk when Soma piped up again. "So what do you do for fun around here? do you surf?"

Greg shrugged, "I don't. My old instructor does, but he has been competing in the HCL." He side-eyed Soma to see if that would catch his attention and was satisfied when the other guy perked up a tad.

"THE HCL?"

"Yep"

"Woah, so...." he looked like he was thinking hard and then frowned at Greg. "So, he's not the guy that had the accident right?"

Greg looked away, "Yea."

"Damn. He was doing really good too."

"He still is good."

"I just mean its a shame he wont be in the running anymore."

Greg scowled for real then and nudged Garry into a faster walk. "Winning isn't everything," he shot back over his shoulder as he led them back through the car park and towards the barn doors. Clearly this guy had no idea what it was like to lose a horse. Surely Soma would realise that Ryan would be way more upset about that than losing any points. Greg dismounted and led Garry in without a backwards glance and steadfastly ignored Soma while they untacked and groomed their horses. At least he stuck around and actually looked after ChaCha.

Greg was taking his time with Garry, making sure the white hair gleamed as he knew his mother wouldn't be arriving for another hour. Soma however was in a rush and after a quick brush he shot a "Next time dude," and a casual wave towards Greg and strolled out of the barn. Greg took a deep breath and rested his arms over the grey's back and laid his head against them. Garry turned his head around to peer at the human curiously for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and turning away again.

"You said it bud." Greg shifted back and stared down the barn to where he could hear people laughing. "What a dick."

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Greg + KhC Garrawi , and Soma + MRE Tchotchke

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