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“Annnnnd woaaah” Erica cooed as she brought Vilya to a halt. She couldn’t believe it. They had just finished phase 2 of The White December. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she would ever be here. Breathing hard Erica dismounted her mare, immediately beginning to cool her off and care for her after the punishing leg of the ride. While the young mare had preformed way above Erica’s expectations there were still signs that the mare was tired. “That was so well done my sweet, lets get you comfortable.”

A few moments later Erica found herself walking Vilya around the grounds. Watching the other pair finish, letting her mare decompress. It was a cold day, yet Erica was still warm from their ride.

“Excuse me!” Erica heard from behind her. She turned to see a news crew looking at her. “Would you care to answer some questions for us?”

Erica blinked in surprise. “Sure! No problem! Let me just send a quick text and we can start!” Quickly Erica looked down at her phone, frantically sending a message to Justin, her parents and brother, Flora, Eliziran, and Arisa. I think I’m about to be interviewed right now! Turn onto EQTN if you want to watch!

With a satisfied nod Erica led Vilya over to the crew and shyly smiled “Okay ready!”

“Alright! Hi Erica, so how are you feeling after that leg of the ride” the reporter said. With a smile Erica relaxed and settled into the interview.

“Feeling good, tired though! I’ll be honest I’ve already come so much farther than I was expecting. Last time I tried to complete the ride I admit I didn’t even start. So I’m really proud of myself so far! I’m really proud of this mare behind me as well, she did so much better than I could have ever hoped for being a young horse. Isn’t that right Vilya!” Erica said as she turned to give the Obertaurer mare a pat. Vilya however was not in the mood to play to a camera, giving a disgruntled but accepting mare stare to the camera.

“That’s great! Now tell us, what factors decided the order of the horses for each phase?”

“Oh great question! I thought really hard about the order I’d be riding them in! I knew that I wanted to start strong and build confidence as the ride continued. I had wondered whether I wanted to ride Elentiya or Vilya since I knew that we would be going over a lot of flat farmlands. While I was tempted to ride Vilya since she is the youngest on my team but ultimately decided that I wanted to ride and Obertaurer through Obertauern. I also knew that I needed get off to a good start or else I may get into my head and turn around from the nerves. Elentiya was perfect for me as she is a solid horse, and to be honest not many can tell her what to do. She wouldn’t have turned around even if I wanted to! It ended up working out since Vilya rocked phase 2!”

“Excellent! And your third horse?

“Oh I knew from the start I wanted to end with Ricky, he’s admittedly my heart horse. I needed him to be a goal that I was going to work towards. Encouragement for finishing the ride and being able to ride him to the finish.”

“How sweet!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hurry up Flora it’s on now!” Arisa yelled. They had just received the text that Erica was being interviewed. They weren’t going to miss it for the world.

“Hold on, I’m coming!” Flora said as she headed to the couch, a bowl of popcorn in hand. She plopped down beside Eliziran who was working on the TV, trying to stream the interview from her phone. Suddenly Erica’s nervous face lit up the screen, a bashful smile on her face.

“There she is! And Vilya is looking great!” remarked Arisa as she reached for Flora’s popcorn bowl.

“Hey hands off! If you wanted some you should have gotten some!” Flora cried pulling away from the thief’s hands.

“Guys shut up! I can’t hear” Eliziran snapped, raising the volume and turning her attention to Erica on the TV.

“How sweet! Now tell us, what strength did each horse bring to the varying terrains?”

“Well I mentioned before that Elentiya is very headstrong and confident. I definitely needed that at the start when I knew I wouldn’t be. Elentiya is also a very comfortable ride and on the long stretches of flat-ish farmland I was very grateful! It made it a lot easier for me to stay relaxed in the beginning. Vilya on the other hand is one of the bravest and most sensible horses I’ve had the pleasure to ride. I knew what she lacked in experience she would make up for in her attitude. Looking back I think she would have been bored riding in phase 1, the hilly trail kept her focused and engaged. As for Ricky, that stallion has endless energy. Something I know I will be sorely lacking by the time we are finishing the last leg. He’s been my partner for years so I feel like I’ll be able to relax and let him take over a little bit more as I know I’ll be exhausted. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to see the rare tired Ricky by the end of this… some say it doesn’t exist” Erica finished with a wink. The interviewer and her let out a chuckle.

“Oh my god, I thought she’d be a nervous wreck but is she actually cracking jokes with them?” Eliziran commented surprised.

“I know! I admit I’m not convinced that’s our Erica up there” Flora chuckled. “Maybe she paid a body double.”

“I’m thinking aliens” Arisa chipped in before the three turned their attention back to the screen.

“You seem to know your horses well! How did they prepare for the harsh conditions and long rides?”

“So first of all, we live in Canda. Our winter can get pretty bad so when we had an iffy day I made sure to bring the team out and ride around on our trails. I also took a few opportunities to get them off property to do some events. Vilya and I did a ride in nearby Algonquin and then I brought Elentiya to the Zlesdin event in Italy. Both in preparation for this ride. Vilya was also bred specifically to be my next major endurance mount so she took to the training really well. Ricky on the other hand was a wild caught Obertaurer. I had faith that for the most part he would be fine in the harsh conditions. For the most part it was getting him fit and back into top shape after the break he had.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justin had received the text from Erica however he really didn’t need it. He had already been watching the stream, hoping to see his girlfriend reach the end of phase 2. He had been keeping a close eye on her travels, making sure she was okay and continuing the ride. To be honest whenever he wasn’t watching the stream or thinking about her location, he was working with Mox at the variety of stables that graciously hosted and trained him while Erica was away. He had learnt so much already and was eager to show Erica just how far Mox and him had come in such a short time. He leaned against his Obertaurer mare as he focused on his girlfriend who had appeared on his phone screen.

“Well we’re almost out of time Erica but we have one last question. What experiences did you make so far and are you confident for the rest of the trail or are you pushing their limits?”

“So I admit, I’m a really shy person. With so many people here, I really wanted to push myself and meet new people. It was one of the main reasons I chickened out my first time trying the ride. I got really intimidated by all the people and the big names. However, I’ve grown up a lot over the years, and even though I still have moments where my shyness creeps back in I’ve managed to talk with people and ride along side people as well. I’m really proud of that! The physical side of this ride is incredibly challenging, and I definitely feel myself being pushed. Let’s just say I am excited for the long train ride and ferry ride to rest up a bit. I’m confident that I will give it my best shot!”

Justin chuckled to himself,

“I’m glad she’s doing okay”

_______________________

Holy story.... god I just kept writing and writing for this one. I feel like the story is better than the image but that is fine! Here is my picture for Assignment 2 for The White Decemeber!

Previous:Doubts
Next : A Night of Rest

Description

“Annnnnd woaaah” Erica cooed as she brought Vilya to a halt. She couldn’t believe it. They had just finished phase 2 of The White December. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she would ever be here. Breathing hard Erica dismounted her mare, immediately beginning to cool her off and care for her after the punishing leg of the ride. While the young mare had preformed way above Erica’s expectations there were still signs that the mare was tired. “That was so well done my sweet, lets get you comfortable.”

A few moments later Erica found herself walking Vilya around the grounds. Watching the other pair finish, letting her mare decompress. It was a cold day, yet Erica was still warm from their ride.

“Excuse me!” Erica heard from behind her. She turned to see a news crew looking at her. “Would you care to answer some questions for us?”

Erica blinked in surprise. “Sure! No problem! Let me just send a quick text and we can start!” Quickly Erica looked down at her phone, frantically sending a message to Justin, her parents and brother, Flora, Eliziran, and Arisa. I think I’m about to be interviewed right now! Turn onto EQTN if you want to watch!

With a satisfied nod Erica led Vilya over to the crew and shyly smiled “Okay ready!”

“Alright! Hi Erica, so how are you feeling after that leg of the ride” the reporter said. With a smile Erica relaxed and settled into the interview.

“Feeling good, tired though! I’ll be honest I’ve already come so much farther than I was expecting. Last time I tried to complete the ride I admit I didn’t even start. So I’m really proud of myself so far! I’m really proud of this mare behind me as well, she did so much better than I could have ever hoped for being a young horse. Isn’t that right Vilya!” Erica said as she turned to give the Obertaurer mare a pat. Vilya however was not in the mood to play to a camera, giving a disgruntled but accepting mare stare to the camera.

“That’s great! Now tell us, what factors decided the order of the horses for each phase?”

“Oh great question! I thought really hard about the order I’d be riding them in! I knew that I wanted to start strong and build confidence as the ride continued. I had wondered whether I wanted to ride Elentiya or Vilya since I knew that we would be going over a lot of flat farmlands. While I was tempted to ride Vilya since she is the youngest on my team but ultimately decided that I wanted to ride and Obertaurer through Obertauern. I also knew that I needed get off to a good start or else I may get into my head and turn around from the nerves. Elentiya was perfect for me as she is a solid horse, and to be honest not many can tell her what to do. She wouldn’t have turned around even if I wanted to! It ended up working out since Vilya rocked phase 2!”

“Excellent! And your third horse?

“Oh I knew from the start I wanted to end with Ricky, he’s admittedly my heart horse. I needed him to be a goal that I was going to work towards. Encouragement for finishing the ride and being able to ride him to the finish.”

“How sweet!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hurry up Flora it’s on now!” Arisa yelled. They had just received the text that Erica was being interviewed. They weren’t going to miss it for the world.

“Hold on, I’m coming!” Flora said as she headed to the couch, a bowl of popcorn in hand. She plopped down beside Eliziran who was working on the TV, trying to stream the interview from her phone. Suddenly Erica’s nervous face lit up the screen, a bashful smile on her face.

“There she is! And Vilya is looking great!” remarked Arisa as she reached for Flora’s popcorn bowl.

“Hey hands off! If you wanted some you should have gotten some!” Flora cried pulling away from the thief’s hands.

“Guys shut up! I can’t hear” Eliziran snapped, raising the volume and turning her attention to Erica on the TV.

“How sweet! Now tell us, what strength did each horse bring to the varying terrains?”

“Well I mentioned before that Elentiya is very headstrong and confident. I definitely needed that at the start when I knew I wouldn’t be. Elentiya is also a very comfortable ride and on the long stretches of flat-ish farmland I was very grateful! It made it a lot easier for me to stay relaxed in the beginning. Vilya on the other hand is one of the bravest and most sensible horses I’ve had the pleasure to ride. I knew what she lacked in experience she would make up for in her attitude. Looking back I think she would have been bored riding in phase 1, the hilly trail kept her focused and engaged. As for Ricky, that stallion has endless energy. Something I know I will be sorely lacking by the time we are finishing the last leg. He’s been my partner for years so I feel like I’ll be able to relax and let him take over a little bit more as I know I’ll be exhausted. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to see the rare tired Ricky by the end of this… some say it doesn’t exist” Erica finished with a wink. The interviewer and her let out a chuckle.

“Oh my god, I thought she’d be a nervous wreck but is she actually cracking jokes with them?” Eliziran commented surprised.

“I know! I admit I’m not convinced that’s our Erica up there” Flora chuckled. “Maybe she paid a body double.”

“I’m thinking aliens” Arisa chipped in before the three turned their attention back to the screen.

“You seem to know your horses well! How did they prepare for the harsh conditions and long rides?”

“So first of all, we live in Canda. Our winter can get pretty bad so when we had an iffy day I made sure to bring the team out and ride around on our trails. I also took a few opportunities to get them off property to do some events. Vilya and I did a ride in nearby Algonquin and then I brought Elentiya to the Zlesdin event in Italy. Both in preparation for this ride. Vilya was also bred specifically to be my next major endurance mount so she took to the training really well. Ricky on the other hand was a wild caught Obertaurer. I had faith that for the most part he would be fine in the harsh conditions. For the most part it was getting him fit and back into top shape after the break he had.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justin had received the text from Erica however he really didn’t need it. He had already been watching the stream, hoping to see his girlfriend reach the end of phase 2. He had been keeping a close eye on her travels, making sure she was okay and continuing the ride. To be honest whenever he wasn’t watching the stream or thinking about her location, he was working with Mox at the variety of stables that graciously hosted and trained him while Erica was away. He had learnt so much already and was eager to show Erica just how far Mox and him had come in such a short time. He leaned against his Obertaurer mare as he focused on his girlfriend who had appeared on his phone screen.

“Well we’re almost out of time Erica but we have one last question. What experiences did you make so far and are you confident for the rest of the trail or are you pushing their limits?”

“So I admit, I’m a really shy person. With so many people here, I really wanted to push myself and meet new people. It was one of the main reasons I chickened out my first time trying the ride. I got really intimidated by all the people and the big names. However, I’ve grown up a lot over the years, and even though I still have moments where my shyness creeps back in I’ve managed to talk with people and ride along side people as well. I’m really proud of that! The physical side of this ride is incredibly challenging, and I definitely feel myself being pushed. Let’s just say I am excited for the long train ride and ferry ride to rest up a bit. I’m confident that I will give it my best shot!”

Justin chuckled to himself,

“I’m glad she’s doing okay”

_______________________

Holy story.... god I just kept writing and writing for this one. I feel like the story is better than the image but that is fine! Here is my picture for Assignment 2 for The White Decemeber!

Previous:Doubts
Next : A Night of Rest