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Apparently I post Thursdays/Fridays now? Anywho, enjoy!

Previously:

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

Season: 11
APRIL II
Emma cocked her head to the side and watched the colt breeze across the training track. Alex was nearby aboard Aztec, the pair as bright and beautiful as ever with their matching blonde hair, but both looked beyond bored and had long-since lost interest in the morning trainings. Emma just rolled her eyes at her prodige.
Siward was the last one out that morning and it was nearing Noon. The colt and his rider were both covered in sweat, but Siward’s time didn’t slow. He was determined, that one. He had improved significantly, too, since they had first acquired him. He would never be an Aztec, of course, but he might just hold his own in the months to come if Mic played it right.
Which was another thing Emma was nervous about. Siward had originally been planned for Cyrus, but Mic’s onboarding changed all that--and more. Siward was, in fact, set to ship out to Churchill Downs the following week to join the two BCC strings in active racing. Truth be told, Emma was a touch sad to see him go.
“Hey, boss?” Alex called over.
Emma turned and quirked a brow.
“I need to tend to the Warmbloods. Scott and I are moving them to the new location next month and some of the younger ones are still trailer shy.” The young blonde nudged Aztec closer to Emma, who backed up slightly despite the fact that Aztec was one of the tamest in the barn. “Want to take Aztec for a spin?”
“Uh, no thanks,” Emma said uneasily. “I train the horses. I don’t ride them.”
Alex scoffed. “You can’t be serious.”
But she was. And Alex, staring her down, suddenly frowned as she thought back to the many, many days over the years where they worked side by side.
Emma didn’t ride.
“Wait, how did I not know this?”
Emma just shrugged and turned back to watch Siward sail past the finish line marker. She clicked her stopwatch and recorded the breeze on her chart. The creak of a saddle and a gentle thud shortly thereafter told Emma that Alex had dismounted.
Suddenly, the other woman was right next to her, nudging her shoulder to get her attention. “You seriously don’t ride? Ever?”
“Not anymore,” Emma clipped back.
“Why?”
“Not important.”
Alex scoffed. “You’re a Thoroughbred trainer who doesn’t ride! That’s hella important!”
She nudged Aztec’s reins toward Emma, who shied away with a curl of her nose. “No, seriously, do I have to go get old Natasha? Because I will.”
“I. Don’t. Ride.”
“You’re. Crazy.”
A snarl was Emma’s only response.
“Fine,” Alex finally said, putting her hands up in defeat. “I won’t push it. But you’ll at least watch Aztec for me, yeah? Gotta go.”
The younger woman didn’t even give Emma a chance to rebuff her; she just dropped Aztec’s reins in front of Emma and walked off, ponytail swaying slightly in the light breeze.
Aztec, for what it was worth, just stood in place with a hind hoof cocked, eyes half-lidded. Emma stared at him uncertainly. For one, she knew this horse backwards and forwards--she had raised him from a tiny baby, there for his first steps, his first gallop, his first breeze under tack. That being said, that little voice in the back of her mind was whispering at her.
Get on.
She reached for the reins and stroked the leather thoughtfully, fretfully.
There was no tragic backstory to tell; no horrible fall, or bad experience that made her hesitant to ride. She just… didn’t ride. She much preferred the solidity of the ground beneath her feet. It had been nearly a decade since she had last sat a saddle.
Aztec whuffled gently, already half-asleep despite the tight girth and the bit resting against his tongue. He was such a well-mannered horse, truly.
Maybe…
Just once…?
Emma tossed her curls out of her eyes and blew out a breath as she tightened her grip on the reins and turned to face the track. She let out a sharp whistle, making Aztec jerk slightly, signaling the exercise rider to bring Siward in. Once the golden colt was slowed to a walk, Emma turned and started trudging her way back to the barn, Aztec in tow.
Maybe next time.
***
Alex slid into the lithe little Kia she had purchased for herself a couple years ago. The farm trucks were good for zipping around the gravely back-roads in between the farms, but her trusty Kia was much better for the highways of Louisville. She gripped the wheel for a moment, breathing deeply as the A/C blasted her in the face, cooling her down. She swallowed a few times, choking back a bit too much saliva, before she felt confident enough in her ability to drive to start the car.
The Warmbloods had just been an excuse--and a poor one at that. Lia and Mira thought she was headed to the new barn across the creek to check on the farm builds. Emma thought she was busy working with the foals. Scott thought she was going to the bank.
(She would have to remember to go to the bank.)
It took her approximately twenty minutes to maneuver her way through town, mostly due to lunch traffic. She pulled up in front of the nondescript office building with little trouble, however, and was right on time for her appointment as she strolled into the waiting room.
It smelled like a hospital but looked like a spa, with gentle music playing and a lot of cushy chairs and realistic-looking fake plants. The receptionist smiled at her through the greeting window and nudged the sign-in sheet a bit closer. Alex signed her name, hands only shaking a bit, before accepting the new patient forms and going to find a spot to sit.
A gruesome twenty minute wait had her jiggling her knee unhappily, but finally, the door opened and a nurse in bright blue scrubs the color of the summer sky beckoned her in.
She felt like she was going to throw up. (Honestly, with how things had been going as of late, that was entirely possible.)
Her blood pressure and temperature were taken with swift efficiency, her medical history reviewed, and her medications list recorded. Then the needles and the tubes were brought out and Alex gritted her teeth through having her blood drawn. All in the name of science, right?
An eternity later, the doctor finally walked in. She was a fairly young woman in her late thirties, with beautiful brown hair and a kind, smiling face.
“Well, Miss Arkon, I believe congratulations are in order. You were correct.”
The world went a little hazy. Alex swallowed repeatedly, head spinning, hands turning clammy. “I-I think.. I think I need to lie down.”
“Oh gosh,” the doctor murmured with concern. She reached out and grasped Alex’s shoulders to gently ease her down onto the medical bench. “Easy, easy now. We’ll get you some juice.”
She turned as if to go do just that but Alex reached up and grabbed the doctor’s elbow, clutching it desperately. “You’re serious?”
The doctor smiled crookedly. “As a heart attack. You, my dear, are seven weeks pregnant.”

Shown:
Name: Siward
Barn name: Ward
Gender: Colt
Age: 4
Breed: Thoroughbred
Height: 15.3hh
Color: Buckskin
Genotype: Ee/Aa/nCr
Markings: Blaze with snip, 4 socks
Build: n/a
Temperament: "Ward is a sweet colt. Never poorly behaved and surprisingly uninterested in other horses for a colt. He is a total teddy bear and can be a bit daunted by new situations, however he is very playful and is very happy racing his paddock mates around so we don't predict it will be a problem for a career in racing. He will just need a little more work to get him used to the chaos of the track at first. In addition to his racing potential, his sire is also an excellent Dressage mount and we can see this young boy having potential in that direction as well." ~Sealle
Discipline: Flat racing
Bloodlines: KhC Seyton x KhC Transcendent , Hussonet

Art, Characters, and Story (C) me

Next on:

Description

Apparently I post Thursdays/Fridays now? Anywho, enjoy!

Previously:

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

Season: 11
APRIL II
Emma cocked her head to the side and watched the colt breeze across the training track. Alex was nearby aboard Aztec, the pair as bright and beautiful as ever with their matching blonde hair, but both looked beyond bored and had long-since lost interest in the morning trainings. Emma just rolled her eyes at her prodige.
Siward was the last one out that morning and it was nearing Noon. The colt and his rider were both covered in sweat, but Siward’s time didn’t slow. He was determined, that one. He had improved significantly, too, since they had first acquired him. He would never be an Aztec, of course, but he might just hold his own in the months to come if Mic played it right.
Which was another thing Emma was nervous about. Siward had originally been planned for Cyrus, but Mic’s onboarding changed all that--and more. Siward was, in fact, set to ship out to Churchill Downs the following week to join the two BCC strings in active racing. Truth be told, Emma was a touch sad to see him go.
“Hey, boss?” Alex called over.
Emma turned and quirked a brow.
“I need to tend to the Warmbloods. Scott and I are moving them to the new location next month and some of the younger ones are still trailer shy.” The young blonde nudged Aztec closer to Emma, who backed up slightly despite the fact that Aztec was one of the tamest in the barn. “Want to take Aztec for a spin?”
“Uh, no thanks,” Emma said uneasily. “I train the horses. I don’t ride them.”
Alex scoffed. “You can’t be serious.”
But she was. And Alex, staring her down, suddenly frowned as she thought back to the many, many days over the years where they worked side by side.
Emma didn’t ride.
“Wait, how did I not know this?”
Emma just shrugged and turned back to watch Siward sail past the finish line marker. She clicked her stopwatch and recorded the breeze on her chart. The creak of a saddle and a gentle thud shortly thereafter told Emma that Alex had dismounted.
Suddenly, the other woman was right next to her, nudging her shoulder to get her attention. “You seriously don’t ride? Ever?”
“Not anymore,” Emma clipped back.
“Why?”
“Not important.”
Alex scoffed. “You’re a Thoroughbred trainer who doesn’t ride! That’s hella important!”
She nudged Aztec’s reins toward Emma, who shied away with a curl of her nose. “No, seriously, do I have to go get old Natasha? Because I will.”
“I. Don’t. Ride.”
“You’re. Crazy.”
A snarl was Emma’s only response.
“Fine,” Alex finally said, putting her hands up in defeat. “I won’t push it. But you’ll at least watch Aztec for me, yeah? Gotta go.”
The younger woman didn’t even give Emma a chance to rebuff her; she just dropped Aztec’s reins in front of Emma and walked off, ponytail swaying slightly in the light breeze.
Aztec, for what it was worth, just stood in place with a hind hoof cocked, eyes half-lidded. Emma stared at him uncertainly. For one, she knew this horse backwards and forwards--she had raised him from a tiny baby, there for his first steps, his first gallop, his first breeze under tack. That being said, that little voice in the back of her mind was whispering at her.
Get on.
She reached for the reins and stroked the leather thoughtfully, fretfully.
There was no tragic backstory to tell; no horrible fall, or bad experience that made her hesitant to ride. She just… didn’t ride. She much preferred the solidity of the ground beneath her feet. It had been nearly a decade since she had last sat a saddle.
Aztec whuffled gently, already half-asleep despite the tight girth and the bit resting against his tongue. He was such a well-mannered horse, truly.
Maybe…
Just once…?
Emma tossed her curls out of her eyes and blew out a breath as she tightened her grip on the reins and turned to face the track. She let out a sharp whistle, making Aztec jerk slightly, signaling the exercise rider to bring Siward in. Once the golden colt was slowed to a walk, Emma turned and started trudging her way back to the barn, Aztec in tow.
Maybe next time.
***
Alex slid into the lithe little Kia she had purchased for herself a couple years ago. The farm trucks were good for zipping around the gravely back-roads in between the farms, but her trusty Kia was much better for the highways of Louisville. She gripped the wheel for a moment, breathing deeply as the A/C blasted her in the face, cooling her down. She swallowed a few times, choking back a bit too much saliva, before she felt confident enough in her ability to drive to start the car.
The Warmbloods had just been an excuse--and a poor one at that. Lia and Mira thought she was headed to the new barn across the creek to check on the farm builds. Emma thought she was busy working with the foals. Scott thought she was going to the bank.
(She would have to remember to go to the bank.)
It took her approximately twenty minutes to maneuver her way through town, mostly due to lunch traffic. She pulled up in front of the nondescript office building with little trouble, however, and was right on time for her appointment as she strolled into the waiting room.
It smelled like a hospital but looked like a spa, with gentle music playing and a lot of cushy chairs and realistic-looking fake plants. The receptionist smiled at her through the greeting window and nudged the sign-in sheet a bit closer. Alex signed her name, hands only shaking a bit, before accepting the new patient forms and going to find a spot to sit.
A gruesome twenty minute wait had her jiggling her knee unhappily, but finally, the door opened and a nurse in bright blue scrubs the color of the summer sky beckoned her in.
She felt like she was going to throw up. (Honestly, with how things had been going as of late, that was entirely possible.)
Her blood pressure and temperature were taken with swift efficiency, her medical history reviewed, and her medications list recorded. Then the needles and the tubes were brought out and Alex gritted her teeth through having her blood drawn. All in the name of science, right?
An eternity later, the doctor finally walked in. She was a fairly young woman in her late thirties, with beautiful brown hair and a kind, smiling face.
“Well, Miss Arkon, I believe congratulations are in order. You were correct.”
The world went a little hazy. Alex swallowed repeatedly, head spinning, hands turning clammy. “I-I think.. I think I need to lie down.”
“Oh gosh,” the doctor murmured with concern. She reached out and grasped Alex’s shoulders to gently ease her down onto the medical bench. “Easy, easy now. We’ll get you some juice.”
She turned as if to go do just that but Alex reached up and grabbed the doctor’s elbow, clutching it desperately. “You’re serious?”
The doctor smiled crookedly. “As a heart attack. You, my dear, are seven weeks pregnant.”

Shown:
Name: Siward
Barn name: Ward
Gender: Colt
Age: 4
Breed: Thoroughbred
Height: 15.3hh
Color: Buckskin
Genotype: Ee/Aa/nCr
Markings: Blaze with snip, 4 socks
Build: n/a
Temperament: "Ward is a sweet colt. Never poorly behaved and surprisingly uninterested in other horses for a colt. He is a total teddy bear and can be a bit daunted by new situations, however he is very playful and is very happy racing his paddock mates around so we don't predict it will be a problem for a career in racing. He will just need a little more work to get him used to the chaos of the track at first. In addition to his racing potential, his sire is also an excellent Dressage mount and we can see this young boy having potential in that direction as well." ~Sealle
Discipline: Flat racing
Bloodlines: KhC Seyton x KhC Transcendent , Hussonet

Art, Characters, and Story (C) me

Next on: