spring is in the air//chasing

[blitz]

Nothing could compare to the relief that welled inside of Adriana's chest as she drove the familiar road to The Hills. Her hands glided effortlessly along the steering wheel as she weaved her car through the turns, flashes of brilliant sunshine blinding her momentarily through the canopy of trees that were beginning to bud. Today her pager remained silenced, having been granted a day off to spend it at the stables, she was up and ready this morning. She had to admit, she was feeling rather drained lately, exhausted even. Last night she hadn't slept the greatest, expecting her pager to go off at any moment. Farmers were having their planned babies for the spring, and she was constantly being called out. Luckily for her, the practice hired another veterinarian to lighten her load at least for now. They were reluctant to let someone else out on the field, since Adriana had gained their trust and a reputation as a young and knowledgeable veterinarian in the area now. Pulling up to the picturesque stables made her sigh softly, rubbing her temple as she eased the headache from her head. Maybe all she needed was some Bear time, and Chasing time. That sounded nice. She was tempted to go up to the house and check if he was there, but she was sure he was already out and about by now.

Climbing out of her vehicle, she shut the door softly and made her way to the stables. Her soft chestnut hair framed her delicate face, warm hazel eyes sweeping over the interior of the aisle. She sauntered down it, her boots clicking softly against the flooring. She stopped momentarily to visit her favorites and croon to them softly, giving them a good pat before moving on. A familiar dark head peered out over a stall down the aisle, and her slender lips curved in to a vibrant smile. The charcoal head turned to face her, the familiar bold blaze striking in contrast on his face. "Good morning boy," she murmured as the gelding eagerly thrust his nose against her chest, snuffling at her warm neck and cheek. Quietly haltering him, she made sure he had finished his breakfast before removing him out of his stall. Cross tieing him, she wasted no time in removing his light blanket that was soon going to be unnecessary with the warmer weather. His ebony coat gleamed under the lighting, standing calmly as Adriana moved busily around him. Folding the blanket neatly and hanging it over the blanket rack outside his stall door, she diligently began to groom him, making his coat shiny and spotless. Double checking his hooves, she made sure he wasn't stiff or warm in any joints. She was extra careful these days, especially since he was getting up there in age a little bit she worried constantly over his health. Other vets would say he's as fit as any fifteen year old they've seen, and he looked the part, as well. Adriana had taken it upon herself to be his nutritionist, and so far the gelding had hardly ever been lame in his life with her.

Finishing up with her tack, Adriana led him out to the outdoor ring, slightly disappointed to not see Chasing yet. She pursed her lips, and tucked her thick hair up under her helmet before fastening it. Bear seemed to have a little extra pep to his step this morning, as he usually did when the weather was becoming more pleasant. Walking out in to the sunshine, Adriana took in a deep breath of the fresh air. It was dry enough and warm enough now to work outside, and she was ready to take full advantage of it. She wasn't much of a fan of riding in the indoor, although it was very nice during the winter months. Adriana wore a simple pair of breeches with chocolate half chaps, as well as a warmer long sleeved sweater that fit around her curves, but wasn't vacuum sealed to her body. For her fairly short 5'4" stature, she looked a little odd next to the nearly seventeen hand gelding. But the challenge was nothing to her anymore, and the pair worked extremely well together. Rolling down her stirrups she led Bear to the mounting block, swinging in to the saddle gracefully, allowing the gelding to walk a few laps around the ring while she slipped in to thought.

She had sort of been pre-warned by some of the other people in the barn that Claire had come back to town. Adriana hadn't really been told much by Chasing about her, but she knew deep down they had had a connection. Perhaps stronger than she and Chasing. Of course she cared for him deeply - they had gotten close through the two years she had been in and out of his stable, as well as boarding Bear here, and the past six months it had been official dating. Of course, she had the urge to want to meet Claire, this whole ridiculous high school drama that people seemed to be obsessed with these days seemed foreign to her. Adriana always wanted to meet new people, and she understood that everyone had a past. That's how life was. People come and go, and come back, and having a relationship with someone isn't bad. She surely wasn't the jealous type, unless unnecessary flirting was going on or something extremely escalated. She was curious, and wanted to know more about Claire since Chasing had been rather elusive on the subject...

[Chasing]

Chasing had just finished chasing a gaggle of girls out of the barn to the van of one of their soccer momma's. An hour outside of Atlanta, the Hills were always inundated with debutant daughters and wanna-bes who knew everything about Chasing from his socialite mother. The wanna-bes looked at his unmarried status as a challenge, and were encouraged by his mother to get him to settle down. Adriana had not met his parents yet but he knew the meeting was coming. His father knew about her but Chasing had requested his mother be kept in the dark. Otherwise she'd have driven the hour just to size Adriana up. He did not need a repeat of what his mother had done to Claire.

He noticed Adriana out in the outdoor ring and instead of going out there, he returned to saddle one of the school's horse, a dapple grey gelding by the name of Deli. Normally he would have saddled Saint or Legend but they had already been school for the day and the quarter horse gelding had not. And Deli was the type to get cranky without regular exercise. Once the horse saddle Chasing lead him out and mounted, checking his helmet strap as he trotted the gelding over to the outdoor arena.

"Penny for your thoughts?", he asked as Hermie and Zoe came shooting out of barn right behind him, the red merle being chased by the black and tan. Deli slid right up beside Bear as they walked around the ring, "or if that is too cheap maybe a dollar?", he added, leaning over towards her to kiss her cheek. He was dreading her asking about Claire but until then he was going to try his best and be his usual charming self.

[blitz]

Bear had noticed Chasing and Deli approaching long before Adriana had, her eyes lingering along the landscape in the distance where the cross country courses were set up. Her lips were pursed in a puckered line, her face smooth and still - a rare occurrence. However, that familiar spark of life and spunk ignited in those bronze eyes as she heard the familiar voice. She turned slightly in her saddle as he came up alongside of her, closing her eyes briefly as his lips grazed her cheek. She playfully planted her own gentle kiss on his forehead, having to lean out slightly but it was no worry for her big boned Belgian Warmblood. Bear curiously pricked his ears at the other gelding, sniffing at him before minding his own business. "A dollar, that's all? And what if I told you it was just something so spectacular that it deserved, oh...say...I don't know. Something more than a dollar." Her response was anything but extremely witty, but she wasn't trying to use her head too much at the moment. She wanted a simple day, nothing too complicated, and she found riding was going to be rather therapeutic. At least, it was for her. "Oh, nothing in particular. Just how glad I am to finally be here and have some time off." She responded simply, only telling half her thoughts. She felt a pang of guilt, not wanting to hide her thoughts from him (which she rarely did from anyone), but she figured she would spare him for now. She had a feeling he had gotten an earful already, and she was in no way planning on adding to it.

She looked over at Chasing, her soft eyes hiding nothing. There wasn't a trace of suspicion, only a burning curiosity, and her same vivacious smile spread across her lips, lighting up her face. For being twenty-eight years old, she was extremely youthful appearing, and her parents always urged her to 'settle down' and were quite thrilled to hear she was 'going steady' with someone. Her mother was insisting on getting some grandbabies, and Adriana could only roll her eyes and act offended and say, 'What about Bear? He's practically your grandchild.' As the years passed, her mother found it a bit less humorous. They had come down to visit not too long ago and meet Chasing, and lucky for him, her parents were pretty much impressed by nearly everything. Her father seemed to approve of the whole situation, and had jokingly inquired how much she had paid Chasing to be her 'boyfriend'. Deep down that bothered Adriana, but nonetheless she was blissfully happy, more than she thought she could ever be...sure she was happy on the outside most of the time, her mask, but deep down she actually felt cared for - and truly glad.

"How has your morning been, Chase?" She inquired softly, smiling at him with a sidelong glance. She regretted not being able to see him as much lately, she had been so busy at work that whenever she got the chance she just crashed and slept. Due to Bear's calm demeanor, she offered him for them to use in lessons, and she trusted the trainers there to be capable with her gelding. After all, he was great for older riders that needed a bigger horse that was quiet and willing. Bear rarely got spooked by anything, and was a willing jumper that hardly ever thought twice about going over a jump even if it had the most awkward placing or obnoxious colors and floral decorations. A cool breeze suddenly blew through, causing Adriana to tremble slightly. Her hands remained relaxed on the reins, only keeping a faint feel of Bear's mouth - just in case.

[Chasing]

"If it's more expensive than a dollar I suggest you stay the night tonight. I've got a chocolate cake frosting in the fridge and a desert wine waiting", he wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I see. Busy day with the animals?", he asked, dropping the reins on Deli's neck. The horse was too well-trained to run off with his head. "The puppies kept me up last night", he admitted himself. It wasn't just the puppies but also thoughts of Claire and Adriana keeping him up. Four weeks ago Zoe had finally had her first litter of puppies, six austrailian shepherd puppies had now taken up residence in Chasing's kitchen. They were a mess and a half, considering their mother wasn't the smartest dog in the world.

"My morning? Let's see there was group lessons with girl scout troop 14, then that private lesson with the cotton heiress", who secretly wanted to marry Chasing, "And that last group of honeybees", he sighed pitifully. "Now that Claire is back I am gonna give her all the girls and I'll just take all the guys", he laughed, fiddling with Deli's mane. "That way I won't have no brainless fourteen year olds getting crushes on me". He wasn't sure if Adriana had ever seen the photos, layouts or commercials that had been a part of Chasing's early twenties. He believed the commercials were still being shown, and not a week went by when a photographer or reporter called about him. Still.

[blitz]

Of course Bear was acting rather comatose at the moment, and Adriana released her grip on the rein, allowing him to stretch his neck and relax completely as they sauntered along. She giggled softly under her breath at his expression, and made an exaggerated sigh as though she were heavily contemplating the idea. "Well, if you insist," she added with too much effort to even be unintentional, and slyly winked at him. "Sounds extremely tempting...I think I'll take you up on that." She glanced to what had just snagged Bear's attention, his ears flicking forward and his head raising. Peering through the frame his pricked ears created, she saw a pair of doe that were grazing peacefully along the hedgeline. They made a silent, graceful dash for the woods when they felt the pairs of eyes resting on them.

"More like busy week," she said softly, shaking her head. It was more evident now that her expression was fairly tired looking, a slight droop to her eyes that normally wasn't there. But she fought through every bit of it, and shrugged it off. She made a soft 'aw' sound at the mention of the puppies, and she had already picked a favorite out of the group since their birth nearly a month ago already. It was the runt, the tiniest of the new family and she absolutely adored him. All of them were cute, but she had cuddled with this one on numerous occasions and he seemed to take a liking to her embrace, often falling asleep happily in her arms. "I think I'm going to have to go pay them a visit," she said happily, eagerly. At the mention of his busy morning, she made some sort of pity-noise and grinned at him. "Busy as always," She said matter of factly, but her good mood was obvious. As he mentioned Claire she simply nodded, but her demeanor did not change.

"That's good that she's back, it will help you out quite a bit, I'm sure." She laughed at his comment of the young crushes, and beamed over at him. "Who can blame them?" She said sweetly, leaning over again to kiss his lips briefly, softly. She had missed him this week, even though she had come over occasionally for dinner and riding, she felt as though she might have been a zombie. Last night was the first night she was able to sleep undisturbed by emergency calls. But she had indeed never seen his pictures anywhere, and was not aware of the fame that trailed behind him all the while. She didn't care, really, and it wouldn't make her like him more or less. She found the cotton heiress rather amusing, and her obvious smitten-act around Chasing only made Adriana laugh. Ah, people these days...

[Chasing]

"That's me tempting right down to my toes", he gave her a warm smile as he relaxed in the saddle, helmet leaning crookedly on his head. "They'll be in the kitchen waiting for you after we rider dahlin'", he winked at her, taking up the slack in his reins. Deli tossed an ear back and began to dance about, expecting to go faster now that his rider was once more in control of him. "I certainly can, they disrupt my horses", oh heaven forbid. Those girls did more than disturb his horses, they gave them sugar and candy and spoiled them so bad. Saint was getting so spoiled he barely gave Chasing the time of day in the arena lately.

"Anyway, you aren't ever going to get over the four foot mark if you don't get over dahlin'", he teased after returning her kiss. "So warm up Mr. Grumpy Bear while I go set you up some jumps", he set his heels into Deli who turned on a dime and went racing across the arena to a scattering of poles that were just aching to be set up. He dismounted for the gelding who stood non-chalantly as Chasing clanged the plastic and wooden poles together before beginning to stack them up. A descending oxer, a vertical and then an ascending oxer alla t four feet plus were set up just for her. "I'm ready when you are", he called out to her.

[blitz]

She laughed and just shook her head at him, scrunching up her nose in a playful expression. And as he sped off towards the end of the ring she rolled her eyes jokingly, gathering her reins as well. "Yes, sir." She responded obediently, a smile still playing on her features. Gaining her proper equitation positioning, she asked Bear for a trot since he was plenty warmed up for that, at least. He didn't seem to think so. He snorted and lurched forward, his hooves making an annoying scraping sound as he dragged them lazily. "Oh, come on. Get up!" She grumbled under her breath, driving him forward with her legs. Bear responded, having a bit more pep in his step and picking up his hooves now rather than dragging them. He rounded his neck slightly, ears pricked forward as they trotted several laps around the ring. His stride was fluid and smooth, not stiff or jagged. Adriana posted easily to the familiar step, her posture show ring quality. Once she felt him relax and become warmed up, she asked for a canter.

The gelding just ignored her at first, trotting along and speeding up slightly. Getting a little more urgent with her leg commands he finally popped in to a canter, his ground eating stride seeming to go in slow motion. Definitely not their usual pace. With some more encouragement he went forward, this time with more energy than before. Satisfied with this now, Adriana got off his back for a few laps to get in to two-point position so he didn't feel weighted down. Not that her 5'4" figure was burdensome, but she never wanted to bog him down or give him back problems. It was just something she was always conscious about. Finally she let him walk for a few moments as she eyed the fence. She could only imagine Chasing's comments for Bear's lack of energy. He definitely wasn't as entertaining as some of the other more energetic horses. She gathered Bear then in to a canter, and he could sense the jumping coming and needed to be somewhat collected as they came out of the corner to face the combination. Bear pricked his ears, his head lifting slightly. Lately they hadn't really been making the four foot plus jumps, he kept clipping them and not giving enough effort...

Determined to get it right, Adriana got more step out of him and encouraged him forward. Her hands were soft yet supportive on his mouth, her legs keeping the momentum in front of her leg. They approached the descending oxer and Adriana felt him gather himself, yet he second guessed the take off and snuck in an abrupt stride before it. He clipped the top pole slightly, enough to make it tremble and clatter to the ground noisily. One of his ears flicked back to listen to it fall, but Adriana knew they had ground to make up if they wanted to have a neater jump on the vertical. Getting the response she wanted, the pair easily worked over the vertical without much trouble at all, the poles remaining up. The ascending oxer came to be no trouble either, thankfully, and Bear swapped his lead to the correct one neatly after the jumps as they cantered away. Slowing him, she was slightly frustrated as she looked over to the fallen first jump and sighed. She gave Bear a warm pat on the neck, and he seemed to be fairly proud of himself as he pranced along the rail.

[Chasing]

Chasing was trying very hard not to die laughing in his own arena. He'd been around horses since he was six, had ridden some of the hardest, smartest, most stubborn, ill-tempered mean horses in the world and it always made him laugh when a friend, or girlfriend, came up nose to nose with such an infamous animal. Bear was a good horse, especially for beginners, but he was lazy, uncooperative and both too stubborn and smart for his own good. As evidence by his current performance.

"Adri what are we going to do about this horse of yours? I swear", he shook his head and retrieved the pole placing it back into it's fomer position. "I think dear, we need to get you a less intelligent and stubborn horse and just retire Grumpy Bear out to beginners who don't need all the flash", he advised her, leaning against the side railing. "We'll search the net tonight see what is out there. I may have to kidnap you for the weekend", his eyes lit up at the thought of going to look for horses. Chasing loved nothing more than going window shopping on horses. He rarely bought any but on the off chance. Oasis, the gelding he'd ridden in Europe and won medals on, was currently making it big in New York and Europe with his new rider. The Akhal-teke had been the result of a window-shopping excursion in Idaho. "Maybe some hot-blooded mare would work. Nice turned out Arabian", he mused.

[blitz]

She could only laugh at his response, and she dropped her reigns and leaned down to wrap her arms around Bear's muscular neck. The gelding turned to nuzzle her boot affectionately and she snuggled against his warm neck a moment, peering down at Chasing with a mocking - shocked face before she laughed. "Aw, come on, he's been good to me. I guess I owe him an easy retirement." She smiled, but felt a pang of sadness at the thought. After ten years together, it was almost foreign for her to ride another horse. Weird to think of her owning another horse, since he had been her one and only. Maybe she should just marry Bear. That was quite a thought. But looking down at Chasing, she decided a human relationship would work out better. Well, it was already working out that way, at least this far it was...

She mulled over the idea of looking at horses, but she figured it would be a fun field trip for them to go out. And being kidnapped for the weekend didn't seem too bad. The veterinary clinic probably would be itching for her to get back, but they knew she needed some time off. She raised a brow at his Arabian proposal, and she immediately shook her head. "Well I hate to tell you, darlin'," She drawled in a heavy southern accent playfully, "But I like the big boned horses. Ones that probably look too big for me." She grinned from atop her almost seventeen hand warmblood, and decided some little spunky mare wouldn't suit her. She had a gelding fetish, and preferred to work with them on any level - both medical and as an owner.

[Chasing]

"Pleasing girl scout troop 14 will be an easy retirement. His worse danger will be getting colic from being overfed", Chasing rolled his eyes as she laughed at him. He caught the glint of sadness in her eyes before adding, "I know it's hard to change horses but sometimes you have to do it. And it's not like you won't be able to ride Bear on occasion", he added, reaching up to touch her leg, "But to improve you need a mount to improve on and Baer has gotten you as far as you are gonna go", he explained before slapping the gelding's rump.

He gave her a sly smile, "Don't you worry bout nothin' dahlin'", his accent was much more natural than her's, he'd been raised in the South after all. "I know what you need and what you want and if there is a horse that fits that description I will find it, just you wait and see", he gave her a wink. "Now, move this lard of bones on. He doesn't get to relax and eat his dinner until he convincingly clears this jump", he ordered her, pushing away from the gelding to stand in the middle of the arena to wait.

[blitz]

She smiled, knowing that he was completely right, but she couldn't help but feel awkward about thinking of competing or anything on another horse. She thought over his words and nodded in agreement, she knew that, and always knew that. Trainers had been telling her that right before she came here. At least she knew Bear would be spoiled and adored by the little girls, which she knew he would just love the attention. Sounded like a legit calling for him for the remainder of his riding career. He hardly flinched as Chasing gave him a light smack on the rear, turning his head as though offended by the gesture and gave the man a heavy shove with his nose. Adriana laughed and gave him a hearty pat on the neck, reaching down to rest her hand on Chasing's briefly as it lay on her leg.

"What a kind gentleman you are," She mused softly, giving his hand a pat before moving Bear along at Chasing's command. Seeming more alert now, Bear bobbed his head and chomped at the bit. Picking up a canter, the strides came with more momentum and power to them. The gelding pricked his ears again, seeming to have found his distance now. Adriana stayed out of his way but guided him at the same time, he hated when people got in his face with the bit. They cleared the first, then the second, and finally the third. It finished with a smooth swap of a lead change that was hardly detected as they rounded through the corner and came to a trot and eventually a walk. Satisfied with this, Adriana beamed over at Chasing. "Does that meet your approval?"

[Chasing]

"That's how I was raised ma'm", he tipped his helmet to her as she rode off. He watched her set the horse in motion and line up for the jumps, nodding to himself that Bear seemed to be moving better now that he was fully warmed up. He went smoothly over the jumps, completing his lead change as he landed and walked over to Chasing slowly. "Sure. But I did say convincingly, because you can't just quit cause you got it right one time. I'll set up a few more jumps and then we'll take turns working", he told her as he moved off to do just that.

Deli was giving him a forlorn look from the middle of the arena and Chasing knew the grey gelding would want to be worked as well. No harm in it, the quarter horse was getting lazy working for a bunch of girl scouts. Another oxer and two more verticals were quickly erected and the final jump, a hogsback, was pulled out of the mess of poles at one end and added to the arena's small course. That done, Chasing dusted his hands off and walked over to Deli, climbing up and riding over to Adri. "Now we have a course. He needs to go over it at least twice. All the jumps are four foot plus, except the one vertical. I won't tell you how tall it is so you'll have to adjust yourself as you come up to it. I'll warm Deli up", that said, he checked his feet in the stirrup and let the gelding trot off.

[blitz]

She mockingly made a sound of exasperation, but could only smirk beneath the shadow casted by the rim of her helmet. Without a word, she watched Chasing and Deli trot off before she worked Bear back up in to a working canter again. This time it was more in line with their show pace, and Adriana directed the gelding to the first set of jumps. Each time the jump was better than the last time she had taken him through the obstacles, and a faint smile could be seen even from a distance playing out on her lips. As they reached the final four jumps that were newly added, Adriana adjusted Bear's stride to take the first oxer. Rounding nicely over it, Bear snorted on his landing and pricked his ears, looking to the next two verticals. Adriana noted that the second was a bit higher and would need a little more concentration.

Popping over the first, Adriana gathered Bear's attention, keeping the motion in front of her to ensure that he wouldn't get nervous and duck out last minute. Just as he was gathering himself to take off, a blaring car horn sounded on the main road before you turned in to the stables. For a moment his attention was distracted and he hesitated, not giving himself enough room to round over the fence. His left foreleg jerked up crookedly, catching the top pole while his right foreleg missed the clearing spot by a mile, getting caught for a brief moment. Loud noises of clattering wood and several hundred pound animal slamming together made a brief moment of ruckus. The moment, only a few seconds long, seemed like an eternity as Adriana knew the jump was going to be..well, an ultimate failure from the moment she felt him look in the direction of the car horn. She reached up the neck so as to not snap his mouth, but as they plowed through the four foot + vertical, the gelding landed half on top of the jump, the stop poles having given way but his hind end landing on the rest of it.

Adriana had in a split second kicked out of her stirrups, making an 'emergency dismount' from the left side, landing awkwardly on her feet. Bear thrashed around in a panic, for once a look of energy fluttering in his eyes. "Woah woah woah, easy boy, easy," Adriana commanded, grabbing the reins and getting him to stop kicking his hind legs around. He had managed to damage one of the poles in the process, but soon quieted and gingerly rose up, distangling himself from the mess of a jump he had created. Adriana, hands shaking, led him just a few steps away from the scene of the incident, her eyes immediately dropping to his hind legs. They appeared a little scraped, but the gelding seemed to be a little sore - which was understandable- but Adriana right then and there didn't want to take anymore risks that day. She remained in silence as she coaxed him to move a few more feet, and he obliged after a few tugs on the reins. He moved stiffly, not wanting to walk forward, and Adriana bit her lip, her eyes glancing to Chasing. Undoing the girth, she took off her helmet, her face pale as she rubbed the gelding's shoulder. "I hate to end on a bad note. But I don't like the looks of how he's walking at the moment. I'm going to go rub him down and wipe off those scratches." The small cuts were hardly anything to worry about, but Adriana had good reason to worry...he could have kicked that fence so hard he could have gotten some bruising, or something else could be damaged. She would wait to see if any extra heat came from his legs once he was cooled out, but her hazel eyes were anything but calm. For once, Adriana seemed a bit panicked and shaken up.

ooc; ah i know.. a million years later. decided to shake things up just a little bit...i guess? x)

[Chasing]

Chasing heard the car horn but any horse of his was already used to such things. He routinely set off car alarms and horns during practices and training, even for the little girls, to get his horses used to such a thing. But Bear wasn't his horse. Deli gave a snort but made no move to spook at the horn as Chasing turned him towards the first jump. It was just in time to see Bear turn away in distraction. Heart in chest, Chasing knew what was coming next. The gelding's form was off as he jumped.

Like all his bred, Deli responded to the rein quickly turning on a dime and taking off at a gallop to Adriana's end of the arena. By the time they got there, she had Bear up and moving. He pulled his horse up short, sliding the last five feet and dismounted before Deli had even regained his footing. It was like one moment he was on his horse, the next he was on the ground, wrapping his arms around Adriana. "I am going to work that horse into the ground", he whispered against her hair. He didn't care if he was almost suffocating her or if he'd never work Bear at all. He had to say something.

Then she spoke about ending and he shook his head. "No ma'm", he said, gently disengaging Bear's reins from her. "You will go over the jumps on Deli", he held up a single finger, "One time then we'll take care of Bear. I know you are worried for him but I really insist", he added unbuckling his helmet. "As for Bear, you don't ride him outside again until he's gotten some mental conditioning".

[blitz]

She leaned back in to his embrace, feeling her heart stammering in her chest as his soothing words whispered down in to her ear. She sighed heavily, knowing he was right, but it took a little bit of effort to untwist the reins from her hands. Swallowing hard, she put on her helmet again. Spinning around, she gave him a soft peck on the cheek before walking shakily over to Deli. Taking a deep breath, she gave the handsome gelding a soft pat on the neck before swinging in to the saddle, having to adjust the stirrups a great deal considering she was quite a bit shorter than Chasing. Satisfied with the new stirrup length, she found it so much easier to get Deli moving forward than Bear. The tall black gelding snorted and nudged at Chasing, his warm brown eyes studying him.

After cantering Deli around the ring to get a better feel and to adjust her riding style according to the horse, she guided him to the course again. She felt slightly awkward on the other horse, but she liked how he moved and how he felt beneath her. Feeling a bit more confident, she took him over the very demanding obstacles and finished through the rest of them, even the one that had to be re-set up due to Bear's malfunction. After circling at the end like you would for a formal show, Adriana slowed the gelding back down to a trot, then walk. Bear watched her the entire time, his eyes following her. At one point he nickered quietly, bobbing his head as she came nearer to him and Chasing. He shifted his weight slightly, reaching his nose out to the other horse as the pair returned. Dismounting after walking Deli around to cool him off, Adriana drew up the stirrups and loosened the girth.

She seemed a little better now, the color returning to her cheeks in a soft rosy hue. Sliding the reins up and over Deli's head, she rubbed his neck affectionately and leaned against his solid neck, her eyes sweeping over Bear disdainfully. She had silently agreed to Chasing's orders, returning herself to his arms, her head leaning against his strong chest. She inhaled the scent of horses and hay off his shirt, the sound of his steady breathing soothing to her again. Bear nudged her gently, snuffling at her neck and hair once she had removed her helmet. Hanging her helmet from her elbow, she reached up with a free hand to stroke Chasing's jawline, looking in to his warm gaze with her own.