Good afternoon

[scottish]

Shannon walked through the barn to Bandit, her boots clicking on the aisle floor. It sure is quiet in here, she thought. As she came closer to Bandit's stall, she heard the sound of two people talking. She wondered who that could be but ignored them and continued on to Bandit's stall.
When she reached the big horse, she smiled to herself, all of her thoughts leaving her head. With a few deft movements she haltered the brown horse and put him the crossties. Soon, she was scrubbing the dirt and manure stains off his coat and making it shine. She whistled a small tune as she picked out his hooves and brushed the hay out of his mane and tail. Shannon then picked up a soft cloth and went over the whole of Bandit's body, making the brown hairs shine in the light of the stable. When she finally finished, she stepped back to admire her handiwork. Bandit jerked his head up and down, ready to go. Shannon sighed, "I know, boy, you want to be working," she said to the horse.

[scottish]

Shannon quickly walked to the barn's tack room. She opened the door and stepped in, smelling the leather and saddle soap. "Ahh, what a nice smell," she said to herself. Looking around, she located Bandit's black leather saddle and bridle, his white saddle pad, black standing martingale, and white leg wraps. She placed the saddle pad and martingale on top of the saddle, laid the bridle over her shoulder, and expertly balanced the leg wraps on the saddle pad. Shannon picked up the lot and walked back to the horse. Smoothly she put the saddle pad and saddle on his back. She carefully fastened the girth on the right side, walked around Bandit's hindquarters and, after slipping the martingale onto the girth, fastened the girth on the left side. Shannon then buckled Bandit's halter, re-buckling it around his neck. She carefully put on his bridle and fastened the cavesson and throatlatch. When she made the necessary adjustments, she led Bandit out to the Indoor arena.

[Nicole]

Claire sat up straight atop Gunner, the black warmblood gelding that had given her a running jump towards the Olympics which they had fallen short of. Even though they did not make it, it was no reason to pout. There was plenty of time for them to work for the next Olympics and the try-outs for the team. Claire was not the type of person to let such things get her down. It was all the more reason to keep both herself and her horse in shape.

She looked up as a horse and rider approached and slowed Gunner down to a brisk walk from the slow sitting trot he had been performing. Claire smiled, recognizing the young woman as a student. Every student who was here held some kind of promise. It made her smile knowing such things, it made her remember what it was like when she had first come here as a young and hope-filled new trainer.

[scottish]

Shannon watched as Claire rode Gunner. "They look so good together," she said quietly to Bandit. Shannon then tightened the horses girth one last time, put down her stirrups, and mounted the brown gelding. She gathered up her reins and asked Bandit for a walk. Shannon steered Bandit toward the rail. When they reached the rail, she asked for a slow sitting trot to warm-up. Bandit immediately started off. His smooth trot made it very easy to sit to. Very soon, they trotted past Claire and Gunner, Shannon remembered to go to the inside.

[Nicole]

Claire smiled and tipped her head at Shannon as she passed atop her own gelding. That was her name, right? Shannon. She knew the horse already, Bandit, but she hadn't met the rider yet and she was sure that the file had said it was Shannon. Gunner was quiet, but his ears shifted at Bandit and he pulled on the bit as if to say 'let's go'. This was good behavior and he was only being playful. Had she been riding Kleido, the mare would have done more than pull on the bit, she'd actually jump the gun and go for it thinking it was a race. There was so much work for that mare.

Still, Claire couldn't help but watch Shannon. She was riding the sitting trot very well. It was a good thing that Bandit's slow jog was a smooth gait. He almost floated and that made it all the easier. He wasn't a very old horse, but he was schooled. He knew what he was doing and Shannon must have been riding for some time. Her positioning was really rather good. She was not a beginner.

[scottish]

Shannon trotted a little more, doing some circles in the process to get Bandit soft. Soon she asked him for a walk, then a canter. Bandit jumped forward excitedly, full of energy. Shannon did a few half halts to get him back under control. He cantered nicely for a few strides before acting up again. He kicked out, throwing Shannon forward a bit. Before she could do anything, he slowed down to a fast trot. Shannon quickly regained her seat and again asked Bandit for a walk. He halted completely. She asked him to walk forward, this time he obeyed. After getting settled, she calmly asked the gelding for a canter. This time, he kicked. Shannon responded by giving him a tap with her outside heel. He cantered off, finally settling down.

[Nicole]

There. Claire directed Gunner to the center of the indoor and watched more carefully. Bandit's problem was at the canter and it was for two reasons. He was unbalanced when he entered the canter nearly every time and occasionaly the horse picked up the counter canter instead. It was why he was kicking out. At least he wasn't the kind of horse who when unbalanced went along bucking and crowhopping trying to canter. Eventually Shannon got the gelding to canter quietly, finally balanced.

Most of the time a horse that reacted badly at the canter had an unbalanced rider, but Shannon was fairly centered. If only she had watched a little more closely. Claire had been distracted by the facial expression of the horse and how his ears twisted back whenever asked. It could also be because he was not trained enough or worked enough at the canter, so it was merely the horse's discomfort. The least likely reason was because Bandit was spooking, but there was no reason for that.

Gunner shook his head and played with the bit.