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Post by AlaskaAirGirl on Jun 21, 2023 20:45:18 GMT -8
Sorya looked down at her fries for a moment before dipping one in ranch and taking a bite. She was glad that Brent was willing to help her find the two friesian horses. But she was afraid that she was going to come up empty handed. She did not want to disappoint the people at the stables. She would try her best. She did not eat her entire lunch and had to take the rest to go since she wanted to make sure that they had time to ride. The waitress came back with a box for her food and Sorya quickly packed it up. "I still think you should have eaten something while we were in there," Sorya announced as she walked through the open door. Getting into Brent's truck, she was excited about being able to ride. She looked back at the saddle and items in the bag. It would not be long before she was able to use them. She did feel a little nervous, but felt that Brent was going to be a great teacher.
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Post by riverfields on Jun 22, 2023 19:48:15 GMT -8
"I wasn't that hungry and besides I'll eat later" Breck said looking at sorya when her aunt said she was gonna take over the barn he expected a dressage or Showjumping girl not a girl who rode western on a Frisian. "When we get to the stables I will groom axel you can help if you want and than I will show you how to tack up in English." Breck said while getting in his truck he put on his seatbelt and made sure sorya had hers on before pulling out of the parking space and heading towards the barn.
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Post by AlaskaAirGirl on Jun 23, 2023 18:30:26 GMT -8
As soon as they arrived back at the stables, Sorya was quick to change into her new riding clothes. Stopping to look at herself in the mirror of the locker room of the stable, Sorya almost did not recognize herself in the new outfit. She was used to wearing jeans, a western cut shirt, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. This was another person standing before her. Shaking her head, Sorya did not want to keep Brent waiting any longer than he was. She had taken longer to get her hair done into a low twist ponytail. She grabbed her helmet from the door to head out to the outdoor riding arena. "I'm ready," Sorya announced as she walked into the arena where Brent and his horse were waiting for her. Her saddle was placed on the fence waiting for her. |
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Post by riverfields on Jun 24, 2023 18:30:20 GMT -8
White sorya went to change after they arrived in the barn Breck went to axels stall who snorted when he saw Breck. "Hey boy" Breck said opening the stall door and giving axel a treat before grabbing axels halter and putting it on axel who was listening very carefully. Breck walked axel out of the stall and lead the gelding to the outdoor arena. He typically let a few of the lesson kids braid axels mane and tail which he guessed they did axels tail when he left with sorya and axels tail was braided how they always did it. He tied up axel to the fence and waited for sorya she would you his bridle as that's the only one axel ever liked. He watched as sorya appeared with her helmet."Okay I want you to attempt to tack up axel and I will fix any of your mistakes on the way. I will also be putting on his bridle because axel is very picky and refuses it a lot." Breck said before patting axel.
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Post by AlaskaAirGirl on Jun 25, 2023 19:26:01 GMT -8
Sorya nodded as she walked over to where her saddle and purple saddle pad were waiting for her. The saddle pad would be easy for her as she knew that it was the same as putting a western saddle pad on. She was careful around Axel and let him sniff all the new items before she put them on. Once the saddle pad was on and in place, she walked over to the saddle and pulled the girth over the saddle seat so that she could place it on Axel. Taking a deep breath, she laid the saddle on Axel's back. Walking over to his other side, Sorya laid the girth down and then walked back to the left side. Running her hand down Axel's side so he knew where she was, she reached over to the other side to grab the girth then pulled it around his belly and tightened both clips to a comfortable fit for Axel. She had to take a moment to study how the stirrups were held up, but once she understood how to pull them down, she did so to the right position for her feet. Sorya then stepped back so that Brent could study her work. "Is everything good?"
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Post by riverfields on Jun 27, 2023 18:30:27 GMT -8
Breck watched as sorya let axel sniff the tack before putting it on him. He continued to watched as sorya got everything done nice and neatly. He checked the tacked once sorya was finished. "You actually did quite good normal axel isn't this nice when tacking up I am gonna put his bridle on and then I want you to check all your tack and make sure it's tight before we walk him on foot around the arena then after that you can mount up" Breck said before grabbing axels bridle. He let axel sniff the reins like he typically did before putting the reins over his head and letting it sit for a bit before putting the bit in axels mouth and letting it sit a bit before finishing putting the bridle on axel. "Now check his tack and make sure you feel comfortable with it.". Breck said before patting axel who stayed in one spot for once.
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Post by AlaskaAirGirl on Jun 29, 2023 15:30:45 GMT -8
Sorya nodded as she started to go over her tack. She started out by checking the saddle and placing her hands in the stirrups. Placing pressure on the stirrups gave the illusion that someone was getting on. If the saddle did not slip, then it was tight enough. Sorya was glad that the saddle did not slip as she applied pressure. She then checked the fit of the bit and the bridle to make sure that Axel would not fuss during the lesson. She instantly felt like a new student and understood what her students felt like when they were in her lesson. "Everything looks good," Sorya said as she turned to look at Brent. She grabbed her helmet off the fence and placed it on her head. She was not used to wearing a riding helmet as she always wore a cowboy hat. And there was a rule that said anyone under the age of 18 had to wear a helmet when riding. Other then that, riders older than 18 did not have to wear one. But all of them always chose to wear a helmet for English riding. Sorya wanted to keep that rule in place. She then looked to Brent to see if it was okay for her to mount.
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Post by riverfields on Jun 30, 2023 17:12:45 GMT -8
Breck watched as sorya checked over all the tack she took her time to. He watched as axel just moved his head once or twice showing he was becoming bored. He watched as she put on her helmet he knew about the rule but anyways everyone wore there helmets because they didn't wanna get hurt if they fell off even though some fell off. He looked at sorya who waited for the okay to mount. "You can mount up on him just make sure to hold the reins tight and give me correct cues give the incorrect cues and he decides to be lazy and act bored the entire time while watching you suffer to get him under control." Breck said before petting axel on the neck.
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Post by AlaskaAirGirl on Jun 30, 2023 17:22:44 GMT -8
Sorya finally turned to Axel. She was so used to riding in a western saddle that when she mounted, she used the horn as a grip to pull herself up. But there was no horn. She placed her left foot in the stirrup looked for a moment at the saddle and grabbed where she could. Bouncing on her right foot twice, Sorya pulled herself up into the saddle. She then jimmied her right boot into the stirrup. The night before, she had researched how to hold the reins. She tried her best to recreate what she had seen. She made sure that her grip was tight as she looked to Brent to make sure that she was sitting in the saddle and holding the reins right. "It feels so different. I am so used to having a horn in front of me and more of a seat," Sorya announced.
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Post by riverfields on Jun 30, 2023 18:30:51 GMT -8
Breck watched as sorya got into the saddle she did good at tacking up in English but her mounting would need some work most of the riders during practices would mount up from the ground or they would use the fence but during competitions they used a mounting block as it was easier on the horses. He watched as sorya fixed her hands on the reins. "Well you have been a western rider and the English tack is different so try and get used to it also you hands are a bit wrong. Hold them like this." Breck said grabbing sorya hand and showing her how to hold the reins properly.
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Post by AlaskaAirGirl on Jun 30, 2023 21:11:11 GMT -8
Sorya blushed a little when Brent grabbed her hands. Hoping that Brent did not see her blush, she fixed her hands so that she could hold the reins properly. It took a moment to adjust her seat and get used to the new saddle. Once she felt ready, Sorya decided to give Axel a soft kick with her heels to let him know that he needed to walk. "Good boy, now just be easy on me. I am new to this style of riding," Sorya said as she let him walk around the arena. For a moment, she could still feel Brent's hands against hers as she tried to focus on staying in the saddle. "How do I look?" Sorya asked as she continued to walk around the arena. Her heels down and her back straight was the same as it was for western.
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Post by riverfields on Jul 1, 2023 7:28:35 GMT -8
He watched after her fixed her hands that sorya paid attention and kept them fixed. He watched as she gently kicked axel in a walk and walked him around the arena. "Good your doing quite well" Breck said watching as axel paid attention to every cue given to him.
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Post by AlaskaAirGirl on Jul 1, 2023 12:16:16 GMT -8
She reached down to give Axel a pet and quickly returned her hand to the reins just as Brent had showed her. In western, horses were taught to neck rein, which meant that the rein would be put against the neck in the direction that the rider wanted to go. She needed to understand that difference. After a few moments, Sorya finally got used to the idea of using her hands to pull the rein in the direction she wanted to go. She cut through the arena and then asked for Axel to go into a trot. She was not used to posting yet, so she decided that she would just sit the trot like she did in western. "His trot is nice. I like how fluid he feels," Sorya announced as she continued around the arena and then asked for Axel to turn around to head in the other direction.
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Post by riverfields on Jul 1, 2023 16:49:02 GMT -8
He watched axels movements to make sure everything was going alright and axel was listening. He watched as sorya patted axel before fixing her hands and cutting axel across the arena and trotting him. Sorya was doing pretty well for riding axel mostly advanced riders when her aunt ran the place got to rid axel while he was away doing hockey. "He was well bred he was supposed to be a dressage horse but showed better skill in Eventing" Breck said watching as sorya continued one way for a bit before changing directions and trotting the other way.
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Post by AlaskaAirGirl on Jul 1, 2023 17:12:04 GMT -8
A smile came to her face as an idea came to mind. She wanted to surprise Brent. Sorya had experience with dressage as she used Midnight for western dressage. That was something she was not sure if she told Brent about when they had first met. She then singled for Axel to do a half pass down the center of the arena. It was not perfect, but it was something that she had experience with. Then she asked Axel to perform a pirouette in the center of the arena. Again, it was not perfect, but she was super thrilled with doing some dressage the traditional way. But she still preferred western dressage. In fact, Midnight had quite a few wins when it came to dressage. She then asked for Axel to move into a canter and then asked him to do some lead changes with every stride so it looked like they were skipping down the center of the arena. "Good boy, you did amazing!" Sorya exclaimed as she walked over to Brent so she could dismount. She would probably need his help with the stirrups as she still needed to understand how to keep them up.
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