Jumping

Tori trudged up the hill to the ring, Crusader walking beside her on a loose rein. He was a tall chestnut horse with a blaze, and he had been Tori's best friend for 3 years. As she led him into the ring, she checked out the jumps that were set up. Cruise had gotten a lot of time off while Tori had been recovering from the accident, but after a week of light workouts, she felt it was time to start jumping again. As she mounted, she couldn't help but feel nervous. It had been almost a month since she'd jumped, and the last time she had jumped had ended in disaster.

Crusader headed for the rail. He knew the drill. He was a good horse, and he did take care of her, but Tori knew from experience that that wasn't always enough, and sometimes even the steadiest horses got themselves in trouble. Still, she knew today was the day to jump again. She needed to get herself and Cruise back into practice if they wanted any hope of competing this year.

Allen ran the soft bristles of his brush down Gavin's deep rustic bay coat. His muscles rippled sligtly on his shoulder and by his withers. Allen settled the saddle lightly on his back and adjusted it to fit. Slipping the bit in Gavin's mouth, he tapped the small brown circle on his nose. Grabbing his helmet, they were ready to go.

Walking up the big hill to the jumping arena, Allen quickened his pace. Finally reaching the arena gate, he silently slipped in and mounted. Walking around the arena, he saw a girl on a tall chestnut. She had a nervous, almost scared look on her face as she went. "You look nervous," Allen commented as he rounded the corner of the arena.

Tori sent Cruise into a springy trot, easing him into some circles and collection. She worked him both ways before she spotted somebody else entering the ring. She whoaed Crusader to a walk and squinted at the guy, finally recognizing him as Allen. She didn't know him well, but had seen him around.

"I guess I am kinda nervous," Tori replied, chuckling slightly. Allen probably hadn't heard about her accident—few people had. She preferred it that way. She wasn't sure she could stand everyone at the barn pitying her and asking her how she felt, and the last thing she wanted was for everyone worrying about her.

"I haven't jumped in a few weeks."

"Oh," Allen said as he asked Gavin for a trot. He swiftly picked up a slow, rocking trot. Turning and crossing the diagonal of the arena, he switched posting diagonals. Looking where he was going, he sat deep and pushed his heels down with every stride. "Are you planning on competeing this year?" he said, trying to avoid any awkward silences.

While Allen trotted around, Tori worked at one end of the ring at a canter. She worked on collecting Cruise, bringing him underneath her and bending him around the corners. Then, when she asked him to extend and stretch out, he responded beautifully, and she guided him back out on the rail, letting him canter around the ring one more time before pulling him up and giving him a huge pat.

"Oh god," she said, "I don't even want to think about competing yet." She didn't even want to think about jumping, but she knew today she'd have to do it. Crusader picked up on her nerves and threw his head in the air, snorting anxiously.

"Please boy, not now," she murmurred. "I need you to be strong for me, okay? We gotta get over these jumps."

Allen sat deep in the saddle and he lightly guided Gavin around the arena. Hitting the corner, he pushed Gavin out to the rail with his inside leg, set his outside back, and asked for a canter. Gavin jumped into a canter and strongly went around the arena. After a coupole of laps, Allen sat down and pulled the reins slightly, asking for a trot, then walk. Turning around, he quickly did the same thing to the left, hurrying to get over, so he wouldn't get in Tori's way.

"Which jumps were you planning on taking first?" Tori asked him. She wanted to make sure they didn't collide or anything. The jumps were set up nicely... some low crossrails and verticals for warming up, a line, and some bigger jumps with fillers.

"I'm not to sure yet," Allen said, eyeing the jumps. Looking around, he spotted a smaller crossrail leading up to what looks like an 18 inch verticle. They looked roughly two strides apart from a canter, so Allen decided he'd use those two to warm up. "Those two over there look nice for warming up." he said, pointing over to the two he'd picked out.

Tori smiled, trying to calm her nerves. "Okay. I'll give you a head start and then follow you over." No biggie, she told herself. He'll just trot over them.

"Haha alright then." Allen said, reining Gavin to the outside. Asking for a trot, he glided along the outside rail, towards the other end of the arena. Turning towards the first crossrail, Gavin automatically lengthened his stride. Allen looked up and waited for the jump. Taking off, he settled his hands on Gavin's neck and popped over the small crossrail. Sitting back down, he waited for the next. This time, Allen gave Gavin a little tap with his heels, asking for more energy. The second jump was much better, and Gavin even cantered away. Allen sat deep and asked him to slow down, and they walked evenly along the rail.

Tori watched Allen go easily over the two jumps. She nudged Crusader with her heels and he sprung into a bouncy trot. He was picking up on her nerves again, and as she headed for the jumps, she could feel him tense up. He trotted stiffly over the first crossrail. Tori paled as she felt him about to canter and she tightened her grip as Cruise stepped over the second jump and continued on as if nothing happened. She relaxed, letting his reins go long as she patted him nervously.

She glanced around the ring, looking for something else to jump. Everything else was higher than those two jumps, but she decided it was for the best. She'd have to work her way back up sooner or later. She set her eyes on a vertical, about 2'3'', with a flowerbox filler beneath it. "Nothing we haven't done before," she whispered to herself. She looked over at Allen to see which jump he'd be taking next.

Allen walked to the center of the arena and stopped, again looking at the jumps. Deciding to take things easy today, Allen nudged Gavin into a trot, then easy canter. Circling him once before the jump, he slighly bumped his sides, asking for a longer stride. Confidently heading towards the jump, Allen readied himself. As the jump got closer and closer, Allen sat back and waited. Looking forward, he did a crest release over the jump. Gavin jumped it smoothly. Letting him canter it out, Allen relaxed and patted his shoulder.

Tori gulped nervously as she cued Cruise into a canter. He headed for the vertical, eating up ground with each stride. As they drew closer, Tori tried to push out the images that flooded her mind. She suddenly saw herself from the side, as if she was watching herself ride. She saw Cruise falling, she saw herself falling, a sea of green and purple poles... she squeezed her eyes shut and found herself pulling back on the reins... Cruise hesitated, confused. Tori shook her head and steered Cruise left and past the jump. He slowed to a trot and then a walk, looking around in confused. Tori stared down at his mane. I've got to get over this, she said. I'll walk for a minute. Then we're really going to jump it.

Allen pushed Gavin a step forward, "Whoa, you okay? You were doing great." he called over.

"I'm fine," Tori lied, feeling numb all over. "We just... haven't jumped in a while. We'll get it next time. You go ahead and jump some more—I'll go in a sec."

"Okay, don't worry about it." Allen said as he scanned the jumps. He saw a in-and-out placed at the near corner of the arena. Walking Gavin towards it, Allen looked around the yard. "Maybe I'll go for a trail ride later," he said quietly to himself. Finally approaching the jump, Allen turned Gavin in a 20 meter circle and cantered towards it. Gavin rocketed over the jump without trouble and took a lap around the arena before slowing to a trot.

Tori pushed Cruiser into a canter and headed for the vertical. Her whole body was trembling. This time, Crusader wasn't fooled by Tori's attempt at being brave. His pace slowed and when he got to the jump he stopped and balked. Tori gasped and fell forward. She slid down and landed on her feet in front of the jump. Cruise stood there silently and stared at Tori. Tears welled up in her eyes. She flipped the reins over Cruise's head. She began to lead him toward the gate, eyes on the ground.

Allen trotted Gavin over to the gate and jumped off, arriving just before Tori. "Hey, hey, hey." he said, quickly and softly, walking up to her. Leaving Gavin ground tied, he stopped in front of her. "What's wrong?" he asked her, forcing her to look at him.

Tori quickly swiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. Get it together, she scolded herself. You're stronger than this. She looked into Allen's eyes and wondered if she was strong anymore. Before the accident, she had known her strength. Now, she wasn't sure about anything anymore. "I don't know," she replied, her voice shaking. "I just... I can't do it."