Dirk had the look.
Dave had bought him a whole outfit from the tack store, whatever that was. He had the tight creme colored pants that hugged his calves. He had the tall black boots that went up to his knees. He had the belt with the fancy tooling in the leather and the white polo and got damn could he pull this shit off good.
Dirk had the look, and he also had the ride to match it.
Dual Magnum was part Quarter Horse, part Arabian, and part sports car. The best model on the market. Magnum was a registered half Arabian and papered out the ass. Dirk didn't even want to know how much money Dave had shelled out for him. Right after they'd bought him, Dave had turned around and sent the horse to a trainer, one who could teach the horse to move correctly and later, teach his baby brother how to ride.
Today was later, and today was the first time Dirk had ever seen the horse that was supposed to be his.
The barn they'd chosen was pretty fancy. It had three board white fences all down the driveway, and an indoor arena big enough to host shows in. Champions rode there, Dave had told him. It smelled like dirt and manure and horse, and it smelled good to Dirk. The sand was quiet under his boots as he and Dave went to meet the horse.
Dual Magnum was a handsome red chestnut, with a long white stocking on his hind left leg. A sign of swiftness, the breeder had told him over the phone. He had a little white on his face too, a half heart looking marking right in the center of his forehead. He had a fine, thin face typical of the Arabian breed, and the high tail carriage to match. His legs though, were tall and sturdy with solid hooves, evidence of the stock horse in him.
The trainer had Magnum tacked up in a 'hunt seat' type get up. Dirk didn't really understand what that meant until he saw the saddle. It looked like something they used on tv during the Olympics.
"You must be Dirk!" The woman leading him exclaimed. She was an older blonde lady, dressed in jeans and a ball cap. She had a big scar on one side of her face but her smile was pretty. She must be the trainer.
Dirk nodded.
"Hi there! I'm Caroline, it's nice to meet you!" She grinned, "I take it you must be Dave, then?"
Dirk had almost forgotten his older brother was standing right behind him. "Sure am."
"It's good to finally meet you both! So who's taking the lesson then?" Caroline questioned, tugging on the reins of the horse as she lead him to a stop.
"Dirk is," Dave answered.
"Right, right! Step on up here then!" Caroline's smile was bordering on creepy. Too big. Too happy. Nobody that shoveled shit all day could be that happy. Dirk wished they'd chosen somebody else to teach him, but it couldn't be helped now.
Dirk gazed at the horse and the horse gazed back, his big brown eyes wide with interest.
Dirk was afraid. He was very, very afraid.
"Go on," Dave nudged him gently, and Dirk took a step closer. He took another, and then another, and suddenly Caroline was handing him the reins and golly gosh he had a hand full of horse and he had no idea what to do with it.
"Do you like him, Dirk?" Dave drawled behind him. Dirk could only nod stupidly in return.
He was a nice horse, Dirk supposed. He was just.. standing normally. Not rearing or bucking or anything else scary.
"Caroline taught him the basics, you can take him in any direction you'd like. Hell, you could paint him pink and take him to a drag show for all I care," Dave joked, "but yeah, no, really, he's your horse, Dirk. I want you to have fun with him."
Dirk didn't think he could speak. He nodded again, reaching out gently to pat the horse's neck. His hair was clean and soft. He maybe even had some kind of product on him? He was so shiny. Dirk ran his fingers down the horse's mane, untangling any knots in the thick, woven mess of hair.
His fingers threatened to tremble as he stroked the horse and he wasn't sure if it was from fear or excitement.
"Would you like to ride him?" Caroline asked, tapping him on the elbow.
Did he want to ride him? Dirk looked between the woman and the horse, mulling it over. Magnum was pretty tall. If he climbed up there, would he fall? Would Dave be unhappy if he didn't?
"Sure," Dirk finally agreed, and the woman showed him how to lead the horse over to the mounting block. She showed him how to put the reins over to his head and how to hold the reins while he got on. She held his stirrup for him as he placed his left foot in it. She helped him brace on that same leg, wobbly but able as he swung his right leg over.
He was up before he knew it. He held the reins like he'd been shown, thumb on the second braid in the leather and fingers curled under.
When Caroline stepped away, Dirk realized he wanted her to come back. He didn't feel safe.
"Alright, so, before we do anything, if you want to stop him, pull back on your reins and say 'whoa!' Alright? Good! So next I want you to push your left heel into his side and use your right rein to pull him over!" Caroline, with her creepy smile, spoke loudly and clearly, so Dirk could hear her even as she moved away.
"Today we're doing all rail work! So get him on the wall and get him walking," She instructed. "And look where you want to go!"
Rail? Wall? Dirk was a little confused. He stared down at his reins, deciding how to proceed. Use his heel? Sure. Dirk could try that. He looked down briefly to his left foot and then pushed his heel into Magnum's side, which sent the horse into a medium walk.
Heel pressure must be the gas pedal.
Dirk looked up, picked a spot on the wall a little ahead of him, and pulled on his right rein. He wasn't sure how hard to pull, but he figured he shouldn't yank. He pulled the horse over, pointing it at the wall. He hasn't meant to do that, exactly, but he supposed it worked. He pulled his right rein to turn the horse to the right, clumsily but effectively getting the horse where he needed to be.
The arena was quiet besides Magnum's footfalls. He was such a pretty horse. At this angle, Dirk could only see his head and neck, but that was okay. He could see between his ears and watch then as they flicked different directions.
"So what you're gonna do next is-hey, Dirk, look up alright?" Caroline barked, "you don't ever look down. Look where you want to go. If you look down that's where you'll end you're gonna do next is walk to the letter A on the wall and ask him to stop."
Letter A? Oh. Once Dirk looked up he could see it on the wall ahead of him, a big letter A painted in white. He prepared himself to stop, gripping his reins and pulling back when it was time.
"Whoa," he spoke quietly, and he watched as both of Magnum's ears flicked back to listen to his voice. The horse's foot falls ceased.
"Very good!" His trainer cheered. Dirk felt a little like a kid.
"Great! Now ask him to walk again! Bump him with both heels to go straight!"
"Why both?" He asked, shouting over the distance.
"Just one asks for movement in one direction, both asks for straight," she answered. Ask Dirk got the horse going once again, she continued speaking.
"Next I want you to keep your heel off of him, but push your right calf in to his side, see, there, see how he's moving over more gradual?"
Dirk did see. As he pushed right, Magnum moved left, like a car merging, slow and fluid.
Dirk looked past Caroline, over to where Dave was standing. Dave had his hands shoved in the pockets of his expensive jeans, and the top button on his white shirt was undone. It was too hot for long sleeves, Dirk had told him so. He was watching. Dirk squirmed. He didn't want to disappoint him.
Magnum's head rose and his ears flicked back, listening to Dirk as he moved. Caroline hadn't noticed he'd looked away.
The lesson went on like that for a while, stopping and walking and leg yielding left and right. Dirk felt like he was getting the hang of this finally. It was easy for him to understand, too. Each part of his leg asked for a different command. One thing that was a little hard was the concept of keeping his heels down. For some reason or another whenever Dirk was supposed to push weight into his heels and keep them down. It was a little hard to remember with all the other thing but it was essential, apparently.
"Okay, so, are you ready to go a little faster?" Caroline asked as Magnum carried him closer to where she stood.
"Faster?" Dirk mocked. He tightened his grip on his reins, Magnum's head rose, feeling the tension on his mouth.
"We don't have to if you don't want to," Caroline assured, but Dave had already heard her. Dirk didn't want to look like a baby. He could go faster than a walk. Surely Caroline wouldn't ask anything unsafe of him, would she?
"Faster is okay," Dirk told her confidently, and she motioned him over.
Dirk halted Magnum near her, and the riding instructor took ahold of his leg.
"Remember all your ques so far? I'm gonna add one more to them. You're gonna squeeze your thighs and use them to pull yourself up. Lift your hips just out of the saddle, not like you're sitting up. It's called a two point."
Caroline forced his heel down again, straightening his leg. "Try it."
Dirk tensed his thighs, and tried to push himself up. Simple, right? Wrong. His muscles strained, but he forced himself up anyway, despite his trembling legs.
"Good!" His trainer praised, "now, when you ask for a trot, you're going to two point when his left foot rises. That's called a posting, or a rising trot. I'll help you, just don't use your reins to pull yourself up. Got it? Back on the rail."
Dirk had it, yeah. Was he ready? No. Would he do it though? Defiantly. He asked Magnum to return to walking next to the arena wall, and the horse complied seamlessly.
"When you're ready, use heel pressure until you feel him start to change gait."
Dirk swallowed hard. His hands still had a white knuckled death grip on the reins, and his hips were still tense. He could feel the horse tense under him, feeding off of his energy. Dirk too a deep breath and forced his hands to relax. He couldn't pull on the reins, he remembered that much.
Dirk went through the motions again. He was an analytical person. He was good at thinking things through. He followed his trainer's words to a T.
Heels down, legs straight. Hands down, don't pull. He put the pressure on and he could immediately feel Magnum speed up. Dirk took a deep breath, he didn't let up, and then the horse was moving out, taking a little skip with him as he lifted his legs into a smooth trot.
Dirk's arms might be shaking, but he was also smiling. This was exciting! Unbelievable! Dirk could feel the jarring, bumping movement as his hooves rose and fell. Dirk could feel his ass hit the saddle, and had the calf skin leather been of a lesser quality, it would have hurt more than it already did.
"Ready, Dirk? Look down at that left leg for just a second!" Caroline hollered.
Dirk glanced down, he watched it, he felt the rhythm. He watched the horse's shoulder muscle ripple with movement. He had it, he could see. He looked up, to see where he was going, and then he pushed.
His hips left the saddle, falling in sync with the horse under him. Up, down, up, down. This was simple. Hard on the muscles, but simple. Dirk wasn't even thinking about how sore he was going to be tomorrow.
It was so much easier to trot when he two pointed. Posting was so much easier than trying to sit.
"Good!" He heard Caroline shout. He didn't even need her help. Dirk had this in the bag. Dirk couldn't see Magnum' face, but he his ears were up and his movements were spry. Was he having fun too?
"I want to go faster," he said out loud. Without asking if it was alright, Dirk gave a Magnum more heel, and the horse extended his gait, moving faster, bumpier, his head rising. Dirk could feel his excitement.
"Faster?" Caroline sputtered, "no, I don't think- oh my god."
Dirk wasn't listening. He left off pressure just as soon as he felt the horse break over. He was cantering. He knew the name of this gait. A three beat rhythm that Dirk could feel. The horse felt smoother, like a rocking motion as he held the two point out of his saddle. Magnum's long mane blew in the breeze he created. Dirk could feel the wind on his face and the power of the animal under him.
Magnum snorted, taking deep breaths with every movement. It was kind of funny, actually. Dirk wondered if he'd do that every time he rode.
"Oh my god- Dirk, could you, oh my, I don't know if you're ready for faster!" Caroline interjected. She walked closer to the wall as Dirk rode the horse around. Dirk kept him close to the wall, using his leg yields to keep him from drifting to the center.
"Dirk, could you, whoa, okay? Tell him Whoa! Please, please tell him to whoa!"
He really didn't want to tell him Whoa. Magnum was doing just fine. But, he supposed if he made the women mad he might not get to ride again. Dirk wasn't sure how she could stop him, Magnum was his horse, after all.
Dirk let the horse canter a few more strides and then pulled gently on his reins and paired the movement with a "Whoa."
Magnum took a moment to get himself together, dropping down from a canter, trotting for half a stride before he stopped all together. All four feet halted on the ground. Dirk hadn't realized he was breathing so hard.
Caroline marched right over to him and took his reins. The woman was red in the face and scowling as she led the horse back to where Dave was standing. She let go of him once they reached Dirk's guardian, and she put her head in her hand before taking a deep breath.
Dirk was smiling. He wouldn't get off this horse for anything. Not now, not ever.
Dave's eyes meet Dirk's, and Dirk realized he'd scared them both. Dave's face didn't look panicked, but his pupils were blown wide.
"That was fun," Dirk tried.
Dave's face was unreadable, and for a minute, Dirk thought he was going to get screamed at. Instead, Dave smirked and reached into his back pocket. He pulled his wallet out, and produced a wad of cash. Fifties. He licked his thumb and pulled three of them off the stack and held them out to Caroline.
The woman took them without a word.
"I think the lessons over, Dirk," Dave spoke gently.
Dirk reached down to pet his animal. "Do I have to get off?"
"I- I guess not," Caroline huffed, looking up at him. "Just don't run him anymore alright? I can't stay and watch you, I have other lessons, and you have to be safe."
Dirk nodded.
"Any questions?" She followed up.
Dirk thought for a second, looking down at his saddle and behind him at the horse's behind. "Yeah. Do you think you could teach me to jump? Like on the Olympics?"
Caroline looked like she wanted to kill him. She grit her teeth when she answered, "sure."
When they stepped off the trailer on to the show grounds, people stared. Dirk lead the horse as Caroline moved the truck and trailer, and Dave followed behind him carrying the saddle and bridle bag. People knew him, Dave was Steven Spielberg famous.
Horse show mom's were usually drunk by eight am, and the flirting usually started around eight fifteen. Dave couldn't have gave less of a shit. Dirk was in the warm up ring by eight thirty and somebody had to hold his Starbucks.
Dirk hadn't wanted to do jumpers. He'd wanted to do hunters, which were based on how he looked over the jump. They didn't offer that today though, so all three of his classes that day were based on speed and faults over the jump. The highest he would jump today was two foot, six inches. Nothing Magnum couldn't handle.
Dirk walked the course on foot before he got on. He was the fifth out of twelve to ride.
Dave fussed with his show coat as they waited for his turn. Dirk swore his brother was like a walking dry cleaner. The Rambo of cleaning supplies. The guy had boot shine, bleach pens, and lint rollers strapped to him like ammo. He carried extra bands in case one of Magnum's button braids came out, and a bag of baby powder in case he got dirt on his white foot. When it was his turn, Dirk lead his horse out.
He let Magnum look as he ambled through the course to the starting position, and waiting for the Judge's okay to begin.
When the starting bell rung, Dirk urged Magnum in to a fast paced but collected canter. They charged right for the first jump, Dirk felt the horse lock on, focusing.
Magnum's front hooves left the ground and Dirk was already pushing himself into a two point. He kept his leg straight and let the horse have some rein to work with.
Magnum was a talented jumper. He tucked his front knees perfectly and used his back over the colored rails of the jump, gliding over it like they were twigs on the ground.
All four feet hit the ground again, and Dirk was pulling the reins to guide the horse to the next jump.
Dirk counted the horse's strides. One, two, three, four. He pulled back on his rein just slightly, asking for one more stride before they were in the air again. Already Dirk's head was looking for his next jump. They were over it in no time.
The next three were a line, put together to make it challenging.
Up, over, six strides, up, over, five strides, up, on the third over, Dirk heard the thunk of hoof hitting wood. He'd knocked a pole, that was a fault, but there wasn't time to look back.
The sixth jump meant they were half way though. Breath, Dirk reminded himself. Breath. Sit back. Look. He needed to be looking for the next jump even before he'd landed over the current. Seven down. Eight. Nine was a little baby oxer, made up of two jumps placed close together, meant to be crossed as one. Ten was a cross rail, way too easy, but eleven was all the way across the course. Horse and rider had to book it over there as fast as they could. Magnum flew down the rail, calm and collected but with enough speed to save Dirk time.
Twelve was the fucking Liverpool. A jump with a water feature under it. He could feel Magnum eye it as they approached. Oh no. No spooking today. Dirk asked for faster, but pulled his reins, driving the horse into his contact and forcing him to pay attention. Magnum resisted, shaking his head to the side and Dirk didn't have time to correct him. He barely had time to get himself into a two point. Magnum's front feet flailed. Dirk had stopped counting. He hadn't given himself enough room to ask the horse to jump.
When he came down, he was leaning too far backwards, but he didn't have time to correct himself. He pushed his feet foreword to stay on, because if he fell it would mean disqualification. He only need to travel a few more yards and he'd be home free.
He did something he probably shouldn't have while only half on the horse. He took up his reins in his right hand and shoved them foreword. With his left hand he slapped his riding crop into the horse's shoulder and the resulting burst of speed almost took him off.
Magnum charged foreword and Dirk steered him through a pair of planter boxes meant to represent the end of the course.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. It was all over. Magnum snorted, hot and worked up.
As soon as Dirk was excused from the ring, he got off. Dave was standing nearby.
"I got that whole thing on video," his guardian smiled. "You did good."
Dirk rolled his eyes. Of course he was going to tell him he did good, he was his guardian, he had to. "Don't let Caroline see it, she's gonna blast my ass if she hears I almost fell."
"She was watching."
"Damn it," Dirk swore.
"You okay after that?" Dave inquired, offering him a pull off of his water bottle. Dirk took it and drank greedily.
"I'm fine," he assured. "Besides, I got a helmet on."
"Yeah. That way we can just pour your brains back into your head when you eat dirt."
Dirk wanted to punch him, but he wasn't in the mood for horsing around. He'd made some dumb mistakes. He should have known better.
"Don't beat yourself up, okay?" Dave interjected, like he knew what Dirk was thinking. "You've made some pretty great advancements in eight months. It was just one rail. And you stayed on. If that was me out there I'd be doing the goddamn limbo instead of jumping them. Like, seriously, point me in the direction of the luau and find me a lei. I'm proud of you, Dirk, and you should be proud of yourself."
Dirk didn't say what he was thinking. He was thinking that one rail would probably keep him out of first place. Instead, he just nodded and mumbled a little embarrassed "thanks."
Dirk reached over and gave his horse a well earned pet. "I guess you live and you learn."