It doesn't matter how expensive your tack is, it matters how well you ride in it.
The big day was here. The first day of school. I was in the shower shaking uncontrollably so that shampoo flecked the glass door. Geez, I needed to chill. I somehow managed to get out of the bathroom without having a mental breakdown and sprinted to my room in my towel. Inside, I laid out some different clothing choices. I finally settled on some dark wash skinny jeans with a teal shirt and yellow belt. I blow dried my hair and put it in a messy French braid. I heard June's shower turning on and applied some barely there makeup so that I looked natural and not like a clown.
After fifteen minutes I was ready. I had some yellow flats on that matched my belt and my dark green messenger bag was slung over my shoulder, loaded down with books. June emerged from her room in a dark red tank top and skinny jeans with Dorothy shoes.
"Geez, Aiden, you need to chill," she said as we got in the lunch line. I stopped twisting my hands together and shifted my backpack to my other hip so I could have an excuse to move. I got a bowl of oatmeal and sprinkled raisins and cream into it before sliding into a booth across from my roomie.
"Sorry," I said, scanning the room. I saw Mandi and we waved to each other before returning to our breakfasts.
"It's fine. I was like this on my first day." June took a bite of pancake and I spooned some oatmeal into my mouth.
"So what happened to your old roommate?" I asked between mouthfuls of my breakfast. June didn't meet my eyes.
"Um… She didn't make the beginner team… and it was too hard on her so she left." I could feel my jaw drop. "Oh, we need to get to class!" I stood up and dumped my oatmeal in the trash on the way to English class. I had a feeling this was going to be a verrry long day.
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Math class was awful. I had (guess who?!" Utz! Yay! Not. She was walking up and down the rows of desks, making sure nobody was cheating on our pop quiz. The floorboards creaked where she stepped and I winced when she passed by with her orange and gray plaid skirt. She needed some serious fashion advice. Pronto.
It was the last class of the day and I was dying to get out for ninth period. Art class had been amazing. We had sketched anything we wanted, so I got to go to the barn and sketch Oliver in the field, his coat gleaming in the sun. Then, I had lunch.
"Aiden, are you done?" I hadn't noticed the floorboards screaming behind me and groaned inwards. Oh, joy.
"No, Ms. Utz," I droned.
"Then get back to work." I lowered my head and glanced around the room, my cheeks blazing with embarrassment. I finished finding the volume of a cylinder (easy!) and stood, handing the paper to the giant in front of me. She looked over it and gave me a curt nod before turning on her heel and walking to her desk. As soon as she reached it, the bell rang.
Ninth period was awesome. I got to go back to my room and lounge around. "Lounging" meant getting dressed for riding. I chose a pair of white jodhpurs with a dark red V-neck shirt and tall black boots. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail and left for the barn eagerly, ready to see my boy.
Oliver seemed to know that I meant business when I clipped him into the cross ties. He stood up tall as I groomed him, seeming to know that we were going to be tested. I threw a white saddle pad on his back and hoisted my saddle on top. It gleamed from my constant cleaning and I decided to use my show bridle. The light brown leather seemed to melt in my hands and I smiled. I held my black helmet under my arm and pulled on some butter soft brown gloves.
"Aiden, Mr. Conner will see you ride in ten minutes," Doug said. I thanked him and walked Oliver down the aisle to the arena. Inside, I mounted and checked my tack and outfit. Both were flawless.
For the first five minutes I walked and trotted around the space, then practiced my flying lead changes. Olly was a pro at them and executed it perfectly. I was leaning down to pat him when I heard the arena gat swing open. In stepped Mr. Conner.
"Hello, Aiden," he said. I stopped in front of him and took a shaky breath before returning his greeting. Even Oliver seemed to sense how much importance this man had. "As you are well aware, I am more lenient with my high school students." He looked down at his clipboard for a moment. "What that means is that you will have a higher chance of getting on the advanced team. By doing so, you will have a very good chance of getting on the YENT this spring. Understood?" I nodded mutely. "Good. The first half of this test will be dressage. I will call out the movements and you will perform them. Good luck." He stepped back and I walked to the end of the arena, ready to trot to X.
"God, please let us get on the advanced team," I whispered before turning around and starting the test. Oliver moved forward with a bounce and stopped smoothly at X. I saluted Mr. Conner and waited for him to call the next move.
"Working canter to E," he called across the arena. This was the tricky part. I had to get Oliver to canter from a stop without taking more than two trot steps. I moved my leg behind the girth and he immediately cantered forward. I cheered in my head. "Sitting trot to C," he said as I passed him. I sat deep in the saddle and tucked my butt in so I was sitting on my pockets. Oliver responded by smoothing out his trot and rounding himself. I smiled. As we passed through the test, Oliver seemed to read my mind with every move we made, and soon we were finished. I saluted at X and leaned down to pat Oliver's neck. He was warm, but wasn't sweating yet.
"Very nice ride, Aiden. If you'll follow me outside, we can begin your jumping course." He opened the gate and I followed him out, still on Olly. We walked down to a large arena filled with jumps of huge variety. I gulped.
"Don't worry. I won't evaluate your riding on your show career, but on your ride today," he said. I nodded. "I heard you have a rocky history with jumping, but that it is your specialty." I smiled to myself.
"Yeah," I admitted, fiddling with the reins. "I have a love-hate relationship with them. I'm scared of them before I go to one, but when I'm on the course I'm fine." Mr. Conner nodded and explained the course to me in detail. I nodded along with every jump and nudged Oliver forward. He broke into an easy canter and I leaned forwards a little, not wanting to have a lot of weight on him before he jumped. I pointed him at a fairly large vertical that was about 3'4. Five…four…three…two…one…NOW! I went into two-point and slid my hands along Oliver's dark chestnut neck. We cleared it easily and landed softly on the other side. I turned my head to the left and let him increase his pace for an oxer. I counted down in my head and lifted out of the saddle as Olly launched us over the jump. I turned towards an in-and-out and flashes of the Washington Horse Show zipped along in front of my eyes. I knew I wasn't ready for the jump, so I circled once and before I could wimp out, we were flying over the verticals. Oliver's air was priceless-we had perfect height-and when we landed I couldn't help but lean forward and pat his neck as we cantered to a hedge. We popped over it and I sat deep in the saddle and counted down for the liver pool. Three…two…one…NOW! Oliver launched us over it with feet to spare and shook his head as we came back to a trot, and finally a walk. Mr. Conner was silent as we stopped in front of him. Did I do something wrong?