Faults and Victories [Consulting_Angel X G.L'S]

[Consulting_Angel]

Logan watched the first two riders silently, carefully taking in their techniques and what they were doing. And then, he was called up, and he and Jupiter took no less than twenty seconds to make it through the gate, entering in a working trot, before halting in the center, and he saluted. Then, he began, pushing Jupiter into a working trot. Occasionally, he could feel the stallion eager to try and up his gait, but Logan made sure that he remained controlled in the trot, and continued with the test, doing various things such as leg yielding on each rein, and walking, trotting and cantering in half-circles and circles as and when required and necessary. He also included a zig-zag leg yield, and a canter in a serpentine figure. At the end of it, he trotted Jupiter down the center line, halted Jupiter once more, saluted, and then left, giving Jupiter a pat on the side of his neck, proud of their work.

[G.L'S]

- R e i d -

He watched the pair work as a team around the ring before leaving again, leaving him feeling like he had a tough act to follow. As much as they had some experience, he did worry about it. Fae bobbled her head in response to his worry as if to say don't worry, I've got this.
Their names were called and they entered the ring at a solid trot. He could feel her want to show off a bit but kept her modest for the beginning. They had time to be fancy later. After stopping and bowing, they moved forward at a collected trot, extending on the rails until they looped around once. He crossed on the diagonal at a free canter, dropping to collect in the corner and give a tight circle. To finish the show, he dropped to a trot and went into a half-pass down again. By the time they returned up the line and bowed, he was very pleased with himself and Fae. Luckily, she waited until they were out of the ring before crow-hopping with glee.
"Alright, alright you goofball, calm down," he chuckled before stopping and dismounting, "let's get you rested."

__________________________________________________________

[Consulting_Angel]

Logan did stop and stay for a little bit, just to watch the competitor after him, to see what he was like. Then, he dismounted from Jupiter, and walked back to the temporary stabling, so that he could untack Jupiter and let him rest for awhile. Then, he groomed and tacked up Jetstar, so that she would be prepared for when he went back out to the ring later on. She took a little bit longer in getting prepared, but soon enough, he was back in the saddle, and he went off to warm up Jetstar for about ten minutes. He was less nervous about going back out there with Jetstar, even though he would be competing at a higher level, because he knew that Jetstar would perform well, and didn't often need to be kept focused. And, she wasn't in one of her moods either, which was a bonus. He stood with the Friesian, and gently ran his fingers through her mane, getting out any tiny tangles that may have been present.

[G.L'S]

- R e i d -

Once she was untacked and happily relaxes outside the trailer, Fae had a light mash to keep her sated until their preliminary cross country in the afternoon. A couple hours off, Reid decided to make sure everything was in order for the rest of the day and that their quick change between XC and the stadium wasn't sloppy. While he was fixing everything, his phone went off.


11:12: Hey, how have you been?
He rolled his eyes and pocketed his phone again. As much as dealing with his ex still bothered him, he was more annoyed than upset that he still tried to contact him after all that had gone on. Pushing it to the back of his mind, he decided to check out the advanced dressage contestants and see if he could learn any tricks for him and Fae.

__________________________________________________________

[Consulting_Angel]

Logan was the fifth rider for the advanced class, and he and Jetstar entered when they were called at a collected canter. Then, he halted in the centre, saluted, then proceeded at a collected, sitting trot. His test was more precise than the one he had with Jupiter, and he worked Jetstar well. Since the Friesian mare was eager to please, she behaved beautifully and controlled, which meant Logan could focus more on executing each step of the dressage test. Some elements within it included a couple of half pirouettes, flying changes, and reining back five steps before proceeding in a collected walk. At the end, he halted Jetstar in the centre again, saluted, then left the arena at a free walk.

Once they'd left the arena, Logan dismounted, and patted Jetstar's neck. "Beautifully done... that went really well..." he murmured to her. As it would be a while before any results were announced - and as there were several competitors left to perform - Logan started to walk Jetstar away, to get her rested and then given a little something to eat.

[G.L'S]

- R e i d -

He was up by the rail watching the first few contestants when the next representative was the same guy that went ahead of him earlier only this time on a different horse. He'd admit to being jealous of the friesian mare he had and how well she moved. Not that he didn't like Fae, she was perfect but she was more talented when she was barrelling toward a jump.
He couldn't help but feel mesmerized as the two of them went around and completed their circuit. He alsmot wanted to ask for advice but knew it was pointless. He was competition so there wasn't much to be taught. Once they exited the ring, Reid checked his watch and decided to go back to Fae and ready her for the first round of cross country.

__________________________________________________________

[Consulting_Angel]

As he walked, Logan noticed a familiar person who had also been watching - the rider from earlier, with the friendly mare. He raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was watching, if he wasn't competing. Not that it mattered too much to him, of course, but he was aware that he was another competitor. He glowered in the guy's general direction, then carried on.
Since there was still the other events that had to be run before any winners were announced, Logan did consider staying with his horses for the next few hours, but he knew that even he would be bored, with no yard chores to do, and with only waiting. He knew that the cross country was next - that sort of event intrigued him, but he knew that he'd never be able to compete in it, considering he was terrified of jumping with a horse (a secret that he fiercely guards), but he did like watching others do it.

[G.L'S]

- R e i d -

Oblivious to anyone else, he focused on himself and his mare. He spent their time waiting by tacking and booting her, getting his XC vest on, then by walking around. They were third out of the gate so the bar would already be set but he still had a good chance of breaking it.
They waited by the starting line to begin and inspected the course from his mount. Fae pricked her ears in response as both of them inspected the 2km stretch that wiggled and waved with log rails, a ditch jump and a giant water pond to splash through. He could feel Fae itch beneath him and gave a sigh. While most skittered from the water, Fae would plunge like a retriever with excitement. He thanked everyone above that they were almost last in the stadium cause he'd need all that time to clean them both.
Soon, he was on-deck and ready to go. Once the timer went off, both of them sprang to action as they entered the race at a normal canter.

__________________________________________________________

[Consulting_Angel]

After he'd settled Jetstar back into her temporary stabling, and he'd fed both horses and given them plenty of attention, Logan walked to the cross country track. He wasn't particularly fond of this event - he thought that it was just too messy and could get more dangerous for the horse and rider than other events were. That didn't seem to be a good enough reason for anyone to be put off it, though. He positioned himself somewhere off to one side, with the rest of the spectators, close to the ditch jump. He folded his arms, watching the first two competitors in silence. Then, Logan glanced up the track as the third rider started, quickly recognising the mare, even from a distance. He was not quite sure whether or not he liked the idea that he and this other rider seemed to be around each other. Sure, there were plenty of other riders, but this particular one seemed to stand out for whatever reason.

[G.L'S]

- R e i d -

While going along, Reid made sure to give Fae enough length that she needed but not enough to go overboard. Something about jumping outside made her very excitable despite the fact it was one of her top events. They cleared the first two log verticals easily and sped off for a hedge oxer. Sailing over it with her signature foreleg tuck, they landed and powered on for the ditch.
At this narrow part of the path, the crowd seemed its thickest there so far, but neither paid them any mind as they collected up and sprung over it neatly and safely. Once hooves hit dirt, he extended her to let her free canter towards the hill and the chicken coop. Once both were cleared, he finally let her gallop onward to fit the space between them and the water jump.
Elation filled them both as they thundered along the green, and even more so when the sight of the water came into view. Conceding, he let her barrel forward, sail over the jump and land in the water with a heavy thwooop. She clattered through the fetlock-height water with glee and fanfare, hosing them both but getting them over the finish line with a solid fifteen second lead. Although it didn't take much to beat their previous competitors, it beat their personal best and Reid quietly whooped for both of them astride the mare as he let her relax and walked her back to the trailer to begin the very long cleaning process.

__________________________________________________________