they just wanna run...

[archibald]

calle ocho ,

Eight nudged Angie’s shoulder gently, clearly eager for a pat or something. She reached up, rubbing the colt’s neck vigorously, just the way he liked it. She had to admit, he was one horse she enjoyed riding the most, he was a dream to handle and complete sweetheart compared to some of the other horses she had ridden over the years. Then again, she didn’t mind riding for Mitch at all, he was a hell load nicer to rider for than half the owners she had ridden for before she had finished her apprenticeship and received her full jockey’s license.

Speaking of, the man himself came ambling towards her. Tall and somewhat gangly looking, his brunette hair messed up as usual, and he hadn’t shaved either, he took more care of his horses and his daughter than he did with his own appearance, unless he had a reason to make himself look presentable. He grinned at her when he got closer, pulling his hands out of the pockets of his jeans and taking Eight’s reins from her.

“Morning Mitch,” she said, her own tones cheery to match the smile on his face, relinquishing the colt’s reins over to him with no fuss.

“Good morning Angie. Ready to get going?” he asked, rubbing Eight’s forehead idly with one hand as he looked over at her.

She nodded, and one of the grooms in the mounting yard came over to give her a leg up on to the tall colt, she probably wouldn’t have been able to get on him from the ground as it were, due to her slight height. Mitch gave her the reins back once she was settled, and Eight barely moved under her, waiting patiently for her to tell him to get going, happy to just stand there.

“Just breeze him today, nothing too hard. He’s been doing well and I don’t want to overwork him,” he said, and she nodded, waiting until he had moved well out of the way before asking Eight to move into a brisk walk.

Once they were out on the track, she pushed him into a trot going towards the gates, then into a canter once they had gotten about half way there. He opened up beneath her, although she held him back, this was just to warm him up a bit before they actually got into the workout. He pulled on the bit a little but quickly gave up, settling into the pace Angie wanted from him.

It wasn’t long until they were loaded into the gates, they never really had been a bother for the colt, thankfully. And even sooner after that they were out, Eight’s long strides eating up the turf beneath them easily. She kept a steady pace, since there was no need to speed it up today, although she could tell he wanted to go faster. Even at the moderate pace that she set him in, it wasn’t long until they had finished the breeze, and she was slowing him, slowing his pace down into the cool down lap.

Hopefully his first race was going to go as smoothly as his workouts did.

[archibald]

erin shore ,

There was nobody on the track, as far as Jo could tell. Most of the trainers had finished their sessions, which was what she and Casey had been waiting for, so she could work Erin. She’d been able to work Arty with the other horses, he was a lot calmer, despite being a stallion, as opposed to Erin being a mare, but he was older, more experienced, and once he hit the track he acted like a pro. Erin was just as likely to chuck a mental halfway during a breeze, which would just endanger the other exercise riders and their horses, and until she was cured of the habit, or at least somewhat more controllable, she wasn’t going to risk it.

The task of tacking the black mare had been huge, she’d crab hopped in the crossties, wouldn’t take the bit, kicked out whenever she went anywhere near her legs or rear...the usual. But, she hadn’t given up until the light racing saddle was secured on her back, and she’d had to practically force the bit into her mouth, she was only tiny herself, so trying to keep Erin’s head down so she could do it had been a struggle. And leading her out to the practise track was another battle in itself, she’d baulked, reared, pretty much done everything under the sun to make it more difficult for Jo to get her there.

Unfortunately for Erin, Johanna Eastman was just as stubborn as she was, if not as crazy either.

Getting her to the mounting yard, it took a few goes to hoist herself up onto the mare’s back with Casey's help, less gracefully than it would have been if she had decided to stand still, luckily she had the upper body strength and was lightweight enough to be able to swing quickly into the saddle with a leg up from Casey, as the mare decided to start circling, despite having her reins shortened.

Gathering the reins, legs clamped tightly onto the mare’s sides, though the shorter stirrup length made it a little harder to stay on, she aimed her towards the track, taking another good five or so minutes to actually get out there, since Erin decided she didn’t particularly fancy the fence that evening. Finally out, she lightly kicked her into a trot, keeping up the pace for about halfway around the track, to warm her up, and hopefully to lower her energy levels enough to make it easier for Jo to handle her...as much of a long shot as that was.

The practise gates were away for the evening, and besides herself and Erin's trainer, there wasn't anyone else around to help anyways, they still had a lot of gate work to do, and the Thoroughbred hated them, like she seemed to hate everything else, so a work or two without them wouldn't hurt. Pulling her to a standstill, feeling the quivering ball of energy underneath her, every muscle in the mare’s body was tense.

She wanted to run. Jo let her loose.

It was probably the quickest breeze the mare had ever given her, the mare practically flew around the track, at a faster pace than Jo had really wanted, but at least she went the whole length Jo asked of her without veering off towards the rail this session. Pulling her up was a struggle though, the mare wanted her head, she still had plenty of energy to burn, but she didn’t want her to end up with an injury, she couldn’t see the horse being stall ridden for any longer than a day.

Finally getting her back into the mounting yard, Jo was just beginning to think she was going to get her back to the barn with less issues than getting her there had been, when the mare suddenly reared. A lapse of judgement, and she felt herself falling backwards, she hadn’t been expecting it, though she should have known it would’ve happened. Her petite frame hit the ground with a surprisingly loud and painful thud, feeling the ground vibrate beneath her as Erin took off and back out to the track.

“I hate you too,” she wheezed, all the breath knocked out of her.