almost finished... - open

[archibald]

biohazard ,

C’mon Arty boy, time to get out there and strut your stuff,” Taylor said to the chestnut cold, his English accent sounding thick and tired, it tended to become more prominent when he needed sleep. Yeah, he was probably going to go home and crash for a couple of hours after this workout, seeing as Arty was his last ride for the day. Probably his own damn fault for not actually sleeping at a decent hour the night before, he was always doing that...he was beginning to get the feeling he had insomnia or something. He led the colt down to the track, spotting his trainer, Ashton, already waiting for them in the mounting yard.

Typically male and not up for too much chatter this early in the morning, the both of them, their greeting was short, a mumbled hello and a nod in each other’s directions, Ash helping Taylor up into Arty’s saddle, before rattling off a list of instructions he wanted Taylor to follow for the colt’s workout. Taylor nodded when he was done, fixing up the colt’s reins as he spoke. “Yeah yeah, I get it,” he mumbled, perhaps a little irritably, but if the older trainer had noticed his tone, he didn’t say anything about it. They had been working together for a while now, he knew that the rider wasn’t exactly the most patient of people in the mornings.

Kicking the Thoroughbred lightly on to a walk, Taylor headed him out onto the inner dirt track, glad to see that it wasn’t too muddy that morning, which would mean a whole lot less cleaning up for him to do later on. Once they were out there, he urged him on a little faster as they got into their warm up lap, up into a trot, then eventually a slow canter, keeping an eye out for any other horses using the track.

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Not fantastic, but meh, needed to get a training post done for him...open to anyone, I'm not fussed xD

[S u N f r O s t ~]

FIRE DANCER and KRYSTAL YHATE

The two year old filly stood with an aura of seniority that better suited a seasoned racehorse. She stood at her monstrous seventeen hands and surveyed the track like a queen, her insolent gaze raking over the dirt as though she viewed it...well, like dirt. Krystal sat astride the bay, also looking out over the track, but with a much friendlier gaze. She was looking for competition. Fire was a bit less cold and a bit more willing to listen when racing against others. Krystal didn't feel like working the icebox that she was otherwise today. A little competition would warm it up, though it certainly was hot enough already, seeing as it was summer.

Krystal spotted a colt about to begin going through the motions of warming up. She watched with interest as he began to trot, and cued Fire to follow. The filly icily responded, not really caring, and carried herself loftily forward. She took no notice of the colt, and instead focused on looking straight ahead and acting dead to the world. But Krystal wasn't paying attention to her now - she was looking at and watching the colt, and liking what she saw. The rider and horse were unfamiliar, but there were tons of new faces this year. As a faithful shadow, Krystal had Fire canter when the colt did, and then decided to catch up and introduce herself. She had found a workout partner.

She let Fire go, and the dark bay swept up the track with massive strides to catch up to the colt in little time. Krystal flashed a smile at the rider, and said Hey. Do you need a workout partner? Fire did not react whatsoever to being in the colt's presence, but she did stick to his side as she continued to canter. Already the ice was melting, as Krystal had intended.

[archibald]

biohazard ,

Taylor had to admit, riding Arty did make the morning a much more pleasant experience, no matter how tired he was or how bad of a mood he was in. The colt was well behaved, for a racehorse, but he still had that fire that he needed. He was just a tad more responsive, having a sensitive mouth meant that he didn’t have to use the reins too hard to get him to slow down. And giving him his head gave a huge spurt of power from the chestnut colt, loving not being held back, just wanting to run. He didn’t even have to use a crop that much, just as a slight reminder on occasion or to let him know he had to speed it up for the backstretch.

He spotted the other horse and rider out of the corner of his eye before they caught up to them, you always had to be observant when you were riding out on the track, or else accidents tended to happen. He didn’t have to worry though, the woman on top of the filly leaving an appropriate amount of space between the two horses as she levelled with them. He wasn’t worried about Arty around her either, he was curious about horses when it came to being in the stable and the pasture but he had never seemed to be bothered much by them when he was being ridden, and besides, the filly she was riding didn’t seem too bothered with Arty either.

Taylor turned his head slightly at the sound of her voice, flashing her a slightly crooked grin before turning his attention back to the track in front of them. “Well, I won’t say no to that, nothing like a good healthy dose of competition first thing in the morning,” he answered, tones a good deal cheerier and good natured than they had been talking to Ash a few minutes earlier.

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Sorry for the wait!

[S u N f r O s t ~]

The filly took little notice of the colt, instead examining her surroundings with interest. The dirt under her hooves was cool, as the morning sun had yet to warm it. She seemed to quietly enjoy the feeling, and was of course very obedient to Krystal as a result. What had she to complain about? Life was good, she was getting a run in, and now had some competition. She drew herself up a bit higher as she continued to canter, wanting to cast as daunting a presence on the other horse, as to intimidate them out of challenging her. Not that it would work, seeing as the rider - what was his name? - would have the colt run the race anyway.

Krystal smiled at the other rider's words, liking what she heard. Competition is as good as a cup of coffee. And Fire needs the race she thought, pleased. She stroked Fire's neck once, without really thinking about it, before speaking again. Well, before we start, I'm Krystal Yhate, and this is Fire Dancer, or Fire. We ride for Stride Of Perfection. It was her default greeting when it came to workout partnering. She had obviously done this many times, so as to know what information needed to be let out - and gathered - in order to create a successful workout. How long were you going to work your colt for? she asked, getting on to the specifics of the task at hand. Krystal never was one to wait around and exchange pleasantries, especially with the business-like attitude of Fire rubbing off on her.

[archibald]

biohazard ,

Arty seemed to glance at the filly, before quickly settling back into looking ahead of him, not taking much notice of her again. He sometimes wondered if the colt was just daydreaming sometimes, he took barely any notice of other horses on the track, even if they were acting the alpha and attempting to boss him around. It didn’t normally interfere with his racing, but it was almost like he had forgotten there were other horses around on the rare occasion and needed a gentle reminder that he actually had to try. Otherwise he was just happy to run along the track without a care in the world.

Taylor grinned at her. “Nice to meet you, Krystal. I’m Taylor Grimshaw, and this here is Biohazard...or Arty around the barn. And we’re from Close Racing, can’t say we’ve been here for long, the owner just moved part of his branch here for racing,” he answered. He vaguely knew who the barn she was from, but he was still trying to stick the local competition into his memory, it was always easier when you met someone from a barn or something of the sort. That, and he just had a terrible memory when it came to names and places, as it was.

“Well, we’ve only just started so he’s still got plenty of fuel in the tank, so I think we’ll be going on for a while yet,” Taylor replied. It was ultimately up to him what Arty did today anyway, since Penn wasn’t here to give him instructions and had pretty much left Taylor in charge of his workout.

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*flops*