Post by Lolly on Apr 12, 2017 5:51:52 GMT -5
Connie & Escapade.
Leo & Turbocharged.
Turf.
It was slowly starting to warm up, the bite of the crisp morning air fading away and retracting it’s ferocious hold on Connie’s cheeks; now rosy with chill. As the colt beneath her moved, jittering with an eagerness to run, she felt herself finally starting to become familiar with it all. She really had been thrown in the deep end with the passing of her grandfather, and exercise riding was something she had veered away from some time ago. But with a love for horses and a drive for success, Connie was beginning to grow fond of the early morning starts and what seemed like the endless management of mischievous thoroughbreds.
Escapade jogged beneath her, still feeling quite tight with anticipation. Soon enough, Leo appeared with Turbocharged in tow - and boy did that horse command attention. Paddy was a brilliant, admirable colt in his own right; but there was truly something captivating about the black colt that appeared before them. Perhaps it was his sheer size and impressive build, or his contained air, either way, she almost found it hard to believe such a magnificence was hers. “What took you so long,” Connie teased as Leo came through the gate to the track, feeling Paddy tense more so beneath her at the arrival of Turbo.
After mounting, Leo veered his ride towards the other two, and Connie broke Escapade from his loose circle to come up alongside them. Already it was obvious Paddy was going to be working harder to keep with Turbo’s <i>massive</i>, fluid trot. His movement was effortless and ground-covering, but his size might still give him some disadvantages on the track. Connie glanced over at Leo’s sudden chuckle with questioning eyes. “I can see Paddy is feeling the pressure, meanwhile Turbo thinks he’s King,” her friend retorted with a mischievous glance, and every word was true.
The two pairs picked their mounts up into a lope, Turbo’s massive rocking-horse canter appearing admirably relaxed in comparison to to Escapade’s… um, run. “It’s okay, let Paddy get ahead a bit, it’s how he rolls,” with the reassurance from Leo, Connie allowed him a moment of freedom, sending the front-runner scurrying forth with a burst of relief. He still didn’t relax though. They maintained it for a while, Turbo a few lengths behind, barely phased. “Let him go, Con!” what? Already? Her heart skipped a beat, anticipating the thrill.
Onwards and upwards! There was no acceleration in the sudden drive of Paddy, but rather a confident kick-off from the brunt of his powerful hindquarters that propelled him into an immediate gallop. Instantly competitive. Turbo rolled onwards behind, Leo becoming more aware to the adrenaline beginning to build within his core at the sight of his track-mate zooming on ahead. Instead of holding him back entirely, Leo let him make his own decisions, correcting him subtly when the horse got a bit too carried away. But for a two year old, he already had a pretty good grasp on how he wanted to win. Gradually he accelerated, building speed into his ground-covering stride and fast approaching Connie and Escapade.