Crossing The Forest

The second day of the competitions brought with it the same rushing murmur of excitement and restlessness as the first, and Edith couldn’t help but be drawn to it after showjumping the previous day.

Her tail swished, circling as she waited for her rider.

Alene was later than she had been the previous day, far later.

Still, Edith was patient, keeping herself settled as much as she could. It wasn’t like the activity outside her stall was exactly dulling anyway, which meant she likely wasn’t missing much.

“Hey, Edith!”

The mare perked up immediately, nickering a greeting as she crossed the space to greet her rider.

“Sorry, girl, I wanted to get some lunch before we got ready.”

Edith supposed that was more than a little understandable, snorting her agreement to the decision.

“I brought your bridle today so we don’t have to worry about swapping it while we tack up,” Alene added softly, and Edith bowed her head to let the bridle be slipped on, the familiar feeling of the buckles being adjusted and secured welcome as the bit settled in her mouth.

Alene didn’t always use them, but for competitions it wasn’t uncommon, and Edith didn’t particularly care either way so long as they got to ride.

“Alright, let’s go get you ready,” Alene murmured, fingering and seemingly righting one of the leaf-shaped decorations on the bridle before opening the stall door and leading Edith out.

Just as they had the previous day, the mare was easily tied, Alene retrieving her brushes to ensure the mare’s coat was clean and free of any debris that might cause actual discomfort. Today she also checked the mare’s hooves, carefully picking up each foot to ensure there was nothing that would cause discomfort during the activities to come.

Once she was satisfied, she put her grooming kit away and returned with the autumn leaf-patterned blanket from the day before and their usual saddle. Edith relaxed as the two items were settled on her back, the girth secured around her. The breastplate was added for additional stability, and Alene retrieved the protective leg wraps to secure around the mare’s legs.

Alene hummed, satisfied, as she did a final check over Edith, and the Loshenka let out a whinny of her own, tossing her head as much as she could without tugging on her tied reins as excitement built.

“Alright, alright, no more dilly dallying, got it,” Alene acquiesced with a laugh, quickly untying her horse.

Mounting was quick and easy, as familiar as the scents and sights of their home stable, and Edith could feel her tail flag as Alene turned her to head for one of the warm up paddocks.

It wasn’t all that different from the warm up they’d done for show jumping, walking a few circles before repeating the process with trot. Then came the figure eights and serpentines, followed by some stretches and work with the ground poles.

Simple and easy, familiar and comforting. And yes, Edith was ready to be out on the course and seeing what awaited them when they actually ran it rather than just walking through to see what they were up against, but she knew the importance of this, of being ready for that sort of activity.

And so, she remained patient as they finished their last pass over the poles and turned to head for the field that marked the start of the cross country course.

A crisp breeze filtered through the area, Edith huffing at it. It wasn’t unpleasant, far from it really, but the last thing she wanted was to get cold after she’d just warmed up!

“It’s okay, it won’t be too long now if they’re on schedule,” Alene assured, amusement in her voice as she patted the mare’s neck, drawing them to a stop near the back of the crowd where they just could see the starting line as the next competitor was sent off.

Edith watched as the duo sped forward, leaping the first obstacle without a pause and disappearing into the colorful forest and out of sight.

Patience…

She let her eyes close, listening to the hushed voices around her as she waited.

No point in being tense for something she still had ages for, after all.

And then…

“Entrant 128, please take your place!”

“That’s us,” Alene murmured, nudging at Edith’s sides. The mare was more than happy to move into position next to the starting line, ears pricking forward as she raised her head once more and grew focused.

The first jump, just a simple log with two thin poles on either side, was easy enough, and then the forest would lay in wait for them…

“Next up, we have Alene Quinten riding her mare, KJS Snowy Mount Edith! I don’t see any snow around today, but hopefully that won’t deter this duo from giving the best they’ve got!”

Edith’s ear flicked, almost confused by the announcer’s musing.

Though, as the sound to start rang out, there was no reason to focus on it, her muscles moving on long traied instinct as Alene nudged her sides once more.

The Loshenka’s muscles rippled as she burst into a canter, and then into a gallop. The distance between her and the first obstacle disappeared, a careful pull on the reins guiding her into the correct stride and then…

Up and over!

She couldn’t help but whinny as they landed, tail flaring up behind her as she took off for the trees, Alene’s own joy at the simple thrill of riding radiating from her back.

Leaves crunched under her hooves as they hurtled into the woods, the radiance of reds, oranges, and yellows decorating every place that Edith could see, broken only by the worn trail they were following and the flashes of blue sky peeking through the thinning leaves overhead.

It was quite beautiful, she could admit.

Around a twist in the path, and there was the next jump, massive points of the leaves making it stretched skyward.

It was easy enough to jump, and then they had another open stretch to merely follow through the forest.

The course seemed to blur, the jumps rising out of the ground as if nature had conveniently built them more often than not. Which was fine by Edith’s standards, frankly, it wasn’t like they were anything they couldn’t handle.

There was, admittedly, one moment as they came around a tight turn that she worried, the fallen log laying at an angle and featuring what looked like skeleton squirrels on each end of it. Still, despite the rather startling creatures, she refused to break her stride, and the jump itself was simple enough.

Plus, once they’d managed that, they were in the home stretch and it was easy enough to cross the finish line to the cheers of the gathered crowd.

“Good job, Edith,” Alene murmured, a smile obvious in her own voice as she patted along Edith’s neck as she steered the mare away from the course.