[PHASE #3] Presenting: World So Small

The murmur of the crowd gave Hortense an odd sense of comfort as she stood outside the white sand arena next to a large bay tobiano Loshenka stallion. He shook out his coat and stretched out his neck to nudge Hortense in the back.
“Hey, quit that. You're gonna wrinkle my coat.” Hortense said to the horse, adjusting and smoothing out her black dressage coat. The loshenka offered a snort in response and tossed his head. Hortense slipped on her white riding gloves and adjusted her dressage hat gently, tucking a loose strand of her fiery orange hair into the hat to keep it out of her face. Rowan, Hortense's best friend, rounded the side of the large stallion, sporting his riding attire.
“Do you think he’s ready?” Rowan questioned.
Hortense swiveled to face the stallion's side, making sure the saddle and his girth were properly tight. “I don't think he's ready,” she said, “I know he’s ready.” 

A few minutes later, Hortense watched Rowan and his mare enter the arena for their dressage test. Her name was ‘Hope and Nostalgia’. Hope was the same breed as Hortense’s stallion, but she was smaller and a dominant white coated mare, and her coat shone like a heavenly beacon in the sunshine. Rowan and Hortense had toyed with the idea of breeding the two of them together, but Hortense wanted to wait to see if her stallion was worth the trouble of that endeavor.  Hortense’s eyes followed the mare and her rider as they went through their dressage test. Rowan was an extremely talented rider and had offered to take Hortense’s stallion through this dressage test, but Hortense had declined under the pretense that she wanted to be able to say that she had made the achievement. Hortense watched Rowan take his mare through the test flawlessly, their movements entirely as one, before the white mare came to the center, thus ending the dressage trial. Hortense turned towards her bat tobino stallion and gave him a small pat before gripping the seat and pommel of the saddle, hoisting herself onto his back. The stallion stirred slightly, and he seemed to tense underneath her. 

“Easy, boy..” She crooned softly, and the stallion gave a small sigh and stilled again. 

A short while later, Hortense picked up the stallion’s reins and turned him towards the entrance to the sanded arena. The hum and chatter of the crowd gave pause as the announcer called out the pair upon entry. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Hortense Torin! Presenting ‘World So Small’ and representing Sakura Estate.” 

Hortense brought the large stallion to the center of the arena at a collected walk, his neck arching gracefully. The irony of the stallion’s show name in comparison to his stature was not lost on her as she rode the 17.3-hand stallion. The pair halted in the center, and Hortense gave a fluid salute to the judges' box. A single judge tipped his head, and the test began. She ignored the pounding of her heart as she queued Bearon into a gracefully collected trot. The stallion's tail stood slightly flagged upwards, and Hortense could feel the eyes upon them as the test progressed. Though she was focused on the task at hand, Hortense marveled at how supple and smooth the stallion was responding to her. The behavior was a stark contrast to the way the stallion had been upon his arrival at the stables. Hortense let a small smile crack her lips as she allowed Bearon to extend himself and move fluidly to the extended trot, the stallion's neck arching again to a proud but relaxed state. The crowd seemed miles away from the pair as Hortense let her sole focus be on her horse and the movements they needed to complete. Bearon tensed just a bit as Hortense asked him to collect himself for the piaffe, the stallion's legs almost locking in the up position as he moved. Hortense gritted her teeth, knowing that was going to cost them points. Eventually, the stallion collected himself, and the piaffe became more fluid and collected. Hortense relaxed a little as Bearon accepted the extended canter in full, showcasing his exquisite rocking horse canter. Hortense took a deep breath as the stallion’s gait soothed her nerves. ‘Well, that was half the battle,’ she thought.  As they approached the corner of the arena, Hortense asked the stallion to do a nice flying change on the diagonal. The stallion offered no objection as they came down from one end of the arena, but Hortense would have liked to see a little more relaxation from him.  The crowd let out a gasp of worry, and Hortense’s heart jumped into her throat as the stallion spooked and lurched to the side, nearly throwing her as something rustled off to the side of the arena. Hortense gritted her teeth and righted herself in the saddle as the stallion collected his brain and resumed the dressage test. In reality, the mishap had probably only lasted mere seconds, but to Hortense, those seconds had slowed to hours as she took the stallion through the last of the moves in the routine. She blew out a breath of relief as she brought the stallion back to the center and gave a final salute to the judges. Her Heart swelled as she read her final score of 74.6

Hortense slid to the ground by the stallion as Rowan beelined for the pair. The stallion gave a well-earned shake, clearly releasing some of that tension he had been carrying in the arena. 

“That was amazing!” Rowan gushed, grabbing Hortense firmly by the shoulder and shaking her. 

Hortense shrugged out of his grip, laughing lightly and rolling her eyes. It wasn't perfect, but it was a successful ride. “He spooked and nearly threw me during the side pass, but he didn't fight me or anything, so that's good,” she said, humbly. The large stallion shook his head and let out an obnoxious snort. Hortense and Rowan let out a chuckle. The two friends bid each other adieu and separated for the rest of the schooling show. 

Hortense slowly untacked the Loshenka, taking her time with him. “You know, Bearon, you've come a damn long way,” she spoke softly, stroking the large stallion's neck. Hortense slid the leather halter over the stallion's head and clipped a lead rope to it. The soft clip-clop of his hooves on the guest stable floors soothed Hortense’s thoughts as she led him towards the stall he had been assigned. The stallion nosed her pocket as they walked, on the hunt for his treats. Hortense laughed as she put him away. “Alright, you heathen,” she scolded him. “You can't have your cookie yet. Give me a moment,” she said. Hortense unclipped his halter, and the stallion immediately lowered his head to his empty oat bin, then lifted his head to look at his rider as if to say, ‘There's something wrong with this picture. ’ Hortense smiled at him, and dug into her pocket for some of the homemade molasas apple cookies she had made for him. They were his favorite. The stallion nickered happily as he all but ate Hortense’s hand, devouring the treats.