Post by aurelia on Jun 14, 2017 11:32:07 GMT -6
Mismatched
Took the Night, "Tess" and Jacob Wellington
Bayahibe, "Bear" and Elisabeth Young
The two horses made an awful match, hands down. Elisabeth kept throwing a glance at the high-strung mare beside her, tossing her head and chewing on the bit while Jacob struggled to keep her at a trot. Tess was a wild child, always in charge around the farm. Soon enough, she would be making her debut at Green Horse Fields, and she would surely stun everybody watching. The young filly could probably win races on her own; Jacob was simply along for the ride. She was tugging against her jockey’s tight reins, itching to leap ahead of the calm gelding beside her. The two-year old was a firecracker, and Elisabeth couldn’t wait to see how she raced. Her mount, on the other hand, seemed half dead until the race began. He jogged lazily beside Tess, ears flopped outwards and head dropped. Luckily, Bear wasn’t fazed by Tess’s antics, but he could struggle to keep up with her on the track. At three years old, he had only raced once, and although it had been a strong showing, he was capable of much more. It was tough to work him at home, though- with only Tess as a workout partner, they were always forced to make compromises. Today, they were running on Bear’s typical dirt track, but at Tess’s preferred distance- only 7 furlongs. Bear ran best at longer distances, where he had more time to come out of his shell and into the lead, but he did have the surface advantage over Tess. Either way, this workout’s results were essentially unpredictable.
Keegan called over to the jockeys from the rail of the track. “Bring ‘em to the inside,” she yelled, her voice flat and direct as usual. “You can let them go.” Jacob turned his mare to the inside rail, and Elisabeth followed, ready to get these horses going. “Have a good run,” she said quietly to Jacob, who had already pushed Tess into a brisk canter. “See you at the wire,” he replied with a wink. Soon enough, the horses were off, having reached a full gallop in the blink of an eye. Bear was just behind Tess, and slightly to her outside. Elisabeth usually liked him to start a bit further away from the leader, but with this being such a short distance for the stallion, he needed to pick up the pace. Tess was running as if she was on fire; her hooves flew off the ground, clumsily landing on the ground as the mare tossed her head, eyes wide and ears pinned. She had speed, but she didn’t have the precision and strategy that Bear did. Elisabeth turned her focus back to her stallion, who was running at a decent pace, but calmly as usual. He was focused, but not anxious or strong. Bear was a dream to ride, and he knew his job. As the horses wrapped around the turn, Elisabeth tapped his haunch with the crop, and off he went. His stride opened quickly, and he burst into a gallop even faster than before, turning towards Tess and pinning her to the inside rail. The mare was putting up a fight, her eyes filled with her usual expression of anger and sass, but Bear remained unfazed. He continued to increase his speed until the distance between him and Tess was considerable. Elisabeth relaxed a bit, knowing the end was near, that Keegan would be bursting with pride at her stallion’s impressive work- when suddenly Tess breezed past them, easily catching up to Bear. Elisabeth continued to push the stallion, but he was doing all the work himself. He was fighting, pushing Tess into the rail, his strides careful and even, but Tess was on fire. She somehow managed to surpass Bear at the last minute, crossing the wire just a hair ahead of him. Elisabeth sighed and patted the stallion on the neck, beginning to pull him up to a canter. She was proud of him nonetheless- he put up a good fight, and this wasn’t his ideal distance anyway. But Tess had been impressive. There was no denying that.
Once both horses had slowed to a walk- which took Tess far too long- Keegan stepped out onto the track, patting each of her horses. “They look really nice,” she started, rubbing her hand along Tess’s dark face. “This girl’s crazy. She can run, even on dirt apparently, but she’s not very careful. The stud’s smarter.” She turned towards Bear, running her hand down his sweat-covered neck. “He’s such a good boy. I want to see more from him,” she said, turning her gaze towards Elisabeth. “And from you. You can do more with this guy. I promise.”
Took the Night, "Tess" and Jacob Wellington
Bayahibe, "Bear" and Elisabeth Young
The two horses made an awful match, hands down. Elisabeth kept throwing a glance at the high-strung mare beside her, tossing her head and chewing on the bit while Jacob struggled to keep her at a trot. Tess was a wild child, always in charge around the farm. Soon enough, she would be making her debut at Green Horse Fields, and she would surely stun everybody watching. The young filly could probably win races on her own; Jacob was simply along for the ride. She was tugging against her jockey’s tight reins, itching to leap ahead of the calm gelding beside her. The two-year old was a firecracker, and Elisabeth couldn’t wait to see how she raced. Her mount, on the other hand, seemed half dead until the race began. He jogged lazily beside Tess, ears flopped outwards and head dropped. Luckily, Bear wasn’t fazed by Tess’s antics, but he could struggle to keep up with her on the track. At three years old, he had only raced once, and although it had been a strong showing, he was capable of much more. It was tough to work him at home, though- with only Tess as a workout partner, they were always forced to make compromises. Today, they were running on Bear’s typical dirt track, but at Tess’s preferred distance- only 7 furlongs. Bear ran best at longer distances, where he had more time to come out of his shell and into the lead, but he did have the surface advantage over Tess. Either way, this workout’s results were essentially unpredictable.
Keegan called over to the jockeys from the rail of the track. “Bring ‘em to the inside,” she yelled, her voice flat and direct as usual. “You can let them go.” Jacob turned his mare to the inside rail, and Elisabeth followed, ready to get these horses going. “Have a good run,” she said quietly to Jacob, who had already pushed Tess into a brisk canter. “See you at the wire,” he replied with a wink. Soon enough, the horses were off, having reached a full gallop in the blink of an eye. Bear was just behind Tess, and slightly to her outside. Elisabeth usually liked him to start a bit further away from the leader, but with this being such a short distance for the stallion, he needed to pick up the pace. Tess was running as if she was on fire; her hooves flew off the ground, clumsily landing on the ground as the mare tossed her head, eyes wide and ears pinned. She had speed, but she didn’t have the precision and strategy that Bear did. Elisabeth turned her focus back to her stallion, who was running at a decent pace, but calmly as usual. He was focused, but not anxious or strong. Bear was a dream to ride, and he knew his job. As the horses wrapped around the turn, Elisabeth tapped his haunch with the crop, and off he went. His stride opened quickly, and he burst into a gallop even faster than before, turning towards Tess and pinning her to the inside rail. The mare was putting up a fight, her eyes filled with her usual expression of anger and sass, but Bear remained unfazed. He continued to increase his speed until the distance between him and Tess was considerable. Elisabeth relaxed a bit, knowing the end was near, that Keegan would be bursting with pride at her stallion’s impressive work- when suddenly Tess breezed past them, easily catching up to Bear. Elisabeth continued to push the stallion, but he was doing all the work himself. He was fighting, pushing Tess into the rail, his strides careful and even, but Tess was on fire. She somehow managed to surpass Bear at the last minute, crossing the wire just a hair ahead of him. Elisabeth sighed and patted the stallion on the neck, beginning to pull him up to a canter. She was proud of him nonetheless- he put up a good fight, and this wasn’t his ideal distance anyway. But Tess had been impressive. There was no denying that.
Once both horses had slowed to a walk- which took Tess far too long- Keegan stepped out onto the track, patting each of her horses. “They look really nice,” she started, rubbing her hand along Tess’s dark face. “This girl’s crazy. She can run, even on dirt apparently, but she’s not very careful. The stud’s smarter.” She turned towards Bear, running her hand down his sweat-covered neck. “He’s such a good boy. I want to see more from him,” she said, turning her gaze towards Elisabeth. “And from you. You can do more with this guy. I promise.”
