Choppy Strides

Show: TLECs 2nd Annual Training Show
Horse: #070 SHEC Classy Emerald Lady
Rider: Evadene Laelia
Stable: Sleepy Hollow Equestrian Center
Class: Dressage
Number: 1003a




Evadene was busy packing grooming brushes, blankets and other tack when Joran came into the stable.

“How’s packing going?” Joran asked, coming up behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Well I think I have everything” she replied, looking down at the list she had made, hoping she hadn’t forgotten anything. She shrugged and stood up, brushing the gathered dust off her pants.

They had planned to take Emma to a small training show before they had moved, when they still lived in the states and Evadene still wanted to attend even if they would have to travel quite a ways just for a small show. Joran didn’t seem much sense in it, he was sure they could find a couple small local shows around them, but he had decided not to fight her on it.

“You and Emma will do great, just don’t forget her shadow roll” he smirked and kissed her on the forehead.

Joran would be staying behind, they were expecting a large shipment of horses to come in soon and while Murkarc had instead he could handle it Joran wanted to make sure all the horses settled in ok.

Murkarc was loading Emma into the trailer and Joran carried the last large tack box and placed it in the truck. They would only be gone a week but he would definitely miss her.

“Good luck and call me when you land” he said, leaning into the truck to give her a long kiss.

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Evadene had arrived at the stable where the show would be hosted, Timberlake Lane Equestrian Center. It was in Oklahoma and she wasn’t prepared for the blast of heat, her phone said it was only 88 out but with the humidity it felt much hotter. She squinted in the sun, she felt like she had just walked into a sauna and she wasn’t a fan of the heat at all.

She went to the back of the trailer to get Emma out and to see how she was handling the heat. Emma turned her head to look at her, she didn’t seem grumpy for once but more curious than usual. Evadene ran a hand all across her body, going down all four legs, making sure she hadn’t knocked them while traveling. All seemed good she she lead the mare out into the sun. She was glad the mare had stayed fairly clean, being such a light color and so much white required a ton of grooming.

The show wasn’t until tomorrow, she would let Emma rest in her assigned stall until then, going to check on her frequently.

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It was the day of the show and she had gotten up early to groom Emma and really make her shine. She was covered with a light layer of dust but it washed off easily with a bath which she was grateful for, at least she wasn’t covered in mud!

The mare seemed to be in good spirits until Evadene started tacking her up, now that it was time to work the mare started to get more and more grumpy as each piece of tack went on. Evadene rolled her eyes at her sulky mare, I guess she wouldn’t be looking very pleasant when they went into the ring…

Evadene took a deep breath and mounted, it would be their turn soon and she wanted to warm Emma up a little. Emma wasn’t making it easy though, she stayed stiff, not stretching out or becoming very round and on the bit when asked. Exasperated Evadene stopped and decided to just wait for her turn.

She trotted the her grumpy mare into the ring, she was surprised her ears pricked forward for a moment when they halted in the middle of the arena. She had a little spark of hope that the round might actually go well, she was wrong of course. As soon as she put her leg on to trot forward the mare pinned her ears back down. Tossing her head, Evadene actually worried for a moment that Emma would throw a tantrum right there in front of everyone. But after her little outburst she finally stayed round and Evadene was able to maintain a nice contact with the mare. Her gaits were still rather choppy and short, she asked for a regular, forward canter and it was much more collected than she would’ve liked. Same with her trot and even her walk… She wouldn’t even stretch out for her free walk. They definitely weren’t getting good scores.