Devils Night Estate Show: Edgy Endurance

Show: Devils Night Estate Opening Show anti--vist.deviantart.com/jour…
Class: Endurance
Horse: Stout Outlaw "Stella" agentqstables.deviantart.com/a…
Rider: Will Grihm
Training: agentqstables.deviantart.com/a…
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After the driving entry in Bolivia, the AQS crew felt empowered about Stella's performance. Things were looking up from the Unstoppable show and her endurance guffaw there, not to mention the gorgeous beach ride they had accomplished, so Will was more than certain this ride would be fantastic. But one look at the course and Lana wasn't so sure. It wasn't terribly crazy of a route, just minor foothills for the most part and a little bit of forest, but there was a rather wide stream that Will would have to choose to either jump or go about 1 hour downstream for a bridge. They discussed it, but Will was still certain they could do it.

And so the ride was started on a misty an foggy afternoon, brisk enough to keep the horses energized, but not too cold to chill anyone down. Stella started out smooth as silk, just as the young man had anticipated. She was sure footed through the rocky portions and barely hesitated on the hills. Even the dark forest portions didn't startle her in the same way she spooked in Africa, no fear of wolves in her eyes.

Then he saw it. It was only a blip in the distance at first, but it was coming up fast. The stream. Will cast a glance downriver to see if he could spot the alternative route of the bridge, but it was so far off on the horizon that he couldn't even register it. Biting his lip, he started to realize the concerns Lana initially had. It was a pretty wide stream, getting close to a river in size, and not to mention deep banks on either side. He could feel Stella already eying the route suspiciously, seeing a drop off and not knowing where it led to. The rider tried to push his nervousness to the back of his mind, focusing on nothing but positive energy and sureness in their path. Everything in his body language was ready for a good solid jump, and Stella was responding to it wonderfully....

...until they got to the bank. Will gave her the kick to jump and instead he scrambled to hold himself in the saddle as she skidded to a stop, crying out in shock at the jump. He cursed, partly at her missing the perfect jump and partly himself for thinking she was totally ready for this. And after a few moments of getting the pair stumbling back away from the bank, the blame fell mostly on Will at that point. But he was so sure! The TIER show had been so amazing! But the more he let it linger in his mind, the more he realized it was a beach route they had been on, no stream or river jumps, mostly flat land with minor log hopping.

Will begged Stella to turn back for the stream after they had gotten some space between themselves and it, urging her on once again. And again, he set it up perfectly for her, ready to fly as they came to the bank....

....and again, nothing. Stella shrieked at him once more, whipping her head to the left and fighting him off. 20 minutes. 20 minutes he kept trying. They tried backing up further, they tried walking to the edge just to look it over, they tried a faster run. Riders came and went, some laughed at them, some offered help, some tried to ignore out of joint embarrassment. Towards the end of the 20 minutes, Will started eying the stream to the south, knowing that bridge was beckoning them now. But he couldn't give up, not here, and not to mention adding another hour to their already strained time.

So he took a deep breath, sitting on Stella and letting both of their nerves calm down for a bit, listening to the shrill calls of hawks in the air and the wind whistling through the field. Will gave one last look to the south, let out a deep sigh, and slid himself off of the saddle. Calmly walking to the mare's head, she contemplated him as if to ask "Why do you ask this of me? Why this?" The young man took her head up lovingly, cradling her face as she blew warm air on him, eventually resting his head on hers. They stood there together for a moment before Will spoke. "You know, girl, I imagine this can't be easy for you, none of this. All this travel, all these new places and smells. Then I go and act like a total jerk and force you to jump over what looks like an endless river." Will gazed into the dark honey eyes that endearingly looked back at him. "Tell you what, give me one last try, let's do this one more time. If you can't do it, if you just don't feel ready, we'll go south for the bridge. Maybe you know something about this jump that I don't, maybe you know you can't do it just yet. But just try, one more time for me?"

Will waited on drawn breath, hoping for some sign that the mare understood him. She blinked at him with forlorn eyes before finally nickering and lifting her head out of his hands. It was as good a sign as any for him, so the rider took her whims and mounted quickly. Making sure she would feel comfortable with this attempt, Will had her back up a few more yards, plenty of room for a good running start. Again, he took a deep breath, and he swore Stella took one with him. He urged her on and they moved swiftly towards the stream, hoping the hard run would give them the wings they could only dream for now. The bank approached fast and Will gave his soft kick once more....

....and felt as if gravity had left the earth....Stella did it! She jumped! Will clutched the reins in sheer joy and elation, he partially wondered if he might have cried out in joy as well. He was thankful other riders were not around to hear him. But Stella did not share the excitement her rider had as she felt so sure she had overstretched her abilities just then, seeing the opposing bank come up short in her eyes. If it were a sloped bank, she would not have felt so anxious, but she had only one shot at this jump and any thing short of it would end in disaster. She knew she couldn't get back up onto the shore from the stream, it was too high for her and they had witnessed how hard the fall was a few horses that failed it. And so as the shore came up fast, Stella thrust out her front legs as far as she could, hoping to sink them into the ground, flailing at the air in desperation....

...and with a jolt, both rider and steed felt the soft thud of her front hooves hitting the soil. But as Stella feared, her jump was short, and so her hind legs had come up short. She dug her front legs into the earth with fervor, Will leaning forward as far as he could to help her gain some ground. Her back legs scrambled, clawing and tearing away the bank in the hopes of getting her footing. It felt like forever, Will crying out to Stella "Go! Go! You can do it!" and the mare grunting in her equal frustration and determination. And slowly, she did it, pulling them both up onto the opposing back and clamoring from the edge. Will slipped off the saddle with relief, half laughing and half breathing heavily, falling to the ground and lying on his back for a bit, staring at the sky. The mare eventually regained her calm exterior and lazily went to her rider, nudging him to get back up. Will could only laugh at her, patting the beautiful bay face and running his fingers through the silvered mane before finally heaving himself off the ground and back into the saddle.

"Let's finish what we started, eh girl?" Stella nickered happily back and the pair made their way onwards.

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