LGBT Pride and Support Show: Endurance Failure

*I got the okay from the show owner to retry this image for a new show since it hasn't run in so long. So that is why the landscape isn't on par with the show's necessarily, also why the story is out of the original time frame a bit XD

Show: LGBT Pride and Support Show
Class: Cross Country
Horse: Stout Outlaw "Stella" agentqstables.deviantart.com/a…
Age: 6
Training: agentqstables.deviantart.com/a…
Rider: Will Grihm agentqstables.deviantart.com/a…
Age: 30
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Much to the anticipation of the AQS crew, Stella had come of age to be able to do shows. They had been training her for so many years, and although they were accustomed to getting their horses into shows at age 3 or 4, The Sponsor requested they wait until she was older due to the understanding that Georgians were not technically considered mature until age 6. Last thing she wanted was to ruin a perfectly good horse. Lana had been waiting for that day with such sheer joy that she already had shows lined up right out of the gate as soon as the mare was of age.

But for better or worse, the first show was not only oversees, but in a climate so different from their own that Lana was starting to regret having signed the mare up or it. It was a strange 2 part show, where they would be doing endurance in Africa, then get shipped back to do driving in England. Thankfully the travel expenses for that were payed for by the hosts, but the crew was increasingly worried how the travel time would affect Stella. And as they loaded her for the plane, Will couldn't help constantly bugging the airplane crew on her status. It got to the point where Lana was worried they would call the air marshals to restrain him since he was bugging them so much. Overall, thankfully, Stella did okay for her first flight. There weren't many other animals aboard and so she wasn't terribly overstimulated, but they could all tell when they unloaded her that she was definitely worn out. So many sounds, sights, and smells were bombarding her every second and the mare was exhausted. They were given a few days for recovery before the endurance trail, but the AQS crew was concerned it wouldn't be enough.

On the fateful day of the endurance class, the poor mare still seemed worn out, although she did her best to conceal it. Inwardly, she was no just exhausted, but a bit fearful and sad too, as they didn't allow Max to come along for this trip. Without her good luck cat, how was she possibly going to be fine? All of the other horses just ignored her or scoffed at her, saying she was too pretty for an endurance trail like this and that the lions would eat her alive. Stella didn't know what lions were, but they sounded like the cougars and wolves back home, only worse, and that terrified her deeply. Sometimes when Will was doing trails and endurance training with Stella back home in the deep woods, he would take a massive gun with them and other weird defensive gear. Thankfully, they had yet to run into any creatures, but each time he holstered that weapon before a ride, Stella became concerned. And this time, he had no such gun with him. How were they possibly going to defend themselves?

What Will knew and Stella didn't was that the entire endurance trail had jeeps all along the route at regular intervals, watching for any possible predators, seasoned veterans against lions, leopards, cheetahs, and poachers. Will knew they were actually quite safe. The sponsors of the show had taken nothing to chance for their guests.

But as everyone lined up at the starting line, poor Stella was slowly becoming unglued Fellow riders were laughing at Will's ridiculously bright riding gear, not quite understanding that it was originally designed so bright for riding in the blinding Minnesota blizzards, but Stella mistook their laughter for them mocking their soon death at the hands of a lion. Will did his best to try and comfort her, but he already knew this was going to be a long ride. Once the line started forward, Will was able to get Stella moving fine, bu he could tell she was eying everything out to such an insane degree.

They made it fine to the 1/4 and 1/2 check points alright, although the vets did ask about her nervousness and if Will thought she could keep going. She seemed to be calming a little bit, maybe the heat was finally exhausting her too much to care about lions, and so Will took the chance to keep going.

But it was partway to the 3/4 check point when disaster struck. With the jeeps constantly patrolling the road, most animals had kept away from the fearful sounds it made. But, as with any tourist trap, some animals had gotten accustomed to that sound meaning they would get treats from people. A jeep had passed Stella and Will not too long ago, and thus the metaphorical dinner bell had sounded. As they followed some distance behind the jeep, Stella heard something in the grass. At first, her eyes didn't see anything as she was unaccustomed to the range of orange and red that this land cast. Then she saw it, a flicker of black and brown in the distance! Then two of them! LIONS!

Stella spooked, skidded into the dusty road from her slow lope with such speed and startle that Will was caught completely unaware. His body was thrust forward and gravity was momentarily gone as he became airborne. And just as Stella felt him leave her back, she saw regretfully that it was not in fact lions, but a pair of gazelles now as scared as she was at her movement, now bounding off after realizing they were not going to get treats from this pair. And so Stella had to watch in slow motion and horrible guilt as she saw her rider pole-vaulting over her head and hit the ground with a resounding thud and crack. She cried and cried out when Will didn't move right away, dancing in fear of what she had done. It took a few minutes, painfully long minutes, but eventually Will groaned and shuffled his weight experimentally about. He winced when he touched his right shoulder and ribs, having a good idea that he probably broke a few. And for a while he just sat there, trying to carefully breathe, while Stella nuzzled him gently and pitifully, wishing she hadn't have been such a fool. Her rider could only give her a sad smile, a reassuring pat, the two leaning against each other for a bit before Will finally tried to get up.

Will had to decide then: stop or keep going? If he waited much longer, another jeep patrol would be coming around and if they saw him like this, they would disqualify him for injury right away. They had come a long way and Will's sense of pride was fighting for the chance to finish. If was really as bad as he was afraid it might be, he could always just try to ride to the next check point and then have the medics examine him. At least that would give him a chance to fully assess the situation. His pride reared angrily, and so Will slowly lifted back onto Stella's saddle, the mare whimpering at him still in guilt of what she had done. The young man looked out across the majestic savannah plains and saw the spooked gazelles still bounding off in the far distance, laughed at himself. Only in the tall grass do gazelles become lions. Eventually, the rider spoke softly to the mare and the pair made their way onwards.

They did end up passing the check points and finishing, Will lied about how his condition was and the vets said nothing was wrong with Stella, but they both knew that this event scarred them for future rides.

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Pose reference: horses--stock.deviantart.com/a…
Dapples: emmy1320.deviantart.com/art/Da…
Clouds: project-gimpbc.deviantart.com/…
Grass: justsilvia.deviantart.com/art/…
Trees: getfirefox.deviantart.com/art/…
Gazelle: jassy2012.deviantart.com/art/S…
Mountains: agentqstables.deviantart.com/a…
Road and Dust Texture: theechodragon.deviantart.com/a…