Chapter 15
Tessa's POV:
"Do you have a faucet around here?"
Vanessa gave me an odd look. "Uh... No, not that I know of. Why?"
What stable doesn't have a faucet? "Challenger doesn't know how to drink from an automatic waterer, I want to make sure he stays hydrated. I have a bucket, but I need a place to fill it."
"Well, you could fill it from the wash bay."
"Alright."
It was after lunch and we were going to take up five of the six grooming bays while we tacked up our horses. Needless to say, we were a big company.
I walked up to Challenger's stall, and was surprised to find his lead rope wrapped up neatly and professionally. I certainly hadn't done that. I could only assume that one of the grooms had.
I unclipped the lead rope from the stall door. It was so nicely done that I was loathe to unwrap it. Reluctantly I unwounded it.
The stall door did not slid but swung open, which was something that I liked. I pulled the glistening silver handle, and it came open with no squeaks.
Challenger pricked his ears at me as I slipped it, closing the stall door behind me. "Hey boy. You want to go on a ride?"
He snorted and rubbed his head against his foreleg. I smiled as a swell of love hit me for this gray gelding.
I clipped his lead rope on under his chin and rubbed his neck. "She's determined to ride you boy," I whispered into his ear. "I promise, I won't let her do anything too mean to you. You and her just probably won't understand each other. Try your best, if you can, to understand, okay?"
Despite my tried persuasion, I knew he just couldn't understand, and that this ride probably wouldn't go well. I resolved not to think about it until it was time.
Vanessa's POV:
I lead a gleaming Win out of his stable, enjoying the sound of his shod hooves on the concrete floor. Win's stable was farther down, so I had longer to go than my fellow riders.
Ahead of us Tessa led Challenger out of his stall. The gray gelding obediently circled around her so she could close the stall door. A pang of disappointment made me twist the end of the lead rope.
Challenger would not be mine at the end of the day.
Oh well, Win was still one of the best event horses. I could live without Challenger, and I could win without him. But that wasn't to say that I didn't still admire the gray.
Tessa's determination that Challenger could not be ridden by me was beginning to make me wonder if I could, a new disturbing feeling that I was not used to. I shoved it aside forcefully.
I had sent a groom to fetch Medallion from her paddock, despite Tessa's insistence that she could go get her. She reluctantly agreed when I said that it would save time, which we didn't have much of: they had to leave at 3:30, and if we were mounted by 2, that gave us only an hour or so of ride time.
Lacy looked Win over as we passed the grooming bay she'd put Russo in. "Oooh, who's this handsome boy?"
"This is Win, aka Only First," I said as I led Win into a grooming bay and turned him around to clip him to the cross ties.
Lacy snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah, I remember him."
Tessa, across the aisle from me, already had Challenger in the grooming bay and clipped into the cross ties. Right next to him was Shocker, Mrs. Wellen's fleabitten mare. Challenger's ears swiveled constantly as he took in all the new sights and smells, while Shocker stood calmly.
Tessa patted Challenger's neck, then ducked under the cross ties. "We're going to go get our tack from the trailers Vanessa."
"Okay," I said as I clipped one of the crosstie's to Win's halter. "I'll set out Medallion's tack for you."
Medallion was led in by the groom. I pointed to the wash bay beside Win. "Put her in that one, please."
It surprised me how fast they got back with their tack. I had set out Medallion's tack and just begun grooming Win.
Lacy eyed Medallion approvingly. "Wow, what a pretty girl."
I nodded as I flicked the brush over Win's coat. "That's what everyone says."
"Well, it's true."
Despite Challenger being a gray, he'd stayed remarkably clean and all Tessa had to do was give him a quick brush off. She picked out his hooves, gave him water, and before I knew it, she was tacking him up in a turquoise saddle pad that matched her shirt and really popped on him.
I went to the rug room to grab a matching Musk saddle pad, then got Win's jumping saddle and girth. When I came out, Tessa was already tightening Challenger's girth.
"Wow, you sure tack up fast."
She looked up and smiled. "Thanks. When you ride three to four horses a day, you learn to be quick."
"You have more than one horse?"
"Oh no, I train and exercise client horses as a job, it's the way that I earn money for things that I want, like matching saddle pad sets or books."
"Oh..." I put on Win's saddle pad as I thought about this. Obviously she was way more experienced than I first assumed.
She'd finished tacking up Challenger, so she crossed aisle and came to Medallion.
"Hello gal," she murmured. Medallion flicked an ear at her, but otherwise remained completely chill.
Tessa raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you saving your energy to buck me off later?"
I chuckled. "Maybe."
The part I dreaded was coming up: bridling Win. He was still very resistant and I hated it. Why couldn't he just cooperate? I tightened his girth and reached for his bridle.
Tessa had finished tacking up Medallion by now. "What stall do you want me to put her in?" She asked as she finished tightening the girth.
I pointed to one and she unclipped the mare from the cross ties. She led her over there and tied her in the stall.
I was fiddling with my bridle straps, making sure everything was in place and the way I liked it. Then I hung it on my arm and slid Win's halter off his nose, buckling it around his neck.
As soon as I lifted the bridle Win's head shot to the sky. I growled. "Don't do this."
We tussled for five minutes, but as usual I couldn't get it on him. It didn't help that when I looked across the aisle Challenger lowered his head for Tessa, before willingly taking the bit from her.
She buckled his throatlatch and noseband, then unbuckled his halter and slid it off his neck. Instead of unclipping it from the cross ties, she let it hang between them, which created a makeshift stall that she left Challenger in as she came over to me.
"Want help?" She asked.
I gazed exasperated up at Win. "I guess so. I hate it when he does this, but I'm too short to stop him."
"Give me the bridle."
I handed it to her and she took my place as I backed away. I was pretty sure we weren't going to be able to bridle him without working together, but if she wanted to try it alone she was free to.
Win cocked an ear at her as she talked to him. "Why are you being so stubborn?" She asked as she reach her hand without the bridle up and put it on his poll. I raised an eyebrow. I usually bunched up the bridle, I didn't put my hand over his poll.
She slowly lifted the bridle up to him, but he flung his head up like usual. She stood on her tippy toes, but she didn't take her hand off of his poll. "Don't do that," she coaxed.
She kept the bridle lifted as close as she could to him. They stayed like that for a few minutes. I didn't know what she was doing.
Then Win lowered his head slightly. As soon as she did she took the bridle away from him, which made him lower his head fully.
They repeated this process many times, until Win only slightly lifted his head when she raised the bridle.
This time she grabbed the bridle in her hand at the top of the poll. Win again threw his head up and again she followed him. She just kept it there as best she could.
Win finally lowered his head a little. She patted him with her free hand. "Good lad."
Slowly she reached for the bit. Again he threw his head up when she tried to press it inbetween his lips. She couldn't follow him there, but still held the bit in her hand.
She waited until he finally gave again. "Good." She let the bit drop from her hand as a reward.
It took awhile, but she finally coaxed the bit inbetween his lips and slipped the head band over his ears. I anxiously looked at my watch. That had taken longer than what I wanted.
She ducked under the cross ties. "How long has he been like that?"
I shrugged. "A couple of months ago he started developing the habit."
"And you've just left it like that?"
I hesitated, embarrassed to admit that it had seemed easier to force him each time than work through the issue. "Yes. We just haven't been able to deal with it yet."
Tessa rolled her lips. "It doesn't have to stay that way, but it'll take longer to undo if you don't start working on it now."
That was all she said.
AN: Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter :) Anyhow, I don't have much to say here, except that Horsemen Trials is coming out today! So, if you're interested, go check that out ;)
See y'all next Sunday!
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