Competive Love

F

Fliris

Guest
Original poster
Seven A.M. Painted Dreams Farm.

Amber Sparks awoke to her alarm clock ringing relentlessly in her ear. Fumbling around she found the off button and silenced the annoying sound. Yawning and stretching she got up and walked to the bathroom. Washing her face she looked into the mirror at her flawless complexion. She applied a small amount of make up and quickly changed into work chaps and a thin t-shirt. Slipping on her riding boots she headed out to the barn. It was a warm May morning and the horses were very happy for the nice weather. She unlocked the tack room and turned the lights on. Feeding the show horses she walked to the lesson barn and began grooming an older gelding she was going to use for a lesson later that morning. When she finished she texted her best friend Bri. 'Hey! All the ponies are feed and I don't have a lesson until eleven. Want to practice for the Pin Oak show next week? I just have to beat Penn!' Sending the message she stuck the phone in her back pocket and walked down her her gelding Rod's stall. Unlaching and sliding the door open she was greeted by a soft nicker.

"Hey there buddy." She slid his halter on and clipped it. Leading him to the concrete cross ties she began grooming the palomino and white paint. "We have a big show next week. And guess what? Penn is going to be there." Walking to his head she stratched his cheek. "We have to show him who's boss right?" The gelding shook his head up and down as if he really knew what she was saying. She laughed and continued to groom him.


 
Penn had gotten to the point where he didn't even set an alarm. He knew he'd just sleep through it. There was no shame in admitting it, it wasn't like Wipeout was waiting to be fed or let out, someone else did that. He loved his horse, don't get him wrong, but there were a lot of things that he just preferred not doing. He tossed his pajama pants across the room and rooted through his drawers for a shirt, pulling it on as he worked to find a pair of somewhat clean jeans. He zipped them up and put the belt he found on the headboard through his beltloops. Penn slid down the banister and grabbed his keys, heading for the barn after snatching an apple from the bowl on the table. It took five minutes to drive down to the barn, and a loud whistle to locate his horse. The buckskin was out in the paddock already, and he grinned, taking a bite of the granny smith and then jogged toward the fence. A few hellos from other riders and grooms were acknowledged and returned. The mare got the remaining apple, smacking her lips like it was the best thing she'd ever eaten. If you needed instant gratification, get a horse.


"Well if it isn't lady." He murmured, slipping a rope halter on her head and looping a lead rope around her neck so she would follow him. She didn't really need the rope, it just made the barn owner nervous when she wasn't wearing one. He let her go in her stall and grabbed his grooming kit, beginning to curry the horse out easily enough. "Pine Oak is next week. That means trail ride today, right?" He asked the mare and she barely flicked an ear in his direction. The horse was a lot more "talkative" after she was ridden.
 
After successfully getting Rod groomed to perfection Bri walked in through the front doors. "Hey Amber!" She chimed as she walked to her mare Zoey's stall. Bring her up beside Rod the girls gossiped as they tacked up. Climbing up onto the tall gelding she asked to to quietly walk forward with a relaxed speed. She let him walk a few rounds in the large heated indoor arena that had been dragged earlier that morning. Squeezing him into a slow jog she made him do circle after circle to keep him round and flexing correctly. "Good boy." She said letting him walk and patting his withers. Stopping by the gate to watch Bri she instructed her through a practice round as if they were at a show. Zoey did pretty well other than slipping on a wet spot and almost falling over. "Careful! Stay to the rail for a while." Once she finished Bri did the same for her. Rod was perfect. Taking both of his correct canter leads and keeping a low but supple headset. She smiled and stopped as if in the line up and praised him with pats and happy words. She let that end his work out for the day. She hopped down and walked him back to the cross ties. Untacking him and regrooming him to perfection she slipped a fly sheet on him and put him back in his stall with a flake of hay.


Turning around she saw the little girl whom she gave lessons to every Saturday morning. She led her to the lesson barn and gave her a good half an hour lesson. She waved good bye to her and her father. Bri had gone home to help her parents so Amber decided to clean her show tack. She spent the next there hours polishing and shining up her dark leather saddle and bridle. "There we go. Looks like the day I bought it." She put her tack away and drove home. Getting on her laptop she quickly logged onto her Facebook and posted a status about having a wonderful practice ride preparing for the Pine Oak show. She smiled and closed her laptop. She hopped in the shower to clean off the dirt and grime she had accumulated throughout the day.
 
(Sorry this took so long. Having trouble with Penn, he's a new character)

Wipeout was amusing herself in her water bucket as he groomed her out, finishing off by picking her hooves. He returned the grooming kit to it's place in his tack locker, and he preoccupied himself with saddling up the mare. She was the easiest horse he'd ever encountered when it came to actually getting her around. He'd had a few horses that cow kicked when you tightened the cinch, or others that required special tack. Not Wipeout, though. She was more than happy to go out, especially on warm days where she wasn't required to work terribly hard. Penn knew that it wasn't right to go for all work and no play. A former English rider, the boy was much less competitive in his new discipline than he had been his old, but that was due to overworking a horse in the past with a trainer's acknowledgement. He'd switched so he didn't have to worry about it as much. It didn't stop him from wanting to beat Amber at the next show, and maybe win a buckle or a nice ribbon for the mare to have hang on her stall door, but that was just a fact of life.


A barn cat had slipped into the stall while he went out to get his bridle, so the mare was far more interested in the tabby than she was in his bridle, but he brought her head up and asked her to accept, which she readily did. He went for his ride and returned to a bustling barn full of life and two or three lessons going on in the outside ring. He didn't regret missing the day crowd in the slightest. He released the mare into her pasture and used one of the barn showers to clean up so he could head straight to the restaurant he was supposed to meet a group of friends at. He'd heard rumors that his friends had invited a few people from other barns, but that hardly phased him. He could be pleasant without giving up on the idea of being competitive, right? He'd told himself that countless times, so he doubted now would be any different.
 
As soon as Amber stepped out of the shower she heard her phone chime. She looked at it quickly. 'The girls and other riders from other barns are meeting up for dinner. See you at the restaurant!' She smiled and quickly dried her soft blonde hair. Throwing on a loose crop top and a tank top she slipped on a pair of skinny jeans and sandals. Putting on some make up she texted Bri and told her she was about to leave. She hadn't hung out with her friends from the other barns in forever. Jumping into her Mustang she sped off towards the restaurant. Getting there she walked in and told the waitress she was with a large group she lead her to the table. Amber froze dead in her tracks. The only seat open at the table...was beside Penn.
 
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