Akiko giggled as the stoll was pushed back to the ground, bringing her into an upright position was well. Artax snorted as the attention of her gentle hands was taken away from him, hooves stamping against the floor of the stable. The teen’s demeanor seemed to change when she noticed the double take her father took toward his pocket, recognizing the slight furrow of his brow. As her father walked away Akiko turned her attention on Lochellen.
“Where are you from? I like your accent. How long have you been riding horses? Did you ever win any competitions? Do you still compete?” Questions seemed to pour out of Akiko all at once and Loch laughed jovially as she worked to keep track of all of them. Artax huffed again, he sounded impatient. Curious as to why so many people were standing outside his stall if not to pay attention to him. Akiko started petting the horse again, back to her stool tipping ways in the absence of her dad.
“I am from good old South Carolina,” she replied, playing up her accent for the girls amusement. Akiko beamed. “I’ve been riding for fifteen years and I have won dozen of competitions. Both show jumping and barrel racing-”
“What’s barrel racing?”
Loch grinned. “You’ve never seen a barrel race?” Akiko shook her head. “Alright. Well, it’s real simple. You got three barrels spread out in a triangle, and what you gotta do is get your horse around those barrels as close and as fast as possible without knocking them over.”
“That doesn’t sound too hard?” Akiko’s face scrunched up in childish confusion, nose wrinkling.
“You’d be surprised,” Loch countered. “Takes a lot of control to get a horse to do what you want. I don’t compete anymore. I mostly teach and do trick riding.”
“Trick riding?”
Loch playfully propped her hands on her hips, eyes widening at Akiko. “You’ve never seen trick riding?” she asked in mock exasperation. “You must not be from around here then.”
Akiko shook her head quickly, looking over to where Sanders was still on the phone. “I live with my mom in California and stay here with my dad during the summer.”
Before Loch could answer any more questions, Sanders returned and handed the phone off to Akiko. She looked at it somewhat annoyed. She wished her mother would just leave her alone when she was in Colorado. Akiko liked having time away from her overbearing mother who couldn’t resist making phone calls such as these. Rolling her eyes and sighing dramatically Akiko stepped off the stool and pushed the phone towards her ears as she moped away. She could be heard talking in clipped Japanese as she paced impatiently at the entrance to the stable.
“It’s fine,” Loch smiled at him reassuringly as he apologized. She didn’t take the saddle right away, waving her hand as he voiced his concerns. “No jumping today,” she informed, following him into Artax’s stall. “First few lessons will be all about basic riding and control.” She placed a felt pad across the horse’s back and then motioned for Sanders to add the saddle. After he’d done so Loch began adjusting the straps to secure the saddle.
“Jumping also requires a different kind of saddle,” she continued explaining, sliding a hand between the straps to check the tightness. Her voice was pleasant and informative without sounding bored or condescending. She was a natural teacher, and genuinely enjoyed sharing her experience.
Akiko’s voice could be heard rising to a glass-shattering pitch of a whine, seemingly at odds with her mom.
“Her glasses will be okay for now, but if she feels serious about jumping I would lean towards getting her contacts.”
Akiko eventually returned to them, looking impressively red-faced and angry for a thirteen-year-old. She thrust the phone back in her dad’s direction. “She is crazy,” Akiko complained, certainly mimicking a descriptor she had heard in another context. “Why can’t she leave me alone while I am here,” she muttered angrily. Though, much like a teenager her sour mood seemed to dissolve as she looked up at the painted horse, all saddled up.
"Oh my gosh!" Excitement renewed.
“Where are you from? I like your accent. How long have you been riding horses? Did you ever win any competitions? Do you still compete?” Questions seemed to pour out of Akiko all at once and Loch laughed jovially as she worked to keep track of all of them. Artax huffed again, he sounded impatient. Curious as to why so many people were standing outside his stall if not to pay attention to him. Akiko started petting the horse again, back to her stool tipping ways in the absence of her dad.
“I am from good old South Carolina,” she replied, playing up her accent for the girls amusement. Akiko beamed. “I’ve been riding for fifteen years and I have won dozen of competitions. Both show jumping and barrel racing-”
“What’s barrel racing?”
Loch grinned. “You’ve never seen a barrel race?” Akiko shook her head. “Alright. Well, it’s real simple. You got three barrels spread out in a triangle, and what you gotta do is get your horse around those barrels as close and as fast as possible without knocking them over.”
“That doesn’t sound too hard?” Akiko’s face scrunched up in childish confusion, nose wrinkling.
“You’d be surprised,” Loch countered. “Takes a lot of control to get a horse to do what you want. I don’t compete anymore. I mostly teach and do trick riding.”
“Trick riding?”
Loch playfully propped her hands on her hips, eyes widening at Akiko. “You’ve never seen trick riding?” she asked in mock exasperation. “You must not be from around here then.”
Akiko shook her head quickly, looking over to where Sanders was still on the phone. “I live with my mom in California and stay here with my dad during the summer.”
Before Loch could answer any more questions, Sanders returned and handed the phone off to Akiko. She looked at it somewhat annoyed. She wished her mother would just leave her alone when she was in Colorado. Akiko liked having time away from her overbearing mother who couldn’t resist making phone calls such as these. Rolling her eyes and sighing dramatically Akiko stepped off the stool and pushed the phone towards her ears as she moped away. She could be heard talking in clipped Japanese as she paced impatiently at the entrance to the stable.
“It’s fine,” Loch smiled at him reassuringly as he apologized. She didn’t take the saddle right away, waving her hand as he voiced his concerns. “No jumping today,” she informed, following him into Artax’s stall. “First few lessons will be all about basic riding and control.” She placed a felt pad across the horse’s back and then motioned for Sanders to add the saddle. After he’d done so Loch began adjusting the straps to secure the saddle.
“Jumping also requires a different kind of saddle,” she continued explaining, sliding a hand between the straps to check the tightness. Her voice was pleasant and informative without sounding bored or condescending. She was a natural teacher, and genuinely enjoyed sharing her experience.
Akiko’s voice could be heard rising to a glass-shattering pitch of a whine, seemingly at odds with her mom.
“Her glasses will be okay for now, but if she feels serious about jumping I would lean towards getting her contacts.”
Akiko eventually returned to them, looking impressively red-faced and angry for a thirteen-year-old. She thrust the phone back in her dad’s direction. “She is crazy,” Akiko complained, certainly mimicking a descriptor she had heard in another context. “Why can’t she leave me alone while I am here,” she muttered angrily. Though, much like a teenager her sour mood seemed to dissolve as she looked up at the painted horse, all saddled up.
"Oh my gosh!" Excitement renewed.
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Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 11-07-2016, 10:41 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 11-08-2016, 12:08 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 11-08-2016, 07:24 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 11-09-2016, 04:33 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 11-10-2016, 04:05 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 11-10-2016, 05:35 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 11-11-2016, 12:46 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 11-16-2016, 01:07 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 11-16-2016, 04:30 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 12-01-2016, 08:54 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 12-03-2016, 07:03 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 12-04-2016, 12:29 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 12-07-2016, 03:38 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 12-08-2016, 01:49 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 12-24-2016, 02:44 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 12-24-2016, 04:13 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 02-05-2017, 09:45 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 04-30-2017, 12:24 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 04-30-2017, 06:44 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 05-12-2017, 11:21 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 05-15-2017, 11:00 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 05-18-2017, 01:11 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 05-21-2017, 04:53 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 05-27-2017, 06:25 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 05-29-2017, 03:46 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 06-09-2017, 10:03 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 06-24-2017, 09:15 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 06-27-2017, 12:44 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 07-23-2017, 08:57 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 08-03-2017, 05:52 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 08-08-2017, 05:53 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 08-13-2017, 06:56 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 10-09-2017, 07:32 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 10-24-2017, 12:20 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 11-06-2017, 01:58 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 11-22-2017, 01:43 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by saronym - 03-15-2018, 12:41 AM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 01-05-2018, 07:52 PM
RE: Summer Reins [Closed] - by megs - 04-01-2018, 04:35 AM