Testimony of Horsemanship

         A lone rider approaches a vertical jump through the covering of white mist. The bay horse's hoofbeats echo eerily throughout the arena. The rider counts the strides to the jump within her head. They approach it quicker and quicker, the once looming object now approaches them like a stalking predator. 3, 2, 1... Let go and hold on! She rises with her horse and lays her hands on the gelding's crest. For a few seconds, nothing is heard but the whistling of the wind as it gently strokes them with it's breeze.

         Suddenly, a soft scraping is heard, and then the silence is broken with a soft thud. The rider shaked her head in disgust as she immediately realized what that sound means. They had failed to clear the obstacle again, that four foot vertical jump which refused to allow her horse escape it's touch.

         "Anna! You did it again! You didn't count your strides correctly, and let Starfire jump too soon. Now, canter around again, and this time, do it right!" a booming voice exclaimed to her and she looked down upon her trainer. He was an old man, with snow white hair which barely covered his head. He also had deep lines within his face which always seemed to be set in a deep scowl.

         "I'm really sorry, it's just, I can't do this! That is, what, the twentieth time
I've tried to jump that darn jump without knocking a rail down? We can't get over it! Couldn't you shorten it an inch or two, please? Or at least make it normal! You have bright flowers laid out in front; how is Star supposed to jump it?" Anna pleaded with her instructor, but it was to no avail. Her instructor only responded with a deeper scowl which made the lines upon his face even more pronounced.

         "Normal is just a setting on the dryer... nothing more. You and Starfire need to get used to jumping over flashier jumps, ya here?"

         Anna nodded in understanding and squeezed the gelding into a canter.
She was grateful that his gaits were smooth as glass, and his rocking canter soothed her all ready jumbled nerves. She circled him and ignored the dried autumn leaves which blew across her sight's path, and the cold wind which nipped at her horse's heels and stung her face. Her eyes followed the ring's brilliant white fences which whipped past them. With one last large circle she took her place on the rail, and hugged it as closely as she could. Star bounded forward, and took the bit within his teeth as he ground it with his teeth. With a momentary shake of his head foam splattered to the ground and stained her navy hunter coat.

         "Come on boy, one last time. Then we can load ourselves into the truck and
head back home. Sounds good, doesn't it?" Anna whispered into the gelding's ear as she rose into a two point and fought to contain his unbridled energy. For a few seconds, he slowed down as his left ear cocked towards her voice. Just as his ears turned to listen to her, they immediately pricked forward as they left the rail and cantered to the jump. The bright pink, yellow, and orange flowers flirted with them as it waved in the breeze, seeming to beckon them to come closer. Star answered with a burst of speed as he refused to listen to Anna any longer and instead only watched the jump ahead.

         "Star! Come on boy, listen to me. You have to let me help you through this jump; we have to get over this together. I know you can hear me, let's do this together, big guy," Anna said as she took up more on the reins and gently began to pull back on them. At first, the gelding resisted her and raised his head to the sky, fighting every inch which she gained. But, as she crooned to the horse and laid one calming hand upon his neck, he stopped resisting. Anna felt his power placed within her small hands as her horse slightly bent his neck and relaxed his mouth. He was no longer strung out, and their bodies moved together as one as they approached the fence. 3, 2, 1... Let go and hold on! Anna repeated the same words within her head as she released the gelding and they flew over the jump together. They remained in perfect harmony as they seemed to breathe at the same time, and time stood still to their testimony of horsemanship.

         "Woo hoo!" Anna screamed out as she pumped her fist victoriously.
This time, there was no sound of scraping wood to tell them that they had not trusted each other. No, there was no sound but their own rapid breathing as Star bobbed his head and Anna enthusiastically rubbed his sweat drenched neck.

         "Now, that, is what I've been waiting to see from you two! I knew you both had it, but the real question was when you were going to start really communicating with your horse. Good job, Anna, I'm really proud of you. That was some fine horsemanship at the end there." Her instructor told her with a triumphant gleam in his eye. For once, she didn't see him scowl at her, but instead he smiled at her for the first time. She found his smile more priceless than anything else, and she wished she could freeze their moment in time.

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