An Evening With elDiablo
I Wish I Had Your Faults
I could feel my heart rattling my chest as I entered the ring. Her face sneered at me from the sidelines as my mount began to be criticized. I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath as I tried to calm myself down. In response to my uneasiness, Teebs began to ball up underneath me and pick up a sideways jog, tossing his head in frustration. Her intensity got to me, as it always did, while she sat upon her imported Warmblood like it was some sort of a couch. I hadn’t seen that horse before but had a feeling I wouldn’t see him for very long.
My name boomed from the loudspeaker, announcing I was the next competitor to take a shot at the demanding 2’9” to 3’0” jumper course. I was the second to last in the order of go, conveniently right before Mercedes’ round. My heart lurched at the thought as I cued Teebs into a short strided canter. His resistance was a reaction to my shot nerves. The first fence loomed to my right as I gave it a weary eye, self doubt now creeping up my throat. I heaved a sigh, attempting to calm myself down before Teebs could decide to blow up. We took a large starting circle before I turned, heading towards the first fence. The bright red fire truck theme for the jump was intimidating in itself as the planks gave the jump a solid look. Teebs and I cross the start line, signaling the timer to begin and my course to officially start. We were about four strides away from the fence when I noticed Teebs’ ears prick forward and his strides increase in length. I took a firm hold on the reins, having contact with his mouth as he tried to fight me for his head. We were going to be quick, no doubt about that but I silently prayed we could keep all the fences up.
The thought of her on the sidelines had now flown out of my mind and taking its place was the lines I would take to each and every jump and how many strides I wanted in between each one. I mentally counted one-two-three-four with each stride Teebs took as a reminder to keep him balanced and from getting too hot and out of hand. With each step he took, the ten year old Thoroughbred gave a deep snort as we neared the first obstacle. I found my focal point past the looming jump and let my body do what came so naturally. I could see, as we were two strides away from the base of the jump, that the distance was going to be a bit long so I gave a half halt from my fingertips, gently vibrating the bit from the rein, telling Teebs to use more of his hind end before I cued our take off. I immediately felt his muscles bunch in response as he powerfully flew over the fence. On the landing, I added more leg, extending his stride. We had taken off early so the landing point wasn’t as far away from the jump as it should be which meant that the perfect striding from fence one to fence two would be longer than I had hoped.
My name boomed from the loudspeaker, announcing I was the next competitor to take a shot at the demanding 2’9” to 3’0” jumper course. I was the second to last in the order of go, conveniently right before Mercedes’ round. My heart lurched at the thought as I cued Teebs into a short strided canter. His resistance was a reaction to my shot nerves. The first fence loomed to my right as I gave it a weary eye, self doubt now creeping up my throat. I heaved a sigh, attempting to calm myself down before Teebs could decide to blow up. We took a large starting circle before I turned, heading towards the first fence. The bright red fire truck theme for the jump was intimidating in itself as the planks gave the jump a solid look. Teebs and I cross the start line, signaling the timer to begin and my course to officially start. We were about four strides away from the fence when I noticed Teebs’ ears prick forward and his strides increase in length. I took a firm hold on the reins, having contact with his mouth as he tried to fight me for his head. We were going to be quick, no doubt about that but I silently prayed we could keep all the fences up.
The thought of her on the sidelines had now flown out of my mind and taking its place was the lines I would take to each and every jump and how many strides I wanted in between each one. I mentally counted one-two-three-four with each stride Teebs took as a reminder to keep him balanced and from getting too hot and out of hand. With each step he took, the ten year old Thoroughbred gave a deep snort as we neared the first obstacle. I found my focal point past the looming jump and let my body do what came so naturally. I could see, as we were two strides away from the base of the jump, that the distance was going to be a bit long so I gave a half halt from my fingertips, gently vibrating the bit from the rein, telling Teebs to use more of his hind end before I cued our take off. I immediately felt his muscles bunch in response as he powerfully flew over the fence. On the landing, I added more leg, extending his stride. We had taken off early so the landing point wasn’t as far away from the jump as it should be which meant that the perfect striding from fence one to fence two would be longer than I had hoped.