Oxers and Liverpools

Lillian's thoughts were on the course she was about to ride as she circled Aquino in the warm up ring. The stallion arched his neck as she turned him along the fence, his ears flicking forward as an occasional groom or rider would run in front of them. Although it was the beginning of the National tournament, it wasn't very busy at Spruce Meadows. It was likely to become busier by the weekend. Most of the grandstands around the International Ring were nearly empty, except for the occasional group of people sitting around to watch the Enbridge Cup.

She was going over the course in her mind as she gazed vaguely around the warm up ring, her eyes passing over Zachary, who was warming up a younger grey horse, and Theodore, who was on his familiar black stallion. With a start she remembered what Theodore warned her about Aquino and his crowd anxiety. She bit her chapped lips as she heard her name being called, and turned Aquino towards the clock tower to ride into the International Ring.

Lillian tightened the reins as she walked Aquino past the rider who was exiting the ring. The stallion walked along easily until they went under the clock tower. He suddenly stopped, his head raising and ears pricked forward as he looked into the ring. She could hear some crowds of people in the stands next to the clock tower. "C'mon," she squeezed her legs, giving him some rein as she urged him forward. The stallion stepped into the ring hesitantly, his eyes rolling as he took a look around the large arena, from the brightly coloured jumps to the lines of flags along the tops of the buildings. She urged him into a trot before slowing to quickly salute the judges.

Hearing the bell ring, she tightened her reins and urged Aquino forward into a canter. The stallion shook his head as she held him back to a controlled canter as she approached the first jump. She half halted him as she counted down the strides before the stallion cleared the tall bright blue oxer easily. She applied some leg pressure, drifting him towards the edge of the arena to prepare for the staircase jump that was set at a slightly awkward angle. She allowed him to extend his stride before he stretched out over the staircase jump.

Upon landing, Lillian turned him sharply to the left to the tabletop combination. She was forced to hold the stallion back as he shook his head, fighting for the bit. He jumped almost flat up onto the table top and she heard his hoof rub the rail, but had no time to think of it over the two strides before they jumped down out of the table top. She let him stretch his legs out, although his high stepping gaits did not cover the ground as easily as Alcatraz would have. She turned him to the combination of white liverpools and used the last couple of strides to half halt him and get his balance back to meet the tall vertical.

Aquino cleared the first vertical but swung out to the right for the next. Lillian applied more outer leg pressure to prevent him from running out from the next jump and the stallion jumped it awkwardly, almost hitting the jump standard. She could hear the small crowds gasp as the rail rattled and glanced back, but luckily it didn't fall. Lillian felt uneasy as she turned him sharply for the next jump, a dark skinny. They jumped it messily, as Aquino's sudden swing to the right to the previous jump had actually shortened the distance to the skinny and she had been unprepared for it.

The next few jumps were cleared much cleaner than the previous. Lillian was able to get the stallion back under her control and better prepare him for the jumps. After clearing the last jump, a wide rainbow coloured oxer, she let Aquino gallop through the finish before glancing up to the clocks. To her surprise, "Rank 1" was flashing on the scoreboards. Despite some of the awkward jumps, she managed to shave off seconds and land her in first place. Feeling elated, she gave Aquino a pat on the neck as the stallion bucked playfully. Grinning, she slowed him to a trot as she exited the arena.

"Well done," Sam grinned as he reached up to give Aquino a pat as he followed them back to the warm up ring before passing Lillian a water bottle. She took a quick drink before swinging out of the saddle, looking for Zachary. He was still warming up the horse and it was likely he didn't see her round. "I'll keep him moving, you better go watch the last few rounds and see what you're up against."

Lillian took another drink of her water bottle as she jogged back up where a few other riders were mingling around the gates, watching the next rider. She suddenly felt shaky as she watched the next rider complete the course with only one rail down. If anyone else went clear, there would be a jump off.

The next rider was a younger girl on a tall bay Oldenburg. Lillian watched as the girl cleared the first couple of jumps, but appeared to start losing control of the stallion as they continued around the course. She could see the rider sawing back on the reins, desperately trying to get the horse under her control as they knocked rails down at both the liverpools. She grabbed an extra Order of Go form that was laying around and glanced down at it to see who else was coming. After this girl was Zachary, and then Theodore Quinn was the last rider. She wrapped her arms around herself nervously as she watched Zachary enter the ring on the grey horse. Zachary easily had the experience to get a clear round in this ring, but the horse he was riding wasn't as experienced.

Lillian nearly held her breath during the round. The pair jumped clean up until the skinny, where his horse had a surprising refusal. She watched as Zachary circled the horse before clearing the jump, although the refusal would add seconds to his time. It almost looked as though he would have a clear round when they knocked the last rail at the oxer. She glanced up at the scoreboard to see the standings as the next rider came in. She couldn't help but admire the black Warmblood Theodore was riding. She recognized the stallion from Aachen.

Theodore started off the course at a faster pace. She noticed how quickly he cut the corners, leaving no room to add on any unnecessary time. He cleared the liverpools and skinny easily, his horse looking alert and full of energy. The stallion had incredible scope and cleared each jump easily. He cleared the course with a time just a bit faster than her own. There would be a jump off.

As the announcer called out the details of Theodore's time and the jump off to come, the arena crew began taking down jumps to prepare for the jump off. Lillian turned around, bumping blindly into other riders as she attempted to hurry through the crowds to get back to Sam and Aquino. She wanted to find Zachary and get every bit of advice for the jump off she could, since she couldn't walk the jump off.