One, Two, Three

MM Resolution

Aj all but is a passenger as Teddy navigates the course with ease.

❝Aj felt the familiar tickle of butterflies swarming her abdomen as her and the big stallion walked into the ring. She had the stud on a light hold, knowing that unlike jumpers, hunters were judged from the moment the entered the ring. Teddy was curious, but quiet - his refined petal-like ears swiveling to all the sounds around him. Aj sat back and pushed Teddy's hip in, kissing him right into an up beat canter. Not a flick of an ear or a swish of a tail showed any sort of objection, he glided into a lumbering, but athletic canter.

Closing their opening circle, Aj looked over her shoulder at the first fence. Teddy seemed to guide just off her eyes, because without her even remembering if she lifted her hands at all, he was lined up with the tan oxen in the corner of the arena. Then, suddenly - they were on the back side of the fence. Aj let out a the breath she'd been holding and found the next line on the opposite side of the arena. Teddy paced himself perfectly and seemed to simply glide through the course. It was completely quiet besides the, thump, thump, thump. Thump, thump, thump, of Teddy's hooves. Large arching turns with near perfect bends, straight clean lines with tight knees and an eager, confident expression. Aj and Teddy were the epitome of what a hunter should look like.

It seemed to be a blur, but suddenly the two were rounding to their last fence. Aj sat back, her fingers soft and giving. Teddy looked up slightly, gaging the distance between himself and the obstacle. In a moment of trust, Aj sat quiet, letting the stallion find where to put his feet - only her soft voice murmuring, "One, two, three. One, two, three. One…" then he gathered his great body up and launching over the brick wall. Aj stayed centered and non-obtrusive over him as he uncoiled over the fence and found his footing on the other side with ease. They were back at the end of the arena, where they were just two or three minutes ago, only now closing their circle. Breaking down to a trot, Teddy wanted to stretch down, but stayed collected and willing until they finished their arch. Without saying a word, just sitting down, Teddy responded to Aj and broke into a lumbering walk, his breathing just slightly laboring as if finishing a light work out. Aj on the other hand, let out a big breath and laughed - this horse was truly a gift.❞

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Show: CBR Grand Opening Show
Class: Hunter Derby
Placing: 1st Place

Horse: MM Resolution
Handler: Aj Weghcoth
Entry Number: 605 (entry on the rider's back, cannot be seen at this angle)
Stable: Double M Stables of DMA
Country: United States

Artists Comment

Whooooo! I love how this turned out!

Though, there are plenty of things that I would change of course - but over all I had a lot of fun with this.
If you're interested, I here's the Work In Progress!

Comments & Critiques are welcome and appreciated!

Art © Jag6201
References: Unreferenced
Tools Used: Wacom Tablet, Adobe Photoshop CS5; 11 hours