A Salute to the Sea

Horses Name: 9843 SFR's Home-style Apple Pie
Riders Name: Piper Harding
Show: White Blood Stables Winter Races
Class: Beach Race
Registration Number: 10
Extra Images: Winter Days and Speedway to the Surf
Extra Horse: 449 Lost In Beauty ridden by Kari Major
Placings: 1st (WBS Winter Races RESULTS)

-----Story-----
    Amy watched the other horses pace their stalls. These stalls were much more open than the one's back home; the front gate was high enough that she could rest her head along the top rail. She'd been standing there, watching the other horses stalking about in frustration. It was close to feeding time, after all. It had been a long day for the majority of them. Some had been up with the sun for the morning race, while others had risen later for the cross-country trails. Those were the two major events of the day. There had been another type of cross-country race and barrel racing after that, but few had competed. Amy had competed in the barrel racing class. After that, her rider, Piper, had taken her for a nice cool-down walk around the estate and then headed back inside for a nap. It was late afternoon now and time to eat.
    The mare's ears flicked towards the barn entrance. Both doors were propped open to accommodate the foot traffic that had moved in and out of the barn through out the day. Amy saw Piper striding down the aisle. A bucket (probably grain) swung at Piper's side, while she carried a flake of hay in the other hand. The woman stopped in front of the stall. She expertly dumped the hay into the half-empty hay net hanging next to the door. Amy took the que to begin eating, pausing her munching to watch as Piper filled the empty grain bin and refill her water bucket. Her rider looked better than she had when she'd left Amy in the stall. Nap appeared to have done wonders.
  Piper rubbed the side of her horse's neck as the mare continued to stuff her face. Amy never minded when people walked around her or messed with her, so Piper took the opportunity to give her horse a quick grooming. There wasn't much to groom after the two hardcore grooming sessions she'd had earlier. All Piper had to do was brush some of the dust from the barn off of Amy and pull a few stray pieces of hay from her hair. A quick hoof-check later and the mare was good to go.
   Slipping the bridle off its hook in front of the stall, Piper clicked softly to get Amy's attention. The mare had abandoned her hay bag and was steadily working her way through the grain bucket. She glanced up at the jingle of the bit. Piper could see that she was tempted to stay and eat, but the mare slowly walked over anyway. Piper slid the bridle over her ears, petting her all the while. The two left the stall without issue.
   As the pair made their way down the aisle, Amy could see other handlers and riders darting into stalls. Many of the other horses were also tacking up. She tried to get a better look, but Piper kept a firm grip on the reins. Amy shrugged. She'd find out soon enough what was going on. They walked out into the fading sunlight. Piper mounted up quickly on one of the fences, then turned the mare towards the path that led down to the beach. Amy shivered slightly at the cold, but she quickly warmed up as they descended towards the sea.
(552 words)----------------

It's a pretty night so they might as well get a nice relaxing race in there!

Pretty pleased with how this came out. Spyt never shades and as we can see, she's done a lot of shading for this show :'T

This is the last part of Amy's showing here at this particular show. After this race, she'll be off for a quick vacation before returning to Westwood for further training.

Previous in Show Series > Winter Days
Next in Show Series > Speedway to the Surf

Art, Amy, and Piper (c) me
Beauty and Kari (c) Moonpaw449
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