Dance Like No One's Watching ((OPEN))

[Aurora Skye Kutlas]

The hooves of the black and white Friesian Sport Horse plodding over the dirt path lulled the red head into a state of relaxation. Rare, these days. Above them, birds sang out. Below them, small creatures scurried away from the huge hooves. And who would blame them? She'd dodge those hooves, too. Even farriers mused at the size of the large gelding's feet. A light sigh left her deep red lips as the rocking motion of his walk reminded her why she had spent all those nights in the neighbor's yard.

A strand of red hair flew in her green eye, bringing her back to reality. She glanced around, glad to see they were still alone. In front of them was a gorgeous open meadow. She grinned, pushing her heels against the black sides of her show mount who took off as she shifted her weight forward. The wind whipped back her hair and for a moment, nothing mattered in the world but the power of the strides beneath her and the feeling of a deep bond between human and horse.

Reaching the middle of the meadow, Aurora shifted her weight, sitting deeper in the saddle. The signal immediately slowed the gelding to a trot. She smiled, patting his shoulder with a nodding approval. She waited for a moment as he accepted the bit and stretched into the bridle. Straightening her back, the girl slightly pressed her right leg against the Adagio's side, dropping her left shoulder behind her left and looking diagonally. The gelding, a pro communicator, performed the shoulder-in to perfection at the trot with no fight. She grinned, then switched her command, signaling for a shoulder in to the left. The gelding once again accepted to cues and followed her silent command.

She let him straighten out before pushing him into a collected canter, moving with the fluidity of his gait, the two obviously a well trained pair. She asked for a flying lead change, then another after two strides, continuing the pattern of lead changes as they cantered along the tree line of the meadow. Aurora was so busy with the natural grace of equestrian dance that she had no idea whether they were alone or being watched.

[Nina Dobrev]

'Being new here ain't so easy..' Nina thought to herself as she was grooming down Ratio's white coat. She fly sprayed the mare and untangled the mare's mane. She closed her grooming kit and went to work on tacking the mare up. She aligned up white saddle pad neatly and smoothed out any wrinkles. She swung on the saddle on the mare's back on top fo the saddle pad. She went to work on the girth. She tightened the girth on the fourth notch and saw that it was just right. She grabbed the bit and didn't get Ratio to accept it the first time. She tried a second time and the Arabian accepted.

She gave a small smile as the mare nudged Nina's shoulder. She patted her neck and untied the cross ties. She grabbed the reins and lead Ratio out of the barn. As soon as they passed the entrance she hallted Ratio and put her left foot in the stirrup, and lifted herself off the ground. She swung her other leg on the other side of the mare and made sure her other foot was in the stirrup. She squeezed her legs and asked for a light trot towards the Meadow trail.

Nina looked around at all the beautiful nature here on Meadow trail. 'I think I might just like it here.." She muttered to herself as the wind whipped her hair back. She took in a deep breathe and breathed in the sweet grass and the season of Fall. She saw a meadow in the distance and sat depp in the saddle as Ratio perked her ears and went into a canter. Nina smiled as that was what she wanted.

She stopped at the entrance of the meadow as she saw another girl and Fresian was training. She watched the horse and rider. They seemed like a well trained pair. She then decided to speak first. "Wow, you and your horse are a well trained pair.." She first commented with a small grin. She hoped the girl didn't mind her interrupting their session. "I'm Nina." She introduced herself before the girl, or Nina could say anything else. Ratio perked her ear forwards towards the other horse and nickered softly. Nina patted the mare's shoulder to calm her down as she waited for a response

[Aurora Skye Kutlas]

Aurora Skye sat deep in her saddle, all her weight in her heels, toes pointed up. It was as though she'd been born riding with her perfected posture, though she'd admit to anyone she had trained long, hard hours just to sit the way she did. Still, she knew that she had been born to move with the horse as one in the dance they called dressage. It was a magical sport, so elegant and trusting. She trusted Adagio to move as she aided. He trusted her to only ask of him what he was capable of. Luckily, the high end sport horse was capable of nearly anything.

Grinning, she straightened him out, allowing for a cantering lap around the edge of the meadow, letting her eyes shut as she moved with the rhythm of his perfectly collected movement. Once she felt his full acceptance of the bit, his mouth soften, his rear end round out, his back lift up, flexing at the poll, she knew he was warmed up enough. She opened her right rein, sliding her left heel back slightly behind the girth. She pressed gently with her right heel and felt the gelding shift into her next command- a pirouette. The gelding gracefully glided in a tight circle, his rear hooves never leaving where they had been planted. And just as easily as he had spun, he picked his canter right back up. She gathered the reins in her left hand, rubbing his neck with her left hand. She knew he could do it, but the execution had been more flawless than she'd ever imagined. It was then that she decided they would work here, in the peaceful meadow, more often than any old arena. Since people only used it for trails, it was rare she'd need to share the meadow with other practicing riders.

It was also then that she heard a sweet voice sending a compliment her way. Her green eyes tore away from their path momentarily, a terrible thing to a dressage rider who was trained to focus. Still, she smiled at the pretty girl. Adagio, feeling her weight shift, spun on his haunches towards the new pair. Yep, he was definitely well trained. She patted his neck one more time before slowing him to a walk and letting him approach the girl on a pretty white Arabian. "Oh, thank you," she replied with a smile. "I'm Aurora," she added, nodding once in recognition of Nina's introduction. "And this is Adagio," she commented, rubbing the gelding's neck before sitting deeper in the saddle and shifting her weight back, bringing the gelding to a quick stop. By this level of their dressage, they had gait transitions down to a science.

Aurora let her eyes study the brunette and her horse. Probably not a dressage horse, judging by her conformation. Not that she wasn't lovely, but she didn't scream dressage. She looked down to her own mount, studying the black and white mane. "He really likes to dance in meadows," she said with a kidding grin. She'd always thought dressage was just a branch of ballet.