Black And Orange

Gwen and Nellie came in first, and won themselves a lovely ribbon for Nellie's stall!

Geez... miss Nellie has been getting a lot of attention lately! I decided that for this show, she and Gwen should dress in fall colors. So, here they are! I was going to have Gwen's coat be orange, but that looked extremely odd. And notice the little red ribbon in Nellie's tail- a finishing touch from Meredith.

Aaaand I just realized I forgot the fence. Silly me. I had the fence layers named and everything, I just forgot.

Horse: MS Aurora Nights
Rider: Gwyneth (Gwen) Thompson
Show: The HMF Halloween Extravaganza at Hidden Moon Farm
Class: Haunted Dressage
Representing: Mystic Seaside Stables of Maine

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"Hey Gwen!" Charlotte called as her friend walked out of the main barn leading both Serqetta and Sahille at once. "Look! I found a dressage show for you to enter!" Gwen hurried over, as fast as Sahille, who was rubbing her neck against a tree, would allow.
"Excellent! When and where is it?"
"It's in three weeks, in Poland. Don't you think we should enter?"
"Poland? Are you insane? I am not going to travel across the Atlantic for some dressage show. And neither are you," she added, knowing what Charlotte was about to say. "We have better things to do with our money. Like paying for all those vet checkups coming up this weekend," Gwen said.
"Fine. There's also one in New Hampshire that I found in my New England Equestrian magazine."
"New Hampshire. Much better." Gwen nodded her approval. "But who should I ride?"
A wide, slightly cunning grin spread across Charlotte's face. "Nellie. And don't protest- it's for your own good. You've been getting soft riding Minnie and Casa all the time. Plus, you've always wanted to show her- I know you have. So get going, go practice!" Charlotte gave Serqetta a pat on the hindquarters as she was led off to her pasture and rested her arms on the fence of the pasture nearest to the main barn, where London and Vienna were grazing happily. The stable's blond-haired owner looked around her at the ever-changing landscape of MSS. The trees were already turning, fading into bright reds and oranges, like nature's own firework display. Charlotte had never really gotten used to the trees turning so early, even though she had lived in Maine all her life, but she never ceased to be amazed by their beauty. She turned around to look behind her. Beyond the stand of maples by the path to the pastures, she saw all the horses in their pastures, and beyond that, the forested hills in front of the mountains. Charlotte strode across the path from the pasture fence and entered the main barn. She took Nellie, the big black mare, out of her stall and quickly tacked her up for Gwen, who had just entered the barn.
"Thanks for tacking her up," she called to Charlotte.
"No problem! Now go practice! Make sure you do a lot of half-passes with her. She's having a little trouble with them," Charlotte reminded Gwen, handing over the reins.

Nellie had performed very well during training, and Gwen just hoped she would do the same at the show. The show day had arrived quickly, and Gwen was loading Nellie into the trailer. After a bit of a struggle, the mare finally walked in, and both Gwen and Charlotte hurried to get her tack. They quickly loaded it into the trailer, and were just about to drive off when 14-year-old Meredith Lieselle, London's owner and rider, came sprinting across the parking lot.
"Wait! Wait!" she called. "I brought this for Nellie. Put it in her tail for the show," Meredith said, presenting a long, silky red ribbon. "And hang it on London's stall door when you're done. Good luck!"

The drive to Hidden Moon Farm didn't take nearly as long as Charlotte and Gwen had thought. As they pulled up the driveway, they gazed at the beautiful forests and wooden barns. A lot of other trailers were already parked in the field next to the barn, but the MSS team managed to find a space.
"Here we are!" Charlotte announced. Gwen looked around, surveying the landscape, which was very similar to that at MSS.
"This is a nice stable," Gwen said approvingly. "Ooh, and look at that bay horse over by the pasture gate!"
"Very nice. Now, we should get Nellie out before she goes insane in the trailer." Charlotte was already at the back of the trailer, and lowered it hastily. The mare inside quivered, trembling at the sound of the trailer door hitting the ground. She backed out willingly, and Gwen tied her lead rope loosely to the trailer, giving her some room to graze and move around. Before long, the dressage classes had begun. The two women took turns watching the performances while the other one walked Nellie around the grounds to keep her occupied. Nellie and Gwen were one of the last pairs to perform, so Charlotte and Gwen brought Nellie back to the trailer to tack up in the late afternoon, as the sun was sinking low in the sky.
"Hey Charlotte," Gwen called from the tack room of the trailer. "Is this Nellie's ear cover and saddle pad? And wraps?"
"Yeah, they are. I found the saddle pad in Frosty's tack box, but it's too big for him. It fits Nellie perfectly, though. And the orange ear cover and wraps were the finishing touch."
"Whatever you say," Gwen shrugged. She tacked up carefully, making sure everything was perfect, before adding Meredith's red ribbon to Nellie's tail. After warming up a little bit, it was their turn.
"Remember," Charlotte whispered as she gave Gwen a leg-up. "Keep a pretty loose rein, and don't let her get distracted. The ear covers should help, but still... good luck!" Gwen steered the black mare to the center of the sandy ring. She removed her hat, saluted crisply, put her hat back on, and picked up a nice, working trot down the middle of the ring. She turned at the end, and asked Nellie to collect her trot a bit. They went through the extended and collected trot, canter, and piaffe. Then it was time for the half-pass. Gwen knew that this had recently become the mare's weak point, and though Nellie had improved during practice, she was still worried. The pair executed a neat, slightly abbreviated half-pass before picking up a working trot again. Gwen finally exhaled, and though the performance wasn't over, she knew the mare was trying her hardest.

Pose reference is by ~Bundy-Stock

This image is (c) *Sky-of-Silver and is not to be used in any way, shape, or form without my written permission.

Enjoy! Good luck to Nellie and Gwen, hopefully they'll do well!