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Rhythm of the Night

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Description

Mount: 6526 SAN Pompeii's Spectre
           > Breed: Nordanner
           > Gender: Stallion
           > Age: 5 years
Rider: Amethyst Barr
           > Species: Human
           > Gender: Female
           > Age: 19
Competition: Castellano International
           > 3-Day Eventing, Dressage portion.
Other Images: [wip]
           > Arrival: [extra image] 
           > 3DE: [cross country]
           > 3DE: [show jumping]
Performance Music: [Rhythm of the Night- Bastille]
Featured Competitors: None

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Breathe in, breathe out.

They'd been training for this for over two years, Two long, hard years- since the moment she'd first sat on the back of a younger Pompeii, and before that, when he'd first come to call Amethyst Ridge Ranch home. That had been the moment she'd realized that the hopes she'd been carrying of her first Nordanner didn't even hold a candle to how she felt now; that's when Amethyst had truly known that the scrawny white foal that had been given to her wasn't fate, he was meant to be hers. When she first swung into his saddle and from his back she could see nothing but trust in those fiery amber eyes, she knew they would be perfect together, competitors that would take the competition circuit by storm. Once again, she was a teenager looking to be the best at something she loved doing.

So why in the hell was she so damn nervous?

Running the curry comb along Pompeii's back, brushing his snow white coat to a glossy sheen, she took another shuddering breath, focusing her mind again on the task at hand. She needed to keep her mind focused, so that Pompeii wouldn't become nervous or distracted. She had to-

A sudden inquisitive nicker caught the young woman's attention, causing her to turn to meet the eyes of the horse that she'd just been thinking of. Amber eyes boring straight into her blue ones, Pompeii gave another soft nicker, craning his neck around to blow warm air into his girl's hair. Smiling widely, Amethyst laid the curry comb down for a moment, long enough to walk forward and hold his head, scratching his ears and kissing his poll softly. "Sorry baby boy, just a bit nervous, that's all," she murmured softly, running her hands lightly over his soft coat.

Pompeii gave a soft snort then, almost mocking her nerves. A tilt of the ear that she wasn't scratching seemed to ask why, and she just smiled. "I don't know, just am," she gave a small laugh, and the Nordanner pulled her head back up to look at her. Another snort seemed to say 'then don't be', and she openly laughed, earning a strange look from a nearby stablehand. "Alright then, I won't be. Because I'm riding an amazing horse, the Spectre from Pompeii, correct?" The white Nordanner tossed his head then, as if to agree whole-heartedly with her words. Amethyst laughed again, landing a small kiss on his velvety nose before returning to grooming him. This time, though, she was more relaxed and focused, and in no time she had the massive horse groomed to a perfect sheen, his hooves polished, forelock bobbed and tail tangle-free. Turning to look at her tack, she gave a soft sigh; good thing she had some extra time. Putting Pompeii back in his stall and grabbing the tack polish, she went to tackle the faded leather of her mother's dressage saddle.

----------

Thankfully she'd had that extra time to prepare. Leaning back to relieve the tense pain in her muscles, Amethyst had successfully polished the faded black leather to a glorious shine, matching the brand new dressage bridle she'd recently purchased her stallion. Leaning back against the wall, crossing her legs and folding her arms in thought, Amethyst stared up at Pompeii as he watched the competitors outside. His ivory ears perked forward, intelligent gaze studying the commotion outside before turning to look at her expectantly. The sun was slowly falling from its peak, subtly turning the stable yards to a soft golden hue.

"You know, you really should eat something."

Jumping slightly, Amethyst looked up the meet the fire-toned eyes of her most trusted stablehand. Raziel stood leaning up against the wall of the barn, his tail waving slightly as amusement adorned his features. "It's just like you to not eat before a competition, you know that?"

Giving an embarrassed grin, Amethyst laughed. "Yeah, I know, just got lost in thought. Trying to keep my nerves in check."

Holding out a paper bag, he gave a soft chuckle. "Here, I brought you a sandwich. Nothing too heavy, just don't want you passing out in the saddle," he smiled. She nodded simply, taking the bag and slowly pulling out the food to munch on it. Leaving Amethyst to eat in peace with her thoughts, Raziel moved over to the white Nordanner, holding out a half of Macintosh apple. "Keep your head even, 'kay?" He murmured softly. "Remember, Amethyst hasn't competed in dressage since the accident, so if she tenses up, just remember the routine and keep going. She'll snap out of it," he said, rubbing Pompeii's forehead briefly a the stallion responded with a soft nicker and cleaned the remnants of apple from his lips.

Turning his striped head at the sound of movement, Raziel found Amethyst standing and stretching, rubbing her healing wrist. "Are you sure you should be riding without your brace? The race on Ahmar was one thing, but here you can use the brace and get away with it."

Shaking her head, Amethyst looked down at the now only slightly miscolored skin. "It should be fine. Doc said just not to strain it too much; I'll wear it during show jumping and cross country, but I'll be fine in Dressage."

Raziel gave a soft sigh, shaking his head softly with a small chuckle. "You are so damn stubborn. Alright, well you go get dressed then, performance time is getting close. I'll get Pompeii tacked up; take a moment to breathe," he suggested, though his voice left no room for refusal despite his joking tone. The woman only nodded, sighing softly as she went to retrieve her dressage apparel.

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"How are we going to do this Pompeii?"

Standing by her horse's head, the duo awaited the end of the performance before theirs; it was a beautiful black Thoroughbred, and he and his rider were so in tune...

The butterfly suddenly rampant in her stomach, Amethyst took a large gulp as images of her mother flashed through her head, images of the day her horse had spooked and bucked, throwing Amethyst's mother to the ground and cracking her neck. Her mother died from that fall. Granted, Pompeii was basically bomb proof at this point and the horse Amethyst's mother had ridden had been young and new to the competition circuit, but still.

A nudge on her shoulder made Amethyst look over, once again meeting the eyes of her white Nordanner. His amber eyes conveyed comfort and confidence; she wished she had that same confidence in herself. She knew he would do beautifully; it was herself she worried would screw everything up. All too soon she saw the current performers return to center stage and bow, signalling that she had three minutes to begin her own performance.

Gulping softly, Amethyst turned and vaulted into the saddle, and laying the reins down on Pompeii's neck. She took a moment to fix her dark coat and lay her mother's pendant flat before securing her helmet. As the Thoroughbred and rider passed, they nodded respectfully and exchanged brief "good lucks". A motion from one of the judges, and Pompeii instinctively moved forward into a collected walk. Taking a shuddering breath, Amethyst squared her shoulders as they entered the arena.

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Artist's Comments:
 I am not happy with that background. At all. It was so much better in my head, but because I'm running out of time and still have five other images to do, I won't be able to fix it. But alas, I tried, and that's what counts, right? One step closer to learning!

References:
[link] : Cool sand tutorial!
[link] : Rider anatomy & pose inspiration.
[link] : Perspective help.
Image size
2637x2204px 2.87 MB
© 2014 - 2024 SpartanAmethyst
Comments2
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lichenfeather's avatar
Oh goodness, Spartan this is beautiful! One day I must commission you for equine art. ovo