clear the mind

[Deleted]

THE RISING
RIDDEN BY BECKY ANDREWS
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<sup>Hailey had big plans for the son of The Natural. She knew he had what it took to accomplish those plans too. Hailey was worried about Ri too, however. He hadn't raced how she had liked him to in his debut for the season and he hadn't broken his maiden yet. It made her wonder if he was really as good as she believed him to be. Of course he had to be! He was a son of The Natural; Hall of Famer, sire of greats like Born To Soar and Wildly Natural, who won four of the Y11 HOTY awards. His dam was Warm Wishes! She had foaled Beyond The Limits. He came from the same blood as two of the stable's upcoming racehorses, Furious By Nature and Born To Battle, both who act and look nothing less than champions. How could The Rising not be a champion? Was it that in his early years he wasn't trained enough or properly? Star Thoroughbreds had sold him to Triple Krown Racing saying that he had potential but he just wasn't preforming and needed work. Maybe what he needed was time to relax and figure out racing again.

Hailey wasn't worried about his will and love of running. She couldn't think of a horse who loved to run just as much a Ri did. He had problems with consistency at times, being wildly effective. Most of the time his drive to win is to beat anything that he lays his eyes on. He's headstrong and doesn't listen when he's behind another horse but when he's a few lengths in front of the pack, he has tendencies to give up. This makes him wildly effective. You don't really know where he's going or when. Sometimes he'll give it his all or just fade into the distance. Hailey didn't know for sure but she had a pretty good idea of what needed to be done.

She didn't think that Ri had ever been able to just gallop freely out on the countryside or on the beach. If he had it would have been during his time at Star Thoroughbreds and there was no record of a pleasure ride when Hailey had bought him. That meant that Ri had just been running in a circle his whole life, never really getting to know what running really felt like out in the open with space and no other horses in sight. He would really know how it felt to run after today's session. There would be no training today. Just running until his heart's content. Hopefully, this would fix him up a bit. No crowds, no opponents, and no circles. Maybe it would change his mindset. Doing something like this had helped plenty of other horses around the stable, including Terror Smile.

Mike, Ri's regular rider, hadn't been available to ride. That had been kind of inconvenient but considering that Hailey was already planning to switch Ri to Aiden's rides, it would be good to have him get used to a different rider. Becky, who had taken up all of Aiden's rides would be galloping Ri. Hailey arrived at the barn and saddled up Cherokee, her Quarter Horse, while Becky had already saddled Ri and was now just hot walking him. Hailey worked quick and effectienctly and with in ten minutes they were both travelling down the forest trail.

With spring arrival, the barren trees were now blossoming. The morning was crisp and cool, perfect weather for a gallop. It was probably one of the most beautiful mornings of the new year, yet. Ri was excited to be out on the trail, this being a whole new concept to him. His ears perked at the new sounds and his nostrils flared at the new scents. His strides were high strung and sweeping, as usual. Hailey watched him carefully, seeing his reactions at everything. Ri was fresh and ready to run. He hadn't had a work in a while and his curiosity made him want to take off even more. Becky grinned and patted his neck.

After taking a right turn at a pike in the road, Hailey stopped Cherokee at a small creek bed. Becky stopped Ri beside them and waited for instructions. Ri had other ideas and wanted to charge, now. He began pawing at sand bed eagerly, his ears perked at the flowing water. Hailey looked around and spotted the continuing trail across the creek. The stream was pretty wide but the whole thing was only a couple inches deep. Hailey looked over at Becky, "Gallop him across this and continue galloping on the trail. When you come to the first fork in the path take a right and just keep going. Follow that and you should arrive right back here." Hailey nodded to another forest path that they hadn't taken only a few yards up the trail. "Let him run how he pleases." Becky glanced over at her, "Your not coming?" Hailey shook her head, "No, i'll wait here. He's not going to do anything and if he does, there's no where he can go." Becky raised an eyebrow at her, nervously. Ri was way too valuable to have him go missing. "The only place he can go is right back here or up the left hand trail to a dead end. The forest is too thick for him to escape anywhere. You guys should be back in less than ten minutes. If you aren't we'll come and look for you." Hailey explained. Becky, now reassured, nodded. Without a final notice, Hailey kissed to Ri and waved her reins behind. "Have a good trip." With those final words, Ri leaped forward at a full out charge.

Becky who was catapulted in her saddle, regained her seat quickly. As Ri travelled across the waters at blinding speed, Becky enjoyed the mist from the spring that sprayed into her face. It added to the perfect crisp and cool air. Suddenly, Ri had jumped forward onto land and wound his way through the narrow stretch of forest trail before emerging into a huge opening. Becky looked around in awe. The meadow had to be at least a mile wide. She could just make out the thick studded pine forests on either side of the opening. She shook her head at Hailey's words, no where to escape... It would take them hours to round him up in this natural pasture. They edged closer and closer to the trees in front of the them with every stride. Becky searched the wall of forest but didn't find an opening. As she began looking for a way to go instead of running head on into the trees, she noticed there was a sharp curve right in the dirt. Ri pivoted into the turn, staying on the inside well without Becky asking him to turn.

She glanced to her outside. There was only a foot of grass separating the trail from the forest and Becky now understood what Hailey meant about the forest being too thick for him to go anywhere. The thin trees were so close that they were almost intertwined. No horse, let alone a human could fit through the tight trees. Becky turned her head to look ahead and focus on riding; well not exactly focus, but enjoy. Ri was enjoying the gallop. That was clear with the loud neighs and excited kicks he kept letting out. Becky enjoyed it almost as much as he did. She spotted the fork in the dirt coming up. She urged him forward, steering him onto the right path. Ri responded with a jolt of speed and threw his head, happily.

With one glance at the meadows surrounding the area, Ri and Becky rushed back into the forest. They were heavily surrounded by trees and the deeper they travelled, the darker and more thick the forest got. Becky, still amazed by the beauty and mystery of the forest, wondered if they had taken a wrong turn. Then again, Hailey had said to take a right. This was the only exit out of the meadow by the way she was saying it. With seconds of endless forest passing, finally an opening became visible. Becky kissed to Ri, but he was already digging in and galloping away from the darkness. With a couple of strides they broke free into the blinding light of a clear dawn. The terrain had changed and was more solid under Ri's feet. It took Becky a few seconds to process where they were at now. She glanced below, Ri's flying hooves to see wooden planks. She then looked around seeing that they were travelling across a bridge. She believed that the deep river below them lead to the shallow creek that they had ridden across earlier. She searched the shore but decided that Hailey was farther up shore. Ri leaped away from the bridge and increased speed, glad to be back on the dirt.

Abruptly the trail banked right and Ri had to once again pivot on his rear to stick to the inside of the path. They charged down the river leaving silence in their wake. The birds who were singing their spring songs went quiet as if in awe at the lone horse and his rider. The only sound was a thundering pair of hooves and the soft ebbing flow of the river. Ri began to spread out even more as if trying to see just how far he could push himself. After a couple strides he found that he could run faster if he really wanted to. Becky closed her eyes, enjoying the tears from the wind that streamed down her face and the smell of the fresh pine. A wave of guilt overcame her. She felt guilty that she was the one to be riding Ri right now, experiencing this, instead of Aiden. She didn't know why the thought made her sad, but it did. She sighed and opened her eyes.

As she did, she caught a glimpse of Hailey in the corner of her eye. She looked behind her hastily and asked Ri to slow down as they charged down the trail at blinding speeds. As she pulled up on Ri, the colt pinned his ears back and flattened out even more. Becky's eyes widened at the colt's sudden phase of being headstrong. "Whoa!" She whispered to him. She looked behind her again to see Hailey on Cherokee, trying to catch up. Becky bet that Ri had seen the challengers and was now giving it his all. The gallop had to be more than a couple of miles of stretch and now he was trying to outrun a well rested horse? She doubted he would have ever done that in the past. After she kept whispering "whoa" and pulling him on the reins, Ri finally decided to give in. Ri came to a nice slow jog and Hailey came up on the side of them. "How'd he do? He seemed to have bundles of energy left." Her eyes moved to his coat which was now thick with sweat. "Well he wasn't going to give in without a fight... that's for sure. He seemed to have really enjoyed himself. He was throwing around kicks and charging down the trail like a bullet without my encouragement." Hailey grinned, "Well that's good news!" Becky nodded slowly and muttered, "I wish Aiden had been the one riding him, though." Hailey bit her lip, "Don't worry... He'll be back up and riding in a couple weeks time," in hopes of cheering Becky up, Hailey continued with a smile, "and he'll sure have a lot on his hands with how good Ri will be doing with your riding." Hailey smiled at Becky.

Becky nodded slowly and after a few seconds of silence stroked Ri's neck, "Yeah, he sure will, won't he Ri?" Becky grinned back at Hailey. She was sure that this ride was going to change Ri and his career forever. Becky would make sure of that especially since she knew that Aiden's second favorite horse, next to Terror Smile was The Rising. How happy he would be if he knew that his horse would be going to the Triple Crown; or at least if he knew his horse was on the road to it. Becky could see his face now and her heart lifted in her chest. A new determination lit up her eyes. She thought about how they were going to do it all the way back to the stable; Hailey also was unmistakeably quiet, calculating her own plans for Ri.


words; 2105
notes; WOO HOO! muse for the museless. here comes Ri everyone ></sup>