in the silence

[S u N f r O s T ~]

PALISADES PIRATE AND HENNA TURATH
SILENT SNAP AND AMBER BLACK

PYRITE'S AND SNAPPER'S WORKOUT FOR NORFOLK STAKES
First-person workout: Henna Turath, Amber Black

I don't know how this always happens, but I typically end up with the energetic ones. Something in their bouncy, cheerful natures was attractive to me. And if their personalities were not attractive, it was most definitely their speed. I grinned at that, wrapped my arms around the reins securely as my horse skittered sideways, vibrating with energy. Palisades Pirate was one of my most energetic mounts. He had nothing on, say, Pegasus Wings, but he came close. Pyrite was even more energetic now, as a juvenile. He would probably calm down as he got older. I traced a pattern on his beautiful dark bay neck and looked up to squarely meet the eyes of Amber Black. She looked pleased as she scanned over the colt she had cleverly conceived of and bred so many years ago. Pyrite had special and unique breeding that related him to some true talent. He was a good competitor - I always held my head high aboard any one of my sprinters, and Pyrite was no exception. Even if he was facing the bully of the barn, Silent Snap...

Familiarity. That was what I felt as I settled into the saddle of the brilliant chestnut known as Silent Snap. He had the same strong attitude and body as older sister Lynara's Kingdom, but he had been brilliant right off the bat. Five wins later, nothing was slowing him down. He had the cunning of his dam Silent Wings and his older sister Battle Wings, and had inherited talent from all sides of the spectrum. I could have stayed forever in this saddle, ruling the world from this prince's back, but we had work to do. The Norfolk Stakes would fall to Snapper or to Pyrite - I would not entertain any other possibility until after the fact. Seven and a half furlongs was bread and butter for both of these horses. I felt my arms flex as I held Snapper in, the chestnut tossing his head and increasing the pace rebelliously. Pyrite was the exact opposite - he was well mannered and energetic. Such a Henna Turath horse, I noted. Snapper was up my alley. He was arrogant, brilliant off the bat...beautiful in every way.

I noted the familiar arrogance in Snapper's gaze, mirrored slightly in Amber's. Snapper was more flashy than Pyrite, but my horse was just as brilliant. I smirked as Snapper wheeled around on a dime and took off, expecting himself to be unaccompanied, but my horse was quick. Pyrite matched the other colt's speed easily, wiping the smirk right off of Amber's face. Henna laughed, crouched over her colt's neck and paid attention as the pair thundered into the backstretch. Pyrite and Snapper were both front runners, and it showed. They were setting a brutally fast pace, looking to duel the other into submission, and here I was with a front row seat for all of this speed. I grinned widely, would have cackled if that wouldn't have given the game away. Pyrite was brilliant. He was a quick, energetic mover who never tired. He was just so good. He listened to my commands, closed in on Snapper as they went halfway, pressuring the chestnut. It was great tactics for such a young horse to possess.

I felt invincible aboard this horse's back. Silent Snap was the next great thing. He was a fluid, powerful mover whereas Pyrite was merely an energetic one. There was efficiency to Snapper's movement that Pyrite did not have, an innate brilliance, arrogance and determination. His eyes blazed - I could feel the fire from here on his back - as Pyrite returned the challenge. What a game colt. We rolled into the final turn now. Snapper cornered beautifully, as did Pyrite. They were evenly matched as they hit the final stretch...and then it was go time. The high cruising speed of the entire workout did not deter Snapper from going faster. After all, he was the horse who led from gate to wire and then rolled away to win going away even as other sought to catch up. That happened now. I flicked the reigns and Snapper was GONE. He was off up the track, me clutching on for dear life and chuckling every stride of the way. There was no way Pyrite could stick with this.

How wrong she was. Pyrite unleashed his own powerful kick and stayed with Snapper - something few could do. I relished the speed and the battle, and Pyrite dug down as the battle stretched out. Quarter, half, a full furlong and Pyrite edged ahead. The little horse that could was not giving up or giving in to the brilliant talent of his competitor. I could not stop the shout as Pyrite pushed forward, edging out Snapper at the wire in a brilliant show of class and heart. We had gotten Amber's mount! I glanced back, noted the muted respect in Amber's eyes and the anger in Snapper's, and laughed out loud. The competition would have their hands full in the Norfolk if this workout was anything to go off of!