tell me. [deja vu]

[.*.Brandy.*.]

[ x ]

dylan miller.

~*~

Enter Arena at a Trot. Trot from A to X. Halt at X. Salute the Judge at X. Collected Trot from X to C. Extended Trot C to E. Collected Canter E to K. Working Canter K to B. Working Canter 20 meter full circle at B. Extended Walk B to F. Collected Canter F to X. Flying Change at X. Collected Canter X to H. Walk H to C. Rein Back C to H. Working Trot H to B. Working Counter Canter B to F. Collected Trot F to A. Half Pass A to E. Piaffe to E to H. Collected Canter H to C. Flying Change at C. Collected Canter C to M. Rein Back M to C. Working Trot C to X. Halt at X. Salute the Judge at X. Exit the arena.

~*~

That was what the test was for the biggest show DJ & I had entered thus far. Roger had suggestions but well, whatever Roger said went right over my head. It bored me to death. Put your leg on, blah, blah... So I just nodded & smiled and steered DJ into the dressage ring at a collected sitting trot. DJ mouthed the bit lightly and arched his neck. His mouth gently rested ontop of the bit and my hands were soft in his mouth. We had a understanding. If I was quiet with my hands, he'd behave just wonderfully & do whatever I asked. We trotted to the very center of the arena, coming to a square halt, just as we had practiced before. Head low and his body square, DJ stood motionless. I smiled at the judges' box, taking my hat off of my head and lowering my head in a salute. I placed the hat back on my head. Of course there were no judges now. Except for Roger but he didn't really count for much.

We moved into a collected trot. DJ was a patient and calm equine and his collected movements were spectacular. I was glad he was my mount for this show instead of a hot-headed horse. DJ would make the already stressful situation less worrysome. Head lowered, he listened to my slight seat changes as we moved along. Each hoof was left in the air for an extra second as if DJ was focusing on each of his slender legs for that extra moment. I sat softly in the saddle, reins direct to my fingers but not pulling on him. Coming to the end of the arena, we turned to the left, a rounded movement and I pushed my legs onto his sides quietly. He seemingly on his own moved into an extended trot from his collected movement. Head lowered and his mouth above the bit, his movement was smooth and flawless as we came to our next marker. I lightly pressed for a canter and he moved off on the correct lead. We cantered, his head still lowered throughout the transition and soon made a turn around the end of the arena. my eyes focused on the letter "B" as we came closer. That was where we were supposed to go and then a twenty meter circle. The annoying thing about twenty meter circles is that if say you rode a 21 meter circle. Guess what. That's wrong & you get penalized. Whoever said that dressage was immaculate wasn't lying.

It took me a while to figure out what was twenty meters when learning dressage movements. I had figured this out a few years earlier fortunately and I moved him around the turn, his head and body moving around the turn flawlessly. He was good at this. He loved what he was doing. Coming around to B again, I slowed him to an entergetic extended walk. Head lowered onto the bit, he mouthed softly for a moment. Extended walk was hard for me personally because I always thought of the walk as an unimportant and one speed gait. But I have been proved wrong countless times, especially since my co-workers and employers were major three day eventers and dressage people. My mind had obviously wandered a bit too much and "F" came quicker than I had anticipated. I tried to move DJ into a left lead canter. Obviously he wasn't paying attention either and auds pinned, he moved into a surprised and reluctant canter. I bit my lip, eyes focused on the next movement. I collected his canter up after a few strides... Darn. That'll definitely damper our score but I couldn't expect perfection. I mean, DJ is very well schooled considering that he's only six years old & has been with CCI for only a year & a half. He had picked up everything quickly & allowed us to finesse his skills.

We made a smooth turn towards the center of the arena on a diagonal. Here comes the lead change. DJ sometimes got it, sometimes didn't, depending on how he felt and how he was reacting to a rider's aids. DJ seemed to like me overall & we had done a bunch of other dressage shows over the time we had been working with each other. He did pretty well in the dressage division and just as well in the cross country division with me. He knows me previously and my cues are no surprise to him. Alright, DJ, let's do this... I looked towards the right, my seat changing slightly. DJ's auds flickered back towards me. He knew what I wanted. Would he do it? Yes, he would. He swapped his lead with an easy balance. DJ was seemingly fine with crowds and relaxed as usual. I smiled to myself as I collected him up and we moved around the turn. DJ mouthed the bit again lightly and his auds flickered back towards me. He was listening still. Good boy. Auds forward, he seemed to perk up as we came back to a walk.

His walk was still entergetic but not as elongated as the extended walk had been as we walked to our next marker. My mind remained on the next task at hand this time. It was a rein back, a difficult movement to train a horse to do. DJ was fortunately really good at it. He always had been because of being taught at an early age. I halted him and then put a little more pressure on the reins. He didn't hesitate as he moved backwards. He trusted that I knew what I was doing. When we hit our marker, I pushed him forward into the bit, his head dropping lower. We moved into a working trot just as easily and we moved for about half of the arena. He was totally focused on me. A good sign... He was a good horse and he knew what he was doing, a great sign for a young horse. The next task was one of the more difficult movements, newer to me. The working counter-canter. I pushed him forward, hands still and he moved off. I half-halted, his hindquarters moving differently than his forehand. Good. He was doing it right.

I brought him back to an effortless sitting trot, collected and his hooves giving each stride a hesitation just as before. At "A", I pushed my legs into him, more strongly with my right so he was at a sort of diagonal with his movement but he was still moving forward. This was a captivating movement to me because it took a lot of focus and control on the horse's part. DJ did it perfectly, listening to my legs and hands. Coming around the turn, I waited until "E" before bringing my hands up slightly and pushing my legs into his sides. The piaffe. A very hard movement. DJ brought his head up, pushing himself onto his hindquarters as his legs slowed, each movement slow. When two of his slender legs came up, the other two were on the ground. Each leg perched beautifully, spellbound above the sand arena. Pushing him forward, we came to our next marker. I brought him to a collected canter and I waited for the lead change. He gave me this lead change better than the last. He learned quickly.

We cantered for a bit, my mind focused on the next rein back. At the next marker, I brought him back to a halt, pushing him onto the bit. Auds flickered back, he moved backwards just as easily as before. As we came back to "C", I moved him into a working trot. The test was coming to a close. We came across the arena, just as beautifully as at the very beginning of the test. The only difference was DJ's flaring nostrils from the exciting work he just done. I stopped him in the very center of the arena and I looked up at the judge. I took the hat off of my hat again, saluting. Heh... My favorite part. I smiled at the judge, placing the hat back on my head. I pressed my legs into his side and DJ rounded over the bit. We moved across the rest of the arena, exiting. I wanted to punch my fist in the air but I didn't. I remained professional. We had given a very solid test.

[.*.Brandy.*.]

[ x ]

dylan miller.

~*~

I led DJ from the barn, his blood bay coat glistening in the sunlight as we stepped out to the freshly dragged outdoor ring. I looked back at the stud I had so often shown and smiled in spite of myself. He looked amazing and so much more mature than since the last time we had done anything of this nature. I patted his arched neck lightly as he pranced beside me and smiled again, speaking to him kindly.

Ready to do this again, bud? We'll blow 'em out of the water.

DJ nickered to me, bobbing his head slightly as I closed the gate behind us. I glanced back at the barn and noticed Monica coming towards us. She was still really timid about the whole horse business but seemed to be coming around recently. I was glad she was coming to watch. I took DJ's stud chain firmly in my finger tips as I walked him down the centre line. He walked calmly beside me, head low and eyes bright. He had done about a billion halter shows and every time, gave his best effort. I stopped him in the center, helping him to get square and he arched his neck beautifully. DJ was just an astounding stud in his conformation. Everyone loved how he looked. He stood there quietly for a moment before I asked for a gentle jog out of him. DJ gave me his usual prance when moving in the faster gait, his tail floating like a banner behind us. I jogged easily beside him, knowing that he was purposefully going more animatedly so I could catch up. I slowed him now to a simple walk and then a halt near the gate. I smiled over at Monica briefly before patting his neck lightly. He knew what to do. He didn't need anymore practice.