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Getting some necessary if unusual (for show jumpers anyway) training in before London.
I had fun playing with the lighting on this one

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Coming back after Tokyo was a mixture of emotions. The buzzing high that came from being at a competition that big. The joy of being back home after feeling homesick and alone in a strange country. Both the elation and disappointed at their own show results.
They hadn’t been bad results per se, just not as high up the scoreboard as Opal would have liked. Rockstar had still been fighting and ignoring her throughout the round which had cost them rails and time.
Opal gave Rockstar 3 days of downtime; checking his legs for any swelling, bringing a chiropractor and equine massage therapist out to work on the stallion and ensure he was as physically and muscularly sound as possible before they got back to training.
It was a different sort of training to what Opal had done in their prep for previous jumping shows and for Tokyo. She knew Rockstar could jump. He’d proven that to the world. Now they needed to knuckle down and work together as a team on the same wavelength.
Ditching the saddle Opal went back to her own basics. Riding the brumby stallion bareback through the thick hilly bush tracks of the west coast. They rode wallaby tracks at breakneck speed, having to work together and make snap decisions with instant instructions and equally quick responses to avoid disaster.
It was Faraji who gave Opal the idea to try games with Rockstar. The young boy told her that she needed to make things more “fun and productive”. Then again he might actually have been signing about keeping Opal and Sirus delinquent adoptive son Jamie busy. Either way it worked fine for Rockstar. Opal would sort something out for Jamie later.
Rockstar took to the high speed recklessness of games like a fish to water. He soon got the idea of bending poles and barrels. They worked through keyhole and the bucket race until Rockstar’s balance and agility had improved and the temperamental stallion began seeking out Opal’s instructions. Eagerly shifting to follow the movements of her body as she planned each turn, bend and twist.
Slowly Opal started to combine games, adding small jumps and grids into their workouts. Keeping Rockstar’s mind active.
The stallion had never felt as attentive before and Opal was looking forward to tackling London with Rockstar as a real partner.
Her attitude towards London was also buoyed by her travelling companions. Both Sirus and Thom were going to join her in London. Calanthe had agreed to care for Joe and Natasha and Tris would keep an eye on Jamie while they were gone. Her excitement had increased when their friends Casmir and Aliana had offered to let them stay in their London townhouse during the trip skypeing them and all but demanding the three come stay with them.
With the support of her family and Rockstar’s newfound agreeability Opal felt like she was ready for London in a way that she clearly hadn’t been for Tokyo.
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Rockstar, Four Seasons Stall, Cas and Ali all belong to me
No references used

Description

Previous: Next:

Getting some necessary if unusual (for show jumpers anyway) training in before London.
I had fun playing with the lighting on this one

---
Coming back after Tokyo was a mixture of emotions. The buzzing high that came from being at a competition that big. The joy of being back home after feeling homesick and alone in a strange country. Both the elation and disappointed at their own show results.
They hadn’t been bad results per se, just not as high up the scoreboard as Opal would have liked. Rockstar had still been fighting and ignoring her throughout the round which had cost them rails and time.
Opal gave Rockstar 3 days of downtime; checking his legs for any swelling, bringing a chiropractor and equine massage therapist out to work on the stallion and ensure he was as physically and muscularly sound as possible before they got back to training.
It was a different sort of training to what Opal had done in their prep for previous jumping shows and for Tokyo. She knew Rockstar could jump. He’d proven that to the world. Now they needed to knuckle down and work together as a team on the same wavelength.
Ditching the saddle Opal went back to her own basics. Riding the brumby stallion bareback through the thick hilly bush tracks of the west coast. They rode wallaby tracks at breakneck speed, having to work together and make snap decisions with instant instructions and equally quick responses to avoid disaster.
It was Faraji who gave Opal the idea to try games with Rockstar. The young boy told her that she needed to make things more “fun and productive”. Then again he might actually have been signing about keeping Opal and Sirus delinquent adoptive son Jamie busy. Either way it worked fine for Rockstar. Opal would sort something out for Jamie later.
Rockstar took to the high speed recklessness of games like a fish to water. He soon got the idea of bending poles and barrels. They worked through keyhole and the bucket race until Rockstar’s balance and agility had improved and the temperamental stallion began seeking out Opal’s instructions. Eagerly shifting to follow the movements of her body as she planned each turn, bend and twist.
Slowly Opal started to combine games, adding small jumps and grids into their workouts. Keeping Rockstar’s mind active.
The stallion had never felt as attentive before and Opal was looking forward to tackling London with Rockstar as a real partner.
Her attitude towards London was also buoyed by her travelling companions. Both Sirus and Thom were going to join her in London. Calanthe had agreed to care for Joe and Natasha and Tris would keep an eye on Jamie while they were gone. Her excitement had increased when their friends Casmir and Aliana had offered to let them stay in their London townhouse during the trip skypeing them and all but demanding the three come stay with them.
With the support of her family and Rockstar’s newfound agreeability Opal felt like she was ready for London in a way that she clearly hadn’t been for Tokyo.
---

Rockstar, Four Seasons Stall, Cas and Ali all belong to me
No references used