"Okay Eleanor, use your hand to bring him back. But make sure that as soon as he rounds again, you soften your hands as much as possible so he knows that he did it correctly" Camille called out.

I was in a dressage lesson with Camille and Grace, and North was giving me a bit of trouble. He would go out of frame and each time it was harder for me to bring him back.

Tacked up in a navy dressage saddle pad that matched my top, North and I trotted around the arena in his powerful trot. The first ten minutes of the lesson, we worked on asking our horses to stretch out on the trot and canter. With this, they were way more supple and were working better, or, at least Aspen was.

I was concentrating on asking North to run under my touch once more, because as of right now, he was trotting around with his head up high, he could even resemble a giraffe.

When North finally brought his head down, I softened my hands and although I kept contact, I wasn't by any means interfering. We performed several transitions and circles as well as spirals before Camille made each of us have a go at leg yields at either side of the arena.

Coordinating the aids is like dancing, to do a leg yield was like dancing; every step we took was felt without losing the beat. The dance between the inside and outside aids was coordinated through the rhythm of  North's movements. I keep my leg long with soft impulses that asked the stallion to leg yield.

Keeping the leg long and soft, without squeezing, encouraged better timing of the aids and allowed me to follow the movement of the Irish Sport Horse. Once he began to yield from the inside leg, I sent him into the outside rein connection. At this moment, I used my outside aids to encourage the forward movement coming from North. With slight half halts on the outside rein I kept him  balanced on the outside hind leg as he moved sideways. The outside aids also prevented him from falling over to the outside or bulging the outside shoulder, Therefore we were able to maintain straightness as we moved sideways.

Completing the exercise, I loosened my outer rein a bit, letting it fall through my fingers as I gave North  quickpay, however he took advantage of it to move out of frame. This time it was easier for me to ask him to return to his rounders frame and I repeated the exercise of the leg yields on the other side of the arena.

Grace had a go as well, performing them to perfection with Aspen. I always admired how Grace worked in dressage, she was so talented and It was amazing to see her connect with Aspen to the point where Aspen could basically read her mind and perform the exercises to perfection.

Dressage has always been harder for me as well as for North. Not only did I enjoy the adrenaline of the thrill of jumping much more, but it had taken me longer to get North to get the hang of ther harder dressage moves.

"Okay, taking turns, I want you to take a figure eight, and perform a flying change when you pass X. Try making it as smooth as possible so that we can work on your tempis in a bit" Camille said. Earning nods from Grace and I, we faced each other to figure out who would go first. Without any spoken words, we decided that Grace went first; and that she did.

Performing two flying changes to perfection, Aspen earned several pats and some praise from me and Camille.

Now that it was my turn, I asked North to canter with invisible cues, soon enough we were cantering down the arna in a floating canter. Turning after the corner, I prepared to perform my flying change. Switching my aides, North switched from right lead, to his left one. Moving out of the diagonal, I kept my constant pressure and contact so that North would keep on cantering around the corner.

Taking the diagonal in the other direction, I asked North to perform the flying change, however he struggled a bit and didn't manage to perform it correctly. I sighed but still patted him for trying.

"Eleanor, good try, but go again. Make sure to give him your aides as clearly as possible. Both you and I know it isn't his strong suit. Don't get discouraged though. Take a deep breath and have another go." Camille encouraged.

I closed my eyes for a second and opened them with new found determination. I asked North for a canter, and without stopping in trot, we went straight from halt to a smooth canter.

Taking the diagonal again, I prepared to cue North to complete the flying change.

"Okay El, keep that canter, make sure he is engaged with his hindquarters." taking the advice with a curt nod, I moved on.

"Extend these three strides and then ask for the change" Camille walked me through. With a nudge of my leg, we extended a bit and I asked for a flying change. Once again, we didn't manage to complete it, instead it was replaced with a small buck from North.

To say the least, I was so done with him bucking, he hasnt bucked in ages, and now I sat through many bucks per lesson. I brushed the thought off with a simple he is acting out, it will pass and moved on.

Focusing on my aides completely, I turned North and directed him to the diagonal again, and following Camille's advice, I extended and after counting three stories, I changed my aides, north performing a flying change under me. I let a smile curve on my lips as I praised North.

"That's it!" Camille praised. "Remember that you have to give him the cues to perfection so that he will understand you. But good job."

"Okay, now that we got through the flying changes we will start with the tempi changes. Both of you can manage to get three in a diagonal, am I correct?" Camille asked, to which Grace and I nodded.

"Good, start with those, get the three in and then we will work towards getting four in"

Tempus were basically several flying changes, one after another. They were hard, but this was what this lesson was for, to correct them and get the hang of them.

"Grace, if you want to go first, take the diagonal and cue Aspen for the tempi two strides after you take the diagonal so you have space for the three changes." Camille instructed.

Grace nodded, determination written all over her face, and she nudged Aspen into a canter. Exactly two strides after taking the diagonal, the pair performed the first flying change. Upon landing, Grace muttered the strides before shifting her weight again to do the next flying change, followed by the next.

"That was really good Grace! My only observation is in the second change, try making your cues less noticeable, you could depict clearly where you shafted weight, but other than that really good work" Camille corrected my best friend.

Now it was my turn, and copying Grace's movements, I took the diagonal at a canter and as soon as we hit the two strides mark, I started counting.

One two three, aide I counted in my mind, on cue, North lifted his hooves and completed the change after my shift of aide.

Two, two, three, aide I continued, north again changing his lead underneath me.

Three two three aide I finished off with the last of the tempi changes.

Letting the reins run through my fingers, I gave North a praising pat, letting him know that he had done a good job.

"Good job Eleanor, just like I said to Grace, try and make the changes less noticable so that it looks cleaner in general. And make sure to really ask for impuntion in the corner right before turning, it makes the difference." She corrected me. I nodded my head acknowledging the corrections so I could fix them.

"Now that you have that down, try fitting the last tempi change, it's the same thing as you have done up till now, but since it's one more, your horses will find it harder so you have to give them the cue super precise and not give them time to think, you will be fine otherwise." our instructor explained.

I couldn't help but feel the little nervous as we were expected to do something new. I shaked the thought away and I watched Grace have a go at the four changes.

She managed to complete them all, Aspen looking perfect the whole way through.

"That was amazing Grace!" I told her with a genuine smile after she walked over to us again.

"Wait till you have a go, that will be amazing"

"Yeah right! We both know you are the best one at dressage between both of us." I said matter of factly. Grace didn't argue, and instead I asked North to canter once more.

Approaching the corner to the short side of the arena, I used my inner leg asking him not to cut the corner. He didn't like my action and lifted his head up high in protest.

"Okay, shhh it's okay boy. Sorry" I whispered to the stallion under me.

Since we had completely messed up the corner, I took a twenty meter circle and then took the diagonal. Readying myself for the sequence of changes, I counted in my head, executing my cues when I needed to. In Between a shift of weight and the change of position of my legs, we managed to get through the first three changes.

I took a deep breath and counted for the next. Right on time, I switched my right leg behind the girth and moved the other one a bit forward. Leaning back, I prepared for North to lift his legs, and in a matter of seconds, we were all in the air and soon back down again, we stumbled a bit but nothing too bad. I checked if we had done it correctly by looking down, and i found Norths left led leading, meaning we had done it correctly.

I gave North a pat and whispered praise for his good work. I made my way back to a grinning Grace, but before  she could speak, I had my turn.

"Told you that you were better." I said sending a wink her way.

"I was just about to say that you did a pretty good job, but if we can agree that i'm the better one here, I wouldn't complain," she said jokingly to which we both giggled.

"Grace was right, that was a pretty good attempt. Next time look for a bit more balance from North's side, make sure his hindquarters really go under him so it will be easier for him to complete the exercise, but nothing that can't be fixed with practice." Camille corrected.

"Enough chit-chat, Grace go again" Camille said not long after Grace and I started talking again about whatever.

Grace had another go, acing the exercise, Aspen looking collected as well as relaxed throughout it all.

When it was my turn to have a go, I asked for a canter again. North was fighting the bit, but as we took the diagonal, I managed to not let it bother me. I shifted my leg position, North's tail swishing as he performed the first change. Leading into the second, we completed it again. The third was a bit crusty, but the fourth was a total nightmare.

I shifted my weight asking for the last Tempi but north instead of lifting his hooves to complete it, his head shot into the air in an uncomfortable maner. I gasped, slightly frightened by the stallion's sudden movement, but quickly regained my composure and tried to calm him down.

The light stallion below me pulled on the reins causing me to nudge forward. I hear Camille yell out to me from the middle of the arena.

"Alright, get his head up El!"

I leaned my elbows in as we rounded the corner.North did not like that... he pulled his head down and threw a buck. My heart sank as he spun around to the center; trying to regain control, I sat deep in the saddle and slightly pulled the reins back. Before I could even blink, North threw himself in the air. My seat was thrown off and my grip on the stirrups was out of balance.

He went for round two-raising himself in a massive rear, my foot started to slip but somehow I managed to stay in the saddle. I let out an audible gasp when  time slowed. I focused on myself, calming down slightly as Norths hooves came back down with a loud thud that echoed throughout the whole arena. After his short fuss, he seemed fina again, but I was still rattled.

I ended the lesson there as Camille and I came to the conclusion that he was just struggling with the tempis and got frustrated. I tried to believe it, but it just didn't add up somehow. The thoughts haunted me throughout the day, an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

Pushing through and ignoring that uneasy feeling, I continued my day which meant  jumping Griffin. We had already had a couple of jumping lessons and he was getting really good at it and i was super happy, today we were going to try to work a bit more on height, my aim was reaching 70 centimeters and clearing it.

Griffin had plenty of scope, but he struggled a bit with rhythm over the course, that was what was stopping me from going higher at once. Matt had him already tacked up for me, so once in the arena, I went straight to the railing and started trotting him, loosening his muscles. I did plenty of circles and serpentines, constantly asking for a more forward rhythm.

When I considered him being warmed up already, I set up some jumps at about 50 centimeters. The course just consisted of one line, so I guess you couldn't actually consider it a course, but you get the point. I asked Griffin to canter over to it, and counting the strides, we flew over the first jump. Using my leg and voice, I encouraged him to further extend, but we did not extend enough, making us put in another stride that was way smaller, therefore the second jump tumbled down.

Not being too bothered about it, I asked Griffin to canter again, and I didn't head towards the jump until he was in a bouncy extended canter. Approaching the jump again, i kept contact and urged the bay gelding forward. And upon landing, i encouraged him even more. Keeping a steady stride, we flew over the second jump flawlessly, nailing the distance.

After praising Griffin I popped him over the same jumps again before raising them a but. The jumps looked significantly higher now that they were raised at around 70 centimeters. Once more I asked for a canter and with a swish of a tail, I was raised in a light seat headed for the first jump.

3,2,1 I counted in my head and guided Griffin over the first jump. It was my first time feeling so much power from him as he propelled over it. After touchdown, I felt no need to extend as we were headed in a smooth canter to the next jump. Once again, we flew over the second jump. Griffin pushed off from the ground with his hindquarters, snapping his knees under him soaring over the second jump with much to spare.

Upon landing, let Griffin canter a bit before slowing down.

"Someone is an over jumper, aren't you?" I cooed scratching his neck. All my previous worries were in the back of my mind, I was so proud of my progress with griffin and I was excited for what was to come. Today I experienced my first bit of how good of a jumper he was, and I couldn't wait to see where that would take us.

Dismounting and making my way back to the barn, I handed Griffin over to Matt and crossed the barn on my way to Marvel's stall. Slowing down on the stallion section, I peeked in on North's stall, extending my hand out to him when he took his head out of the stall door. Seconds before my hand touched his white fur, he backed away with a frightened snort. I gasped and took a step back on instinct, but made my way closer again. This time North didn't mind my hand caressing his soft coat, but the situation didn't help my wandering mind. I walked away, till making my way to Marvel's stall, lost in thought when i heard my dad call my name.

"El!" whipping around I was met  by my father, "are you okay?" he asked, his hurried tone changing to worried.

"Yes, why do you ask?" I said, more confused than ever. Shaking his head, he muttered a nothing before continuing with what he had to tell me in the first place.

"Kiera got here to get Dublin, I already asked Matt to rugg him but I need you to fill in the papers to let him go" He spoke.

If I was confused then, I was ten times more confused now.

"Wha-What? Kiera came to get dublin?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, something came up and they are heading up North and they are taking dublin with them, sorry it was on such short notice, even i found out minutes ago"

"I mean, yes, I'll do it, but he isn't done with his training yet"  I said as we were walking to my father's office.

"I know, but you got far enough for him to leave with no problem you already reached the initial goal which was make him a jumper"

"Okay..." I trailed off. It was hard to say goodbye to horses that I had spent so much time with, I felt a pit at the bottom of my stomach with the thought of it.

Entering my father's office, he handed me a folder with all I had to fill in regarding Dublin. Not wasting a second, I grabbed my pen and started scribbling all the information down. When I finished, Kiera had already got to the barn and Matt was leading Dublin to the trailer.

I walked up to him and we walked side by side. As if Matt read my mind, he spoke carefully.

"You want to say goodbye to him, don't you?"

"Yeah, it was just so sudden. I mean I knew that eventually Kiera would come and get him, but I expected a bit more time for notice" I said with a small sigh.

Matt's brown eyes met mine, he held a special sparkle and a light smile that caused the corners of his eyes to crease.

"If you want, load him up to the trailer, I will buy you some time so you can say goodbye to him"

"Thank you matt" i gratefully thanked him, taking the lead rope as matt waked off. Leading him up the ramp, I settled him in the trailer and stood there, staring at the stunning liver chestnut horse.

"Goodbye Dub, Ill miss you, you know?" he snorted as if he were responding. A chuckle left my lips as I scratched his neck before wrapping my arms around him, inhaling the sweet scent.

Train g away, I gave him one more pat before heading back to the barn to ride Marvel. I was heading to the arena, when I heard the rumble of the trailer meaning that Dublin had officially left. It was a weird feeling when horses left, I felt somewhat hollow, and empty. I ignored the weird sensation, and focused on Marvel and getting him to work.

Pushing through the rest of the day at the barn, I was glad when I turned the keys to my house. I was surprised when I didn't hear the familiar pitter patter of Dalis paws on the wooden floor before he pronounced over me, but if I was being honest, I wasn't in the mood for a huge blac dog to jump over me at the moment.

My father had stayed at the barn till a bit later, because he was busy, so I made my way up to my room. From the creek of the door, I could see the lights turned on. Panic filled my veins as I heard faint noises coming from my room.

Why is the light on and why does it sound as if a movie were playing? My heart pounded in my chest, as I opened the door slowly, not expecting what to find.  Walking in, My eyes landed on a boy with messy blond hair, sprawled all over my bed with computer and crisps in hand, and not to mention the german shepherd curled up at his feet.

Without even looking at me, the boy spoke, not tearing his eyes away from the computer.

"Hello el"

"Hey Chris" I spoke slowly, tiredness evident in my tone.

My cousin took a glance at me as I set my things down, a sight escaping my lips.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concern laced in his voice.

"Why is everyone asking me that?" I muttered frustrated. I didn't even know why I was so annoyed at everything at this point.

"What did you say?" Chris inquired

"Nothing, it's just been a long day." I said before sloping on my bed besides Chris.

"Now, if you don't mind can you play 'Captain America Civil War'?" I said in a playful demanding tone.

And with that, I spent the rest of the afternoon with my cousin, fixed on the Marvel movie playing, my concerns from earlier at the back of my mind.