The twins may have looked identical, but their jumping styles weren't vastly different from each other.

When they had first arrived in a blue, rust coated trailer that afternoon, I was surprised to see Lacy was dressed in all white, except for her tall boots, gloves and helmet. It made her fair skin look even darker and her dark brown hair look raven coloured. 

Macy was dressed the opposite, in all black, which made her grey eyes pop out and her skin look lighter than Lacy's.

" Our parents say that wearing polar opposites is easier to tell us apart when riding " They had joked to Briggs and I.

I had been wondering why the horses they rode couldn't do that for their parents, but remained quiet about it, not wanting to chase them away by accident.

It was lucky I had kept my mouth shut, because as their horses came backing down the trailer, all eighteen hands of each, they were the exact same looking chestnut with no other markings, and both were also geldings.

Lacy's horse was named Raven-ironically, as his chestnut coat gleamed in the sunlight, the opposite of a black raven. He was a tall gelding, perfect for someone like Lacy and Macy, who were both very tall despite being only fourteen (Briggs had thought I was joking when I had told him before they arrived)

Macy's horse was called Dutch, as he was a dutch warmblood. Macy explained that she had been eating dutch chocolate when she had come across his ad online and considered it only right to name him so. He was also tall, maybe an inch taller than Raven, but it would probably have to be measured to be sure.

After showing the twins and their parents to their stalls, Briggs and I went to the outdoor arena to finish setting up the jumping course we had been working on before they arrived. It was a copy of the course that we would have to jump during the show and we tried to match every detail as best as we could.

When the girls emerged from the barn with Raven and Dutch tacked up, Briggs and I sat down on the bleachers with their parents, watching their warm up.

" We cannot thank you enough for this opportunity for the twins " Their mother whispered to us. She was obviously from Indian, as she wore the traditional clothing and spoke with a distinct accent.

I smiled at her, wondering if her husband, the twins dad, would speak up as well, but he remained quiet and stone faced as he watched the girls warm up.

I turned my attention back to the twins, I had my eyes on Lacy, while Briggs watched Macy.

Lacy and Raven worked in perfect sync. She was light in the saddle as she posted to his elegant trot. It almost seemed like they should've been in dressage instead of show jumping, but then I remembered some advice y dad had once told me.

' Every horse needs dressage. You walk before you run, and in a horses case, you flat before you jump. Dressage is more than just dancing horses, its flatwork '

The memory made me smile.

Briggs leaned over to me and our shoulders touched, making me blush, but he was still watching Macy so luckily he did notice.

" Macy is the polar opposite of Lacy, look "

I turned my gaze to Macy and saw that Briggs was right. Where Lacy was soft and elegant, Macy and Dutch moved with power and purpose. Dutch snorted as Macy circled him around a few jumps, he seemed very eager to get to the jumping part of the tryout.

" Tighten your core Macy! " I jumped as the twins father yelled out. " You look like a sack of potatoes up there! " 

I saw Macy look down before tightening her posture. Dutch shook his head when she did so, and the nice twenty meter circle he had been trotting in fell through. 

" Lacy! Raven is being lazy! Get him going! "

Lacy silently cued Raven forward, but then lost the flowing trot they had achieved. Raven was now speeding along, tripping a few times.

Briggs and I shared a look. The tryout wouldn't go too well if the girls had their father constantly yelling over their shoulders.

I turned to the girls mother. " Um, excuse me...ma'am? " I called.

She turned and smiled at me. " Oh please, no ma'am, call me Padma " 

I returned her smile. " Padma...if you and your husband don't mind...we'd like to watch the girls jump...alone... "

She raised a brow, but when her husband shouted again, a look of understanding replaced the confusion on her face. She bowed her head. " I see... " 

At first i thought she would be upset that I was kicking her and her husband out of their own daughters team tryouts, but instead, she smiled and whispered to me.

" ...Thank you... "

After a few words were spoken in Hindi, they were walking back to the barn. 

Briggs and I made our way down into the ring, where the twins had halted their horses in the centre.

" I hope you both don't mind " I spoke up. " But I asked your parents to leave for the jumping portion of the tryout "

Big smiles crept onto the twins faces.

" I understand that the pressure from your father must be difficult to go through... " I continued.

" We saw it in your riding. As soon as your father yelled at each of you, your riding changed, and not for the better " Briggs took over.

The twins looked down in unison.

" We know the pressure of criticism, what it can do to your riding " I spoke up again. " That's why we asked your parents to leave, but, if we let you on the team, you both know that they will want to attend the show. You both need to learn to block out your fathers words. He is not an equestrian, and he is not your coach. Trust your own instincts, and do what you both know is the right thing to do, not what he thinks he knows.. "

Lacy was the first of the two to look up. " ...You're right " she smiled. " We can't be afraid of father " she turned to look at Macy. " He's never even gotten on a horse before! He doesn't know the feeling of riding and jumping! We do! "

I smiled at Briggs.

" Can we see your jumping now? " He asked, breaking the twins passionate chatter.

Macy quickly raised her hand. " May I go first? "

I giggled. " Sure! Lacy, are you okay with walking Raven just outside the ring? "

Lacy nodded, letting Raven stretch as he walked out of the ring.

Briggs and I retook out seats on the bleachers. " Okay Macy! " Briggs called as he held up a stopwatch. " I start the timer when you jump the first obstacle...are you ready? "

I saw a look of determination in Macy's face as she patted Dutch's neck. " Lets do this! "

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Briggs and I waved the twins and their parents off as they drove away. Raven and Dutch were nice and settled into their new stalls and the twins tack was put away in the tack room. 

The girls had taken our advice and had done amazing in their jumping.

Macy was a risky rider, but not dangerous. I could tell she would put Dutch's health first, unless Amelia, but she was also able to clear the course well within the optimum time. There were a few moments where I was sure Dutch was going to crash through the jumps or smack the poles straight out of their cups, but the gelding had scope and they only had about two moments where the pole threatened to fall, but didn't. 

Lacy was more careful. She had just made the optimum time, but Raven hadn't even come close to hitting a pole. They took it all in stride, which was amazing, but I was worried about if they made it to a jump off, would Lacy push Raven more or would she be to nervous to take a risk.

However, both girls were amazing and Briggs and I had welcomed them to the team with a handshake and then a hug.

Briggs stuck his head out of Thunders stall. " So. We've got two riders, just one more to go " he smiled at me.

I smiled back as I ran a body brush over Omegas already spotless coat. " But the show is less than two weeks away...can we find another rider and get in at least a few team practises before then? "

His face fell. " It'll be cutting it close, but I don't think we have a choice. It's either that or give up the barn... " he shuddered at the thought, and so did I.

Omega sighed as she turned to look at me , nudging my hip. I pulled a mint from my pocket and she gobbled it up happily, making me smile.

" I said we're not going down without a fight, and I still think that " I returned my gaze to Briggs.

" Let's find ourselves one more rider! "