Admitting Fear (Giovanni)

[Taylor Davis]

Taylor walked into the barn, heading to the stall that held her Hanoverian gelding, Mannie. ”Hey there, Mannie, ready for a workout

STAFF POSITIONS

” she asked quietly, grabbing the geldings light blue halter. She haltered him, grabbing the lead rope, clipping it onto the halter before quietly leading the dapple grey out to the round pen. She had her lunge line and lunging whip out there already. She led him in, unclipping the lead rope before clipping the lunge line onto his halter. ”Good boy” she said, throwing his lead rope over the gate, watching it land onto the grass quietly. She walked to the center of the arena, leaving the whip on the ground, she usually didn’t need it. ”Walk, Mannie” she said, the gelding immediately moving into a walk, keeping his ear flicked towards Taylor, seeming alert for anything she might say or do. After a few laps of walking, she smiled, clucking a bit, she laughed slightly, watching how the horse easily and quickly listened to her command, moving into a trot. The gelding kept his head right where it would be if she was riding him. It was very obvious that the gelding was well trained and respected his rider, or in this case, handler, entirely. After about 5 minutes, she kissed, the gelding let out a small squeal of happiness as he moved into the canter, keeping his strides even, looking like the hunter and equitation horse that he very well was. It was amazing, really, the bond the two shared, but then again, the fact that Taylor was terrified to ride the horse again. Anyone that followed the hunter circuit two years ago, would’ve known her name, and would’ve known the fall she had at a highly noted show. How the dog barked, and Mannie spooked in mid-air, causing him to fall funny, tumbling over, landing on Taylor, instantly trying to get up, not wanting to hurt the girl underneath him. Taylor had sustained injuries and so had Mannie.

REFERENCES:
Halter
[url=http://www.horsesuppliesdirect.com.au/images/545712_braided%20nylon%20lead%20sm.jpg
]Lead Rope[/url]
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[giovanni]

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/KMI8J.png] That morning, he had gotten up at the crack of dawn and decided to work his thoroughbred, Deuce. He had been focusing the majority of his time in his stallion, Knight. On occasion, he offered both horses for use to the students, assuming they didn't abuse the horse in any way, shape, or form. Although the stallion was surprisingly calm and knew what he was doing, he wasn't nearly as well-trained as the gelding. A quiet sigh left his lips as he entered the roundpen with Deuce at his side. He tethered the black thoroughbred to the top railing and patted his neck, just as he turned his attention to the young woman that was working her horse. He surveyed her curiously a moment, wondering where she knew her from. Right, she was his student. Not only that, but she was skittish when it came to riding. He knew why, and he tried not to broach the subject too much but today, he would see if he could help her out a bit. After all, as a riding instructor at the academy, it was partly his job. "Miss Davis, you shouldn't allow your past to stop you from doing what you love and no, I don't mean jumpin'. Your horse wants you to ride 'im and not only will he not get the proper exercise he needs by you simply lungin' him, but you're depriving yourself of somethin' as well." He drawled, moving closer to her as he motioned toward the horse then put a reassuring hand atop her shoulder.

[Taylor Davis]

”Miss Davis, you shouldn’t allow your past to stop you from doing what you love and no, I don’t mean jumpin’. Your horse wants you to ride ‘im an dnot only will he not get the proper exercise he needs by you simply lungin’ him, but you’re depriving yourself of somethin’ as well” Taylor turned slightly, lifting her hand up slightly, the gelding coming to the stop. Taylor would have to admit her fear, she had too, it was the first step in overcoming it, right

STAFF POSITIONS

She took a deep breath, ”I’m scared. Terrified to be honest. I’m terrified that the same thing will happen, and he will get hurt again. If he hadn’t tried to get off of me so soon, then he wouldn’t have hurt himself as bad as he did.” she admitted, looking to the ground before looking up, starting to coil the lunge line back up, the gelding following it, meeting Taylor. She held his halter slightly, looking back to the man that spoke to her. If she was thinking correctly, it was Giovanni de Luca, her Hunters instructor. She didn’t know if the reassurance of his hand on her shoulder or what, but she had never told someone exactly how she felt about the fall. No one. She had never admitted how scared she truly was to ride him again.

[sorry for the crappiness]

[giovanni]

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/KMI8J.png] At first, he appeared confused but then, he sighed. "Your horse is probably wonderin' what he did wrong. When a horse like yours is trained the way he is, he almost expects to be ridden, even looks forward to it. When a rider is sittin' in that saddle, that's when horse and rider really become one. The rope..." He paused, thinking of a metaphor to fit the situation. Another moment of silence ticked by as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. Finally, it came to him. "Alright, think of the rope as what separates the two of you, gets in the way of your bonding. When ya' got that rope in your hand, you can only tell him vocally that he's done good and when you're in the saddle, you can give 'im that physical reassurance that makes 'im feel like he's doin' everything the right way and that everythin' is right with the world. You can't let your past beat ya' down and control your life, take it from somebody that learned the hard way." He eased the rope from her hand. "Now, if it helps ya, I'll lead 'im around until you become certain that nothin' is gonna happen, alright STAFF POSITIONS " He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze then lowered his hand, waiting to see if she needed a boost.

[Taylor Davis]

” Your horse is probably wonderin' what he did wrong. When a horse like yours is trained the way he is, he almost expects to be ridden, even looks forward to it. When a rider is sittin' in that saddle, that's when horse and rider really become one. The rope...” Taylor stayed silent as he thought, the words flowing through her mind, was she going to ride the horse again, someday, yes, but would today be the day

STAFF POSITIONS

He was right, of course, Mannie was always one that loved to be ridden, and especially jumped. She knew exactly what he meant, she had gotten the comment many times on her scorecards, how her and Mannie had looked as one, like their brains were connected.

"Alright, think of the rope as what separates the two of you, gets in the way of your bonding. When ya' got that rope in your hand, you can only tell him vocally that he's done good and when you're in the saddle, you can give 'im that physical reassurance that makes 'im feel like he's doin' everything the right way and that everythin' is right with the world. You can't let your past beat ya' down and control your life, take it from somebody that learned the hard way." Taylor nodded, knowing how right he was. The gelding had a pleading look in his eye as he looked to Taylor, ears more focused on Taylor rather than the man speaking, showing how loyal he was to listening to his ‘master’. She took a breath as he eased the rope from her. "Now, if it helps ya, I'll lead 'im around until you become certain that nothin' is gonna happen, alright

STAFF POSITIONS

" Taylor took a deep breath, feeling herself get nervous as she placed her hands on his back, smiling slightly at the reassuring squeeze on the shoulder she had been given. ”O-Okay” she said, stuttering slightly from the nerves building up inside of her. She saw he had offered to give her a leg up, which she needed. She took a deep breath, placing her foot in his hand, easily getting onto the Hanoverian’s back with the boost he had given her. Since the horse wasn’t tacked up or anything, Taylor held onto his mane, her body tense, though she was so nervous, she couldn’t tell how bad she had actually tensed up. Her hands were shaking slightly.

[giovanni]

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/KMI8J.png] He watched his horse as he waited for her to get situated. After a moment, he glanced back toward her and tilted his head, his dark gaze drinking her in. "You must relax. If you're tense, your horse will be tense. Animals go off of cues, whether they are physical, vocal, emotional, or all of the above." He sighed and looked ahead. This would be fun. He was silent a moment longer before he chose to continue. "When I was taught to ride, they told us to look in the direction we wanted to turn. When we turn our heads, our bodies lean in that direction and the horse responds by going in that direction. Here's why: when your body leans to the right, your left foot falls slack and your right foot applies pressure. Another thing that happens is your hand tugs the reins to the right, signaling the horse to make a right turn. Of course, that usually only applies to Western but alas, the concept is still the same." He shrugged and rolled his shoulders before silently urging the horse into a slow walk. On occasion, he would check on Taylor but beyond that, he kept his eyes ahead of him. "Another thing to remember is that this has no danger to it. Keep your back straight and your posture relaxed. Hold his mane gently and don't apply pressure to his sides. If you think you're about to lose your balance or need to stop, let me know. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Taylor, I promise." He murmured, his pace never changing.

[Taylor Davis]

"You must relax. If you're tense, your horse will be tense. Animals go off of cues, whether they are physical, vocal, emotional, or all of the above." this reminded Taylor to realize that she was actually super tense, causing her body to shake. She took a deep breath, smiling ever so slightly as the shaking slowly came to a stop, starting to relax her shoulder muscles. When I was taught to ride, they told us to look in the direction we wanted to turn. When we turn our heads, our bodies lean in that direction and the horse responds by going in that direction. Here's why: when your body leans to the right, your left foot falls slack and your right foot applies pressure. Another thing that happens is your left hand tugs on the reins, signaling the horse to make a right turn. Of course, that usually only applies to Western but alas, the concept is still the same Taylor nodded as she heard him speak, her body slowly relaxing as they continued walking.

"Another thing to remember is that this has no danger to it. Keep your back straight and your posture relaxed. Hold his mane gently and don't apply pressure to his sides. If you think you're about to lose your balance or need to stop, let me know. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Taylor, I promise." She kept ahold of the grey’s mane but she had an extremely good balance and it was quite obvious that she showed in equitation with the horse. They just looked like the whole package and were quite the team. She let her legs hang loose as she continued to become more and more relaxed on the back the Hanoverian gelding. She straightened her back, pulling her shoulders up slightly, taking a deep breath. ”Thank you…[/] she said softly, looking down to him. She was appreciative that he was taking the time to get her back on the gelding. She didn’t know what she’d do while taking lessons now, surely he wouldn’t make her embarrass herself in the Hunter class since she wouldn’t be at the jumping stage for a little bit, considering she was just getting used to walking on Mannie.

[giovanni]

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/KMI8J.png] He acknowledged her at first by nodding. "It's all in the job description, Miss Davis." He assured her with a chuckle. Okay, so not really. He was just a concerned teacher that sought to help his student. "While I lead him around, why don't you tell me a bit about your past STAFF POSITIONS " He suggested, genuinely curious. This reminded him a lot of the times when he worked at the ranch. On the weekends, kids that felt like they had nothing else to lose would come out. Gio would lead them around on sturdy ponies that were more than patient. In some ways, he missed those days. Back then, he hadn't felt so lonely. Now, at thirty-three, he just felt like his life didn't mean shit, unless you counted educating the young minds of tomorrow, blah blah blah. He wasn't your typical teacher either but then again, in his mind, typical was for chumps.

[Taylor Davis]

”It’s all in the job description, Miss Davis” it only brought a soft smile to the girl’s face. Her life wasn’t always filled with smiles, a lot of the past few years, she had been crying and basically very solitary. Ever since the accident, she had been bouncing around foster homes, now atleast she was in the dorms, not worrying about anyone but herself…right

STAFF POSITIONS

”While I lead him around, why don’t you tell me a bit about your past

STAFF POSITIONS

” Taylor nodded slightly, figuring he wouldn’t want to hear the sob story in detail so she would just keep it short, to the minimum. ”Well, I started riding when I was 5, my parent died when I was 14, since then I’ve been bounced around foster homes since no one wanted to adopt me and I had no other family. I think the longest I stayed in a foster home was probably 3 months. My depression plummeted after my parents and I think I tried to commit suicide 4 times

STAFF POSITIONS

I cant exactly remember, I just remember waking up in the hospital. I literally do not have any family, and when I was 18, I was too old for the foster home system and I got sent out to live on my own.” she said, keeping all the gruesome details to herself. “At some of the foster homes, the ones right after I go put in for the first few times, I ran away and lived on the streets for a week or two before the police caught me” she bit her lip quietly, turning her wrists down so he wouldn’t even have the chance of noticing the scars on her wrists that only she knew was there. They were hardly visible, you’d have to look really close to be able to even see them. She never got a lot of sleep and never ate the much either, she doesn’t know why, she just doesn’t. It’s odd, she’s even gone 25 hours without eating, but she got sick from that so sometimes forces herself to eat.

[giovanni]

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/KMI8J.png] Though he was silent, he wasn't ignoring her. On the contrary, he was absorbing it like a sponge. Giovanni had never been one of those that was particularly good with expressing any sort of emotion, let alone carrying on a conversation that had to do with somebody else's broken past. He wasn't insensitive by any stretch of the definition and what he was doing in that moment was a silent testament of that. "I see. Well, not to sound insensitive to your situation, Miss Davis, but nothing is worth taking your own life over." He said quietly. He wasn't an expert on any of it nor had he ever attempted to face his shitload of problems. "When you look back on this conversation, I pray you take one thing from it. If you allow people to get you down, you're just allowing them to win. You cannot allow other people to dictate your life because only you are the master of your destiny." If somebody had told him that at her age, he would have kicked shit in their face and laughed then walked away. "If you ever want to talk, I'm always available." It was an offer to not only be her confidant but her authority figure as well.

[Taylor Davis]

Taylor hadn’t taken the silence from the man leading her around offensive in anyway. In fact, it was nice for once to have someone NOT immediately fussing over her. It just pissed her off, because they would always say ‘Oh don’t say that’ nothing that would ever be of benefit to the girl in anyway shape or form. ”I see. Well, not to sound insensitive to your situation, Miss Davis, but nothing is worth taking your own life over.” the girl nodded. She didn’t think he was being insensitive at all. It was actually really nice to not have someone badger her for more information than what she had given out. She knew that multiple people in her past would always ask how she tried to kill herself; now that was insensitive. The girl was starting to slowly relax on the back of the large grey gelding, the gelding becoming more at ease with his life at the same time.

”When you look back on this conversation, I pray you take one thing from it. If you allow people to get you down, you’re just allowing them to win. You cannot allow other people to dictate your life because only you are the master of your destiny.” Taylor stayed quiet, knowing if every little way, Giovanni was probably right. She wasn’t the kind of girl that would let things go, but she wasn’t the kind to disrespect either. ”If you ever want to talk, I’m always available” Taylor smiled slightly, hearing him say that. It was as if he was offering to be an authority figure, like one she had never had before. ”Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.” she said as the gelding underneath her tensed his muscles slightly, wanting to trot happily with his rider on his back for the first time in two years.

[giovanni]

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/KMI8J.png] He wanted to say something further but instead, he bit his tongue. What was he going to say STAFF POSITIONS He had said his peace, he knew that he had and thus, he was going to keep his mouth shut, unless she asked him a question. Like many men, he was a man of few words and fewer emotions. He treated his students like adults and if they weren't ready to go the extra mile, they didn't belong at the school, and he found no qualms in telling them as such. They were in high school and college, not elementary school. If they couldn't handle the heat, he told them to either get out of the kitchen or pick a teacher that went easy on them, a teacher that left them ill-prepared for competitions and more importantly, for life itself. He didn't have lesson plans because life didn't follow a plan, no matter how badly anybody wanted it to. You had to be prepared for the unexpected. Feeling the shift of the horse's attitude through the lead rope, he turned his head and glanced over at Taylor. "You want me to let you have control or what STAFF POSITIONS " He queried quietly and more kindly than he normally would have. He recognized that he had to help his students, no matter what their malfunction or how much time it took away from his horses. His students would always come before anything else.