ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
Deviation Actions
Suggested Deviants
Suggested Collections
You Might Like…
Description
Dark Lake Stables Competition
CoaH Dusty in Endurance
Horse: Dusty
Breed: Arabian
Age: 6
Rider: Melody Charmainè Riddle
Age: 25
Representing: Chronicles of a Hero
Class Entered: Endurance
Show Entered: Dark Lake Stables Competition
Melody leaned against a tree, her eyes heavy, as the vet checked over her stallion. She cooed softly to her horse, his eyes in a wild fury as this stranger ran his hands along his gleaming, golden body. Melody felt her body ache, crying out for rest. Her knees shook, her legs were in a slight tremble. Dusty pushed against her chest in disapproval of his other human’s poking and prodding, but all Melody could do was sooth him with wordless sentences. She had spent many hours conditioning her and her horse for this event, but no amount of conditioning could prepare her to show in jumping, and then ride out in endurance the next day. Dianna’s refusal to ride Sabotage in yesterday’s show jumping had forced Melody to take the reins, or lose the entry. Now her body screamed at her.
“You ok?” muttered a black-haired man standing beside her.
She looked up into Damien’s sharp, green eyes and gave a small nod. “The shows are taking a toll on us all, I think,” she said softly, not wanting to talk much, just wanting to get these last, stretching miles over with.
“But you had to pick up someone else’s slack,” he reminded her.
She said nothing, running her fingers over Dusty’s nose as the vet began to inspect his hooves.
“Have you seen Richard?” she asked several minutes later.
“No. No one has. The vets won’t tell us much either,” he said shaking his head.
Richard had been out there too, running the long miles on the Arabian mare Janati. Melody had not seen him since Dusty broke away from the pack in the beginning of the competition. She began to worry.
“He’s good to go, Miss Riddle,” the man said, setting down Dusty’s hind hoof. The stallion gave a small kick in annoyance.
Melody pushed herself away from the tree with a small grunt. She did not know how far ahead she was.. or how far behind. She put her foot in the stirrup, and bounced a few times on her other, but did not pull up. Damien quickly moved to her side, offering his assistance.
“You know, the rider has to be in condition to go on too,” he said as she placed her foot in his hands.
“He’s a tall horse..” she said, bouncing again, then heaving onto his back.
Damien didn’t fight. He had seen her jump on the massive stallion’s back with no assistance, with no saddle. He knew she was wearing out.
He gave her leg a pat, and looked at the stallion, whom towered him in comparison. “Be careful,” he said, stepping back.
The breeze kissed the sweat on Melody’s face as the sun began to set. It was the last stretch, but what a long stretch it would be. She let her eyes close shut of just a few moments.
Within that simple instant, Dusty screamed out into the wind and Melody’s body tremored awake. She turned her head to try and find her stallion’s distress. It was then she saw a flash of red.
Dusty began to tense, his muscles tightening, his step becoming airy. She watched the stallion’s neck arch, his body seeming bigger than usual. It was a mare. She looked through the trees, now hoping the red she saw was the chestnut coat of her own mare Janati. She kept her stud moving forward, remembering that even her own mare was a competitor. Dusty pitched again, and the horse answered back. Ripping from the trees in a stunning flash of red and white was an Arabian mare, but not her Arabian mare.
Dusty surged, all 18 hands of him exploding into chase. In just a few strides, the stallion had managed to catch up to the heels of the mare, but Melody could feel herself losing control. She pulled his head sideways, throwing him into a sharp turn. He screamed, trying to kick his feet in protest. Melody looked over her shoulder, watching the horse and rider tear off into the trees once more, the image of this mare etched into her mind. She wanted to see her again, wanted to find her after the race.
When Dusty finally came to a stop, he lifted his head high to try and find her scent again. Melody looked at the mountains. The day was turning into night quickly. She leaned forward slowly, whispering nothings to her stallion to keep him calm.
“We can make this race ours, big boy,” she said, “Remember the days on the track? You took them all by lengths, even from last in the pack you soared. Let’s relive the glory days.” She lifted up in the stirrups, face pressed against the course hair’s of his mane. The wind danced on her neck, as she slowly gave slack on the reins. For a moment, she heard the earth.
Then, with a click of her tongue in the stallion’s ear, those sounds went away. Dusty exploded into a run, hooves ripping up the ground like daggers. Huge strides thundered across the earth. Melody felt the wind, but kept her face buried in his mane. Dusty hollered into the air, declaring himself to the others, letting them all know he was on his way…
Artists Note: Well, yes. I put a lot more effort into this picture than I had originally intended, but it seems that anything that has to do with Dusty just gets me going. I’m pretty terrible at backgrounds and don’t give them much thought, but since it’s kind of a requirement for the DLS shows, what better time to practice?
So, there’s a little foreshadowing in there. Can you find it? ;]
I used pretty much everything I had on this picture; pens, colored pencils, water colors, pastels, paints, etc..
CREDIT:
Artwork (c)
Image size
902x695px 1.24 MB
© 2009 - 2024 BlackGlassButterfly
Comments19
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
AHHH! So pretty 