Post by Millie Daveys on May 15, 2012 9:03:39 GMT -5
THIS MEANS WAR RIDDEN BY MILLIE DAVEYS
[/font]The tall bay colt stepped excitedly onto the track. Millie sat upon his back and spoke to him softly, stroking down his neck. They set off in a walk, beginning to warm him up. Ans and Millie walked briskly up the centre of the track, and gradually made their way over to the inner rail. On race day Millie planned to try and get a starting position on the inner rail. Ans was a closer, she wanted him to start at the front of the mid-pack. As they came to the closing stretch of the race Ans would move out from the inner rail and take on the front runners. He had had lots of work on his final bursts recently so should hopefully hold out when the time came. Millie pushed the colt into a forward going trot. He raised his head and pricked his ears and excitedly set off into a quick trot. Millie steadied him a bit and then he began to perform a nice trot. They completed a furlong in trot before Ans again pricked his ears and then let out a loud whinny. Millie looked over to the other horses on the track and laughed softly at Ans. To others it may seem as though Ans is not a very concentrated colt at times, however they couldn’t be more wrong. Sure, he may have the odd whinny and the other horses, but Millie was the one riding him and she could always feel that he was focused on what he was doing and could tell that he wouldn’t rather be doing anything else. They approached the straight. Millie sat in the saddle, clicked her tongue and applied pressure to Ans’ sides with her heels. Immediately he shot into a calm canter. He was beginning to realise now that he couldn’t just shoot off all the time. He had begun to mature a lot in the latter half of the racing year and had really picked up his game. Millie kept him in his nice relaxed canter for a little, before allowing him to really stretch out through his back, neck and legs and quicken his pace. You could always tell that Ans loved to run and he always had his ears pricked sharp when he did so. He was such a willing horse and was such a darling to ride in a race, he made it more exciting. Ans completed a furlong in his quickened canter. Millie decided it was time for a gallop. Today they would complete one furlong in gallop before completing a further furlong in gallop, acting like the final closing furlong of a race. Millie wanted to make sure his speed was up to scratch. Millie had a feeling that his next race, the Turn Up The Heat Stakes, would be one down to the wire, so Ans needed to have it when it counted. Millie urged him forward to the gallop. They started in a controlled gallop, the kind of speed they would be running at mid-race. Ans happily obliged and set off, hugging the inner rail tightly. It was amazing how close the colt could run to the rail without touching it, Millie could safely say she had never seen anything like it before. At first Millie was a bit wary of this, but she had come to learn that in fact he was a very intelligent colt and he really did know what he was doing. He comfortably and easily kept up with the pace that Millie was asking of him. Soon one furlong breezed by, now it was time for the real run to kick in. Millie crouched low in the saddle and urged him forwards. Ans immediately knew what she was asking of him. He stretched through his back and neck reaching out. His long elegant legs covered the ground so quickly. Millie was so amazed by this colt’s talent and was so happy with how he was coming along. He sped down the track, ears forwards, legs flying. The dirt splattered up and left a trail on the rail as he left it far behind. He flew past the next furlong marker. A smile spread across Millie’s face as she heard the time. She brought him back to a walk and allowed him to cool off, giving him a great pat.