Jazz - English Pleasure

Kass stifled a yawn as she made her way to the temporary stables the organizers had set up for out-of-town participants of the Summer Show. Though the sun was not quite peaking out yet, clouds were starting to turn a warm pink on the horizon. The young trainer and her little helper, William, had arrived late the previous day with the horse trailer in tow. Their trip down to Colorado from her little Canadian ranch - Maple Creek - had taken close to fifteen hours. Kass had made sure to stop every so often to check on their three ponies, offer them water and refill their hay nets.

When they stepped into the alleyway, three familiar faces perked out of their stalls with curious rounded ears turned towards them. William giggled, immediately approaching his dear Daïquiri to stroke her pink nose.

‘’I swear they can recognise the way we walk’’ Kass said with a soft smile for her ponies.

While the boy took care of the palomino mare, Kass grabbed a rope halter and entered her bay stallion’s stall. He watched her come in with fond, lazy eyes as he munched on a mouthful of hay.

‘’Morning, Jazz. You ready?’’ she whispered with a stroke on his neck once she had slipped the halter over his face.

Reaching for her grooming bag, she began brushing away the dust, wood shavings and hay bits from his coat. She was glad for his hogged mane, making it easy to clean up. Then all that was left to do was braid his forelock. One more braid at the base of his tail and Jazz was looking real dapper already!

While William stayed with the horses, Kass ran out to the trailer to retrieve her tack box. The boy had also finished grooming his pony once she returned.

Their first class that morning, right after the presentation, would be English pleasure. The young trainer took out a freshly cleaned saddle pad and matching leg wraps from the box then began tacking up her mount in the alley. Jazz was the latest addition to her little herd of teddies, and after some recent trials she has determined that a dark forest green suited him perfectly. A pristine, newly conditioned black saddle completed the look. Despite his rather petite stature, Kass knew that the stallion’s natural elegance would shine through.

‘’Time to try and make myself look as good as you, now’’ she told the pony with a point of anticipation.

*

‘’Now entering the arena is All That Jazz, ridden by Kassandra Peregrine!’’

The rhythmic clip-clop of Jazz’s hooves on the pavement gave way to a muffled sound as Kass led him into the sand arena when their names were announced. Soon after them, William entered riding Daïquiri. Kass walked Jazz around the ring along with the other participants of the English pleasure class, waiting for the remaining contestants to be called in. 

As they calmly stepped around the perimeter of the arena, the bay stallion’s rounded ears were like little satellites, quickly swiveling one way and the other. Still he had not put one hoof out of place yet, so Kass let him be curious of his surroundings and fellow ponies.

Today was Jazz’s second show only. Kass had worked with the stallion a lot since his arrival at Maple Creek - she was of the belief that stallions deserved to be treated like normal horses and had strived to teach him good manners - whether there were mares around or not. Everything had gone smoothly whenever she had hauled him out and even at their first show a few weeks prior. She hoped that Jazz would still be on his best behaviour despite the effervescence of the Summer Show. All in all, this event and its various classes would be a great training opportunity for the young horse. Not for the first time, Kass was glad to be just short enough that riding the bay stallion herself for his training and exposure wasn’t detrimental to his health!

The young trainer’s thoughts were snapped back to the present when one of the judges standing at the center of the ring called out for the participants to trot. With a slight pressure of her legs, Jazz moved up one gait. Immediately, his full attention was back on his rider, his ears now stilled.

The duo trotted twice around the arena alongside a dozen or so of other pairs, until the judge commanded them all to slow back down to a walk. Kass sat back on her seat slightly, Jazz instantly responding to her cue. With a hint of pride, she noticed how good he had become at down transitioning with minimal input from her hands pulling on the reins. They walked calmly for another turn, until…

‘’Canter your horses, please’’ announced the judge’s voice on the speaker.

Jazz readily accelerated to a gentle lope. Due to his smaller stature, a few taller and faster ponies moved past him on the inside as they went- including Daïquiri. The stallion flicked an ear at the familiar palomino mare as she cantered past, but was back to fully focused within a second. They maintained a nice cadence for a bit, until instructed to decelerate to a walk again. 

‘’Reverse at the walk, please.’’

At unison, all of the horse-rider teams changed direction. And nearly as soon as they were done, the judge asked for the canter again. Daïquiri loped past them on the inside once more, though this time Jazz completely ignored her. In turn, the contestants were asked to trot then finally to walk again.

‘’Halt. And back’’ the judge instructed.

Kass sat back slightly, pulling on the reins gently as Jazz conceded and stepped in reverse.

‘’Please walk your horses.’’

‘’Walk to the center, please.’’

All riders walked to the middle of the arena, standing side to side in a row facing the judges. William guided his mare to a stop next to Kass and Jazz. When their eyes met, the young woman shot him a discreet thumbs up. She was very proud of his progress!

And Jazz’s too she thought, giving the pony an affectionate pat of the neck as they awaited the judging of the class.