And this is what its all been leading to. I gotta say I probably wont be drawing Benji for a while now (the little man has gotten enough attention for a while ) That being said, having all these extra pictures to work with, have really helped me a lot this fall. I was completely unmotivated to draw, but having a list of spesific things I "needed" to get done, helped me alot. So now we'll have to see what happens with my motivation now that I'm done. Pretty long story, so amazed if you bother to read it all!

Horse: Benjamin Brown
Rider: Caroline Williams
Show: WS Elite Dressage Event
Class: Dressage

Story:

Benji stood in his assigned stall at Wilkenburg stabled. It was the morning of the event, and people had just started waking up, doing their daily choirs around the stables. Entrants were getting ready, stable hands were getting the horses ready, and everyone else were buzzing around.

He stood with his head hanging low, still dozing off a bit, but when he heard the familiar steps of his rider, he soon looked up. Caroline walked into his box with a bag filled with hay, he immediately walked over to the door, so she barely could get in, too eager to get to the hay. She left some for him on the floor, so she could get the rest of it in the hay net, in peace.

He ate along all happily, moving over to the net once he had finished the little Caro had left him on him floor. The stable slowly started to fill up with more people, voices echoing in the walls. Some were excited about the happenings of the day, others more calmly chatting.

Caroline found the grooming kit and started brushing over Benji while he was busy eating, at least then he wouldn’t be wandering in circles around in his box. She had given him a thorough round right before going to bed, the night before, so there was minimal work to do with his coat.

A few hours later and all they were waiting for were for their turn to arrive. Benji was standing in the midhall, coat shining and mane braided. Caroline was just putting the saddle on him before getting ready for the warmup. They had already passed the inspection, and all that was left was the actual show.

Benji looked curiously around when he was walked outside. His ears pointed forward and his head held high. He could feel the excitement in the atmosphere, and he knew something was happening. He had been entering enough shows to recognize them. He knew now that Caro expected something extra form him, and he would do his best to please her.

Caroline sat up in the saddle and adjusted her coat a bit. The area where they would warm up was already filled with other entrants, one of the horses she recognizes as Armand. She felt a knot of nervousness in the pit of her stomach, that she would be competing against a horse like that. For a moment she started doubting if she and Benji really had a chance at all, his show record wasn’t that impressive after all. It was like all the mental training she had done was forgotten, and she had to mentally slap herself to stop the negative thinking.

Benji stood patiently and waited for any signal from his rider, while she was busy doing whatever on his back. He spent the time observing the other horses, and stretching his neck to try and greet one of them when they trotted past, but the other horse seemed to be completely focused on its task. He gave a little huff and started walking when Caro pushed her legs against him. He felt the reins shorten, and the light tug of the bit in his mouth, that he immediately started sucking lightly on.

This was really the part of events Caro hated the most. The overfilled warm up areas. She had to admit this wasn’t the worst she had experienced, some places it was so filled with horses it was like a moving piece of puzzle. He walked Benji on somewhat loose reins for a bit, walking mostly in circles in the middle in the area, so she wouldn’t be in the way of those trotting and cantering.

Benji never liked the feeling of bending like this before his body was warm, not with a rider on his back. But just like every other time, it didn’t take too long until his muscles started loosening up, and his movements got a lot easier.

Caro could just as Benji, feel how his body softened, and how he much easier listened to her signals. She asked him to trot nice and collected around the area for a bit, still keeping it rather calm, as she was not comfortable with all the other riders around. It was far too easy to accidentally bump into one another’s riding paths, and that often ended with horses getting hurt in some way.

When the entrant before them were called into the arena, Caro decided to walk calmly to the arena herself. She walked back and forth on the dirt ground to keep Benjis muscles warm, and to keep him from getting bored and falling asleep.

There was no need for Caro to be afraid he would fall asleep. Benji was as awake as ever. He knew it was almost their turn, and it felt like every fiber in his body was ready to show what he could do. He did a few over excited steps to the side, and threw his head a bit. If he could talk he would have apologized and said Caro didn’t need to worry he would so something like that in the arena.

The entrant before them rode out of the arena, and soon after they got the signal to enter. She trotted into the arena and took a moment to take in the sight of all the people there. Despite Benjis little outburst of energy earlier, he now seemed completely fine. She trotted down the midline before stopping and greeting the judges.

This was it, all they had worked for the past months. All they could do now was their best, they couldn’t do any more or any less than that. She knew Benji was ready, she could feel it. And if it didn’t go their way, at least it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Benji tensed his muscles a bit when they stopped to greet the judges. All his senses were sharpened, and he was ready to react to whatever signals Cero gave him. He felt a slight tug in his mouth, the sign that something was about to happen, and then she urged him forward into a collected trot. And it was on.

Previous || Following Daddy


Judgig System

Fully body = 5
Detailed Shading = 5
Correct detailed background = 5 ??
Long Story (+1000 words) = 5
Country flag = 2
Correct tack & attire = 5
Sponsoring WS =  3 (three boards/flag shown, 1p per flag/board)
Donating a price = 5 (only count once) (send you a note about it)

Extra Images:
Training Image (max one) = 5 Training for the big league
Arrival Image (max 2) = 4 The King and the Prince and Tomorrow's it
Inspection Image (max one) = 3 Inspection time
Warm up Image (max 1) = 2 Warming up
Featuring any WS Horse in Extra Image (max 3) = 6 Warming up (1 horse) The King and the Prince (2 horses)

Total points: 55

_{You are not authorizes to use this work without written permission from Joybird}