Part 23

Irish Sport Horse (not Joe)

Dutch Warmblood (not Joe)

Eileen, Aileen and Joe had been working hard with the two horses in their care. One was a Dutch Warmblood, Big Ben, and the other was an Irish Sport Horse, Avery.

Aunt Eileen had been doing most of the work training the horses. I helped some but my forte was in working with the riders. This would be their first foray into the professional level. 

I stood on the sideline watching my aunt ride. She was like poetry in motion. I never saw her move yet the horse moved into the next set of exercises fluidly. The cadence of the horse's hooves and the tiny little grunts it makes are like music to my ears, with the exception of Vince's music. 

My aunt rode up and stopped Big Ben in front of me and I grabbed his bridle, holding him so she could dismount. "Aunt Eileen, you amaze me. You still ride better than anyone I know. You could still win the Olympics all over again."

"Oh Sweetheart, thank you, but you are biased," she said with a small chuckle.

Together we walked slowly towards the barn, letting Big Ben cool off.

"Mr and Mrs Stewart and their daughter Janet have a really good horse in the Irish Sport horse. I have to say, for the few times I have ridden him, I really enjoyed the ride. Avery is a smart horse and beautiful, with his being a gray dappled color," I said.

"I know. And with Big Ben here," she said, as she patted the big horse on the shoulder, "Mrs. Olsen and her daughter Cheryl, have a decent horse if all they were going to do was dressage of show jumping."

They made it to the cross ties inside the barn and we proceeded to untack and groom him while we continued our conversation.

"I wish I could have been involved with the purchase of Big ben here, with Mrs. Owen and her daughter Cheryl. He is a pretty solid horse except at the endurance part of eventing. He gets distracted and startles too easily.  Every bird or leaf that flies out from a bush or a tree throws him into a fit, yet doesn't have a problem with dressage or jumping. Hopefully with us working with him, we will resolve the issue. So I guess we will see."

My aunt and I put Ben away for the night. "I'll be up in a sec. I just want to say goodnight to Joe."

"OK sweetheart."

Vincent took to walking part way to Aileen’s place. There was an outcropping of rocks and bushes where he could sit. He could see the jumps and the other arena that had a really short fence around it. No one was in the rings, so he stared off into the distance, letting his mind wander, thinking back to when Fiona returned.

“Vincent, I’m back.”

“Fiona,” He called out. “What did you buy with my money?” His curiosity piqued.

“Let’s see. A couple rugs. Some drapes for this front window and since you do not have a dresser beyond your dryer, I got matching night stands with drawers and a wardrobe. They are going to be delivered tomorrow,” Fiona said.

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it,” Vince responded, kissing Fiona on the cheek. 

Not seeing his fairy pixey, he shook his head, stood up, and hiked back to the castle