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Description

Show: HCL VIENNA

TEAM: Space Shuttles

Rider: Laura Bassett

Horse: SLS Jantar

Representing the team or riding as an individual? Team! #BLASTOFF

“Uh, hey, Suri? It’s Laura, Laura Bassett? Not sure if you have my number anymore. I was wondering if you were able to do me that favour. Don’t suppose you’ve got a head for heights yet?” Laura had uttered down her phone to the receiving answerphone a few months prior to arriving in Vienna. With the rest of the SLS team swamped with work back at the stables, she had instead sought to recruit an old friend to accompany her throughout the season.

Austria had quickly become a familiar travel destination for the staff at SLS; in the past 6 months alone, it had been visited 3, now 4, times. Laura hadn’t so much as seen her own parents that often in that amount of time. The few hours worth of the flight were nothing compared to her previous long trips to the States but, then again, she thought, the States were nothing compared to the scenes that were set in Vienna this special weekend. The year was already beginning to warm up significantly and air was refilling with the calls of birds that had returned home after the long winter. However, on competition day, the morning remained quiet and still as they were yet to wake.

From Laura’s dimmed hotel room in the magnificently grand building the competitors were offered to stay in, the silence was broken by the mind-numbing three-toned chime of the alarm clock that reigned over its bedside table. It sounded in its usual repetitive manner, enough to make the dead turn in their graves just to silence it for some peace and quiet in this early hour.

Laura burst back into the room, a towel clinging loosely around her, another holding her wet hair in a twist and her foamed-up toothbrush hanging from her lips. She strode across her room and stepped widely over the thrown clothes that decorated the floor and towards the clock, swiftly flicking it off.
Excitement had her awake for over an hour now, running through her preparation for the day. Or, well, there lack of. Suri had left out a to-do list pinned to her mirror that covered everything from the wake-up time, the clothes and kit needed for the day, to the warm-up routine. So far, Laura had stuck to it. Only, she was sure she had left her starting number out on the dresser last night, which had now magically vanished. After successfully muting the alarm, she returned to the bathroom to get changed into her clothes for the day.

“Before you start, it’s not THAT big of a mess,” Laura greeted Suri, who was stood in the now-open doorway behind her with raised eyebrows, and began to pick up the littered clothes.

“You’re stressing me out,” Suri responded, looking down at her.

“Everything is just… exactly where I know it is.”

“You’re just moving them from one pile to another, now.”

“You sure you don’t wanna warm Showbiz up for me?” Laura smirked back at Suri.

“No, thanks. Two feet on the ground at all times is enough for me.” Suri sat down gently on the bed, her arms folded. As she shifted her weight to rest forward, she heard a crinkle of paper beneath her and rummaged under her leg to retrieve an unopened envelope that had found itself trapped under the scrunched up, unmade, duvet. It was pale blue in colour, embellished with small white flowers around the corners. In the centre, written in quite elegant black italic writing, was Laura‘s name.

“What’s this?” Siri asked, inspecting the envelope.

“Oh, it was left in my jacket pocket by my brother. A letter my mum wrote for today, apparently.”

Suri watched Laura as she zipped up her boots and grabbed her jacket from the disordered pile of clothes in her suitcase. Laura’s regular competition colours were grey, red and white, so the Shuttles’ team colours were of no unfamiliar territory to her.

“Found it!” Laura waved her competition number in the air after having pulled it out of beneath her suitcase.

“Are you not going to open this?” Suri enquired, offering the letter out freely to her friend.

“Freddy said not to open it until after the show today,” Laura shrugged.

“But-”

“Can’t imagine it’s important; probably just a load of soppy waffle wishing me good luck or something, considering I didn’t get a call before I left. Hang on to it for me until then, will you?”

As quickly as the day had arrived, the sun was just as rapidly beginning to sink as the afternoon wore on. Being relatively near the beginning of the start list, and first to start for her team, Laura thankfully didn’t have too long to wait until her debut in the HCL, which only added to the buildup of excitement that had been stirring within her. Soon, her time to enter the ring came and she walked Showbiz from the warm up arena with Suri down to where the spectators hummed; a welcomed fanfare to mark to their arrival.

Upon approaching the competition arena, Suri smiled widely and waved her friend off before turning back to join the rest of the team and their grooms to watch her round. As she made her way down the shadowed, sandy track, curiosity overwhelmed her and had her drag Laura’s blue letter out of her pocket. She carefully unfolded the unsealed opening; not being stuck down meant no one could know if she’d had a peek. She drew out the piece of folded paper within it, which contained more decorative white flowers, and let her eyes fall onto the words on the paper.
‘Laura, my sweetheart,
If you’re reading this, then I am no longer here…’

Word count: 954

Horse and rider ref: Pose & shading
Main BG refs and WIPs: sta.sh/216308v0n38n
Other refs used (jumps & arena) were provided by HA-Champions-League

All freehanded

--
Laura, Suri & Showbiz © EquineRibbon
Art © EquineRibbon

Description

Show: HCL VIENNA

TEAM: Space Shuttles

Rider: Laura Bassett

Horse: SLS Jantar

Representing the team or riding as an individual? Team! #BLASTOFF

“Uh, hey, Suri? It’s Laura, Laura Bassett? Not sure if you have my number anymore. I was wondering if you were able to do me that favour. Don’t suppose you’ve got a head for heights yet?” Laura had uttered down her phone to the receiving answerphone a few months prior to arriving in Vienna. With the rest of the SLS team swamped with work back at the stables, she had instead sought to recruit an old friend to accompany her throughout the season.

Austria had quickly become a familiar travel destination for the staff at SLS; in the past 6 months alone, it had been visited 3, now 4, times. Laura hadn’t so much as seen her own parents that often in that amount of time. The few hours worth of the flight were nothing compared to her previous long trips to the States but, then again, she thought, the States were nothing compared to the scenes that were set in Vienna this special weekend. The year was already beginning to warm up significantly and air was refilling with the calls of birds that had returned home after the long winter. However, on competition day, the morning remained quiet and still as they were yet to wake.

From Laura’s dimmed hotel room in the magnificently grand building the competitors were offered to stay in, the silence was broken by the mind-numbing three-toned chime of the alarm clock that reigned over its bedside table. It sounded in its usual repetitive manner, enough to make the dead turn in their graves just to silence it for some peace and quiet in this early hour.

Laura burst back into the room, a towel clinging loosely around her, another holding her wet hair in a twist and her foamed-up toothbrush hanging from her lips. She strode across her room and stepped widely over the thrown clothes that decorated the floor and towards the clock, swiftly flicking it off.
Excitement had her awake for over an hour now, running through her preparation for the day. Or, well, there lack of. Suri had left out a to-do list pinned to her mirror that covered everything from the wake-up time, the clothes and kit needed for the day, to the warm-up routine. So far, Laura had stuck to it. Only, she was sure she had left her starting number out on the dresser last night, which had now magically vanished. After successfully muting the alarm, she returned to the bathroom to get changed into her clothes for the day.

“Before you start, it’s not THAT big of a mess,” Laura greeted Suri, who was stood in the now-open doorway behind her with raised eyebrows, and began to pick up the littered clothes.

“You’re stressing me out,” Suri responded, looking down at her.

“Everything is just… exactly where I know it is.”

“You’re just moving them from one pile to another, now.”

“You sure you don’t wanna warm Showbiz up for me?” Laura smirked back at Suri.

“No, thanks. Two feet on the ground at all times is enough for me.” Suri sat down gently on the bed, her arms folded. As she shifted her weight to rest forward, she heard a crinkle of paper beneath her and rummaged under her leg to retrieve an unopened envelope that had found itself trapped under the scrunched up, unmade, duvet. It was pale blue in colour, embellished with small white flowers around the corners. In the centre, written in quite elegant black italic writing, was Laura‘s name.

“What’s this?” Siri asked, inspecting the envelope.

“Oh, it was left in my jacket pocket by my brother. A letter my mum wrote for today, apparently.”

Suri watched Laura as she zipped up her boots and grabbed her jacket from the disordered pile of clothes in her suitcase. Laura’s regular competition colours were grey, red and white, so the Shuttles’ team colours were of no unfamiliar territory to her.

“Found it!” Laura waved her competition number in the air after having pulled it out of beneath her suitcase.

“Are you not going to open this?” Suri enquired, offering the letter out freely to her friend.

“Freddy said not to open it until after the show today,” Laura shrugged.

“But-”

“Can’t imagine it’s important; probably just a load of soppy waffle wishing me good luck or something, considering I didn’t get a call before I left. Hang on to it for me until then, will you?”

As quickly as the day had arrived, the sun was just as rapidly beginning to sink as the afternoon wore on. Being relatively near the beginning of the start list, and first to start for her team, Laura thankfully didn’t have too long to wait until her debut in the HCL, which only added to the buildup of excitement that had been stirring within her. Soon, her time to enter the ring came and she walked Showbiz from the warm up arena with Suri down to where the spectators hummed; a welcomed fanfare to mark to their arrival.

Upon approaching the competition arena, Suri smiled widely and waved her friend off before turning back to join the rest of the team and their grooms to watch her round. As she made her way down the shadowed, sandy track, curiosity overwhelmed her and had her drag Laura’s blue letter out of her pocket. She carefully unfolded the unsealed opening; not being stuck down meant no one could know if she’d had a peek. She drew out the piece of folded paper within it, which contained more decorative white flowers, and let her eyes fall onto the words on the paper.
‘Laura, my sweetheart,
If you’re reading this, then I am no longer here…’

Word count: 954

Horse and rider ref: Pose & shading
Main BG refs and WIPs: sta.sh/216308v0n38n
Other refs used (jumps & arena) were provided by HA-Champions-League

All freehanded

--
Laura, Suri & Showbiz © EquineRibbon
Art © EquineRibbon