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Description
and now Ribbon sleeps for an eternity.
Show: AQHR Lights on the Beach Show
Horse: SLS Flamenca Navarra
Rider: Sebastián Padro
Discipline: Dressage - Open Class
Country: United Kingdom
Number: #101

Note for judge: I'm aware the dressage arena is in the middle of the others and this makes it look like it's not, but I swear there's room for another arena hidden back there xD

Summer 2018 marked the beginning of Seb’s journey to compete at his first ever show under Serenity Lake’s name. He had joined the team with Grenade many years ago now and had a significant position in the training of their dressage horses within what was one of the smaller departments of the stables, as well as giving lessons to up and coming outside dressage riders. However, all of that was due to change come autumn. For one, Seb was to officially take up a spot as a competition rider to help take the pressure off Colin, which was a huge jump from his stand point. He had once been entered into a pas de deux but the other horse in the pairing went lame shortly before the show - A sign not to compete perhaps? Would he even cope with the pressure? Would he be good enough? After all, how often have you heard of a sports coach who's better at the sport than the actual players they're training? Not a common sight. There was also the intention of expanding the dressage department considerably by doubling the amount of horses. If he wasn’t busy now, he would surely have his work cut out from here on out.
With Colin's bronze in Greece, Josie's silver in Sweden and Angelica's gold in the States, Seb was next in line to hopefully bring home another medal and that thought lingered as the weight on his shoulders throughout the day. He actually had two shows lined up for the Andalusians and would be introducing Grenade to the event world at the end of November in their first pas de deux. What a nerve-racking thought – they had to perform at the good enough standard that their training proved they were capable of or they would not only let themselves down, but their partners... Seb brushed that notion away from his mind; now was not the time to be thinking about that just yet. Tonight was all about piloting Varra through her test.
On paper, the images that advertised the show didn't do it justice in the slightest. The rich multicoloured lights that blanketed the beach were even more vibrant in person and illuminated every surface within eye-shot - a very different kind of 'flashy' that Seb and Varra were both used to, more so for Seb's monochromatic style that he had adopted in recent years.
There was so much for the horses to be distracted by and would be a true test of concentration for horse AND rider. As if the several thousand man-made hues weren’t enough to liven up the evening, Mother Nature had decided it too wanted to join in on the party and began to send the sun sinking slowly into the bay to reveal a plume of spectacular oranges and reds cast across the skies. The perfect backdrop for a dance.
Careful you don’t mess up; everything is counting on this test... Seb heard Will taunt in his mind. You don’t want to ruin this grand prix horse... Ouch. Will’s ruthless attempts at spurring his team on weren’t exactly always admired, but they somehow often worked in their favour. Seb smoothed down his jacket and released Varra from the lead that secured her to the fixture on the wall and turned her around, only to be met with “I’ll hold her.” Wait... Will was ACTUALLY there saying these words to him; there was no imagining these teases. Having barely begun training up a new cross country horse, he had been given the job to assist in caring for horses at shows in his spare time.
“You really do have a way with words. You speak to your father with that mouth?”
Will curled the sides of his mouth into a smile as he aided Seb in mounting the mare. “Actually, I don’t. He performs better when I’m not there to drill him about insecurities.”
Understandably, Seb thought.
“YOU on the other hand - you’re competitive. You use negative assertion as something to bounce off and prove people, well... me, wrong.”
And he wasn’t wrong. In fact, he, Will and Angelica all shared the similar trait in that they hated to come last and thrived off the denial of their skills, even if they weren’t totally aware of it. From the outside, the remarks were mistaken for unnecessarily rude and borderline bullying behaviour, but it was all playful banter in their eyes.
“You’re making a habit of coming to shows where there’s remarkable weather and a good beach involved,” Seb eyed Will from Varra’s back as he fixed his hat.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Will shot a grin right back at Seb as he started to guide Varra away from her stall. “Remind me again why you didn’t put your names down for the grand prix? You’re surely good enough...” What an abrupt change of tune. “...to send all these losers cowering home.” Oh, there is was. Thankfully they were out of audible range of fellow competitors to save any embarrassment that only Seb would end up bearing the brunt of.
“It’s just to ease us both back in, especially with such a change of scenery. It might be a while before I take her somewhere at that level again.”
“Change of scenery... indeed...” Will trailed off as he was distracted by a woman passing with a ridiculously low top and shorts. He only turned back around and regained focus again when he received a sharp kick in the back from Seb.

He continued to escort the pair towards the competition area and let go of Varra when they reached the sanded fenced off area that had been produced for the warm-ups. It was already populated by several pairs showing off the extension and elevation the horses were capable of. Seb was both intrigued and motivated by the need to impress and spent their allocated 30 minutes loosening up the mare beneath him, allowing her to adapt to the distractions that hugged them from all angles. Concluding their warm up, Varra was moving well and was raring to go - ears pricked and rotating almost constantly in every direction while primarily listening to Seb.
The time finally came for the pair’s test and they exited the arena. Seb quietly nudged the mare into a passage and disappeared into the lights with poise.

Word count: 1060

Refs: DressageKur_96 & background references provided by show host

Seb, Varra and Will © EquineRibbon
Art © EquineRibbon

Description
and now Ribbon sleeps for an eternity.
Show: AQHR Lights on the Beach Show
Horse: SLS Flamenca Navarra
Rider: Sebastián Padro
Discipline: Dressage - Open Class
Country: United Kingdom
Number: #101

Note for judge: I'm aware the dressage arena is in the middle of the others and this makes it look like it's not, but I swear there's room for another arena hidden back there xD

Summer 2018 marked the beginning of Seb’s journey to compete at his first ever show under Serenity Lake’s name. He had joined the team with Grenade many years ago now and had a significant position in the training of their dressage horses within what was one of the smaller departments of the stables, as well as giving lessons to up and coming outside dressage riders. However, all of that was due to change come autumn. For one, Seb was to officially take up a spot as a competition rider to help take the pressure off Colin, which was a huge jump from his stand point. He had once been entered into a pas de deux but the other horse in the pairing went lame shortly before the show - A sign not to compete perhaps? Would he even cope with the pressure? Would he be good enough? After all, how often have you heard of a sports coach who's better at the sport than the actual players they're training? Not a common sight. There was also the intention of expanding the dressage department considerably by doubling the amount of horses. If he wasn’t busy now, he would surely have his work cut out from here on out.
With Colin's bronze in Greece, Josie's silver in Sweden and Angelica's gold in the States, Seb was next in line to hopefully bring home another medal and that thought lingered as the weight on his shoulders throughout the day. He actually had two shows lined up for the Andalusians and would be introducing Grenade to the event world at the end of November in their first pas de deux. What a nerve-racking thought – they had to perform at the good enough standard that their training proved they were capable of or they would not only let themselves down, but their partners... Seb brushed that notion away from his mind; now was not the time to be thinking about that just yet. Tonight was all about piloting Varra through her test.
On paper, the images that advertised the show didn't do it justice in the slightest. The rich multicoloured lights that blanketed the beach were even more vibrant in person and illuminated every surface within eye-shot - a very different kind of 'flashy' that Seb and Varra were both used to, more so for Seb's monochromatic style that he had adopted in recent years.
There was so much for the horses to be distracted by and would be a true test of concentration for horse AND rider. As if the several thousand man-made hues weren’t enough to liven up the evening, Mother Nature had decided it too wanted to join in on the party and began to send the sun sinking slowly into the bay to reveal a plume of spectacular oranges and reds cast across the skies. The perfect backdrop for a dance.
Careful you don’t mess up; everything is counting on this test... Seb heard Will taunt in his mind. You don’t want to ruin this grand prix horse... Ouch. Will’s ruthless attempts at spurring his team on weren’t exactly always admired, but they somehow often worked in their favour. Seb smoothed down his jacket and released Varra from the lead that secured her to the fixture on the wall and turned her around, only to be met with “I’ll hold her.” Wait... Will was ACTUALLY there saying these words to him; there was no imagining these teases. Having barely begun training up a new cross country horse, he had been given the job to assist in caring for horses at shows in his spare time.
“You really do have a way with words. You speak to your father with that mouth?”
Will curled the sides of his mouth into a smile as he aided Seb in mounting the mare. “Actually, I don’t. He performs better when I’m not there to drill him about insecurities.”
Understandably, Seb thought.
“YOU on the other hand - you’re competitive. You use negative assertion as something to bounce off and prove people, well... me, wrong.”
And he wasn’t wrong. In fact, he, Will and Angelica all shared the similar trait in that they hated to come last and thrived off the denial of their skills, even if they weren’t totally aware of it. From the outside, the remarks were mistaken for unnecessarily rude and borderline bullying behaviour, but it was all playful banter in their eyes.
“You’re making a habit of coming to shows where there’s remarkable weather and a good beach involved,” Seb eyed Will from Varra’s back as he fixed his hat.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Will shot a grin right back at Seb as he started to guide Varra away from her stall. “Remind me again why you didn’t put your names down for the grand prix? You’re surely good enough...” What an abrupt change of tune. “...to send all these losers cowering home.” Oh, there is was. Thankfully they were out of audible range of fellow competitors to save any embarrassment that only Seb would end up bearing the brunt of.
“It’s just to ease us both back in, especially with such a change of scenery. It might be a while before I take her somewhere at that level again.”
“Change of scenery... indeed...” Will trailed off as he was distracted by a woman passing with a ridiculously low top and shorts. He only turned back around and regained focus again when he received a sharp kick in the back from Seb.

He continued to escort the pair towards the competition area and let go of Varra when they reached the sanded fenced off area that had been produced for the warm-ups. It was already populated by several pairs showing off the extension and elevation the horses were capable of. Seb was both intrigued and motivated by the need to impress and spent their allocated 30 minutes loosening up the mare beneath him, allowing her to adapt to the distractions that hugged them from all angles. Concluding their warm up, Varra was moving well and was raring to go - ears pricked and rotating almost constantly in every direction while primarily listening to Seb.
The time finally came for the pair’s test and they exited the arena. Seb quietly nudged the mare into a passage and disappeared into the lights with poise.

Word count: 1060

Refs: DressageKur_96 & background references provided by show host

Seb, Varra and Will © EquineRibbon
Art © EquineRibbon