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Description

Horse: AVS Ampière

Barn Name: Ampi

Rider: Emily Shields (a.k.a. Em)

Show: HARPG Toronto Masters

Class: Novice Dressage

Registration Number: 15

Stable: Artistik Vale Stables

Country: USA

Judge Featured: Joaquin Sergio Tirado
Extra: A Starstruck Encounter

OMG, they placed first !

I am floored and honored.
Thank you everyone that encouraged me - especially monymay14 and abosz007 !
Emily may not feel like she's deserving - as such a noob - but she is in tears of joy/gratitude at this unexpected placing. Ampi's gonna be getting some amazing treats and a thorough massage rubdown after all his hard work.

Story:

Emily felt like she was going to throw up. What on earth was she even doing here? At an international show? She was a novice… with a green horse to-boot. She wasn’t ready – not as a rider, or a partner for her horse. But Zachary – the AVS trainer – had insisted that they come to Toronto to compete. He had reassured her that the months they spent in training would prepare her for a Novice Class. And that this type of venue would provide them both with irreplaceable experiences and opportunities. He hadn’t put any pressure on her to score well – only to do the very best performance that they were capable of and enjoy the event.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew he was right – and this was an incredible chance to perform with other renowned riders, while getting the opportunity to both watch and meet all sorts of teams. But right now, all that wisdom and advice couldn’t drown out the overwhelming feeling of insecurity that was building inside her gut. Why had she agreed to this?!?

“You know, you’re going to brush all the hair right off his hide, if you keep that up,” a familiar voice broke through Em’s thoughts.

She turned and smiled, looking over at her friend Thienna, and countered, “I’m just making sure his coat will shine. After all, I didn’t get to bring my own assistant to the show.” Thienna made a mock-face of indignation as Em continued, “How is Deku doing, anyways?”

Thienna’s cousin was competing three spots after Emily, in the Novice Dressage class. Thienna had been helping him get his mare – a feisty Hanoverian – ready for his performance. “Deku’s fine,” Thienna said. “It’s you I wanted to check on… not getting any cold feet, are we?” Her friend really did know her so well.   The girls chatted, keeping the conversation light and fun as Emily finished braiding Ampi’s silky mane and tail. She loved working with her hands and connecting with Ampière, whether it was brushing, braiding or just petting and massaging his neck. He kept her calm and grounded.

Before she knew it, Ampi was prepped and ready to go. She reached for his reins, as she prepared to lead him out of the stall. Thienna wished her luck, promising to come watch her performance, as she ran back to help her cousin finish getting ready. This is it boy, Emily thought as she leaned into his athletic shoulders and gave him a giant hug.

*****

Ampière entered the arena with a nice working trot. He moved straight down the centerline at Emily’s request, coming to a halt mid-arena. She gathered the reins into her left hand, as she had practiced so many times before, and dropped her right arm into salute.   She calmed the thoughts that ran through her head, blocking out the enormous audience, as she focused on just her and Ampière. Then she urged the stallion back into a fluid trot, and began their routine. They shifted through the dressage movements, as Emily kept her focus on Ampière and their location in the arena. Maintaining her seat and leg positioning as she had been taught, they worked through the medium trot, canter and walk. Thankfully, Ampi did not appear to be phased by the crowd, and responded to each of Emily’s requests. Using her legs and the reins, she guided him with forward momentum into the leg yield. Then she straightened him forward and out of the leg yield with a nice walk. They completed their test, just like Zac had taught them and finished with their final halt.

Emily wanted to beam with pride, and cry with tears of laughter, but she maintained her composure as they made a graceful exit from the arena. It was done, no matter the score, they had finished!!! She could barely wait to cool off Ampi, and catch a sneak peak of Deku’s performance. She heard Thienna’s squeals of joy before she even saw her friend, and let a smile spread all the way across her face…

[Word Count 681]

Commentary:

Emily Shields is 19 years old, and making her debut in the show ring. She rides for Artistik Vale Stables - a small Equestrian Center located in Washington, USA.

She is showing on Ampière, a green horse who also is making his debut in the show ring. Ampière is new to the show circuit, but hails from Ambassador , and is a half-brother of Armand . There are some (future) high hopes for this young new stallion.

Emily and Ampière are a relatively new team - and have been training together at AVS during the last year. Despite a lack of show experience, Emily and Ampière seem to be developing a bond through their budding partnership.

Ampière has a nice medium walk and leg yield, but the team is still working on his rein back.

Other:

I haven't been able to devote this much time or effort to an art piece in... forever? No matter how my kids rank in the placings, I am so incredibly happy/proud that I was able to finish this. I really did give it my all - humans, architecture, landscapes... none of those are a strong suit for me. But it was loads of fun, especially with those of you that helped encourage me along the way. And I'm happy that I was finally able to draw my Hano stallion and give him a proper introduction into the show circuit. [Now if only I had time to update his ref, LOL] Also, a huge thanks for the chance to RP and collab on the Extra Image art - this truly was a blast.

Also - I have NO RL horse experience. So if my story is way off, don't be too much of a hater. I tried to read a thousand different online dressage articles to come up with something that didn't sound like a total failure. Hopefully I didn't murder the part of the story that was their performance... at least not too much.

Art, Ampi & Em belong to me

Thienna/Deku (Literature) belong to monymay14

Judge (who I apologize for drawing so poorly... #ICantHuman ) belongs to Aliyska

Horse/Rider ref: HERE

City ref: View from Arena

Pavilian/Booth ref: Dressage Judges Pavillon

Sponsor boards: sta.sh/2135v9q5lrsn

Description

Horse: AVS Ampière

Barn Name: Ampi

Rider: Emily Shields (a.k.a. Em)

Show: HARPG Toronto Masters

Class: Novice Dressage

Registration Number: 15

Stable: Artistik Vale Stables

Country: USA

Judge Featured: Joaquin Sergio Tirado
Extra: A Starstruck Encounter

OMG, they placed first !

I am floored and honored.
Thank you everyone that encouraged me - especially monymay14 and abosz007 !
Emily may not feel like she's deserving - as such a noob - but she is in tears of joy/gratitude at this unexpected placing. Ampi's gonna be getting some amazing treats and a thorough massage rubdown after all his hard work.

Story:

Emily felt like she was going to throw up. What on earth was she even doing here? At an international show? She was a novice… with a green horse to-boot. She wasn’t ready – not as a rider, or a partner for her horse. But Zachary – the AVS trainer – had insisted that they come to Toronto to compete. He had reassured her that the months they spent in training would prepare her for a Novice Class. And that this type of venue would provide them both with irreplaceable experiences and opportunities. He hadn’t put any pressure on her to score well – only to do the very best performance that they were capable of and enjoy the event.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew he was right – and this was an incredible chance to perform with other renowned riders, while getting the opportunity to both watch and meet all sorts of teams. But right now, all that wisdom and advice couldn’t drown out the overwhelming feeling of insecurity that was building inside her gut. Why had she agreed to this?!?

“You know, you’re going to brush all the hair right off his hide, if you keep that up,” a familiar voice broke through Em’s thoughts.

She turned and smiled, looking over at her friend Thienna, and countered, “I’m just making sure his coat will shine. After all, I didn’t get to bring my own assistant to the show.” Thienna made a mock-face of indignation as Em continued, “How is Deku doing, anyways?”

Thienna’s cousin was competing three spots after Emily, in the Novice Dressage class. Thienna had been helping him get his mare – a feisty Hanoverian – ready for his performance. “Deku’s fine,” Thienna said. “It’s you I wanted to check on… not getting any cold feet, are we?” Her friend really did know her so well.   The girls chatted, keeping the conversation light and fun as Emily finished braiding Ampi’s silky mane and tail. She loved working with her hands and connecting with Ampière, whether it was brushing, braiding or just petting and massaging his neck. He kept her calm and grounded.

Before she knew it, Ampi was prepped and ready to go. She reached for his reins, as she prepared to lead him out of the stall. Thienna wished her luck, promising to come watch her performance, as she ran back to help her cousin finish getting ready. This is it boy, Emily thought as she leaned into his athletic shoulders and gave him a giant hug.

*****

Ampière entered the arena with a nice working trot. He moved straight down the centerline at Emily’s request, coming to a halt mid-arena. She gathered the reins into her left hand, as she had practiced so many times before, and dropped her right arm into salute.   She calmed the thoughts that ran through her head, blocking out the enormous audience, as she focused on just her and Ampière. Then she urged the stallion back into a fluid trot, and began their routine. They shifted through the dressage movements, as Emily kept her focus on Ampière and their location in the arena. Maintaining her seat and leg positioning as she had been taught, they worked through the medium trot, canter and walk. Thankfully, Ampi did not appear to be phased by the crowd, and responded to each of Emily’s requests. Using her legs and the reins, she guided him with forward momentum into the leg yield. Then she straightened him forward and out of the leg yield with a nice walk. They completed their test, just like Zac had taught them and finished with their final halt.

Emily wanted to beam with pride, and cry with tears of laughter, but she maintained her composure as they made a graceful exit from the arena. It was done, no matter the score, they had finished!!! She could barely wait to cool off Ampi, and catch a sneak peak of Deku’s performance. She heard Thienna’s squeals of joy before she even saw her friend, and let a smile spread all the way across her face…

[Word Count 681]

Commentary:

Emily Shields is 19 years old, and making her debut in the show ring. She rides for Artistik Vale Stables - a small Equestrian Center located in Washington, USA.

She is showing on Ampière, a green horse who also is making his debut in the show ring. Ampière is new to the show circuit, but hails from Ambassador , and is a half-brother of Armand . There are some (future) high hopes for this young new stallion.

Emily and Ampière are a relatively new team - and have been training together at AVS during the last year. Despite a lack of show experience, Emily and Ampière seem to be developing a bond through their budding partnership.

Ampière has a nice medium walk and leg yield, but the team is still working on his rein back.

Other:

I haven't been able to devote this much time or effort to an art piece in... forever? No matter how my kids rank in the placings, I am so incredibly happy/proud that I was able to finish this. I really did give it my all - humans, architecture, landscapes... none of those are a strong suit for me. But it was loads of fun, especially with those of you that helped encourage me along the way. And I'm happy that I was finally able to draw my Hano stallion and give him a proper introduction into the show circuit. [Now if only I had time to update his ref, LOL] Also, a huge thanks for the chance to RP and collab on the Extra Image art - this truly was a blast.

Also - I have NO RL horse experience. So if my story is way off, don't be too much of a hater. I tried to read a thousand different online dressage articles to come up with something that didn't sound like a total failure. Hopefully I didn't murder the part of the story that was their performance... at least not too much.

Art, Ampi & Em belong to me

Thienna/Deku (Literature) belong to monymay14

Judge (who I apologize for drawing so poorly... #ICantHuman ) belongs to Aliyska

Horse/Rider ref: HERE

City ref: View from Arena

Pavilian/Booth ref: Dressage Judges Pavillon

Sponsor boards: sta.sh/2135v9q5lrsn