HOME | DD

Description

Did I leave Uploading to the last minute? Yes. Is it what a I wanted? Nope! But I have at least finished all the mandatory pieces to a point where I'm ok with them, and honestly, my main goal was just to finish, and I have at least done that!

Stage: Phase One - Gyulakeszi to Wolfsberg
Horse: Le Goliath
Rider: HARPG ref - Rory Greyson

The first day had gone surprisingly smoothly and they’d made it to the first camping point without a hitch, giving Ray plenty of time to settle her steed in before heading off to the pub with the other entrants.
She was extremely pleased with Gogo’s performance, having not had the stallion for very long and only three previous rides together under their belt, but the surrounding farms and fields felt so much like home that her comfort and confidence in their surroundings spread to her mount, who seemed nothing but relaxed and curious so far.
He’d passed various farm animals and machinery without fuss, only stopping for a little scream-and-dance when another competitor's horse whinnied in the distance and he didn’t seem to understand that “no, you can’t go zooming off to find them. I don’t care what they said about your Dam, we’re going at this pace, thank you very much.”

After spending…perhaps a bit too much time at the bar, the morning after was more of a struggle. It was still dark when her alarm went off, and she groaned miserably as the cold hit bare skin when she reached to turn it off. As much as a few more minutes in the warm would be appreciated, her wriggling had woken Izzy, who was now gleefully trying to wash her humans’ face, overcome with joy at them both being awake.
A sentiment Ray did not share.
She let Izzy out of the tent while also trying to shimmy into her outdoor gear without actually getting out of her sleeping bag, only managing to get stuck once (a new record), and somehow put two socks on the same foot. Eventually though, she was up, dressed and packed down before dawn had barely kissed the sky. Silently cursing some late night decisions, she carefully made her way towards the horses, nodding a small greeting to the other dark, stumbling, humanoid shapes she passed along the way.
Not usually one to go so all in to a social situation, especially a new place with new people, the darkness gave Ray plenty of coverage to blush and cringe her way through tacking up as she recounted various snippets from earlier. Luckily, it didn’t take too long for everything to be secured and ready to go, and everyone else seemed to be in the same mindset of “get going” so there was very little chatter around her to distract from the necessary chores; it wasn’t long before her little group were moving out in the dark of pre-dawn.

There was something soothing to the soul about watching the pale sun slowly start to flood the horizon. Creeping up over the mountains, it eventually spilled its way across the plains and farmlands, bringing a very gentle warmth to a world of snow and ice. For a while it was easy to imagine that they were the only creatures alive; the only sounds being steady hoofbeats crunching through the top layer of snow, soft, snorting breaths from her mount and the gentle panting of her canine friend. The world was dark and cold between the hills and barns, but she was warm and safe, perched on top of her golden stallion, lost in the rhythm of his strides and listening to the world awake around them.

Description

Did I leave Uploading to the last minute? Yes. Is it what a I wanted? Nope! But I have at least finished all the mandatory pieces to a point where I'm ok with them, and honestly, my main goal was just to finish, and I have at least done that!

Stage: Phase One - Gyulakeszi to Wolfsberg
Horse: Le Goliath
Rider: HARPG ref - Rory Greyson

The first day had gone surprisingly smoothly and they’d made it to the first camping point without a hitch, giving Ray plenty of time to settle her steed in before heading off to the pub with the other entrants.
She was extremely pleased with Gogo’s performance, having not had the stallion for very long and only three previous rides together under their belt, but the surrounding farms and fields felt so much like home that her comfort and confidence in their surroundings spread to her mount, who seemed nothing but relaxed and curious so far.
He’d passed various farm animals and machinery without fuss, only stopping for a little scream-and-dance when another competitor's horse whinnied in the distance and he didn’t seem to understand that “no, you can’t go zooming off to find them. I don’t care what they said about your Dam, we’re going at this pace, thank you very much.”

After spending…perhaps a bit too much time at the bar, the morning after was more of a struggle. It was still dark when her alarm went off, and she groaned miserably as the cold hit bare skin when she reached to turn it off. As much as a few more minutes in the warm would be appreciated, her wriggling had woken Izzy, who was now gleefully trying to wash her humans’ face, overcome with joy at them both being awake.
A sentiment Ray did not share.
She let Izzy out of the tent while also trying to shimmy into her outdoor gear without actually getting out of her sleeping bag, only managing to get stuck once (a new record), and somehow put two socks on the same foot. Eventually though, she was up, dressed and packed down before dawn had barely kissed the sky. Silently cursing some late night decisions, she carefully made her way towards the horses, nodding a small greeting to the other dark, stumbling, humanoid shapes she passed along the way.
Not usually one to go so all in to a social situation, especially a new place with new people, the darkness gave Ray plenty of coverage to blush and cringe her way through tacking up as she recounted various snippets from earlier. Luckily, it didn’t take too long for everything to be secured and ready to go, and everyone else seemed to be in the same mindset of “get going” so there was very little chatter around her to distract from the necessary chores; it wasn’t long before her little group were moving out in the dark of pre-dawn.

There was something soothing to the soul about watching the pale sun slowly start to flood the horizon. Creeping up over the mountains, it eventually spilled its way across the plains and farmlands, bringing a very gentle warmth to a world of snow and ice. For a while it was easy to imagine that they were the only creatures alive; the only sounds being steady hoofbeats crunching through the top layer of snow, soft, snorting breaths from her mount and the gentle panting of her canine friend. The world was dark and cold between the hills and barns, but she was warm and safe, perched on top of her golden stallion, lost in the rhythm of his strides and listening to the world awake around them.