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Description
Horses Reference: ARS Sea Nymph
Futurity Ticket: LINK
Handler: Skyler Toivonen
Handler Age: 25
Class Entering: Agility
Bonuses: +2 for Futurity Merch (halter, lead, and polo); +1 for sponsor banners

The sun was shining, cockatoos were screeching, and for once in her lifetime -- Skyler was nervous.
Akira spent most of his evening and most of her morning reassuring her over the phone. They had been working towards this! It was Sea Nymph's first show, anyways, and she was only two. Things were bound to go a little off... or, maybe a lot off. But he had confidence that the two of them would do just fine, he stated for the fifteenth time. They'd been training plenty! Everyone got nervous for their first show, anyways.
Skyler fiddled with the paper crane in her pocket that she'd made for good luck with her left hand. With her right, she held tight to Sea Nymph's lead. The young mare was having an absolute blast taking in all the sights and smells, and she was no less dissuaded now than she ever was. For their very first show together, Skyler had decided to focus in on agility. She'd figured it was the ideal outlet for the mare's bountiful energy and desire to focus on lots of new tasks, instead of trying to get her to stand perfectly straight for the halter class. Their allotted time in the ring was late in the evening, though... so until then, they had a lot of time to wait.

Skyler busied herself with watching the other competitors, and then spending a good amount of time brushing and tacking up Sea Nymph. She rarely had trouble with shaking hands, but she struggled to get the new halter (courtesy of the Futurity staff) tightened to fit Sea Nymph's dainty little head. Thank goodness for the mare's brazen temperament, though Skyler put her hands on her hips and shook her head regardless. If she was nervous, Sea Nymph would be too. They just had to get out there, and come what may, they'd walk out the other side in one piece. (...Probably, at least. If Sea Nymph wanted to go, she would certainly be going.)

She was going to sleep real well tonight, cuddled up next to Midnight. That was for damn sure.

My entry for the first leg of the AusWBA 2024 Futurity! I can only get an agility entry done given I'm smack in the middle of finals right now, but it is what it is. At least I got one done! The next leg will come at a much better time for me.
Iii know you normally use rein aids to make a horse back up, or otherwise maybe tug back on the lead? But I feel like Skyler would take a more unconventional approach. (Mostly I just thought the pose looked cooler than hiding Skyler halfway behind Sea Nymph... lol)
I tried something new with the clouds this time; can't say I like it, but it's fine. Experiments don't always turn out. I feel like the perspective is pretty good, at least! And I didn't use any references this time. Hopefully it looks alright!

Description
Horses Reference: ARS Sea Nymph
Futurity Ticket: LINK
Handler: Skyler Toivonen
Handler Age: 25
Class Entering: Agility
Bonuses: +2 for Futurity Merch (halter, lead, and polo); +1 for sponsor banners

The sun was shining, cockatoos were screeching, and for once in her lifetime -- Skyler was nervous.
Akira spent most of his evening and most of her morning reassuring her over the phone. They had been working towards this! It was Sea Nymph's first show, anyways, and she was only two. Things were bound to go a little off... or, maybe a lot off. But he had confidence that the two of them would do just fine, he stated for the fifteenth time. They'd been training plenty! Everyone got nervous for their first show, anyways.
Skyler fiddled with the paper crane in her pocket that she'd made for good luck with her left hand. With her right, she held tight to Sea Nymph's lead. The young mare was having an absolute blast taking in all the sights and smells, and she was no less dissuaded now than she ever was. For their very first show together, Skyler had decided to focus in on agility. She'd figured it was the ideal outlet for the mare's bountiful energy and desire to focus on lots of new tasks, instead of trying to get her to stand perfectly straight for the halter class. Their allotted time in the ring was late in the evening, though... so until then, they had a lot of time to wait.

Skyler busied herself with watching the other competitors, and then spending a good amount of time brushing and tacking up Sea Nymph. She rarely had trouble with shaking hands, but she struggled to get the new halter (courtesy of the Futurity staff) tightened to fit Sea Nymph's dainty little head. Thank goodness for the mare's brazen temperament, though Skyler put her hands on her hips and shook her head regardless. If she was nervous, Sea Nymph would be too. They just had to get out there, and come what may, they'd walk out the other side in one piece. (...Probably, at least. If Sea Nymph wanted to go, she would certainly be going.)

She was going to sleep real well tonight, cuddled up next to Midnight. That was for damn sure.

My entry for the first leg of the AusWBA 2024 Futurity! I can only get an agility entry done given I'm smack in the middle of finals right now, but it is what it is. At least I got one done! The next leg will come at a much better time for me.
Iii know you normally use rein aids to make a horse back up, or otherwise maybe tug back on the lead? But I feel like Skyler would take a more unconventional approach. (Mostly I just thought the pose looked cooler than hiding Skyler halfway behind Sea Nymph... lol)
I tried something new with the clouds this time; can't say I like it, but it's fine. Experiments don't always turn out. I feel like the perspective is pretty good, at least! And I didn't use any references this time. Hopefully it looks alright!