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Description
Horse: SWF Include The Truth
Ref: www.flickr.com/photos/36296285…
Race: The J.C. Monthly Show: Oct OPEN :: Sept Judged

How this was made: Horse, tack and rider were completely greyscaled minus the eyes. The blood bay was the hardest part to color, to be honest. I was so picky on how close I wanted it to his ref's shade. The background is a labor of love, because this is my 2nd attempt. I like this far better than the first one, which was like ... did someone drink tequila and throw up? Oh wait ... Jackie almost did that lol The brush I used for the flowers, was actually a PS chalk brush, believe it or not. Bushes from a brush by dierat The brush I use for hair, is from PS and is a Silk Edge brush. I do the dark shades at size 3, 80% opacity. Light layers on size 2 brush at 90 and 100%. Thus, 4 layers. For shading/highlighting on horse, tack, rider, I use a soft brush by Chickenbusiness as well as the grass brush. Yo, SWF what's with that lone C on the left hand side? It's marketing, yo! "The Jockey Club." It's just uh ... the T and J are off screen. Any other questions on how this was made, just ask

Story

1,016 words. And if you get the reference to the very last line, you win a cookie!!

Don't Jinx My Ride

  Jackie loved these odds. No, not the betting odds. The weather. It was overcast, but it wasn't raining which meant, her silks weren't going to stick to her, her teeth wouldn't chatter, and she wouldn't be on the prowl for a tequila. Maybe just ... rum and coke this time. No? Moving on then.

  Myrianna had been the lucky one to find Jackie passed out in her hotel room in Lexington, the morning after Tag's race, still wearing the same thing she wore the night before, including her shoes. Her breath reeked, so Myrianna put two and two together, as she whipped the blankets off her jockey.

"I hope this doesn't become a habit, Jack. You're the experienced jockey, and Secret isn't ready for riding off the farm. So for the love of all things horsey, get your shit together." The anthropomorphic black-backed jackal squinted her heavy lids, when her boss quickly slid the window shades open, welcoming in spots of sunlight behind the cloudy morning.

"Moment of weakness. Won't happen again." She grumbled, along with her stomach which was queazy and threatened to unleash a volatile monster right there on the bed, as she sat up and grabbed her spinning head. The three tequilas had certainly warmed her chilled bones and gave her a glimpse into human conditions, but she didn't relish in the morning after. Why humans did things like this, she now didn't understand. Who in their right mind would enjoy a hangover?

Myrianna got her the perfect hangover remedy of black coffee, along with a hearty breakfast which Jackie actually kept down, but it wasn't easy.

On the quiet ride home, without the radio on because Jackie's ears were still sensitive and in hangover mode, Myrianna made small talk.

"Hey. Uh, you rode well out there. Good job. "

"Thanks." She cracked a moderate sized smile, and the memory of the ride under a downpour which kept her distracted, but her ride focused for the both of them, replayed itself in her mind. "I think I was just holding on by half way through. Ink was the real brains of the outfit."

"Don't sell yourself short. You may not remember yourself in the saddle, but you did better than you think. So take the compliment and don't jinx the next one. Stay sober. Ok?"

Jackie chuckled, and gave Myrianna the thumbs up sign before falling asleep to the quiet rumble of the old truck along the highway.

When the call came for riders up, Jackie was all business, because this truly was a sight to behold. It was a beautiful track, and she knew Myrianna would be taking oodles of photos. Her poor camera had gotten acquainted with many memory cards. The somehow pretty shades of grey behind the trees made it look like there could be a mystery beyond that needed to be solved. She started creating a story in her head as they rode alongside the lead pony, but once they loaded everything fell apart. It was the longest minute or so that ever happened in her life, she thought to herself, when a demon sat on her shoulder. It goaded her, singing praises of tequila.  She wrestled with the demon in her mind, like a magnetic pull. A give and take. Sometimes she felt the need for a drink, at other times she felt the need for peace and quiet. She licked her lips, took a big deep breath, turned to the invisible monster on her shoulder and blurted out perhaps a little too loudly ... "Don't jinx my ride." Ink turned his head towards her, hoping the jockey on the horse beside him didn't hear his own jockey talking to herself. Or worse, the horse. How embarrassing that would be.

Once the gate flew open however, the demon faded and jockey and horse were finally sympatico, at least for a little while.

After pulling Ink up once the race was run, she looked to her shoulder again to remind herself the demon was gone. Obviously there was something from her past trying to bubble to the surface, but since she had been found on that fateful day in a hospital with amnesia, with nothing to identify her except for a sparse ID stating her name and a series of numbers, most likely a code of some sort, she knew nothing of her past. The demon wasn't technically being bad, it was bringing those issues from her past to the light of day. She needed an identity. Not just a name, but the puzzle pieces that would fit in the few spaces left that left her lost. She knew she liked crosses, but not because she liked religion. She believed in the yin and yang theory. She lived a minimalistic lifestyle, and greeted her days with yoga. But what of her family, if she had one?

"Splendid ride out there Jackie, even if you looked a bit preoccupied. " Myrianna remarked.

"For good reason. But Ink did a great job as well." She patted his neck and held out an apple to the eager blood bay. As he crunched away on the apple, Jackie exclaimed, "One of these days, we need a race for you that'll really show off that shine you got goin' on, boy." The colt nodded in agreement.

Myrianna slid the saddle from the colt's back, as she asked her friend, "What's this good reason you were preoccupied?"

"I realized what my demons were telling me, and I agreed with them. I need to find myself. Who I was before ..." She trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it.

"I understand what you mean, there. We can start with hospital archives in DC and go from there. "

"We?" Jackie raised an eyebrow, while unbuckling the bridle.

"You've always got family at SWF. You know that. Remember, we're all in this together."

Jackie smiled at the thought of having what may not be blood family yet, but a family nonetheless. Then a big grin spread across her face, almost bursting out laughter.

"What's so funny?"

" Keep your stick on the ice."

Description
Horse: SWF Include The Truth
Ref: www.flickr.com/photos/36296285…
Race: The J.C. Monthly Show: Oct OPEN :: Sept Judged

How this was made: Horse, tack and rider were completely greyscaled minus the eyes. The blood bay was the hardest part to color, to be honest. I was so picky on how close I wanted it to his ref's shade. The background is a labor of love, because this is my 2nd attempt. I like this far better than the first one, which was like ... did someone drink tequila and throw up? Oh wait ... Jackie almost did that lol The brush I used for the flowers, was actually a PS chalk brush, believe it or not. Bushes from a brush by dierat The brush I use for hair, is from PS and is a Silk Edge brush. I do the dark shades at size 3, 80% opacity. Light layers on size 2 brush at 90 and 100%. Thus, 4 layers. For shading/highlighting on horse, tack, rider, I use a soft brush by Chickenbusiness as well as the grass brush. Yo, SWF what's with that lone C on the left hand side? It's marketing, yo! "The Jockey Club." It's just uh ... the T and J are off screen. Any other questions on how this was made, just ask

Story

1,016 words. And if you get the reference to the very last line, you win a cookie!!

Don't Jinx My Ride

  Jackie loved these odds. No, not the betting odds. The weather. It was overcast, but it wasn't raining which meant, her silks weren't going to stick to her, her teeth wouldn't chatter, and she wouldn't be on the prowl for a tequila. Maybe just ... rum and coke this time. No? Moving on then.

  Myrianna had been the lucky one to find Jackie passed out in her hotel room in Lexington, the morning after Tag's race, still wearing the same thing she wore the night before, including her shoes. Her breath reeked, so Myrianna put two and two together, as she whipped the blankets off her jockey.

"I hope this doesn't become a habit, Jack. You're the experienced jockey, and Secret isn't ready for riding off the farm. So for the love of all things horsey, get your shit together." The anthropomorphic black-backed jackal squinted her heavy lids, when her boss quickly slid the window shades open, welcoming in spots of sunlight behind the cloudy morning.

"Moment of weakness. Won't happen again." She grumbled, along with her stomach which was queazy and threatened to unleash a volatile monster right there on the bed, as she sat up and grabbed her spinning head. The three tequilas had certainly warmed her chilled bones and gave her a glimpse into human conditions, but she didn't relish in the morning after. Why humans did things like this, she now didn't understand. Who in their right mind would enjoy a hangover?

Myrianna got her the perfect hangover remedy of black coffee, along with a hearty breakfast which Jackie actually kept down, but it wasn't easy.

On the quiet ride home, without the radio on because Jackie's ears were still sensitive and in hangover mode, Myrianna made small talk.

"Hey. Uh, you rode well out there. Good job. "

"Thanks." She cracked a moderate sized smile, and the memory of the ride under a downpour which kept her distracted, but her ride focused for the both of them, replayed itself in her mind. "I think I was just holding on by half way through. Ink was the real brains of the outfit."

"Don't sell yourself short. You may not remember yourself in the saddle, but you did better than you think. So take the compliment and don't jinx the next one. Stay sober. Ok?"

Jackie chuckled, and gave Myrianna the thumbs up sign before falling asleep to the quiet rumble of the old truck along the highway.

When the call came for riders up, Jackie was all business, because this truly was a sight to behold. It was a beautiful track, and she knew Myrianna would be taking oodles of photos. Her poor camera had gotten acquainted with many memory cards. The somehow pretty shades of grey behind the trees made it look like there could be a mystery beyond that needed to be solved. She started creating a story in her head as they rode alongside the lead pony, but once they loaded everything fell apart. It was the longest minute or so that ever happened in her life, she thought to herself, when a demon sat on her shoulder. It goaded her, singing praises of tequila.  She wrestled with the demon in her mind, like a magnetic pull. A give and take. Sometimes she felt the need for a drink, at other times she felt the need for peace and quiet. She licked her lips, took a big deep breath, turned to the invisible monster on her shoulder and blurted out perhaps a little too loudly ... "Don't jinx my ride." Ink turned his head towards her, hoping the jockey on the horse beside him didn't hear his own jockey talking to herself. Or worse, the horse. How embarrassing that would be.

Once the gate flew open however, the demon faded and jockey and horse were finally sympatico, at least for a little while.

After pulling Ink up once the race was run, she looked to her shoulder again to remind herself the demon was gone. Obviously there was something from her past trying to bubble to the surface, but since she had been found on that fateful day in a hospital with amnesia, with nothing to identify her except for a sparse ID stating her name and a series of numbers, most likely a code of some sort, she knew nothing of her past. The demon wasn't technically being bad, it was bringing those issues from her past to the light of day. She needed an identity. Not just a name, but the puzzle pieces that would fit in the few spaces left that left her lost. She knew she liked crosses, but not because she liked religion. She believed in the yin and yang theory. She lived a minimalistic lifestyle, and greeted her days with yoga. But what of her family, if she had one?

"Splendid ride out there Jackie, even if you looked a bit preoccupied. " Myrianna remarked.

"For good reason. But Ink did a great job as well." She patted his neck and held out an apple to the eager blood bay. As he crunched away on the apple, Jackie exclaimed, "One of these days, we need a race for you that'll really show off that shine you got goin' on, boy." The colt nodded in agreement.

Myrianna slid the saddle from the colt's back, as she asked her friend, "What's this good reason you were preoccupied?"

"I realized what my demons were telling me, and I agreed with them. I need to find myself. Who I was before ..." She trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it.

"I understand what you mean, there. We can start with hospital archives in DC and go from there. "

"We?" Jackie raised an eyebrow, while unbuckling the bridle.

"You've always got family at SWF. You know that. Remember, we're all in this together."

Jackie smiled at the thought of having what may not be blood family yet, but a family nonetheless. Then a big grin spread across her face, almost bursting out laughter.

"What's so funny?"

" Keep your stick on the ice."