an enigma

[S u N f r O s T ~]

LYNARA'S KINGDOM AND AMBER BLACK

The dapple gray filly snorted underneath her, seeming to not like the weight of her rider on her back. Amber rapidly adjusted her seat to be at its most stable, anticipating the filly's attempts to rid herself of that weight. Lynara's Kingdom bucked, multiple times, apparently not liking the weight right now. Amber sat firmly through the bucks, and eventually regained control through the use of several reinbacks. Lynara could do nothing against the power of Amber's hands; even her youthful energy could not get past the firmness. Thus, Lynara quickly quit her antics. She silently ghosted at the barest of Amber's commands instead, completely switching personalities. Amber sighed, but at the same time felt energized and interested. Working with Lynara was always a challenge. The filly could do something one moment, indicating a rapid change in personality, and then do something else that was entirely different, indicating yet another personality change. She kept Amber on her toes, that was for sure. Slowly but surely, Amber had been able to learn the filly and get her to respond to her commands, but it was taking a lot of time. They had plenty of time to master the art of partnership, though. They had the rest of Lynara's life.

Today, they would be focusing on their bond. Lynara would be racing in her first race soon. The new two year old filly was ready to show the world her talent. But first, she needed some extra work, in order to get the edge on her competition. Amber was going to do that extra work anyway, as bond work was seriously in order, but this provided even more motivation for their impromptu workout session. So soon after the Breeders Cup, they were already working their butts off to prepare two year olds as well as give returning racers an edge in the first races of their new seasons. Amber's thoughts drifted as she considered the work ahead of her. Almost as though she was picking up on her rider's inattention, Lynara grabbed the bit and took off down the dirt track. Amber snapped right back to the present moment. She took hold of the reins, holding on with her seat and legs, and gradually managed to regain control of the filly. They went to a complete stop, and then Amber had the two year old trot on. She scolded herself for her mental lapse. She could not afford to have lapses like that aboard this filly.

The biggest part of Lynara that concerned Amber for races was her racing style. Lynara's style was variable, depending on the race. She loved sprinting out in front, but she also loved hooking to the outside and bearing down on the leader. Through various practice runs, it had been revealed that Lynara really enjoyed the feeling of speed in her legs and speed running through her. It was like a drug to her. If her jockey tried to restrain her speed, she would buck and bolt and become uncontrollable. Thus, Amber had learned to just let the filly run. Through even more practice runs, it had become apparent that Lynara wasn't stupid enough to tire out too quickly. She was capable of mediating her pace; after all, Lynara did not want something as insignificant as weariness to overcome her speed. All the same, Amber knew she was a born sprinter, and would not be able to win races longer than one mile.

For their workout today, they would be doing a free gallop for one mile. Lynara would pick the pace. If Amber thought Lynara was going too fast, she would try to get her to slow down. Hopefully, by working in this way, their bond would strengthen a bit more. Amber highly doubted Lynara would go too slow, so did not bother preparing for that possibility. Carefully, Amber began to let Lynara out. As the two year old gained higher speeds, she began to practically chafe at the bit. She was preparing to bolt, Amber knew it. Yet still she continued to calmly feed the filly speed. When they were going at a good canter, and when Amber sensed that Lynara could hardly take any more of their current speed, Amber finally let the filly all the way out. Off Lynara went, charging right into a speed that would have had her galloping at the front of the race. And with none to challenge her, the filly was reckless. She beared down on the dirt like it was personally challenging her, and let the dirt get kicked up by her hooves.

Their fraction for the first quarter mile was horribly fast, Amber knew, and she didn't even have a stopwatch on her. Lynara showed no signs of slowing down - if anything, she began to get faster, quickening her stride as though she couldn't get enough of this speed. At the half mile mark, they were still gunning along. Amber almost couldn't believe her filly's sprint stamina. For a two year old, it was amazing. Amber believed she was simply running on love of speed rather than physical conditioning, though. Lynara couldn't be this conditioned from only a few scant months of work, could she? But Amber forced herself to refocus, realizing that she had let her mind wander, and the consequences of what had happened last time she had done that were too fresh in her mind. Luckily, Lynara was too entranced by the speed in her hooves to have actually noticed Amber's distance. Belatedly, Amber realized that the filly was actually slowing down a little, as though she realized that she needed to conserve some speed. Maturity, thank God Amber thought wryly. At least she wasn't stupid enough to run herself off of her own hooves.

The remaining quarter mile of their workout went smoothly. Lynara had dropped speed for furlongs five and six, but for seven and eight she picked it up again. She roared towards and past the wire at top speed. Amber had to work to get the dapple gray to drop her speed. She was breathless from the workout, and pleased with Lynara's progress. Amber had gradually been able to get Lynara to slow down and obey Amber's commands sooner and smoother. It was with great delight that the filly almost willingly began to listen to Amber, after the first furlong of still galloping of course. She dropped pace within the next furlong, and then they were done. Lynara was covered in sweat and breathing hard, but looked fine. Amber grinned and couldn't help but give the dapple gray a good pat for a job well done. They were certainly ready to face the other two year olds. Lynara packed the punch necessary to deal with them.