[Kat-Wolf]

The hustle and bustle of the show world were all things Tanesta loved. Sporting a pretty leather bridle and a saddle of equally good quality, she had absolutely no problem with revealing her talents to the world, letting them all look over her and swoon, saying things like, "Oh, what a pretty Cavallion!"

"Her coat is just gorgeous!"

"But look at her form! Absolutely stunning!"

Those were the little perks Nesti lived for. Compliments were her moon, the limelight was her sun. She positively could not survive without them.

However, today was not a day for boasting her natural talents or putting on a pretty face. No, for the first time in a while, Tanesta actually felt nervous. The Sunburst was competing in a foreign field, one she had practiced in but never felt like she had perfected it, as she had done with dressage. Showjumping was an entirely new world, a blank page, a new leaf. The felt her muscles tremble slightly, anxiety racking her system. The tack was on. There was no going back now.

But, to tell the truth, all of this actually excited the mare. Nest's greatest attribute could very well be her ability to turn fearfulness into adrenaline. The nervousness she felt would help her do better-- and she knew that. Her mane had been braided up into pretty little knots, her tail a perfect rod of hair that looped around her rump. The female's unmistakable coat had been groomed until it shone with sheer cleanliness, her hooves like little cream diamonds in the sand of the show right, glittering gems to be discovered under dust. She was beautiful.

It was beginning. The Cavallion shook her head. Any sign of anxiety now would do her little good. She felt Kat's calf press against her side, and she began.

Of course, she had memorized the course to the point of being able to sketch it in the ground without fault-- rope memorization always calmed her nerves. The first jump was a fairly simple crossrail, with cute little hedges placed on either side, like adorable, miniature Christmas trees. If only they had ornaments on them...

The diamonds lifted from the sand, kicking up dust in their midst, and Tanesta pushed off from the loose footing. Forelegs curling under her body, she felt her muscles stretch in her abdomen and haunches, and then bunch up as her front hooves reached forward, as if she was a slinky bouncing down stairs. No contact was made with the brightly colored red and white poles, and the equine nearly sighed with relief.

One down, eleven to go.

[1.2]

[Kat-Wolf]

One.

Five strides to the next jump, a formidable oxer that glimmered in the midday sun. Her breath came out in a soft puff, a smoke cloud in the cold air.

Two.

Her hooves hit the ground in a steady beat as she began to curve around the bend, her side a mere three feet from the fence.

Three.

The jump loomed ever closer, the double rails seeming ominous, yet impressive. They had been painted in a bright scheme of red and white, like candy canes perched on alabaster wooden posts, festive and cheery.

Four.

One more, and then she was there. The mare didn't dare balk at the fearsome jump; her pride was too much for that sort of childish thing. She'd grit her teeth and hope for the best.

Five.

The moment of truth. Her hooves left the ground in a dazzling array of sand and dirt, and she curled her forelegs beneath  her body. The equine could feel her rider's weight shift as Kat moved into the two point, or jumping, position, letting gravity do the work. Her light peach mane flew back behind her, whipping into the human's neck and chest.

Her hooves hit the rail.

Tanesta cringed, listening for the dreadful thump as wood hit sand. Her ears pricked, but no sound other than it rattling in the cups came. A sigh of relief was released from her chest. The rail had been hit, but stayed mounted.

[1.4]

[Kat-Wolf]

The remainder of the course was laid out before her, all 10 obstacles waiting to be beaten. The bounce jump made her shiver; she had practiced this, but never quite perfected it. Still slightly shaken from her last encounter, the mare cantered onwards, counting the seven strides until the first.

Bounce jumps were tricky-- there was less than one stride in between; she literally landed and then took off again. Two verticals-- a tough lineup. You made the oxer, she told herself, trying to convince her mind that the bounce was no big deal. This'll be nothing.

Still, the pair of rails looked formidable enough. She felt Kat's guiding leg press against her side as she clucked gently, trying to find the right cadence for the course. The cold, early winter breeze flew into her face, and the mare blinked a few times, expelling the fluid from her eyes.

She soared over the vertical with ease, as it was only a few feet high, not much to a Cavallion of her height. Of course, it wasn't the actual jumps that were hard; no, it was the landing. For a moment, she felt like an Albie on a mountain rock, all her hooves fitting perfectly in a little invisible square. With a mighty push, she broke free of gravity once more, and let out a deep breath she had been holding as her body touched solid ground again. A hand patted on her neck.

"Good job," came Kat's reassuring voice in a whisper, urging her to continue.

[1.6]

[Kat-Wolf]

The water jump would be a breeze, Tanesta was sure. After all, it was really just a low vertical placed over a tiny trench of liquid, right? Some were actually afraid of the reflections-- what a childish fear! The mare restrained herself from snorting at the hilarity of such a phobia. Still, she kept her focus, soaring over the obstacle as if it was a trotting pole.

A second crossrail beckoned her onward, slightly higher than the first jump in the course. She felt a soft push on her side as Kat's calf pressed deep, urging her to turn rather sharply to make the path. Tanesta obeyed her rider's aids, and did her best to pivot on her hooves, trying to accomplish the borderline hairpin turn that led her to the obstacle. Dust flying up as she spun, the crossrail gleamed directly before her as the Cavallion, surprised at how fast it had come up, quickly leaped.

Sloppy... Tanesta grimaced as she defeated the jump, but with horrible form. She touched down unevenly, and missed a step to regain her balance as she stumbled slightly. Kat jerked forward, catching herself on the mare's neck, and clucked, trying to find the right cadence once more. The crowd gasped lightly at the trip, but let their breaths out as the team continued without fault or injury.

[1.8]

[Kat-Wolf]

The triple bar remained directly in front of Tanesta, a relief from the stress of the winding paths the course had taken her on previously. The obstacle was made up of three poles, each gradually increasing in height. This could be tough... Like the oxer, it required both height and distance power. The Cavallion eyed it warily, trying to calculate just how much force she'd need to make it.

Closer and closer it came, the poles this time blue and white instead of the traditional candy cane color scheme. The wings on each side were bright cyan, glimmering like sapphires. The first rail was a mere six inches from the ground, while the second rose to a foot and a half, and the third a full two feet, six inches. The spread measured approximately three feet across, a challenge for the green jumper. The pet held her breath as she approached the difficult obstacle, trying her best not to be shaken by her rather rough landing from the crossrail.

A soft nudge from a boot was all she needed. She rounded on the triple bar, her hindquarters sending her soaring through the air yet again. She didn't dare look down; no, her gaze remained firmly straight ahead, locked on the next jump. With a ka-thump, the Sunburst Cavallion landed safely, relieved to not have heard the dreadful pang of hoof colliding with wood. Tanesta fought back a grin that pulled at the corners of her mouth. She was almost done, and had yet to have a penalty subtracted! Glancing up at the timer, she noted with triumph that she still had over three minutes left, an ample amount of time.

[2.0]

[Kat-Wolf]

"Only four more." Kat's voice came floating down, and she flicked an ear back as acknowledgement. A hogsback, a spread consisting of three rails, with the middle one at a higher height than the others, lay before her after a slight bend. The mare turned, her strides now even and calm, as the obstacle grew nearer and nearer. Much more confident now, Tanesta refused to believe anything was worse than the triple bar or the oxer. This will be easy...

And it was-- soon, the Cavallion, found herself proudly cantering after the jump, her head held high at her legs stretching long. She was a winner. She only had three more jumps-- how hard could that be? Nesti obeyed the human's command to curve left as a wall, made of lightweight 'bricks' that would collapse at the softest touch, lay before them. The equine held no fear as she approached the jump, now sure of her skill level. I'm going to win.

[2.2]

[Kat-Wolf]

The wall went smoothly-- her hooves did not even graze the top pole that lay over the main filler, and the crowd applauded as she continued on her course. Pricking her ears back, she could hear compliments emanating from their depths, and her pride swelled.

"Did you see that? Unbelievable!"

"A natural-born jumper!"

"That was... incredible. Not a fault to her tally, at least not yet!"

"She won't have one, with only two more jumps!"

The Cavallion's legs were lifted proudly as she cantered forward, her speed growing as did her eagerness to get this done and bask in her glory.

[2.4]

[Kat-Wolf]

A Swedish Oxer was next in line, second to last. Despite the fact that it was not all that different from the first difficult jump, Tanesta was sure she could handle it. Because it was only comprised of a horizontal crossrail, if she simply jumped at it's narrowest point, it was basically a vertical.

Trying her best to not be distracted by the praise of the crowd, the mare swung right, facing the jump head on, her eyes gleaming with ambition. She wanted a pretty blue ribbon tied to her stall gate, with her name etched up on it, for passersby to view it with appreciation, while her fellow competitors would gaze at it with envy and longing.

Done and done-- the Swedish oxer lay behind her. Only one more.

Her heart caught in her throat.

A Joker.

[2.6]

[Kat-Wolf]

The mare gritted her teeth. No doubt, this would be tough. The Joker was a cheap jump, and it infuriated her that'd they'd place one in her division. She fumed silently as she approached the borderline impossible jump, fear mounting in her heart, all previous confidence and pride dissipated. The single, unpainted bar seemed to blend in with the sand, and the lack of filler and ground rail made it incredibly hard to gauge just how much power she'd need to clear it.

Here it was... Tanesta closed her eyes and pressed off, hoping desperately that she had calculated it correctly, that she'd make the invisible jump.

[2.8]

[Kat-Wolf]

Clang.

The dreadful sound was followed by an even more sickening thump as the rustic bar lay motionless in the arena's sand. The crowd gasped, and there were murmurs of remorse.

"She was so close!"

"What a cheap shot-- that jump was practically invisible..."

"Only one fault, right? But still..."

"Aw, poor girl, she must be so bummed..."

The mare cleared the finish line and was brought to a halt as Kat gently added pressure to the reins. She sighed, and felt her rider's hand on her neck, a comforting presence. "S'okay," she said, smiling. "We've clenched a good spot."

[3.0]

[Kat-Wolf]

Tanesta's head hung, despite the fact that she, a Cavallion entirely new to the sport of show jumping, had escaped the course with but one fault. One fault was not good enough, not good enough to win. Now she'd have to wait with a fiery hope that others would make the same mistake. She had a true competitive streak in her, and it was showing, right now, as an Aqua Cavallion stepped into the ring. Please mess up please mess up please mess up... She felt a twinge of guilt at it, but, at the same time, she wanted to win.

The mare silently cheered when he went over his time limit, and when her name, in all uppercase, neon orange, digital letters, remained at the top of the rankings. Of course, there were many more contestants, but at least one was out of the way.

[3.2]

[Kat-Wolf]

Her body shook with anxiety as each contestant passed through the ring, and she felt no guilt when she let out a whoop inside whenever a fault was made. The buzzer would sound, the judges would shake their heads, and Tanesta would scream with joy. Mentally, of course. She wanted to win-- badly enough to not feel remorse from gaining off of other's losses. She grinned, with only a few jumpers left, she was sure to clench a navy ribbon! Kat'd be so proud!

[3.4]

[Kat-Wolf]

"That's my turn!" A Prismatic Penticorn trotted excitedly out, and Tanesta snorted, earning a fierce glare from Kat.

"Nesti," she reprimanded, holding her mount's reins tightly, "be nice."

"I am," the female responded, exasperated. The little overenthusiastic filly... she'll never get me!

[3.6]

[Kat-Wolf]

Tanesta watched in horror as the 'overenthusiastic filly' made her way through the course with ease. She even got over the oxer, no touch! Zu'hai, don't let her beat me... She prayed desperately, while Kat watched the equine with interest and admiration, surprised by the lanky Penticorn's grace and form.

[3.8]