1886 - RDR oneshots

How John Marston learned to ride horses

Today was going to be a big day for John, he couldn't sleep as he was so exited for the next day.

Today, was the day his mentors, Dutch Van der Linde and Hosea Matthews, would teach him how to ride a horse properly.

He had never ridden a horse on his own before, his father never taught him, being too occupied with bar fights anyways. Living in a small town meant he didn't have to know how to ride, but after he became an orphan and escaped the orphanage, he understood what a struggle it would be for him if he never learnt.

The young boy had never been so exited in his life, being able to ride also meant he would soon accompany Arthur in town, and he would get to show him he was worth way better than what the young man thought he was. He couldn't wait to make Dutch proud.

So John got up with the sun, making coffee for everyone. He wasn't allowed to drink it, but he would soon "grow like a champ", like Hosea says, and would drink coffee sooner than expected.

John didn't like it when Arthur told him he was as small as a baby, just because he was older than him. John, being restricted to staying in camp, reading the story of Otis Miller or helping Bessie, wasn't to his advantage when it came to proving his worth to Dutch (and maybe, just a little bit, to Arthur too)

"What the hell are you doing up this early, midget?"

Speaking of the devil.

John shot Arthur an evil glare, which only resembled a 'puppy who's misbehaved' look.

The young man ignored John and grabbed a cup of coffee. The two of them didn't exchange any words, John containing his joy to not show his frenemy joy existed in this world.

"Hello boys, had a good sleep?" Dutch seemed to always be in a good mood, always smiling, though his life hadn't been easy at all, Hosea often told John to avoid speaking of certain topics. He said it could irritate the man and make him real sad.

The boys saluted their joyful mentor, when Bessie also arrived, "Hello! John, big day, hey?" She was always raging with motherly love, and was always kind to John, she was the one who took him under her wings after John joined the gang, teaching him how to read (with Hosea's help, too), cutting wood, feeding and caring for horses, to "make him useful before we feed him to the wolves" as Arthur says. "Dutch and Hosea promised they would teach you how to ride, and Dutch remembers, right?" She grinned at Dutch.

"Of course! And Arthur will kindly lend you his horse, since he's already up. Plus, I'm afraid our horses are too big for you, son."

Arthur looked at Dutch with indignation. Lending his horse meant he had to be there, which also meant he couldn't go to town to see the pretty waitress at the bar.

But lending his horse did not mean he was going to lend John his saddle too.

Arthur had to insist that learning how to ride bareback would allow John to have the proper balance and strength, to make him a better rider quickly, in order to make Dutch and Hosea approve his suggestion. He didn't tell them it was to have a good laugh, too.

If there was something he didn't like about his current horse, Tacitus, it was that he was very uncomfortable without the proper saddle. Little did he know it would come handy one day.

Hosea carried John onto Tacitus, a small yet strong horse Arthur had snatched from a bushranger. The young boy shifted uncomfortably, following Hosea's instructions. He didn't know it was Arthur's idea to ride with no saddle, he thought everyone learnt that way.

Dutch started walking the horse, and John did very well, he wasn't exactly steady on Tacitus, shifting every now and again, when the horse's spine was becoming too painful.

Arthur was starting to lose hope of seeing John fall when Dutch started to speed up and Tacitus trotted calmly. When Arthur rode him, he was always speedy and not as gentle.

Dutch then stopped guiding John, and the lesson was going great, not to Arthur's desire

"Give him a gentle kick and tell him to canter!" John obeyed, but suddenly lost all of his balance, grabbing what little mane Tacitus had. "Keep holding tight!" Arthur yelled, mid laughing, knowing exactly what was (finally) going to happen.

Tacitus started to increase his speed and lowered his neck, making it hard for any beginner rider to not meet the ground. John had all of his weight on the horse's left side, and he was starting to fall, slowly 'but surely' Arthur hoped.

Dutch was starting to panic, yelling all sorts of instructions to John, who was trying his best to stay on the animal, Hosea was trying to conceal his laughs, while Arthur was full on laughing at the ridiculous scene.

John ended up falling, and Tacitus immediately calmed down, going to the pasture nearby to eat some appetizing green grass. When the 3 men arrived to check on the poor boy, he smiled and said "I can take more than that." Dutch and Hosea, relieved, got the boy back on his feet. "Will you give me another lesson one day?"

Dutch grinned, looking at Arthur, and said, "Arthur will give you a lesson every morning, right son?"

"Fuck."