THE RED RIDER ; lord of the rings {legolas} ✔

Chapter I

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Repeated Elvish will be translated at the end. Otherwise, it will be noted directly after the sentence/word.
-K

Chapter I

*~*Flashback*~*

"I didn't tell you to canter in," I scolded in mock anger at my student, Estel.

"I'm sorry, Oreldes!" Estel wailed in mock agony. He slowed his horse to a walk and stopped in front of me. I patted the mare's neck and smiled at my student; he was only fourteen years old, and one of the Dunédain, but since Lord Elrond had assigned me to teach him equestrian, he was rapidly approaching my skill level. "It did look nice, though, didn't it?" he added as an afterthought, looking smug.

I snorted; to be honest, it quite had - his heels had been down, his shoulders and hips lifted him to the perfect jumping position, his eyes focused on the green horizon of the summer treetops of Middle Earth - but there had been one problem. "To be jumping an eighteen inch log, Estel, is one thing, but to let your reins get so long that poor Ninquelote may trip on is one of the many problems that come with this one thing."

Estel's grey eyes fell, disappointed in himself, but I then added, to cheer him up, "But your position was perfect, and you went in with confidence. Ninquelote did not doubt you, and that is a good thing. When you get older, I may teach you to speak to them. Dismount, Estel, and allow me to demonstrate something."

My student dismounted Ninquelote swiftly. Ninquelote was his mare, and though I would have preferred to do this stunt on Guldurelon, my stallion, I trusted Ninquelote enough to do this. Estel handed me the reins. "Hannon le, (thank you)," I smiled, and removed Ninquelote's saddle, and handed it and the cloth pad to Estel, who put the tack on the fence, looking interested.

"Bareback allows your horse to feel you, but I only want you trying this when your leg muscles and your abs have fully developed; that is to say, when you are eighteen or older." I shot him a stern look, knowing that he would disobey anyways, and continued, "You will have to learn to ride only with your seat and your thighs and calfs to do this properly, and not only that but you will have to remain in contact with your horse's bit at all times because you do not have your stirrups to rely on." I mounted the dapple grey mare, settled in and let her get used to me. "And you must be much more aware than before, and that is saying something."

I nudged Ninquelote forwards, and she burst into an eager trot, to which I began posting to, automatically sensing the movement of her outside leg and rising to the correct diagonal without looking. "Bareback also makes checking your leads and your diagonals much easier, for you can feel their movements better." I leg yielded Ninquelote deep into a turn and nudged her into a canter. Ninquelote gently tugged on the reins as I let my hips move with her, and let my hands follow her head while keep my chest in place and my eyes up at the log approaching. I automatically counted down strides to the takeoff point, and lifted my hips off her back and pushed my shoulders over her neck while still giving her room to lift her head as she snapped her front hooves up over the log and landed safely on the other side. Ninquelote automatically slowed down as I tightened my abs and relaxed my hips into her marching walk.

"I would like to do a no-stirrups lesson tomorrow, Estel. Tenna' san'. (Until then.) Remember what I said about feeling your horse and communicating with them. This is one of the most important parts of equestrian, especially in battle, for when your hands are trapped. You must use your voice and your seat to be able to control them. Quel kaima. (Sleep well). I will take Ninquelote and her tack back to the stables."

Estel nodded to me, looking slightly nervous at the prospect of doing a no-stirrups lesson tomorrow. It was the first time he'd be jumping without stirrups, and though I had removed his stirrup leathers entirely to teach him to use his inner thighs while posting and asking for the canter, I had never gone longer than ten or fifteen minutes without them. Perhaps I was asking too much, but perhaps it would work out well. He had never fallen before, though, and that was where I doubted him. Falling off a horse truly gave you experience; not only did you know what to expect (most of the time) but you also could learn from what you did wrong. I had fallen off Guldurelon alone countless times, and add that to all the other horses I'd ridden you could make a new planet out of the vastness of the numbers.