The Golden Girl(Niall Horan/1D Fanfic)

Prologue

*-clears throat dramatically- this. is for lauren. alright. okay. alright. I deleted snapshot, and my fanfic that i wrote with me in it, and now I'm writing this. and i am going to put my best effort into it, so uploads might be scarce cause IM TRYING TO BE A GOOD WRITER AND THATS HARD FOR MEH K. alright. onto the story now.*

"Now in the ring, the last rider for today's final round, riding for the United States of America, Lauren Gravel, riding Bourne Royalty, an eight year old Thoroughbred mare."

I tightened the reins in my fingers around Sophee's neck, resisting the urge to reach up and wipe the sweat away that was forming on my head. Muscles rippling in the faint sunlight streaming through the clouds, Sophee flicked her legs out daintily in front of her, picking from a walk to a trot in a few strides. I tugged gently back on the reins, pulling her to a slow stop in the middle of the arena, tipping my helmet gently. 

Sharply inhaling, swallowing all my nerves down to the pit of my stomach, I tapped Sophee's sides gently, letting the reins slip slightly through my fingers as she stretched out her head, picking up a slow gallop. 

The crowd was dead as I wheeled her around in a slow circle, tapping her sides gently for more speed as we approached the first jump, a simple white and red oxer that towered at around five feet. Tugging back on the reins I collected her, taking her head as we powered over the jump, Sophee's legs snapping under her neatly as we soared, landing gently on the other side, a grunt escaping from Sophee.

I let the reins slip a bit more through my fingers, giving her a bit more of her head as we took a tight turn around a few of the jumps, heading for the only liverpool in the course, being about three foot wide, leaving no room for error.

"Com'on Soph," I murmured in her ear, tugging the reins gently to get her attention. Her ears flicked back to show she was now at full attention to my hands. With a surge of determination, I tapped her side to urge her into a faster jump as the liverpool came closer and closer within reach.

Her breaths came out heavy as she cleared through the sand of the arena, the only sound relevant around me being her heavy hooves lightly striking the sand. With one final squeeze, I lifted up into the saddle, my hands flying up on her neck. 

We landed on the other side with room to spare from the water, once again picking back up into that slow gallop, Sophee's breathing becoming less heavy as we cleared the rest of the course with as much haste and skill as the first two jumps.

The last jumps. A triple combination, decorated with bright neon colors and flowers all around it. We where well within the time limit, not giving us any reason to rush on this. Biting my lip between my teeth, I chewed gently on it, rocking back in the saddle and giving Sophee more leg, her speed increasing slightly as we neared the first jump.

Over it with ease. I checked her strides quickly, giving her more urge to soar over the second with as much ease as the first. A grin slowly started to form on my face as we rapidly approached the third and final jump, one that was bigger than almost every jump on the entire course. Perfectly placed by the course designers to attempt and throw off a tired jumper.

"Come on Sophee, you can do it girl!" I chanted, allowing more speed out of her as her legs rose in the air, snapping through the air up underneath her body.

I held my breath as tension filled the air midway through our airtime. Her front legs landed. Halfway done. Right before her back haunches fell onto the ground leaving her level again, a light click rang in my ears, followed by heavy pounding of hooves on the dirt.

We crossed the finish line within two seconds of the time limit, giving me plenty of confidence to turn in the saddle and watch the pole.

It rocked gently in and out of the cup violently, causing an involuntary gasp to break through my lips.

But it never came out.

"Yes!" I cried, reaching forward and wrapping my arms around the grey horses sweaty neck. "Yes, yes, yes! Soph we won gold! Yes!"

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So here's a quick prologue, since Lauren wanted me to upload tonight LOOOOL. I'll try to upload a bit more tomorrow night when I get home from state fair. :3