When the music starts to s w i n g {Mollie&Skylar}

[ALEX JAMES DANIEL]

Alex slowed Vader down once they reached the doors to the indoor. He pulled the large doors open, exposing a well lit arena that had a huge mirror lining one wall along with six large speakers for music. He unlocked the gate, and led Vader into the arena. He tightened up the girth once more before leading his gelding to the ipod dock which sat all alone on the corner of the arena. He stuck the apple green nano into the dock and pressed play. The smooth melody of Bobby Darin blared through the speakers. Alex looked at Vadar who began bobbing his head to the beat. The Aussie laughed, pulling himself up onto his horse.

Alex gave a short click and a kick, asking Darth to trot on. The gelding began jogging and continued to get into the music. Alex always played swing music whenever he rode. It was absolutely soothing and always put the horses in the mood for a good ride. Vadar soon swung into the rhythm as Bobby crooned smoothly through the speakers.

The young man looked out of the arena, hoping to see Mollie soon. She always took her time whenever she was tacking up. He smiled to himself, envisioning Mollie scrubbing her saddle with a tooth brush before setting it perfectly on Storm's back. Alex shook his head before asking Darth for a lope.

[ALIYAH MAY YOUSIF]

A clod of dust was stirred by the irritated steps of the young woman. Aliyah had woken up early to meet with an instructor, yet the plans had been cancelled for some anonymous reason. She was not a morning person, however she had gotten up with more than enough time to dress herself well. She had even pulled her hair back neatly, a task she wasn’t too fond of. In fact, one might say she was a bit too done up for a mere riding session, however, she had always preferred looking nice when performing, even if only in practice. “ Kalet…” Her words were whispered though she doubted anyone here would understand them.

Her internal rant was disrupted by a protesting noise she knew all too well. The buckskin stallion was dancing around in his cell, crying for freedom. “Hisam. You’ll hurt yourself, my friend. Now…” Her hands danced along his cheekbone in a circular motion. The horse showed signs of calming but his hooves still stirred when she reached to hook his lead. His head pressed against the door as if to help her as she opened it. Aliyah was careful to use the farthest set of cross-ties. She had learned that Hisam was temperamental when constrained and being around any other living thing was hazardous. It always meant a longer trip to retrieve the tack. Still, walking and the feel of leather in her hands seemed to calm her a little. An instructor wasn’t required for her to at least enjoy a good ride.

Draping the tiny pad over the stallion’s back, he immediately stiffened. Aliyah let out a short sigh. After all this, he still refused to completely relax when tacked. He was miles from where they had started, but the woman hoped he would enjoy it as much as she did. Of course, bareback was an option, but she needed some in saddle practice today. “Sorry Hisam. Next time without. Ok?” Her Middle Eastern accent thickened with each vowel. The stallion’s ears flicked with each word. Her hand slid up his mane as she started to place the bit in his mouth. “No trouble.” The command was ignored as he threw his head any which way the ropes would allow. Finally, he rested his muzzle in her dark hair, rustling it around. It seemed he wasn’t too fond of her well-to-do look either. Letting her hair loose to appease him, she went back to the task of preparing the charger for the ride.

It had taken longer than expected, but she conclusively successfully tacked the horse and climbed to her seat. “Yallah Habibi.” Her words were accompanied by a slight pressure in her heels. She steered Hisam towards the indoor arena even though her lesson was originally planned for the outdoor. Hisam walked stiff-legged the entire way, yet seemed to have a curious edge about him the closer they got. A kind of music was playing that Aliyah wasn’t too familiar with. It wasn’t unpleasant, but she couldn’t recall the name of the muted tones. Disregarding the clues that it meant that the arena was occupied, she continued forward.

The arena doors were already opened, allowing Hisam to waltz right in. The stallion stopped with his ears tilted back. Before them was man and horse loping along to the music. Aliyah sat watching for a moment, interested to see what they were up to, but Hisam wasn’t too happy about it. After only a few seconds he sidestepped once only to meet heavy pressure from the black boots at his side. The woman on his back knew Hisam’s habits a little too well

[ALEX JAMES DANIEL]

"My lover stands on golden saaands,"Alex sang along to the magnicifant voice of Mr. Darin as he rounded the farthest right corner of the arena. Alex turned his head to the gate, noticing a girl who wasn't Mollie stride into the arena on what looked to be a Friesian cross. He tipped his hat in the direction of the unfamiliar face. It seems that students were finally starting to file into Gemara. Alex smiled to himself as he asked Vadar for a gallop. The gelding let out a "umph" and was on his way.

The pair flew around the arena twice before Alex led him down the arena, dust flying up behind them. Alex steadied himself, and lowered into the seat. The gelding rounded his back, readying himself for a sliding stop. As they neared the middle of the arena, Alex sat harder into the seat, lightly pulling on the reins. Vadar's legs tucked underneath him as they slid down the arena. The gelding's front legs shuffled quickly, slowing themselves down to a quick stop which resulted in a cloud of dust rising from the ground. The quirky Aussie leaned into his horse, patting him on the neck, "Nice."Alex praised his gelding who stood there, proud of their successful attempt of one of Alex's favorite reining manuvers.

Alex removed his hat, running his dust covered hands through his jet black hair, his shockingly blue eyes wandered around the arena and back to the gate. He sighed to himself, what a slow girl. At least her bomb riding made up for her tardiness. The man shook his head, smiling to himself before turning the gelding to the opposite side of the arena in a collected walk. As fast as the song stopped, another began playing. Alex swore his iPod loved him. It always played the right songs to set the mood. Duke Ellingtion. Alex eyed Vadar who began jigging in hopes to transition into an extended trot. The young gelding adored Duke Ellington and absolutely enjoyed flying lead changes when this man's music blared through the speakers.

[MOLLIE ST. JAMES]

Mollie trotted up to the arena, Storm jigged beneath her. She popped him with the crop, her eyes landed on another student. She smiled to herself as she stared at the girl's steed. Oh, he was gorgeous. Out of the corner of her eye, Mollie wittnessed one of the most amazing sliding stops that she had ever seen. Her heart fluttered, Alex and Vadar made such an excellent team. They were the epitome of poetry in motion. Mollie felt her eyes welt up as she watched the pair working together. A sigh escaped her glossy lips as she composed herself.

The petite blonde clicked softly to Storm, easing him into the arena. Mollie grinned at Alex as him and Vadar were dancing down the arena wall. She frowned, knowing that Storm had really bad issues going off of his right lead due to his time on the race track. The gelding's ears flicked, listening out for Mollie's next cue as they began at a walk. Storm had no problem staying on the rail, which surprised Mollie. As many off track thoroughbreds that she's ridden, Storm was one of the very few who could stay on the rail for more than a few strides. She cooed softly into Storm's ear, loving patting him on the neck. She sat up, eying her flawless trainer, "Sorry, y'know how I am." She shrugged before giving Storm a light kick, pushing him into a trot.

The music warmed Mollie from her head to the tips of her toes. Swing music was indeed great for setting the mood when riding. Although, Mollie wouldn't mind having Lady GaGa blare through the speakers as well. Maybe Alex will allow her to change the pace later into the lesson. She gave Storm another kick in hopes to catch up to her trainer.

[ALIYAH MAY YOUSIF]

Aliyah merely nodded at the man’s recognition of her. At the present, her attention was more on the way they were riding. It seemed like nothing more than running around to her, but she suspected they had a reason, thus the reason she loomed about rather than leaving them and attending to her own matters. She didn’t absolutely need to be here, but curiosity was asking her to stay and watch at least a while longer. Hisam, however, didn’t seem to have the same thirst for knowledge. When the duo passed by at speed, he spooked. A low snort escaped his nostrils as a warning to the man’s steed. Aliyah was using both leg and rein cues to keep him occupied. Opposing hooves plodded lazily as he led into a piaffe. They had only recently begun to learn this move and his rhythm was far from perfect. The movement was sloppy, yet it seemed to keep his attention elsewhere.

Her efforts paid off for only a moment. Peripheral vision gave her a glimpse of a attractive horse making his way into the arena. She immediately began to think of the jumping prospects in the creature. Hisam was too thick for the sport, but aside from Dressage, she favored it. There wasn’t time to enjoy the sight of him though. Aliyah could feel the tension in her legs increasing. Wide-eyed, Hisam began to scoot himself back against a railing. Both her and his eyes fell to the middle of the arena where dirt flew high. She had seen the trick once before, but it had been some time and wasn’t well executed. She was enchanted by the ability of the rider and horse. Hisam, not so much. The horse threw his head high, letting loose a challenge for the other horses. His front legs came up in unison a few inches from the ground. Aliyah leaned against his neck, forcing him back down.

As soon as his hooves hit the dirt, her boots did the same. Keeping a strong grip on the reins, the woman turned the stallion once before using her hand to calm the beast. “ Laa Habibi. Khalass! Yallah…Now. Behave naughty horse.” Her words weren’t as soothing as she had hoped. A bit of anger was still pent up from before. Aliyah had been enjoying watching the man work his horse. Having such a troublesome horse show out in front of him was fairly embarrassing, even if she were a student.

[ALEX JAMES DANIEL]

Alex's eyes fell on Mollie who finally arrived. She was always fashionably late. He shook his head and wagged a finger at her,"At least you're here." He chuckled softly, turning his attention to Vader. He pulled back on the reins softly, asking for his gelding to halt. Alex motioned for Mollie to halt next to him. The Aussie huffed in his saddle, watching Mollie as she made her way to him.

The young man's eyes shot to the girl who was speaking in a different language. Although he couldn't understand her, he could clearly see her struggling with the stallion who was being unruly. Alex could tell that stallion needed to know who was boss and that he was to respect his rider at all times. There was never an excuse for a horse to be disrespectful to their rider. He opened his mouth, "Would you like to join in on our lesson? I can help with that if you'd like."Alex shouted to the girl, hoping she could hear him from across the vast arena. There's nothing a quick little lesson can't fix. Alex was renown for solving little problems such as these in a matter of minutes without the use of force. It was all a matter of understanding and who the dominate one was. You could never let your guard down around these horses, no matter how dead broke they are. They're still animals deep down inside.

Alex clicked to Vadar and began jogging in the girl's direction. He sighed, looking back at Mollie. The man rubbed his brows with a rough hand, there's too many attractive students. First Chloe, now these girls. He was thankful that Mollie understood her boundaries as a student and didn't attempt to further their relationship and looked up to him as a mentor more than she did as a crush. Alex couldn't help but think about the girl he met at the barn just half an hour ago. He flipped his phone out of his pocket and hopped on Facebook for a quick moment to add her. He didn't want to forget her name and knowing how is memory is, he would've by the end of this lesson.

[ALIYAH MAY YOUSIF]

Aliyah jumped slightly when a man’s voice shouted. Her hands nearly released her grip of the reins, giving Hisam the chance to balk a bit. She managed to regain her hold on him after a brief moment, and began to work on soothing the animal, her tongue clicked softly as one hand traced his cheekbone. Conversely, a part of her wasn’t on the horse, but the voice that called. Putting faith in the horse she had so gingerly cared for all these years, she allowed her attention to be retracted. The woman’s hold was absolute but her gaze moved from the buckskin towards the man who had called out.

His mount was moving towards them, causing her hand to close tighter round the bridle. The stallion stood stiff-legged with his head as high as Aliyah would allow. It seemed all sorts of insults were emanating from his vocals. The lady let out a sigh. She had been working on this little shortcoming of his and they had gotten fairly far, but she had also tried to hide the problem from most people. To her, it reflected her inept ability as a rider for such rude behavior. She didn’t think inept riders would make it around here long. Glaring like a child in the horse’s direction, she immediately began formulating a way to save some face.

Turning her glare off the animal, she softened her gaze and looked towards him guiltily with a slight smile. “Ah. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt.” Her accent was coming in full with her embarrassment. She tried to turn it down a bit by pausing and recollecting herself. “Are you not busy with woman there?” She asked in all honesty. As much as she would have loved to refuse and crawl under a rock, if he was an instructor and thought he could fix it, she would be ignorant to refuse the help.

As he got closer, she studied him. Before, she looked at his horse and his posture. Now she looked at the man. Aliyah wasn’t too sure what the “ideal look” was here, thus she never really “shopped” as some of her American friends did. Though, compared to some of those she had seen, he wasn’t that bad looking. Of course, that had no meaning, she was here to work. Such play had no place here. Hisam, as if reading her thoughts, stamped his foot in defiance, breaking her from her thoughts. Of course, it was nothing more than a warning to the other horse, but she didn’t care. Aliyah turned full attention back to him once more. “Ayi! Watch yourself! I can make it where you no longer a man!” All her irritation from being stood up, embarrassed, and lost in thought was directed at the animal. She bit her lip gently to put her mind back where it belonged.

[ALEX JAMES DANIEL]

Alex eased Vadar into a half-halt, stopping a few feet away from the girl and her horse. That cheeky grin grew on his face as he glanced from Mollie who sat patiently on Storm and then back to the girl and her testy stud. He shook his head,"I'm never too busy. C'mon."Alex motioned for the girl to join him and his pupil in their lesson. Alex circled the lazy gelding, keeping his attention from fading.

The Aussie paused, holding a finger into the air, "Would you let me ride him for a few minutes? Just to see how he is?" Alex asked, hoping the girl would let him see what it was her stud had issues with. To Alex it appeared that the stud was very territorial and had control issues. He shook his head, smiling at the stud who was in for a pleasant surprise. There wasn't a horse that Alex hadn't butted heads with and this horse was no exception. He could tell by the look in the studs eyes that he was particulary hard headed and needed to know who was boss. It wouldn't be long until that stud ended up hurting someone or worse. This was definitely something that needed attention.

He swung off of Vadar, grabbing the reins from over the geldings head. He walked closer to the girl and her horse, nodding his head at the stallion who looked quite tense, "Here, hop up on Darth. He's a great horse." Alex offered her the reins in his hand.

[ALIYAH MAY YOUSIF]

His request was a little unexpected. As far as she was concerned, no one other than her had ridden Hisam in the past year. His attitude under tack was the cause of that. The buckskin had draft blood and that caused her to worry about his strength if she had taken him to a professional. Still, she nodded her head in agreement. If it had been someone else, she probably would have refused, but if an instructor here thought he could handle the bi-polar animal, it was worth a try. Keeping a hand on the stud’s reins, Aliyah carefully took the proffered set. Hisam raised his head higher without the restriction of the woman’s hand. Aliyah clicked her tongue in annoyance before handing off the stallion. “Here is Hisam. He is…not so great. At least not with tack” Her words were accompanied by an obvious scowl.

Running a hand along the man’s horse, Aliyah allowed the animal to become aware of her before mounting. His demeanor was completely opposite of her stallion. It was as through nothing would spook this gelding. She gave him a quick pat before hoisting herself onto his back. It took a moment to adjust to the differences between Hisam and this horse. One being the relaxed feeling between her legs rather than the tense feeling and the fight for reins. “You are a good one, Sadiqi.”

Feeling a bit warm, Aliyah took the hair band off her wrist and tossed her hair back up in a ponytail that was far from her normal standard. Blowing a loose strand from her face, she took control of her new mount, backing him a few steps to keep him from Hisam. “He only gets like this when I saddle him” She threw in a quick explanation in case it helped his diagnosis. “Good luck….” She stopped there, not knowing his name. By now, she should have at least introduced herself to some of the instructors, but sleeping in took precedent over such a trivial matter.

[MOLLIE ST. JAMES]

A warm smile shown on Mollie's face as Alex offered a friendly hand to the girl who was struggling with her antsy stallion. Mollie shrugged, stallions. A soft, sunkist hand reached up, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ears as she clucked lightly to Storm, easing him back into a trot.

Her eyes landed on Alex as he hopped off of his gelding, offering him to the girl while he went for a test drive on her horse so he could get a feel of what it was that he was working with. A twisted smiled curled on Mollie's lips as she reached into her pocket, pulling out her iPod. She leaned into Storm, "It's time for some of our music."She whispered, eyes still stuck on the two in the corner.

Mollie gave Storm a firm kick, sending him into the canter as the circled around the arena, heading to the iHome that was nestled in the far corner. As they neared the iHome, Mollie lowered herself into the seat, bringing her gelding down into a walk, giving her enough time to switch the iPods and press play. Kevin Rudolf's "Let it Rock" began blaring through the speakers as Mollie and her proud steed began prancing about the arena.

A hesitant sigh escaped Mollie's lips as she found herself getting ready to switch leads with Storm. Her face scrunched up as she slid her leg back, applying pressure to his hip. Storm tucked his head and happily switched leads. Mollie squealed, patting her gelding's neck in complete and utter joy. Mollie brought Storm down the center of the arena, cuing him to switch leads every three strides. Oh, no words could express the amount of pure joy that was coursing through the young girl's veins as she and Storm became one off of the race track.

Mollie glanced over to Alex, proudly pumping her fist in the air as she continued cuing Storm to switch leads back and forward. She paused for a moment, mid wandering over to how much potential her gelding had in the dressage world. If he can do this, a flying lead change won't be too far away from them.