Over The Edge Again

'Pick yourself up again,
Over the edge again,
Hold onto your hopes and dreams...'

Muffled sounds left the radio, emanating outwards into the cabin of the lorry. Stevie Rae quickly swiped her forehead between juggling the controls. Sunday afternoon, and it was boiling. Mia refused to let her put the air con on, leaving Stevie Rae feeling clammy and hot.
'Are you sure you aren't too warm? I'm overheating here!' She moaned.
'I am good, nice and warm. Not like Poland.' Mia nodded in the passenger seat
'So it's cold in Poland?'
'Not all the time. Sometimes we have some sun... Not often however.' The woman's accent started to slip as she talked about her home country.
Stevie Rae opened the window on her side, leaning her head back slightly as a cool breeze entered the cab and cooled down her face.

The two women were on their way to a hired cross country course. Seeing as the new DAEC stables did not currently have their own cross country course, the only way to get the horses out and about on courses to train was to hire out a local course. This particular course was only a five minute drive away, and a fifteen minute hack by the bridle way. In an attempt to save Carla's energy for the course, they quickly bundled her into the lorry and set off. Less than three minutes into the drive and Stevie Rae already felt like she had been cooked through to the bone. Mia however was enjoying a bit of sun. Over the last few days she let a bit of her pale skin stay on show whilst out at the stables, starting to develop her first proper tan. Pale pink skin was something she was used to, so when her tan came through she couldn't believe it- it wasn't even much of a tan, but anything darker than sheet white was a tan to her.
'Tell me more about yourself, Stevie Rae. I have been working under you for weeks and yet I know hardly a thing about you.' Mia smiled warmly, trying to gently encourage Stevie Rae into opening up.
'Well.. I like Tea, not coffee.. Urm.. Bays over Greys... You know.. that kind of thing.' She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, not taking her eyes off the road to avoid Mia's soft but persistent gaze.
'What about family?' She cocked her head to one side, closer to Stevie Rae. She saw the woman tense slightly, so she slowly sat back again to relieve a bit of the pressure she had just laid on.
After a long silence Stevie Rae answered,
'I have a brother Michael, that has just moved out to the City to be a lawyer..'
Mia's interest was caught again, she turned slightly to listen.
'My sister Charlotte, I haven't seen her since she dropped her daughter- My niece- Cheyenne off at DAS.'
'Your parents?' Mia pushed.
'I haven't heard from my Father since I decided to open DAS. He was against me ever riding again.'
Another long silence persued. They entered the driveway to the cross country track. There were no stables or any form of equestrian centre, the course was just on it's own. A 60x40m section of grass was cornered off with tape fencing, Stevie Rae assumed it was the warm up arena. She manoeuvred the lorry into a space, leaving distance between the next lorry to hitch Carla to the side with plenty of room around her back end. Cutting the engine she sighed.
'My Father didn't want me to start riding again after my mother died. He let me keep my pony and keep riding... but no competing. So obviously when I decided to open a stables.. Which was for rescue horses at the time.. He went awol. He never wanted to speak to me, because if he distanced himself from me before I got the stables, if I died in the process - Which since my mother's accident was an inevitability to him
- He wouldn't be as close to miss me as much. Obviously my father has a weird way of doing things.'
Mia was left in silence. When she finally managed to bring some words she still had a problem getting them out.
'I am sorry about that... It is a misfortune.'
'Don't worry about it Mia, you didn't know.' Stevie Rae smiled sympathetically at Mia, 'Lets get Carla.'


And that is where the story ends because I am too lazy to write any more.
Mia took Carla (Play It Cool) around the cross country course and Stevie Rae followed on with the camera!

We bought new breastplates for DAEC!
Also, Play It Cool has a flash simply because this is her first time out at cross country, and instead of just whacking a harsher bit in her mouth just in case, we put her a flash on... just in case!

Play It Cool - [link] and Art (C) =WB-Equine-Art