It was a beautiful spring day in the Virginia countryside. Lee and
Amanda had been lucky enough to be given some time off from the
Agency to work on their new place, a small, but beautiful horse farm
in Warrenton. The recent move to their farm had been stressful, as
it always is when combining two places into one. Amanda's house in
Arlington had finally sold, and Lee had given notice to his landlord
at the apartment.
With their usual heavy caseload, work at the Agency had been trying
at times too. And since their secret marriage had been revealed to
all about 6 months ago, it had been a constant struggle to keep their
partnership at the Agency intact. Dr. Smyth was on Billy all the
time, incessantly trying to find ways to split them up. He had not
gotten over the fact that Lee and Amanda had hidden their true
relationship from the Agency for a couple of years. The Agency is
allowed to have its secrets, but in the interest of national
security, its employees are expected to be truthful with the Agency
at all times, especially where personal relationships are concerned.
Billy had been a true friend and a great supervisor and had managed
to thwart each of Dr. Smyth's attempts to split them up and for that
they were truly grateful. Billy knew it had been a stressful time
for the couple and had recently offered them two weeks off the duty
roster to get settled in and start enjoying their new place.
Lee was in heaven living on the farm, as happy as Amanda had ever
seen him. The previous owners had sold the house, land, and
livestock to the Stetsons in the deal. One of the best parts of the
deal for Lee was the fact that five horses were included with the
livestock—two Quarter Horses, two Arabians, and one American
Saddlebred.
Today was going to be a very special day for him and Amanda. He was
planning to give Amanda her first riding lesson. Lee was very much
looking forward to the time when he and Amanda would be able to go
riding together. He really wanted to share the excitement and beauty
of trail riding in the mountains with her.
Lee had spent several evenings trying out each of the horses to see
which one would be the most suitable for his Amanda to learn to
ride. He had decided that the Saddlebred had the smoothest gaits and
best manners. So, Laurel Hill Supreme, Laurel for short, was chosen
to be Amanda's mount. Laurel was a beautiful, tall, chestnut-colored
horse with a large white blaze on his face. He was a sweet-natured
horse who used to belong to the former farm owner's two children.
In his excitement, Lee raced down to the barn to get Laurel ready for
the lesson while Amanda finished putting away the breakfast dishes
and changed into her new riding pants. He thought back to the
previous night when the riding pants had been presented as a surprise
for Amanda. Lee was pleased that Amanda had really seemed to like
them. She had modeled them for him after dinner, though they did not
stay on her for very long! "She looks fabulous in the form-fitting
riding pants, and I just couldn't help myself." he said to himself
and to Laurel with a smile!
Lee brushed Laurel's red coat until it absolutely gleamed. He had
just finished saddling and bridling the horse when Amanda
appeared. "Well, are you ready, Amanda?" Lee asked with
excitement. "I have Laurel all ready to go for you. He is a really
sweet fellow, and I think the two of you are really going to be a
great team!" Lee told her as he pulled the mounting block up next to
Laurel's left side so Amanda could climb aboard.
"Well, okay, but it's been a long time since I've done something like
that." Amanda said hesitantly. "Lee, you know as well as anyone
that horses and I usually do not get along very well. May I remind
you of my ride on the Princess' horse, El Diablo?" Amanda asked. "I
almost went over the cliff on that horse!" she reminded him.
"Yeah, Amanda, I remember…but El Diablo had been trained to do that
by Bo Johnson. Laurel here is very sweet and is so gentle he has
been a child's horse for the last few years. That is one of the
reasons why I chose him to be your mount. I would never put you on a
horse that I think would not be safe for you. Trust me, trust
yourself, and most importantly trust Laurel, he will take good care
of you." Lee said.
So with that bit of a confidence building speech, Amanda decided to
go for it and climbed aboard Laurel. "Wow, he is very tall isn't
he? A long way down to the ground…" Amanda commented
nervously. "Amanda, don't think about falling off, just listen to my
instructions." Lee firmly told her.
In no time at all, he had Amanda and Laurel traveling around the
riding ring like old pros. Amanda had always been a quick learner,
and learning to ride was not an exception. She was already beginning
to understand the trot and how to move with Laurel comfortably.
Amanda was doing so well, Lee decided to see how Amanda and Laurel
would do with the canter, a slow controlled version of a gallop.
Lee explained the cues Amanda would need to give Laurel for the
canter, "To pick up the left canter lead, you will need to turn his
head slightly towards the rail on your right, give him a little bump
with the right rein, nudge him with your right leg, and ask him to
canter." Amanda attempted to follow Lee's lengthy instructions, but
found it difficult to do all of the cues correctly at the same time.
After all it was a lot to remember and this was only her first real
riding lesson! After several failed attempts, Amanda said, "Oh my,
that's really hard! "Sorry Laurel!" she said as she patted him on
the shoulder.
"Don't worry, just keep trying, Amanda. Once Laurel understands what
you are asking him to do, he will do it." Lee encouraged her.
Amanda tried a couple of more times without success, but on the next
attempt Laurel finally understood her cues and broke into the most
beautiful, smooth, rocking chair-like canter Lee had ever seen.
Amanda felt like she was floating on air, and Lee could hear her
delighted laugh as she and Laurel glided effortlessly around the
riding ring.
After a few times around the ring, she told Laurel, "Whoa there,
sweet boy." And Laurel immediately began to walk. Amanda looked
over at Lee standing in the middle of the ring with a huge smile on
his face. "I am so proud of you, Manda!! We'll be out on those
trails in the mountains in no time!" Lee said excitedly as he
thought of all the fun adventures they would soon have trail riding
together in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
THE END.
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