Power and Pain [open]

[Anthony Lovasz]

Most horse people would experience a bond with a horse at least once in their lifetime. There were countless stories everywhere you turned about horses that would do anything for their riders. Very few of them, however, would ever experience a bond like the one possessed by the thoroughbred and the jockey currently out on the track. It was only 4 a.m, but no hour was too early for this pair. The horse was near 17 hands, well muscled, and his chestnut coat shone with good health. His four white legs and wide, almost bald face, made him a flashy animal that was sure to catch your attention. Most in the racing world were superstitious, and the belief was that any horse with four white legs would never be a good racer, but this animal suggested otherwise. The rider on his back was the jockey who was known around the racetracks as the guy who would ride even the most insane horse, and no matter how many times he was trampled, he wouldn't accept any medical treatment and was always back up on the horse in a matter of a few minutes to a few weeks depending on the seriousness of the injuries he'd sustained.

Unlike most racehorses, the thoroughbred, known as King's Last Stand, walked quietly with only a light hold on the reins, his ears flicking back and forth, waiting for his rider, Anthony Lovasz, to let him go. They went around half the track before the jockey slowly let him ease in and pick up a trot, then a quiet canter as they reached the rail. Another half the track went by, and the horse picked up a gallop, moving evenly and with tremendous power. He didn't pull at the reins and fight his rider for more, he just galloped along, content with what he had. Slowly, Anthony let him out, and with ever inch of rein he gave the horse, more power and speed was poured into the run. This pair had been through hell and back a few years ago when an untimely bird flew overhead, screaming like it was being killed, and sent the horse into a panic, ultimately resulting in the both of them crashing through the rail and nearly ending their careers.

In only a short distance, King was stretched out into a fast paced gallop, stretching out into massive bounds and covering ground at the same speed as you would expect from a horse half his age. That, right there, was the sort of thing that champions were made of. Reaching to such incredible lengths with their strides at such a tremendous rate. It was no wonder this horse had such a record to his name. For several furlongs the chestnut kept up this pace until Anthony gathered the reins again and began to slow him down gradually. King willingly obliged and slowed accordingly as the light pressure on the reins was applied. As he slowed, however, he stumbled just slightly and dodged to the inside to catch himself, hitting his shoulder against the rail. In an unnatural and seemingly uncalled for panic, the horse leapt to the outside, eyes wide and nostrils flaring, successfully unseating Anthony whose balance had been thrown off just enough by the stumble to be unable to stay with the horse.

With Anthony no longer on his back the horse became more panic stricken and leaped sideways across the track until his right shoulder hit the other rail. This only escalated it more as he jumped away, leaping forward several strides, striking out at his assailant, then resigning himself to terrified trotting around the track, spooking at nothing and just overall acting crazy, like he was being chased by an invisible enemy. Anthony was mostly unharmed, though he had landed on his bad... or perhaps worse... shoulder, and the shock had kept him on the ground briefly, just long enough for King to make it across the track to collide with the outside rail. He stood up slowly and stayed where he was. Woah King. he said to the horse softly which instantly stopped the frightened horse in his tracks. The horse stood there trembling, facing away from Anthony, his ears swiveling around like radars.

¿Es bien, sólo un tropiezo pequeño, sí? Anthony continued, causing the horse to whip around to face him. As the jockey continued talking, the horse started walking towards him slowly, moving as if his hooves were stuck in tar or he was afraid he might step down and fall through a hole in the earth. All the while anthony never moved, just kept talking to the horse, switching back and forth between Spanish and English randomly, and unaware he was doing so. What he said didn't matter, it was just that he was saying it. Even once King was close enough to touch, Anthony didn't touch him. Only once the horse's muzzle came in contact with Anthony's shoulder did he reach out and put his hand on the horse's neck. As soon as he had come in contact with the jockey, the horse let out a huge huff of a sigh and slowly started relaxing.

That wasn't so bad, was it? Anthony asked the horse, running his hands down the animal's legs, just to be sure, you make us look crazy. Normally, Anthony would just get right back on, but King was a special case. Normally Anthony didn't ride horses that were so easy to handle, but King was the exception. The nine year old was retired from racing now, but Anthony still took him out on the track every day, and let him go for a good long run about once a week.

King had been a promising contender for the triple crown, but when he failed to even finish the Kentucky Derby, red flags were raised, he was sent to the best equine vet in existence, and after numerous expensive and extensive tests, the problem was found to be simply that he was completely blind in one eye and about half blind in the other. How such a simple thing had been missed was beyond them. He was retired from racing after that discovery, but Anthony wasn't about to let a horse with that much heart be shipped off to a slaughter house. He spent the next two years working with the horse in every spare moment of his time, between races and morning work outs. By the time the horse was 5, they decided to let him run in front of the stewards and a vet and let them make a decision. Unfortunately, that was also the day of the accident.

In their first race they didn't fare so well, but with each race they kept moving up, and once King got to liking no dirt in his face, there was no looking back. As soon as they would hit the front, good luck to you if you wanted to catch them. King never needed any encouraging, so long as Anthony was on his back it was as if he could run forever. He continued running and winning until he was 8 and they had more than proven their worth.

Falling off seemed to be Anthony's signature move. Hardly a day went by when he wasn't unseated. Anyone who saw him probably questioned the wisdom behind Sebastian hiring Anthony to be the trainer. After all, if someone couldn't stay in the saddle, what on earth qualified him to be the trainer? The answer to that was quite possibly the very fact that he rode those horses that were so prone to throwing their rider. He had successfully retrained the "impossible" horses, that more than qualified him to train the ones that hadn't been ruined. He stood there for a few minutes, just letting the horse settle down, and adjusting himself to the pain he was in. That was a jockey for you... in a world of pain, and not going to do anything about it.

[Kate Hudson]

It was not too early for Kate to be waking up. Give her a cup of really strong coffee, and she is good to go. She stood at the counter in her home, and scooped the grounded up elixir from heaven, and smiled at the aroma. She added the water, and let it brew. She had to get up early this morning because she was meeting a boarder out at the racetrack. She didn't know why, racehorses wasn't her area of expertise. Though, she does enjoy watching the horses sprint for the finish, their legs covered in mud, and the cheer of the crowd as the champion makes their way across the line. She threw on a pair of jeans, a plaid semi- sleeved shirt, and grabbed her coffee mug.

She skipped out to the racetrack with her border collie, and opened the gate that led to the track. The reason why she was coming out so early was because the horse was being shipped from far across the country, and he should be arriving any minute. The owner just wanted her to be there before he made the big purchase and decide to race him. She drank her coffee, and could see that she wasn't the only one who had the same idea. She smiled at the rider, and in the distance she saw the headlights of the semi.

She met the owner, and shook his hand. He was a short, chubby man, who enjoyed a cigar whenever he could so he lit up. " Oh, Mr. Cromwell, there is a strict no smoking policy on the grounds," she told him. He huffed, but obeyed and put the smoke out. That's strike one.

The horse came out of the trailer and let out a loud whinny and reared. Pawing the air with his thunderous hooves. " Isn't he beautiful. Found him in California. He's the grandson of Secretariat! Great bloodlines," he said. Kate cleared her throat and approached the horse. " Just because a horse has the best bloodlines doesn't make him an instant triple crown winner Mr.Cromwell. That take determination, and practice," she said as she ran her hand down the horse's body.

" Just get him ready for the next big race. Okay," he said and lit his cigar again and walked off to his Jaguar. Kate stood there holding the lead of the horse and sighed. She was no race horse trainer, sure she could soothe a horse's temper, and train but she hardly knew the first thing about training a champion thoroughbred. She felt lost. " Well, I could try," she said softly and patted the colt's neck.

[Anthony Lovasz]

After a few moments, Anthony flipped the reins back up over King's head, and moved to the horse's side and swung up onto the large horse's back. For one so short, you would think getting up onto a 17 hand horse would require some sort of mounting block, but not for Anthony. he had been riding leggy thoroughbreds since he was just a kid, he was more than used to having to get up on them without so much as a leggup. Unlike your typical thoroughbred, King just stood there, waiting for Anthony to pick up the reins before moving out. King relied on Anthony to be his right eye, and had made a habit out of waiting for him before doing anything.

After getting back onto the horse, Anthony guided him for a single walking lap around the track to cool him out. Despite the pain that was antagonizing him, Anthony had to get the horse cooled out. Sure, he could have called Emily and had her cool him out or put him on the hot walker, but that wasn't Anthony's style. He liked doing things for himself, whether he was in pain or not. He could have a broken arm and be bleeding all over the place and he would still take care of his horse before he took care of himself. Of course, the horses he rode were usually dangerous, so he usually didn't come off the track unscathed. He was used to it.

The pair arrived back at the gate just as a new horse came out of a trailer, showing off a haughty attitude. As Anthony dismounted from his quiet chestnut, he couldn't help but overhear the conversation between the two. Any jockey who heard that a horse was related to Secretariat was never impressed. Secretariat had a long record of offspring that never accomplished anything in racing. Certainly, Secretariat had been a phenomenal horse... the kind that every rider dreams of riding... but his progeny just weren't successful racers, they were fabulous in other disciplines, like eventing or other jumping type activities. You could always tell when someone wanted to be involved in racing but didn't know the first thing about it... they always went for the horses with a famous horse in their pedigree.

Anthony had learned a long, long time ago that the horse's skill was not determined by who was in his blood, but by the drive and desire to win. He had taken many a horse with nothing going for him in his pedigree and brought them into the winner's circle. He had to admit that this particular grandson of secretariat certainly had spirit... but he wouldn't be impressed with a horse until he saw it run. Anthony already had 10 years of experience in the racing world, and he was only 24, far more experience than many people had who were twice his age. He was good at what he did, there was no doubt about that.

When the man instructed her to get the horse ready for the next race and walked off, Anthony had to shake his head. He had never seen the girl on the track before, and she didn't look like she knew what she was doing, so he had a feeling that she wasn't a racehorse trainer. He wasn't normally one to medel in people's business, but he figured he could at least say something. First time racehorse owner? He asked the girl in reference to the man. He had dealt with many like him before, and in his experience, anyone who acted like that was not experienced at all in racing. After all, anyone who knew anything about racing wouldn't get a grandson of Secretariat for "the next big race" and they wouldn't hire a trainer who didn't know the first thing about racing.

[Kate Hudson]

Kate sighed as she watched the owner speed off down the dirt path. The dirt billowed under his tires as his rear tail lights faded into the distance. The colt spooked at the sound and every muscle in his body tensed. Kate had to tell herself to hold her tongue and not smart off to her clients. She gripped the lead and moved the colt from the trailer, so he would not do something stupid and injure himself. The shippers came around the sides of the trailer, and closed the back door. They tipped their hats and bid her good luck, and boy was she going to need it. They pulled away ten minutes after the owner and vanished, leaving Kate with the colt, and what pissed her off was that the owner didn't even bother to stick around to watch his horse get used to his new surroundings.

She led the colt around, his eyes widened, and his nostrils flared as he observed the track. He was a little jumpy when he touched the railing leading to the track." Hey easy hot shot, it's just a rail. It won't hurt you," she said softly and touched his neck. Really, who was she kidding?! Why did she take on the task of training a racehorse? Was she all the in the moment, got cocky, and took on the task without thinking twice? She heard the question from a young jockey and turned her head. Great, now he was going to think she was a fraud! She nodded to his question, " Is it that obvious?," she asked as she let out a nervous chuckle. She calmed down, " The man is about as rich as Donald Trump, and thinks that it would be a good investment if he bought himself a racehorse. I have nothing against someone wanting to buy a race horse, but at least bother to do your research on the pedigree, and know a thing or two about horses before you buy. You know?" she said. Not wanting to give away the fact that she had no clue what she had gotten into she said, " I'm Kate."

[Anthony Lovasz]

Was it that obvious? Oh yes, it certainly was. Perhaps to most people they wouldn't notice the difference, but to Anthony it was as clear as day. For one thing, he had been racing thoroughbreds since he was 14, riding them since he was 12, and working at the track since he was 10. All in all, he had 14 years of experience with thoroughbreds, trainers, and owners. He was probably more knowledgable than most people in West Virginia ever would be... and he hadn't even received any formal training. Sure, there were plenty of guys who had been riding for 20+ years out on the track who probably knew a good deal more than him... but they were also a fair bit older than him. Most people didn't get 14 years of track experience before they were 25 years old. I suppose you could probably say he had an advantage in that way.

I've been dealing with guys like him for 14 years, He said with a friendly enough smile, It's not too hard to pick them out of a crowd anymore. Of course, he could also say the same of her. She wasn't a racehorse trainer... he could tell that much too... of course, half of the reason he could tell was because he happened to know that he and Alex were the only trainers on this track, and he would have been one of the first to know if another had moved in. He was a little concerned about the fact that there would be a new horse moving into the barn and no one had told him about it. If the horse was going to be staying in the main barn, he had no problem with it, but if it was going to be moving into the racing barn... well that was a different story.

He had the routine down to a T as did the horses. All of them were happy with their neighbors (except Chase who just hated everyone)... and bringing another horse in would throw off that routine completely. Perhaps this hadn't been cleared with Sebastian either? He was slightly put off by that. He might have to change his training schedule as well with this newcomer, seeing as Shock and Chase were not to be worked on the track at the same time as other horses under any circumstances, since Shock would try to run the other horse over, and Chase would try to eat the other horse. Then King and Beggar were worked together, and Storm and Charmer weren't quite ready to work with other just yet. So depending on what time this horse was going to be working, things would have to shift around... and he didn't like shifting things around.

[Kate Hudson]

Kate looked at Anthony nervously, clearly she was way out of her league with this young colt, and she knew that this guy could tell. He had jockey and race horse trainer written all over him, and she was merely a fish out of water! She held the lead, and felt the fuzzy muzzle of the colt rub against the back of her shoulder. Maybe she should just give up and turn the colt back over to the owner, she obviously knew nothing about training horses, and she would rather save herself from humiliation and just tell the owner to find someone who knew what they were doing. She could train horses under English saddle, not a racing saddle! Gosh, what was she doing! She was clearly not fooling this guy, and he must think the worst of her now. Just by his facial expressions when he looked at her, he was not impressed that a trainer, who was not a racing trainer, was on his turf.

" I can pick a first time horse owner out of a crowd to. They're usually the ones who just buy a horse because they can, and know nothing. That's one type of first time horse owner. The other kind are the ones who buy one, they love horses, but then depend on the help of others to care for the horse and know very little. In my honest opinion, I would go for the latter of the two. At least they have more sense to come and care for the horse," she said and her voice softened. She rubbed the colt's nose and gave Anthony another glance, and cleared her throat softly. ' Just walk away' she thought and slowly walked out to the track and took a look around. She had been working at the stables for a little over a year, and she had only seen the track once, but seeing at this hour was actually... nice. She let the colt have some slack, and watched him looked around with alert ears to get used to the surroundings. Now the next question was, what to do with him.