late night exercise .

Amy waited for the sun to actually go down before exercising Ignacia; it was just much too hot to do it during the day, and she wasn't feeling up to an early morning workout. She was dedicated, but not as much as Bobby was, to wake up at 4 AM to ride the new horse. She decided she would do some gate work with the filly before her first race, make sure she wasn't a complete lunatic when she broke. She quickly saddled Ida, jumped on her lithely when they were out of the barn, and rode her to the exercise track. She was in a no nonsense kind of mood today, so when the filly balked and snorted before stepping foot on the dirt, she tapped her sides with her heels. Ignacia responded immediately and trotted willingly forward.

Amy looked toward the gates and saw Bobby standing there, a slight smirk on his face. She turned the big white filly in that direction and was there in a few moments. "Alright Bobby, let's go." He nodded and Amy walked Ida in. She was a bit hesitant at first, but she went in without a fight. Once they were settled, Bobby released the gate, and Ignacia sprung out. The wind whistled past Amy's ears as the filly leaped forward with monstrous strides. She slowed her down just a bit, to get used to her pace. It was easy to ride and Amy felt her stress and tiredness ebb away as they raced around the track. She let the filly loose during the last few furlongs and laughed giddily. Ida snorted and took off after she got the cue from Amy and ran with real heart.

They blew by the 12 furlong marker and Amy began to slow her down. By the time she finally got her trotting again, Amy was smiling brightly and Ignacia was sweating.