can't you tell? [open]

[Cole Green]

i lost everything i own
.. i don't need it, can't you tell?
all i truly need is you.

the rythmical beating of the gelding's hooves against the clay path filled the ears' of his rider. cole green couldn't help but smile as they flew around a bend in the trail, shooting out into the open meadow ahead. the paint horse beneath him leapt into the air, excitment flooding through his veins at the sight of the stretch before him. cole chuckled, his calves securing around his mount's sides, urging him forward; and at that, the small horse displayed a whole new gear. his legs reaching out before him, patch burst foward, galloping at full speed.

cole leaned forward in the saddle, keeping a hold of the bit in the gelding's mouth, but extending his hands forward up his mane to give him what he needed for such forward motion. a large smile had now spread across the boy's face, and he couldn't help it. this was the peak of happiness in his life. nothing came closer to complete freedom than this. this was what he lived for. the wind had caught cole's hair, along with the somewhat loose fitting material of his grey t-shirt. he wore navy skinny jeans, his calves covered in the leather material of his half chaps.

that's it, boy, cole praised, having just slowed the gelding enough to make a large half-circle at the other end of the meadow. patch raised his head a bit, fidgeting with the bit, straining to be let go once again. cole, having sat back up in the saddle, once more tipped himself forward, his hands following suit. that's it, he laughed, smiling once more as the gelding took off, parallel to the tree line.

[. delany sanders .]

<sup>Hooves thrummed down the trail. THey sounded like big hooves. And they were. The Clydesdale/Thoroughbred breezed along. The girl sat easily astride her, without a saddle, only a halter covering the mare's face. She swayed gently with the mare's canter, which was a little odd and not the smoothest ride, but the girl made it look like the most rocking horse canter a person could imagine, just by the way she rode. One hand held the leadrope she had tied around as her halter, the other rested easily on her knee. Wavy locks blew free, and she reached up to push them out of her face every so often.

They reached the clearing just as the boy and hte paint took off again. Fudge snorted, her pace picking up, doing a funky little roll thing that upset her rider's balance. Easy, sweet thing the girl called with a slight laugh as she righted herself. THe mare snorted, still moving along at a canter, but now her head was up and her ears were pricked straining to take off after the other pair. WIth another slight laugh, the girl pushed her hand further forward on the huge horse's neck, and the mare jumped into another gear, although still not just completely gone. Delany was much too cautious for that. She didn't want to come pounding out of no where pell mell and cause some sort of wreck. She'd seen it happen at brandings back home, and it never ended well, although usually no one was hurt. Still, she certainly didn't want that responsibility weighing down on her shoulders. So they just mosied along at a slightly slower pace, although the mare was still stretched out into a long canter, which, for a horse of her size, was a pretty good clip.</sup>