Never Over

[Sam]

The hyper colt danced in place. His hooves skimmed the dirt, making small shapes in it. He threw his gray head, pulling hard against the bit in hopes that I wouldn't be able to hold him. I held tight with my leg and firmly with my hands, not pulling but keeping a good connection with the colt's mouth.
He would snort once more before growing slightly still. I rewarded him by released his head and let him trot forwards. He was satisfied with this for the time being.
Lately Keegan has been more and more excited for the tiniest little things. It was like he suddenly had springs on his feet and couldn't stand still. His attention span hadn't improved because of this at all.
Keegan and I trotted around the track for a small while. Every now and then he would bounce a canter stride before his ears pricked up and he stared off into space before returning to the trot. Finally, his muscles were warmed and stretched, elastic and ready. We moved into a canter, his hooves were flying high from excitement and adrenaline that would surely have him completely drained of all his energy as soon as we set foot off the track if he wasn't so fit.
So Keegan didn't win the Derby, but I never expected him to. He put up a good fight and got a decent placing in such a huge and tough field. For a Grade 5 colt, he did amazingly.
We cantered smoothly about, coming to the 11 furlong marker and cantering a circle along the track. As we came back to the track, I let him loose. He soared into a gallop without a second of hesitation.
Down the backstretch we flew. His long legs getting the hyper colt up to speed. I moved with him until we got to the correct speed that I wanted to be at. After that, my hands grew still, neither encouraging him to slow or speed up. The gray stud stayed even in his speed, suddenly serious and concentrated.
The corner came up fast and quick. We soared around it, I struggled to try and keep the colt in perfect balance. Being both inexperienced, we were definitely the underdogs, but we always made it work. We may not be perfect but that didn't damper the colt's speed.
The stretch opened up in front of us. His large strided gallop only got faster and longer. My hands instantly trailed up and down his mane over and over to follow his mouth and encourage him to gallop faster and faster, like he needed the encouragement.
He snorted noisily, trying to bring more oxygen to his demanding lungs to keep his heart racing and his legs flying. His neck was lathered with sweat as his head bobbed and he hooves flew.
The wire soared over our heads at a break neck speed and a smile on my face as the colt continued to power along.