Pieces of Sky

My trip to Vienna was amazing!  One of the highlights for me was definitely my evening at the Spanish Riding School.  When I look back at it now, it as almost as if it didn't even happen, it was such a surreal evening.  With the group of riders I went with, we were able to have a private performance one evening at the school.  We sat in the royal box, and one of the demonstrations was that of a horse on the longe line (which is depicted in my gouache illustration above).  The rider communicates to the horse the different movements by where he's placed the reins on the horses back, as well as using voice commands.  It was quite unbelievable to watch, as they were in perfect harmony, executing difficult high level movements.  The atmosphere wasn't half bad either!