“And now for number 16, Mademoiselle Cyrielle…”

  The announcer stopped for a moment, and then started talking again.

  “Mademoiselle Cyrielle and Viroy !”

  The crowd stood up and appuded, surprised to hear the familiar name in this unfamiliar setting. Everybody knew Mademoiselle Cyrielle’s songs or design and modeling talent, but those that weren’t active on social media were not aware of her participation in this local show jumping competition. The cpping intensified when a chestnut gelding entered the arena with a high energy trot, with an elegant woman on his back. Her long brown hair was tied in a neat french braid, resting in her back on a sumptuous purple vest, her white riding pants tucked in high bck boots. Viroy was wearing equipment she had made herself, the padded saddle bnket was the same color as her vest, and embroidered in golden letters with ‘Mademoiselle Cyrielle’ and the name of the stable. His boots and bells were also assorted to the outfit, and his saddle and bridle had been greased for the occasion. Even his coat had been cleaned with great care and his mane had been braided the same as Cyrielle, offering a splendid view even to those who knew nothing about horses.

  Vincent was capturing all of it in the live broadcast, which was already drowning in comments.

  -omg she’s so beautiful!!!!!

  -boss bitch vibes

  -she always delivers look-wise

  -it's not Ariane, her favorite horse, right ? I remember she has a bck mane

  -Nope, it’s Viroy ! You know, the horse Coline rides ?

  -will she be okay with an unfamiliar horse?

  -They must have practiced, it will be fine

  Cyrielle walked along the fence for a while, to salute the jury and give the opportunity to Viroy to get used to the pce. They had already been warming up for an hour prior, and they had the opportunity to try the obstacle course before the competition started, but the chestnut gelding seemed way too excited. It was to the point that Cyrielle was getting nervous, she felt that something would happen. This feeling proved right when the timer started and they galloped towards the first obstacle.

  [Stay focused ! An opportunity was sensed, you earn the ‘Stunt’ ability.]

  ‘You must be joking…’

  As she had been feeling, Viroy jumped too early above the first obstacle, unleashing a lot of power in his hind legs to cover the distance, and this unexpected move made Cyrielle lose her stirrups in the air and fall backwards.

  Julie, observing the scene while biting her nails, suddenly stopped breathing. Her worst fear was unfolding in front of her eyes. Time seemed to slow down as she saw the horse flying above the obstacle, Cyrielle in the air falling backwards and getting dangerously close to the wooden bars. At the moment when everyone thought she would snap her back on the construction, suddenly something unexpected happened. Her hand managed to grab the saddle and she pulled on her arm to get back on Viroy. However, the shock of the nding made her slip to the side. She now had a leg on the saddle, the second one dangling with her foot close to the ground, holding on to the saddle with both her hands.

  Now even the crowd was holding their breath, looking with wide eyes. Even if Cyrielle avoided the accident, it was the end of the round, she couldn’t possibly finish the course while holding on like this. The wise thing would be to stop the horse before something regrettable happens. However, Cyrielle’s face remained calm and composed. To everyone’s surprise, instead of slowing down, she directed Viroy towards the next obstacle and pulled on her arms to bring her shoulders over the saddle, trying to bance her weight. The gelding, happy to continue running, accelerated even more and jumped even higher above the next obstacle. Using the momentum, Cyrielle violently pulled on her arms at the same time, and when Viroy found himself in the air, Cyrielle was propelled above him, flying over both the horse and the course.

  ‘Am I dreaming ? What is happening ?’

  Less than five seconds had passed since the moment she thought Cyrielle would fall, and she still couldn’t breath. It felt like she was watching an action movie, this scene was so unrealistic that she had to pinch her thigh but she was wide awake. And it didn’t end here. To avoid falling with all her weight on Viroy’s back and hurting him, Cyrielle first put a knee on the saddle to absorb the shock and give her some time to put the stirrups back on. It gave life to the most incredible scene ever, an elegant woman, one knee on the saddle, holding the front of the saddle in one hand and the reins in the other, nding after a jump and guiding her horse to the next obstacle. She quickly removed her leg from under her and put the stirrups back on, coming back to her initial position.

  ‘I don’t know how much time we lost with that, but my goal is to earn a rosette today, so Viroy I’ll need to trust you.’

  She allowed the chestnut gelding to accelerate, giving him some sck by holding the reins higher, only using them to direct him. Sensing the freedom she was giving him, the horse perked up his ears in delight and went even faster, reaching an oxer with breakneck speed that was probably unheard of in a show jumping competition. With Cyrielle’s expert guidance, he managed to jump at the right time and never made a wooden bar fall. When finally they reached the end and Cyrielle let go of the reins, allowing the horse to decompress, only then did the crowd stand in ovation, cheering and cpping loudly. The announcer also started to shout.

  “What was that ? In my twenty year long career I never saw something quite like this ! Ladies and gentlemen, please make a big round of appuse for Mademoiselle Cyrielle and Viroy who gave us one Hell of a show ! No need to see the scores, it’s a perfect run ! For now, they pce first, and would only be dethroned if someone beats their time, but tell me, who would be able to beat a 44 second run for a 1 minute and 20 seconds course !”

  The audience went crazy, cheering even louder, and the electricity in the air prompted Viroy to gallop again, circling the arena with his ears perked up. Eventually, Cyrielle managed to calm him down and direct him out of the arena, but unbeknownst to her, the live broadcast was blowing up.

  -omgomgomgomg

  -I was so scared at the start but holy shit !!!!

  -Did anyone clip this ??????

  -It’s already in Angel’s Horseboys, if you want to rewatch it

  -No, you must spread it everywhere ! I thought I was watching a circus performance, it was that good !

  -it looked like an action movie

  -Was it staged ? I honestly can’t tell !

  -Horse girl here, it happened because the horse was too excited and jumped too early and too big. It happens sometimes and you fall, but even I can’t do what she did and get back on the saddle !

  -Angel growing literal wings mdr she flew over that obstacle

  -fr fr please do and edit of her flying xptdr

  It didn’t take a few minutes for the video and various edits to be posted on all social media. Before Cyrielle could even get down from Viroy, everybody on the internet was talking about the miraculous incident.

  When she finally had her feet on the ground and was guiding Viroy to the waiting area, Julie came running to her.

  “What was that ? Don’t say something vague, I searched on the Internet and horse riders aren’t supposed to be able to do that !”

  Cyrielle took a deep breath.

  ‘Thanks for the ability, I thought I would die.’

  [It’s not me, it’s the opportunity.]

  Despite the system’s words, Cyrielle could feel its embarrassment. She shrugged with a smile.

  ‘Sure, if you say so.’

  She then turned to Julie. She had inwardly swore that she would tell Julie when she got new abilities, because it was pulling on her heart to get so surprised everytime, so she decided to be honest.

  “I know how to do stunts.”

  Her friend opened her eyes wide.

  “Stunts ? Like… In action movies ? And also on a horse ? What the hell did you go through to know how to do that ? Doesn’t it take several years to learn how to perform stunts ? And you also have your other skills ! It doesn’t make sense !”

  Julie took a deep breath. Be it possible or not, Cyrielle was standing in front of her and was very real, so she couldn’t do anything but accept it.

  “Okay… Stunts… I see…”

  She tried to calm down and brushed her bck hair back.

  “When is the st contestant competing ?”

  “I think the st one is in thirty minutes.”

  Julie nodded.

  “Is the ceremony taking pce immediately after that ?”

  “Yes, that’s what was announced.”

  “Perfect. When you get your medal or whatever it is, I’ll need to make a few phone calls.”

  She had a determined look, but it essentially meant that she would get very busy again.