Ride, Dolly, Ride

Not gonna lie, this was supposed to take me like... an hour, tops.

And then I put on Rurouni Kenshin, and it took me two and a half hours. :'D

I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF OKAY
THE MUSIC IS REALLY GOOD AND I KNOW ALL THE LINES THAT I DO AND
AND
AND
HAVE YOU SEEN MY CHILDHOOOOOOOOOD

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This is just supposed to be a little cutesy image of Virginie Richardson (Anna and Niels's mom) and her horse -- by far her favorite on the property, at least -- Dolly. I drew this to kind of relax and chill out after having done those two latest show entries (they both took a ton of muse, haha!).

Also, Dolly's not preggo! She's just an old fat retired broodmare, haha.

A little background on this pair, because it'll come in handy for the story I've got coming soon...

Gigi, if you've read her little bio thingummy on that big portrait dump for all my human characters, is the only non-horsey person on the farm. She loves animals, and likes horses, and she rode when she was in her really early teens in France, but she's a chronic worrier and getting on top of a one-ton animal often seems like asking for trouble, in her opinion. She's got scoliosis, too, to a really minor degree, so that's usually her excuse ("Oh, no, it would mess up my back..." -- bullshit, she's a scaredy-cat).

The only horse she will ride without a helmet and Anna's Tipperary vest is Dolly. The only horse she'll ride without a saddle is Dolly. The only horse she'll ride at a faster pace than a languorous walk is Dolly. The only horse she actively seeks company from is Dolly.

Why? Because she and Dolly are like, two bodies with parts of the same soul.

Dolly's show bred, for a Saddlebred, so it isn't like she's totally dead, but she has the strongest maternal instinct of all the horses on the farm, and she'll take care of the creatures -- human or otherwise -- which she perceives to be in need of that protection. Gigi, a former world-traveling ballerina, is certainly not dull, nor is she particularly "tame," but her fear around large animals is something that Dolly picks up on. Lane, Gigi's husband, often theorizes aloud that Dolly just likes being pampered and doing easy work, but if you asked him his serious opinion, he'd tell you he's sure that horse is looking out for his wife.

So here are Dolly and Gigi, probably not doing anything more than putzing around the property.

And of course, Lane will be the one designated to clean Dolly's bit after this ride, because Gigi "just doesn't know enough about horses to do it."

Bullshit.