Helena mounted Bilbo and trotted out into the warm-up area. It was a Saturday in mid-August and the eventing season was in full flow. The field was packed with horsey women and girls, Range Rovers and horse boxes. It couldn't be doubted that the British middle class was alive and well here today.
She was feeling positive - the dressage had gone well and somehow she'd managed a clear round of the show jumping. If she held it together on the cross country then she had a chance of placing. Only 25 jumps and a 3000m course stood in her way...simple.
Her name was called over the echoing PA system. It was time. She headed to the start line, nerves building as she got closer and even Bilbo was skittish and bouncing all over the place in anticipation. The Starter waved her over and began to count down from five. As he dropped his arm she kicked Bilbo into action and they cantered across the line.
She felt strong today, evidence that all the time in the gym was paying off. It had been four months now since she had been unceremoniously fired and driven into an entirely new life. She was amazed it had only been that long. Selling her body was only meant to be a temporary stop gap to earn enough to pay the rent, but one week had turned into two, then a month, then three. By the fourth month, Helena had settled into a new routine and way of life and she was amazed to say - she loved it.
Each day, Helena was able to get up at a sensible time or whenever she fancied really. She then headed to the gym after the rush hour traffic had died away and spent an hour or so there with her personal trainer (who was currently under strict instructions to 'build me a booty'). After the gym, she'd head to the yard and spend another couple of hours training with Bilbo in the school or out hacking. The afternoon was normally free to spend how she wanted and then only in the evening did she start 'work'. Work was two clients a day on average - not a huge number but enough to sustain her lifestyle as it was. What she did in the future, she had no idea.
As she cantered across the course, Helena wondered if the gym work was showing yet. After all, tight jodhpurs were good for showing off an ass. "If all that work doesn't pay off, there's always a Brazilian Butt Lift," she thought. The boobs were now well healed and hardly even noticeable.
She was now nearing the halfway mark. Her thighs were starting to tire but Bilbo was holding up well. She snuck a glance at her timer. She needed the pace just right - too slow or too fast and the penalties would rack up. She was bang on the pace. Next up was one of the trickiest parts of the course - the water section. Not only did she need to get Bilbo to ride through a large pond, she also needed to persuade him to jump two fences inside the pond.
She jumped the first rolltop fence to enter the water and pushed Bilbo on through, water reaching up to splash her legs in the stirrups. The exit fence loomed large in front of her but to her relief, Bilbo had no trouble in clearing it and she was past the worst of the course. As she charged on to the next part of the course, she saw Sarah had been standing by the water cheering her on. Sarah had never had any involvement in horses before meeting Helena but now had fully embraced the hobby as a spectator, dressed head to toe in the quintessential 'Rural Vogue' look of tall suede boots, short tweed skirt, chunky jumper and hat. Fairfax and Favor were doing good business with her. She was jumping up and down cheering Helena on and Helena pumped her fist in salute as she passed.
Minutes later, Helena crossed the finish line with a final burst of speed. It felt like a good round. She checked her timer as she slowed Bilbo to a walk and sighed with relief - it was perfect. She was right on the target pace. She had a chance of actually winning here. She warmed down Bilbo and headed back to where she had parked to get Bilbo ready to go home. Sarah was already there, waiting and beaming with delight.
"Well done, Helena!" she shouted across the field, as Helena walked the last few metres in. "You smashed it today."
"It went well," said Helena, as she dismounted and tied Bilbo to the horsebox. "I think I might get a place today if I'm lucky."
Sarah strode over to Helena and threw her arms around her. "You did great today. I'm so proud of you."
Sarah pulled Helena in closely and gave her a passionate kiss. SArah moved her arms down Helena's back and clasped her ass cheeks. "And don't think I didn't notice these today." she said, giving them a squeeze. "You've really toned up in the last months. I wasn't the only one checking you out - half the men were ogling you...and the girls."
She laughed and felt herself blushing. They'd been together for four months now but Sarah could still make Helena giggle like a schoolgirl. "Shush you," she replied. "Come on, let's get packed up and head back. It could be hours until the results are announced and there's no point hanging around."
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The drive home was a few hours and they occupied the time catching up on the last week. Whilst a couple, they largely spent the week apart. Helena's clients coming at all hours of the evening made it impossible to sleep in the same house but at least the weekends were their time together. Sarah still worked as a teacher pretending to be 'normal' but had her secondary job as Helena's 'madam', managing her AdultWork page and organising her clients for the week. It was a strange relationship, but it worked.
Sarah sat in the passenger seat, occasionally refreshing the results page for the event to see how Helena had done. The queue of cars behind steadily built as they drove along the country roads home at good speed for the horse in the back.
"Oh, results are up," said Sarah suddenly.
"And?..."
"No way! You won! Congratulations."
Helena was overjoyed. She had placed well in events before but she had never won one before. She had beaten dozens of people in her category including some semi-professional riders. She had made such an improvement recently now that she had time to train properly. I gave her an idea.
By the time they pulled up into the concrete paved yard, it was dark. Helena had run the idea through her mind dozens of times. It could work. She decided to run it past Sarah whilst they settled Bilbo back into his stable for the night.
"Sarah, I...I think I know what I want to do," said Helena, as she turned the hay in the stable.
Sarah leant on the lower half of the stable door and peered in. "To do?" Sarah asked, looking puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"As in, in the future. I need a goal. The last four months have been a whirlwind but it was only a temporary fix, remember. I can't just fuck men forever without a goal and today gave me an idea."
"Go on. I'm intrigued."
"Well, I love riding. It's what makes me happy and after today, I've shown I can actually do quite well if I train properly. I've decided I want to make a career out of it."
Sarah looked sceptical. "I know today went really well but it's a long way off the international level. There's no way you can make enough money from competitions to sustain you and the horses you'd need."
Helena laughed. "Of course not, don't be silly. I make my money from my body. It's simple really - by day I'll be a professional event rider, and by night I earn the money to ride by riding other things. I think I need three decent horses to start with. That's about £15,000 each. Then I'll need to keep them so that's stabling costs, feed, I can do the vet stuff myself. That's about £5,000 a year, each. Then I'll need a lorry for them. That's about £30,000. Then I'll need..."
"Helena, stop. That's already a fortune. You don't earn anything like the amount you need to do that."
"I know. That's what we need to change. I want to make this work and I don't need to buy everything at the same time. Ideally an extra horse and the lorry ready for next season for the moment."
"So that's, what...about £50,000 by January?"
"Yep. Oh and I want to buy a yard..."
"Stop! One thing at a time. I'm thinking." Sarah stared off into the distance whilst Helena brushed down Bilbo. "So you earn about £6,000 a month right now or £70,000 a year...ish. To get enough by January you need to more than double that, I reckon about £15,000 a month once you add in your expenses.
Helena looked crestfallen. It was a huge amount to earn in that space of time.
"Oh and if you want to buy a yard, we're going to need to get an accountant. You'll need to start paying tax," Sarah added.
"TAX? Oh I forgot about that." Helena said, looking defeated.
