1. Lola

Lola rounded the corner and looked up. He had already noticed her, and lifted his head and pricked up his ears. She was determined not to get too excited, but he was standing before her, pushing his nose towards her with expectation. She went in the paddock and haltered him as he stood quietly. She gave the leadrope to the owner and held the gate open and followed them to the arena.
"What's his name again?'
"Well, said the owner,"The name on his papers is Virtuoso, but I've been calling him Vic."
Vic was given slack in the leadrope and he settled into a steady trot around his owner and Lola. She liked this horse. He was a little rough around the edges, but he'd been well taken care of and seemed to have a lot of potential. His ears never seemed to stop moving. She stopped him and walked towards his outstretched muzzle. She liked him. She wanted to try a ride, but so far he had passed all the tests. She was trying to be careful, but somewhere deep in her gut she could feel that he was the horse she'd been looking for.
She saddled and bridled him, and gingerly boarded. He shuffled a bit, but slowly. It reminded her of how the ocean swells would carry her easily during the summer months. He already felt familiar, and they hadn't even gone anywhere yet. Still, she pressed her heels against his sides and he swung into an energetic walk. She liked the way he bobbed his head up and down, with a little side to side swing. She looked forward through his ears as they flitted forward and backward in their sockets.
She gathered up the reins and pushed him into a trot. She could feel the gait under her exactly as she had seen it from the ground. He didn't seem to be working very hard at all, but his body seemed to hover for a moment in the air before falling back to the sand. He swished his tail and shook his head as she pushed him into a gentle lope. He rocked back and forth and she couldn't ignore the butterflies growing in her stomach.
She had made her decision. She knew her decision had been made the second she'd rounded the corner of the barn, but now she had gone through the obligatory motions of being a responsible buyer. Now all that was left was paperwork.