Realistic or Modern Winding Oaks' Equestrian College

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Alec Rosewood
Alec had to admit he missed all the bantering between Paisley and Griffin. Sometimes being stuck at school all summer could be very boring. Sure there were students who would stay but it wasn't as fun when his best friend (*cough cough* Paisley) wasn't there. When Jadah said she was also a barrel racer Alec was happy in a weird way. It meant that the school was getting more popular with the western disciplines. When Winding Oaks' first opened it was primarily an eventing school that slowly started spreading out to different areas.

Alec's eyes wondered the table to look at the faces of those who joined them. He was surprised Leo came considered he was an instructor but he was sure he was there just to catch up while they could. There were two people speaking what seemed to be Chinese so he ignored their conversation. It was at this moment that he felt Paisley ruffle his hair. He swatted his hand at her and mumbled a stop it at her.
"Of course I died it again. Being black haired is so boring. Plus I like this look better." Alec looked down at her plate and realized she hadn't even touched it yet. "You need to eat Paise."

The doors had opened then and there was a boy who came in surrounded by a bunch of girls. Alec knew who he was the moment he saw his face. The boys sister was pretty popular here and Alec remembered his mother being extremely happy that such a family was attending the school so of course he looked up the brother. He was a good rider but Alec wasn't worried.
wendy social

Ying Hua Wong
Ying Hua was not expecting the man to respond to her in Chinese. The was a look of surprise on her face but it wasn't in a bad way. "Don't be sorry. That is more than many know. I am happy he was able to help you." There was a soft smiled on her lips. "I will be sure to ask. I haven't had time to see the polo grounds yet. Though that looks like an adventure for tomorrow." Ying Hua became quiet again when an older gentleman by the name of Leo came and sat down with them. He didn't seem to be a student but most people at the table seemed to know who he was. A professor maybe? She quietly started to eat again and listened to Sean ask him if they could change up the food. It was odd to her because in her home country no one would dare ask something like that. You just had to deal with what you had. It was definitely a culture shock.
Quiddles

Leo Fairchild
"I am doing well. I hop your summer in France did you good." Leo watched her interactions with Alec and had to refrain from rolling his eyes. Those two were absolutely ridiculous. He didn't understand why they weren't dating yet. Leo's attention shifted to Sean who was now talking to him. "Well good evening to you too Sean. I can bring it up to the Headmistress but I can't promise anything." Leo thought it was a good idea but a lot of the time the headmistress didn't like budging on these things. Leo watched as Brynn left the table. His eyebrow raised at her for her food looked like it hadn't been touched.

He looked up at what Sean was talking about and saw what looked to be a freshman with a bunch of girls. "Am I supposed to know who he is?" Since he switched disciplines, Leo hasn't been keeping up with all the names unless they pertained to his discipline.
Wildflower101 Quiddles​

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Time Skip; Next Day?

The next day of was the first day of classes. It wasn't like a normal college where students would start at different times during the day. No, everyone started off the day with a group lesson, and through out the week each rider would get a minimum of three private lessons a week. On weekends the horses would get a break. After the group lessons students went about a normal college schedule, where they picked their classes and times.

It was currently 6:30am, and even though the group lessons staggered (meaning they started about 20 minutes after each other) there were a lot of people in the barn. Alec hated that his mother didn't separate the lessons more but he understood her reasoning. Depending on the time of the year, it could get too hot to ride in the after noon and they didn't have enough indoor arenas to accommodate that. Yet. This year they were trying something new. The Headmistress wanted the teams to bond together more. She wanted to show a united front when the major competition came around. If Alec remember correctly his mother said they would be doing a lot of games to stimulate both the horses minds as well as the riders. He was honestly kind of excited about it.

Alec was currently grooming Echo inside her stall. Her ears pined back each time a horse walked by her. He loved his mare to death but geeeze, she was such a pain. Since there were so many horses moving about at this time he decided to just tack her up in her stall. Patting her neck Alec quickly bridled her before opening her stall door, grabbing his helmet and heading to the grass jump arena where the eventers were to meet up. (meet up time is at 7am)

wendy Wildflower101 Quiddles starfxll social



Leo really hated being a professor sometimes. This was one of those times. Due to being a professor he had to be up earlier and get to his station before lessons even began. That was why he was currently sitting in Bubba's stall yawning while the stallion munched on some hay. His horse was out all night so he brought him in before things got really exciting. Those that had attended the school the previous year knew that to find Leo before lessons to just look in Bubba's stall. If he wasn't there, well good luck finding him. The western riders didn't start lessons till close to 8 but with it being the first day he got to the barn at 7 to bring Bubba in and was currently 'resting' his eyes in the stall. He trusted the stallion completely to not do anything to him, after all, Leo rescued him and they bonded a lot through the make over. If the Headmistress ever found out he was doing this....well she wouldn't be happy. .It wasn't particularly safe and she wouldn't wan the other students thinking they could do the same.​

 

[wendy]

Paisley Halt
Paisley was many things but an early riser was not one of them. Back at home in France she’d be able to roll out of bed at anytime she’d please and take her time to enjoy spending time with Max on a long hack before having a run of her cross country course, but at winding oaks everything scheduled down to a t. The young French women had found it extremely difficult to get out of bed this morning but yet she’d managed to jog down to the paddock, catch Max and get him back to his stall without yet being late. “Good morning, sleep well.” Paisley spoke to her large in French as they walked into their barn.

Paisley tied Max up to his stall before collecting her grooming kit and beginning the long process of getting the mid out of his fur “Why do you have a obsession with rolling around every new field?” Paisley asked her horse in French brushing the mud from his fur. After a good brushing and cleaning his hooves Paisley tacked up her gelding and also begun preparing herself for the lesson. She tied her long brown locks into a low ponytail, she switched out from her yard boots into her tall and elegant riding boots that she kept religiously clean. “Ready for a good ride?” Paisley asks Max placing a kiss on his nose. Max gently pushed her off “God, you’re such a boy.” Paisley says gently laughing at her horse.

Paisley finally put on her helmet and riding gloves as the horse and rider headed over to the grass jumping field where she spotted Alec and Echo. “Well aren’t you a star student! First here and ready to learn.” Paisley teased her friend (crush). Paisley walked over to Alec and Echo greeting the gorgeous mare. “Hello darling, Did you miss me?” Paisley spoke in French to Echo gently stroking the horses neck. Alec looked good, he looked really really good to Paisley and sometimes she just couldn’t hide those emotions “Well, don’t you look handsome today.” She teased him while they waited for the other students.

mentions: Alec Rosewood ( Ch3rryBlossom28 ) ​

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

There was something masochistic about riding, and the never ending demand that anyone with a horse needed to be awake before sunrise, and there was not enough coffee in the world to make it okay, though Devin was doing his best. He had a giant travel mug of cold brew coffee, Trick's lead draped over his shoulder, and wore a sleeveless hoodie over a long-sleeved t-shirt and breeches and beat up Wellie boots.

"Trick!" he hollered, and waited until his pony scampered over, bright eyed and mud-covered, to nibble at his mug. "You're the bane of my life," Devin told him, grabbing him by the halter to keep him still enough to snap the lead on.

With no dedicated stall, Devin found an empty spot in the cross-ties to de-mud and groom Trick and finish his coffee, and then swap his Wellies for his tall boots (he had nice pairs for shows, but he nearly always wore a beat pair of field boots for training), before tacking up and making his way to the jump arena, Trick prancing along beside him, playing with his loose ring snaffle. Paisley and Alec were already there, flirting, so he just gave them a little wave and swung up on Trick's back. The pony did a little crow-hop, of excitement, and then jigged around the field a minute.

"Paisley, if I make a petition to make classes start at ten instead of seven, will you sign it?" Devin asked.

 

[Quiddles]

Kerry​

Kerry was a morning person. This, she quickly learned from the grouchy comments of others, was weird. That bothered her a lot less than it would some, as she had come to the conclusion that she was, indeed, weird several years earlier. She did stop singing at the top of her voice, though, after the third pillow hit her.

She was in a much better mood than the evening before. Something about pre-dawn birdsong filtering through her open window always lifted her spirits. Once dressed and outside she started singing again, dancing along with the rhythm until she was at the paddock.

The sight of the horses gave her pause. Her horse and Devin's pony, to be exact. Apparently they'd both somehow managed to locate a swamp, had gone wallowing in it together, and were now blinking at her with identical innocent expressions. "That's going to make Devin's morning, is it," she remarked wryly, letting Puzzle stuff his nose into a headcollar while Trick investigated her hair for possible horse treats.

Even cleaning Puzzle up didn't take long enough to fill in the time before lessons. By the time most of the other students were emerging from the dorms, she was already out hacking. It meant she approached the jumping paddock from the opposite side to the barns. She recognised faces straight away though, and put her reins into one hand so she could wave vigorously with the other. "Haia! This is the right place for the eventing lesson, is it now?"

Dr. Ichikawa​

((OOC: Hope this next part is okay- I thought it would give Chiyo a reason to interact with students from every discipline. If not, just put a line through it))

Chiyo rubbed at her eyes one-handed as she headed for the early-morning lesson assembly point. It had been a late night for her the day before, responding to panicked past-the-last-moment student queries about unobtainable required texts for the upcoming year. There were extra lectures to plan as well. She had the regular Equine Biomechanics series for students of the various equine medicine and therapy courses, of course, and had readied detailed lecture notes for most of the year already. She was also, though, to give lectures for students' practical specialties: Biomechanics for Dressage, Biomechanics for Jumping and so on. She knew she was going to have to spend a lot of time observing the disciplines she was less familiar with, mainly the Western ones, to make sure her content was relevant. Fortunately those lectures were not until the following semester.

Chiyo did not have a horse to prepare for this morning's group lessons. Her horse was too green to be wanted for demonstrations this time, and she would be of more use on the ground, able to move equipment or hold horses if needed. It meant she had to walk the whole way on her own two feet.

There were a few horses and riders in sight when she reached the grass jump arena, but none headed her way. She'd made it ahead of any of the eventers- hardly surprising, given her early start. She left the gate open, using the loop that would stop it from closing unexpectedly, and found a spot over by the railings, next to a collection of stacked jump stands and poles, where she would be out of the way as others arrived.

Chiyo had seemingly made herself too unobtrusive. The first students to arrive did not seem to have noticed her, at least to begin with. Alec Rosewood arrived first, a student she recognised despite she herself being a new instructor. Before she could make herself known others started to arrive: a young woman on a buckskin apparently named Paisley and a young man on a grey pony. She pulled out a tablet and tapped at it until the eventing class list was on screen. There wouldn't normally be a roll-call or registration- it was a college not a school for children- but with the new format it seemed sensible to make sure everyone had found their way to the right place. If anyone ended up here by accident, she would be able to direct them to the correct location.

Giving a soft, polite cough first so as not to startle the horses, she began to make her way back towards the gate, just as another rider showed up: waving, calling, and generally continuing to keep others' attention away from the instructor.

( Those in the jumping arena for eventing: Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy wickedlittlecritta )

Sean​

((OOC: I assumed polo riders would have their own team meet-up, scratch this if I thought wrong))

Sean had set his alarm FAR to early for anybody civilised to be about, he grumbled to himself. Still, as a senior he should set himself to be a good example. He chose his navy gilet with the large inner pocket so he'd have somewhere to keep his notes, throwing it on over a club polo top and cream breeches. He squinted critically at his brown polo boots, decided they were good enough and he really couldn't bear the thought of boot polish at five-thirty in the morning, and went to wake himself up with brown-sludge-from-a-vending-machine that pretended to be coffee. Two horses to do, notes to read over and baby polo players to shepherd, he could do this.

Dora was a sweetheart as ever, and was brushed out and tacked up in no time. Sammy, however, was being her diva self. She'd hated the upheaval of being shipped to Winding Oaks, she despised the change in routine, and she proceeded to tell Sean so in excruciating detail by way of fly-kicks, nips and barges. "You," Sean told her, "can stay in your box and eat your head off and let Dora do all the work today. Stop grumbling."

Limping a bit, as Sammy had caught his leg a glancing blow with a hoof, he led Dora out of her box and towards the exit. He checked the time then pulled out his notes to read through as they ambled companionably along. He'd been chatting to the grooms, getting some language notes from them. Simple but useful words like 'left' and 'right', in both Chinese and Spanish- he'd heard there were a couple of students from Argentina. He had no idea why they thought to leave there to train here, Argentina had the best polo training in the world. He'd done a year of Spanish at school. He hoped some of it would come back to him.

Then again, maybe it was just baseless rumour. He'd also heard a rumour about some sort of mentoring effort, pairing senior students with freshmen. He'd not been able to determine whether it had any basis in fact. No doubt he'd find out soon enough.

He looked up from the page long enough to spot students still brushing their ponies down, saddles and bridles yet to be fetched from their storage. Not everyone had a groom; many did not, and still others simply preferred to do things for themselves when they had the chance. "They all look pretty enough," he assured them "You need to be getting tacked up. If anyone doesn't know the way," he added, for the benefit of any freshmen in earshot, "I can show you. I'll wait just outside. If you're not out there in five minutes we're going without you." He'd leave it eight minutes, he thought as he emerged into early-morning daylight and headed towards the mounting block. That would still give plenty of time to reach the training ground.

( Polo riders: Ch3rryBlossom28 )

 

[social]

Finlay Addair

Unlike many of the students at Winding Oaks, Finlay was relatively unaffected by the early hours required for lessons. Since she grew up on a farm, she was always up way before any normal person and was getting stuff accomplished before most were even waking up. After rolling out of bed, the Scottish student took a quick shower and began to get ready for the day. Her red hair was quite damp by the time she slipped on her boots and left her shared apartment and began to walk in the direction of the stables. It was relatively quiet due to how early it was, but because she owned a rather hot horse, she had to work out his nerves before any lesson.

She found herself awkwardly going into the stables, somewhat greeting whatever students were awake and just hurried over to Batal’s stall. The gelding was already waiting for Finlay, his gaze fixed on her as she approached him. A wave of relief washed over the sophomore as she affectionately rubbed his face, smiling softly. “Good morning to you too.” It was rare for him to be calm in the morning, especially after days of traveling. But he seemed like he was doing alright, having already finished his breakfast a while ago.

The student ended up giving Batal a treat before heading off to grab his grooming kit and returned to his stall. Instead of getting him ready at the cross ties like most students, she liked to groom him inside his stall so he wasn’t bothered by any of the other horses. She worked on his coat to make him practically shine and help him stand out a bit more. Since she was one of the poorer students that were heavily dependent on performing well, she put a lot of effort into every aspect of her life and routine. Once she was satisfied with how clean he was, she took him out of his stall and out to the cross ties in order to tack him up and pick his feet.

The entire process was quite therapeutic for the girl, especially once he was completely tacked up and ready to go. Putting on her helmet, Finlay checked her clock and saw that she had enough time to go out on a nice hack before the lesson started so she led the big gelding over to a mounting block and hopped on him. It was relaxing to just go out alone and enjoy the trails the school had. Of course, she couldn’t be super laid back as she still had a lesson that morning but it was definitely a leisurely hack.

By the time she returned to the campus, she spotted various students in the arena and what she assumed to be a teacher as the person was on foot rather than a horse. Letting herself into the arena, she rubbed Batal’s neck in a soothing way as his ears pinned back for a bit, not exactly pleased with the particular horses that were there for the lesson. While he was a well-mannered horse, he definitely got an attitude with the other horses that were aggressive or generally misbehaved. “You’re fine.” The comment was under her breath as she relaxed a bit, not really seeing anyone she particularly was close to or interacted with on a daily basis. Oh well.

outfit: xo | mentions: Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy wickedlittlecritta Quiddles @ every other eventer

 

[social]

Mila Jansen

Getting ready for morning lessons wasn’t her favorite thing to do in the world, but she did it without complaint. Especially since her own schedule was a bit different from the rest of the students at the college. Due to Mila’s skill in dressage and reputation in the dressage ring as well, she had been asked to serve as a teacher’s assistant for the eventing team. This had been quite shocking for the young woman but she accepted it with a gentle smile. She wasn’t exactly used to teaching people as she didn’t enjoy pointing out flaws or mistakes, but it was something that had to be done by someone.

Pulling back her dark hair into a tight low ponytail, the woman exited her apartment and began to walk towards the stables. She wasn’t in a rush to get there as she had plenty of time but she certainly didn’t dilly dally or anything. Upon arriving at the stables, Mila went over to where Aristotle was, the stallion having been brought up from the paddock earlier in the morning by the girl’s boyfriend before he went to warm up for polo. “You didn’t roll? That’s very surprising.” A gentle smile was on her features as she entered the stall to look over the grey’s body, making sure he didn’t stain himself out in the field.

Once she was satisfied with how he looked, she grabbed his halter and lead rope, easily getting it on before heading over to the cross ties. Unlike many of the horses, Aristotle was quite mellow in the morning, lifting his head occasionally to look at some of the younger horses causing a ruckus as they were getting ready for lessons. His calm demeanor was definitely appreciated by Mila and she always made sure to reward him for it. Once he was hooked onto the ties, she went back to grab everything she needed and started to get him ready for the lesson. Since he was so clean, it didn’t take too long for her to finish grooming, slipping the animal a treat before she proceeded to tack him up.

She tidied up the cross tie area and returned her grooming kit before changing into her riding boots and grabbing her helmet on the way out. By the time she finished putting on his bridle and checked his girth one last time, she noticed how late it had gotten and sighed slightly. “Better leave now so we aren’t late.” Surprisingly enough, she wasn’t one to always use a mounting block, so she didn’t even move from her spot before she got on Aristotle and directed him in the direction of the jumping arena. As she approached the team of eventers, she noticed how oddly different they all were, especially the horses.

She was used to a uniform looking group in her dressage team so it was a bit of a shock. She didn’t mind though and still entered the arena, slightly greeting everyone that was there. Mila was aware that her brother had yet to show up, but she only hoped that he wouldn’t wait until the last second like he usually did.

outfit: xo | mentions: Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy wickedlittlecritta Quiddles @ every other eventer

 

[social]

Ezra Jansen

A yawn escaped the freshman as he finished tacking up his mare, not really caring about what time it was. He knew he wouldn't be late to his lesson so he really didn't bother to check and make sure. Once he finished checking her girth, he began to walk her in the direction of the arena, lazily putting on his helmet as he walked. It made more sense to actually ride the horse to the location, but he had plenty of time and just didn't have the energy to get on her yet. Clicking the buckle of his helmet, he yawned again, the grassy arena finally coming into view.

"Ahhh this is already a drag." Rubbing the back of his neck, he stopped Fleur and moved to mount her, having also perfected getting on without assistance. A heavy sigh escaped him as he fixed his stirrups and looked at the accumulating students. The day before had been nothing short of a headache, between getting followed by a large group of girls and meeting the headmistress, it was just annoying. He understood that Mila had been carrying the reputation of their family at the school so they were excited to have another one of the Jansen's there, but still. It was such a drag. Putting on his gloves as he entered the arena, seeing that his older sister was already present. "Oh? We're having you today? That's shocking." His voice was laced with sarcasm as he approached his sister, smiling slightly at her unphased expression.

They were quite different, despite sharing the same father and that annoyed him. He wasn't really able to handle people like Mila and so it was bothersome when girls like her approached him. Still, he didn't know anyone that was on his team. The faces of the students were unknown to him as he didn't pay attention the previous day when he got introduced to some via his group of girls. Not that he really cared, it's not like they were his competition, at least not in his mind. His lazy gaze settled on the various jumps, feeling the muscles tensing under him as Fleur also was staring them down. Well, hopefully, it was a fun lesson.

outfit: xo | mentions: Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy wickedlittlecritta Quiddles @ every other eventer

 

[Quiddles]

((OOC: Feel free to have your posts start before this one))

Dr. Ichikawa​

Chiyo collected her thoughts and braced herself. Despite her chosen career she was not one to enjoy being the center of attention, and she always experienced nerves before teaching a class or starting a dressage test. She consciously relaxed her fingers on her tablet, then gathered the attention of the riders. Taking a roll-call allowed her to put names to all the faces. Not that she needed to do that for Mila Jansen- Chiyo had met the younger woman briefly at an International, the last event Chiyo had ridden before retiring her older horse.

"Before we start, does anyone have a horse that will not ride safely past or beside others?" There were a number of activities that would not be possible if it meant kicking or biting were likely. She had alternatives, of course, but it meant less variety.

She sent them all off in open order to get warmed up; the large jump arena gave them plenty of space. She asked them to focus on getting their horses moving forward freely and willingly, working on both reins with soft contact. Then she stood back and watched. Even the warm-up would tell her a lot about the students.

Once the horses were warmed up Chiyo set the students to ride spirals as a basic leg-yielding exercise, not making any attempt at collection but nevertheless getting the horses into the right mindset while she moved some of the upright jump stands into a line, spaced three horse lengths apart, with the jump cups removed.

"Mila, could you come forward here, please? Everyone else, bring your horses to a halt over there, where you can watch. Are your horses all starting to move off your leg when you ask?" Careful to respond to any comments first, and offer advice if needed, she turned back to Mila. "I'd like you to weave down the length of the jump stands using lateral movement, please. This is not a serpentine exercise. First as you are now, then drop your reins- secure them if they will get in the way- and do the same exercise without touching them. Walk or trot, whichever you prefer, working pace. Thank you, Mila."

As Mila moved off, she continued her explanation.

"If you do this exercise correctly, it will help bring your horse's hind legs further underneath them and improve their propulsion, without encouraging them to explode- it can be easier to see when you are watching instead of riding. Several of you have horses that can be hot. It is particularly important for you that you allow your horses to move freely. Trust the lateral movement to keep them steady. Those with lazy horses, give yourself enough distance before the jump stand to get them moving with energy. You must keep your body straight, supple and centered in the saddle, maintain the same tempo throughout, and finish the exercise by riding forward in a straight line."

She watched Mila, then set the rest of the students on to performing the same exercise, giving praise where it was due and advice where it was needed. She smiled to herself- the real fun would come when they started using the other horses as the obstacles to weave through. That was when it became a team exercise, trusting the other riders to keep their pace and their spacing consistent. They would be able to manage that with everyone at trot, she thought. Perhaps they would be up to the challenge of trying it at canter.

Ch3rryBlossom28 social wickedlittlecritta wendy Wildflower101

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Alec Rosewood
Alec smiled as Paisley showed up. Echo's ear perked up at the sound of the woman's voice. She let out a whinny when Paisley asked how she was doing. "You don't look too bad yourself paise." As more people gathered Alec could feel Echo tense up. Her ears pinned back whenever a horse got near her. Alec patted her neck and moved her a little but more away from the other horses. What he wasn't epected was a horse to come up from behind him. Echo swished her tail around in annoyance at the new comer. "Yes this it the meeting spot. You must have been up pretty early to be coming from that direction.'"

When Mila showed up Alec inwardly groaned. Yes he knew of the woman. His mother never shut up about her and it pissed him off. The Rosewoods were and eventing family. Why she wanted him to be more like Mila was beyond him. "Why the heck is the dressage queen here?" He didn't bother to lower his voice for he honestly didn't care. This was an eventer meeting not dressage. It made more sense to him when he finally realized who their instructor for the day was. Chiyo tended to be more on the dressage side. Ugh he hated dressage days. Honestly if it were up to him he'd just stay in the jumper circle but he had to make his mom proud.

Even with that being said Alec followed what he was told to do. Echo didn't particularity like this part of training and only did it because he asked for it. She would occasionally throw her head up to be a turd. Honestly Alec believed if it was Paisley on her back she'd do it much nicer. When they did the serpentine work Alec could feel that Echo just wanted to go. Holding the mare back was one of the reasons he had such good arm muscles.

By the end of the exercise he swore Echo wore herself out more by being excited than working out. " I swear Echo, if you just listen it wouldn't be so bad."
wendy social wickedlittlecritta

Ying Hua Wong
Ying Hua was up bright and early, still not used tot eh time change. Her horses had gotten there before her so they already had time to adjust and were very vocal in their complaint when she got there super early in the morning. Olaf was a muddy mess while Egor was fairly clean. That was typical of the duo. Since she was planning on riding Egor for today's meeting she took the morning to bathe Olaf before putting him in his stall. While bathing she let Egor graze beside them. The down side to them being around each other all the time was that they tended to be very vocal when not within eye shot of each other. She knew that it was something she should work on but she just didn't have time to. Luckily Egor wasn't as bad as Olaf which is why she was taking him.

She groomed and tacked up Egor in front of Olaf's stall. She had spent so much time cleaning the gray that she had lost track of time and was now running late. She heard Sean saying that he was leaving in five minutes. Ying Hua muttered a curse word in her mother tongue before throwing a flake of alfalfa to Olaf and bridling Egor. "Now be good Olaf! Try not to scream too much for your other half while we are gone." The gelding lifted his head up with his mouth full of hay. As she lead Egor away, Olaf dropped the hay in his mouth and whinnied with his whole body. Ying Hua was embarrassed by this. Next to her Egor started prancing. With a light yank on the reins, Egor stopped but energy still radiated off of him.

When she got to the mounting block, Ying Hua zipped up her boots the rest of the way and put on her helmet. She had troubled getting Egor to stand still but that was normal. Like normal, she managed to hope on him as he started to walk off. She moved him up toward Sean and his horse. Olaf could be heard whining in the distance. "I'm sorry for being late. Still not used to time change."
Quiddles​

 

[social]

Mila Jansen

A sigh had escaped Mila as she heard the loud comment about her being there. "I'm just here to show you how it's done." She remarked though she smiled at the younger student, mostly out of annoyance before she looked at her younger brother. "Ezra, you took way too long to get here." She raised an eyebrow slightly at her brother as he stood next to her, practically overflowing with sarcasm and laziness which would most likely annoy various students in the lesson. However, she didn't want to really pay attention to that as she was invited to be the instructor's assistant in the lesson, used to mainly demonstrate everything for the students so they knew what they were aiming for. Rubbing the neck of Aristotle, she made sure to listen to the instructor, moving forward once she was told to.

The exercise was easy and something that she had been doing for a while at the school, mostly because she lived and breathed dressage, but that was beside the point. Mila moved off and began the drill, the movements being quite relaxed and comfortable for both of them. Aristotle was used to doing this sort of workout so he didn't even look like he had to try and think about where he was positioning himself. The stallion's trot was smooth and he maintained his focus even when the reins were totally untouched by his rider. After they had finished demonstrating, Mila beamed at her horse, lovingly rubbing his neck as she praised him in her native language.

He was one of the calmest horses in the group, not even interested in the ones who were throwing fits and getting annoyed by the exercise. But Mila couldn't exactly hold that against them, but she did question a few riders and how they handled the horses in the maneuvers. The woman had moved off to the side where Chiyo was and simply watched each student, frowning slightly when they did something incorrectly or their horses threw their head in annoyance. While she didn't mind going back to more basic lessons and things of that sort, Mila did know her horse and he wasn't satisfied with simple groundwork like this right off the back.

"Don't worry, we'll get a good lesson in later." Patting his neck, the dutch woman relaxed in her seat, knowing better than to speak in English around the other riders as they seemed to be quite frustrated with her presence. Not that she cared, but it was a bit awkward because she would also prefer to be somewhere else and working on her own lessons but the headmistress had asked her to take up the role as an assistant so she couldn't really say no. Oh well, at least it was something for her to do.

outfit: xo | mentions: Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy wickedlittlecritta Quiddles @ every other eventer

 

[social]

Finlay Addair

Already there was tension in the arena, mostly due to the overdramatic boys that were on the team, but Finlay tried to ignore them. Of course, Batal was just getting into a bad mood as he sat there, practically staring down the mare who was pinning her ears at every horse that moved. Patting the gelding's neck, she waited for the lesson to begin so that he could focus on work rather than the attitude of the horses around him. When the instructor finally began talking, the redhead raised her hand and waited to be called on. "My horse is fine but there are horses here that he has issues with so if he has to go by them, he will get an attitude." She was being honest as she gestured towards the palomino mare he had been getting annoyed with.

Once that was figured out, the girl watched as another student, an upperclassman who focused on dressage, showed them what they had to do. It wasn't the type of drill that Batal enjoyed doing as he often got bored and frustrated by the fact he had to really focus on where he was putting his feet, but she decided to go into it with an open mind. When it was her turn to try it out, she took the instructor's offer to do it at a walk, allowing Batal to get used to the movements so he wouldn't get too fed up when she introduced him to a trot. It went pretty well and she was proud of him, offering words of praise after they finished their final round of the exercise. She was well aware of how it took him a bit to get interested in something as 'simple' as this maneuver so she was proud that he behaved so well.

As she waited for the other students to finished up, she briefly checked her watch, making sure that the lesson was on schedule. Since she was someone who was relying on a scholarship, she had a very busy schedule and often would have one on one lessons with other students, depending on how many classes she had for the day. This particular day was pretty free which meant she was going to have a jumping session with one of her friends, using their horse for it just so she could get used to improving her adaptability as a rider. The girl wanted to go pro which meant she had to get used to riding horses that weren't her own and frankly she found that it made her more aware of the certain tics that Batal had.

outfit: xo | mentions: Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy wickedlittlecritta Quiddles @ every other eventer

Ezra Jansen

The student couldn't help but smirk as his sister scolded not only him but also another person in the group who whined about her being there. It was fun, there already being drama in the first lesson. Sitting up properly, he listened to the woman on the ground go around and ask who had a misbehaved horse, to which a redheaded girl pointed one out. That was also entertaining to the male but he made sure not to laugh as he didn't want to get called out. So he sat quietly and just listened to the instruction, despite the fact he could feel how tense and excited Fleur was getting. When the students started to do the drill, he pulled back and warmed the mare up for a minute, just trying to get her to relax so she didn't misbehave as much.

Eventually, it was his turn and he went through it as slow as possible, but it still was enough to make Fleur toss her head and let out a frustrated noise as it wasn't the type of lesson she was excited for. But they made it work, eventually just quieting down so they could do the drill as quickly as possible without messing up anything. Once they got to having no contact on the reins, she was focused on where she was moving and had a clean run through. Ezra praised her but naturally had a very lazy and unbothered look as he came to a halt afterward, not exactly looking like a student who found it difficult, even if it was. That was often something that seemed to annoy people he was around, having already encountered that the day before with other students at the school.

Another yawn escaped the male as the rest of the team finished up, some of them excited about finishing, others looking somewhat embarrassed in his opinion. He still didn't remember any names or faces so he had no idea who was who, other than his sister as it was a given. Fixing his gloves, the freshman relaxed a bit and just looked at each student and their horses, kind of making a base assumption about each one, trying to figure out who was actually worth considering his competition.

outfit: xo | mentions: Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy wickedlittlecritta Quiddles @ every other eventer

 

[Quiddles]

Kerry​

Kerry nudged Puzzle away from Alec's fidgety mare, until the palomino settled again, and nodded her thanks at Alec's reply. She shrugged a little at the comment on early rising. "Habit. Da would have something to say if I wasn't up early enough to ride out on the hill and check the sheep before school." She looked around at the mounts of the other riders arriving- all so tall and elegant compared to Puzzle's sturdy frame. They were proper eventers, with thoroughbred blood, and probably worth a hundred times more in a sales ring. Kerry gave her gelding a quick hug, lest he think her disloyal. He was priceless, to her; but she DID hope Devin showed up with his pony, then they could be misfits together.

The young Welsh woman rolled her eyes a little at the comments being thrown around as Mila arrived, but kept herself apart from it all, observing. Anyone watching her would suspect she was just a little bemused, the personalities and culture as far from her experience as their horses were from a rough-and-tumble mount bred on a Welsh mountainside. She perked up after the warm-up when the instructor described the exercise they'd be starting with. Puzzle had always been clever on his feet. As she watched some of the others attempting to travel down the line of poles, she understood why some of the riders had audibly groaned. When it was finally her turn, she truthfully had no intention of showing off; she wasn't even thinking about the other students. She had ridden Puzzle bareback and bridle-less up and down a mountain, had ridden him over ground so broken that not answering to her leg could have meant a broken leg for him. Side-stepping through a line of jump stands was no challenge, and the pair tackled it with gusto.

Kerry found herself on the end of the line, behind a studiously languid Freshman on a pretty bay. Ezra, that was what the other girl had called him. "You and your mare did that nicely," she commented politely, letting Puzzle stand relaxed.

social wickedlittlecritta Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy

Sean​

Sean grinned at the Chinese student. "You're not late. Not yet, anyway. Come on, though, we had better get moving. Ride up near me, Dora's good at settling other horses down." Scooping up the smattering of other students who hadn't yet figured out where to go, Sean led the way up to the training field. His eyes widened a fraction when he saw the setup there. "I don't know what we're doing today, but it looks a bit like... huh. Well, this will be different!"

Ch3rryBlossom28

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Dressage wasn't Devin's favorite, but he didn't hold the same deep resentment for it most of his peers did. He grinned at their groans and shook his head at Chiyo's question. Trick had been to enough hunts that he wasn't worried about the pony in close quarters. He gave Mia a little salute from across the ring--he wouldn't count them friends, but she was a good rider, and he didn't begrudge her being their TA.

He gave Kerry a big grin as they passed during warm ups. "Thank god, another sensibly sized horse," he quipped. Trick shook his head and gave another little crow-hop before settling in to a steady working trot. Once Trick decided to behave, Devin was careful to keep to the outside, so that the taller, leggier horses could pass them.

Chiyo's exercise was the sort of thing his own dressage trainer at home would ask him for (though Lisa would have spent a good fifteen minutes explaining the benefits of lateral work on how it would teach Trick to hold himself and move, and how it would impact his soundness, and so on), and that plus the fact that the stands were set up for one of the massive warmbloods or Thoroughbreds gave Trick extra room to maneuver made Devin feel like they were pulling off some sort of shitty con. Trick was naturally more of a daisy cutter, but he was willing enough to tuck his hind under and move into a more collected, dressage friendly frame when Devin asked him through the stands, his ears pricked forward and gently working at his bit as they trotted through. Devin grinned. It was so nice to have a horse who wanted to work.

As they finished the first round, Devin leaned forward a little to tie a knot in his reins to keep them out of the way. Trick flicked an ear back as he did so. Then they went for their second pass, still at the trot, Trick even bouncier than their first go. Everything about the little dun's body language said, I know this! What next? Devin leaned down to pat his neck as they finished and joined the others, untying the knot in his reins.

"Nothing like going sideways in the morning," he announced cheerfully to no one in particular, while Trick paused at the end of the line to shake like a dog.

 

[wendy]

Paisley Halt

“I’m always this beautiful in the morning.” Paisley teases Alec “Have you just never noticed?” her tone laced with mischief. She gently stroked Echo’s nose wishing the mare a good morning before she lead Max round to the mounting block. Paisley would normally get up from the floor but had been advised against it until her hip was 100% healed. While mounting her large horse she spotted Devin who was complaining about the early lesson “I’ll be the first one to sign your petition.” She says smiling at the boy who looked like he was ready to drop back into bed. “But I don’t think Mrs Rosewood would see our point of view.” Paisley says to Devin as she got Max to start walking around the ring as a little warm up before they started their early morning lesson.

Dr Chiyo was one of the most amazing dressage instructors and luckily for her she had many students who needed some good dressage lessons (*cough* Alec and Paisley *cough*). Not long after Dr Chiyo arrived the queen of dressage herself entered the ring and Paisley heard Alec’s groans about the dressage queen. “She’s ere because people like us all the help we can get.” Paisley says as dressage wasn’t really the love birds strong suit. “Now stop pouting because your cute face will distract me.” The French women says as Dr Chiyo explains the warm up. Paisley was good at English but when it came to technical words to do with horses she sometimes struggled after all she’d spent a whole 3 months speaking only French with the weekly FaceTime call to Alec, Griffin and Brynn. She mainly just watched the other students to figure out what was being asked of them.

Dressage drills weren’t exactly Paisley’s favourite, she found them slightly repetitive and maybe that’s why her dressage skills were lacking. Max wasn’t really listening to Paisley this morning, he was probaly day dreaming about his next feed “Max, You’re supposed to impress people on the first day, not make them think we’re rubbish” Paisley spoke in French as she had to use her leg a little harder than usual to get him to listen. Paisley also found herself day dreaming sometimes while staring at each flex of Alec’s arms. She’d have to thank Echo later for this glorious view.

mentions: social (Mila) Ch3rryBlossom28 (Alec) and wickedlittlecritta (Devin)



​

 

[Quiddles]

Dr. Ichikawa
​

Chiyo drew the attention of the class as the last student finished an excellent attempt without reins. "Lateral work will help you to control the line that you ride. That will not only help your dressage but also your jumping. I think now..." Chiyo's first plan for the next exercise wouldn't work if it was likely to result in someone getting kicked, but she had backups. "Hmmm. Yes. Some horses do not get on with others, but I think perhaps every horse will get on with at least one other? I would like everyone to pick a partner, please choose pairs with horses that get along."

As the students argued that out among themselves, Chiyo fetched the supplies she'd set ready the day before: oversized light plastic spoons about a foot and a half long and soft tennis-ball-sized foam balls. She passed out one of each to each pair. "You must both hold the spoon at once, balancing the ball in the, ah, cup of the spoon. You will need to remember your lateral work to stay close and together as you travel around the shcool. Practice in your pairs."

Grinning to herself, she started moving jump stands and poles around, forming a little obstacle course: just three jump stands to weave through, poles on the ground to walk through and finally a low jump. It was a large arena, so she set up a few extra individual elements that pairs could practice with. "Ten penalties for a rider that is not holding the spoon, one for missing a jump stand out or knocking one over when weaving, one for each hoof that touches a pole on the ground or touches outside the poles, one for knocking the pole on the jump, and one for any horse not going over the jump. If there is a tie then the fastest pair wins the tie." She took out a stop-watch. "The time will start when the first part of either horse passes the letter E, and finishes when the last tail crosses the final jump pole. Each pair come to me when you are ready to try the course."

***
Kerry
​

Kerry glanced around. She didn't really know anyone that well yet, and although Puzzle generally got along with other horses, not all horses would necessarily get along with a strange gelding. Paisley would partner her, she thought, but she'd seen the looks Alec was giving her and she wasn't about to get in between that dynamic, which meant finding someone else. Maybe Devin? She didn't know if he'd have a partner he'd prefer. Standing up in her saddle to get a better look around, she hunted him out in the class, trying to spot whether he was already making a beeline elsewhere.

social (Mila) Ch3rryBlossom28 (Alec) and wickedlittlecritta (Devin) wendy (Paisley)​

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

At Chiyo's call for partners, Devin immediately circled Trick out of the way of the rest of the class. There was nothing worse than almost getting run over by a monster Thoroughbred, you know? Once they were turned back, it wasn't hard to spot Kerry and Puzzle. They came up behind and to the side of the girl and her cob, and Devin said, "I have only half an idea what we're about to do next, but I think us shorties should stick together, for safety." Trick leaned over to sniff his new pasture mate's nose. "Unless you've already got a partner?" Devin asked. He didn't think she did, but it would be the polite thing to ask rather than assume.

Quiddles (Kerry)

 

[starfxll]

Maxim Ivanova had never been more nervous in her lifetime, she hadn’t even been this nervous when she had been forced to sing at the school talent show in front of everybody. The reason? She was with her friends, Max knew that somewhere out there in the school auditorium that her friends were out there, that thought had calmed her and made the experience much easier. Now though? She had no one, here she was in the middle of a flight to Sweden biting her fingernails and trying hard to swallow the approaching lump in her throat. Max was worried for her horse as well, loading Sassy onto the other plane was a nightmare. The horse had thrown a hissy fit, throwing her head and stomping the ground before she had even put a hoof into the plane. Max had prayed that the horse arrived to the school safe and sound and that her serveant had helped her settle into her new stable. Max had also left her bags on the same plane that she left her horse because her serveant was supposed to get her dorm all ready, Max had hoped that would be the case.


When the young teen was sure she had heard the planes wheels hit the ground she rushed to look out the window, sure enough the plane had landed. Max stood up and began walking down the aisles toward the exit where she stepped down the tiny little stairs and onto the ground. The girl groaned as she stretched her tired arms, Max was grateful though because she had only had to stay in the plane for 2 hours. Max knew students coming from America had been in planes for much, much longer. As Max looked around frantically for her searvents car, she spotted it. Max ran forward smiling and waving. “Здравствуйте! Спасибо за помощь моей лошади и за подготовку моего общежития! Все прошло хорошо?” (Hello! Thank you for helping my horse and getting my dorm all ready! Did everything go alright?) Max spoke to her searvent smiling. Max knew that her servant was not as fluent in English as she was so she spoke in mostly Russian to her. Max’s servant nodded and opened the back car door for her, allowing Max to enter it.





The school was nearly 3 hours away from the airport. Since it was going to be a long drive Max allowed herself to fall asleep. When she was lightly shook awake Max sleepily raised her head to look out the window. They had arrived at Winding Oaks Riding Academy. The nerves Max had, had in the plane returned as she waved goodbye to her servant and wished her a safe plane ride home . She opened the car door and stepped onto the ground, taking in the sight of the huge school. Max’s servant drove away leaving Max alone once again. The teen decided the first thing she would do to try and get her mind off things would be to go and see her horse. To find her way around, Max had stowed a map of the school in her jacket pocket. She carefully took it out and unfolded it, reading where the stables were and walking in that direction. When she had walked for nearly 20 minutes she found the stables and entered them, looking at the rows of horses to try and find her own. When Max finally did find her own horse had perked up and let out a tiny neigh. Max opened her stall door and comforted the horse, burying her face into the horses neck. It was evident that her horse had missed her just as much as she did.

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Alec Rosewood
Alec was not happy with today's lesson to say the least. Of course Echo decided she just didn't care about his leg. (Which normally happens when she is in heat). Then the stupid Mila Jansen had to show off. Alec was positive this was his mother's doing. Dressage was always a weak point in the Rosewood family. Alec knew this but he still hated it. It almost made him want to just be a jumper. HIs love for cross country is what kept him an eventer.
Paisley words from earlier rang through his head. He hated when both the women in his life scolded him like that. Yes he knows but still!

The next part of the lesson actually seemed kind of fun. He was hoping this time around Echo would actually listen. Alec went to look for a partner and noticed everyone had moved away from him and Paisley. He didn't understand why this happened every time. Sure, he loved partnering with Paisley, she was his closest friend and Echo loved her, but Echo also needed to learn to work with others. "Well Miss Paisley. It seems we are yet again partners." Echo's ears flickered forward at this.

wendy

Ying Hua Wong
Ying Hua let out a breath of relief. She was happy she wasn't late for she prided herself on being punctual. Egor's nostrils flared as they started moving towards the field. Ying Hua was honestly amazed by the facility. She wondered how the Headmistress was able to get such a large, beautiful, piece of land. The longer they walked the more Egor began to calm down. Not much but at least he wasn't jigging anymore.

When they got to the polo field she couldn't believe what she saw. Where those giant beach balls? There was a man standing in the middle of the balls. She assumed he was their instructor and was proven right when he waved the group over.

"Glad to see all the newbies found the field alright." The polo team wasn't very big and at Winding Oaks it definitely wasn't the top priority, so their practice field was more on the outskirts of the facility. "Today we will be doing something different for our first day. The Headmistress likes to do team exercises since a lot of the disciplines don't particularly require teamwork. Luckily for us we have to. So today I thought we would do something a little fun."

He picked up one of the beach balls. "Instead of playing with the normal ball. We will be playing with these. ALso instead of our mallets we will use our hands to hit the ball." The coach picked up the beach ball and hit it up with his hands. "Kind of like volley ball but on horse back."

Ying Hua stared at the coach in confusion. Seriously? This is not what she came to school here for. Was this normal? Looking at Sean's reactions he could tell it was not.
(Idk what we originally decided on for polo)
Quiddles​

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Leo Fairchild
Leo didn't realize he had fallen asleep in Bubba's stall till he heard the stall door next to his open. Looking around, Leo saw Bubba asleep in the corner. A small smiled appeared on his face at his sleeping boy. The stallion wouldn't be like this with anyone else. Leo did his best to quietly get up but Bubba still woke up. His low hung head turned to look at his partner and let a yawn escape his mouth. Leo walked up to him and patted his neck. "I think it's time for me to head out boy.." With that he brushed the shavings off his pants and opened the stall door, hoping he didn't scare whoever was in the stall next to them.

When he walked out he saw the stall next to him with the door open. He peeked in and saw a girl hugging her horse. She must have just arrived. He cautiously stepped away to not not bother her. He paused for a moment next to Bubba's stall before deciding that he was going to ride. Worse comes to worst he just takes Bubba with him to teach.

Alec walked over to the tack room and managed to get all his tack in one go. He wasn't going to put the breast plate on to for he wasn't planning on doing anything. After taking his time tacking up his horse up he decided it would probably be best to put it on. After all Bubba was fairly unpredictable when he wanted to be. Once he finished he lead the stallion out of his stall and led him out of the barn before ground mounting. Being tall had its perks.

As he rode around the farm he noticed the dressage lesson the eventers were having. He had to admit it always felt good to watch Alec struggle. He saw the the perfect Mila was also there and he couldn't help but grin. The Rosewood child did not like her. The exercise they were doing was something he has done before. In fact, he used that in his own lessons when it was needed. After all, Dressage is the basics to all riding disciplines.

Bubba's speed picked up when they started to go by the group. His snorted and tossed his head when Leo tried to pass them. "You want to join them buddy? Are you sure?" Bubba nodded his head. "You have to be nice though." With that the stallions body relaxed a little. Leo patted the mustangs neck.

He rode up to Mila, leaving a little space between the two stallions. Leo's leg gave Bubba a squeeze in warning when the stallion's ears pinned back. "Do you need a buddy?" Leo forgot how tall Mila was and with her on top of her tall stallion it made Leo look a little bit short. "We may be a bit smaller but I think it will make it more of a challenge no?" Leo was good with dressage techniques and even though it wasn't Bubba's favorite, Leo had made sure to instill it into him. "I'll be a much better partner than any of them." Leo could feel Alec's glare on his back.

starfxll
social​

 

[Quiddles]

Kerry​

With a whoosh of breath, Kerry sat back down in the saddle and turned to face the sound of Devin's voice, all in one go. Puzzle, well used to her antics, did no more than flick an ear and sniff back at Devin's pony. "No partner now, yes please then," the young Welsh woman answered Devin in her usual rather sing-song accent, then recalled the various performances during the previous exercise and grinned. "We'll not do so badly, I'm thinking. If we don't drop the ball. Ready to practice?" Once they had a spoon and ball from the instructor, she pointed to a free couple of jump uprights with a cavaletto near them. "What do you think, then? Walking, trotting, circling, leg yielding, then try the obstacles? Are you up for cantering?"

While listening to Devin, Kerry kept half an eye on the others as they spread out around the arena to practice in their pairs, still grinning slightly at their mixed reactions to the Dreaded Dressage Lesson. "Who's that just arriving?" she asked as Leo showed up, spotting Chiyo do no more than give him a nod and a little 'go ahead' movement with her hand. "Not a student, I'm thinking?"

wickedlittlecritta
( Ch3rryBlossom28 wendy social )

Sean​

"Huh," Sean hummed with a thoughtful note. He didn't think Dora would have any problems with being around the giant balls, and polo ponies tended to be fairly bombproof, but he could foresee some hijinks until all the mounts were accustomed to his new sort of ball game. "Might want to keep your horse clear of any back legs until they've settled," he murmured to Ying Hua and a couple of other newbies near him, then raised his voice politely, just enough to be heard by the instructor. "Are we keeping the balls in the air, sir, or may we hit them along the ground as well?" As he listened to the reply and further instructions, he tied a knot into Dora's reins and settled it part way up her neck. He had the feeling he'd sometimes want both hands free for this game.

When they were free to practice, he sidled Dora up to a ball and leaned easily from the saddle to pick it up, even though it only reached her knees. He bounced it on his hands a few times, feeling how light it was and how slow to respond. I would be quite difficult to hurt anyone with it, even if someone tried putting real force behind a throw. "Ying Hua? Here, can you pass this back to me?" He hefted it lightly into the air, then knocked it over towards the Chinese student. He'd have to learn who was who among the other new students, he thought to himself as he prepared for the return ball. He knew their names, from the list that had gone round, but not the faces that belonged to them. Calling out a name before passing to them would help everyone learn who was who...

Ch3rryBlossom28​

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

"That sounds like a plan. I think the trickiest part is just going to be holding the damned spoon," Devin said. "And I'm up for a canter. Trick will start trying to dismantle the jumps if he isn't thinking soon," he joked. It would have been a nightmare to try and do this with a taller partner.

"Hmm?" he said, and stood up in the saddle to re-adjust it, following Kerry's gaze. "Oh, that's Leo. He's a grad student. He basically runs the western department." Due to that, Devin didn't know Leo super well, but he liked him well enough. "He's chill, so long as you're not fucking around in one of his classes." He settled back into the saddle and grinned when he saw Leo and his mustang approach Paisley. "Oh, looks like Leo and Paisley are going to show us how it's done. We'd better get a head start before everyone thinks we just copied them."

 

[Ch3rryBlossom28]

Alex Rosewood
It had been a week an a half since the Headmistress announced that students from their rival school would be staying with them for a while. Many of the students were not happy about this. They knew that the competition was being held at Winding Oaks' this year and thought it was unfair that a rival school would have the same advantage that they did. Alec also agreed with this. Plus there was someone he did not want to see and he was positive she was going to take this opportunity to see him.

Alec sighed, as he threw on a white t-shirt and navy breeches. After throwing on some basic tall socks her put on his shoes and grabbed the pair of tall boots by the door. He was hopping that he would be able to avoid the incoming traffic of the new students and teachers, and possibly meet up with Paisley. How his mother was accommodating for them was beyond his knowledge. He knew the campus was huge but not that huge.

Alec nodded at the other Winding Oaks' students that he saw at the barn who were also doing the same thing he was. He entered the main barn and then froze at what he saw. A woman his age with short raven colored hair was standing in front of Echo's stall petting said mare's face. Said mare had her ears pinned back, clearly not happy about the situation, but didn't do anything to try and change it. He could hear cooing coming from her and knew in that moment she hadn't realized he was there yet. Alec took this time to slowly back up and two around. He was almost out of the barn when his beloved betrayed him. A loud, high pitched whinny was heard. "Alec! I knew you'd show up eventually!"

Ryujin Shin

Spoiler: Current Outfit

[Ryujin was more than excited about her journey to Winding Oaks'. It had been so long since she saw Suzy and her beloved Alec. She almost left early with her horse , Cupid, just because she wanted to get there sooner. Alas, her Headmaster said she had to wait to leave with everyone else. With that she had waited almost two long weeks. Her limo pulled up to the drop off area. She was not going to travel with the rest of the team. She may be Captain of the hunter team but she was not going to lower her self to travel with them. Not when she could have her own, private, vehicle.

Her driver came out and opened her door for her. As she got out she pulled her large sunglasses over her eyes and grabbed her purse from the car. . "You can take my baggage to my room." Suzy had given Ryujin a room close to Alec for the woman hoped that Alec would help the girl around campus. Speaking of the devil, the Headmistress her self had come to greet the girl. A large smile formed on Ryujin's lips at the sight. "Mrs. Rosewood it has been so long!" Ryujin skipped up the woman and embraced her. "I missed you too Ryu." Suzy smiled down softly at the young girl.

Ryujin pulled out of the hug and went to speak but Suzy stopped her. "I know what you are going to ask. Echo is in the main barn and I'm sure my son will be out there soon." Ryujin had a huge grin on her lips. The Headmistress really knew her well. "Thank you Mrs. Rosewood!" Ryujin said and turned to head for the main barn. She had been here enough times to know where it was. Plus while she was there she could go check on Cupid.

When Ryujin made it to the main barn it was pretty much empty except for a few students who were bringing the last of the horses in from their paddocks. Ryujin ignored the few who decided to say hello and was intently looking for Echo's stall. Once she found the mare a small smile formed again on her lips. She knew the mare didn't like her much but that was why she brought a secret weapon. She rustled around in her purse and pulled out a wrapped peppermint. Up until this point Echo had her ears pinned back as she stood in the back corner of her stall. At the sound of the treat her ear perked up slightly and she reluctantly went and greeted the girl. Ryujin opened the peppermint and fed it to the mare who took the treat a little aggressively. She chucked and pulled out another one. "One day you'll learn that I'm not so bad." She went and rubbed Echo's face, who in turn pinned her ears back at her.

Echo's head suddenly lifted and a loud obnoxious whinny escaped from the horse's mouth. A whinny that was reserved for the mare's favorite person, who also happened to be Ryujin's favorite person. "Alec! I knew you'd show up eventually!" She ignored the fact that the boy was in the midst of trying to escape.

(Ill get my others posted up tomorrow. wendy wickedlittlecritta Quiddles starfxll social if any of yall don't want to be in the rp anymore I understand just let me know!)​

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

Devin Murphy​

The mood at Winding Oaks was so tense you could pluck it like a guitar string, but Devin had chosen to ignore the impending arrival of the students from their rival school in favor of going overboard with enthusiasm for his favorite course of the semester: Art History 404: Forgeries and Fraud.

He had just returned from a successful weekend in Stockholm haunting the Nationalmuseum, making studies of paintings and being scolded repeatedly for leaning too close to take photos of brushstrokes. One security guard had shooed him away, only to say, “Wait,” so that he could read Devin’s t-shirt. It said “I eat oil paintings when the security guards aren’t looking,” and the guard had given him a long suffering sigh before walking off.

When the world got difficult, Devin turned to art. Not art like pour your soul onto the canvas, but art as a tangible thing. A commodity. Art on the wall, in his hands, in the trunk of his leased bimmer. Art as a treasure to hunt down at flea markets and auctions, art as proof of ownership of his own body, art as an anchor to humanity. Art as charcoal stains on his hands, art as ink on his arms, art as a tether. People had been making art for 44,000 years, and he was sure they'd be making it 44,000 more.

He returned to a Winding Oaks going crisp with fall and furious with the indignity of hosting rivals, and he felt serene and untroubled by it all. So what? He had a pony all of their rivals would sneer at until they kicked ass on a cross country course, and he had a sketchbook full of Rembrandt studies, and nobody could take either of those things away.

He took his art supplies from the trunk of his little leased M240i and trekked into Trick’s field. Trick and Puzzle were enduring the last of the summer’s bugs for the last of its grass, but they ambled over to see what he was up to when he set up his canvas, rolling up the sleeves of his hoodie.

He was still wearing the "I eat oil paintings" t-shirt.

“Hello,” Devin said to them. “I’m doing crimes.” He started mixing paints on his beat old palette . “Do you know what the difference between a copy and a forgery is?” he asked the ponies. “No? A copy is just that—a recreation of an existing work. A forgery is the creation of a work that never existed, but that the artist could have made.” He rubbed Trick's chin under his flymask, and the pony leaned into it. Then he patted Trick on the shoulder and returned to his set up. "I'm thinking of Strindberg," he said. "He did seascapes, mostly, but he could have done a pastoral." And what better subject than this pasture and his own pony? He elbowed Trick's rump. "Go look pastoral. I'm painting," he advised. Trick snorted and instead continued to loiter around him, like a nosey child. Devin rolled his eyes and went to work.

 

[Quiddles]

Kerry Gwynedd​

Kerry was buzzing. The introductory ridden sessions had, on the whole, played into Puzzle’s strengths and somewhat eased her fears that he was hopelessly outclassed by the plethora of warmbloods and thoroughbreds that surrounded them. She was gradually getting to know her fellow students- Devin in particular was fun to be around... several of the other males students were easy to be friendls with, come to that, although Paisley was also always kind. Jadah was nice, but Kerry was still wary of her due to the way Hades behaved. On the whole, though, Kerry felt more at home among the boys. Unsurprising, when she thought about it, having so many brothers at home she was used to male company.

She had a spring in her step as she headed through the barn. She’d had a late lecture the day before and hadn’t had time to do more than sponge Puzzle’s tack off after riding. She wanted to give everything a good clean now. With a bucket of warm water in one hand and her tack-cleaning box in the other, she admired the horses as she went down the line of stalls, until a whinny and a female voice caught her attention.

"Alec! I knew you'd show up eventually!"

Alec could have almost back-pedaled into Kerry if she hadn’t stopped quickly enough, and some of the water sloshed out of her bucket as she rocked to a stop. The way he was retreating suggested to her that he wasn’t as keen on greeting this stranger as the stranger was about greeting him, and she thought fast. “Hello Alex! Sorry, was I getting your boots wet there? I am sorry if I did.” She turned her head a little, so the stranger couldn’t see her wink. “I think Leo was looking for you?”

Ch3rryBlossom28


***

Puzzle​

A chunky black-and-white horse-shaped ghost stepped quietly up behind Devin. One hoof at a time he eased closer to the young man and his canvas, ears twitching and nostrils flared in curiosity. If Devin seemed about to turn his head, the mischievous Puzzle dropped his head to snatch a mouthful of grass. Just grazing here. Nothing to see. Move along.

Step... step... sniff... sniff... then Puzzle snaked his head around Devin’s shoulder, his sensitive, flexible lips rummaging through the student's paints. Hmmm... Iiiinteresting... all cool, and funny-tasting, and... oooh! Now THAT was a fun reaction from the human! With a playful squeal, Puzzle caught up a couple of paint tubes in his mouth and danced away sideways, tail in the air like a flag of victory. Ha! Mine now!

wickedlittlecritta

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