[open] and the thunder rolls

[Carlos Rodriguez]

Carlos led the dark dappled grey mare into the arena, closing the gate behind them as dark eyes tracked upwards to gaze at the clouds gathering. It was on the weather that morning that a storm was brewing for the late afternoon, and seeing as how he'd had classes during the day, well, the boy hoped the storm would hold off just a bit longer, though if it did downpour, he didn't mind working a horse in the rain. He'd done so quite often in the past.

"Vamos, Lirio." He spoke to his youngest mare in his native language, feeling free to speak in whichever dialect he was more comfortable in since there was no one else around but he and the mare, though he did also switch to English, as he knew the only way to really learn it was to speak it, "We have work to do."

The teen was grave in his expressions, as he wasn't the type of boy to offer much in the ways of smiles or laughter very often, and he tugged gently on the lead as he led the mare on into the arena. Carlos stopped near the center of the area and swung the bridle off his shoulder. Holding it by the headstall and bit, he placed the expensive item onto the mare's face, slipping the bit inside her mouth and doing up the buckles before stepping back and waiting patiently for her to quit mouthing the bit like a baby.

She is a baby, though... in terms of training… Carly thought, watching her. T'was true, the mare had never had much training done, just had thirty days as a two year old them left alone ever since aside from groundwork. Carlos had put a few rides on her, but she was still very green and had thrown him several times.

"Easy…" The teen asked the mare to stand next to the mounting block as he placed a boot in the stirrup, easing his weight up to lean over the saddle, body alert and ready to move should the mare decide to not take to him too kindly. In the distance, thunder rumbled ominously, promising a downpour later on.

[Luka Ingersleben]

Luka grabbed Neb's reins and led him out of the barn. He had groomed and tacked up the gelding, then taken a look outside at the brewing clouds. The clouds reminded him of home, when snow threatened, although the thunder belied that it would be a rainstorm instead. Deciding that a little rain wouldn't hurt, if it did start raining.

The gelding nickered softly and followed Luka outside as the boy walked along the path. He could see someone else in the arena already, with a neat dappled grey horse. He stopped Neb at the gate, waiting until the gelding stopped completely before he unlatched the gate, calling, "Gate," softly. He led the gelding inside and latched the gate, then walked Neb into the center of the arena and checked the girth, then mounted up. He looked over at the mare and her rider, who seemed careful around her, noting that the mare seemed very well bred, and looked very nice. He didn't recognize the boy or his horse, although he thought he had seen the mare before. It might have been another horse, though, he hadn't really paid attention to horses in the barns and the pastures.

Turning his attention away from the mare and the boy, Luka moved Neb towards the far side of the arena, letting the gelding walk on a loose rein to stretch out a bit, thinking of what he could do for the day.

[Carlos Rodriguez]

Note: Carlos isn't in the dressage class this year/semester He's a dressage rider, but isn't taking the class right now.

---

The teen shifted his weight to flow with the mares' as she moved slightly, though she didn't go too far, so he had no need to use the reins to pull her back. She was merely shifting her weight to accommodate his, he knew. Lily didn't seem to mind him so far, and so he stood completely off the mounting block, letting her hold all of his weight.

Lily's nicker of greeting towards another horse caused the Spanish teen to look to the gate just in time to hear the customary call and see another, about his age, he guessed, enter the arena. Carlos made no motion of greeting besides a small nod of the head, as his attention was far more focused on his mare, whose attention, coincidentally, was more focused on the newcomers.

When the mare went to move forwards in a hurry towards the new duo, though, Carlos quickly gripped the reins and tugged the grey head sideways into a lateral flex as he moved to smoothly swing over and settle in the saddle. The mare circled agitatedly as her head was forced to the side, though upon feeling the release of the reins she settled down slightly. "Easy… Lirio, steady..." Carlos said softly, resting a hand on the dappled neck before picking up the reins and gently squeezing the mare's barrel while holding one rein a bit shorter than the other, asking the mare to move in a large circle, which she did, albeit a bit resistant and much more interested in the other horse than listening to her rider.

[Luka Ingersleben]

Luka registered the other boy's nod and smiled slightly in return, leading Neb into the center of the arena. He could see the other horse's attention on himself and the gelding, and placed a hand on Neb's nose to keep the gelding from calling out a greeting. He didn't want to distract the mare more than their arrival had already done, and he knew that his buckskin was the type of horse to try to make 'friends' more than was called for. After he had mounted, he moved Neb to the rail and walked him around, leaving enough room for the other boy and his mare. The dappled grey seemed very distracted, and Luka felt slightly bad for destroying the mare's concentration, but he had needed to work Neb a bit.

He could hear the boy's voice as he tried to calm his mount and glanced over, trying to keep track of the horse's movement, so that they wouldn't run into eachother. He could see the mare's attention was still not on her rider, though, and rather on him and Neb, and frowned. Deciding that apologizing could wait, however, so that he didn't distract the mare even further, he asked Neb for a trot, letting the gelding trot naturally for two laps of the arena before he worked to get the gelding to collect himself.

OOC;: My bad, I'm sorry... I've been distracted of late, I'm really sorry. -fixes quietly-

[Carlos Rodriguez]

Carlos was glad as he saw the other boy, from his periphal vision, move to keep his horse silent. He truly didn't need Lirio any more distracted than she already was. The teen didn't mind the other boy riding in the arena, not at all, but he did hope he could catch and maintain his mare's attentions after she got used to another horse and rider being in the area. Carly knew that the young mare knew the basics, but she hadn't been asked to do much of anything in so long that she might as well be considered a completely untrained horse. She remembered, he knew, but she was so mentally young that it was hard to keep her going correctly, as she tended to spazz out when she felt 'cornered'.

As the other horse and rider pair picked up a fast pace, a trot, Carlos moved with his mare as she skittered sideways and he dropped one rein, pulling the one hand that was still on the reins back towards his hip, asking her to flex around into a one-rein stop before demanding it and pulling Lirio's head on around when she merely broke into a fast trot in a small circle. The horse spun several times before stopping, front legs splayed out, nose touching his knee. The boy kept her head there until he felt her give to the rein pressure and the second her weight came off the reins, he let the braided leather slide through his hand, letting her reposition her head forwards. Carlos leaned forwards and patted her dappled neck, feeling her flinch a little at his touch, as she still wasn't paying much focus on him.

The boy sighed and picked to the reins again, asking her several times to flex laterally and then asking her to disengage her hindquarters, though that took some time as she was quite resistant to what he was asking of her. Carlos glanced up as he heard what sounded like thunder in the distance and saw that the distant sky was nearly black. He figured, though, that there was at least another half hour before the storm really hit. Maybe longer. Long enough to work on at least walking solidly.

The dark haired boy took up the reins a bit more and once again nudged the mare with his heels, though a little harder than normal. Lily jumped in place, startled, then stepped off, walking at a faster pace... but at least it was a walk. Carlos didn't mind the pace, all he wanted for now was a walk and was her attention on him. Lily slowly settled down, her focus settling on the boy as he moved her along the far end of the arena and set her up along the side of the rail, choosing to use that as their 'focus point'.