Getting Started (Katherine)

[Hannah Pataky]

Hannah stepped out of her apartment so that she could go see Cass and Ares and see how they were doing on their first day. Before she left she grabbed a jolly stall snack combo for Ares so he wouldn’t chew up his stall. She wrapped her coat tightly around her body, keeping any cold at bay. Her eyes traced the inside of the barn as she got closer. Once inside she reached Cass first and greeted the giant for a while. The mare checked out the box that contained Ares’ toy but then resumed eating. With that Hannah turned her attention towards the purebred Knabstrupper gelding.

Ares stuck his head out to greet Hannah when she walked up to his stall. ”You behaving yourself?” She asked with a laugh as she pushed open the stall door to evaluate what he has done to the stall. Hannah kept the box hidden from Ares, but he continued nosing her until he convinced her to show it. The gelding continued to nose the box until the woman pulled it away. ”Let me go talk to the manager, while I’m in there I’ll get it okayed.” She smiled as she walked out of the stall and patted his nose.

Hannah headed for Ms. Carr’s office, looking at the other horses as she walked by. The door was open to the woman’s office, so Hannah knocked lightly on the open door. ”Hello, Ms. Carr?” She smiled softly, waiting to be allowed in.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine sat back in her chair as she released a contented sigh. She had been up since the crack of dawn and had taken Fly to the indoor arena and gave the mare a really good workout. The mare had revelled in it and had all but floated back to the barn for her wash.

The barn manager looked up when she heard a knock on her door. "Enter." She said pleasantly. She quickly checked her date book, but there were no booked meetings for this time of the day, but she never turned away anyone who knocked on the door - in case the knocker was a student who needed an ear.

As she waited for the person to enter, she quickly browsed through the list of horses who had recently arrived at the Academy, the barns they had gone in to and what each of their needs were. Even though she only managed the one barn, she liked to have a good idea about each animal on the campus in case she needed to step up to cover any of the other manager positions - even with head barn hands, she still liked to let the managers know that their jobs were indeed going to be done properly during absence.

[Hannah Pataky]

Hannah bit the inside of her lip while she glanced around the woman’s office. Only because curiosity had gotten to her that she was looking around stealthily where she stood. Quietly she shifted her box to her hip as she walked towards the woman’s desk more. To be perfectly honest she was incredibly nervous but she refused to show it at the moment. ”Hello Ms. Carr. I am Hannah Pataky.” She introduced herself casually with a small smile on the corner of her lips. Her eyes wandered quickly to the chairs next to her but she stayed standing for a little while longer.

She exhaled softly and smiled once more before she gave a touch more information on herself. ”I was looking and hoping to apply for a position as a barn hand.” Hannah smiled hoping to come off as a rather nice person and hopefully get the job. She was hoping to be able to work with broodmares or the stallions if any, but she wouldn’t be picky if she didn’t get her first choices. While standing Hannah shifted her weight to her other leg, letting the small box sit lower, but then set it on the ground so it wasn’t in her way.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine's smile was warm and welcoming as she rose to her feet when the young woman entered her office and introduced herself. "Of course, welcome Hannah." She said as she gestured toward one of the two chairs to the side of her large desk.

She nodded when the other female said she was hoping for a job as a barn hand, she had said as much when she applied for the position of the track coach.

Katherine sat down in her chair again as she turned to face the younger female. "I must ask, why a barn hand?" She wouldn't turn anyone away who knew the values of hard labour, but she always asked the same question. She herself had started as a barn hand until she had progressed up through the ranks and become manager at the barn she had been at before she had arrived here.

She noticed the box that the woman had placed down. "You have a horse who is known to wreck havoc in their stall?" As she knew that Hannah had a mare and a gelding, she didn't want to assume which of the woman's horses had a problem with idleness.

[Hannah Pataky]

Hannah smiled softly at Ms. Carr’s welcome and moved forward, but hadn’t taken a seat yet.

When the woman asked her why she had wanted to be a barn hand she grinned ever so lightly since she assumed that question would pop up at some point. ”Well, I worked on a rather large farm with a few other barn hands and I really enjoyed taking care of the horses. Most of the time I was working with the stallions and found it enjoyable.” She could have gone on and on but held her tongue for a bit so she would overwhelm the woman.

Ms. Carr asked about having a horse that wrecks havoc and her smile dimmed slightly. ”My boy Ares gets bored when he is in his stall rather quickly so I get him a toy when he is in, but most of the time he spends his time either out with me or in the pastures with other horses.” Her voice carried softly around the room and she took a seat. ”Like Ares I prefer to be out and about and busy rather than too idle.” It was completely true as she would rather muck out ten stables rather than sit around all day. So far so good right? She thought to herself quickly.