Mounted Games 2.0

[Bruce Ropata]

Bruce led the last two of the mounted games ponies into their yards as they waited for the students to arrive for the next lesson.

It had been two days since they hast last met and he wondered how much the riders had remembered, or practised, since the last session. He wouldn't mind if they hadn't done any extra work as he had a feeling that the younger riders would have been a little sore after class, even if they spent all their free time in the saddle, it still didn't prepare the legs for the gruelling sessions of mounted games.

Today he once again had poles set up in the arena, just this time there were only three poles down each "lane" and at the end was a tiny jump and a bin at the finish line. He wanted to keep on working with the poles, as they were in most mounted games.

The teacher walked into the middle of the arena where he would wait for the students to arrive, get their ponies ready and being them into the arena awaiting for the class to start.

[Becca Walsh]

Becca had missed her first mounted games session since she'd recently transferred to Blue Ridge, and hoped that she hadn't missed out on too much. She couldn't wait to meet her pony and start working with whomever it may be. She went out of her way to get to the arena early so that she would be able to talk to her teacher about what she'd missed and what pony she would be riding.

She'd had a bit of time after her last academic class, and had rushed back to her room to change into a pair of black breeches and a fleecy Joules sweatshirt. She pulled on her older pair of field boots that were a little bit floppy from wear, and grabbed her helmet, running out the door. She made her way out to the outdoor arena and found the Mounted Games arena, which she had noticed before. She made her way in, only a bit out of breath, but was happy to see that she was the first student there. She had a few things to clear up with Mr. Ropata, and wanted to ahve some time to meet Chris and tack him up, hopefully on time.

She walked over to who she assumed was Mr. Ropata and introduced herself, "HI, I'm Becca Walsh. I wasn't able to attend the first session since I'm a transfer student, but I'm very excited to be here, and especially meet the pony I'll be working with. Is there anything I should do to catch up?"

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara was in the White Oak barn to get changed into her riding clothes; black jodhpurs, long sleeved polo shirt and thick fleece jacket, and pushed her feet into her lace-up paddock boots. After pulling up the zip on the back of the boots, she grabbed her helmet and raced toward the mounted games arena. She liked arriving early so that she could give Ripple a good massage and try and get the moody gelding into something that resembled a good mood before she mounted up.

Slowing to a walk as she approached the arena she arrived in time to catch the end of what the teacher was saying to Becca, a girl whom Cara shared a number of other riding classes with. "I'll introduce you to Chris, if you would like." She said, glad that there wasn't a strong breeze today so that her whisper-soft voice carried across to the other girl.

She led the way over to the yard where a skewbald New Forest Pony seemed to be dozing, but the flicking ears gave away that he was still awake and paying attention to everything. "This is Chris." She said. "He's greedy with treats, but is really sweet." With hands at her side, she gave them a slight bow and then headed to a pony two yards away and scratched the grey Welsh cross on his cheek, the pony almost melted under her affection as he shoved his nose into her chest adoringly.

Entering his yard, she got to work giving him a good massage before she grabbed the grooming kit, as the rest of the class began to turn up, and she began to brush out all of the duct he had picked up while in the yard.

[ayla]

Kenzie had been looking forward to Mounted Games all day. She would ride a new pony, and have a chance to prove that she wasn't just one of the "bitches in breeches" that some of the other girls whispered about. She had money and nice horses, but she was also very aware of the fact.

To reflect the more informal setting of the games, Kenzie didn't break out the Tailored Sportsmans. Instead, she pulled on some denim schooling breeches, a pair of beat-up paddock boots, and a pair of half chaps that she hadn't used in a very, very long time. Safety was still a paramount concern, so Kenzie grabbed her GPA and headed down to the Mounted Games arena.

She was the third there, and Kenzie took a calming breath before walking to the instructor and waiting her turn to speak to him. "And I'm Makenna Nielsen, but call me Kenzie, please. I'm new, too - I'm supposed to be riding Star? I haven't done a lot of gaming, but I'm really excited to get my feet wet!" For once, Kenzie wasn't lying about her emotions. Non-confrontational games + horses = genuinely happy Kenzie.

[Bruce Ropata]

Ayla (Makeen), can you please make your posts size 2, it's in the rules (which you would know if you read them) because some of us have tiny screens and struggle to read size 1. Thanks

Bruce smiled as the first of his students turned up. He only knew that she was one of his students because her profile had been sent to him when she had sent through her class selection and he had paired her up with the most suitable pony for her. "Welcome, Becca, I'm Mr Ropata." He said as the girl introduced herself. "I commend you for your early arrival. Last time we were working on pole bending." He swept his hand toward the arena behind him. "As you can see, we still have a few poles up. Chris will be your mount for the class, which you already know." He stopped talking as another student walked up and he smiled toward Cara. His eyebrows shot up as the girl spoke up offering to show the new student to her mount. "Follow Cara. She'll show you the way. Take the time to get to know him, and we'll begin to tack them up when the others arrive." He smiled as he watched them walk off, maybe this class would be the one to bring the tiny student out of her shell?

He returned his attention to the gate again as his second new student arrived and he smiled as she too introduced herself. He couldn't help but roll his eyes when she mentioned the pony she was supposed to be riding. Did she not think that he would be the one who assigned her her mount? "Welcome to the class, Makenna." He said warmly. "I'm Mr Ropata. You will indeed be riding Star. He's a pretty easy pony to get to know. He's a great beginners mount, which makes him a little lazy and this is why I thought he would be the best mount for you." He hoped that the girl would be able to keep the pony on his toes. He loved the fact that he had some really reliable beginner mounts, but he also didn't want ponies sleep-walking through the games. He had also chosen Star for Makenna because he was one of the bigger ponies and as she wasn't short, he couldn't place her on the twelve hand ponies, and he didn't want to mess up the partnerships he was already trying to establish.

He led the way over to the bay Connemara's yard. "Makenna, this is Star." He rubbed the gelding's nose. "I'll let you two get acquainted. You can feel free to groom him, just don't start tacking up until the others arrive."

[William//Adrianna Gibbson]

Ria raced out of the suite of rooms she shared with Will, grabbing her helmet from where it lay on the floor by the door. As the door slammed behind her, the seven-year-old was already running towards the Mounted Games arena, excited for the class. She stumbled once, but didn't fall, and kept running. As she came up to the arena, she was gasping for breath, and slowed. Once her breath had calmed, she called, "Hi Cara! Hi Mr. Ropata!" She walked over to the yard Gloria was waiting in, "Hi Gloria!" he let herself into the mare's yard. She glanced over at the teacher, then at Cara. She walked over to the fence separating her from the older girl, "Cara, can I brush Gloria? She's dusty!" While the mare hadn't picked up too much dust, it did show in her coat. Ria looked around the area, watching for the only other non-student taking part in this class, Rory. She saw Mr. Ropata lead one of the new girls up to the tall brown and black pony, whose name was Star, and saw another new girl in a yard on the other side of Cara's.

[Becca Walsh]

Becca smiled at him, shaking his hand as he introduced himself. When Cara offered to show her Chris, she grinned, following the girl over to her assigned pony. She listened as Cara explained hat the gelding was especially fond of treats, and laughed, reaching out to stroke his forelock.

The New Forest pony seemed to be resting his eyes a bit, but Becca could tell that he was awake, and he raised his head when she tickled his withers a bit. She could already clearly tell that the gelding was very sweet, as Cara had indicated, and she couldn't wait to start working with him. She grabbed his tack box and pulled out a hard brush, scratching at his withers a bit. The gelding didn't seem like he was going to be moving from this spot, so now would be a wonderful time to groom him.

Becca began to brush Chris over with a hard brush, and the gelding only had a little bit of dirt in his coat, and she quickly switched to a soft brush. Chris almost seemed tickled by it, and flickered his ears every once in a while as she flicked the dust off of his coat. She took a little while brushing through his long, thick mane, talking to him.

[Micheal 'Mike' Guiliford]

Mike scrambled out of his dorm down to the mounted games yard. After his last class he had fallen asleep, and slept right through his alarm clock. It had been two a couple of days since the last class, and this was only the second class that Mike had been to, and he was already late. He sprinted as fast as he could through the gravel, prepared to slow down if any horses were around. Luckily none were, allowing him to keep going. Finally when the yards and arena were in view, he slowed down, placing his hands on his knees, breathing ridiculously hard.

Once he was able, Mike walked over to the yard containing his assigned horse, not saying anything to Mr. Ropata as he was with a new girl. The Arab mix was waiting for her rider to show up, and when he did, she walked up to him. He rubbed her nose and face quickly, then grabbed the grooming kit quickly. Thankfully, Mike had the mare groomed in no time at all, easily making up lost time from being late. He glanced around the other yards, making sure the girls were doing ok with their ponies. Seeing that everyone was doing well, he continued to tack up his horse.

[daine2]

Bronwyn raced towards the arena, hoping she wasn't late... though a glance to her watch showed her that there was no need to rush so. She was cutting it close, but not late yet. The girl slowed to a walk just outside the arena nad walked in calmly, shooting off a quick "Hello." to the instructor and giving the man an excited grin before heading to where she could see her assigned pony, Ish. The Rocky Mountain breed stood patiently, so Bronnie hastened over to groom and tack up the mare, scratching her gently along the neck as she moved. She hadn't managed to speak to Cara-Jean, as Mr. Ropata had mentioned that she may want to do a few days prior, but Bronwyn didn't mind too much. She saw it as a challenge, sort of... to get to know the mare in their own time. She wondered if she could ride the mare outside of the games, and voiced it loud enough for the instructor to hear, "Mr. Ropata, are we allowed to ride our assigned horses on our on time?"

As she spoke, she worked at brushing the horses coat until it gleamed and ran a brsh through the mane, working the knots out before she glanced around and then started tacking up.

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Leo raced forward, checking his watch. Late definitely described his current position at the moment. For usually being calm and collected, the boy felt ridiculously out of control. He didn’t like to be rushed or pressured, though at this moment, there was no time to dwell on what he was feeling. Blue orbs focused on the path, checking for anything to trip on as he really didn’t need that as he was running. He fell back to a walk as he got closer the equine facilities and walked carefully to the outdoor arenas. Quickly, his eyes flew back to the map flapping in his fingers.

He had been rushing around all day, trying to find his classes and even as an extra-curricular activity this was, he had no idea what to do in mounted games. Leo just hoped the instructor would have patience and put him on a nice enough mount to get started on. The very idea excited him to his limit, possibly a soft grin though, Leo never really showed his true emotions. The group already getting their horses ready in the mounted games arena settled his fear. He was late, but not too late that everyone was already ready and going.

Leo bit his lower lip before moving smoothly through the gate and up to what he supposed was the instructor. The boy’s mind flipped through his teacher’s names finally falling on a R? Leo frowned, and looked at the man thoughtfully before offering him a small smile. “Hello… Mr. Ropota.” his quiet voice was just enough to be heard over the quiet sound of grooming and people. He then proceeded to repeat the words he had been saying all day “Leonardo Jacobs. I believe I’m in mounted games; though I just transferred here, so you might not have me on your list.” he said assuming the teacher had a list of students for attendance and whatnot. The boy’s eyes settled over the ponies, smiling softly at the thought of riding a small horse again. It had been a while.

[Monique//Aurora Chambers]

Rory raced out of Red Ribbon and down to the mounted games arena. She couldn't believe how quickly the day had passed, and she didn't even have proper classes to attend like the other students. As she neared the yards she remembered to slow down with enough time before she got there so that she didn't make a repeat of the first lesson and land on her bottom.

She was pleased to see that Mr Ropata was busy with new students and she slipped passed him, giving Ria a friendly wave, as she ducked into Yoko's yard and wrapped her arms around the Highland Pony's neck as she kissed the mare's cheek.

She glanced around at the others and saw that they were all just grooming their assigned ponies so that's just what she started doing. She lifted her attention for the mare at another girl's words... Bronwyn was her name! And she asked a question about riding the ponies outside of class and Rory was interested to know the answer, After all, Globe wouldn't stand for any of these games, he was too set in his ways to know how to have fun.

[Bruce Ropata]

Bruce returned to the arena after her had introduced Makenna to her mount. He smiled and waved to the other students who had arrived while he was talking to the second of his new girls, though he knew that there was still one more new student to arrive.

He looked toward the ponies as one of the girl's spoke up. "As long as you come and ask me first, Bronwyn." He replied. "Then you are welcome to work your assigned mount any time you like. Some of them, your mount included, are trained in things other than mounted games, and I'm sure they would enjoy revisiting those things."

It was the arrival of another boy that caught the man's attention and he smiled warmly as the teenager introduced himself. "Hello Leonardo." The man said. "I was forewarned of your arrival and if you follow me, I'll introduce you to Joe." He led the way through the arena toward the ponies. "You can begin tacking up, please." He said to the group as he led the way toward the yard of a bay dun Quarter Pony. "This is Egyptian Love, or Joe. He will be your mount, for today at least." If the pony turned out to be too wily for the boy, he would need to look at getting another taller more advanced mounted games pony. "Take your time getting to know him and bring him to the arena when you are ready."

The teacher headed back to the arena. "Once you are tacked up, please bring your mount to the arena and mount up."

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Leo gave the man another shy smile as he greeted him, using his full name. While the boy preferred to being called his usual nickname, he was still feeling a bit too shy to correct the man. He honestly didn’t mind being called his full name for too long, though he would correct him once he got to know him better. Leo wasn’t really good at speaking in general to people he had just met let alone correcting them. The boy nodded in mild surprise as the teacher informed him he was told about his new student. He then followed Mr. Ropota to the yard where a golden looking pony stood.

Leo smiled at his new mount, happy to be around a horse. Horses always reduced his shy ways. The boy looked back at his teacher as the man explained what the pony’s name was. Joe. It was simple, and he liked it. Leo gave Mr. Ropota a shy grin “Thank you.” he said softly before moving to go and meet the pong. He walked quietly up to the animal, holding out a palm in offering. Joe inhaled at the new human before curiously going to sniff whatever was on the boy’s hand. “Hello Joe.”

The pony sniffed in his direction as the boy began to use a hard brush against his golden coat. Leo had to admit, the animal looked quite lovely in the sun. He smiled at his mount before beginning to ask for his hoof. Joe somewhat grudgingly brought his hoof up, letting Leo pick out all the mud and stuff stuck inside. The teenager gave the pony a pat and moved onto combing out his mane. In a matter of ten minutes, the grooming was done. Leo looked over Joe, before grabbing the pony’s tack and placing it on the animal’s back.

The pony stiffened his neck as the boy tightened the girth, making a move to attempt and nip him. Leo gave the horse a hard enough slap against the shoulder. While he may have been shy and quiet, the boy didn’t let others run over him, no matter the species. Soon enough, Joe was tacked up and Leo had his helmet dutifully on. Paddock boots and half-chaps covered his jeans and a polo-shirt sat over his top half. The boy then proceeded to lead the pony over to the arena where his teacher had said to bring him. After he had entered, Leo checked the pony’s girth and stirrups before slipping a boot into one stirrup and swinging on. His six foot frame easily mounting up onto the pony. There he sat, ready for the next instructions.

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara was spending time just grooming Ripple, feeling his muscles relax under her careful hands that when Mr Ropata finally gave them the word to start tacking up, she knew that the gelding was ready. She also knew that as soon as the snaffle bit was in his mouth, all those relaxed muscles would be tense and ready to go once more, it's just who Ripple was.

She carefully put the crimson saddle pad on his back, followed quickly by his espresso coloured close contact saddle. He had a proper games saddle for when they did competitions, but the light-weight close contact saddle worked perfectly for practise. She bopped him on the nose as the gelding turned around with his ears flat, and she carried on pulling the girth up as he turned back to the front, shaking his head. Picking up the snaffle bridle, she held the jointed snaffle in the palm of her hand and held it up to his mouth, tickling his ears as he readily accepted it and she pulled the headpiece up. Once the bridle was done up, she pulled the girth up another hole, placed her Charles Owen helmet on her head.

Leading the gelding out of his yard, they walked toward the arena. "Walk up." She growled as she flicked him with the buckle on the reins as the grey began to drag is hooves. "Good lad." She praised as he walked forward nicely and they entered the arena.

Tightening the girth again, she pulled the stirrups down and smoothly vaulted onto the gelding's back, letting him walk forward as she slipped her feet into the stirrups.

[ayla]

Kenzie smiled at Mr. Ropata and followed him over to the pony's yard. "Thanks!" she said, letting herself into the yard and petting the bay's nose. "Hey, buddy,"

[/color] she whispered, before getting her grooming tools and starting to brush the dirt off his coat. It didn't take long before the pony was clean and happy.

Kenzie nodded to herself when the instruction was given to tack up. Star's tack was located conveniently right outside the gate, and Kenzie wasted no time in getting the blue saddle pad and close-contact saddle. It definitely wasn't as cushy as her Antares, but it was no-nonsense and would allow her to move freely once mounted. Gently, Kenzie placed pad and saddle on Star's back, did up the girth, and reached over to get his bridle. He accepted the bit easily, and Kenzie pulled the crown over his ears and straightened his forelock.

Quick and efficient. Kenzie smiled to herself and let herself out of the yard, leading the pony behind her. The arena was a short walk away, and the pony seemed to get more excited as they approached. She grabbed her helmet off the fence rail and tightened the girth again before putting her left foot in the stirrup and jumping up to Star's back. Once aboard, Kenzie whistled to herself at how short the stirrups were; someone much shorter than she had last ridden in this saddle. She buckled her helmet before leaning down and taking the stirrups down five holes, which was a much more comfortable position.

Kenzie sat up again and asked for a walk. Star was definitely smaller than anything she'd ridden in years; both Ellie and Brian passed seventeen hands.[/color][/blockquote]