Halloween Event

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Okay people, this is the place to release your creative juices. I don't care how many of your characters yo do or don't use, just only post once (that's ONE time only) for each person. I'm not going over the rules again, so you might want to go and refresh yourself about them in the post in the bulletin board.

[smear:FF0000]Let the costumes begin!![/smear:00FF00]

Ride your horse into the arena with everyone else, ride along the rail and then into the middle where you will line up for the judges.

[Luka Ingersleben]

Luka glanced critically at Quiz's now-painted body. He had spent a lot of time deciding on a costume for the horse, and now his planning had come to the final stages. He had decided on turning the horse into a Kelpie for the day, complete with the swimmer that he would not be luring -quite- to death. He has spent hours grooming and painting the gelding, a sure task with all of the feathers involved. Now the blue roan Gypsy was looking like the creature from a storybook, all four legs fading slowly to green paint. The feathers had darker and lighter green streaks in them, for contrast and to mime seaweed.

The hardest part to get right, for Luka at least, had been the head. The gelding's head was also a dusky green, with his white star marking painted in bright, bright blue. Luka had even dug up an old halter, almost old enough to throw away, and painted it the same green, with a pair of reins that he had tied crepe paper to, to form more seaweed. The gelding's normally black mane and tail were painted blue and left open, arranged in a semi-wild fashion.

Luka pulled out the beach towel he had found, which he had folded in half and then attached two strips of green towel to, and laid it over the gelding's back. They had practiced with the 'saddle' before the parade day, but Quiz still turned to look at what his owner was doing. Luka carefully rubbed his nose, "Mein guter Junge." He did up the straps, tying them tightly enough that the towel wouldn't slip, but not tight enough to bother the gelding.

With Quiz's prep done, he glanced at his watch. He still had a while to go before the parade, so he watched the hustle and bustle of other riders and horses getting their mounts and themselves ready.

With only a few minutes until the show, he pulled off his sweatshirt and loose-fitting pants, revealing a tight wetsuit, although he replaced his boots on his feet. While the parade was fun, he didn't feel like getting stepped on. He picked up his helmet, which had large, scuba-esque goggles on it and a snorkel attached as well. He buckled it on, then unclipped Quiz from the cross-ties, taking the gelding's reins and walking him down the familiar path to the dressage arena.

Without stirrups, Luka had to use the bleachers to mount, then steered Quiz into the arena, where he walked the gelding along the arena, using his training to get Quiz to extend his walk, then after a round, stopped the gelding in the center of the arena, holding his reins loosely in his hands as he waited for everyone else to complete the circuit and for the judges to come out.

[Miranda Florin]

Miranda hurried into the barn with two boxes in her arms, a smaller one with her own costume, and a larger one with Harr's part. She put both down carefully just outside of the gelding's stall and hurried to grab his grooming kit. She had washed him earlier, but a bit of dust had gotten onto his coat, which she didn't want bothering him at the parade.

After giving the gelding a quick grooming, she started opening the large box. First out of the box, she pulled a black stable blanket, which had white sown in the front, along with a red-and-gold tie in front, sown down so that it wouldn't flap. She draped this over Harr's body, tightening the clasps so that he wouldn't be able to get it off while she worked. She had arrived in plenty of time to get ready, luckily, so Miranda was able to take her time. She pulled out a long red scarf, striped with gold, with tassels at the ends, and wrapped it once around Harr's neck, then tying it into a knot so that it wouldn't fall off.

She set the gelding's bridle and glasses on top of the box for the moment and left him standing at the trailer, taking her box to go and get ready for her part. She dressed quickly in the woman's room, hurrying so that she didn't keep anyone else waiting outside, then emerged, wearing her black robes, Gryffindor colored gear, and with her hair tied up.

She returned to Harr and put on his dark-brown bridle. She placed the black-wire glasses onto his nose, using some thin black wire to 'tie' the glasses to the bridle. Throwing his reins over his head, she bent and picked up a pink-white makeup pencil. Tugging gently on the gelding's reins to get the old gelding to lower his head, she carefully drew the lightning bolt onto his forehead, in between his eyes.

Grabbing her helmet, which had a bushy brown wig covering it, she unlatched the gelding's stall door and led Harr down the path to the dressage arena, where the class was to take place, her heart thumping in excitement. She buckled her helmet into place, taking a moment to arrange the wig that she had clipped onto it, letting the bushy brown ringlets fall about her face. At the signal, she mounted up onto Harr, using a leg up from someone around, then followed another rider into the arena, making sure that there was enough room between her and the next person. After their lap around the arena, she stopped Harr and loosened his reins, waiting for the judging to begin.

[Rose Hoff]

Rose awoke early the day of the Halloween Event, eager to get going. She had a lot of work to do, even though she'd already prepared quite a bit. Her and Vintage were going to be dressed as Rapunzel and Maximus from Tangled.

She rushed down to the White Oak Barn after grabbing her carefully packed garment bag, and greeted Vintage once she'd gotten there. The mare had been groomed the night before to a pristine white, and Rose had asked that the mare be kept in that night, knowing that if Vintage rolled, there would not be enough time to clean her off. The mare was clearly in a good mood as Rose fussed around her, dusting the last specks of dirt out of her coat and combing out her mane. She felt bad knowing that she'd have to tack Vintage up before getting dressed herself, but she probably wouldn't be able to do it after getting dressed without ruining her costume.

Once Vintage was pristine, she put her saddle pad on, which was maroon with gold trim. She'd taken an old maroon saddle pad of hers and stitched on the trim. She then put on her saddle and tightened the girth before attaching her saddle bags, onto which she'd stenciled the gold sun featured in the movie with gold paint. She also put an old breastplate on, which she'd had her dad send from the tack room back home. Vintage usually didn't use one, but she'd tolerate it. On the front of it, Rose had put a medallion with the same gold stenciling. She stepped back, appraising her work, and Vintage did look quite a lot like Maximus, if not a little less stocky and, well, a mare.

Once pleased, Rose rushed to the bathroom with her garment bag and pulled open the zipper, grinning when she saw the gown inside. She'd taken a lavender ballgown she'd found online and ordered and transformed it into a dress that amazingly resembled Rapunzel's signature gown. She shed her sweatpants and t-shirt she'd had on, and stepped into the gown pulling it up and lacing the bodice. She'd made the skirt a little bit fuller, knowing that it would be easier to ride that way. She then pulled on her field boots over her breeches, and almost laughed at how funny it looked. Finally, she tucked all of her blond hair into a bald cap, and pulled on her long, blond wig that she'd braided flowers into the night before. She market for Rapunzel wigs was apparently very large, and she hadn't had a problem finding one that was reasonably priced, to her surprise. Over it, she pulled on her helmet which she'd put a gold helmet cover over and a tiara on the visor. Satisfied, she twirled around in the mirror before exiting.

Vintage seemed to be a bit confused by Rose's getup, but still nuzzled her gently after Rose had put the bridle on. Rose led her out of the barn, hitching up her skirt to mount the mare, and arranging it around her so that it wouldn't inhibit her riding. She then entered the dressage arena and walked Vintage around once before moving to the center and patting Vintage's neck. She arranged her hair so that the huge braid was over her shoulder, and smiled.

[Becca Walsh]

Becca couldn't help but be nervous for this, even though the show wasn't even based on performance. She'd been tempted to use Rabbit for it, since he was sure to be better behaved, but based on the costume she was intent on wearing, Frye would be the better choice. Becca had had a hard time thinking of costumes, but when she'd thought of a skeleton, she knew she had to do it. The costume seemed to be sort of unoriginal, but with Frye, she was sure that it would be amazing.

She got dressed first, knowing that once she got Frye ready, he probably wouldn't stand still and she didn't want to mess him up. She put on her black leggings and fitted shirt, onto which she had painted bones, trying to be as anatomically correct as possible. She then did her makeup, making her eye sockets look deep and hollow, and painting on the bones for her face too. She left her wild red hair wavy and loose, pulling on her black paddock boots before leaving. She usually preferred her field boots, but the paddock boots would allow the bones painted onto her lower legs to be seen as well. Becca, a talented artist, had a great time painting her costume, and had even done the back of her shirt and paints and it really did look very cool.

She made her way down to the barn very early, knowing that preparing Frye would take a very long time. She'd stenciled out the different bones of a horse, and had gotten white paint. The white would contrast nicely with Frye's fiery chestnut coat if Becca could manage to get it on correctly. She greeted him when she got there, removing him blanket that she'd put on the night before so that he would be clean. She groomed him quickly after clipping him into the crossties, and took out her supplies.

Becca painstakingly painted on each bone with the stencils, starting on his head and moving down his neck and ribs, and finally his hips. She did his legs last, trying to hold them still as best she could, but his front right smudged a little when he started stomping. Nonetheless, when she had finished, it looked amazing.

She'd decided to rise him bareback for this. She'd had her doubts, but she'd ridden him bareback before, and surprisingly, he hadn't been that bad. There was something about being so close to him that made it easier to sense what he was going to do, and since they'd only be walking, she figured that it would be safe. Once the paint had dried, she put on his bridle and walked him out, using a mounting block to get onto his back. She squeezed him forward with her legs, holding him back firmly as they entered the ring. She extended his stride to a long, working walk, keeping her legs still at his sides and stretching herself tall. Once they'd made their way around, she stopped in the center next to the rest of the riders and tried her best to hold him in place as he threw his head indignantly. Frye really did look quite scary.

[Leonardo Jacobs]

Leo sighed as he readied the mare, wondering how he had come across attempting this costume show. Being the boy he was, of course he had chosen to do something in the agricultural section. Avi stood now, polished to a shine, and completely baffled as to why he was taking so long to get her tacked up. Little did the poor mare know, she was to be used in a costume. Leo smiled at his handy work, he had been working on this costume for nearly three weeks and he knew his knowledge on woodworking would pay off. Finally, taking a deep breath, Leo turned to his future tractor.

Avi snorted in complete disbelief as the boy covered her in a sun yellow sheet, clipping it at the front just like a regular blanket. The boy nodded as he looked over it before moving on to placing the yellow fabric covered saddle. It blended in easily, with only two stirrups popping out the end. The much would be covered up by his legs when he got on however so Leo wasn’t too bothered about it. With that, the boy pulled on the two boots he had gotten for Avi, black in color and pretty plain; with a Velcro strip on the side. After he had done that, the brunette grabbed the two wooden circles disguised as wheels with the other part of Velcro on the other side. He placed the two smaller on Avi’s front boots before standing back up.

Leo made a determined face as he attempted to stick the two other paper large wheels on to the back side of the horse’s blanket with Velcro. He grinned as it stayed; maybe this would work out. Leo placed extra pieces of sticky substances between the wheels and the blanket to secure it and gave his horse a pat. Good thing he had gone over the majority of this with her the last week. The scariest thing was yet to come. He stood back to look at his work, the bottom half of her honestly looked like a tractor with the two small wheels and the large wheels yellow in the middle and black for the rubber.

Finally, the boy easily picked up the light green frame he had made out of piping and placed it on her back. Avi moved an inch, though that was it and he continued to secure it on. Finally, it laid smoothly on the yellow blanket, the top part of it displaying the words “John Deere”. Red reflectors sat also on the front of the frame giving off the look of headlights. It towered over the horse’s back, and he realized he would have to put his legs over the piping and arms between the two front supporters to hold the reins. Still, it had worked out and he was quite proud. The crane part of the tractor stuck out back, giving it a realistic effect along with the usual orange flag. Leo actually let out a laugh “Oh Avi, my little tractor.” he murmured giving her a pat.

There was only one more piece to do. Leo picked up the pretend front end loader with yellow piping coming out at both ends. He secured both sides to the frame before letting it hang in front of the mare’s chest as the little scoop thing to pick up stuff. The brunette grinned at his creation, his father would’ve been proud. Now, only he had to get dressed. Leo changed quickly into overalls, over a red plaid shirt. A farmer hat sat atop his head, and work gloves covered his hands. Quickly, he slipped on the sandy colored work/riding boots before placing a piece of wheat between his teeth. It was a look he had grown pretty good at growing up on a farm.

Leo nearly laughed at him and his mount before sliding on, placing his thighs uncomfortably over the bottom piping of the frame. The top part covered over his head and he felt as if he was actually in a tractor. “Vroom vroom.” Leo chuckled once more before collecting his horse’s reins up and pushing her forward. Avi snorted, quite annoyed at the fact she had to walk around in the costume, taking stiff steps and throwing her head up. Leo easily quieted her however, giving her a soft reassuring rub before entering the arena. Perhaps he wasn’t the scariest costume there, but he had chosen something that connected to home and he felt proud in his colors.

[Sara Jane Lyena]

Sara rushed into the barn, grimacing. She was running slightly late, because she had taken longer than she had expected brushing Cinder, and now things were running behind. However, she had planned enough time for brushing Balian that she would be able to make up for it. As she approached the gelding's stall with grooming kit and paint in hand, she hurried to get Cinder into the stall. Way too many people were in the aisles, getting their horses ready, and she didn't want anyone freaking out at the sight of Cinder. The dog was wearing his butterfly vest, although Sara's backpack held a change even for him.

After brushing Balian, Sara worked on getting his dappled coat to assume a more even grey tone, using a paintbrush with safe paint to even out the worst of the contrast. Because she didn't want to smear the paint on Balian's face with the bridle when she put it on, she put the gelding's bridle on first, then set about daubing lighter pink around his nose, leaving a ring around his nostrils, then pulled out the makeup crayons she had brought with her and set about painting a large, toothy grin onto the gelding's muzzle. Once that was done, she used gel on his mane, teasing it so that it folded in half and stuck straight up, to give him the appearance of a donkey's scruffy mane. His tail, she used two hair-ties to pull together, leaving a tassel at the end. She painted the upper section with the same grey paint as she had used before, but she left the tassel black. She looked at Balian's obviously-horse ears, but knew there was nothing she could do about that. He had refused to accept the donkey ears she had found, and Sara hadn't want to push him into wearing them, so he would be going short-eared.

Leaving the gelding to stand and wait, Sara grabbed Cinder's lead and a bag holding her own costume and ventured out into the aisle. She headed down to the barn's bathroom, barricading herself into one of the stalls and sending Cinder to lie down right by the door, although inside, so no one would step on him. Feeling her heart pounding, Sara started changing. She pulled off her sweats and shirt and slipped into a sky-blue dress, with parts patterned in light blue, and some white-gold embroidery. She had ordered the dress online, from a costume store, and was glad that it had turned out so well. The skirt was full enough for her to ride in, but just in case, she had also gotten a pair of light-blue jeans, which she wore underneath the dress. She slipped her feet into low-cut blue shoes, which were stable enough to wear around horses, at least for one time.

Letting herself out of the bathroom stall, Sara left Cinder to follow her on his own, leaning into the mirror and using a soft sponge to paint her entire face and her arms green. Satisfied, she pulled her brown hair away from her face, pulling it into a high bun and pinning it into place. Her helmet had a wig on it, a red one for her costume, with the ogre's ears sticking out of the hair. She looked at herself in the mirror, then nodded slightly, smiling. As a final touch, she added a coat of Red Apple brand lipstick, staining her lips a bright red. She grinned at herself in the mirror, then bent down to grab Cinder's lead, "Come on, boy, we have to get you ready too."

Sara led the dog back to Balian's stall and sat down in the sawdust. She pulled out the bag that held Cinder's costume, feeling her nerves tingling. She laid everything out in the straw, then started with the boots. She gave Cinder a command to stand still, stock-still, then picked up his back legs one by one and slid the boots onto his paws. The black, fake-leather boots had a red trim across the top, and went up to Cinder's lower thigh. Down where the hock was, the leather was softened, to allow it to bend when the dog walked. Next came the belt. Sara carefully buckled it around the dog's croup, making sure that it sat well before she connected the foil's head. She didn't want anyone getting hurt if something did happen at the show, so she had opted out of a complete replica foil, and had instead just chosen to use the handle of one, so that the blade was missing.

After the belt was on, Sara picked up the black cape, which was really just Cinder's old vest with black velvet sown onto it, longer than the vest. The velvet draped across most of Cinder's orange back, although it left his lighter stomach visible, and stopped before the belt. Just to avoid any confusion in the arena, Sara had taken another liberty with the costume, sowing a patch onto the cape, with the words 'Service Dog' emblazoned on it in white font. Last of all, Sara nestled a cavalier hat between Cinder's pricked ears, tying it beneath his chin that it wouldn't be shaken off that easily. She ran a hand over the yellow ostrich-feather plume, removing any sawdust from it, then unclipped Cinder's lead, draping it over the stall door.

She grabbed Balian's reins and led the gelding out to the courtyard in front of the arena. With the help of a mounting block, she got onto Balian's back, where she spent a moment arranging her dress before she set her heels to Balian's sides, "Come on, boys." Cinder followed along at the gelding's side, never straying far from the horse's left shoulder. As they approached the arena, Sara could see people already lining up. At the signal, she followed some other riders into the arena, Cinder still at her side. She had talked to the judges about it, and had official permission for her choice, and it had all been cleared, so she didn't worry about the odd looks she got from family. They followed the horse in front of them around the arena, Sara sitting tall, with Pup-in-boots following. As they stopped, Sara relaxed her grip on Balian's reins and looked at Cinder. She murmured a command for him to sit down, and the dog obeyed, his eyes fixed on her. Sara looked back up, keeping a hand on Balian's shoulder, as she waited for the judges to finish their inspection.

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara felt the normal stomach pangs that she felt on the day of a competition, but today she didn't have time for them. In her dorm she pulled her hair back into a messy bun just so it would be out of the way while she was getting the pony ready and then grabbed the two garment bags that held her costume and the box that held the things that the little mare would need for her costume.

Leaving her room, she hurried down to the White Oak barn and slipped in, weaving her way through the other horses and riders that were mingling in the aisle. After stopping in the tack room to collect the kit she wanted, she slipped into Bonnie's stall and greeted the flaxen chestnut pony. She would have love to have been riding Ember, but the mare's injury stopped her from being ridden.

Hanging the garment bags at the back of the stall, she went to the mare and began to groom her within an inch of her life. Once the New Forest's mane and tail were free of tangles, the girl sprayed them with a conditioner that she had scented with orange peel and then put her tail into a tight braid, covered it with a light coat of hair spray and turned her attention to the mane. She quickly put the mane into a running braid and covered it with hair spray.

She opened the box she had brought in and removed the fabric flowers she had made from silk and tulle. the first one she pulled out, the flowers were strung together to create a necklace for the mare and put it over the pony's head so that is sat around her neck and over her withers, she adjusted the flowers so they sat nicely. She then took out the small flowers and attached them with the velcro around the mare's fetlocks. Her attention then went back to the mane and tail. Removing the tail plait, she ran her fingers through the tail hairs until they fell in soft waves. She then repeated the process with the mane. She then attached flowers throughout the mane and tail, the pony looking like the perfect flower pony. "I'll be back" She told the mare as she kissed her muzzle before grabbing one of her garment bags and exiting the stall, leaving the New Forest pony in a set of cross-ties so there was no chance of her rolling.

Again, weaving her way around people and equines, she slipped into the bathroom. After throwing up a couple of times, and then washing her face and brushing her teeth - she always kept tooth paste and brush in the barn - she unzipped the bag and took out her costume. She looked at it and was pleased with the finished product. Slipping out of the tracksuit she was wearing, she pulled on her pink sheer tights and the stepped into the leotard dress that she had spent so many nights designing and sewing. The finished product looked a lot like many of her ballet recital costumes, she had created the soft pink dress over the top of a leotard, the flowing skirt ending a good couple of inches above her knees. It had been created in a way so that while sitting on the mare, the hem of the skirt would have the appearance of flower petals. The bodice of the dress had a double line of delicate flowers going from her right shoulder to her left hip. She pulled the hair-tie out of her hair and let the soft tresses fall down to her waist. She had spent time the evening before braiding her own hair when it was wet, so now that she had slept with her hair like that, he naturally straight hair had a gentle wave through it. She then pushed her feet back into her paddock boots, ruining the entire outfit, and slipped back out of the bathroom and into the mare's stall.

Taking some more flowers from the box, she wove them through her own hair and walked to the garment bag she had left in the stall. Unzipping the bag, she removed a set of soft wings, made from the same soft silk and tulle, in a mixture of pink and a gentle green, that she had used with the flower, in a wire frame. She slipped her arms through the elastic on the wings and shrugged her shoulders until they sat nicely in place. She then removed the mare's halter and cross-ties and out of the box she removed a rope halter that she had spent the evening before attaching flowers to cheek-pieces and the noseband was wrapped in leaf shaped material, and then attached the reins, which were also covered in flowers.

Leading the mare out of the stall, she carefully led her down the barn and outside, being careful not to catch anyone or another horses with her wings. Once outside she kicked off her paddock boots and swapped them for a pair of slippers that matched her dress that she had left by the side of the barn. She placed her helmet on her head, her helmet even had a wreath of flowers on it. Vaulting easily onto the mare's back, she sat side saddle and encouraged the mounted games pony forward as they walked toward the arena.

Upon the word of the gate steward, she followed the group of horses and riders into the arena, circled it and then lined in the centre, she rubbed the mare's neck and fixed one of the flowers in her mane. The mare seemed to know what was going on as she arched her neck and stood perfectly still.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

[smear:FF0000]Competition Closed[/smear:00FF00]

Keep and eye on the bulletin board to find the results