Setting the Pace [O]

[jillaroo]

Victoria scowled. She gave the horse a smart rap with the crop when he balked at the sight of something at the other end of the arena. Percy tossed up his head and shot forwards bucking. Victoria sawed on the reins. The horse’s mouth gaped and he bore sharply out towards the rail. Victoria realised too late what was going to happen, and almost in slow motion she felt herself falling.

She hit the ground hard. The wind was knocked out of her, and her ears were ringing as she climbed shakily to her feet. Nothing seemed to be broken, but it hurt to move her arm, and she still felt a bit dizzy. Percy waited at the far side of the arena, making no move to get away.

“You stupid horse!” she shrieked, throwing up her arms in frustration. “You’ve ruined everything!” Percy stood calmly now. As she stormed across the arena, the horse watched her curiously. Victoria snatched at the dangling reins and when he went to throw up his head in surprise, she yanked it back down.

“I hate you,” she hissed through clenched teeth. Percy rolled his eyes at her outburst, and tried to pull away. Victoria mounted, her face tight as she tried to ignore the pain in her shoulder. This time she was ready for him when he exploded. With grim determination she gripped the reins, her face streaked with tears and dust as she savagely drove him forwards.

[.Rissa.]

R.ance V.incent

Rance was new to the academy, only arriving a few days prior. His cowboy boots carried him down the sidewalk that led to the barns. His coffee colored eyes gazed around at the lush grass, not yet withered by the summer heat. Kentucky didn't seem to get as hot as other states, well, that he had been to anyway. He caught sight of a young girl leading a horse somewhere, but paid no mind to it. The academy was full of people leading their horses this way and that.

The western trainer entered the Red Willow barn that housed his gelding. His ballcap shielded the glare from the sun shining through the open barn door. Rance ambled to his horse's stall. The stocky gelding stuck his head out, brown oracles seeing a comforting sight, "Hey bud," the man spoke, his baratone vocals letting smooth words escape his mouth, "I thought we'd check out the indoor arena today." The man led the brown and white paint from the stall and tied him up to the stall itself. He personally hated cross ties. He never used them before, and wasn't going to start. He walked back to the tack groom and grabbed his saddle, blanket, bridle, a bristle brush, a hoof pick, and a bottle of fly spray. With years of having to transport tack, he had figured out how to carry a lot of things at once. He trudged everything back to the horse and set them down on the concrete floor. First, he brushed the coat, checking for wounds or ticks along the way. He hated the ugly bumps they left on the skin. Next, he picked up each shod foot and cleaned it out. Then he sprayed fly spray on the shiny coat. Satisfied, he set the saddle pad on the horse's back, followed by the tan western saddle. The horse easily took the bit and the headstall slipped in place behind his brown ears.

Rance did up the cinch, he wouldn't tighten more once he got to the ring. He led the paint out of the barn, the sound of his shoed feet echoing throughout the building. The sun gleamed on the man's shiny belt buckle. It was amazing how fast the sun really made things hot. The trainer entered the ring, and heard a high-pitched voice of a girl. His horse rose his head and looked curiosley in the direction the noise was coming from. Rance walked farther in, the only words he caught were 'I hate you'. His brown eyes filled with alarm as the girl yanked down the frightened animal's head. He knew that had to hurt. He couldn't tell from there, but the horse's mouth could have been bleeding. The trainer made up his mind then, that the girl was a brat, and she had no right to treat a horse that way.

His calloused hands fumbled with the gate and he unlatched it. The girl was mad, the horse was frightened. It was the worst scenerio of combined emotions. Rance heard it from a wise trainer, only two emotions belonged in the saddle, patience, and a sense of humor. He quickly tightened up the girth on his horse and mounted. The gelding never moved, most of his attention was on the other horse and rider. Rance bit his tongue, of all the things he wanted to tell the girl. He decided on something, "Giving you trouble?" he asked caustiously. He hadn't noticed the tears in her eyes.

Outfit: Here
Horse: Here
Notes: wow, haha, she's a fiery little girl. I'll give her that!

[jillaroo]

Percy was upset. He resisted every effort to collect his paces, and swished his tail in resistance whenever she tried to get his attention. Victoria realised she would never win in a pulling fight, and she slowed the horse to a walk. It was always like this lately, and nothing she did with the horse seemed to make a difference.

Victoria loosened her grip on the reins, not realising how tightly she’d been clutching them. She automatically leaned forwards to give the horse a pat. “You dumb horse,” she told him, and Percy’s ears tilted back to catch her words. The horse bobbed his head as if in agreement, and Victoria rolled her eyes.

It was only then she noticed the man watching them from the other side of the arena. Victoria felt her face turning red. How long had he been sitting there watching them? With a sinking feeling, she turned to face the man, trying to ignore the twinge of guilt she felt at being caught out. “Nothing I haven’t sat through before,” she said, her voice just a little too casual.

[.Rissa.]

R.ance V.incent

The man watched the pair, and as he did, his heart sank. They just weren't getting each other. The bit was an aid in getting the message to the horse, not the sole deliverance. It seemed the young girl was very mechanical, relying on spurs, crops, and a harsh bit to control the animal. They weren't on the same page, and at this rate, they would never be.

Rance had to hand it to the horse, he had a high tolerance level to still tolerate her after what had been going on. He wondered how long the pair had been like this. The girl finally noticed him, and her words, the way she said it, scared him. It sounded as if she didn't even care. He swallowed, as a horsemanship trainer, things looked all wrong, "I take it this happens frequently then?" Rance inquired even further. He barely squeezed his legs and the paint moved forward, on the inside, but keeping enough distance to hear a responce to the question. There was a difference between arrogance, and ignorance. He wanted to know the girl's situation before he took a snap at anything. After all, he couldn't help them, which is what they both needed, if he got on her bad side. And by the way she treated the horse, Rance didn't want to know what that was like.



Outfit: Here
Horse: Here
Notes: wow, haha, she's a fiery little girl. I'll give her that!

[Onzyy]

Michel dos Santos

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Michel swept the chocolatey brown bangs out of her face and into a messy bun before fetching her young mare, Rivendell Shantaram, from the paddocks. It was time for some work between, but they had an overall good bond. Michel was a horse trainer at the Academy, but so far hadn't received any requests to work with the student horses.

Shock ambled up willingly to Michel and nosed her muzzle into Michel's palm. Michel slipped on the halter and quickly led her into the barn. She quickly saddled up, and led her mare past the outdoor arena. It was too hot to work there, so she went to the indoor, where there was already two people. By the looks of it, a student and a staff member. The student didn't look like she was gelling with her horse, and Michel so dearly wanted to help. Gate! she called to alert the others of her presence. Shock was relaxed and Michel walked her on the buckle so that they could start warming up.

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Horse:Horse
Outfit: Coming Soon
Notes: Just had to join

[jillaroo]

“Enough that none of the big names on our circuit would have him in their barns,” Victoria said defensively. After that, she wasn’t sure what else to say. She turned her face away and pretended to be busy brushing invisible specks of lint off the front of her shirt. The man made her feel uncomfortable. The way the corners of his mouth tightened, reminded Victoria of her dad when she’d done something wrong...he was annoyed with her.

Percy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, bored of standing around. Victoria rubbed the white blaze on his forehead, and smoothed his forelock, trying to ignore the man. At that same moment, Percy let out a loud snort and stood as still as a statue. Victoria looked over her shoulder, and scowled as she watched a horse and rider working easily down the far rail.

Victoria had the distinct feeling of being picked on, and she bristled. It wasn’t fair. The man made her feel like she was stupid and she hated that. Percy was as good as that other horse, why couldn’t he just act like it?

[.Rissa.]

R.ance V.incent

The trainer knew he upset the girl then at her comment. But, there was emotion in it. He didn't know if hse defending herself, or the horse, or both. Rance decided to back off for now, ride over on the other side of the ring and ponder. His choclate brown eyes glanced at the girl. He nodded his head twice to her statement. His hands of leather turned to velvet as he pulled back on the reins and halted the horse. His leg applied to the animal's side and he turned the horse around, starting off at a walk, then picking up to a trot. The gelding's tail arched just a bit, and his ears flipped forward.

Rance heard a woman's voice call out, and quickly turned to the gate. She just so happened to be a fine woman he had never seen before. He grinned at the thought that his horse was conviently just passing by her. He dipped his head and slowed his horse to a walk, "Howdy ma'am."

Outfit: Here
Horse: Here
Notes:

[Onzyy]

Michel dos Santos

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Shock just merely gave a glance to the man, and his horse. For the one day she wears gloves, and then every guy wants her. She wasn't prepared to take off the white gloves just so that this guy could see her wedding band. Hello her voice not entirely unfriendly.

Michel just gave the student another glance before Shock decided that the man next to her was enough and lunged out at the horse he was riding. Michel reined her in and just shortened his reins. Sorry. That was my fault. I wasn't paying attention she said, slightly flustered. Michel would never blame a horse for what they did. Somehow it always related back to the rider.

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Horse:Horse
Outfit: Here
Notes: She's married for heavens sakes.

[jillaroo]

The man eyed her suspiciously, and Victoria met his gaze with a flash of defiance. She felt her fingers clench into a fist, and she tried to ignore the flush of colour she felt creeping into her cheeks. After a moment, the man simply nodded, and without another word, turned his horse away.

Victoria’s shoulders sagged, and she pressed her lips shut. It wouldn’t do any good to snap at him. He was an adult, and she had always been taught to respect her elders. It was just that his words had hit a raw nerve. She liked to do well at things, and the way he’d looked at her had made her feel like she was just some silly kid who didn’t know anything.

Victoria blinked back tears of frustration. What happened if she was never good enough to ride horses like Percy? It was easy enough when all she had to do was know which buttons to push, but with Percy everything was so different. She didn’t want to admit it, but he scared her. Her mind skipped ahead, and she told herself that next time it would go better, then finally everyone would see what a good rider she was. Victoria tugged on the reins, thinking reluctantly of the pile of homework her teachers had assigned.

But Percy didn’t want to go. Victoria took a deep breath and released it in a hiss. Her face flushed red and she gave a firm yank on the reins. Percy pinned his ears and there was a whoosh, as his teeth snapped close on air. Victoria took a step back; surprised the horse had tried to bite her. “Percy!” she exclaimed, but her voice wobbled and she could feel her heart thudding painfully in her chest.

[.Rissa.]

R.ance V.incent

No sooner, did the horse make a lunge at the paint. Rance's gelding let out a small squeal and quickly backed up a few paces. What a chicken, Rance teased in his mind. His hand patted the brown hairs on the gelding's neck. He waved it off easily as the woman apologized, "It's no problem. My horse is just a drama queen."

No sooner was that incident over, the girl yelled her horse's name. There was fear and panic, maybe in even surprise in it. Rance quickly turned his head, he wasn't facing her, so he didn't see what happened, but the other woman probably did. His lips tightened in suspense. He was afraid she would push the horse to far, that was when people got hurt. If a horse didn't like a situation, it had two options, fight or flight. The second one was ruled out by the earlier attempt to get away when the young girl yanked down on the reins.

Outfit: Here
Horse: Here
Notes: like he would know???

[Onzyy]

Michel dos Santos

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Michel laughed at his comment, and then saw the whole situation pan out in front of her. The horse lunged out at the girl, and she seemed like she didn't know what to do. The voice was panicked, slightly shocked, and surprised actually. Without a moments hesitation, Michel got off Shock and walked to the girl. Firstly, you should never let a horse get away with that. So you should give him a sharp poke in the jaw. And secondly, I'm Michel. One of the trainers at the Academy. Pleasure to meet you.

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Horse:Horse
Outfit: Here
Notes: Sorry for the blergh post

[jillaroo]

Victoria’s stomach flopped, and she swallowed hard. What if there was something really wrong with Percy? He’d always been a handful, but he’d never been mean. She felt hot tears sting her eyes, and a sob rose in her throat. Nothing seemed to be going right anymore. The woman’s voice broke through her thoughts, and Victoria flushed red. It was a mistake coming here, she thought. I should have just stayed home and quit riding, like mum and dad wanted.

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do,” she snapped. Why did everyone treat her like a kid? It wasn’t like she hadn’t been trying. Every night she’d cried herself to sleep and the pain in her stomach had been so bad yesterday, she’d missed two classes and been sent to the nurse by one of her teachers.

Victoria felt a knot of disappointment form in her chest. Nothing had been the same since the accident last summer. Everybody else had moved on, except her. Victoria refused to meet the woman’s eyes, not wanting to see the disappointment there. “I’m just going to put him away,” she said flatly. “I guess he needs to rest or something.”

[.Rissa.]

R.ance V.incent

The trainer turned back to the women as he heard the faint creak of leather. He watched as quickly slid to the ground and started walking to the student, confrontation was a intense thing. The man knew better, why was it necessary for her to wal all the way over there? Rance would have just turned and asked a simple question like 'You okay?' If only he had seen what happened. He could pick up on the conversation and lowered his head to view his gelding's mane while his lips muttered curse words. It wasn't the horse that needed punishment then. Hitting the animal for defending himself would make the horse hate the rider even more. That was the opposite of what needed to happen.

His eyes squinted shut as the young girl put up a brick wall and snapped back at the woman. Rance knew better than to say anything to her now. He at least acted like he was busy and turned the gelding in a tight circle, the horse spinning around on it's muscles haunches, then, they went back the other way before he asked for some 20 foot circles at a trot.

For the situation, it was probably best for the girl to put the horse up, and everyone cool down.

Outfit: Here
Horse: Here
Notes:

[Onzyy]

Michel dos Santos

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Michel was taken aback at the girl's outburst. She was trying to help, but it probably hadn't seemed that way. I'm sorry, I was just trying to help. Michel didn't know what to do. It was her job to help, and this was a situation that needed it.

Michel nodded to the girl, and she started walking out of the arena. Hoping that the cowboy wouldn't see her, and try to follow.

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Horse:Horse
Outfit: Here
Notes: Sorry for the blergh post

[jillaroo]

Victoria’s couldn’t believe the woman’s words. Why couldn’t everyone just mind their own business? They all thought they knew best, but maybe they didn’t! The woman looked hurt, and Victoria felt ashamed that she’d snapped at her. “I’m sorry,” she said, but the words sounded forced, even to her. “It was nice of you to help, but I think I’ll just do this on my own.”

She led Percy past the woman and her horse feeling as if this was all just a bad dream. Back in his stall, she went through the motions of untacking him. But it didn’t seem as if her arms and legs were a part of her, and she moved like a robot through her chores. Her chest felt strangely tight, and she tried not to think of anything other than the homework she had due for science, or that cute shirt she’d seen down at the mall.

She tried to think of anything other than horses, not trusting the knot of feelings swirling around in her head. One memory tugged itself free, and in her mind she saw herself at the Colesford Horse Show, a red ribbon hanging on Percy’s bridle, and a matching grin on her face. Suddenly, Victoria burst into tears, her control crumbling as she sunk down into the straw. “Oh Percy,” she sobbed. “Why can’t you just be good?”