About a horse... (CaraBear - Katherine Carr)

[lottii]

Wandering through the barn the girl paused outside each stables, taking a look at the horse inside and making a fuss if they came to the door. It took her almost 10 minutes to make her way down to the end of the barn. Reading the list of Academy owned horses, two horses jumped out as what she was looking for. Making her way back down the row of stables, she made a fuss of both those horses.

The slight girl knocked, and immediately entered the office of White Oak Barn. Noticing the woman who she was looking for, she started talking straight away. "Hello, I'm Mischief, and I'm new here. I don't own a horse but have been riding all my life, mostly dressage but also a fair bit of jumping. My parents pushed me to have lessons all the time, so I have ridden with some of the top trainers around the country, even though I would have been happy with anything so long as it was around the horses. I was hoping I could try out a horse to be able to use in class, there are two horses I really like but it is up to you to make a decision and I guess you might want to see me ride." Mischief rushed all this out, the adults around the stables the only adults she was interested in making a good impression on. "Mountain Viewing and Daedalus are the two I think would be best, and I would love to be able to ride them", Mischief finished in a rush. Finally she met the woman in the eye, and grinned a delightful smile, full of how happy she was to be around horses and not being pressured by her parents.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Katherine opened her mouth to call in the person who knocked on her office door, but before she could say anything the door swung open and a girl entered. The woman's eyebrows lifted as the girl, Mischief, started speaking, her words coming out as a rush. Thank goodness I have a teenage daughter. She thought being able to separate the words as the girl said them, as she typed the girl's girl into the computer, being in charge of the horse assignments she had everybody's information.

She smiled and nodded when Mischief's monologue finally ran out. "I am very impressed with your initiative about researching the horses before you came to see me." She said as she read through the girl's riding history. "As nice a horse as Daedalus is, he is very set in his ways and only does dressage. I would like to pair you up with Bear, as he is quite versatile. Even though he loves the cross county course, he will also fly over show jumps and can work through a dressage test - if you can convince him to release the finesse in himself."

She typed some thing into the computer. "I would like to watch you ride him in the arena at some point, but I will give the two of you a couple of days to get to know each other in case you feel it isn't working out."

[lottii]

Mischief grinned again at the praise from the elder woman, praise wasn't something she often got from her parents, or anyone else for that matter. She listened avidly as Katherine spoke, hoping with all her heart she would be allowed to ride one of the horses. Her heart dropped when Katherine commented about Daedalus and then soared higher than she could remember at being allowed to ride Bear. Mischief was delighted, and it showed all over her face. A horse she called almost have as her own, without someone constantly telling her what to do.
"Thank you so much, that is wonderful! Bear seems like such a great horse, I can't wait to get to know him properly. I bet he will be a star at everything!" Mischief was quiet quite abruptly, suddenly aware she much be sounding like a young child getting their first ride on a pony. "Thanks," she started again simply, "I will just ride him a little to get used to him first and then show you how amazing he is!"[/b] She finished slipping back into that excited tone again. Almost bouncing up and down with joy, Mischief smiled at the older woman again, said a simple goodbye with another thank you worked in, and left the room buzzing.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Katherine smiled brightly as the girl seemed thrilled with getting the gelding. In fact Mischief's reaction reminded her a little of how Aurora acted on the day that the manager said she felt the girl was ready to ride solo in the arena.

She waved as the girl bounced out of the room. The woman was pleased the Bear would be getting the attention he deserved. Not that the barn-hands weren't doing a wonderful job, but when a horse was one of a number of others, there just wasn't the connection that she liked to see between horses and their riders.

She was shaken out of her thoughts as the phone began to ring. "Good morning, Blue Ridge Academy, White Oak barn, Katherine speaking." She quirked a smile, she really needed to work out a way to shorten that greeting. Maybe taking out the academy part, as the person who was calling obviously knew that the had called the Academy. "Yes, we are always on the look out for new horses. What kind of experience do your horses have" She sat back in her chair as she listened to the person on the other end of the phone.

[lottii]

Mischief stood outside the barn door, glowing with happiness about Bear. Just as she was about to rush off down the yard to find the horse, she heard Katherine speaking from inside the office. Missy didn't mean to eavesdrop, so she quickly walked away. But not before she had heard the words Katherine had spoken about new horses. How awesome!

As Mischief walked down the stables, she grabbed a grooming kit from the tack room - there was a grooming kit in Bear's locker - and let herself in Bear's stall. Making a mental note to purchase a grooming kit of her own for Bear - she wanted to buy him anything she could- she made a fuss of him and then picked up a brush. As she started grooming the horse, she wondered about what Katherine had said. Maybe if she was going to try out some possible new horses, Mischief might be able to tag along. It was a long shot, and Missy planned to spend some bonding time with Bear anyway. So if Katherine asked, she wouldn't say no!