Mounted Games Class (open)

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"He's pretty nifty on his feet," Pel defended her pony, but was honest enough to admit, "When he wants to be, anyway. He can be a bit of a grouch, but if he really doesn't work out, I'm more than happy to ride one of your ponies or the school ponies - they look like a lot of fun!" She cast a glance at the three patiently waiting ponies as she spoke, then dragged her attention back to the rest of Miss Kane's words, showing her acquiescence with a nod. Vaulting? That was something she could do, despite her short stature. It was something she'd taught herself precisely so that she could show the naysayers who'd said she'd never be able to vault atop a pony - let alone a horse - that she could preform the move just as well as any of them, if not better. Much of her life, in fact, was motivated by this desire to prove people wrong; how whole presence at Blue Ridge could be mostly explained by the fact that she refused to listen to what she was being told.

Not that she was thinking about the philosophy defining her life; no, she was vaulting atop of Grit in one smooth, easy movement, holding herself suspended for a fraction of a second before she let herself down gently into the saddle. A moment later, and she was beginning a short warm-up, walking, trotting and cantering Grit on either rein, and practicing a few tight turns before returning to the group for the little demonstration. She held her tongue and didn't point out that she knew about bending - from the looks of at least one other person in the class, some people didn't, and watched Cara's little demo, wondering about the rather differing vibes she was getting off the girl. Clearly a good rider from the way she was handling her pony; yet she'd looked so miserable that time in the stable; yet she seemed to have the respect of many of the teachers.... odd.

Nodding her understanding as Miss Kane split them up into teams, Pel went to the back of their little ride, watching the preformance of the two riders in front of her intently, even as Grit fairly quivered underneath her: he knew what this was, and maybe it was only practice, but his competitive blood was up, and he was out to win this little thing. As Jay and Question cantered towards them, baton outstretched, Pel shortened her reins, holding out one hand for the object, and as soon as she felt it smack firmly into her palm, she closed her fingers around it and kicked Grit onwards.

The Dales pony flung himself into a canter almost from the halt, charging down upon the first pole with glee, hooves thundering as Pel reined him neatly around the first pole, slipping past it with barely an inch to spare as they wove towards the next one. Their turn at the end wasn't quite as neat as those that the smaller ponies could do, especially given the fact that Grit was decidedly enjoying himself and wasn't all that keen about turning, but they were soon diving back through the line of poles, skimming around the last one and then pelting towards the finish line, Pel in a two-point position as they went for it: one good thing about being the last rider on the team was not having to worry about handing over the baton.

They charged across the line, Grit putting in a little buck of exuberance, Pel having to circle the pony to get him to actually come back to a walk. As soon as she'd managed that, though, she turned her attention back to what everyone else was doing, competitive grin fixed on her face. "Now, that was fun!"

***
"Vault?" Jess squeaked, never having even dreamed of possessing the coordination to begin to try to attempt that, somewhat reassured when Miss Kane said she could just mount normally. Sounded like vaulting was something she needed to learn to do, though, she decided as she mounted up from the ground and began to warm up, making sure to put in a lot of turns, as she figured that that was something that would be needed for mounted games. Turns, and quick reactions, so she practiced her transitions, as well, Acorn responding beautifully, well aware that he was - as usual - the more experienced party here.

Returning with the other six riders as Miss Kane called them in, she listened intently, unconsciously biting at her lip gently as she did so, as she explained things. Right: bending. That didn't sound too complicated? At least she wasn't having to hold anything beyond a baton while she steered... though that would probably cause quite enough problems! Watching with equal intensity as Miss Kane and Cara did a demo race - and internally cheering Cara - she broke into a brief clap as the two crossed the finish line neck on neck, both ponies clearly very excited by it all, and showing it, too.

"You won't do that, will you boy?" She said quietly to Acorn, then realised that her apprehension must be showing on her face as Cara stopped to give her a few encouraging words. She must be really transparent, she thought, as she offered Cara what she hoped was a confident smile, then lined up behind her, tensing up as Cara shot off and began to weave through the poles. Luckily, Acorn knew enough to not take that as his cue to go, and waited, dark eyes on the cantering Whistler.

"Right, here we go," Jess muttered, nervously, as Cara turned and came back towards them. She held out her arm, wide, so that Cara would be able to easily pass the baton to her without worrying about crashing into Acorn, she frantically clenched her hand around it as she felt it settle into her hand, being so worried about dropping the thing that it took her a moment to realise that she should be going forwards, as well. Acorn was slightly quicker on the uptake, though, having competed in plenty of mounted games with his previous owner, and jumped forwards into a trot.

Once Jess had remembered what she was supposed to be doing, she pressed her legs against him, asking for a canter even as she juggled baton and reins, and got herself terribly confused. The first couple of poles were saved only by Acorn's experience, as Jess almost managed to drop the baton in her attempts to steer, squeaking with dismay as it slipped, though she managed to grab onto it just in time. After that little mishap, she managed to actively steer around the enxt few poles though, really, she wasn't sure how much she was doing and how much Acorn was doing for himself, but their turn at the end wasn't nearly as neat as Cara's, Jess not knowing how to ask for such a quick turn, so that they ended up doing a small canter circle rather than anything else.

As they turned, Acorn began to pick up the pace a little, knowing that going down towards the other ponies was the time when one had to go faster, and Jess squeaked again as poles suddenly began to flash past quicker then before, the pair managing to weave around them all the right way through a combination of sheer luck, Acorn's sense, and a very tiny bit of Jess' riding. Focusing on the handover of the baton as they rounded the last pole, she narrowed her eyes, sitting firmly in the saddle as she extended the implement towards Alisha, not letting go of it until she was utterly sure that the other girl had it grabbed securely.

Bringing Acorn back down to a walk, and then a halt easily after their run that had been far more sedate than most other people's, due to rider inexperience, she turned him so that she could watch the other riders do their runs, and patted Acorn. "Thanks boy... at least one of us knows what we're doing, though I need a lot of practice." Lifting her eyes to catch Cara's, she added, "You're great at this - have you done a lot of mounted games before?"

[Sync]

Alisha looked a little disappointed at the fact that she was being split up from both Jay and El', but walked Desire over to her two team mates with a small smile on her lips. Neither payed attention to her, they began to speak amongst themselves. She didn't bother to interject, she was more focused on building up a bond with Desire. Scarlett had told her that she could use Desire for every mounted games class. Her fingers thread through the Appaloosa's mane, yet her eyes lifted once she saw Cara send her equine into a canter. She watched intently, and then readied herself once Jess set off. As the girl outstretched her arm, Alisha took a firm grip and Desire seemed to sense that it was time to go. She shot off like a bullet, and Alisha thanked the lord for her amazing balance. They threaded through the first three poles, and then Desire shied and they darted to the left. Alisha didn't curse or shout, she just moved the mare on again, circling the one pole and carried on. This time, there was no resistance. She went back the other way, obviously excited by the fact that the other horses came into view once more. She snorted, her cranium tossing as they made it back through the poles. "Well done sweetheart" she cooed, slowing her to a walk and then lined behind the other two riders. Again, she stayed silent. She decided that this was how it would probably go most classes, unless she was with El'.

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El' grinned at Jay when they realized they were to be on the same team. El' was up first, so as soon as she lined Hank up, she set off. The young gelding took his time to shoot off, a little wary of the poles, but soon got into the rhythm of things. His pinto pelt was a blur as they whizzed up and down the line of poles, and El' held out the pole for Jay to grip onto. Once she felt he had the grip on the pole, she sent Hank forward to circle him. The gelding's whole frame quivered in excitement, thrilled by his good run. "Well done handsome boy!" she told him, patting his neck. He snorted and tossed his cranium, then began to prance on the spot. El' chuckled, and then walked him to the back of the line. She watched as Jay and Question flew around the poles, El' was impressed as she knew they had never done mounted games before. When he had handed the baton to Pel, she began to compliment him on his run. "Good job! You and Question are naturals." she told them sincerely. They were, she should now. She had been competing in mounted games for a good few years now.

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Jay and Question waited in anticipation as they awaited El' and Hank to come back. He gripped the baton, and Question took of from a halt. They flew through the poles, Jay's expression creased with concentration, Questions with excitement. The pair made it back to the others, handing the baton to Pel, and then walking Question on to talk with El'. "Thanks, He's a natural, but not myself." he told her, being modest. For once. "You and Hank make an amazing team too, hard to think he is only four."

[/b] he praised, and then fell silent. He was kinda bored, which he wasn't going to admit. He looked ahead and watched Pel come back to them. She then looked to the instructor, awaiting further instructions.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

Words: 596
Tagged: MG class
Notes: Absolutely terrible, sorry. Really bad muse.[/font]

[lottii]

Marie watched as all the students took their mounts down the poles. A couple of the ponies knew what they were doing, Acorn and Hank in particular. Her eye had been caught by a few of the riders too, although she wasn't planning on revealing who just yet. There was the perfect number of rider's for a team - in any one competition the ideal number was four mounted riders, one unmounted rider and a reserve, although who was each often changed each race. The two students who had turned up during the first run could have been looked at as posing a problem, but Marie took it as one step closer to two teams. In fact, in races where an unmounted member was not required, two teams could compete.
Cara and Whistler made a nice team, Cara was a talented rider and Whistler was showing a good amount of natural instinct for the sport. With training they would be a combination, although Marie thought Cara would ride beautifully on any horse she rode. Acorn obviously took care of his rider during his run, it would be easy to assume that the pony was doing all the work. Marie suspected Jess was doing a fair bit to help him - even if the young girl didn't realize it. Alisha and Desire had a small mishap around halfway down, but the rider corrected the incident quickly. Marie shrugged to herself, it wasn't even a medium sized problem, something that would disappear with a little practice. It could have just been one of those mistakes that happens to everyone sometimes. She wouldn't worry unless it happened frequently anyway. El' and Hank were a talented pair, she gathered they had done Mounted Games together before, the only thing she needed to check was that El' was just as happy on other ponies. Question and Jay had a textbook run through the poles, although Jay's face made her wonder if he was nervous or bored. Pel rode Grit well, they looked good together. Grit was right at the top of the height limit though, and his extra turning time made this more obvious when compared to Alisha. Marie made a mental note to find out exactly how Pel would feel about perhaps changing to a different pony - she seemed to have a strong bond with the Dales pony.
Thinking over who she could pair rider's with to watch them on a different horse, she called the students over to her. "Well done everyone, congratulations to both teams, you finished almost imperceptibly different to one another, in fact I was so busy watching you all run, I couldn't even tell who would have won." Marie smiled, she knew which team she thought had finished first, but it was very close. "I would now like to see you ride a different pony, although Graeme you will ride Jack this time, and Missy you are going to ride Midget Gem as we discussed. Jess I would like to see you ride Yoko, she is pretty similar to Acorn - in fact you might find she is a little slower. Pel I would like to see you ride Rocker, he is a little excitable sometimes but nothing I don't think you won't manage. El', if you could ride Zeus, he isn't trained in Mounted Games, although I have ridden a couple of runs with him in the past few days and he is starting to pick it up quickly. Alisha, you rode Desire well, I am impressed by your balance! I would like to put you on Cassie, she is my pony and very speedy but fairly well behaved. Jay, you are going to try out Oliver. He is a steady ride with young children but seems to pick up a bit of speed when I tried him at Games, so he should keep you occupied. Cara, I would like you to ride the pony I am on, Gizmo. He is fast, cheeky and and when he feels like it can be pretty badly behaved. I am satisfied you can cope with him though, and if you bring out his good streak he is the most talented Games pony I know." Marie finished off describing who would ride each pony, and moved on to explaining what would happen next.

"If you want to tie your ponies up to the fence, just use the halter you take off your pony. If it is really the wrong size, see if you can swap with someone. If anyone knows there pony wont tie to the fence, I am willing to hold them or ride them round as you wish. Just take 10 minutes to warm up and get used to the pony you are riding, and then go again in the same order as before."

ooc: same as before, don't worry about posting in order, sorry if anyone has objections to the pony they are going to ride.

[Onzyy]

Graeme warmed up in a different part of the arena. Jack was excited to be doing some form of work, and all his paces were forward and active. When they were done, Graeme rode back to Marie, and watched the other students doing their runs. It involved from going from a halt to full canter and then around the poles. It would be no problem for the Cob, who had apparently done this sort of thing before Graeme had started riding him. Soon everybody was done, and then came the next set of orders. Ponies were to be swapped out, but Marie said he would be riding Jack.

Soon the ten minutes were up that had been allowed so he waited for the other students to go before he and Jack went. The little bay pony pranced in place. Once at a halt a few meters from the poles, Graeme lined up Jack. They waited for the baton as it came, and as soon as Graeme felt the baton touched his hand, he grabbed, gripped tight and Jack leaped into the canter. One-handed, Graeme weaved through the poles, and felt exhilarated by the rush. Jack felt like one or two bucks after they had passed on the baton, but he joined in with his ponies happiness.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Cara sat back in the saddle as she watched first Jessica and then Alisha run through the poles. She felt bad for Alisha when her mount shied and the girl had to circle the pole, but the pony was quick so it didn't take too much time off their run. It was on the tip of her tongue to commend the other girl's ride, but she remained silent as Alisha rode to the back of the line.

She turned as Miss Kane began speaking. She perked up a little as the woman began to give out pony assignments and she nodded as she was asked to ride Gizmo. The strawberry roan gelding had moved well when he had raced against Whistler and she liked ponies with spunk.

She rode the Fell gelding over to the fence and swung out of the saddle. "Thank you." She whispered as she loosened the girth and removed the bridle he was wearing so that he wouldn't get grass all over the bit as he grazed. She looked at Gizmo's halter and was suddenly pleased that she had left Whistler's halter on under his bridle as she unclipped the lead from the smaller halter, as the Welsh pony had a finer face than the pony she was riding, and clipped it onto the Fell's.

Walking back to Miss Kane and took the pony she was holding, blowing up his nose gently and nodding when he returned the greeting, this was spoiled however when the pony's front foot came out. "Thank you, Ma'am." She said softly before she led the spunky gelding away from the others.

Rather than mounting straight away, Cara spent a little time getting to know each other. Loosening the girth, just to make the pony more comfortable, she ran her hands down Gizmo's neck. She continued doing this all over the pony. When she finished running her hands over his face, she turned her back on him and walked four paces away from him. She laughed gently as the pony quickly followed even though she wasn't holding him. Turning around, she rubbed his nose affectionately before walking around and tightening the girth before vaulting onto his back and then worrying about adjusting the stirrups.

She squeezed the pony forward and sat deep as she felt the Welsh pony tuck himself up. He knew that there was a different rider on his back and she got the feeling that it wasn't going to be an easy ride until he was happy with her riding skills. "Walk on." She said in a soft yet confident voice as she increased the leg pressure, knowing this would do one of two things: either the pony would walk off nicely or the tests would begin.

Gizmo obviously went for option two as he kicked his hindquarters into the air in a series of bucks. The young rider allowed her upper body to move with the pony's movements but her lower body remained motionless as she pulled the pony around. Once she had thrown his balance she asked him to moved forward again, through keeping him working on a circle so that his body was curved.

Once he was moving nicely, the young teen asked the pony for a halt. She instantly regretted it as the pony rose into the air, his front hooves flailing at the air. The girl moved her hands forward, her weight with them so that there was no chance of the pony tipping backward. "Forward." She said as she gave the gelding a kick as soon as he had all his feet on the ground and he shot off at a canter. The teen smiled as she gave the gelding his head and a little more pressure as she urged him into a gallop before she asked him for downward transitions.

Once he was walking again, she rode over to where the poles were and lined up with Jessica and Alisha once more. With the baton in her hand she rubbed the other hand down Gizmo's neck as the pony bounced up and down in excitement. The girl looked over and waited for the signal and they were off!

The pony was an amazing mover and seemed that his rider only needed to think about doing something and the Welsh did it. Cara made sure that she remained in full control of this. She wasn't here as only a rider, they were partners. They rounded the last pole and then zipped back through the line again. Cara moved into a two-point position as she asked the pony for more speed as they headed out of the poles and toward Jessica who she passed the baton to before she allowed the gelding she was riding to fly past Alisha and Cassie.

Sitting deep, she pulled the pony up and circled him a couple of times before he settled down to fast paced walk, his head bobbing up and down as he begged to be able to run again. The girl laughed as she shook her head at the pony as she rode him to the back of the line in time to watch Jessica finish their run.