. new beginnings [open!]

[Damian Lancing]

Damian, as every morning, woke up to a cold, wet nose in his ear. He pushed Bourbon’s head away and turned over, unwilling to get up to face the day. He never had to get up too early unless the day held a show, which was one nice thing about working with most college students, he was never expected to be up early either. After about five more minutes and a park from his dog he finally groaned and dragged himself out of bed. Having showered the night before, Damian quickly ran a comb through his now very messy hair, though it did very little, before pulling on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Before he left the house, however, he made himself a large cup of coffee, fed Bourbon and ate a quick breakfast of cereal himself. He then made sure his wallet had a good amount of money in it for lunch with the new students, it would be something cheap of course, some sort of fast food, Subway seemed to be a favorite, just to talk about everything and make sure they all knew how the program worked and to help them pick out their leased horse.

After making sure everything was done he left the house with Bourbon. The stable was only about a mile away from his house, but it was cold outside, hence the trench coat he had covering his body, and on his leg he couldn’t really walk that far without regretting it the rest of the day. He climbed into his truck after allowing Bourbon to jump in as well before making his way over to Ridgefield for the day, it now being nearly ten in the morning. The drive was uneventful, as it always was, unless a dear hopped in the way out of the wood and upon arriving to the barn he parked the truck in the space everyone who knew the barn knew was his. He got out of the truck, held the door for Bourbon to hop out as well before slamming it behind them, not even bothering to lock the door. He had students that needed to get into his truck too often to have to deal with keys.

The first thing he did was check his office to make sure everything was in order. Seeing nothing but a note mentioning something being done about a bale of moldy hay, which he left on the desk so he would remember to put it in the books he left the office again to make his rounds about the stable. He waved hello to everyone that was already there to care for their horses, allowing his dog to go up to each of them to get a pet on the head, everyone currently there knowing both about his limp and his dog’s three legs. He checked on his personal horses and took each of them to a stall before choosing who else he wanted to be ready for lessons later that day. Once he was done doing that his left leg was screaming at him to stop walking but before he went into his office to do some paperwork he put the names of the horses being the students were to use for lessons up on the whiteboard as follows.

Mack – light gray
Squire – chest. tobno.
Fairy – chest. wide stripe
Molten – chest. hano
Handsome – chest. arab
Splash – chest. white face

Of course the old students knew which stall was for which team-used horse and what each of them looked like, but the new ones coming at the same time would need to find them in the barn and Damian hoped he quick description of each would be enough to allow people to find the right horse and hop on. At the beginning of the semester Damian always cut practices down to get new students used to the system and be able to work one-on-one with each of the students.

After he was finished with that he went back to his office and did that paper work he had planned to do. He left the door open and a few people stopped back to say hello and ask a couple questions. He had a student who recently broke her ankle stop by to give him an update and a boarder whose horse had a bowed tendon also stop by to do the same. It was nice to hear from people, especially when he felt trapped in his office due to his leg. Though his injury still bothered him and he would always wish it would not have happened, he had learned to live with the fact and now had a good life going for him. He enjoyed his life and though he, like all people, had his wishes, he was dealing with it and learning how to get out more without turning back to drink.

At one in the afternoon exactly Damian got up and left the office, followed by Bourbon, of course. He went to the indoor arena, where he pulled off his trench coat to reveal another jacket, this one not quite as thick. The indoor arena was heated, but only to fifty degrees, at the highest, so it wasn’t too warm for the horses but warm enough for the people to be decently comfortable while riding. The old students were told to be there at 12:30 and be on and warming up by one while the new students were told to be on by 1:30 so he had a little time before he’d have to talk to anyone new. Damian made his way to the middle of the arena and sat on the mounting block, watching the students go around in circles around him, each doing their own thing on the horse they chose to ride from his list, his jealousy raging inside him. It was no secret he wanted to get back on a horse, but it was also no secret that he would never be able to ride again if he wanted to maintain any use of his leg at all. There were many rumors going around school as to how he hurt his leg and why he never rode himself, but if people would ever ask him he would tell the truth about it. It wasn’t exactly a secret, by all means.

((drop whoever on him, a new student, a student riding, a student not in this practice but coming by to say hi, whatever you want))

[Samantha Griffin]

Samantha was up early, earlier than must university students might be today but it didn’t bother her. It was all part of her plan, her schedule – the one she had worked so hard on perfecting so that not a minute of her precious day would be wasted. She wasn’t a control freak and no she didn’t have a personality disorder, okay well maybe a little OCD but when the alarm rang she was up and stretching silently of course. One thing she hadn’t bet on was sharing a room, well she knew she would have to but she had chosen not to work it into her routine as it would hold a whole list of variables she wasn’t interested in. So instead of studying at her personal desk the young woman threw herself into some riding clothes and grabbed her books. The air was fresh and cool, she was glad she had thrown one of her classic sweaters over the light blue blouse otherwise she might have been slightly chilly. The car started with ease, it was a hand me down but a good one. The little black four door ford was only a year old and while it wasn’t going to pull a horse trailer it was certainly getting her safely from point A to point B. On her way to point B Samantha made a pit stop, thanks to her parents money situation her breakfast was served in a Starbucks cup. It was her addiction, she drank at least one a day. Whether it was a tea, a coffee or just a blended juice she wasn’t functioning till the local Starbucks saw her. She did make it at home some mornings but it was just never the same as having it from the actual Starbucks itself. No matter the case, she had her fix and was off towards the barn. Samantha had received confirmation of her lease horse as of yesterday, she was going to have her first lesson on the property today but it wasn’t going to be on Indie. She was somewhat excited, part of her wasn’t certain what to expect horse quality wise. She knew the school relied on donations mostly for horses so it wasn’t like they would have anything like Coop or Billy laying around, readymade national level hunter and eq horses. That being said the flesh they had was bound to be there for good reason.

The facilities were nice, the barn was warm and while most of the horses were still out those few in stalls for whatever reason seemed nice enough. Heading to the lounge she wouldn’t let herself go outside to see Indie or she wouldn’t get any of her allotted studying done and university wasn’t going to be easy. Equine sciences were her program of choice and while it surprised most people and even herself the girl found herself actually enjoying most of the classes much more than she thought she would. No matter the case the time actually flew by, most of the math made sense. The science side was a little more tricky today but by the end of the “session” she had a good understanding of the learning’s and some questions for the professors concerning what she wasn’t quite certain on. The lobby around her wasn’t so empty, it was getting close to mid day now and the faces around her were passing through – a few with lunch in hand. She decided that was a good call and returned to her car to drop off her books and grab the rest of her riding stuff with her lunch wrap – from Starbucks as well. The food went down quickly and topped off with water she found herself with some extra time, peeking in on the lesson in the ring she noted the horses in use and decided to go ahead and pick what was left over. Samantha didn’t know much about the horses past, they all had simple descriptions and from what she could tell most were meant to go over fences – or schooled to do so as they had the muscles and the build.

She settled on Molten, a chestnut mare close to her own heart. The mare looked built to jump, and was one of the flashier mounts standing waiting. To the tack room she headed and grabbed the mare’s tack, nothing too complicated and while lots of horses were quite picky and those with pedigree and fancy builds were often more difficult to handle she was feeling up for the challenge. Billy had taught her to listen to the horse, to feel it’s response before making her next move. The gelding had done so much for Sami she wasn’t certain she would ever be able to repay him so to speak. No matter the case as she brushed the mare down and took her time tacking up she knew her mind wasn’t where it needed to be – but it rarely was. The horse she had chosen to lease was a jumper, it would do her mother proud to know and part of Samantha was quite excited. She had sprung to the jumper ring once she was done showing Billy – Cooper had tagged along of course but stayed in the hunter ring where he had it made. She showed some of the barn’s jumpers and was really starting to enjoy it before her acceptance came – so it wasn’t like she was switching cold turkey. Her accomplishments were in the hunter and equitation ring so she decided for her first lesson she best pick something she was familiar with – as it was going to be the only thing.

She led the mare into the arena, the other riders were clearing out a few had stopped to talk to Damian so she left herself to fiddle with the mare’s tack in waiting her turn and for the other riders to join her. By the time the first lesson had cleared out she had tightened her girth, checked her stirrups and visited with the mare for a little. She now stood with the mare next to the block and stepped onto her back with ease, she was the build of horse Sami was used to and she felt right at home. She was gentle in picking up her reins and taking a light contact, being certain to push with her legs first the mare complied and strode to the center of the ring where Damian stood. A square halt distanced Sami from Damian and she looked down to him from the mare in a controlled and friendly voice, as calm as she could make it without being stiff or weird. Then there was the added hand to shake that she thought gave off a respectful and kind introduction – but what did she really know?

“Hello Damian, I’m Samantha Griffin a Freshman.
I’m leasing Indie, we met briefly but I don’t know if you remember exactly...”

ooc: first post with old sami.
not great but not bad.
clothes hurr

[Damian Lancing]

Not only did Damian really love and enjoy his time as a student at Rowanoak, he had to admit that he was more than happy to be back with the school once again. His college years had seriously been the best years of his life, even though he spent many of them drunk, tipsy or hung-over. How he managed to do so well in school and in the NCAA circuit was a mystery to him but riding did always help his hangovers, when it came down to it. He would, of course, never tell students to go through college as he did, remembering so little of it and ever video ever taken Damian found himself avoiding the camera because it was obvious that he was exhausted with bloodshot eyes, and he knew this as a fact because he had been recently watching old videos of his college years. He had been riding and paying attention to stadium jumping for the last few years, which was a world apart from the equitation ridden in the NCAA. He watched his old lessons and his past rides at shows to get his brain back into the other world where how you looked did matter and he felt he was doing a fine job as a coach as well. Most of his students seemed to like him well enough, either way.

Watching the old videos also made him very excited to get back to the horses they had at Rowanoak. Some of them were champions in their field, Mack had national titles on him and, if Damian were to ever sell the gelding he would get well over $60,000 for the horse (why he didn’t, Damian couldn’t tell you), Molten, Hugo and Donna were all the same and working with such caliber of horses was always nice. However, it was the others that were what Damian really appreciated. No one would become a better rider riding horses that were trained up and down and knew how to be ridden better than the rider knew how to ride. It was the horses like Indie, Ally and Splash that did the students some good, especially Rowanoak students, the freshman came in amazing riders, as long as they were on amazing horses. He found himself raising his voice at more freshman than he could count anymore because they always they simply couldn’t ride the more difficult horses in the barn. They were also lost for words when Damian reminded them that mount could be the one they draw when showing and that’s what Damian loved about the NCAA, and IHSA. It wasn’t about who had the most money and the best horse, it was simply the best rider.

As Damian worked with the older students he was happy to see they were all riding well. He had the group on Ruby, Hugo, Ally and Millie and there was really little issues. Millie was racing around the ring and refused to give a flying lead change to the right lead and Ally continued to bury herself into the jump despite the rider’s best efforts and Damian’s raised voice but beyond that he was happy with how things were going. Ruby still looked gorgeous over the small fences she was taking and Hugo, in his hackamore, stopped with ease whenever the rider requested the move and all four riders had amazing equitation, even the jumper of the group. He asked the four to go ahead and break down to a walk and give the horses their heads to cool out. He needed to go through a get a few of them clipped, the ones that hadn’t been over the winter, but right now he had so much else going on it wasn’t always easy to think of something else like clipping at the moment. When each rider on their own thought their horse was cooled out well enough they came into the middle to dismount. The rider on Hugo asked a question about her ankle and Damian spent some time with her working on the positioning that she had been messing up with throughout the lesson and the rider on Ally stopped to ask if she was doing anything overly wrong to cause the mare’s inability to get a good distance, which he answered honestly with a yes but said they would work with it in their next private lesson. It was only then Damian noticed a new student waiting to, apparently, have a word with him.

After Damian limped over to her, the older students all overly aware of his bad leg, he shook her hand and listened to her words. “I’ll be honest and say I don’t,” he said, with a shrug of broad shoulders and obviously had some muscle tone, “I meet so many people this time of year and, have to admit, I’m horrible at names and faces. Horses, I can remember, but people,” he joked, with a shake of his head as he glanced over to Bourbon to make sure she was still lying on her spot on the ground. “So, Indie to Molten? You looking into hunters or jumpers?” he was forced to ask. He knew some students had been riding hunters all their life and came to school wanting to go into something new. He hoped she was hoping for jumpers with her lease option. It did frustrate him a bit when students chose horses to lease who were not trained in the student’s discipline. It was a waste of a horse someone who did ride the discipline could use.

“So, Molten here. She’s stubborn, a leg ride, and you may want to carry this,” he pulled a short crop form his back pocket and handed it to her handle first. “Try not to use it, she doesn’t need it and it is not a substitute for your leg in any circumstance, but she performs better when it’s held. And be careful with her mouth, this is her bridle, right? What bit was on it?” he asked, trying to tell from looking at the mare’s face but unable to see the mouthpiece. He preferred Molten in nothing but a simple snaffle, but a student he trusted quite highly rode her yesterday and the student preferred a straight bar on the mare and made the mare perform quite well in that as well, but he didn’t want the new student with the straight bar.

[Samantha Griffin]

Sami sat tall on the horse, her legs were soft on the mare’s sides and hands even softer on the reins. Sami had ridden many equitation horses with cues so sharp some riders didn’t even know they were asking for something and it wound up getting the horse and rider in trouble. Sami had ridden a variety of horses in her time, she catch rode consistently with the exception to the last two years in which she rode her horses and the barns horses more so exclusively. Her time in the jumper ring had exploded over the last year, she went from hitting it only when she must to finding herself loving the experience. She wasn’t the only eq rider who transitioned from hunters to jumpers, she took comfort in the courses difficulty the different striding and the excitement that kept her and her mount on their toes. The jumper ring had allowed her to excel in ways she hadn’t before and while she was far from a veteran jumper rider she wasn’t exactly a newb either. While perhaps choosing an eq horse for her first lesson wasn’t the best move if she wanted to prove herself as a jumper she had decided her first ride at the new place would be on what she knows best so hopefully she would have an idea of what Damian taught like before she got on Indie or a jumper.

His handshake was firm and she smiled when he was honest, she didn’t expect him to remember her name as their meeting had been quite brief and she wasn’t the only freshman who had wanted to meet him. Hunters or jumpers? Well wasn’t that quite the question right off the bat, it was fair of course he wouldn’t want to waste a good jumper on a hunter rider but she smirked, while her roots were in hunters and it was where most of her ribbons laid it wasn’t her only forte – as far as she was concerned most equitation courses were more like a jumper course than a hunter course so it wasn’t like she was only capable of jumping lines with simple striding. She smiled to him, looking down to the mare whom she had judged as an equitation mount and whose name even sounded familiar. She felt the same about horses and people, horses had always been easier for her. People had too many variables and liked to hide things and make you think something else – they were hard for Sami to connect too. As far as horses went they were straight up, and not always easy to understand but didn’t usually act or re-act without reason. Her words finally hit the air in a soft and mannered tone, one she was known for.

“Well I pegged her to be an eq. horse which is what I know best. As for Indie I am no stranger to the jumper ring, I haven’t spent as long in there as I have in the hunter ring but I do find myself liking it more and more, the courses are more my style to brutally honest. I see myself more focused on the jumper ring in the future actually. “

She smiled, it was the truth. The more and more she rode jumper horses and worked over the courses the more she found herself loving the classes. When she graduated her next big horse buy was going to be a jumper for sure, she would keep Coop as well but had decided already without her mom’s help that the jumper ring was her next calling, while hunters would always be part of her showing she couldn’t help but find herself picking out jumper horses in her head and running over shows in her mind. Of course it would be a while till she was back out on the circuit with her family and in the meantime she was excited for the whole NCAA, and IHSA method of showing. She loved switching horses in eq classes as part of a test and would rather do that than a course without stirrups. She was far from intimidated and much more excited, the barn did have some pretty fancy horses actually and even those that weren’t covered with national titles seemed nice enough. Damian interrupted her train of thoughts, it was good though because again she had let them run away from what was important, she took the crop and held it in her right hand. While she preferred a horse with some get up and go over something lazy she knew it was good for her, it forced her to use her legs accordingly and really ride the horse from back to front. Sami nodded making a mental note, it was nice to have some insight on the horse and how she liked and needed to be ridden. Samantha could have figured it out on her own and actually would have within the first few minutes but it was nice to know a head of time, perhaps she would avoid a few awkward steps. The mans next question took her a moment to comprehend, it was the mare’s bridle. Yes it had been hanging on the hook with her name on it, as for bit it was a simple broken mouth snaffle, it had been an indicator to the girl that the mare was soft in the face but perhaps she had been wrong.

“Thanks, will do. As for her bit it’s a simple broken mouth snaffle. I took the bridle off the hook with her name on it...”

ooc: mehh xDclothes hurr

[Damian Lancing]

Telling people about the horse they were riding was simply the NCAA way of doing things. When someone was just riding a horse in a lesson they had time to figure the horse out but in the NCAA the first time the rider had any control of the horse at all, was even allowed to pick up the reins, was their first step into the show ring. There was no feeling the horse out or seeing how they responded best so telling the rider the best way to ride the horse was important and necessary and he got his students used to that from the moment they walked into the arena. He was also very straight forward with all new students. He was their coach and it was his job to make sure they were the best that they could be but it was their job to also listen to what he said and abide by his rules. So far, Samantha was doing a nice job. Came in prepared, looking sharp and ready to school in something other than a hoodie so he could see her form and on a horse he had put down as the mount for her practice. No complaints thus far. Ah, and she wanted to go into jumpers, as for now, many students switched focus through their four years. He also had a soft spot for his jumpers.

“She is,” Damian confirmed when Samantha said something about her being an equitation horse. “Around here she’s used more as a hunter, except for NCAA shows, since everyone is growing out of the eq. ring by the time they get here,” he explained. He knew enough students who had used the NCAA as their “one last hurrah” in the equitation ring, which made sense as only the best of the best made it into the NCAA in the first place. Damian himself had always ridden jumpers so when he came to Rowanoak his equitation too a serious make over but, by the time he was a junior, he had finally figured it out and was one of the best the school had, but that was thanks to his serious work on the topic. He spent as much time as he could on the school’s horses, every horse he could get his hands on just to get good. Well, all of this when he wasn’t drinking or sleeping around, of course. That being said, none of the current students knew that about him and his college years were going to stay well under wraps as well. Or everything that didn’t go with riding, that is.

When Samantha answered about the bridle Damian just nodded. “Yeah, that’s right,” he assured, finding it slightly amusing that she seemed worried that she had done something wrong already. He understood, however. Everyone was trying to make the best first impression that they could, especially if front of him because he was the one who decided if they got to show and getting their name out there at the NCAA shows was more than important. “I had a grad student on her yesterday and she likes her in a straight bar. Just wanted to make sure she changed it back,” he said, making sure to put a smile on his face as he answered and shifted his weight over to his good leg. The damn thing was already telling him about it, giving him more pain than he really wanted to deal with, but he was used to that by now. He did his best to ignore it for his students’ sake, but by the end of this practice he would be sitting on the mounting block and giving instructions from there, he was sure of it.

Damian gently put his hand on the back of her calf to ask her to move her leg forward. He checked the girth before easing up one extra hole and backing away, allowing Samantha to move her own leg back. “She bloats a bit, nothing too bad but always something to check,” he encouraged before looking back up to Samantha instead of to Molten. “So, what level were you put in?” he asked, another question that he had to ask before students began their ride. If she was used to equitation then he could only assume she had been placed pretty high up there, which was a good and bad thing. Though he was sure she was grinning ear to ear when she got her placement she would also be competing against some amazing riders her first year in the NCAA. It was tough to start out like that and there would be no little confidence builder when every horse she drew was a hard ride. It was also nice to work your way up, but that never happened with people coming in as open riders. They were thrown right into it and often had serious issues with it for the first couple year, but we’ll see how Samantha dealt with it.

“Good,” he said, once she answered him, with a nod of his head. “Get used to Molten then, she’s often trailered to the zones or nationals since she’s actually an equitation horse,” he said, scratching the mare behind the ear and getting her to drop her head slightly. He knew most of these horses very well. “Hopefully you’ll have a chance to get there at some point,” he said with a smile over his face. “So… if there’s nothing else you need…” he paused for a second to see if she would bring anything up, “go ahead and track left, reins on the outside and crop on the inside,” he said as she took a step back so she could move the horse without being worried to step on him in any way. Once Samantha was on the rail he realized something else he should have asked her so raised his voice to make sure she could hear him. “So, is it Samantha? Or do you prefer something else?” he asked, knowing some students were strict with nicknames. When he was in college, his just kind of happened and before he knew it most people were calling him Lance, but it didn’t normally work out so well.

[Samantha Griffin]

Samantha wore her signature smile, the whole university thing had scared the crap out of her for the longest time but now that she was actually here the girls nerves were minimal. Perhaps it was because horses had a way of calming her, she felt like she knew what she was doing for the most part when it came to riding and horses. She didn’t fancy herself the best rider but she was aware of her talent and confident in herself. She took pride in her riding and showing up dressed the part, while some people considered her attire a bit extreme Sami didn’t think so. She wasn’t above schooling in jeans and half chaps but as long as she was lessoning, jods, tall boots and a fitted top. It was what she had been taught from day one, no matter who was coaching her they deserved her respect and effort as they were spending their time and knowledge trying to help her, the least she could do is play her part. The knowledge Damian passed on was good, she nodded in agreement – that was what she was doing. She could have another year or two in the eq ring but Samantha was enjoying her time as a jumper and decided she would get a head start on something new so that when the time came she would have the practise and effort put in and not be a newb to the jumper ring fresh out of university. She did have some method to her madness, granted it wasn’t always the best choice but it was hers.

Samantha corrected her own posture, she had a terrible habit of slouching while taking instruction – never under the judges. She typically slouched in the in gate, in line and waiting for instruction or direction from a trainer. It usually drove most of them mad so the girl had become keen on reminding herself instead of wasting precious learning time. Damian was easy to listen to, nice and to the point with enough detail she quite enjoyed the information he was so kindly reviewing and sharing. It was nice to know about the whole scene, even though she had read lots online and heard through word of mouth it was nice to have a staff member reconfirm what she had in her mind. It was also nice to see a coach pay such close attention to his horses and riders – most of the trainers she worked with were very aware of what their horses needed and who could ride in what bit but Sami wasn’t foreign to the type that wouldn’t notice if a horse was in a Pelham, a full cheek or a d-ring let alone a straight bar or broken mouth snaffle. Her mom rode and they were a horse oriented family but they hadn’t always had horses and their own place – she had been a victim of over worked and under paid “coaches” who worked under someone with a big named barn. It usually didn’t take long for her mom to weed those types out and for them to move on. Bloat. Mental note stuck instantly in neon yellow next to the mares name – it was sitting next to – leg based and sensitive face, broken mouth snaffle and a short crop. Looking to Damian Samantha was smiling, she moved her leg forward accordingly so he could tighten her girth for her. With mention of level she thought for a second, brain fart. She thought back quickly to her acceptance and whole ordeal with the equestrian program. The paper appeared in her mind and she drew in a small breath before speaking again.

“Thanks for that. Oh Level, I am pretty certain I was put in open.”

It was something that hadn’t totally surprised the girl, she had competed most of her life at the high level shows but she was very aware that it didn’t make her the golden child here. The other riders in her level weren’t slacking off either, the competition wasn’t going to bore her at all. Actually the girl was pretty certain she was going to have to work her ass off to keep up as a freshman but she was more than game and pretty much chomping at the bit. It was a new challenge, something fresh and exciting – the whole borrowed/leased horse idea made her smile because it would test her more than showing the farm horses at home would ever. Despite her mother’s encouragement and confidence Samantha didn’t know what her first year of competition held for her, who knows what she was going to qualify for but she had promised herself like always that aiming for good clean rides was the way to go – ribbons would follow.

“I hope so too, Oh I usually go by Sami but Samantha or even Sam is fine too.”

She didn’t struggle to speak with Damian like she did with fellow classmates sometimes, the girl was in a comfortable setting with a coach. She didn’t usually suffer from her sometimes awkward moments when it came to horses, in fact she could actually chat your ears off all day about the creatures or about topics revolving around them. Never would she put a word in about herself or her feelings beyond the obvious that she loves the animals, lives and breathes them – nothing more though. So as she gathered her reins slowly and was certain to switch her crop over with care she used the inside of her lower calves – barely moving them to ask the mare to move on. Molten stepped out with ease though Sami could feel the need for the mare to step up under herself more before she could carry a true frame and carriage. Adding a touch of leg she sat deep in the saddle and pushed. She was pleased when the mare responded and softened her hands as she mare sourced her power and carriage completely off Sami’s hands. With her leg a touch far back the girl sat a little deeper in the saddle to start hoping she could drive the mare forwards even more with her seat and leg, Sami kept a soft steady hand – Damian’s works were sharp in her mind.

ooc: done done doneee!
clothes hurr

[Colin Greene]

This morning, Colin woke up to the raw sound of a metal band on the radio. He covered his face, as the sun had been shining directly in his face. His hand flopped down on the bedside table, searching for his radio so he could turn it off. Today there was a riding practice at Ridgefield, and Colin had been looking forward to it for quite some time. With effort, he lugged himself off of the twin bed and began searching for his riding gear. He threw on a pair of his old beige pants, along with a solid blue polo shirt, and a sweater. It did take a few minutes for him to find his GPA riding helmet and a light jacket. There was no food in the dorm room today; Colin decided it would be easier to grab something from a fast food place or something. With all of his equipment in hand, he hurried downstairs to get into his car. The Honda Civic was a gift from his father. It was a 2005 model, but it was a working vehicle nonetheless. He took his time, ordering himself nothing more than a BLT Bagel from the closest McDonald’s. Sandwich in hand, he continued his way to Ridgefield. Colin could care less if it was illegal to eat while driving, and besides cops were usually huge hypocrites. The dark coloured car soon took a left turn into the driveway of the well kept yard of Ridgewood.

With the car in park, Colin jogged down to the stable with his equipment in hand. He remembered that he was supposed to be riding Squire, a pinto gelding owned by one of the coaches. The stable was bustling with life, as it was now eleven. Or that is what his broken watch said. It wasn’t at all hard to find the chestnut pinto, and the horse was really quite friendly considering neither had met. Colin placed the horse upon a set of cross ties, and began a routine grooming session. Feet first, and then go over the body. It never took Colin a long time to groom, or to tack up. After all, he had been working as a groom before coming to Rowanoak. He went to the tack room to grab all of Squire’s equipment. A white saddle pad was soon placed upon the gelding’s back, followed by the clean saddle. After the girth had been tightened appropriately, Colin picked up his Speed Air helmet and placed it on his head. He would then check Squire over before finally removing the leather halter, and replacing it with a bridle. Squire was very kind about being bridled, and Colin had no trouble slipping the bit into his mouth. Hopefully, it would be the same for his lease horse, Hugo. The day Colin had arrived at Ridgefield, he hadn’t had time to tack up and go for a ride. Yes he had met Hugo, but it was only short and sweet. Today, however was his first day meeting Squire. The gelding hadn’t been giving his rider any trouble whatsoever, which was good for a first meeting.

Colin took the reins and began leading the chestnut tobiano out of the barn and into the heated arena. There were only two people in the arena at the moment. There was a man who stood on foot while there was a young women seated upon chestnut horse. The woman was sitting nice and tall in the saddle. She appeared to look proud.
He placed the reins over Squire’s head, and began double checking his tack. After, he would pull down the irons and adjust them as needed. Colin would try to remember what hole they were at before he adjusted them. He patted Squire’s neck and led him over to the mounting block. With his foot placed nicely in the stirrup, he stood up and raised his right leg over the horse’s back. His hand guided his foot into the other stirrup. Colin carried on by squeezing the gelding forward into a nice leisurely paced walk. He picked up the reins only having the slightest bit of contact on the reins. He walked around the arena once, before coming over to where the chestnut mare stood. A serious look was on his face, but that would more than likely change. Using his seat and pulling lightly on the reins, Squire slowed down to a halt. This first moment would be very awkward; Colin didn’t know anyone who was standing here.

"Hey," he greeted the both of them.
"My name’s Colin Greene, and I don’t think I have had the chance of meeting either of you."

While he sat in the saddle he played with the chinstrap of his helmet.

[Sara Lyena]

Sara hurried into the barn. Her alarm clock had broken down in the middle of the night, and now she was late for class. She remembered what Damian had told her when she had talked to him about leasing a horse, he had told her to ride Handsome for their first lesson, and for the time being, she was content with that. She walked down to the stall where the chestnut Arabian was kept and was glad to see his pretty face, with the white blaze running down it. Smiling, she called down the row, “Sleep well, my Handsome?” She likes the horse, but he wasn’t trained in her main discipline, so there had been no question of leasing him. She reached his stall and held out a hand, rubbing his strong neck, then turned towards the tack room, “I’ll be right back, sweet boy. Lessons start today!” She headed to where his bridle and saddle were kept, making sure that the leather was well greased and not cracking in any places. She also grabbed a curry comb and the other things to make sure that Handsome stayed true to his name. She returned to the equine laden down but not burdened in the slightest.

Letting herself into the stall, she laid the saddle over the half door and put the bridle next to it, then went about cleaning any of the dust and dirt that had settled on the brown coat since last night. Once she had finished saddling Handsome, she made sure that the row was clear and then lead him out of his stall and grabbed her helmet. Snapping the buckle under her chin, she lead the Arabian to the indoor arena where Damian and two other students were already waiting. Swinging up onto Handsome, she pushed him into a walk towards them, stopping in the middle of the arena where they were all congregated. She had just come in time to hear the boy introduce himself, then spoke up, “Hey all. I’m Sara, Sara Lyena.”

[Damian Lancing]

Colin had better be glad Damian had been preoccupied when he had put Squire into cross ties. If there was one common stable practice Damian hated it was cross ties and if he ever saw his horse standing in them he would be more likely to ban the rider from mounting up for a month than be understanding. Cross ties were overly dangerous for what they did, especially for a horse like Squire who stood fine simply being tied. What would happen if the horse spooked and got a leg trapped over the crosstie? Good luck getting in there to break the horse free because the horse’s legs would be flailing and then cause injury or even death to both caregiver and horse, which was the last thing Damian wanted at his stable. It actually saddened him how few people knew how to tie a quick release knot when they came to Rowanoak, but they had all been spoiled with crazy things like cross ties and trailer ties, which he also didn’t use. Safety was first on his list, especially for show horses who were worth more than the trailer they were tied to.

Either way, Colin had managed to avoid that bullet thanks to Damian having a practice before the practice he was riding in and he was even already talking to someone in the second practice and could hardly find time to wander around the stable right now. Damian really enjoyed being busy. In fact, if he wasn’t busy all he could think about was alcohol and that was the last thing he really wanted at this point in time. He had a hard enough time not drinking when he was home alone at night shifting through old videos of himself in his glory days before he broke his leg so terribly and was banned from sitting in the saddle for the rest of his life. He was glad he had found something he enjoyed doing, however. Though he didn’t know it in the past, coaching an NCAA team, preferably Rowanoak’s NCAA team, would have been his dream job if he couldn’t have been in the saddle and he did quite enjoy it so far.

Just as he sent Samantha, or Sami as he had been informed to call her, he turned to see two other people come into the arena. He watched as they took turns mounting and then come over to him, as would be the smart thing to do, of course. One should generally talk to their new trainer, or coach as the case may be, before they go about riding. Damian shook the hands of the two new students in turn, nodding as they introduced themselves. “Hi Colin, Sara, I’m Damian, as I hope you know, the coach,” he introduced himself, seriously hoping they would have known who the coach of their university was long before they even applied to the place, but there was always a first time for everything, he supposed. “So, what are your disciplines? And have you picked out a lease yet?” he figured would be the best place to start with both of the students. It was nice to know what he should expect when he saw the two go around the arena. Strict hunters had to be taught to sit, jumpers to slow down and Equitation riders to relax because he wasn’t going to eat them. Well… at least not in this first lesson, that is.

Once they answered he nodded before looking at the horses they were each riding. He gave Squire an affectionate rub on the neck, obviously having a soft spot for his own horse who he had trained from the ground and in saddle years before. “Squire’s a lot of horse,” he warned as he tightened the flash noseband one more hole. “He rushes and has been known to run away with you. He’s eventing trained so you have to ride with both legs all the time or you’ll get a random sidepass down the middle of the ring. He’s a little downhill too, so be careful with that,” it was true, confirmation-wise Squire was lacking quite a bit. He was downhill, oddly proportioned with a giant head, no tail and an untamable mane. However, he had more heart, will and try than any horse Damian had ever worked with in his life. “Oh, and he’s extensively trained in natural horsemanship so make sure his attention is on you and not on me,” he explained further, not sure if Colin would understand what he meant but we’ll see how he rode.

“Sami,” Damian raised his voice as he saw the girl walking around the ring, “ride more with your leg instead of your seat. Every time you try to push her forward your posture sinks,” he explained before turning his attention back to Sara and Colin. “He,” he motioned to Handsome, “is really not that hard of a ride, laid back but he is an Arabian so be prepared for some craziness. He’s been fine lately, but can spook randomly so be careful. He’s also arthritic so if he feels stiff ride him through it, he’ll loosen up soon,” he explained nodding as he glanced to Samantha to make sure she was still doing well. “Make sure you don’t push your heels down by turning your toes out, Sami,” he said, once again, before turning back to the other two. “Well… unless you two have something to tell me, asthma, bad knees, anything at all, it’s what I’m here for, you can go ahead and fall onto the rail and get a feel for these guys. Extra reins on the outside,” he said with a nod and smile. He waited to see if either one of them did need anything. He hoped they would tell him if something was on their mind. He wanted all of his students to feel that they could come to him for anything at all, but he knew first year students may have a harder time with that one.

[Samantha Griffin]

Samantha felt the mare step up from behind more and more, it was a good feeling to know the horse was moving properly from behind. The contact was soft as the mare was like butter in her hands, it was nice to know that people still had equitation horses that went in snaffles. It seemed like pelhams were taking over the scene and fair enough some horses needed a stronger bit, Billy was a prime example. She could school him at home in a snaffle for hours on end and not have an issue, over fences he got a little strong on her but his lack of attention he liked to pay to her the first few times in different rings warranted the bit with some power, his was a rubber mouth in the least severe form but it was still a Pelham. Cooper on the other hand was content to go in a simple d-ring and rode more like Molten did thus far, she wasn’t surprised when other riders hit the ring. It made sense that she wasn’t the only one in the lesson. She overheard names and offered a smile and nod but didn’t waiver from her track along the arena wall – keeping the mar a few feet off the wall she rode and independent track not letting the horse use the wall as a crutch like so many horses were prone to do. Keeping a soft hand she used her legs lightly on the mares sides once more to encourage more impulsion to her step, the walk was meant to be relaxing yes but they did need to go somewhere in order to stretch. Adjusting her heels she made certain to push them down again after having used the slightly. Looking to the center she was happy to see everyone would be joining her on the rail shortly, she didn’t like being the whole center of attention – unless she was in the show ring of course.

She looked forward between the horses ears smiling slightly she was happy to be riding it usually made her day, especially when things with school might be getting tough getting on a horse was a relief and release so to speak. Yes riding came with its own focuses and goals but they didn’t cross over into school and were often much less complicated to think about, forcing herself back to the ring she kept her line of sight between the mares ears even though it would have been easy to look down at her shoulders or head to see what she looked like down there. Her mom used to tease Sami about looking at her horse “he’s still there, if he was gone you would know it so look where you’re going!”. It was true, looking down was a bad habit she had conquered a little while back but she wasn’t above reverting – it happened on the flat and almost never on the jumping courses. No matter the case she wasn’t letting herself play that game today, she kept her line of vision and chin up. Overhearing the comments Damian made to the other students made Sami smile, she was pretty certain she had lucked out on choice of horse thus far. Well there was Squire who seemed like a fun ride but Samantha was far from a dressage rider, not that she wouldn’t be able to ride the horse or anything just that she might not be able to use him to the fullest of his abilities. Despite his slightly homely confirmation the horse looked like he was pretty hard working, there was something honest about him that made Sami believe he was probably quite the shining star when he wanted to be. The little arab was cute, not her style of horse but adorable none the less – she had met some really neat Arabians and half Arabians as one of her friends back home showed on the arab circuit and forced Sami to tag along. It had been an experience as the breed was truly versatile.

“Right, sorry the posture thing is a habit I am working on.”

Damian’s voice snapped her back to reality, squaring her shoulders again she sat a little lighter in the saddle and it allowed her spin to correct itself. Keeping her heels weighted and toes turned in she grimaced as a joint cracked but the relief was instant and she didn’t bother objecting. Maintaining the soft light contact with the mare’s face she kept her leg on the mare’s sides, she wasn’t constantly squeezing as she didn’t want the mare to become dead to her cues so every now and then she would make her leg active again to remind the horse to do the same. Keeping her straight down the long side with some outside rein and leg it was easy to bend her slightly in the corners with a touch of her inside calf. Keeping her mind on her posture Samantha let her eyes wander around the ring for a moment and kept her eyes out for the other riders – she didn’t think Molten would appreciate hitting anything or anyone. Eyes caught the other riders, she didn't spend much time judging them they both seemed nice enough and she could get to know them better later.

ooc: not great but complete
clothes hurr

[Colin Greene]

“Well, currently I ride jumpers.” He informed the coach, Damian was his name.

“Right now, I’m leasing Hugo.”

Colin looked down where Damian was standing, adjusting the flash on the gelding’s bridle. Not even into the practise and he had done something wrong. Maybe today was going to be a bad day. A small frown had appeared on his face, which was very unusual for him. The coach was talking about Squire. He said he was a lot of horse, and that he tended to rush. An eventing trained horse who needed to be ridden with both legs. Nothing too bad, for he had dealt with many a horse before. At least Squire wasn’t going to act like a total monster. For all he knew he might, but he remained doubtful. While he was being spoken to, all hid did was listen. Nodding his head that he had clearly understood what he was being told.

His eyes looked to the left, and there stood a girl named Sara. She was riding a horse that looked a lot like an Arabian. He stood calmly for his rider as the coach had begun talking with her. When he looked to his right however, there had been a girl who had remained silent. However she did smile and nod in their direction before riding off. Colin felt the need to smile back, even though she probably didn’t notice. Conversation between the group had silenced, before Coach had spoke up. He was calling out to the rider on the rail, instructing her on something. Damian turned back to the two remaining riders, seeing if either had any condition he needed to know about. Other than that, they were asked to take their place out on the rail and try their horses out.

Picking up the reins, Colin gently squeezed Squire forward into a walk. For the first few steps, he had little contact on the bit. He shortened the leather reins, and used his body to squeeze the horse into his contact. The rider sat tall, reminding himself to keep his toes up and heels down. The gelding was walking around just a little too slow, so Colin encouraged him to step out a little bit more. After achieving a nice marching pace, he looked around the arena. He wasn’t focusing on anything interesting; however he returned his focus to the horse below.

ooc: what a piddley little post of mine!

[Sara Lyena]

Sara nodded to Damian, “Hey Damian.” She had known that he was the coach; she made it a point of honor to know these things. She had applied to Rowanoak partially because he was the coach, anyway. She wanted to learn to ride better, and who was better to do that than Damian? Well, a few people, maybe, but Damian was here, easy to talk to, at least that is what Sara perceived of him first of all.

At his next question, she let the boy, Colin, voice himself first. He was a jumper, from what he said. She remembered having seen Hugo, a beautiful bay horse. Hugo seemed to be a good choice for the show ring, from what Sara had noticed. Then she spoke, “I ride dressage and show jumping, but I’m hoping to get more into dressage. “ The elegant sport seemed to be so much fun, almost like dancing with a horse. Sure, it could be hard work, but what wasn’t?

“I’m going to be leasing Ruby for now; she seems to be a good horse. She is very responsive, from what I noticed when I was trying her out.”

As the girl riding around the edge of the ring nodded and smiled at them, Sara smiled in return and ducked her head for a second, her customary silent greeting. Then she returned her attention to what Damian was saying, noting that the girl’s name seemed to be Sami from what she heard. Then Damian started talking about Handsome, she brought her full attention to him, taking in all of the information she could about the Arabian.

“Okay. Sounds good to me, thanks for the tip about the craziness and the arthritis.”Almost all horses were a bit crazy, Sara thought, but maybe it was just her who saw them that way. Whichever it was, it had nothing to do with riding right now. She was ready to start and gathered up Handsome’s reins in her hands. With a gentle pressure, she brought Handsome around to follow Squire, keeping her shoulders back and her heels down. Once they were at the wall, she slowed Handome with a slight touch and gave Squire and Colin a bit more space before letting her Arabian settle into a good pace.