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Post by Miastar on Oct 15, 2008 20:32:03 GMT -5
Setting: This is the clinic that is being held at Sterling Stables pre-ball/competition to sharpen our horsemanship skills and prepare our horses for the immense training to follow.
Sydney: My day started early, despite ending late the previous night. But I wasn't tired, I loved this life. After my alarm went off at 4 o'clock this morning I took a shower, soothing the muscles that had just been reminded that they belonged to an equestrian. I arrived at Sterling Stables at 5am and Had Sam tacked and ready to go for a quick breeze down Hooligan Falls Trail and then back to the barn for a cool down and grooming. When I had finished I put Sam in an empty paddock and left a note on Katie's desk asking that Sam be kept in solitaire for safety reasons. By that time there was other activity around the barn and I had 30 minutes before the clinic was to begin. I decided to take June, the sweet well mannered mare I had just bought from Sterling Stables as my demonstration mount. I gave her a quick grooming, tack her up leaving her halter and a lead on so that I could tie her while I prepared the arena. Once the arena was set, I took June's halter and lead off and began to warm her up in a trot around the arena while waiting for the riders and their horses to arrive.
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Post by phantomstallion94 on Oct 16, 2008 19:55:24 GMT -5
Alex:
my boyfriend, my sister, and my boyfriend's brother had all stayed in a hotel overnight. we had asked for a room with 4 twin beds so that we all had our own bed. luckily there was one left and we took it. when everyone began to walk toward the elevator. i stayed behind at the desk and asked for a wake up call at 5:30. the guy working nodded his head and wrote down a note and put it on the desk. i nodded and shook his head. i picked up my suitcase and then ran to the elevator. Caden, my boyfriend, saved the elevator for me. we waited as the elevator beeped as we passed each floor. we got off on our floor and we went to our room. while thr boys took showers, Miley and i changed into our PJs and got in bed. the two of us feel asleep first as the boys stayed up a little and sat outside and talked.
i woke up the next morning to ringing. i picked up the phone and answered it. "good morning, this is your wake up call," said a friendly women on the other end. "thank you." i said and hung up the phone. i walked over to the bathroom and got in the shower. once out i put on fresh clothes and then put on my makeup. i walked out of the bathroom and then over to Miley. i woke her up, "good morning, Sleepy Head." i said and she moaned and got up. "we have to get ready to go to the clinic today." i said and throw her some fresh clothes to change into after her shower. she throw off her covers and got in the shower. i walked over to the curtains, fully awake and opened the curtains. "wakey wakey guys." i said. it was only 5:45, and the sun wasnt out yet. the guys stretched and moaned and yawned. they got up and i walked out of the suite. i briskly walked to the elevator and went down to the cafe. i ordered two Mocha Vanilla Cappochinos and two Hot Chocolates. i grabbed four muffins and payed for everything. i took the bag to the elevator. i looked down at my outfit. i wore ripped jeans, my wore down mahgony cowboys boots, a yellow Hollister shirt, my rhinestone horse hair belt, and my curly brown hair laid around my shoulders. i left my sand colored cowboy hat upstairs in the suite so i didnt look like a tourist. i walked into the elevator and pushed the floor button. when i got to my floor i exited the elevator and walked to my suite. i opened the door with my key and gave everyone their muffin and drink. it was 6:00, and everyone was ready to go. we ate and drank our drinks, then cleaned everything up and walked out of the suite, down to the lobby and then out to the truck. we got in and Caden drove to Sterlings and Berryhill.
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Post by Miastar on Oct 16, 2008 20:59:51 GMT -5
Sydney: June and I moved around the arena as smooth as flowing water. I concentrated on connecting with my horse through my hands, seat and legs. June obeyed the silent commands like a well-schooled Dressage horse and I praised her for it with a pat on the neck as I brought her to a halt in the center of the arena. I glanced at my watch, 15 minutes before the clinic would begin and June and I were still alone in the arena, though I could hear people outside.
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Post by hotspot on Oct 16, 2008 23:18:18 GMT -5
Arin: i awoke at the sound of my radio alarm clock, blasting "Paper Planes" to accompany the flashing neon digits: 4:17 on the dot. While i dearly wnated to crawl back beneath my sage green quilt and hit the snooze button, i had a clinic to attend. Practically sleepwalking, i fumbled my way to the lightswitch, and then to my bureau to unearth a ratty pair of fleece sweats and my faded red "My Heart Belongs to an Accordion Player" t-shirt. i got it at a Dean Crouch concert... oh, what i strange life i lead. i paired them with tennis shoes held together only by rubber cement, knotted my wildly bouncy hair into a bun, and headed for the garage. My parents, being the kind and considerate people they are, permitted me to build a small dance floor in one carport of our garage. i turned on a reel, softly, so as not to wake the neighborhood, and then commenced to stretching. after pliometrics to accompany the sun rising through a window, i started working my hard shoe. it's how i get my kicks.
two hours later, i leapt through a cold shower- nothing like that to wake you up- and changed into a comfy pair of jeans and my caramel-colored riding boots. i debated for twenty minutes on my choice of shirt. while "My Heart...Accordion Player" was comfortable and a sure conversation piece, Owen did not play the accordion to my knowledge. not wanting to give him the wrong message, i pulled on a sleek athletic zip-up, the exact color of a ripe apricot. this put me in the mood for prunus armeiaca of the plantae kingdom, but all we had in the fridge was a quart of strained prunes. alas, my parents hadn't gone grocery shopping lately. in the end, i microwaved myself a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar. i could almost hear my great aunt Hilda crowing "It sticks to your ribs!"
three hours after waking up, i pulled out onto the highway, my little pickup humming steadily along. i was excited to work out some of With Flying Colors' major issues. We would be invincible with this extra boost. but Owen would be there.... oh, confound this whole stable rivalry! but i wouldn't let that gloomy cloud darken such a brilliantly blue day. i piped up and sang along, off-key as always, with the Dworshak blaing out of my radio.
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Post by phantomstallion94 on Oct 17, 2008 16:13:27 GMT -5
Alex:
i buckled my seatbelt and turned on the Country Western radio channel. Miley, Justin, and i sang to the radio. when the song ended we laughed. i looked out of the car window and watched the world flash by. i saw the entrance to Sterlings and Caden put on the trucks blinking and pulled into the driveway. he parked the car and we got out. i looked around at the rising sun. Miley ran into the stable and then ran back out to us. "Rampage is still over at Berryhill." she said. "he is the whole reason we are having this thing." she screamed and pulled at her hair. "here i'll take you over to Berryhill then we can ride back over." i said and Caden through me the keys to the car. Miley and i got in and i started the car. we drove over to Berryhill and my cell phone began to ring. "hello?" i said. it was Justin. he asked me to ride Genuine Risk over. i hung up my cell phone and then we pulled into Berryhill. i parked the car and locked it. Miley ran into the barn and then got Risk, Stardust, and Rampage from their stalls. she crosstied them and began grooming Stardust. i grabbed Risk's grooming tools and began grooming the bay mare. Stardust was tacked up and i just finished grooming Risk. i tacked her up and then led her to the arena. Miley grabbed Rampage's dark leather halter and tied it to the western saddle horn on Stardust. she mounted up on the mare and then trotted to the arena and then i mounted up to and then followed Miley out of the barn and back to Sterlings. we cantered through the woods and then the stables came into view. we slowed to a trot and went right into the arena. we saw Syd on her horse and Caden had gotten Heart Song and a red sorrel mustang mare.
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Post by hotspot on Oct 17, 2008 18:22:19 GMT -5
Arin: I stopped my singing as a radio announcer began to drum up advertisements for pledge week. Shutting off the radio was probably the best idea, anyway- i was almost at the exit ramp, and didn't want to be heard yodeling along with Stravinsky or Lizst anywhere where my stable friends could hear me. I glided off of the highway, decellerating gently to two-lane speed. My pulse quickened as the terrain changed from barren alkali flats to the more fecund foothills of the Calico Range. I turned yet again onto the well-worn driveway to Sterling Stables, rejoicing in the beautiful morning.
After parking my car and locking up, I skipped blithley into the main stable. No one was there, but i'd bet that the arena was already filling up. "Hello, my lovelies!" i sang to Blackthorne and Fly, who had been watching my approach over the half-doors of their stalls. First, i checked on Thorne's leg; it seemed to be healing well. "We'll go for a quick jog to test it out after I'm done working with this silly girl," i whispered in his silky balck ear. Blackthorne gave me an incredulous look before lipping up the baby carrot I had stashed in my shirt pocket. Fly was next- she looked well-rested and happier than usual, probably because we had done so much riding recently. "Poor baby! to think that nobody wanted to ride you at your old home," i told her, as i snapped on her garnet-colored leadrope and led her into the crossties. Fly tensed up as i tried to ease the full-cheek snaffle- a gentler bit than yesterday's curb- into her dainty mouth, but put up a minimal fuss. "I suppose you'll behave for the clinic," i told her with a laugh as i mounted up and posted out into the arena.
Katie: I awkoe around seven the morning of the clinic- i had stayed up past midnight fielding phone calls from various judges in various timezones, but, at last, i had lined up five to score our competitions. i mentally ticked off that problem from my inner to-do list while in the shower, and breathed a sigh of releif. but there was so much still to do; lunch, for one. fortunately, i had to try out our catering options on somebody, so i lined up a sampling from the Pita Planet company, specializing in gyros. Ch-eck! I changed into breeches, boots, and a root beer-colored blouse, accompianied by my favorite set of Navajo Turquoise jelwery. Wy was i dressing up? i asked myself. i came up empty. Oh, well, i had a stable to run! eating a frozen waffle on my way out the door, i noticed Miley and Alex riding away, presumably to Berryhill to retreive Miley's horse.
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Post by Miastar on Oct 17, 2008 21:53:46 GMT -5
Sydney: I walked June around the arena while doing a few in saddle stretches. I could hear even more activity outside and I knew that very soon, the clinic could begin. In the meantime, I went over the subjects I planned to teach today. First and foremost horsemanship, then The Bonding Process and ending with Riding, to put the horsemanship and bonds to the test.
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Post by phantomstallion94 on Oct 18, 2008 9:02:54 GMT -5
Miley:
i rode Stardust into the Sterlings, indoor arena and dismounted. i led Rampage and Stardust over to Caden and Justin. i ground tied Rampage and then led Stardust to her stall. i led her into her stall then began untacking her and giving her a good brushing. i unclipped her lead rope from her leather halter and then walked out of the stall. i put the leather lead rope on the hook right outside of Stardust's stall. the mare put her grey, lightly dappled, head over the stall door and i kissed it and petted it. "do you want to have a baby with Samurai?" asked the mare. she tossed her head up and down and i took it as a 'yes' she then nickered. i walked down to the next stall, Tempo, my dapple grey English Dressage horse. i petted him and gave him a kiss. i walked to the next stall, which held Dare to Dream. i petted the overo and kissed him too. i went all the way down to the last horse. i loved all my horses and then walked back to the arena and picked up Rampage's dark leather lead rope from the ground. Alex had gave Justin his bay mare back, and she was holding a red sorrel mustang. then i thought i had a colt that neednt to work with me. i ground tied Rampage again and ran back to my stalls. i grabbed the chestnut colt with fire in his heart. i ran to the colt's stall. i read the nameplate on it. 'Focus Flair' was the colt's name. i grabbed a soft burgandy red halter and put it on the colt. i hook a matching lead rope onto the foal halter and led the colt to the arena. i ran and Flair trotted after me. we entered the arena and i picked up Rampage's dark leather lead rope. i had two horses on the both sides of me, and Flair and Rampage seemed to be getting along.
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Post by Miastar on Oct 18, 2008 15:43:59 GMT -5
Sydney: Miley arrived with two of her horses in tow, one was a young colt that could certainly use a calming session. I glanced at my watch, there were only 5 minutes left before the clinic would start. I walked June over to one of the tying rings and dismounted. I slipped her halter over her head, taking the bit out of her mouth and tying her in a quick release not just in case. Then I walked back to the center of the arena to wait for everyone to arrive.
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Post by hotspot on Oct 18, 2008 22:34:48 GMT -5
Arin: i trotted Fly into the arena. "'Tis herself!" i crowed in greeting, taking a quick lap around the oval and swinging down from the saddle near Syd and Mike. Sydney was with June, and Mike with his lovely mustang. Miley was also there, with Rampage and her wild colt. "I'm so excited!" i exclaimed, scratching Fly affectionately along the base of her mane. The silly horse just yawned- apparently, she wanted to be on her best behavior for the clinic. "you are incourageable!" i whispered in one of her cupped, pearl-colored ears.
Katie: Still rubbing the sleep from my eyes, i strode up to the pipe fence surrounding the arena and leaned against it, chin propped on my folded hands. "Good morning, everyone!" i said happily.
Trillium: Last night, i had made up my mind- Milton suspected soemthing. I had ridden back to Berryhill on my borrowed- ahem- four-wheeler a bit late from practicing my routine with Pandora. I still had some dark eyeliner on, as part of my diguise, and my cousin noticed. "Since when do you wear makeup, Trilly?" he had asked in a detatched manner, as i snuck back to my office. He changed the subject. "How's tutoring going? have any prodigious students?" i made an incoherent "hmm" sound, feeling awful about lying, and decided that i needed to change my ruse. Now, i was taking "SAT prepratory classes"- while i'm only a sophomore, it has to help, right? to me, SAT stood for Saddle Agility Training, and that's what i was doing here. I parked the four-wheeler around the back of the barn in a clump of gorse bushes, made sure my eig fit securely, and then marched into the arena where quite a number of my friends were gaathered. Katie had emailed me last night about the clinic, and i had to come.
"Hello!" i called out, sliding between fence rails and onto the shifting sands of the arena. "Any horses i can possibly work with? Panda doesn't need any bomb-proofing." maybe they's let me work with some of the wild horses! especially one in particular.
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Post by libertysgirl on Oct 18, 2008 23:14:17 GMT -5
Milly: I woke up on the morning where I was supposed to go to the clinic and groaned. "I should not have stayed up so late." I mumbled and stood up stretching. I had thought and jogged to the bathroom to brush my teeth than ran for my car. I got in and started it driving toward the stable. I got there and parked jogging over to the stall where I kept Luna. She nickered and trotted across her stall to me. "Yeah girl." I said and grabbed her halter off the wall. I slid it over her head and opened her stall door leading her out. "Come on girl. Let's go get Dancer." I whispered and Luna tossed her head. I saddled her up and rode over to the paddock. I whistled and Dancer came running toward me. I roped her than opened the gate leading her behind me to the areana. "Hello all!" I called.
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Post by bluwings on Oct 19, 2008 18:18:59 GMT -5
MAry Anne: I sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, doing a double-take as i glanced over at the clock. 6:45 Already!?!?! I threw back the covers and pounded over to my closet, flinging the doors wide while simultaneously snatching a pair of boot-cut jeans, an indigo t-shirt, and dark chocolate-hued boots, pulling each on in all due haste and still working my way into the last boot as I hopped to the bathroom. I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it up into a messy bun before sprinting down the stairs, grabbing a piece of homemade bread sitting on the counter, and dashing out the door. As I ran towards Sterling Stables, I checked my watch. 6:53- not bad at all! It was about a mile and a half from my house to Sterling, and I had been running the whole way ever since I started. Maybe I should join the cross-country team once school started? Anyway, running in boots was rather uncomfortable, so I slipped them off on the bank of the borrow pit before continuing with my trek, barefoot. I arrived only slightly out of breath at Sterling, replacing my boots before ascending the gravel driveway. People were already gathered at the paddock, and I called 'Be right there!' as I swooped past, down to the barn. I skidded to a halt outside of Little Miss Butterfly's stall, nabbing her lead rope and matching halter (in a lovely shade of plum). Once she was relatively tacked up, I trotted her out to the paddock. "'ello, I'm here!" i called out.
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Post by Miastar on Oct 19, 2008 20:58:11 GMT -5
Sydney: "Good Morning everyone! I'm glad to see that we have early risers with us today." I announced hiding a laugh. As a thoroughbred exercise jockey and eventer, I was more than used to getting up early. This, was cake walk. "Today, we'll be working on the 3 main components of riding. First and foremost horsemanship, then The Bonding Process and ending with Riding, to put the horsemanship and bonds to the test." I took a moment to breathe here before I continued. I had taught lessons and clinics a few times before, but this one was special. "Horsemanship, it's more than simply being able to care for your horse. You learn to know your horses wants, their favorites and their attitude or disposition. I realize that most of you will be working with horses today that you already know, but you may find something that you didn't know. I'm sure we've all heard of Monty Roberts, the horse whisperer who spent summers watching mustangs and learning their language. If you haven't seen him work before I encourage you to do so. Pat and Linda Parelli are also wonderful horse trainers we could learn from." Or my dad! I thought to myself. "Now today we don't have time to sit and watch our horses for hours on end to get inside their head. But what we will do, is spend the next 30 minutes or so watching our horses. For the first five minutes, I want you all to study your horse and try to determine how your horse is feeling today. Are they anxious? Excited? Nervous? Wondering why on earth you're dragging them out here this morning?" I couldn't help but laugh at that one. "I'll be coming around to everyone in just a few minutes." With that, I turned to Katie and lowered my voice, "I think this is going to be a success! Though I was almost hoping a few more of Berryhill's riders would have joined us."
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Post by hotspot on Oct 19, 2008 23:12:36 GMT -5
Owen: "sorry i'm late!" i whooped, charging Dev up to the gate and swinging down to unlatch the gate. my borrowed mount was barely breathing hard- he definately had potential, despite his greeness. "I hope you guys don't mind if i join, but Bhearna Bhuil needs a bit of work in the calmness department."
Arin: i loosened Fly's cinch as Sydney described out itinerary. it osunded great to me- "we'll be the best team they've ever seen once we've done this, girlie." i whispered to my horse. i beamed, noticing Owen had arrived, but said nothing. we had to get into a proper mediatative mindset to observe our horses.
Trillium: "No one minds if i work with, ummm, mystery mare today, do they?" i asked, already edging towards the path between pastures that would take me to where the feral mare and her foal were staying. the pair had kept a low profile thus far, but i had gone down to check on them thrice yesterday. It was kind of cool to be able to hang around with horses that didn't belong to anybody, yet- Katie technically owned them, of course, but she was planning on selling to some deserving person after the hubub of the competition had died down. of course, i could never have a horse all my own, but it was nice to be able to hang out with a pair of gorgeous equines all by my lonesome.
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Post by Miastar on Oct 20, 2008 17:50:57 GMT -5
Mike: This morning had started off usual for me. I got up early, drove to Berryhill, worked Taz and then made sure taz was settled. Normally, I would pitch in with other things around the stables but I decided to take a trip over to Sterling stables to watch the clinic Sydney Bristow was giving. Course, I didn't tell Milton all of those details. I simply told him I was taking the rest of the day off, to rest up for the competition. Fortunately he was so busy preparing for the ball what I said didn't really kick in and he waved me off without a word. I left before he could change his mind and made the quick drive to Sterling Stables. I knew I was late, 7:15 already so I pulled in slowly so that I wouldn't disturb the horses in the arena. I shut the engine off and got out, closing the door as quietly as possible. I walked into the arena and leaned against the door. Sydney and Katie were standing in the middle of the arena watching everyone, all around, riders were studying their horses.
Sydney: I walked in a small circle in the center of the arena to observe everyone. They seemed to be doing well. As I watched, I took note of the horse's attitude myself, to see if my prediction would match up with their riders. I noticed someone come to the arena door but they continued to stand their, watching. He looked familiar but my mind quickly re-focused on the task at hand. Miley seemed to be handling Rampage , the stallion that had inspired this little clinic, and the young foal well. It also appeared that the foal was helping Rampage, the stallion seemed to sense that he was supposed to behave so that the youngster standing next to him could learn a few things. But I couldn't help but notice that still, even in a calm moment, Rampage looked like he could burst open at any moment. It's no wonder he was a champion, if I was looking for a horse to compete with, I would choose a horse like Rampage. But there is such thing as too much horse, it wouldn't hurt him to tone it down a notch, or two...
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