Katy pushed Gracie into a collected trot. Gracie's muscled knotted and rippled underneath her glossy bay coat.
Gracie's tracked up evenly, her hind hoofprints stepping into her front's print.
"Good girl," Katy whispered. She stroked the mare's neck and bent her into the corner.
Several jumps were set up in the equidome arena. They were about two-foot verticals and several oxers.

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((been working my tail off in school... sorry I missed the start... here's my pro...))

Name: Sarah MacCollins
Age: 18
Hair: black, straight, shoulder length
Eyes: green
Years of riding: 8 since she's been on a horse, first year in dressage
Horse: Mari'ah Randall (pronounced Ma RI ah Ran DALL - means Wind Walker) Called Mia for short.*named after our late Arabian geilding*
Discipline: Dressage
Tack room number: 5

Horse - Geilding
Name: Mariah Randall (Mia)
Age: 10
Breed: Arabian
Color: Chestnut
Markings: Blaze on head, four even stockings
Picture: http://arabiansites.com/carolina/ariell ... ibaby1.jpg
Discipline: Dressage
Stall number: 5

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Sara had just arrived at the barn, a little later then she liked to arrive, and Mia knew she was late. He recognized her from the other side of the corridor and nickered his greeting. She slipped into his stall, taking care to firmly shut the door back. "I know, boy... I'm late. Here, will a carrot make up for it?" She smiled as he lipped the treat up. She clipped a lead to his nylon halter and lead him to the cross ties, and started her daily routen. She checked him over for any injuries or abnormal health, picked his hooves out, brushed his main and tail, curried his coat then used the body brush over it, ending with the face brush. She stepped back to survey her work, then turned and retreived her lounge line from the tack room. Once he was ready, she lead him to the round pen and sent him away at a steady trot to warm him up.

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I will be gone at camp from 6/10 to 6/15, or 6/19 at latest! Sorry! If absolutly neccessary, someone can slightly control a char of mine in RP's, but don't go overboard! Be back soon!

((Are there any riding/cross-country tails around the barn?))

Julia walked into the barn a went to Florien's stall. She gave the stallion a good grooming and went to her locker to get his tack.

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I was Nymphadora Tonks

((i can add some trails ))

Kathryn pushed Gracie into the canter on the rail. Several more riders had entered the arena.
"Focus," Katy told Gracie. Gracie lengthened her stride evenly to a working canter. Katy rocked with the smooth motion and pressed her legs to bend in the corners.
"Vertical," Katy told the other riders that she was going to jump it. A 2'3 blue vertical was set up on the inside track, a few feet off the rail. Katy set Gracie up for it and saw the spot. It was an easy three strides to the jump. Gracie tucked her knees perfectly, and Katy closed her hip angle. They landed smoothly and Gracie gave a playful buck.

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Once inside the warmup arena, Louy mounted Pirate, and made sure she had a good seat in the saddle, a nice hold on the reins, and a plenty of confidence before she urged the dapple grey into a trot. Louy had been around horses all her life, and had been riding for years. But just a year ago she started riding english, and if felt wierd compared to western. She had to depend on the stirrups alot more in order to keep her balance.

When Louy was comfortable, she started cantering a little. She had not yet mastered collected or extended gates. When she, and Pirate, were warmed up and ready, she rode over to the jumping arena. She noted Katy was already there, and stayed well away, not wanting to distract or be distracted. She chose to first go over a small 1' verticle.
"Verticle," she called out, counting strides, looking up the whole time. She went up to two-point a second to early, and heard a *clunck* when Pirate's back legs went over. Louy shook her head, and halted the stallion, and looked back at the fallen jump. Grumbling, she cantered around the ring a few times before attempting another jump...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

((Hey Eur, who made your banner, it's really awesome.))

Julia grabbed Florien's bridle, but left the saddle, disiding to practice some bare-back. She put the bridle on and walked to the warm up arean, were there were many people already riding.

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I was Nymphadora Tonks

((Aramel... or Tia Dalma as she is called with her current name change!))

Louy tried the 1' verticle a few more times until she had it down and perfect. She even jumped it a few more times to make sure she had it. The last time, Pirate snorted at landing in bordom. So Louy patted him, and tried a 1'5" oxford next. She cantered Pirate up to it, counting strides carefully, went into two-point at the right moment, and cleared the jump. She tried it two more times without faults. Pirate was sweating a little by now, and Louy didn't want to become too confident and end up hurting him, so she cooled him off by trotting around the ring a few times, then dismounting...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Katy traced the course with her finger. It was good to make up courses and execute them with tighter turns and leaving out strides.
"Course!" Katy said loudly, picking up a working canter. She tracked left and took a line up with four easy strides in between the two jumps. Gracie set herself back and waited until the perfect moment of takeoff. Katy slowed and looked to the next jump, a 2'3 upright. Gracie took off a little two early, but stretched and landed clear. Katy made a quick right and jumped the in-and-out. The one stride in between was lengthy, but Gracie pushed over the second vertical. The last was a line down, a triple combination with 2 foot verticals and an oxer as the last. Gracie set back and Katy sat and drove. She saw the other riders watching patiently until she was finished. Gracie cantered in evenly and took each stride perfect. They finished a clear course.
"Finished!" Katy smiled and stroked the mare's sweaty neck.

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Louy watched Katy run a clear round, and sighed. Maybe her connection with Pirate was strong enough yet... maybe he still reminded her of her mother. Tears welled in Louy's eyes, but she wiped them away, dismounted, and led Pirate to some cross ties where she untacked, washed, and groomed him quickly and efficiantly.

Louy let Pirate out in the turn-out pasture, watching him for a moment before going over to Colorado's stall.
"Ready to get to work today?" she asked him, as he came over to the half door and muzzled her shoulder...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Sarah made sure Mia was warmed up enough, then doubble checked the gate to make sure it was secure and unclipped the loung line and began working on his voice commands. She'd learned the hard way a while back that it was a great idea to have your horse trained to obey voice commands with no other prompts. She stood in the middle of the area calling out commands, only moving out of her spot when he was unsure what to do. "Trot now.... good boy... canter.... reverse.... beautiful!... halt! Attaboy! Ok, come." She watched as he walked towards her, head high and ears pricked, neither sweating at all or breathing heavy. He bumped her gently for a good-boy pat on the forhead and Sarah started laughing. "Oh, so you're not tired yet? Alright, I think we can find something else to do..." She rolled up the loung line and clipped his lead back on, leading him back to the crossties. In a few moments he had a bridal and dressage saddle on and was apparently excited and ready to go. He pranced in place. "Mia, stand boy... settle down, we'll be out there in a moment."
Sara asumed there were not many others there that disciplined in dressage... they mostly looked like jumpers. She hadn't been going to the barn long, only about a week or so, and really didn't know anyone. She pushed thoughts of home out of her mind brought him out of the ties and mounted, quietly surveying the people who were already in the warm-up arena. This was really the only place she could practice her dressage with Mia, and she began working on his shouldering. He had the bad habit of kicking his haunches up when she asked him to switch shoulders, and a judge would count off greatly for that.

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I will be gone at camp from 6/10 to 6/15, or 6/19 at latest! Sorry! If absolutly neccessary, someone can slightly control a char of mine in RP's, but don't go overboard! Be back soon!

Julia walked to the mounting block and swung up onto Florien. She walked him in to the warm up area and walked on a loose rein.

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I was Nymphadora Tonks

Katy saw a rider practicing dressage. She hadn't met her. She hadn't met half the people at Stonebrook. But she noted that the horse was pretty.
"Come on Gracie," She said. "Let's take line up, line down and then we can be done."
"Course!" Katy called, picking up the right lead. After she finished, she told the riders she was done and halted. She walked forward on a loose rein. She looked at her watch and realized she had to teach a private lesson in ten minutes...

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Louy led Colorado into the round pen. But before that she grabbed her lasso from a bag on her speedbike. Unlike the english riders, she had a different way of training horses, that didn't involve a lounge line.

Louy let Colorado loose in the ring, setting a saddle, and saddle blanket on the fence, and secured the gait. She double checked the gate. Louy walked to the middle of the round pen, and the whole time Colorado watched her, twitching his ears, knowing what was coming.
"Steady boy... we're going to try and get a saddle on you today..." she whispered to him, clicked, and took a step toward him. She wacked the lasso against her leg, sending Colorado into a trot around the round pen. Louy turned with him, taking steps toward him without leaving the center. She made a kissing noise, and slapped the lasso against her leg again, sending the colt into a canter. Louy slapped the lasso against her leg a third time, and said "Hiya," sending him into a gallop.

She kept working him around for some time, changing directions in which he ran, until there was a small coat of sweat gleaming in the sun, then she halted him. When Colorado halted, he stopped, and faced her, taking a few steps toward her. Louy turned away from him. The paint whinnied and stepped toward her. She stepped away, and Colorado took two steps toward her. The colt followed her around the round pen a few times until she walked over to the gate to get the saddle-blanket...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

(((Eruraina, I thought I was the only one that used that method... LOL... maybe not the exact way, but I use Monty Roberts method, and that's very much like what you are saying! Sry, just thought that was cool!)))

After 20 more minutes, Mia was doing much better at shouldering, but was getting bored with the practice. To end the lesson on a good note, she sent him through some paces and tried a move that looked like the horse was trotting in place. It was one of Mia's better moves. Whith this succes she ended and dismounted outside the gate of the warm up area, loosened his girth, and slowly walked him to the crossties giving him a chance to cool off, not that he needed it much. In a few minutes he was untacked and ready to be turned out in the pasture. After doing that, someone in the round pen caught her eye and she quietly walked over to watch, but at a distance as not to distract or disturb the horse or person working with the horse.

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I will be gone at camp from 6/10 to 6/15, or 6/19 at latest! Sorry! If absolutly neccessary, someone can slightly control a char of mine in RP's, but don't go overboard! Be back soon!

(Thats the method my cousin uses! And the method I plan to use when I start training horses! (yeah, I plan to be a horse trainer when I grow up...))

Louy rubbed the blanket all over Colorado, and let him sniff it thoroughly before she set it on her back. Then she started patting the blanket, making noise. Colorado snorted, ears twitching, and turned his head to see what was going on. After awhile when he seemed alright with it, she brought the saddle over. She let Colorado sniff it, then carried it around him, so he would get used to the saddle being in different places. Then Louy carefully set the saddle on his back, doing the same thing she did with the blanket. Soon after she brought the girth under him, and tied it loosely.

Louy then produced a carrot from her pocket, let Colorado sniff it, but not eat it, then started to walk away from him. The paint acted like he was paralized, and whinnied, a look in his eyes that said 'give me back my carrot'. The colt whinnied again, and took a step toward the carrot, then two more steps. Louy led him around the ring a few times until horse-sence told her he would be used to it.

Louy gave him the carrot, and took the tack off before putting on his rope halter, and clipping on a lead rope, and leading him out of the round pen...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Edward was running late. He finally pulled up into the parking lot. Getting out walked into the barn, walking to Luther's stall. "Hey, I am sorry, that I'am late, my dear boy. Trust me mom got on my case." He told Luther. He put the dark green halter and hooked the lead rope on. "Small walk before we get started." He said. It was the first thing that Edward had learned with Luther, how to lead him. Tack box in one hand they started to the round pen. As he made it to the round pen he past Louy. He stoped Luther allowing the other colt to have more room to pass if neccassary.

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The Quiet A-U Gentlewomen