A Rider with no Horse(Open)

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Anneliese followed the map that the secretary had given her. She had just came from her dorm room and unpacked everything. The blond girl walked inside the White Oak barn and passed by students,horses and adults. She walked past the stalls and the horses that popped their heads over their door nickering for treats. The German girl had her blond hair up in a ponytail and had on a pair of jeans,black paddock boots and a blue t-shirt. For an autumn day in November it was really nice out. Anneliese had on a black windbreaker as well. She walked past some more stalls and what looked like the tack room until she came to a door that said Office on it. Anneliese hoped she had found the right barn as the door didn't say who managed each barn. It would be embarrassing to get lost especially on her way to a barn.  

The cherry brown door was closed. Anneliese wondered if the barn manager was busy. She didn't want to knock and interrupt something important. Anneliese waited a couple moments and took a breath. She raised her hand and knocked on the door. Anneliese lowered her hand and took out her ponytail before redoing it. The girl tightened the ponytail and waited for the door to open. Anneliese didn't have a horse as her parents wanted the girl to buy one. Her parents said they would pay for the board and everything else though. The girl had left all of her money in her room. Her room was back in Germany. Now the girl would have to start from scratch raising enough money to buy a horse. It was fortunate however that Blue Ridge offered horses to those that didn't have a horse.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine had been on the phone for the past thirty minutes, a call that should have taken no more then ten, but the woman she had been talking to had gone on and on about the horse she had up for offer - even though the barn manager decided she didn't want the horse after the first words the woman had said.

Returning the cordless phone to it's receiver, she rose to her feet and walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup of the dark liquid. Returning to her desk, as she wanted to get a few things done before she opened her door, she looked up as there was a knock on the exterior of the door. "Enter." She called, her voice warm and welcoming. Checking her daily planner, she noticed that there was a student due to come in and talk to her about being assigned a horse.

She smiled as the door swung open and she rose to her feet as the now open door revealed a girl she didn't recognise. "Welcome to White Oak, I'm Ms Carr." She said, her voice still carrying the motherly warmth that is never seemed to loose. "Please come and have a seat." She gestured toward the two comfy looking chairs that sat at the end of her desk, which was pushed up against the wall and under the window so that the woman had a view of the car park out the front of her barn.

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Anneliese opened the door and closed it behind her as Ms. Carr called out that she could come in. She stood in  of Ms. Carr's desk. The desk had paper work over it in an orderly fashion. Ms. Carr introduced herself. Her tone holding a motherly affectionate. It sounded like her mother's tone making her somewhat homesick. No she wasn't homesick. She thought. She came here to get away from  all of those bad memories. "Hi Ms. Carr." The girl said. "I'm Anneliese Pfeiffer." She said introducing herself to the barn manager. The barn manager gestured for Anneliese to have a seat in one of the chairs. 

Anneliese took a seat in one of the chairs and folded her hands and laid them on her lap. "I was told by the secretary at the Main Office to come see you about assigning me a horse." Anneliese said stating why she was here. She wasn't sure if she should say how long she has been riding or not but she figured it was something Ms. Carr would ask. "I've been riding for 8 years. I rode some of my instructors advanced horses. I'm pretty good at dressage and cross country. I'm ok at show jumping though." The girl said. She wasn't sure if she should have included what  good at or not but she figured why not.

[Katherine Carr]

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Anneliese." Katherine said as she sat down once the girl was seated.

She listened as the girl spoke about her riding ability and the horses she had been riding, her eyebrows arching at being given the information that she had been given advanced horses to ride, but she didn't comment, as she had never seen the girl riding those horses so it wasn't her to judge on whether a novice rider had been over-horsed or not. She knew all about the girl's ability in the saddle from the references she had received from the girl's past riding establishments. "Thank you for that." She finally spoke up. "What are you wanting to do with your riding now?" She asked. "Are you happy with just focusing on dressage and cross country, or would you also like to improve your ok show jumping skills?" She had chosen to use the same word as the student had used for her jumping skills.

The woman already had a few horses that she had in mind for the girl, but she wanted to know which direction the student wanted to take her riding in before she made her final decision.

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"It's nice to meet you as well Ms. Carr." Anneliese said. Annelise listened as Ms. Carr spoke up asking Anneliese what she would like to do. Anneliese thought for a couple moments before listening to what else Ms. Carr had to say. "I think I'd like to focus on show jumping the most but I'd like to focus on dressage and cross country as well. " The girl said finally to the barn manager. Anneliese had ridden mostly German breeds like Hanoverians and Oldenburgs in Germany. However her instructor also had some Andalusians and Iberian breeds. She had ridden a Morgan once or twice and a pony. She couldn't remember the breed of the pony she had ridden but she thought it might have been a Welsh. Her instructor had traveled a lot and got some horses from other countries.

Anneliese looked around the barn manager's office. It looked nice. Anneliese looked out the small window that had a view of the parking lot. Currently it was raining outside. Sadly it had been nice and the sun had been shining when she left her dorm which was probably about 15 or so minutes ago. So much for the sunny day. Anneliese thought. She had checked the weather channel on her phone before she left and it said that would be a nice day. 

[Katherine Carr]

The barn manager liked how the large window on the side of the office they were sitting on let enough light into the room so that she hardly ever needed to turn the light on during daylight hours.

As Katherine listened to the girl, she crossed a couple of horses off her mental list and was finally left with a couple, only one of whom she would introduce the girl to of course. She rose to her feet. "I think I have the perfect horse for you." She said as she walked over to the door, replaced her crocs for the black field boots and then led the way through the barn to the stall of a red dun mare. "Anneliese, this is Fallon, or Independent Poppy as she is known in the show ring." She nodded as the mare eagerly came up to the door, searching the woman's hands for treats, but retreated to the back of her stall when she saw a stranger. "Fallon's a bit of a tough study. She needs to get to know you before she trusts you. However, I think that she will be a great help with your jumping."

She stepped back from the door. "I will let the two of you get to know each other. I would like to be there for your first ride on her, just to make sure the two of you gel."

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Anneliese waited as Ms. Carr thought for a couple of minutes before saying something. "Ok." The girl said before following Ms. Carr outside towards a stall.

The stall held a beautiful red dun mare. Anneliese listened as Ms. Carr told her the mare's name. "Fallon's beautiful!"She exclaimed. She smiled as the mare came forward. She watched as the mare went back into her stall as she saw Anneliese. Anneliese listened as Ms. Carr explained about Fallon. "Ok." The girl said. She wasn't sure what else she could say to Ms. Carr.

Anneliese nodded as Ms. Carr said Fallon would help Anneliese with her jumping. Anneliese hoped so. She was ok but she still wasn't that good at show jumping. Anneliese's thoughts were interrupted by Ms. Carr saying she would let Fallon and Anneliese get to know each other. Ms. Carr also said she would like to see Fallon and Anneliese's first ride. Anneliese said"Alright Ms. Carr.". Anneliese dug a piece of a carrot out of her pocket. She wasn't sure if Ms. Carr only allowed the horses to have carrots and apples as treats. She decided it was better to be safe rather than sorry. 

The girl laid her hand out flat  and offered it to the dun mare. Fallon came forward a couple steps and gently took the carrot. Fallon munched on the carrot and looked for another one. "Hi Fallon." The girl said softly. She offered the mare another piece of a carrot and reached her free hand out to touch the mare. Anneliese smiled when the mare let her touch her. Anneliese stroked the mare's head for a couple of seconds before giving the mare her last treat which was a sugar cube.