Just Like the Good Ol' Days

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

Just smelling familiar barn scents put a smile on Gail's face. She hadn't ridden seriously since she sold Jack and realized just how much she missed the sport. It was mid morning on a weekday, so the barn was quiet while students were in class. Gail took a few minutes to walk up and down barn aisle, looking at all the various horses the school and its students owned. They all looked content and healthy and well cared for. Silently, she wished her old Thoroughbred was still with her. He would have loved this place. A quick peek into the tack room assured Gail that this place was run well. All the tack was clean and organized. It was amazing how much the tack room could tell a person about the barn management.

However, her primary reason for visiting was to find out if and possibly what horses could use a rider. She grew up catch riding whatever horse or pony someone gave her for that show and never learned to be particular about mounts. Whether it was a fantastic show pony or someone's backyard nag, her job was to make the horse look good in the arena. Jack was the reward for all her hard work over the years. The door was only open a crack, so Gail knocked on the wooden door frame to let the occupant know she was there.

"Ms. Carr?"

[Katherine Carr]

"Yes Dylan." Katherine said into her phone, a smile in her voice. "I love you too, and it would be lovely to see you at Christmas, but I realise that you have other commitments that you may not be able to get out of. Bye my precious boy." She used her fingers to brush the tears from her eyelashes, feeling like a bit of an idiot for acting like this. After all, her son was a grown man.

She turned in her chair when a knock sounded on the door and she rose to her feet. "I am she." The woman replied as a brunette woman entered the office. "How can I help you?" She inquired, unsure if this woman was a new member of the faculty or a prospective parent of a future student, either way, she was happy to answer any questions and help out in any way.

"Would you like a seat?" She as she motioned toward the two comfortable chairs that sat at a right angle to her desk, creating an L shape. "Would you like a drink? I can offer coffee or a range of soft drinks, there may possibly even be chocolate milk in there if my daughter hasn't raided the fridge." It was as though the young large animal vet still lived at home at times, as Demeter still helped herself to whatever was in her mother's cupboards.

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

Gail walked into the office and took a seat when it was offered. She sat down in the one nearest to the door and reminded herself that this was no different than asking her former trainer what horses to ride for the day.

"Coffee would be great, thanks."

She took a deep breath to collect her thoughts about where to begin. It probably seemed strange that a riding instructor wouldn't have a horse. This was also her first time back in the horse world since leaving to be with her husband during his recovery. She tried to leave quietly and without any fanfare as it was supposed to be for a season, no more than two. At first, only the people at her barn knew the real reason for why Gail left the show circuit, but she had no idea if they managed to keep their mouths shut.

"I'm Abigail Sorenson, the new hunter-jumper instructor. I was told to talk to you if I was interested in working with a horse while I'm here. I don't know how you run your barn whether horses are assigned to one rider or if there are several horses that just need to be exercised."

Gail introduced herself with her maiden name because that was how she was known for years on the show circuit. She hoped she could keep a somewhat low profile here but doubted there wouldn't be a few people who recognized her name.

[Katherine Carr]

"Since we're both adults, it's Katherine, not Ms Carr." The barn manager smiled as she headed over to the coffee machine, taking the mug from her desk with her, and selected another mug from the shelf and began to make two coffees. "How do you take it?" She asked, knowing that some people liked their coffee with a little more than the black that she took.

Once both drinks were ready she walked back over and placed the woman's mug on the corner of the desk and she sat down in her chair again as she listened as the woman introduced herself. "We have a number of unassigned horses throughout the two barns." She brought up the file on her computer and scrolled through it. "Most of our jumpers are trained in combined training, but we have a large Thoroughbred who was left to us by one of our alums." She brought up the white gelding's file. "He's trained in hunter/jumping as well as dressage. While you are welcome to have a look around and ride any of our unassigned horses, I can assign Rabbit to you if you would like, so that he will be like having your own horse." Sure, she didn't normally assign horses to the staff, most of the students who attended the academy who didn't bring their own mounts were training to be event riders so there was no use for a hunter/jumper, and she'd be more than happy to see Rabbit being back in full work - the talented gelding deserved it. And with the woman's name, she didn't need to ask for her riding background. While her own name wasn't as famous as Ms Sorenson's in the showring, they had competed against each other in the past.

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

"Black is fine."

One valuable lesson from growing up on the show circuit was the importance of coffee. Whether it was for that extra boost of energy before morning chores, a crack-of-dawn training session, or trying to stay up late, coffee was a godsend. Instant coffee or something from Starbucks, it really didn't matter. It was not at all unusual for Gail to be drinking three or four cups before the first classes started.

Her interest was naturally piqued at the prospect of getting back on a Thoroughbred. Though her knowledge of dressage was fairly limited to some basic lateral movements, collections, and extension, she knew dressage was always a good foundation for a horse regardless of discipline.

"That sounds perfect, Katherine. Thank you. Another thing, I'm trying to convince my husband to learn the basics of riding as a form of physical therapy. I was wondering if there are horses here that would be suited to a complete beginner."

Gail knew she was a little bit out of practice and out of shape when it came to riding, but the muscle memory was still there. And starting the day with a good ride was just the thing to keep her spirits up after a trying couple of years. With the option to exercise the unassigned horses, maybe, just maybe, things could almost be like how they were.

[Katherine Carr]

The woman's taste in coffee didn't come as much of a surprise as it was the easiest and fastest way to take coffee, especially on mornings when you needed the drink fast, no matter the weather, and adding sugar and milk were thirty seconds too long on some mornings.

She smiled when it seemed that Rabbit would suit the woman's needs. "Of course, we have other horses, so unlike the students, you won't be stuck to only riding the one horse." There again though, the students were never stuck with just one horse for their time here, as they changed horses as their skills grew and needed a new challenge. "I can leave a note on the board for the other faculty members letting them know you're happy to exercise horses." She knew at least a couple who were always on the lookout for a rider for their horse, which was the main reason that she had assigned her own young gelding to a student that year. She gave a secretive smile. "Rumour has it that there's a hunter at the auction grounds if you're interested." Yes, she wanted a more permanent rider for Rabbit, but if there was a chance of getting another nice looking horse on the campus, she wouldn't keep it quiet.

Her eyebrows rose at the mention of a horse that a beginner adult could ride and she quickly returned her attention to the computer and brought up the file of another horse and turned the screen so that Abigail could see it better. This is Guardian. As his name may suggest, he's our gentle giant here. At twenty-six, he's almost completely retired, which makes him great for adult riders who want a horse who just plods, and is ridden in a bareback pad rather than a saddle. And then as your husband progresses, we can move him to a slightly younger horse so his skills can be challenged, if that's what he wants. And since the Percheron stood at almost eighteen hands, they had a special mounting block that came out just for the gelding. "Guardian is in this barn, and is pretty easy to pick out from the others, so feel free to go and say hello when you have time. My staff and I exercise the school horses, and our own, when the academic classes are in session before lunch, it also gives us a chance to use the trails without worrying about running into younger riders if the horses are feeling a little fresh."

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

Gail nodded at the idea of being able to exercise a variety of horses. Of course the students were here to learn and receive an education, so focusing only on one mount made sense. She knew teaching would be a big time commitment, and it wasn't as important if she could only ride Rabbit each day or if she got to a half dozen horses in a day. Growing up, she was given a list of horses to ride for the day and never left until she could cross off every name on that list.

"As much as I would love to have a hunter, the upkeep costs are a little too expensive right now. I'm happy with just Rabbit and whoever else needs to be ridden."

Guardian's history as a therapy horse sounded like a good fit for Rod. He would never jump or compete, but riding would help him build more muscle mass and hopefully get him more active. The height wouldn't be a problem either considering Rod stood over six feet.

"I think Guardian would be a good match for Rod. I don't know how much you know about the circumstances surrounding my sudden retirement from competition, but my husband was involved in a serious accident. He's doing much better now, but I doubt he'll be able to ride at more than a beginner level. He's working as a math teacher here, so you might see him around."

In a press release, Gail only said that she needed to spend more time with her husband and that she hoped to return to competing soon. She didn't want to publicize the fact that Rod was in the hospital in a serious, but stable condition. Maybe she should have come clean about the whole situation, but at the time, she wanted privacy for them away from the public.

"Which trails would you recommend?"

As a teacher, Rod worked in the mornings, so they weren't going to be spending leisurely mornings together. Not that she minded as this was still a step up from barely seeing one another while Gail worked several jobs.

[Katherine Carr]

The barn manager could understand the reason for not owning a horse, after all, that was the reason the students who ended up arriving without a mount of their own. "With that said though, I do have a student who exercises the ponies for me, as none of the staff members here are small enough to ride them." And while they could all be ponied, she preferred the idea of them being ridden.

She shook her head. When Katherine had left the show barn and moved here, she had left her old life behind her, and only started following showing again when her children had left the Academy and started competing again themselves, though she kept away from the talk behind the showing. "To be honest, I haven't followed anyone's career as much as I used to, other than my son." Katherine decided not to mention that she pretty much lived in the barn, so she didn't often get a chance to meet people that worked on the academic side of the academy.

"It depends on what kind of ride you are wanting." She replied. The Rocky Ridge is good for a more challenging ride, it's also good for working on horse fitness. The Green Hill trails are great if you just was a gentle hack, though there are still some path there that can challenge the more lower level rider. And then the Bridge trails have the more scenic routes, and a path into town. While I don't often have time to do it, the waterfall trail is beautiful, especially in the spring, though it's a day long ride to get to the falls and back, so it's a popular choice for the students in the weekends during the warmer months."

[Abigail Sorenson-Faulkner]

It was impossible to know what people did and didn't know about her. With the Internet, just about her entire show record was available and where she rode as home base. It wasn't hard to find out that she was married, and if someone really wanted to read through the local paper, then the story about the boating accident was free to read. She didn't come from a very large town, and there was only one high school. Gail seriously hoped no one had the time or the patience to do that much of a background check for fun.

As she listened to Katherine's run down of the various trails, it was hard not to start thinking of all the cool places to explore. If only Rod could ride, then they could go out for a romantic picnic together. Gail did make special note of the Bridge trails in case she didn't feel like driving into town. Her Suburban was great for towing and being a barn vehicle, but the gas mileage was terrible. The waterfall trail sounded like it could be fun, too. Who didn't like waterfalls?

"It sounds like there are a lot of great options here. I'm looking forward to exploring them."

Gail racked her brain for any stray questions she had. For the time being, she came up blank. She had a horse to ride, permission to exercise the unassigned horses, a horse for Rod if he wanted to learn a thing or two about horseback riding, and more information on the trails. She knew where the tack room was, and that was about it.

"That's all the questions I had for now."

She finished her coffee then stood up and offered her hand to Katherine.

"It's been a pleasure making your acquaintance, Katherine. I'll see you around."