Stop This Nonsense!

[Tinsley Elena Rutherford]

Buttons, usually a lazy, haughty, opinionated mare, was skittering from the White Oak Barn to the arena gate. Tinsley wanted to get Buttons out for half an hour at the very least before allowing her to settle in. Whenever Buttons arrived at new show grounds, Tinsley would get on and walk her around. To keep the routine the same, Tinsley thought a nice hack would do- but Buttons was acting too ornery for this to be a usual hack!

She rolled her eyes as she buckled her chinstrap. Buttons was trying to walk away from her and only succeeded in a tight circle around the girl. The big-bodied mare bumped Tinsley with her shoulder, and Tinsley gave her a sharp smack and made her back up a few paces. Forgetting about where her rider was standing would certainly not fly with Tinsley's trainer at home, and it wasn't going to fly here!

After tightening Buttons' girth and pulling the stirrups down, Tinsley led her to the mounting block. As she was mounting, Buttons made to leave without her, and Tinsley blew a frustrated breath.

"Mare! That's enough! Stand." Though she stood long enough to allow Tinsley to mount, the mare was walking away before she could adjust herself in the tack. Tinsley halted her again, more frustrated now. Buttons shook her thick mane and her ears were pricked as she looked this way and that. Tinsley rolled her eyes.

"You're such a drama queen."

[Tara Macmillan]

Tara was bored. This was not an entirely unusual event, since even at the best of times, the blonde had an extremely short attention span, but now she felt even more bored than she usually did, and she was not at all happy about it. At home, back in New York, she had always managed to have something to do since she had been in possession of an extremely large circle of friends and a cell phone, as well as being only a few minutes away from a huge number of cinemas, bowling alleys, cafes and oh so many other diverting locations. Here, she was at a school miles from anywhere, with still a fairly small group of friends, and she was not adapting at all well. As always, she had resorted to her horse, and Jenny had been pulled away from her cosy stall and her lunch, tacked up despite her best efforts to carry on chewing, and led out forcibly into the chilly morning. As they walked, Tara fiddled absently with a buckle on the mare's bridle and sighed. The leather was beginning to wear thin, and she made a mental note to find a new one soon. And when the bridle went, the saddle was never far behind, so she had better start thinking about replacing that as well while she was at it.

The blonde was somewhat surprised to see that someone else was using the arena already, and she paused at the gate. "Mind if I come in?" she asked?

[Tinsley Elena Rutherford]

Buttons began her determined walk, and Tinsley allowed the mare to drift onto the rail. Her reins stayed droopy, as she encouraged the mare to stretch, but with the excitement of a new location, Buttons thought it better to act like a giraffe instead. She craned her elegant head this way and that- and Tinsley heard a voice carry across the in-gate.

"Come in! I don't mind," Tinsley turned in the saddle, and called out to the girl. At that moment, Buttons took the opportunity and leapt into an exhuberant trot- Tinsley was jostled for a moment, and grabbed at both reins to steady the mare. Tinsley rolled her eyes again, and clucked the mare into actual work.

If this is how it's going to go, fine. Work.

[Tara Macmillan]

Tara nodded her acceptance and hurriedly led Jenny into the arena, ensuring that she didn't distract the other rider, and closed the gate behind her. "Thanks." she called as she adjusted stirrups and girth with the ease of long practice before swinging nimbly up into the saddle. She took a moment or two to arrange herself, then gently clicked the mare forwards into a brisk walk. The horse knew by now that Tara didn't accept anything less than her best, and so she was generally inclined to put some work in to start with rather than having to spend hours trotting round and round until Tara was happy. Yes, the blonde was a perfectionist, and that was a trait which had served her well. "Careful there!" she called brightly as the other horse broke into a trot.