Bribery of the Finest Sort

[Gwen Robinson]

Gwen sat in her office, listening to the bustle of the barn outside her open door. The hot chocolate had been a success the previous week, so she'd talked to the kitchen staff, and they'd agreed to prepare some for her every week - And so, another two containers of hot chocolate were sitting on a table outside of her door, ready for any students who might wish to help themselves. And, Gwen hoped, maybe coaxing some to talk to her, instead of her trying to initiate conversations in her barn. Too many students looked self-conscious and worried when she approached them in the barn, even if it was a simple chat that she wanted!

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate hummed softly to herself as she made her way through the Red Willow barn. She did not often find herself in this particular barn, mostly because Misty was stabled in the other. And since she was seldom in this particular part of the campus, she had not yet run across the new barn manager- to be fair, she didn't see an awful lot of Katherine Carr either. It was just the way that her schedule worked out. She really would have to see about some kind of social occasion at some point soon.

On coming up to the open door of the office, the blonde was somewhat surprised to run across a considerable amount of hot chocolate. Having a sweet tooth, Kate was unable to resist, and so she helped herself before tapping on the doorframe.

[Gwen Robinson]

Gwen was in the middle of writing an email to the vet, listing the horses that were signed up for the next vaccine clinic, when she heard a knock on the doorframe. She looked up and smiled at the woman standing there, "Please, come in, come in! How can I help you?"

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate returned the other woman's smile as she made her way into the office, clutching her warm cup between two cold hands. "I don't think we've met." she began brightly, not venturing to sit uninvited. "I'm Kate Richardson-Hall; I teach showjumping and driving. I was hoping to talk to you about some horses- that is if you have a moment?"

[Gwen Robinson]

Gwen gestured to a seat as the woman came in, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kate. As you'd probably guessed, I'm Gwen." Yes, she'd went the route of informality. If the woman had an issue with that, she could let her know. "I have more than a moment to talk about horses, certainly. Any in particular?"

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

"Likewise!" the blonde exclaimed as she sank thankfully into the seat offered- much as she loved her job, the fact was that she spent the vast majority of her day standing up, and it could certainly be tiring at times. "And actually, I was rather hoping that you'd tell me that." She gave the other woman a smile.

[Gwen Robinson]

Gwen considered that. What did Kate want? All she knew about the woman was what classes she taught - And those disciplines were so different, it barely made sense to discuss both. "Then how about you tell me what you're looking for, to start with?" Something, anything, to clarify why Kate was here and to keep this conversation from going in circles endlessly.

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate smiled somewhat sheepishly, realising that she was probably being just a little on the obscure side. "Sorry, I'm being facetious." she apologised. "I was just wondering whether you happened to have such a thing as a driving horse within your rather lovely barn?" Happily, there did appear to be more on the premises than she had first imagined, and the deeper she dug, the more came out of the woodwork, but ideally, the blonde would still have liked one or two more. Then again, she was a perfectionist.

[Gwen Robinson]

Gwen considered the question, "I'm relatively certain that none of the Academy-owned horses in this barn are trained for driving. I know there are a handful of staff and student horses trained in it, although I'll admit, I don't know the finer points, and don't know if they'd be of use to you. But if it was helpful, I could give you the names of their owners, and you could inquire further?"

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate nodded with a smile. "That would be great." she agreed. "Thank you." Horses, the blonde had quickly discovered on arriving, were the biggest problem which she faced in her driving classes. It wasn't practical to run classes with only one person working at a time, she had found, and so she had been scouring the place from top to bottom on a regular basis in search of an animal which knew what to do between the shafts. As for lamenesses, illnesses and rest periods... She shuddered to even think of them.

[Gwen Robinson]

Gwen nodded and then pulled a post-it note towards her, and grabbed a pen. She jotted down two names, then considered again, "They aren't in this barn, but you might go ask Raegan Hart, the breeding barn manager, too. The academy has Haflingers as breeding stock - I vaguely remember that someone mentioned something about driving with them, too." She handed the list over to the woman, "Here is who I can think of, at least. Hopefully it'll help you!"

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate nodded with a smile as she took the list from the other woman and ran her eyes over it swiftly. She more or less knew both names, though she had to confess that she would need a few minutes of thought before she remembered who it was that they actually belonged to, and she made a mental note to seek them out at some point. It would have to be later; she was running late as it was. "Thank you very much." the blonde returned with a grin. "I'll leave you and your hot chocolate in peace."