To help the helpless

[Bruce Ropata]

Bruce smiled as he held his phone against his ear, while leading Monty out to the pasture. The gelding knew that his human's attention was elsewhere so he was trying every trick in the book to get the attention back on him; shying at the stupidest things, napping, stopping to eat grass every two feet, though all this was ignored and the man continued on his way as he listened to his sister. "I'm pleased for you, Ātaahua." He said as his smile deepened. "You have worked hard for this, and you deserve a horse, or two of your own to tame." And the girl had done a lot of work to get to the point where she was ready for her own Kaimanawa horse, straight off the Kaimanawa Ranges.

He released the large Standardbred into the pasture and leaned against the fence post as he watched the gelding sprint around the pasture as though he hadn't been out for a week. He pursed his lips together in thought as he continued to listen to his sister's excitement as it came through the phone. "Since you haven't sent your submission in yet, how about I make this your birthday present, and in exchange, you get a mare for me?" Sure, the muster wasn't until the end of the month and then it would be another couple of months before the horse would be ready to be shipped to him, but she would be fully vetted, so there would be no chance of her carrying anything untoward. He grinned as he held the phone away from his ear as the young woman's excited squeal came through clearly. "You know me, colour doesn't matter. I'll use her as a teaching aid, show these Yanks what kind of horses run wild in our country, even if they are technically feral." The Kais had nothing on the mighty Mustangs, but he was sure that a few of the students would be interested to watch a new breed being handled.

[Jessamine Smith]

Jessa hummed to herself as she carried Zo's grooming kit out to the pastures. The weather had turned nice again, so she'd left the gelding to the field he preferred. Yes, he might be okay in a stall, after a lot of hard work, but she couldn't blame him for liking the open space, and tried to indulge the gelding as much as she could.

As she walked down the lane that led to the back pasture, greeting the curious horses that came up to the fenceline as she walked, she spotted Mr. Ropata in the field. She ducked under a rail on the fence and waved a quiet greeting, although since he seemed to be on the phone, she didn't want to interrupt. As she glanced out at the field, she saw that the teacher's gelding had inspired Zo into a little romp, and shrugged, setting down the grooming kit and leaning against the fence to wait. She had time today, and Zo would be all the easier to groom once he'd gotten the extra energy out of his system.

[Bruce Ropata]

Bruce shook his head in amusement as he watched as Monty's high-spirited antics had caught the attention of the Mustang who had already been in the pasture and now the two of them were running around together.

His brows dipped in concentration as he studied the once wild horse running around the pasture, as he listened to his sister go on about her plans for the horse she was going to get herself, and she wondered how different the Kai would look, compared to the Mustang. The breed had started with a herd of Exmoor Ponies, so they weren't known for being extremely tall, but then retired farm horses were let loose on the Kaimanawa Rangers and as the herd grew, with a range of colours and breeds, the Kaimanawa breed became a thing. So, really, the mare that Ātaahua would pick for him could be any colour, solid or coloured, and could even have a bit of Clydesdale. "Aroha nui, little sister." He said once she had run out of steam and said her good byes. "I'll let you know when I've put the money through." He gave a proud smile as he pushed his phone back into his pocket, completely irrelevant that she couldn't see it.

He turned back to the gate, pausing when he saw the Mustang's owner leaning against the fence. "I apologise for my horse's actions?" He said with a laugh as he glanced back at the horses and looked back at Jessa with a shrug. "He seems to thing that every minute in his stall equals a week in solitary confinement." At least that's how the gelding made it look when he was turned out.

[Jessamine Smith]

Jessa grinned at the teacher's apology, "It's good for both of them." She laughed at the comparison, "I don't blame him! Zo still isn't a fan of his stall, so I try to let him stay out here as much as possible." She ducked under one of the rails and stepped into the pasture, although she stayed on the fenceline, "I don't think I ever caught his name?" She knew the mounted games instructor had gotten a new horse, but hadn't really given it much thought outside of that.

[Deleted]

Since Bobby had only eaten two apples during the three hours it had taken for them to travel to Blue Ridge, Tal decided he needed a good feed on some nice fresh grass before she took him to his new stall in the White Oak Barn, so she led him out to one of the pastures.

"Don't worry, Bobby. I know it was hard to leave the farm, but I'm sure we'll both be happy here and that we'll make plenty of new friends."

Up ahead, Tal could see a pair of horses running around together in Pasture three. There were also a couple of people standing by the fence. "Look, Bobby! Some new friends for you to have fun with!" Tal patted the gelding's neck as they approached the fence. "Hello! I'm Talira Jane Greycrest, but you can call me Tal if you like. This is Bobby. We're new here."