All Woah, and No Go

[Victoria Greco]

Tori pulled a face as she got Poe ready for a practice session int the barrels arena. The gelding had been a little off lately, but she couldn't quite pin what was wrong. He was eating well, all his vitals were normal, and he hadn't come up lame, so she hadn't called the vet in. It was just when he was tacked up, he didn't have that normal pizzazz that he normally came with.

Once they were both ready, she led the gelding out of the barn and easily swung into the saddle. "Let's go run some barrels." She told the gelding. "Don't act too excited about it." She added as the only reaction she'd got from the horse was a sigh and a tiny flick of his ear.

[Elijah Taylor]

Eli grinned as he tacked up Nav, excited to use the various arenas the school had to offer. His first few months with the gelding had been spent trying to get his feet under him at this new school, while also getting used to his new horse and the extra "gears" he came with. Now, things had settled into a predictable pattern, things were winding down as the end of the year approached, and he was ready to try something new.

Nav's papers had said the gelding was familiar with the barrel pattern, and while Eli had dabbled, he would never claim to be a barrel racer. That didn't stop him from tacking up the gelding and then pointing him in the direction of the barrel arena. A grin split the boy's face as he spotted another rider already there. "Hello, the arena!" he hailed, raising a hand in greeting.

[Victoria Greco]

Tori and Poe made it to the Barrels arena without mishap, and she took her time warming up the gelding, hoping that she could get some enthusiasm from him; thought she wasn't going to hold her breath.

She turned in the saddle when she heard a voice. With a smile, she put her hand to her ear as though listening to something after his greeting, and then nodded. "The arena says hello back!" She replied with a grin.

She studied the Morgan the boy was riding; it seemed that the breed was becoming more and more popular in the western discipline. "You think you're gonna run these here barrels on your fancy footed horse, do ya?"