Blue Ridge is a fictional town located deep in the heart of Kentucky. It is home to one of the most well known equestrian academies in the United States. Students and staff from all over the world join the academy for what it has to offer. Do you have what it takes to join us and learn from the Academy?
Smilys were made by Sapphire Heaven of LiveJournal.
The mini-profile hover follows a tutorial by Kagney of Adoxography.
Photos in the skin used under CC from Flickr.
Post by Megan Sims on Nov 17, 2014 14:38:27 GMT -8
Megs brushed her hair out of her face, laughing when she knew that she probably would have left a smear of sticky dough across her cheeks. She had spent her quiet morning baking pizza pinwheels and now she needed to get out of her apartment for a while.
Having a quick wash up, she changed into riding clothes and made her way down to the barn where her Oldenburg mare was housed. She felt guilty for how little she rode the grey mare these days, but she gave Eclipse as much attention as she could, so she knew the horse wasn't completely neglected.
It didn't take her long to get the horse tacked up and she led her outside and mounted. Looking up at the sky, she hoped that the grey clouds she could see would hold off long enough for them to get a small blast out, and if it did start raining, she hoped that the gentle, yet chilly, breeze would remain gentle.
Entering the trails, she allowed the mare the chance to look around, letting Eclipse work out for herself that there were no monster pigs hiding behind the bushes they were passing, though the mare held her head high, looking proud and almost regal as they walked down the path they were following.
Post by Jennifer Hart on Nov 26, 2014 7:33:07 GMT -8
Jennifer had taken Spot out for a long hack, knowing that once winter came, the trails would be far less enjoyable. They had started on the Blue River trail, but the trail they had followed had finally brought them back around to the beginning of the Meadow trail, which they were now following. As she spotted another horse and rider up ahead, she had Spot slow down into a walk. However, the mare had noticed the grey warmblood ahead and had decided to announce herself, her almost 'barking' voice carrying down the trail.
"Coming up behind you." She had to call out, as they were still a bit further than she would have chosen to warn of their presence, but Spot's call was distinctive enough without worrying the woman. As they drew closer, Jennifer could recognize the creative cooking teacher, Megan was her name. Her horse looked quite like a royal, walking down the trail with her head held high. Jen had seen the grey Oldenburg around before, as she shared the barn with Spot, although she had never had much opportunity to talk to her owner, apart from whatever things might come up in the course of her work.
Jennifer Allison Hart | 'Jen' | Principal | 41 Snakes 'N' Ladders | 'Spot' | Show Jumping + Cross Country
Post by Megan Sims on Nov 30, 2014 17:31:25 GMT -8
Megs was relaxing into the ride, as was Eclipse, and they were truly enjoying themselves. While she was giving the mare a little of her attention, giggling about how Eclipse still walked with her head held high and looking over the low bushes, she also spent the time working through recipes that she could teach her students, and thinking of ways to allow them to build up their own cooking skills but creating their own meals.
The dinner that the students had done the year before had been a blast and all of them had done really well working together and creating their own menus and then cooking them for their friends. She wanted to do something like that again... or at least something similar, since this year's intake of students were so different that the last ones, other than the students who had remained with her class.
She was brought back to the here and now as the grey mare's feet dug into the ground as she came to a sudden halt, her head high, ears swivelling, tail held up like a banner, though she didn't resist when Meg's squeezed her forward. She looked over her shoulder as she heard another voice and smiled as she recognised the head of the Academy. With a small chuckle, Megs turned her mare around so that she could see the Zorse coming toward them. "Lovely day for a ride." She said, which it was.
Post by Jennifer Hart on Dec 4, 2014 11:35:48 GMT -8
Jennifer watched carefully as she saw the grey mare's reaction to Spot's call, ready to stop the mare and find another path around the pair should there be any issue. However, she didn't seem on the edge of actually spooking as her rider regained control of her, and so Jen allowed the zorse to get closer, "Indeed it is, and it's nice to get out of the office." She smiled, looking briefly up at the sky, which was blue once again after a couple of grey days.
When they were close enough to where the two creatures could exchange scents should they wish to, Jennifer had Spot stop, loosening her reins just enough for the mare to stretch out her neck in the direction of the other horse, "I will admit, I've seen your beautiful mare around the barn, but I don't think I've ever caught her name?" She should, possibly, after all, she was technically in charge of the barns too, but then, the barn managers were more directly in charge, and she only had to fix funding issues if there were any, she wasn't too entangled in their affairs, as she had no experience running a barn. A school, yes. Barn? Not to much, apart from her single mount. "This is Snakes 'N' Ladders, or Spot." She allowed herself a wry grin at the mare's name, which, while she hadn't chosen it, still amused her when she introduced the mare.
Jennifer Allison Hart | 'Jen' | Principal | 41 Snakes 'N' Ladders | 'Spot' | Show Jumping + Cross Country
Megs' smile deepened as the other woman approached them, laughing when Eclipse arched her grey neck, as though she understood the compliment. "This vain creature is Winter's Eclipse, I remove the front part when we aren't showing. I love your girl's name, it suits her. It suits her and it's so much trendier than Stripes." And it was also a name that would make people do a double-take, as if the mare wasn't there and Jen were talking about her, Megs would assume her to be an Appaloosa or a pinto of some fashion.
She loosened the reins a little and turned the grey so that they were facing the direction they had been heading in the first place, and she nodded to see that the mare was a lot calmer now that she had company. It wasn't that Eclipse was herd bound, but she seemed to think that the monsters would be less likely to attack her when she had at least one other buddy with her, which was amusing in itself as if there was something sinister in the trees, one more horse wasn't going to stop t from attacking, especially if it was hungry.
She glanced at her riding companion. "How long have you had Spot?" The question was about as close to how long have you been riding, as one could get, but she was more interested in knowing how the woman had come to owning a Zorse.
Even though her grey seemed more comfortable with the trail now, Megs still made sure that the mare remain between her legs and asked for her to drop onto the contact every so often. Yes, it was a trail ride, but that was no excuse to completely lose the chance for training.
Post by Jennifer Hart on Dec 15, 2014 22:15:46 GMT -8
Jennifer smiled as she heard the woman's response, the name was a nice one, for the grey mare, and it was quite graceful, a nice name for the show ring, "A wonderfully fitting name for her." As the woman commented on Spot's name, she chuckled, "Yes, I thought so too, when I was introduced to her." She patted the mare's neck, and as Megan started back down the trail, had Spot moved up beside Eclipse, although she was careful to leave the mare some space, just in case.
When asked about how long she'd had Spot, Jennifer had to consider for a moment, "I've owned her for about five years now, but I originally exercised her for her owner, then leased, before her owner decided that she didn't want the trouble of a horse she couldn't keep in a pasture." She patted the mare's neck, "Now she's stuck with me, because I'm used to her tricks." She grinned, then asked, "How about yourself and Eclipse?" The mare seemed much younger than Spot, not a bad thing for someone looking to show, although Jennifer had seen no problem with Spot's age yet, and hoped that none would arise for a couple of years at least... It wasn't as though she could really put the mare out to pasture.
Jennifer Allison Hart | 'Jen' | Principal | 41 Snakes 'N' Ladders | 'Spot' | Show Jumping + Cross Country
Post by Megan Sims on Dec 18, 2014 13:50:42 GMT -8
Megs held her breath as Eclipse flattened her ears as the other mare came up beside her. The mare's ears then flickered before flattening again as she snaked her neck toward Spot, though all she did was bump the other mare gently in the neck, before blowing out toward the other mare's nostrils, an offer of friendship. The woman released her breath as she shook her head toward her riding companion. "I am so sorry, she's never threatened to bite before." Though she had a feeling that Eclipse would never have actually bitten the other horse, she was far too sweet for that.
She listened with interest on how Jen became the owner of a zorse with a name as unusual as the animal herself. She chuckled as the question was passed back to her. She rubbed her mare's grey neck. "Eclipse and I have been together since the day she was born." She replied. "My parents own a hunter jumper barn, and the woman who owned her dam boarded her there. Though Ms Hunt wanted a colt, to continue the mare bloodline or something stupid like that, so after Eclipse was registered, I had money saved up to buy a new competition horse and gave the woman an offer on the filly and hand raised her, she was weaned by the time my college classes started and since the college was close, I lived at home."
Megs stopped talking as she felt her mare tense up as a wind whistled through the trees above them, and Eclipse danced to the side.
Post by Jennifer Hart on Dec 20, 2014 21:43:11 GMT -8
Jennifer tightened her hands as she saw Eclipse's motion, ready to pull Spot away from the mare, but it was already too late. While the zorse started slightly in surprise, she recovered quickly and turned her head to exchange scents with the Oldenburg. Jennifer shook her head as she regarded the two, taking a breath as she calmed herself from the rush of adrenaline, "It's quite alright. We must have moved up too quickly for her liking." She patted Spot's neck, then continued forward, although she was careful to leave the grey mare some space.
As Megan began talking about how she had gotten the mare, she smiled, "That's a situation that turned out well for both of you, it seems." She wondered how hand raising affected the bond between horse and rider, but felt somewhat self-conscious about asking, since she was supposed to know these things... At least it seemed to her. She would turn to the Internet upon her return to sate her curiosity instead.
As the wind picked up, Spot's ears came flying up, flicking back and forth, but she continued walking, although Jennifer realized that Eclipse had not done the same. She halted Spot, turning back to regard the other mare, hoping that the older horse's calm demeanor would help settle her.
Jennifer Allison Hart | 'Jen' | Principal | 41 Snakes 'N' Ladders | 'Spot' | Show Jumping + Cross Country