Trail Class 2.0

[Deleted]

With everyone in mind Drew had the perfect pattern. It was about an intermediate level and he had no doubt that everyone was capable of completing the course. He had it all sent up, though it wasn’t hard to ride, it took time to set it up. There were a lot of poles to lie down. Drew also had to set up the gate, but other than that it was poles. Though it didn’t contain a lot of other obstacles it definitely required focus and memory played a big part, as the course was fairly long.

He had set it up earlier in the day and so he had a few hours before his students showed up. Drew decided to tack Tucker up and take him through the course so he could see if it flowed. It took a few minutes to go through it and Drew decided that it was perfect. He took Tucker back to the barn and brushed him down. Returning to the field he was expecting his students any minute. Once they began showing up he told them to warm up their mounts before the class started. He actually liked teaching this class even though he had a few mouths that irritated him.

Attendance;
Adonya van Rutherford
Amelia DeFoe
@callie
Cortney Smit
@running5
@jacobturcotte
Serenity Oliver
Thomas Oliver



Trail Pattern

[Amelia DeFoe]

Amy smiled as she removed Tommy's blanket, pleased to see that, despite the mud, it had managed to keep off the worst of the stains. She attacked the rest with vigor, and soon enough had even the white spots gleaming, or as much so as it was possible to do without bathing the gelding. Once that was done, she started tacking him up, tightening the cinch on his saddle. After she'd grabbed her helmet, and her gloves, she took hold of Wolf's tab lead and led mount and dog outside, where she used the mounting block to get onto her horse's back. The cold wasn't particularly kind to her, and her knee ached already, although she had wrapped it enough. Ignoring the pain, because there was nothing she could do about it, she asked Tommy to walk towards the field, Wolf trotting to keep up.

As they arrived, Amy smiled at the teacher, then glanced at Wolf, pointing to the section of fence where he would be visible, but outside of the arena, as she didn't really know what else to do to keep him out of the way. After letting herself into the arena, without dismounting, she turned back to latch the gate before she asked Tommy to set off around the arena, at a walk.

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe took Kodak's reins from the freshman that had tacked him up, giving her gelding a critical look before she nodded, dismissing the freshman girl. Oh, she was not pleased to have ended up under Blythe's thumb again, but there was something nice about having dirt on the younger girl, who had come from the same school Blythe had gone to originally.

After buckling her helmet into place, Blythe led Kodak towards the Trail Class field, nodding as she heard Mr. Rhodes' instructions, checking Kodak's cinch before she mounted, curling her nose as the girl with the paint passed where she had wanted to go. However, she didn't say anything, and instead spun Kodak around to approach the other half of the arena, taking a lap in each direction for the walk, before she asked him to jog, looking out at the course as they circled around it.

It didn't look too bad, from where Blythe was. It was a lot of poles, and certainly quite an explanation would be required before she would know in which order to approach the obstacles, but none of them really looked challenging apart from that small hitch. None of the cones that Kodak had issues with, thankfully.

[Cortney Smit]

It didn't take long for Cortney to get Olé ready for trail class. She had been tempted to follow Blythe's example and have someone else do it for her, but she knew that her mare was a little touchy about how she was handled and a moody mare was the least thing she needed for trail.

Clipping her helmet in place, she led the mare outside. "Hold on, beautiful." She said as the cold air cut into her fingers. Hitching the mare to the rail, she hurried back inside to grab her gloves and returned to Olé. With the gloves in place, she tightened the girl, pulled the stirrups down, mounted and squeezed the mare forward. Following the path down to the field where their class was held, she was thankful for the layers she was wearing, as the air had a definite bite to it, and she wouldn't be surprised if it started raining icicles.

Looking at the course that had been set up, as she rode her mare around the outside track of the field, giving Olé a chance to look at everything, she was pleased to see that they would actually be doing classwork that day. She looked at Blythe and Kodak ahead of them, tempted to tailgate the other horse, but thought better of it in case their instructor was in a foul mood and booted her out of the arena.

[Thomas Oliver]

The cold seemed to be something Tommy didn't feel. Well, anything looking at the long sleeved polo he was wearing would think that. Though he had a thermal on under the winter-weight polo shirt. He walked into the barn and down to Amber's stall and wasted no time getting the Chestnut mare ready for class. He knew that he normally rode Dragan for this lesson, but had ridden the mare for the class before he got the other, and knew that Amber could handle anything.

Riding the mare toward the trail class field, he had her moving nicely beneath him, making sure that she was listening nicely. "Afternoon, kind Sir." He greeted their instructor with a bow and nodded his head at the instruction to warm up.

He grinned as he looked at the three females already in the field warming their horses up and he joined the back of the ride, making sure to keep one horse length behind the horse in front and using the beginning walk to really loosen Amber's muscles before he moved away from the track and began to work the mare in circles and figures of eight. He also used this time to look at the things that had been set up, knowing that Amber wouldn't have any problems with the course.

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity chewed her bottom lip as she walked into Red Willow and through to the tack room. She knew she probably resembled an eskimo right now, with her large jacket with the faux fir trim, but she didn't like the cold, and couldn't understand how her bother walked around in it so underdressed.

After grabbing Plot's halter and gear, she headed back outside. The gear she left on a waterproof sheet by the hitching rails and headed to the pastures to collect the mare. She knew that Plot may not have been the best choice for trail class, but the mare needed to be worked and she thought that trail might be a good challenge for the mare.

Bringing her in from the pasture, and letting her say her goodbyes to Cedar, she led her back to the hitching rails where she removed the mare's winter rug and began to groom all of the mud off her legs and belly and then tacked her up.

With helmet clipped under her chin, she replaced one jacket for a more appropriate one, then she mounted the mare and rode her toward the field. She laughed and chewed on her lip as they arrived at the field, Plot raised her head and released a loud greeting to everyone in the field. "Sorry." The girl murmured to Mr Rhodes as she entered the field and began to warm the mare up, making sure to keep the mare's complete attention on what they were doing.

[Deleted]

Jackson quickly groomed Fore before returning to the tack room to gather the mare’s trail tack. He was kind of excited for the class, not necessarily for the people in the class, though it did keep him entertained when the attitude wasn’t directed towards him. Finally Fore was tacked and Jackson was ready to make his way to class. His trek wasn’t incredibly long and so the boy showed up within a few minutes. He figured he was the last student to arrive as everyone from last class was already there.

Jackson mounted up and began to warm Fore up at the walk. He took in the course that had been set up. This time he was happy to know that they would be able to show off what they worked on last class, which he knew he would as he saw a gate within the course. He had no idea how the course went and hopefully neither did the other students. He saw the academy mouths warming up their mounts, yet to have caused trouble for anyone, but he was expectant of them and had a gut feeling that they would stir up some issues before the end of class.

[Deleted]

Seeing his students enter the field with their mounts, ”Afternoon all.” He smiled at Blythe when she whipped Kodiak around but said nothing, though he saw it in her face she could have spouted off about it. Laughing to himself he greeted the twins and waved off the apology from Serenity, ”It’s quite alright.” Drew looked at his watch, he turned on his mic and folded his hands behind his back, ”Class will officially start now, seeing no new faces you all know you’re supposed to be here.” He gave them a few more minutes to finish their warm-ups.

”If everyone could please gather in the center of the field I have a hand out for all of you.” he knew that the course was a lot to take in and so he had a printed copy for them, he would collect the sheets of paper before he had been run the course. Opening a folder he handed a printed course sheet out to each of the students and began his spiel.

”So this time for all of those who were saying how you would like to run courses every class, here is your first one of the semester.” He held up the extra papers in his hand, ”This paper is simply to make it easier when I’m explaining the course. You may look at it but you don’t have to if you don’t need it.”

”This is the starting spot as on the paper, you will take off at a working trot over these two poles, then cross over the center of this pole and circle around the cone and return the way you came from. Just after the first pole you’ll slow to the walk and once you get to this point you’ll ask your mount to pick up the right lead canter.” He walked through the course as he explained it.

He continued to talk and walk through the course, ”You’ll get to this box and halt ask your mount to spin with his or her hind end being the center of the circle, once you return to facing towards the end, you’ll ask for a free walk over the cavelettis and finish with a halt.” Turning to his students to see how they took it. Answering any question if there were any, ”Who’s up first?”

[Amelia DeFoe]

Amy could feel the irritation of the blond cheerleader who shared her class as she rode, but before she could change directions and avoid the matter, the girl had spun away with her horse. Shaking her head, Amy patted Tommy's neck and began focusing on the gelding again. She nodded in acknowledgement as the teacher stated that there were no new people, although since he didn't call them in, she didn't stop her riding.

Then they were asked to congregate in the center, and Amy slowed Tommy before walking over to Mr. Rhodes, halting the paint before she took the paper that she was offered. As the teacher explained the course, she alternated looking from the paper to the course, seeing how they overlapped, and where she would have to be careful. Not too many places, luckily.

When the teacher was almost done with explaining, Amy folded the sheet they'd been given carefully and carefully slid it into her pocket. As the teacher asked who was going first, she nodded briefly before she moved Tommy forward. If she didn't go before this cheerleader, she was worried that she was setting herself up for a lot of worry.

As they reached the starting spot, she asked Tommy for a halt, then cued him forward into a working trot, following the ribbon-like shape that had been laid out for them. The ride went smoothly until they reached the second requested lope, where they were supposed to be on a left lead. Tommy started on a right, although Amy managed to correct him before they had gone too far into the circle. The rest of the round went well, she felt, and she halted Tommy at the end of the line of riders, glancing at Mr. Rhodes for commentary on what she could have done better.

[Adonya van Rutherford]

As Mr. Rhodes called the class to attention, Blythe slowed Kodak and approached the center of the arena. Once there, she accepted the paper that was offered, although she barely glanced at it. If the teacher was going to explain the course, that would be easier to follow, at least for her. Of course, she could manage to read the given pattern, but why should she?

After the girl with the mutt had gone, Blythe handed over her paper to the teacher again and lined Kodak up with the starting line. After glancing over the course one last time, she asked the palomino to move forward. Today seemed to be their lucky day, since there were no cones to truly weave around. Of course, there were the circles, but there was a difference.

The course passed without anything major that Blythe would have noted, although she didn't doubt that the teacher would find something to comment on. Once she had returned to the rest of the group, she halted Kodak once more, tossing her blonde hair back (as much as one could when wearing a helmet, at least), and watched the rest of the class, waiting to see who would dare to follow up her performance.