Pleasant's Horses

[Deleted]

CLAYBELLE

The Basics
Registered Name: N/A
Barn Name: "Claybelle"
Age: 18
Gender: Mare
Breed: Draft x, likely Belgian
Breed Registry: N/A

The Appearance
Coat Color: Strawberry Roan
Stable Color: Lavender Field
Height: 16hh

The Personality
Personality: Claybelle is something of a force to be reckoned with, and Pleasant adores her for it. She's a big, bossy old lady from the South, personified--a real formidable character. She made him learn quick, as a youngster, how to handle her properly, to form a bond based on mutual respect (and get wise to how motivated she is by food, especially sweet treats). Thankfully, under his direction and paired with a sound gelding as a companion, Claybelle performs admirably and is typically mild enough.
Caution Around: Loose, ill-mannered dogs and equally pushy mares.

The History
Basic History: Pleasant doesn't know a whole lot about Claybelle, despite the fact that she was born and raised on his Grandma Gladys' property. Maybe it's because there isn't much to know, with that in mind. She was always one of Gladys Spence's favorites. For many years, Claybelle's best friend and driving partner was Evinrude, her half-brother out of the same draft cross mare, Georgie. They toured that plantation town for close to a decade before Pleasant got his hands on them, after which they traveled together to drive other settings of note. Evinrude gave in to age-related complications while the team was in Charleston; fortunately, Pleasant didn't give Clay too much time to grieve, and supplied her with a new friend a month or two later. Naturally, her relationship with "Charlie" was a tad rocky in the beginning, but as he proved to be exceptionally quiet and quite immune to her bullying initiation games, Claybelle settled down, and tolerance has since blossomed into a tight knot.

The Technicalities
Discipline: Pleasure Driving
Owner: Pleasant Spence
Rider: N/A

[Deleted]

Silent-Era Star

The Basics
Registered Name: Silent-Era Star
Barn Name: "Charlie"
Age: 10
Gender: Gelding
Breed: Percheron x Thoroughbred
Breed Registry: DCBOA

The Appearance
Coat Color: Black
Stable Color: Rosy Brown
Height: 16.2hh

The Personality
Personality: Charlie is the quietest horse that Pleasant's ever had the pleasure of working with. This guy is seriously sound! He's exceptionally athletic, responsive and eager to please, but has proven that he can handle standing still on a slow day just as well. Charlie is a brave, sometimes even curious horse who rarely spooks--he has a reassuring effect on his partner, Claybelle, whenever he's around and she happens to get her dander up about something. He is patient, tolerant and never throws his size around (unlike a certain Claybelle, although she's rarely pushy with him these days). Charlie loves good physical affection and verbal praise in equal parts, and Pleasant is more than happy to oblige--often he is found leaning against the gelding, raking his fingers over the best spots and cooing with his eyes set on Charlie's ears and Charlie's ears set on him.
Caution Around: N/A

The History
Basic History: Pleasant drove all the way down to a place in southern Georgia to pick up Silent-Era Star, or "Charlie," from an auction event specially for carriage horses. At the time, Charlie belonged to a young lady who'd acquired him with the intent to sell for her grandparents, who were retiring, specialized breeders of driving animals. He is another "home-grown" beast, like Claybelle, who had only ever known one place before Mr. Spence got his hands on him. The young woman, a Miss Beaumont, grew up with the gelding, but she had no hand in his training and did not compete with him. She did, however, ride Charlie in a handful of local parades, and he was her favorite horse to take out on recreational trail rides. It was her grandfather, one venerable Mr. Robert Beaumont (Pleasant met him, too, as he did attend the sales with his granddaughter, and was a special character), who deserved the most credit for Silent-Era Star's turnout, having molded him from the ground-up throughout his whole life up until then, and was responsible for the number of decent, some even high-placed shows that the gelding placed in. He performed especially well in Combined Driving, according to records and Mr. Beaumont, but has never suffered a notably poor run in his career. Pleasant paid a good amount of money for him (won't say, "doesn't matter"), but he's certain that Charlie was a "steal"--worth every cent and then some.

The Technicalities
Discipline: Pleasure Driving, Combined Driving, Parade, Trail
Owner: Pleasant Spence
Rider: ^