One step at a Time

[Bruce Ropata]

Being as it was the first class for the year, Bruce led the five geldings and four mares over to the mounted games arena (obviously not all at once), and let them in their yards before he went too and from the barns as he brought each pony's respective gear out. "I wondered where you were." He chuckled as he saw Dolly curling herself around the post of Mo's yard, as he hadn't been able to locate the Ragdoll while he was leading the Welsh Pony over and figured that she would make her way over here when she realised that her best friend was missing.

Once the pony's were content in their yards, he set about getting the arena ready. Opening the shed that he shared with the trail class - since they shared so much of their equipment - he took out the eighteen heavy-duty steel buckets and began to set them up in three lanes for the first game he wanted to run through with the students.

As the students arrived, he motioned for them to gather around so that he could do his normal welcome speech and introduce his new students to their mounts. Once all six of his students had arrived, he began. "Welcome to a brand new year." He greeted. "Just a reminder of pony assignments for those who are returning; Danielle, you're on Fern. Chase you've got Joe. Serenity you're with Pixie. Sina, I would like to keep you working with Pop, who you worked with in the clinic." He looked at his new students. "If you will follow me, I'll introduce you to your new friend." He watched as the others each went to their respective mounts. "Once you and your mount are ready, please take them to the arena and begin to warm up."

He led the other students over to the yards, unlike the other teachers, he actually got a photo profile of each of his potential students so he could do his best to match pony and rider before they arrived, so he knew who was who. He stopped at the yard of a buckskin Connemara gelding. "Emma, this is Rocky. He's a real sweetheart. The only warning I feel I need to give you is that he gets excited easily and needs reminders to keep his head in the game. His gear is right here." He pointed to the grooming kit and gear that were in front of the pony's yard. He then moved onto the yard of the flaxen chestnut Welsh, with the cat looking sound asleep on the pony's rump. "Stefano, this is Mo, and Dolly. Mo will be a good pony for you to learn the games on." He then continued on to the yard of a silver dapple Rocky Mountain pony. "Oliver, this is Ish. She's a sweetie, but she's also really competitive so she'll keep you on your toes while playing games." Continuing along the yards, he came to a stop outside the yard of a Chestnut tobiano New Forest pony. "Jon, this is Chris. He will do anything you ask of him, even if the other ponies are trying to run in the opposite direction. My only warning, is be careful of him when you have treats on you, or have been giving them to your own horse before coming here. He could put a custom's drug dog to shame in his ability to sniff things out." He then walked to a grey Highland mare "Beauregard, this is Yoko. There's not a lot to warn you about this girl, she has the odd oment where she can be cranky, but she's never mean about it."

Leaving the new students to get to know their pony and bring them to the arena to warm up, he went to the shed and brought out the things for the second game he wanted to run through with the class, but wouldn't set them up until he knew that he had time.

---

Roll Call:
@beau
@running9
Danielle Green
Elizabeth Phillips
Jon Atticus McCloud
@ransom
Serenity Oliver
Stefano Rice
Sina Aleardi

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity rubbed her temples as she made her way toward the mounted games arena. She couldn't believe that she'd just made it through the first day of her Junior year.

After her equestrian classes, she had changed out of her beige breeches and long boots into a pair of black riding tights and a light blue polo shirt, and had her helmet tucked under one arm. She felt a little odd approaching the arena without the mare at her side, but they had all be asked to just arrive at the arena.

While waiting for Mr Ropata to start things off, she took the times to look into the arena and gave a silent cheer when she saw the stepping stones. As soon as they were dismissed to get their pony ready, she rushed over to the yards and slowly ducked under Pixie's gate and gave the pretty pony a hug.

It didn't take long to remove what little dust the mare had on her coat - showing that Mr Ropata must have had them groomed before he brought them out - and she quickly got the Welsh Pony tacked up and led her to the arena, where she vaulted into the saddle and began to slowly warm the mare up, always keeping the mare's past in the forefront of her mind as she warmed the pony up and go her ready for that day's games.

She also took this time to watch the other riders, both those she already knew from previous times in this arena, and the new students.

[Stefano Rice]

There was a bounce in his step as Seth made his way toward the mounted games arena. His first day was done and dusted, and he had to admit that the classes here were anything but the bird-courses he'd been used to, he had actually been challenged by the teachers and for that he respected them.

After getting redirected a couple of times, he arrived at the arena and hovered around near another student - in the area the teacher had directed they wait - and he bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited. He listened closely as the teacher welcomed them and sent the students that he obviously knew to their mounts - who they also obviously knew. He grinned as he followed the man, and a girl, to the yards. He was fizzing with energy as the girl was introduced to her pony, he wanted to be doing something and following the man around patiently so wasn't in his nature - he guessed he was lucky that there was only the two of them to meet their ponies, if he had to wait longer, he would probably spontaneously combust!

Finally, they walked to the yard with his pony. "It's Seth." He quickly corrected the teacher as his name was spoken. "Mo and Dolly?" He was slightly confused, as there was only one pony in the yard, and then he burst out laughing when he saw the furry mound on the pony's back. "Cheers" He said as he entered the yard. Time to get to know the pony. He looked at the cat first. "I'm guessing you don't stay there while I'm riding?" He picked the feline up and set her on the ground, rubbing her under the chin as she gave an undignified squeak and then stalked off.

Seth took his time grooming the pony's chestnut coat and put the gear on. He still wasn't comfortable with his ability to tack up, so he would seek out Mr Ropata before he mounted up.

Leading the gelding from the yard, he went to see the teacher, had the saddle fixed and girth tightened before he got the thumbs up. Feeling a little self conscious, he awkwardly pulled himself up into the saddle and squeezed the pony forward. Where his parents had chosen his academic courses, he had picked his equestrian classes and extra circular classes for what he thought would be the most interesting to learn, rather than what he already knew - which was zero to naught about anything other than how to not fall off.

[Danielle Green]

Finally her favorite time of the day had come around. Extracurricular activities were the best and mounted games fell right into the category. Danny was excited to be working with Fern again, it was nice to have a slower horse sometimes as opposed to her everyday horse who like to go faster more times that not. Danielle walked to the mounted games arena to see that Reni and a newcomer were already there. When Mr. Ropata confirmed what she already knew she turned on a heel and went off to groom and tack up the dapple grey pony. "Hi Fern, you miss me?" she did do some work with the mare over the summer during a mounted games clinic but that was the extent of her riding experience with the mare during the summer months.

She got to work grooming the pony. That was quickly over and Danny grabbed the mare's tack and flew through the process. Double checking everything, it was a habit that she had, they were ready for the class. Leading Fern out of her paddock and into the arena, Danny vaulted up into the saddle, which did not take as much effort as it would have if she had been on a horse sized equine instead of a pony sized one and asked her to walk. Danielle started her warm ups and waited for the rest of the class to show up and get to work.

[Deleted]

Chase made his way across campus to the mounted games area to get ready for the class. He saw Danny, Reni, and a boy who he didn't know the name of. Chase walked into the arena and saw Mr. Ropata motioning those showing up to come closer to him. He soon started the class and went through the basic introduction, of himself and the class. He looked around and knew that there were only a few new kids in the class and before long they were left to get their mounts ready. Chase moved towards Joe's paddock and went in. "Hi buddy, how're you doing?" The boy threw his arms around the gelding's neck and gave him a hug.

Chase got to work grooming the equine, of course Joe tried his normal routine of seeing what he would be getting away with today, but Chase didn't have any of it. A few "no's" and "stop that" and the tack was put into place before the two were ready to go into the arena. Chase tightened the girth and checked Joe's bridle before getting into the saddle and asking him to walk in the same direction as everyone else to start their warm ups.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina grinned as she dropped Rolo off back into his stall after their first day of equestrian classes, “You get a break now, boy. I have another horse for this.” She frowned, “I guess they're called ponies? I think Pop is really a pony, too.” The gelding was probably well under 14.2, although she was terrible at actually figuring out heights, “Anyway.” She gave the gelding a pat, then turned to Derecho, calling him over and then affixing his head halter and leash. She left the backpack where it was, since her saddlebag contained the same necessities, and Derecho was only coming along on invitation of the teacher.

She headed to the mounted games arena and then walked over to gather with Mr. Ropata as requested. As she heard that she would indeed still be working with Pop, the red-head grinned, then followed the other named students' lead and headed in the direction of Pop's yard. She had the dog settle in the corner as she brushed the specks of dust from Pop's coat and then went through the motions of tacking him up. Once the gelding was ready, she left him for a moment to walk Derecho to the shed, where she spotted a cute little ragdoll already sitting, “I suppose. Derecho, be good.” She pulled a tie-down out of her pocket and looped it around the most stable thing she could find, “I know, cat. You can sniff, but behave.” She removed the dog's head halter and leash again, leaving him just on his flat, and then dropped the rest next to the dog, before offering him a Nylabone.

After heading outside, she collected Pop and then lead him into the arena, where she checked his saddle and then bounced herself up. She gathered her reins and then nudged the gelding forward, keeping some attention on both the other ponies in the arena and the teacher's actions, as she took the gelding through her warmup.

[Deleted]

    Spending the first few days at the academy exploring and getting to know where everything is really was a great idea for Oliver, since he often got lost, which resulted in tardiness. But he knew where the mounted games arena was and managed to find it fifteen minutes before he was required to be there, making him one of the first ones there. He hung out awkwardly, watching as the other students arrived, and soon, the instructor began introductions. Although Oliver tried his best to remember the names of the students and ponies as Mr. Ropata pointed them out, it was almost pointless. His memory wasn't that great. At least he tried, right? Oliver followed the instructor and the group until his name was called, and he was assigned to his horse, Ish.

    Oliver smiled and ducked into the yard to greet her. To be completely honest, he was feeling quite nervous. He had never done any mounted games before, but they sounded interesting and he figured that it didn't hurt to give it a shot. Oliver stroked the little mare's face. She was quite cute. "Hi there, sweets," he murmured quietly under his breath. He moved away and grabbed the necessary tools to clean her up a bit, brushing her to remove the last bit of dirt and get used to her. He always enjoyed grooming before work, as it provided a time to check the horse over for any cuts or swellings, and relax the two of them.

    Once Oliver decided she was good and dust-free, he tacked her up in her respective gear and led her to the arena. Nervous excitement bubbled in his chest as he tightened her girth and dropped the stirrups. Oliver took a deep breath and got on. He began with a forward, working walk to get a feel for the mare's movement and style. She felt.. Short. He chuckled to himself quietly before pushing her into a working trot on a circle, still working out the kinks and trying to get used to her. Everything was so strange, but he liked it.

[Bruce Ropata]

Once all the students had arrived and he was happy that his new students had had enough time working out the quirks of their new mounts, and his returning students had had enough time reacquainting themselves with theirs it was time to bring them in and get things started. "Haere mai, tamariki ma!" He called, and then laughed when he realised what had come out of his mouth. "Bring the ponies in!" He tried instead - at least those who had been in his class the year before knew what he had meant. "Let's get things started! I am going to split you into pairs, as I call your names, can you and your amigos, please go to one of the lanes, introduce yourselves if you don't already know each other, and work out who is starting at which end, two people will need to remain down the start end. Chase, Oliver and Danielle. Elizabeth, Beau and Jon. And Serenity, Sina and Seth."

When the teenagers had sorted themselves out, he walked to stand against the fence on the centre line and could see everyone at once, should anyone have any questions about the game as he explained it. "Your first game is going to be agility aces, and this is how it goes; Rider one rides to the stepping stones, dismounts, and leading the pony by the reins - please bring the reins over your pony's head just to keep you both safe - steps on each stone. The rider must have at least one step on the ground before remounting and proceeding to the Line C. Rider two rides to the stepping stones and proceeds through the stones and on to the Line A, rider three rides as rider one had. Now, the rules: If a rider, or pony, knocks over a stone, the rider must reset it and re-cross all of the stones again before continuing.

"If a rider steps off the stones before the last one or puts a foot on the ground while crossing the stones, he must return to the first stone and re-cross all six in succession.

"Each rider must dismount between the time of entering into the playing field and reaching the stepping stones. The rider must be re-mounted with both feet astride the pony before crossing the finish line. Ready, set, go!"

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity was pleased with how the mare she was riding was moving when she heard their instructor call them in, her eyebrow arched when he repeated himself, but she guessed that was for the benefit of the new students, as the veterans in the class were used to the odd Maori phrase that came from the man.

She rode toward the man and halted the mare, rubbing her neck, as they waited patiently to listen to what they were doing. She grinned as she was paired up with Sina, she had enjoyed working with the other girl during the clinic over the last month of the summer vacation and she would be more than happy to help the girl with her game skills while in class. "If it's alright with you both, I'll go first." She said as they walked over to the first lane. She knew what game they were playing by what was already set up, and this was one of the games where it was the person who went first who needed to be confident with what they were doing - not that she thought the other two wouldn't be - and she wanted to get going.

After listening to the rules she nodded, grinning when she took note of the fact that both legs had to be astride before they crossed the line, but feet didn't have to be in the stirrups. She undid the buckle that joined the reins and then bridged them up by the mare's poll as she stood in the stirrups. At the man's command, she squeezed the mare forward and as soon as they had crossed the line, she was already in the process of preparing to vault off, and the reins were flicked over the mare's ears as she jumped to the ground - the reason for bridging them at the poll - and taking hold of the two reins she kept the mare at a fast trot as she sprinted across the step stones and bounced to the ground, using this momentum to help her vault back into the saddle. Urging the mare from a trot to a canter, she used the momentum to grab the right rein and she nodded to Seth as they thundered over the change-over line. She rubbed Pixie's neck as she slipped her feet back into the stirrups and did the reins back up - yes, what she had done could have been dangerous had she been riding a pony she didn't know, but she had been riding the mare for a year now and the two of them trusted each other.

[Stefano Rice]

Seth felt a little awkward as he began to warm-up the pony he had been assigned, and by the time they were called over, he still felt a little awkward - probably from the limited amount of time he'd actually had in a saddle, rather than the fact that he didn't know anyone in this class other than from other classes.

He released a breath as he was grouped with a Sina, who he knew - by name only - from two of his classes, and another girl he didn't know. He nodded as she spoke. "I'll go down the other end and ride second." He offered, just so that he could get his turn over and down with and so that he didn't try and copy anything from the more confident riders and end up looking like an idiot.

He listened intently to the man's instructions on the game and nodded as he thought he had a good idea of what to do. He watched intently as Serenity ran through the game, his eyebrows shooting up as he admired her agility, and hoped that he didn't end up making an idiot of himself and letting the team down. With her nod he touched his heels to the gelding's sides, not a kick, but a cue to move, and the pony bounced forward into a trot - almost unseating his rider - and Seth's eyes were glued to the buckets that he'd be using as stepping stones.

Reaching the buckets, he reined the gelding to a halt as he dropped the stirrups and somewhat ungracefully slid to the ground, brought the reins over the pony's head and clicked him forward. Stepping up onto the first bucket, he windmilled his free arm as he almost instantly lost his balance, taking care not to yank the reins as he re-balanced himself. "Sorry." He muttered to Mo - who he was sure was rolling his eyes at him - and he began to bounce across the "stones". At the other end, he jumped to the ground and put the reins back over the pony's head and mounted again - a little more smoother than his dismount - and nudged the pony forward, grabbing on to a handful of mane as Mo shot forward into a canter and they crossed the change-over line.

He turned Mo around so that he could watch how their third rider, and the others, handled the game, picking up hints for the next time. For the first time he wondered if he had picked the wrong out of school activity.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina heard Mr. Ropata's voice, although what he had said made no sense... Had it even been English? However, she turned her head all the same, just in time to catch his laugh as the teacher corrected himself. Well, what a way to start the class! She followed the instructions, slowing Pop into a walk and having him stand next to Serenity. At least she knew the girl, slightly. They'd been paired in the clinic. As Mr. Ropata named the teams, Sina grinned, since they'd been paired yet again. Serenity at least knew what she was doing, luckily. The boy, while new, she recognized from a few of her classes She nodded at Serenity's suggestion and watched the girl for a brief moment before nudging Pop forward to follow her to the line, leaving Seth to head to the other side.

She listened to Mr. Ropata's explanation of the rules of the game, thinking that split reins would be quite the advantage in this game. But she didn't know what Pop was trained for, so over the head it would be. She tensed as Mr. Ropata started the count-down, although she kept her pony in check until Seth had crossed the line. She'd noted Serenity's run across the steps and what seemed almost a flying leap back into the saddle, but wasn't quite confident enough to attempt that. They took the overturned buckets steadily, instead, before Sina had to pause Pop to climb back into the saddle, and then pushing him on towards the finish line.

[Deleted]

The crunch of gravel underfoot abruptly came to a halt as a young male entered the Mounted Games Arena, his footsteps softening over the arena floor. Beau had been certain that he was lost a moment ago, but by the way the arena was set up, he was now positively sure he was in the right place- and on time. Thank God...
It was all a haze. That's what it was.
A sharp and sudden snort from beneath him woke the midnight blue eyed boy from his daydreaming, bringing him to the present. Beau shook off his daze and focused his attention on the horses and people around him, of the very pony that stood awaiting his request. Everything had happened so quickly. Coming to Blue Ridge Riding Academy; getting settled; attending classes. And it was all new to him.
Yoko shifted her weight underneath the ink haired male, the Highland Pony's patience wearing out ever so slowly. Beau exhaled exasperatedly and gathered his reins. The mare's build and shape was very different to that of Rorschach's, and the boy couldn't decided whether or not he liked the height difference.
Beau pressed his heels lightly into Yoko's flank at Mr. Ropata's orders, to signal for her to move forward to join his team mates. Despite being paired with complete strangers, an excited shiver raised goose bumps onto his arms. Being the 'gentleman' he was, Beau had decided to go last in this game, seeing as observing would acquire him with more tactics for an achievable running time. Because, of course, winning was what he desired.