Hold on to your Mug

[Bruce Ropata]

Riders and Mounts
Danielle Green - Fern
Elizabeth Phillips - Rocky
Jon Atticus McCloud - Chris
Khalid Al-Kuwari - Ish
Serenity Oliver - Pixie
Stefano Rice - Mo
Sina Aleardi - Pop

Bruce walked toward his teaching area with his not so small Stationbred gelding walking placidly behind him. Boss was acting a bit out of sorts as of late so the gelding he wanted to keep the horse where he could see him and that meant that the gelding could spend the next hour or so in one of the yards.

With the horse in the yard, he walked to the arena and set up five of the six lanes with four bending poles, as though they were going to do speed-weavers, and then balanced an overturned mug on the first three poles of each lane.

He kept out of the way as the students arrived and began to warm up, while he greeted them with a warm welcome, and smile, he didn't give any instructions as the kids had been doing this long enough to know what was expected of them.

"Haere mai. tamariki ma!" He called when he was satisfied that they were warmed up enough and he waited until they were gathered around him before he started speaking again. "Welcome, one and all. Today I will be splitting you into pairs and your going to work with the poles and mugs over there." He nodded toward the set up lanes. Chase, you'll be working with Danielle, Elba with Sebastian, David with Jon, Khalid with Sina, and Serenity with Seth. Go and pick a lane and I'll explain the rules. You'll both be starting down the same end." He waited for them to move before he went to stand by the third pole in the middle lane. "Game play is simple, you can only move one mug at a time, and you can only move it to the next empty pole. The first rider will ride and take the mug from Pole 3 to Pole 4, then the mug from Pole 2 to Pole 3, and lastly move the mug from Pole 1 to Pole 2. Then you ride back to the start and rider two does it in reverse." He paused to give them a chance to take it in, and get himself off the course as he walked down to the other end of the lanes. "Oh yes, important rules! As I said before, you can only move one mug at a time and only move it one pole, so you can't grab the first one on your way past. If you drop one of the mugs, you must dismount to put it back on the pole and then remount before you can continue. So this game isn't only about speed, but also precision"

He paused long enough for the students to work out who was running first. "Ready? Set. Go!"

[Stefano Rice]

After leaving Raisa comfortable in her stall, Seth hurried from one barn and into the other, as he needed to get Mo ready for mounted games. "What's new pussy cat?" He sang as he walked into the stall and was instantly greeted by the Ragdoll who was sitting on the pony's rump. "Come on, we got a class to get ready for." He slipped the head collar over the gelding's nose and led him from the stall, the feline still in place.

Once the pony was groomed, and Dolly was returned to the stall, where she sat on the half door glaring at him as he led the pony out of the barn. He clipped his helmet into place as they made their way to the arena they were due at and giving the teacher bright grin, he tightened the girth and swung into the saddle to start the warm up.

Riding over to Mr Ropata as they were called in, he listened as the pairings were called out and he rode Mo over to where the girl was sitting on her pony and then followed her over to the first lane. He listened carefully as the man then explained the game, which seemed easy enough. He then nodded to Serenity as she spoke, her words sounded pretty sensible and he lined the pony up, waiting for the word.

Mo shot away from the starting line without needing any encouragement from his rider and Seth struggled to pull the pony up at the third pole. Moving the reins into one hand, he carefully moved the mugs as had been instructed and had just lifted the last mug up when it slipped from his fingers. Dropping the reins, he juggled the mug from hand to hand as he desperately tried not to drop it and managed to snag it just before it did fall to the ground and he place it onto the second pole before he grabbed a handful of mane and squeezed the pony forward. "Sorry." He muttered as they crossed the line and the pony skidded to a halt.

He turned around to watch his partner, his eyebrows flying up at the speed she worked at - kind of put hid attempt to shame really.

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity bit back a yawn as she carried Plot's gear into the tack room, she would give it a wipe over once she'd finished mounted games, and even then she'd be pushing it to make it to the last of gymnastics training. Grabbing Pixie's gear before she exited the tack room, she headed down to the Welsh Pony's stall.

It didn't take her long to get the mare ready to be ridden and she vaulted into the saddle as soon as they were outside the barn and squeezed the pony forward as the made their way to the arena. She gave Mr Ropata a bright smile as they entered the arena and she closed the gate behind them. It was then a matter of working the mare gently through her paces to warm her up.

Riding into the middle when called in, she gave a bright smile when they were paired up and she raised a hand in greeting as Seth joined her and they rode to the furthest lane and waited for instructions, though the mugs kind of already gave away what they would be doing. "If you go first." She suggested to the more novice rider. "Then I can see if I can pick up time at the end." She wasn't trying to make it sound like she was a better rider, it was just that she knew the games, when they were still new to Seth.

"Go Seth!" She yelled as she stood in the stirrups as she watched him. She held her breath as it seemed that he was going to drop the last mug but then clapped when he managed to catch it and put it where it belonged. She then picked up the reins and was gone as soon as Mo's feet were over the line. "Halt." She said and grinned as Pixie's legs locked up and she came to a stop by the first mug with no more than a touch of the rein and the voice command. "Back." Serenity picked up the mug as the mare started moving backwards and placed it on the first pole.

As soon as the last mug was back where it started from, she wheeled the mare around and they raced back to where Seth was waiting. "Good girl!" She praised the mare as she fell onto the pony's neck and gave her a hug. "Such a good girl!"

[Elizabeth Phillips]

Elba had to admit, Rocky was one of the prettiest ponies she had ever laid eyes on. She would even say he was as pretty as Annie. As she groomed him for their practice he turned his head to nudge her with his nose playfully. She smiled at him affectionately and kissed his nose, "You're such a silly pony Rocky. Come on, we're gonna be late if you keep distracting me!" Finishing up with the brush, she picked his hooves quickly before tacking him and leading him out of the barn. She legged up onto him easily, and urged him to the mounted games ring where everyone else was probably waiting.

When they arrived she asked him into a trot, feeling she warmed him up plenty at the walk just getting there. The buckskin gelding eyed the poles excitedly, his ears pricked and his nostrils flared. Elba shortened her rein on him, chuckling at him, "Stop it silly boy, we'll get to that soon! Just pay attention!" she chided him. Rocky didn't pay much attention to her, and instead continued to turn his head to look at the mugs and poles that had been set up. Elba wondered what sort of game they'd be playing today with them.

Hearing the call to gather around, she lined up with everyone else to listen to their instructions for the day. When she heard who she'd be paired with she turned to look at him, giving him a big friendly smile. Rocky meanwhile chomped on his bit eagerly, and she had to continuously pat him and tug his reins gently to keep him occupied. She wondered if his brain was confused, maybe he thought he was a three year old thoroughbred still?

Once they were ready to line up, she rode over to where Sebastian was, "I think I'll go first if you don't mind, best get him going before watches sees everyone else and works himself up too much." She moved to the starting place of the second row, and waited for them to get started. Rocky seemed to feel Elba tense in preparation to start and gave a half rear or two. Finally they were given the ok to go and she gave him his head, sending him rocketing towards the last pole with a mug on it. She leaned out, reaching and grasping it before moving it up to the fourth pole. Then she spun him around, going back to move the second mug. Her fingers fumbled to grasp it as she turned him around the pole, and only just managed to get a hold of it as Rocky took off towards the next pole. She plopped it down haphazardly, turning again to get the final mug.

She prepared herself for the last mug, not wanting to mess up this far into it. Assertively she pulled him to slow down, his speed being part of her difficulty. This wasn't all about speed, she had to have time to grab the mug and put it down again! The final mug in hand, she moved it up to the second pole before allowing Rocky to launch himself back to where Sebastian was waiting. Pulling the pony up, he gave a few bucks and rears as she guided him towards the far side of the fence, giving him a chance to calm down. She grinned down at him once he finally stopped, laughing and rubbing his neck with both hands, "You're such a good boy! Silly lad!"

[Khalid Al-Kuwari]

It was strange, but Khalid could feel himself growing to like the pony he rode for mounted games. He always stopped by her stall when he was visiting Nasr or Sarab, and usually carried an extra treat for her.

He led Ish into the arena and mounted up to start his warmup. In Biology and Art, it was fairly easy to give Sina a wide berth and just pretend she didn't exist. This was always a team effort, so every class was a coin toss as to whether he would have to pay attention to her. So far, he'd been lucky. The other students were alright. Khalid still had no idea what the teacher was saying to gather them all up. It just sounded foreign next to the Arabic and English he was used to. It also seemed like his luck had run out. The boy fought back the urge to groan.

He trotted over to the far lane and waited. If she didn't like it, then that was her problem. He wasn't going to budge. He thought that the Towers of Hanoi would be a more interesting game on horseback than this, but Khalid knew better than to complain. "I'm going first." It was a statement, not a question.

At the signal, he took off at a trot. Winning wasn't the object here. The Arab boy didn't want to give Sina the satisfaction of coming in first. First, last, he really didn't care one way or another. Paired with anyone else and Khalid would have put in his best effort. With Sina, well, they were going to come in dead last. He purposefully dropped every single cup and took his time about dismounting, grabbing it, and mounting again. He only cantered back once the last cup was in place.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina finally got Rolo's tack put away and the gelding put back in his stall after their reining lesson, and was ready to head to White Oak to collect Pop. On her way, though, she heard a pitiful meow and spotted a familiar-looking ragdoll on an empty stall, “Poor Dolly, did Seth leave already?” She picked up the cat and settled her across her shoulders as she walked, “You can hang out with Der, while we go and play with Mo.” Now with two companions, Sina made her way to the White Oak barn, grabbing Pop's grooming kit before she headed to the pony's stall.

After making quick work of the grooming and tacking (Seth had already been done by the time she'd started, after all), Sina finally had her pony ready, and grabbed her helmet, “Be good, you guys.” She left Derecho's leash and sign draped over the door to Pop's stall and then walked out of the barn, heading to the mounted games arena. She could see a larger horse out in the pens, but ignored it, heading to the arena instead, “Tēnā koe, Mr. Ropata.” She brought Pop into the middle of the arena, checked his girth (not a cinch, although she always wanted to call it that), and then vaulted into the saddle, patting the pony's neck as he put up with her, and then finding her way on the rail.

She tuned out the rest of the riders and focused on her warmup, working for anything, although the mug game seemed slightly familiar. Or had she just come across it on the internet? In either case, it paid to be prepared, and she felt Pop loosening up by the time they were called in to gather for information. She listened to the pairs, feeling a slight knot in her stomach at the naming of her partner, but she ignored it. They were a team out here, and since she didn't have Derecho, at least the boy would hopefully be willing to cooperate for the benefit of the class.

But that didn't seem to be the case. Sina shrugged and followed the boy's lead to a lane, and then listened to Mr. Ropata's instructions. Simple enough, and mugs were easy enough to hold even if she didn't stop Pop completely to grab it. Replacing it on the next pole might be tricker, but she could always stop if she was having trouble. Lots of circling around pairs of poles too, so she weighed her options, although she was more dexterous with her right hand. Right-handed circling it would be, then. Any hope of a peaceful class period was dashed by Khalid's tone as he declared that he was going first, but Sina just shrugged, “Fine by me.” She'd get a chance to watch the other players and make sure she had the right plans in place.

As it turned out, she'd have plenty of time to watch the races, as Khalid seemed to be insistent on destroying their run. Why, Sina couldn't understand, it wasn't like one incident was going to make her ruin her own class period for this boy. Trying to fight down her competitive side, she glanced over to the other teams, catching a look from Seth and raising an eyebrow as their eyes met. Nothing she could do about it now. Finally, Khalid was headed to the starting line, and Sina timed her start so that she would pass it just about at the same time as he came in.

Then it was their turn, to make up what time they could. She spun Pop around the second pole, grabbing the mug by the handle and sending the horse back to the first. They repeated the procedure twice more and flew back to the starting line, where Sina pulled the pony up, patting his neck, biting her tongue on any comments she could think of about 'at least having one reliable teammate'. She wasn't going to fight this petty fight, Khalid could do that on his own. Money didn't account for class, after all.

[Bruce Ropata]

Bruce watched as the teams ran through the race, his eyebrows raising as he watched Khalid intentionally - obviously so - drop each mug and then watched as Sina raced through her turn to try an make up time. He shook his head, though applauded once the last pair had crossed the finishing line. "Good job to all of you." She said smoothly as he walked forward to stand in the middle of the lanes. "Just a reminder that there is no pass of fail to this class, and that you are all here because you choose to be." He spoke to all of the riders, though his eyes rested on Khalid for longer than the others. "Behaviour that you think is going to annoy another rider is doing nothing. Well; nothing other than ruining your own chances of being asked to attend the inter-school competitions, and letting me know exactly who you don't want to be paired with." The last was said with a bright smile as he walked around and collected the mugs. "And please remember that in this game, you have two partners, the other rider and the pony you are riding."

Walking to the teams, he handed one rider of each pair a mug and then continued through to the the storage shed and walked back out carrying a stack of bins that he carried down to the far end of the lines and placed each in line with the poles and placed two mugs upside down on each overturned bin.

"This game is similar to the one you just played. The person holding the mug will ride to the poles and place the mug on any one that they choose, they will then continue down to the bin with the mugs, pick up a mug and carry it to your partner. That rider will then take that mug to a place it on a pole and continue to the bin, and bring the last remaining mug to the start line.

He paused long enough for the students to take in what he had said. "Ready, set. go!"

[Stefano Rice]

When he'd returned from his run, he was surprised to see that Khalid was still on the course, and he shook his head in sympathy toward Sina, silently cheering her on when she eventually got to run (or gallop as the case may be).

He rubbed Mo's neck as Mr Ropata spoke once the game was over. He was very aware that Mo was the one responsible for their really good runs and he always felt bad for the pony when he did something to mess up their run when his equine partner was doing his side of the partnership so well.

He glanced at the mug he was handed and patiently sat there as they waited for further instructions, watching as the man set up a new game and then began to speak again. He nodded, as this game sounded a whole lot easier than the game before it; put his mug on a pole and bring another back for Serenity. He nodded as he gathered up the reins and nudged the gelding to the starting line. On the command, he touched the gelding with his heels and that was all Mo needed before he shot forward.

Seth only just managed to pull the gelding up before the passed all the poles and rounded a pole as he precariously balanced the mug on it before they thundered down to the bin and he leaned out of the saddle to scoop a mug up. The idea behind it was great, just that he leaned too far and ended up on the ground - thankfully he didn't knock the bin over. Mounting again, he nudged Mo forward, grabbed a mug and they galloped back to where Serenity was waiting. "Sorry." He said, feeling his cheeks heat up, though she was already half way down the course, so she may not have even heard him.

[Serenity Oliver]

Serenity ground her teeth as she half watched Seth and half watch Khalid, as the boy knocked every single mug to the ground. If it wasn't for the fact that he was riding, she would have thrown a ball of energy big enough to knock him off his feet. She glanced toward Sina, wondering what had happened between the two of them to cause him to stuff up his own run so much. However, she didn't have time to ponder over it as it was her turn to shuffle the mugs.

She watched carefully as Mr Ropata set up the next game and she listened to the gameplay and nodded, at least it was simple, in regards to the last one, and quick. "Go Seth!" She yelled as her team mate took off. She held her breath as he balanced the mug. Her eyebrows shooting up as he tipped off the pony. "Shake it off!" She called.

She closed her hand around the mug, squeezing the mare forward as soon as Mo's front hooves were over the line and she was off. Barely slowing the mare down, she placed the mug onto the middle pole and they continued on to the bin where the last mug was sitting. Reining the mare in ever so slightly, she leaned over as they rounded the bin, grabbing onto the handle of the mug, the knuckles of her left hand brushing the bottom of the bin, before she pressed her right foot into the stirrup to right herself and they were thundering back toward the start/finish and she sat back in the saddle as they slid to a halt and spun around to join Seth and Mo. "Don't sweat the small stuff." She said with a grin. "You did that so much faster than you would have six months ago."