Something About Finding a Paper Plate

[Ráhel Sárközi]

Ráhel smiled to herself as she packed the bag of compasses into her bag. After grabbing the pile of maps that she'd photocopied, she headed out of the academic building and to the barn, where she collected Oil. She wouldn't be riding that day, but she had noted that mounts would be available if students didn't feel like their own horse were a good choice. And she could ride Oil out to the meeting point - The trailhead of the green hill trail.

Once there, she dismounted and tied Oil to the post, and then waited for any students that wanted to to arrive. She'd posted notes in the main office and the two barns that she'd be holding a basic mounted orienteering competition today, for those students (or staff!) who'd stayed on campus. The paper plates had already been distributed, and now all that was left was waiting for the humans to arrive.

[Tara Macmillan]

Tara was still not entirely sure why she was even there. It was a thing organised by a teacher, for god's sake, there was no way on earth that it would ever actually turn out to be fun. And yet there she was, at what she considered to be far too early an hour to be even awake during the summer holidays, grooming and tacking up Jenny. Mounted orienteering sounded far too complicated for a sleepy Tara, but she was honestly far too bored for her own good as the holidays stretched on, and anything was better than another day of doing nothing.

So she saddled up and rode out onto the trails, taking the opportunity for a little warm up work- trot and canter, mostly. She spotted a figure waiting on horseback up ahead, and slowed to a respectable rising trot as she came up to the woman, dropping gradually into a walk and then a halt. "Good morning!" she greeted the teacher.

[Lucy Woodhaven]

Lucy was an early bird. When she heared about the Mounted orienteering she had gotten really excited by the idea. She had warmed Raven up and tacked her up extra carefully. Now she rode her mare up the trail. She spotted a teacher and another girl and halted nearbu. "Hello,"

[Victoria Greco]

Tori stood in the tack room, and stuffed her pockets full of treats before she walked back out to where she had left Poe in the cross-ties. She was so happy to have her horses on campus, and she decided the best way to introduce the Quarter Horse to the trails was through the clinic she had read about.

Clipping her Troxel western helmet under her chin, she removed the cross-ties and led the gelding outside before she swung into the western saddle and taking the reins in one hand, she squeezed him forward, holding onto the horn as he bucked, and then walked forward on a long rein, he hadn't been ridden in over two weeks, so it was no surprise that he was feeling his oats.

"Good morning!" She greeted brightly to the two girls already there. "Ma'am." She added to the teacher as she touched the peak of her hat and bowed her head.

[Ráhel Sárközi]

Ráhel smiled as she surveyed the students. It was a better turnout than she had expected, actually! But she'd planned well enough, and had plenty of compasses, "Good morning, everyone. For this activity, you're welcome to decide if you want to ride in pairs or alone. I have enough supplies for everyone to play on their own, though."

She took a step away from Oil, who wasn't needed after all, and smiled, "So, welcome to the idea of Mounted Orienteering. The objective is to find paper plates in the woods." She chuckled slightly and held up the map, "These maps have circles on them that indicate the general area of your plates. From that general area, you'll have guides on the back of the maps, which tell you what landmarks to look for and where to look for the plate." She flipped the map over so that everyone could see the table on the back, "There are only five, so this is what is called a short course. You should be back in time for lunch." She grinned, "You'll be starting at ten minute increments after we sort out the basics. Your ride begins once you get your map and compass. Are there any questions? Does everyone have a cell phone in case of emergency?"

[Victoria Greco]

Tori listened carefully and decided that it would be more fun to work by herself, as then she could explore at her own pace rather than having to worry about holding anyone up.

She shook her head to having any questions, as she couldn't think of anything to ask, as the woman had explained everything and if she did need to know something, she was sure that she could call the woman en-route. She then patted her chest pocket to make sure she had her phone and nodded, she was ready to go.