Blue Ridge is a fictional town located deep in the heart of Kentucky. It is home to one of the most well known equestrian academies in the United States. Students and staff from all over the world join the academy for what it has to offer. Do you have what it takes to join us and learn from the Academy?
Smilys were made by Sapphire Heaven of LiveJournal.
The mini-profile hover follows a tutorial by Kagney of Adoxography.
Photos in the skin used under CC from Flickr.
Post by Jackson Gailson on Sept 6, 2017 7:49:07 GMT -8
Jack tack Calgary up for trail. She wore the same tack as before for reining He had groomed her tell her dun and white coat was shining. He wore his normal cowboy hat and boots but new blue jeans. He wore the same dark blue shirt as he had worn for reining. He had warmed her up bareback to keep her coat clean. Jack led the mare outside before mounting her. He had studied his trail course already that was the most important part of this.
When his name was called he rode out to the first cone. He eased his mare into a walk for the rain coat. He picked it slowly and carefully and then went about moving it to the pole on the left. Then he walked on to the box. The mare side passed with ease to the left around the corner. Then they stepped into the box they made as ease 180 to the left. Then they walked off through the boxes. Jack opened the gate as the mare moved off his legs. Then they picked up an easy trot through the boxes then Jack sat back to ask for a lope. The mare went forward a little strong but they made their way through the box. To top it off the mare even had the right lead. Jack asked for a halt even with the pole. They did that. Jack let the mare glide back between the poles then asked her for a walk. They went up and over the bridge then headed out of the ring.
Post by Victoria Greco on Sept 8, 2017 17:07:25 GMT -8
After their barrel racing round, Tori dismounted and checked every inch of the gelding for heat or swelling, finishing with his heart rate and respiratory. Pleased that he hadn't come out of the clover-leaf pattern with any injuries, she swung back into the saddle and they rode toward the trail class.
She read over the pattern, repeating it to herself until she hoped that she had it memorised, and she knew that someone would call out if she forgot anything in the middle. At least trail wasn't as nerve-wracking as dressage had been, not that had been the embarrassment of her life, something she wasn't about to repeat.
When their number was called, she rode Poe toward the start cone, a smile already lightening up her face. When given the cue to start, she gently cued Poe forward and they walked toward the pole with the raincoat, which of course the gelding took offense to, but other than dancing around a bit, she was able to cross it from one pole to the next and they moved onto the next part of the pattern.
She knew that Poe was getting annoyed with all the walking, after all he had just run barrels, but she kept him at a walk as they headed to the gate and she used her left hand to open and then close the gate before she asked for a trot, bring careful to keep him at that pace until it was time to lope. "Change." She said quietly when she'd messed up her cues and the gelding had taken off on the wrong lead, but a quick flying change fixed that and they loped through the box to come to a halt in line with the first pole. With a simple kiss, she had the gelding back up through the poles, then they walked forward, crossed the bridge and exited the arena. "Child's play." She laughed as she leaned down and hugged Poe's neck as the gelding pranced on the spot.
Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on Sept 8, 2017 18:06:19 GMT -8
Having classes that she could sign up for on the day, Cara was trying to work out whether this made it better or worse for her anxiety levels, but didn't want to overthink it as she rode Tex toward the trail class. At least it stopped her from stressing out about it until today, so in that case it had to be a plus.
When their number was call, Cara gave a confident nod, though she had a kaleidoscope of butterflies in her stomach and they were all trying to take off at once as she squeezed Tex toward the cone. She plastered her competition smile on her face, hoping that if she looked confident, she could send those vibes through to the gelding. She squeezed the pony forward when they were given the go.
Trail was a series of patterns, which is probably why Cara enjoyed it so much, similar to dressage, it was a dance with many different steps, but each part led to the final equation, and that was where she needed to get to. She was sure that the pony was going to spin when she asked for the half turn, but Tex stopped exactly where he was supposed to and they walked toward the gate.
Picking up the correct lead for the canter was easy enough, and something they worked on all the time for jumping, so they had no issues with that and he all but danced backwards through the poles and they walked forward. He stretched his neck out as they approached the bridge, as this wasn't something they encountered every day in the arena, though he only needed a little encouragement to keep hm moving forward and they exited the arena on a long rein.
After their less-than-stellar performance in the show jumping arena, Ben was more than ready to take to the somewhat easier trail class. He left the gelding's braids in his mane and just exchanged the gelding's bridle and saddle. He left his show coat behind too, exchanging it for a button-up shirt.
Then, ready for their next class, the two headed out again, this time sticking to an easy warmup. Their turn came up quickly, and Ben walked Rowen over to the start cone. The course went really well, better than show jumping. Ben left the arena, smiling, and petted Rowen's neck, "Maybe we should just stick to Trail, huh?"