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 Jessamine Smith on May 24, 2018 10:26:38 GMT -8
Jessa raised an eyebrow at UFO, "So. You going to behave today?" She had started working out the gelding's quirks, and while he wasn't perfect, she at least had an idea of how to manage him. As their bond grew, he had been more willing to work for her too, which made things easier. She was still slightly nervous about how being in the show environment with her would affect him.
Their tack, at least, was immaculate. She had channeled her worry into cleaning the previous night, and so the tooled saddle shone nicely, and her new show shirt, blue to match the saddle pad, shimmered under the barn lights. Jessa grabbed her helmet and then led the gelding out to the warm-up ring. She checked her watch, then glanced back at the list, judging the time and then nodding. She had been pretty spot-on in her timing. Now it was time for a quick warm-up, just enough to get the gelding limber, before they took off for their run.
When she was called, Jessa and Alien were as they would ever be, and she nodded at the steward as she presented herself. She checked that her number was secure, then picked up her reins and took a deep breath. She dropped the pressure on the reins holding Alien back, and all hell broke loose - Or so it felt, as the gelding took off flying, energized by the excitement humming through the crowd. She barely had to steer, the gelding happy to run for the first barrel, before they were on to the second. The gelding knew his work, and Jessa focused on her own, balancing to give the gelding as much freedom as he needed. As they whirled around the third barrel and thundered towards the chute, Jessa couldn't hold back a whoop of joy at a good run, before she had to contain herself and slow the gelding. He deserved every pat she gave him as they made their way out of the showgrounds, Jessa directing him towards the trails to give the gelding just slightly more than that one run for his time and effort.
Post by Victoria Greco on May 26, 2018 1:19:01 GMT -8
Tori curled her nose at the clothes she had just taken off, and thrown into her portable laundry hamper, even the jacket would need a clean after today's run, good thing it was the last show of the year and she could send it home to get cleaned at their normal place - and she didn't doubt for a moment that three would come back in its place so that she would have spares. She laughed as she pulled on her turquoise shirt and once she had covered all her newly formed blisters with bandaids, and put fresh socks on, she pulled on her jean jods and pushed her feet into her cowgirl boots and she was ready to go.
It didn't take long to get Poe ready to go, and - at least in her opinion - the gelding looked stunning in his turquoise and tan gear. She had polished the saddle so that it gleamed and all the silverwork on the tack shone as well, though she was careful not to put any oil on her reins, as the last thing she needed as for them to slip out of her hands as she was rounding a barrel.
It amused her how calm she was with barrel racing when eventing always had her on the edge of her nervs, when this class was so much faster, and so many more things could go wrong here. She shook that thought out of her mind as she warmed the gelding up and then walked him around on a loose rein as she watched the girl before them run. "We have our work cut out for us here." She whispered as the other pair exited the arena, leaving behind a cloud of dust. "We've so go this though." She grinned as she entered the arena. While the gelding looked all cool, calm and collected, Tori knew that he was ready to go, she could feel his muscles bunch up under her, he was like a coiled spring and was just waiting. They were given the word, she dropped the rein and they were off.
She sat deep in the saddle as she used her seat and legs to guide the horse, touching his mouth as little as possible, as the Quarter Horse knew his job, and the last thing she wanted to do was make him think she wanted him to slow down. Keeping as close to the barrels as possible, she timed her turns perfectly, though she felt her foot hit the third barrel as they rounded it, though she didn't dare look back to see if it remained standing as they thundered toward the gate and she sat back, pulling the horse up as they reached the end, nodding as he almost sat on his haunches in his hurry to stop. She grinned to the steward at the gate and clicked the gelding forward as they left the arena at a sedate pace, though her heart was trying to beat out of her chest and she could feel her hands were shaking, but she had loved every minute of it.
Post by Bridgette Iris Beaumont on May 26, 2018 15:43:53 GMT -8
Iris finished buttoning her green button-up. It was a close match to Six's lime green tack - the saddle blanket, the boots, and parts of the saddle itself. She'd even braided that long mane all the way down his neck and used lime green rubber bands to hold them in place. No fancy button braids or running braids here; Iris wasn't quite sure how to do those properly. But she did know how to make plain braids. She'd left his tail loose, though, mostly because she didn't feel like she had time to braid it nicely.
She looked him over one last time before leading him out to the mounting block. She swung into the saddle and moved him toward the warmup. They were only going to be in the actual arena for a few seconds, but that didn't mean she shouldn't warm Six up first. It was going to be a heck of a run. At least, she hoped so. He was forward in all his paces; he must have known that something was up. This was going to be their first show at Blue Ridge. It had to be good.
When Six was nice and soft on the bit and taking cues well, Iris slowed him to a walk and kept him there as she watched the pair before them go. In a matter of seconds, they were out of the arena. Iris took a few deep, quick breaths until they were given the cue.
She nudged Six forward - not that he needed much encouragement. He sprang forward and used the length of his legs to thunder toward the first barrel. The turn was a bit wide, but at least they had two more chances. The second was much tighter and as soon as they were around the third she reached toward his head, leaning forward, urging him to run as fast as he possibly could on their way out. As soon as the timer stopped she sat back, gripping the saddle horn for security. The red gelding sputtered and skidded to a stop. She took a shaky breath, grinning ear to ear, and patted his shoulder as she walked him out. The way he was moving, she could tell he wanted to run again, but he'd have to wait.