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 Gregory Thomas King on May 23, 2018 14:04:37 GMT -8
Greg got Dutchie warmed up in the warm up ring, even jumping over a few warm up fences. The fiery red mare was ready to go into the ring. The mare swished her tail as the pair rode off towards the show ring. The gate keeper opened the gate and allowed Greg in. Dutchie flicked her ears forward and began to trot. Greg steered her to the right and picked up the canter, keeping the first oxar in his sight. Dutchie was going at a quick canter and Greg had to pull the reins a bit so that the mare wouldn't crash through. Dutchie hopped up and over the fence and Greg had an opening left rein to prepare the mare for the roll back to fence number two, turning on the inside of fence 7A to cut out some time.
The second fence came up quicker than either of them would have liked and Dutchie rubbed the top rail but didn't knock it down. Greg kept his eye up to fence 3 which was a bending line, collecting Dutchie's stride so they wouldn't have a rail. The chestnut mare tucked her knees in and sprung up over the fence like a cat and Greg steered the mare to do an inside track towards the 4A-B line. The mare had her eye on the line and jumped up and over, Greg counted the strides in his head and did a crest release as soon as Dutchie was preparing to take off and jump the second jump in the line. Over 4B, Greg had an opening right rein over the fence and got Dutchie to roll back to the next fence.
Greg cursed under his breath when he didn't turn his mare as tight as he wanted to fence 5. Dutchie was on fire and practically galloped through the line, the man having to use his strength to hold the mare back so she wouldn't crash. After fence 6, Greg snuck his mare between fence 1 and 2 after he realized that there was enough room for the bigger mare. Greg turned Dutchie towards the triple combination, riding straight to all three fences. Over fence 7C Greg looked for fence 8, which needed a square turn. He turned the mare quicker and didn't jump fence 8 straight, but it was cleared. Greg steered Dutchie directly towards the next fence, hoping that he could make up for lost time.
Up and over fence 9 Dutchie tucked her knees in and landed on the other side and another roll back to the left. Both horse and rider keeping their eye on the oxar and seeing a straight line through the last two fences. After the vertical, Greg brought Dutchie to the trot and then the walk, circling left so that the mare wouldn't run out of the ring. He patted the chestnut on the neck as they exited the arena.
Post by Andrea Valentine on May 23, 2018 19:49:24 GMT -8
Andrea elected to post at the trot. It was more work but to her, it felt more comfortable. Especially since she was sore from cross country. Felix was at a good energy level for show jumping. Not too relaxed, like he'd been for dressage, and not overly excited like cross country. Andrea kept glancing back toward the course as they got warmed up. She knew there'd be a pretty sharp turn right after the first jump. Normally she'd cross that bridge when she got there, but it was right at the start of the course. She took a deep breath and nudged Felix into a canter.
When they were all warmed up, she and Felix walked quietly toward the show ring. She watched the older rider and his red horse finish the course before they were let in for their go. She nodded as they passed and took one last deep breath before nudging Felix into a trot and then a canter.
Felix wasn't quite so keen to collect himself as he'd been for dressage, but at least he wasn't rushing for the fences. He gathered himself up and jumped clean over the first rail. They had to turn tight for the second and she did her best to straighten him out for the jump. She heard his hoof collide with the top bar and risked glancing back at it. On the ground. Dang it. He tucked himself up tightly for the next one and even took the combination with ease - he'd always had a bit of trouble with combinations. They had the same trouble with fence five that they'd had with fence two: not straight enough. They probably looked like some hilarious baroque horse painting jumping that one. At least when he grazed the bar, it stayed in place this time.
She lined him up carefully for the second combination. Three fences? She furrowed her brows as Felix readied himself to jump the first. She counted the strides carefully. He managed to jump them cleanly. Eight and nine were fairly easy to clear. The last two were easy to line up and she was sure they could finish the course with flying colors. Felix felt the need to buck twice after clearing the tenth fence. Andrea half expected him to refuse at the last one. He didn't. He jumped clean over it and carried his tail high on his way out of the ring.
Post by Karina Fuchs on May 24, 2018 7:19:18 GMT -8
After her quick snack at the barn, and giving Ella a quick drink while her jumping boots were added, Karina brought the mare back out of the barn and towards the show ring. They hadn't been standing long, and so Karina only kept the mare walking to keep her loose. They didn't have to wait too long to be called for their turn in the jumping ring, though, and yet again, Karina entered an area, her back straight and her mind blank of all but the order they had to jump in. She brought the mare into a canter as they entered and then pointed her at the starting line and the first jump beyond it.
Right after they'd cleared it, she had to turn Ella quite sharply, looping around the seventh fence to get them lined up for the second jump. Ella cleared it with ease, and Karina relaxed a little as they turned to the left to find the third jump. The rest of the course was nothing noteworthy, functional if not always pretty, and no clatter of rails behind them a blessing for their first real competition together. Finally, they cleared the last fence and over the finish line, and Karina patted the mare's neck as she slowed her. They had one more course to worry about, and then they'd be done - For this time, at least. But Ella was a fine mount, and Karina was glad she'd been assigned to her.
Post by Katherine Lorelia on May 24, 2018 7:54:12 GMT -8
Kitty wore her favourite silver sequinned jacket as she led Pride briskly out of his stall, the gelding stamping and tossing his head as he sensed the general excitement. With a frown, the blonde jabbed an elbow lightly into his ribs as a rebuke. She couldn't afford to let him start playing about, and certainly not now. The girl had spent much longer than usual on her mount today, grooming until the dust rose in great clouds from the grey's coat and settled on her shoulders instead- she was thankful that she'd done that before she changed. His tack was clean and there was a dull glow to the leather as it caught the hot Kentucky sun. The Irish girl swung herself briskly up to the saddle as their number was called and she spared a bright grin for her predecessor as they passed by the gate. As she entered the arena, however, her smile faded and the sparkle in her blue eyes was replaced by a look of calculation. This was serious.
Kitty nudged the gelding forwards into a neat canter as they passed the starting line, and she folded gracefully as they passed over the first fence without issue. Applying a firm left rein to prevent Pride from making an approach at the wrong jump, which she could feel him straining for, the blonde brought him around to face in the correct direction and immediately nudged him on, feeling him slowing. They just barely clipped the second fence, and Kitty groaned inwardly as she urged Pride on towards the next set of fences- they'd barely started! The third fence went without a hitch and she managed, though not without some difficulty to avoid going over either the eleventh or eighth fence, pointing her horse firmly at the fourth. Mentally, she counted striding between the two, wincing as Pride put in an extra half stride, and then cut around in front of the triple in a tight curve to approach five and six, which the grey was apparently content to jump in order. Dropping briefly into trot, she brought Pride around the edge of the second again before kicking on and sitting firmly into the saddle as he thundered through the triple. A gentle curve brought them over the eighth jump and, while the blonde remonstrated with herself for her wildly bad line approaching the ninth, they managed it with another desultory clatter of hooves. Her line approaching number ten was even worse, coming far too closely around the back of three, but Kitty just about managed to hang on as the grey passed, unrhythmically and awkwardly, over the poles. Number eleven was, thankfully, uneventful, and as she left the arena, the blonde considered that things could have been worse.
Ben had never seen the barn this busy! Well, it got close when people were getting ready for mounted games, but there was a buzzing sense of energy today, as everyone prepared for their various classes, tacking up and taking care of last-minute grooming needs. Rowen himself stood patiently in his stall - They'd forgone the craziness in trying to get a set of cross-ties - his coat gleaming nicely. Ben had brought both saddles and their racks over, ready for a quick change later before trail, as well as his own clothes. He wasn't the squeamish type.
But for now, they had to prep for show jumping. Ben brushed the last few hairs from his black hunt coat and then led Rowen out into the aisle and towards the warm-up arena. He boosted himself into the saddle and focused on the gelding, working to bring Rowen's focus onto him instead of feeding off of the energy in the place.
Finally, they were up. Ben gave the girl who exited a tight smile, his mind already on the course ahead. He pushed Rowen into a canter and then pointed the gelding at the first fence. A u-turn, and they hopped over the second. Things went smoothly, although he had to make sure Rowen went for the seventh fence, not the second, as they turned to approach said obstacle. That combination really tested him counting strides, and the second of the three rattled in its cups as Rowen knocked it - Ben didn't look back to see how bad it was. They finished the course before Ben looked back to see what he could, but the jump was obscured, and he couldn't tell. He'd have to wait for the placings to see if he'd knocked it down, because for now, he had to focus on getting ready for trail - And not leaving Rowen standing, anyway.
Post by Tenaya Hannah McDavid on May 24, 2018 10:06:54 GMT -8
Tenaya quickly changed from her dressage coat into her show jumping coat. Keena was already tacked up in show jumping gear. Navy blue saddle pad and matching boots was what the bay mare was wearing. Tenaya took a sip of water and a bite of a granola bar she kept in her tack box. Tenaya bridled the mare and the two headed off towards a step stool. The blonde checked the girth and her own helmet before mounting up.
The warm up was productive. The bay mare just loved to jump and it showed. Over the warm up fences, Keena had her ears forward and was happy to be jumping instead of in the dressage ring. Tenaya's name was called and she brought Keena back to the walk so they could exit the arena.
She waited for the buzzer and picked up the canter, ready to take one jump at a time. Tenaya took all the inside turns and the ride was going well. Until the final fence, which Tenaya pushed Keena to a little too much which made the mare knock the top rail off of the final fence. Tenaya passed the finish and brought the mare back to the trot and then to the walk. She shook her head and sighed, knowing that the knocked rail was entirely her own fault.
"Whatever it takes. 'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins..."
Post by Ailsa MacLeary on May 25, 2018 12:03:00 GMT -8
Ailsa adjusted her habit and checked the girths before getting some help to mount Oscar. It was enough trouble getting in the side saddle with breeches on, let alone in a habit. But she felt pretty up there on her spotted steed's back, with her good leg in the stirrup and her lack of a leg out of mind and out of sight. The habit itself was green with shiny buttons on the front and it didn't quite match the olive tone of Oscar's boots, but it was all she could find that actually fit her. It turned out side saddle supplies were a bit harder to come by.
She clicked Oscar forward to the warm up ring. The gelding was eager to get started, as always, and for once Ailsa was, too. They'd had a couple of months to practice jumping in side saddle; they weren't very close to the high jumps they were used to, but it was still a huge step. By then, she was used to the feeling of trotting and cantering in side saddle, so the warmup went by quickly. Oscar took the warmup fences with ease, his ears pricked toward them, his tail up with arrogant pride. Ailsa patted his shoulder as they were called to the show ring. They passed a dejected-looking student on the way in. Ailsa offered a friendly smile and nod to her.
Oscar was very ready to go. Ailsa allowed him a fast trot before cantering, but she collected him against his will. He flicked his tail but complied. She wasn't interested in knocking down rails if they were this low.
It seemed that Oscar's memories of grand shows came back to him. He moved with a fancier gait than Ailsa was used to. He straightened himself out at the first big turn. Ailsa was convinced that if she were to somehow fall off, he'd finish the course without her, thank you very much, and he'd give the highest placings a run for their money. But of course, she stayed put in the saddle. They took the combination at fence four in stride, even though fence seven was looming right in front of them. They hadn't had much practice with combinations; they were just trying to re-learn the basics, after all. They were a little crooked over fence five, but Oscar tucked himself in very carefully and only grazed the top of the rail. Six was easy. Then came seven. Ailsa lined him up as straight as she could manage, but she heard the hollow sound of a hoof hitting a rail at the second fence. She didn't risk looking back to see if it had stayed up. The rest was easy to finish up. Oscar tossed his head victoriously at the end. Ailsa was sure he was sticking his tongue out as well.
"Don't be cheeky." she said as she reined him into a trot and then a walk to exit. Cheeky or not, she scratched his mane, smiling. Not bad for their first show.
Last Edit: May 25, 2018 12:03:34 GMT -8 by Ailsa MacLeary
Post by Victoria Greco on May 26, 2018 0:48:37 GMT -8
Without the time to go back to the barn and change her clothes, Tori did her best to try and make her clothes as comfortable as possible, and doing her best to ignore the pain in her feet from the blisters that were forming from the friction caused from the drying socks. She also kept the mare moving steadily, taking her over the practice fence a couple of times as they waited for their number to be called, and probably not paying as much attention to what was happening in the arena as she should.
When their number was called, she smiled as she rode the mare into the arena at a trot, asked for a canter as they rode a circle and then the game was on. She had always been taught that a clean clear round trumped fast ones, so she was going to aim for clean and clear, the course was tricky enough, and there were a number of turns that she needed to keep an eye on.
"Slow and steady, wins the race." She breathed as she moved into two point as the bay flew over the first fence, and Tori sat back as they landed on the other side, doing her best to keep the mare in check as they made the large loop to the second fence.
She counted each fence they went over, preying that she was doing them in the right order and winced as she heard the top pole of the second first from the first combination drop to the ground and she shook her head, this show wasn't going to go down as her best, but she could handle four faults; as long as the mare didn't decide to refuse or throw her rider, they should be fine.
She pumped her fist into the air as they flew over the last fence and galloped through the flags. She quickly grabbed the reins as Stella decided to share her good spirits and began to buck as well, and she circled the mare as she brought her back to a trot and then a walk as they exited the arena and headed back to the barn. She was going to have to find someone to walk the mare around for her, as they had had a good day, and she didn't want her mare to tie up from not being cooled down properly.
Post by Stefano Rice on May 26, 2018 19:29:32 GMT -8
"I look like an idiot." Seth muttered as he brushed down the sports jacket he was wearing, arching an eyebrow toward the horse standing in cross-ties, and he was sure that the horse was laughing at him.
Since he didn't come from a horsey family, he didn't exactly have the standard show attire, but he had enough dressy jackets that he was sure he could get away with the off-white shirt and black jacket he was wearing, even if the darn bowtie felt like it was pressing against his windpipe.
The gelding looked better more suited for the show ring than he did when he led Hoot out of the barn. Swinging into the saddle, they made their way down to the warm-up area and he began to work the horse through his paces, getting him supple and responsive, all the while wondering if he's made a huge mistake already entering the gelding into a show.
When their number was called, he knew that he now had two choices: to either run screaming, or make his way into the arena; and into the arena he went. Asking the Sporthorse to trot and then canter, they rode through the flags and the clock started. He sat deep as he encouraged the horse to bring his haunches under him and work from behind and then he moved forward with the horse and they cleared the first of the fences.
Things seemed to be going great, and they had three fences behind them as they approached the first combination. Hoot cleared the first fence, though landed wrong so took an extra stride to try and recover his footing, and with horse and rider unsure of what was going to happen, the gelding all but sat on his haunches as they reached the second fence, and it was share luck that kept Seth from sailing over the jump without his horse.
Gathering his reins, he circled the horse away from the fence and asked for a trot and then a canter as her lined the horse up for jump A once again, remembering where it had gone wrong the last time and asked for the jump a little earlier this time and they landed well enough for Hoot to easily take off over jump B and they were on their way again.
After that shake up, Seth made sure to keep the gelding at a steady canter, he didn't care too much about if they won or lost, just that they completed the course, and to complete it with as much grace as he could - and that didn't mean eating dirt.
With another refusal and a dropped rail, Seth rode the gelding through the flags and gave his horse an affectionate pat on the neck as they rode out through the gate. "Ok, we have cross country next." He told the horse as he swung out of the saddle and they walked back to the barn. "I'd like it very much if you don't try a record on how many fences you can refuse here, as the ground isn't as forgiving."
Post by Cara-Jean Kitchi on May 28, 2018 22:35:03 GMT -8
Cara arrived at the arena, to discover that they were up next, after one other rider, so rather than heading back to the barn for her show jacket, she just worked at keeping the mare supple and warm. She also took this time to watch the rider currently on the course and then the next rider as they went over the course of jumps. She watched and worked out where she could cut corners with the pony, and try to make up some time.
They entered the arena at a smooth trot and Cara circled the mare as they moved into a canter and she straightened up for the first jump. Looping around, she caressed the mare's neck with her fingers, asking the pony to trust her, as she asked Pyre to jump the fence on a slight angle, so that when they landed, they had a straight run to the third fence.
Ignoring the people standing around the arena, her eyes were between her pony's ears, one pricked forward, and the other swiveling back and forth as the black beauty listened to her rider, taking each fence in their path.
The difference between riding a pony, rather than a horse, was the most apparent in combination fences, and where a horse had a bounce stride, she needed to ride to the first jump to either jump close and hope that luck was with her and manage the bounce stride, or she jumped wide, landing close to the fence they just jumped so that she had enough room for two strides, which made the second jump cleaner and less chance of bringing down a pole on the second fence.
She held the mare back as they approached the triple combination. She could feel the mare asking if she could jump, yet she held her back. Now? The mare asked again, still Cara held her back, then at the last moment, she rose from the saddle and the mare took off, arching over the fence to land on the other side. Two strides later, Cara asked her to jump again, this time well before the fence, so that they handed close to the other side and could manage a stride before they flew over the third fence. "Easy." She laughed as she sat back as they rode the corner, the mare bucking, and then they were back to work again.
With the combinations out of the way, the rest of the course was easy enough, just a matter of remembering the order of the fences left to jump, and once the last fence was behind them, she let the mare gallop through the flags before she sat back and reined her in to a canter and then a trot as they exited the arena.
Swinging out of the saddle before the mare had even stopped moving, she jogged beside the trotting mare as they headed back to the barn. "You were brilliant!" She told the mare as she rubbed Pyre's forehead.
Post by Ivan Theodore Mallon on Jun 6, 2018 10:13:36 GMT -8
Teddy paused after leaving the dressage arena only long enough to hop off and put on Avise's boots, which he'd left near the arena (but out of the way). He also strapped on the required medical armband, then rubbed Avise's forehead mark for luck before remounting.
They walked around the arenas to keep Avise limber before it was their turn. Again, they were after Cara, and this time Teddy managed to smile at the girl before he and Avise passed her to enter. He moved the mare up to a canter and then crossed the start line, pointing her at the first jump.
They looped around the 7A fence to come back and hop over the second fence, and then took on the third and fourth without trouble. Another loop brought them to jump over five, and that's when the trouble started. Teddy had noticed the decorations in his walkthrough, of course, but had failed to make note of the decorations on the sixth jump. Avise had no such oversight, and took offense to the fence, putting on the breaks right as she approached it, sending poles flying... And her rider tumbling over her head.
Teddy landed somewhere beyond the sixth jump, having been preparing to jump and finding himself without a horse. The sand in the arena was quite startling to his body, and he felt a sharp pain on his right side. His wind had been knocked out of him, and he stayed laying for a moment, his brain scrambling to catch up with the events of the past few seconds.
Post by Kate Richardson-Hall on Jun 6, 2018 13:45:20 GMT -8
Kate hummed softly to herself as she ran a comb through Misty's flowing mane. Stepping back, she contemplated the grey mare thoughtfully and decided that she would have to do. Her light coat meant that it didn't take much for the Lippizaner to look a bit of a mess, but that wasn't the case today; she was practically glowing in the summer sun, and Kate pronounced herself satisfied. Swinging the saddle down from the door, she quickly shifted it along the mare's back to rest in the right position, fastened the girth and then began on the marginally more complicated business of the bridle.
At last, the grey was ready, and the blonde led her horse out of the barn, where she swung herself up into the saddle with an ease that spoke of long practice. She'd been doing it for years, and she'd certainly done it in far less salubrious conditions. The day that she couldn't get onto a horse without a mounting block, even with her leg injury, was the day that they could put her to bed with a shovel.
Arriving early, Kate was happy to sit and watch, but she was taken aback to say the least by Ivan's fall. She was about to dismount and go and help, but one of her colleagues seemed to have the situation under control, and the blonde nodded to the other woman as she passed. He was walking, anyway, so there was nothing too seriously wrong. And now it was her turn to enter the arena, and Kate cleared her head as she nudged the mare forwards into an easy, loping canter.
She had little trouble with most of the course- the line between the last part of 4 and the 5th fence was a little off, but it didn't throw her experienced horse off, although it did mean that Kate was a little unbalanced as they landed. Still, she managed to avoid sharing her predecessor's fate, and she half-halted at every stride as they travelled over the fences that constituted number 7, knowing from experience that Misty tended to get a little carried away. Number 9 rattled slightly as they passed over it, but they finished with a clear round, and the blonde smiled to herself as she patted the grey on her long, elegant neck. Looked as though she hadn't lost it after all.
Post by Demeter Carr on Jun 6, 2018 16:21:55 GMT -8
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CAN WE PRETEND THAT AIRPLANES IN THE NIGHT SKY ARE LIKE SHOOTING STARS CAUSE I COULD REALLY USE A WISH RIGHT NOW - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Arriving at the jumping arena, Demeter found that there were still a few riders before it was her turn, and she swung to the ground, waving over a student she saw standing on the sidelines and had him hold Tau as she checked the gelding's legs and breathing.
Just as she was about to mount up she heard the gasp of people around her, along with the sound of poles scattering, and she turned toward the arena where she saw people moving. Not wanting to add to the chaos that was already happening in the arena, she remained at Tau's head, waiting to see if she was needed. When it became clear that she wasn't, she mounted up and got the gelding calm and ready for the ring.
She gave as much attention to the rider in the arena as she did to her horse, taking note of all the places where she could cut corners and shave seconds off the clock. Show jumping was the one thing she knew she did well, it was just a matter of getting Tau to want to move the way she wanted him to go. She rode forward as their number was called.
Trotting into the arena, they circled and cantered toward the first jump. "Let's show them how it's done." She breathed as she rose out of the saddle and moved her weight forward as the gelding arched over the first fence and landed smoothly on the other side. "Let's see if we can do them all like that." Her smile deepened as they rode around to the next fence.
She guessed that being the vet meant that there wasn't a lot that phased the gelding she was riding, as far as fillers in the jumps went, as the Sporthorse spent as much him in the equine clinic as he did in the barn, so he'd had everything thrown at him while she worked with other horses. She just had to hope he didn't decide to stop and snack of the flowers, as he'd taken a liking to the hanging baskets around her barn.
She took the last fence for the triple combination on a slight angle so they were already curving around to the next jump, and she held her breath as she could feel Tau second guessing what was asked of him, and then he jumped at the last moment. She could hear the pole bounce in the cups as the gelding's hoof brushed it, but the pole remained where it was as they landed as continued on their way.
The rest of the course happened in a blur and she circled Tau after they had cleared the last jump. "You are the best horse in the world!" She said as she leaned forward and hugged Tau as they exited the arena after a fast and clear round.