Up We Go...

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

Kate hummed to herself as she lowered the poles back to the ground ready for the start of her next lesson. The weather was just right; warm without being too hot, and she was enjoying herself hugely. She didn't have much time to waste, though; her next class was on the way down, and the blonde pulled the gate open and stood by it, greeting each of her students as they entered. At last, everyone had arrived, and she closed the gate firmly before making her way into the centre of the arena and turning to face them all.

"Hello!" she greeted them brightly. "It's good to see you all again. I trust you had a good holiday. So, sorry to disappoint you so early in the year, but today is going to be a slow day. We're working on technique, so let's start warming up. Off you go, sort yourselves into some kind of order... Kona, you take lead file, please."

---

Gladys Madoc, Ivan Theodore Mallon, Kekona Hanson, Luke Brown, Victoria Greco

[Ivan Theodore Mallon]

Teddy had guessed that today wouldn't be a high-level class, in terms of difficulty, and so after grabbing a quick lunch, he'd groomed and saddled Spice. The gelding was a good, steady horse, and Teddy didn't want to ignore him completely in favor of Avise, so he tried to pick the classes where Spice would thrive.

This sounded like one of them, he thought, after he'd entered the arena, and listened to the opening words of the instructor. He nodded at the instructions and fell in line behind Kona and her gelding.

[Kekona Hanson]

Kona finished grooming Casper and started tacking up the gelding, although her mind wandered as she went through the familiar motions. Mary had been coming along well, and her condition was quite improved from when they had found her. She decided to bring it up with Dr. Carr - Maybe the woman would agree with her, and approve Mary to start participating in mounted classes. Natural Horsemanship had been going well, at the least.

She realized she had finished tacking up while her thoughts wandered, and grabbed her helmet. Not too long later, they were standing in the arena with their class, having greeted Ms. Richardson-Hall, and listened to the instructions. She regretted not asking Dr. Carr earlier - While the basics might be boring for most, it would have been a perfect class for the mare, who had jumping experience - Just not while at the Academy, and nobody knew exactly how much.

When asked to, she nodded, and pointed Casper along the track at the edge of the arena, taking the lead and hearing the others falling in behind her.

[Victoria Greco]

Tori took her time grooming Stella, and was pleased she had arrived early to do so. The mare felt off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the why. The Warmblood didn't have any bumps or heat that set off any alarms, she just seemed a little down.

With the both ready, a red ribbon on the mare's tail just in case, she led the mare out of the barn, mounted up, and rode down to the dressage arena they had been asked to meet in... when going to a jumping lesson, a non-jumping arena was the last place she had expected, but that's where she went.

She kept the mare a good distance from the others, as the last thing she needed was for Stella to take offense at one of the others and kick out for no reason, she listened to the intro. She was pleased they would be taking things slow, as that's just what they needed right now. She squeezed the bay forward and circled away from the group so that when they reached the rail, she was a good horse and a half behind the horse in front; Stella had a long stride and she didn't want to suddenly find themselves right behind Teddy and Spice.

[Kate Richardson-Hall]

"And now take working trot, please, starting from the front. And change the rein across the diagonal, V to B; take sitting trot..." The blonde kept up a constant stream of instructions as she watched the riders making their way around the edge of the arena, or, of course, across it, as required. "Now back to walk up until E, then back into trot and take a twenty metre circle- front three at the C end, other two at A."

[Kekona Hanson]

Kona scrambled for a moment, finding the correct cues before she executed them. Casper was willing to respond, though, and even if she wasn't sure if she had the exact right positioning, he did it anyway. At least she didn't have to think about a warmup, which she actually liked. All she had to do was follow instructions, which she could do.

The circle was something she could do well now, thanks to Ms. Carr's focus on practicing them, and she didn't feel like she had anything to blush about as she completed that. It wasn't spectacular, no, but it wasn't terrible either - Although she did feel awkward being at the front of the line, observed by everyone (or so it felt).

[Ivan Theodore Mallon]

Teddy listened to the instructions and nodded, mouthing them to himself just so that he'd remember them. Spice was being a little bit fresh, but still under control. He was wanting something more than trotting, and bringing him down to a walk required some energy. Luckily, after that little battle of wills, the gelding acquiesced and the circle went well.