Standing tall

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve had thought long and hard about her plans over the summer. While part of her was crying out to go home; she knew that it would be the busiest time of the year for her parent - so she probably wouldn't see a lot of them anyway - and she had just got used to being so far away from home, that she was worried that three months back home would just bring on the feelings of being homesick once more.

She worked on polishing her gelding's saddle, as she sat in the tack room, knowing that he was another part of the reason she was staying. The gelding was working so wonderfully now, and she knew that time away from him, or even transporting him too and fro from the forest park she called home, would probably be detrimental to the grade horse's training. Spending time on campus, would also give her a chance to get used to being in the dorm-room by herself, now that Sina and Der had left the Academy.

[Hazel Sheridan]

After telling her aunt and uncle which barn Prince was going to be staying at, Hazel walked over to the barn. It wasn't too bad of a walk, and she'd rather get used to campus now. She quickly saw the truck and trailer, and walked up to it. She told her aunt and uncle that she was going to go see where Prince would be. Hazel figured that it'd probably be easier to put him in a pasture where he could settle in, instead of in his stall. She was still going to walk him, of course, but even with that the Morgan was going to be excited and not want to be cooped up in a stall, no matter how big they were. Hazel couldn't find an empty pasture, so she guessed the gelding would just have to go in his stall for now. She'd track down the barn manager later after her tack was put away, and see if it'd be possibly for Prince to go out in a pasture full-time with an exception for bad weather or shows.

Unloading the bay, she walked him around for a while and let Prince take in the sights. He jigged all the way into the barn, and only managed to walk near the stall. Hazel undid the halter and hung it outside his door before closing it. She headed back to the trailer, and grabbed her grooming box and spare halter and lead. She'd deal with the easy stuff first, before grabbing her saddles and bridles. Hazel also grabbed her show tote, before walking back into the barn. She walked into the tack room, not expecting anyone else to be there. "Oh, hello," she greeted, surprised to another girl in there cleaning her tack. Maybe she was new too? Hazel found an empty spot near some empty saddle racks and bridle hooks. She set the grooming box and show tote down, before hanging the spare halter and lead up on a bridle hook.

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve looked up as someone entered the room and offered the girl a warm smile. "Hello" She replied. "The spot for your gear will have your horse's name near them." She offered. She'd never had that issue when she had arrived, a year ago now, as she had been assigned a school horse, so all her things had already been in the tack room waiting for her. Her eyebrows shot up, it seemed a lot longer than just a year ago. "I'm Maeve."

She nodded toward the lockers that lined one wall. "One of those will match the number on your horse's stall, it's now yours, to put in whatever you need to store in there. I found that mine is a great place to hide the odd snack for that few minutes we get between equestrian classes." And those snacks, were often what helped her get through the days when she was sure that there were more than just a few hours between lunch and dinner.

[Hazel Sheridan]

"Thanks," Hazel said, a little embarrassed she hadn't noticed the names. She located Prince's name, and the spot for his stuff. She moved the tote and grooming box over to the spot before moving the halter over to a bridle hook near Prince's name. The last thing she would've wanted was to accidentally take someone else's spot. "Hazel," she replied. "Nice to meet ya," she added. Hazel hoped the lockers on the wall didn't require a combination. She was horrible at them, and at her old school they had just left their lockers open. Not completely open, but closed, they just weren't closed all the way. Or she knew some people had rigged them. It was't like anyone would get in lockers at school.

She gave a warm smile to Maeve. "Thanks. Snacks sound like a good idea to store." Hazel said. She could probably even fit an extra change of clothes, or some horse stuff in there, in addition to a few snacks and a bottle of water. Hazel revised her first thought of Maeve being new. She was probably just waiting to go home for summer, or maybe she wasn't going home at all or until later in the break. She had a few bridle hooks and saddle racks. Enough to fit her bridles and saddles.

She headed back towards the trailer to grab a saddle and bridle. She probably could've left the treeless at home since she had another dressage saddle, but she liked it, and it did fit every horse. Hazel walked back into the tack room and placed the saddle on one of her saddle racks, before hanging the bridle up.

[Maeve McKenna]

"The tree of knowledge. You have a very powerful name." Maeve said with a smile as she closed her tin of saddle soap and stood up. "It's lovely to meet you too."

She took the soap, and the rest of her polishing supplies back to her locker. Lifting the latch, she opened the door and shook her head as she pushed her grooming tray to the side as she reached back into the locker, passed the spare bits of tack lying in there - she may have gone overboard when purchasing spares - and pulled the tote-tray toward her that the gear she was holding normally sat in (as it had be spread across the bottom shelf when she had originally opened the door).

After putting the cleaning gear away, she returned her attention to her tack; and began putting the bridle back together. "How is your horse feeling about his move?" She asked when the new girl entered with her tack.

[Hazel Sheridan]

Hazel nodded. She hadn't known that. Her dad had just said that her parents had liked the names, Hazel and Aiden in the baby-name book. Well, her mom more so than her dad. Her dad had apparently wanted her name to be Alyse. Seeing as her name was Hazel and not Alyse, she knew who won that fight over names.

She organized her supplies, and fixed some things in her grooming tote. A few brushes and such had gotten moved around during the trip, and she made a mental note to check the tack-room on the trailer before her Aunt and Uncle left Blue Ridge for any missing grooming supplies, show supplies, or other things. She'd rather not spend money if she didn't need to, and with her luck she'd buy a replacement of something only to find whatever had been lost the next day.

Her Uncle Jack offered to help her bring tack in, but Hazel declinded saying she'd rather do it herself and then know where everything was later on. "He seems to be doing okay. I think that he just thinks he's here for a show though, and not that it's his new home." Hazel replied. Prince certainly wasn't weaving in his stall. Still, she'd let him settle in before doing anything like riding. Hazel would probably come back later after she unpacked her room and put him in a pasture that the barn manager said he could use.

She took off the saddle cover, and placed the saddle pad on top. Hazel opened up the locker to see how much space it had. That would work. She tossed the saddle cover in there before placing the girth on top of the saddle pad. "What year are you?" Hazel asked, curious if they'd have any classes together. Even if Maeve was in a different year, chances were they might share a riding class come fall.

[Maeve McKenna]

After she had put her tack back together, Maeve turned her attention to her locker, even just putting things away before had told her she had become a little careless with how tidy it was and needed to sort that out, before she totally relaxed for the summer months.

She nodded to what Hazel had said about her horse, and wondered how many other horses had that same confusion when they arrived, only to find that what they were picturing to be a short stay with a rather extensive workout for the next few days, and then just to realise that their entire worlds had been altered without prior warning. And this thought, was the main reason she was spending the summer here with her horse; she didn't think that Narcissus was ready for any short stays anywhere, not when he had come so far over the last year.

She looked up from where she was folding one of the gelding's summer sheets. "I'll be a sophomore in the fall." She replied. "Last year was pretty tough, compared to what I was used to, but it was challenging and I'm looking forward to what the next year brings." Sure, she may have sounded a little crazy, but she loved learning, and with knowledge comes power. "What about you?"

[Hazel Sheridan]

She was eager to unpack the trailer, not wondering for the first time why she brought so much stuff. She grabbed the last of her things: saddle, saddle pad, girth, bridle, a show tote, and her helmet. She also snagged the small medicine bag full of wraps, bag-balm, and some other veterinary things. Better to have and not need, than need and not have, as the saying went. Hazel paused at Prince's stall to see how he was doing. Satisfied that he was still okay and not exhibiting any signs of nerves, Hazel continued to the tack room yet again.

She left her saddle and bridle out, before tossing her helmet in the locker. Hazel debated between tossing the small med bag in the locker, or just leaving it out. She placed it on top of her show tote, before realizing she forgot to grab the blanket for Prince out of the bed of the truck. Hazel went back and got both Prince's blanket along with his bag of treats. Coming back in the tack room once again, she stored the blanket bin under one of Prince's saddle racks, before placing the bag of treats near his grooming kit for easy access.

Hazel nodded, hearing Maeve's answers. They would likely have some classes together then since they were in the same year. It'd be nice to go into classes already knowing someone. "I'll be a sophomore also." Hazel responded. "Maybe we'll share some classes."

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve put the cover she had been folding back into her locker, smoothing down the top of it. She wondered if Narcissus would need a complete new wardrobe before the winter season started, but that was months away still, so she would worry about it when that time came.

Holding the gelding's journal, she closed the locker and sat down on the ground where she was. It was time to start planning out her summer, after-all, she was the one who had begged to remain here so that she could continue working her gelding. She looked up at Hazel. "What kind of riding do you do with your horse?" From watching the gear that was bring brought in, she knew that the other girl rode English, but there were lots of different things one could do in an English saddle.