Mind, body and soul

[Kyoto Kimura]

Saying goodbye to her uncle the afternoon before had been bittersweet at the best, and she had struggled to centre herself again, to align her chakras and centerize her chi, that she had put off visiting the barns until that morning. Well, and she still felt that she was betraying her ponies back home, by the fact that she was going to be riding another while she was here.

The half of the room she had claimed, had been set up to her liking, her zen garden sitting on the window-sill, her bow and quiver hanging on the wall. The quiver held three shafts with fetching, but arrow-point, so it was just there for show. Her bed was made to military precision, and the floor was clear of anything other than the rug she had brought with her.

Leaving the House, she made her way across the road and into the closest barn. She gave a warm smile as she inhaled the scent of home, wondering why she had waited so long to come in here. Shaking her head, she quickly gathered her thoughts and made her way down to the office, where she assumed the barn manager would be. Finding the door partly open, she stepped toward it and knocked on the frame, before stepping back as she waited for permission to enter.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine was handling the last of the transportation emails for the horses that were still heading off, when their riders had already departed for the summer, with the woman telling them that their horses would be fine under her care until they left the campus.

She looked over her shoulder as there was a knock on the door, her eyebrows rising as she wasn't expecting anyone, though knew that a few people were due to arrive. "Enter." She said as she turned her chair to face the door and rose to her feet as the door opened and a small Asian girl stood there. "Please, come in, have a seat and tell me about yourself." At least she was making an assumption that this was the girl, Kyoto, who would be coming to see her about being assigned a horse.

[Kyoto Kimura]

Kayoto pushed the door open when she was given entrance, though her eyebrows jumped up when she saw a woman standing there. She quickly nodded to the instruction and quickly stepped over to the chairs beside the desk and lowered herself gracefully into one. She licked her lips as she gathered her thoughts, wondering exactly what the woman wanted to know. "My name is Kyoto Kimura." At least that seemed the best place to start. "I started riding a little over four years ago. Have had my own ponies and private instructors in... well everything really." She shrugged, now feeling a little like she was boasting, and wished she hadn't. "I may have just painted myself as being a spoiled princess, but I don't shy away from hard work, and I will work my hardest to be the best rider for the horse, or pony, you have for me." She shrugged again. "And just because I'm talking about my skills on horseback, I'm also trained in Yabusame, a form of mounted archery." She folded her hands on her lap when she had finished.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine smiled as the girl introduced herself, pleased that this was the child who was coming to be assigned a horse.

She sat down at her desk, eyebrows rising as the girl spoke about her riding. The woman's cheeks heated as the girl continued, as Katherine had thought her to be another princess who had never heard of hard work, and wasn't happy for doing so. "Quite the résumé, you have there." She said with an amused smile. "I think the horse I'd like you to ride will provide you with a small challenge. Would you like to meet her?" She rose to her feet, walked over to the door and pushed her feet into her boots. "Follow me."

Leaving the office, she led the way down to the stall of the black tovero Hanoverian she wanted Kyoto to work with. "Kyoto, this is Color Between the Lines, or Ella, as she is known in the barn. She is a twelve year old Hanoverian. She is an Eventer and trained in Hunters. She does tend to have a bit of a temper though, so isn't the easiest of horse's to handle all the time." She offered her hand to the mare, who proceeded to ignore her. "Do you have any questions?"

[Kyoto Kimura]

Ky's brows dipped slightly at the woman's comment, wondering how to take it, but let it slide as the woman continued. She nodded her head and rose to her feet as the barn manager did and followed her out into the stable proper and down to a stall.

She moved to stand on the balls of her feet, looking over the door to see the black and white mare at the back of the stall, the door having the signs of past cribbing, the mare looking like she wanted to be anywhere other than in her stall; all the while she listened to what the woman was saying about the horse. Questions? "Rules?" She asked with a shrug. "I really should have written a few down when I was thinking of them earlier, but I can't think of any right now, sorry."

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine smiled, good question. "You are to treat her as though she is your own." She replied, going on to talk about the grooming, feeding and mucking out that the girl would now be responsible for.

"Your first ride on her is to be supervised, by myself or another barn manger. Her stall number matched that of a locker in the tack room, which is where her things, her stored, saddles and bridles on the wall." She stepped away from the door, giving the girl the room to move forward if she so wished. "The only difference from if she were your own, is that if any of her tack needs replacing, come and see me, and I'll see to getting it replaced. I'll give you some time to get to know Ella, come to my office when you feel you are ready for your first ride." With a smile, the barn manager made her way back to her office.