Well-Grounded

[Kyoto Kimura]

"Good morning, beautiful." Ky sang as she entered Ella's stall. it wasn't the first time she had seen the mare that day, but it seemed the right thing to do as she approached the mare to slip the noseband over her nose and fastened the poll strap.

Since they had been introduced the day before, the young girl had a good feeling about the mare, even if they were still getting to know each other and this horse was a little pushier than her string back home, but she had a good feeling about the whole thing and knew that this horse was going to be a great teacher; and thanked her lucky stars that they had the summer to iron out all their creases before lessons started in the fall.

Leading the mare into one of the grooming stalls, she attached the cross-ties and set to work grooming the mare. She didn't know what would be expected of her, after her quick talk with the barn manager about her wanting to do her intro ride, and being told to meet the woman in the indoor arena, so she groomed the mare as though she would be going into a turn-out class, making sure that all her white patches were white, and the black black.

Once happy with the mare's presentation, she tacked the mare up, and led her the short distance to the indoor arena and quietly walked the mare around while she waited for the barn manager to arrive and give her permission to mount up.

[Katherine Carr]

Giving the girl the time to get her horse ready, gave Katherine the time to wrap up the email she was currently writing, and then she made her way over to the indoor arena.

Walking in, she was pleased to see that Kyoto was still on the ground, and that she was walking the mare around, rather than just keeping her in one spot and allowing the temperamental mare to wind herself up. "You're welcome to mount up when you are ready." She said as she entered the area. "Just ride Ella around, try and pretend that I'm not here. You aren't being judged on your riding, I'm just here to make sure that Ella is a good fit for you." She gave the girl a warm smile, and moved so that she wouldn't be int he way of the pair.

[Kyoto Kimura]

Kyoto smiled as the woman entered and she rubbed Ella on the forehead as she asked her to stand still so she could run the stirrups down, tighten the girth and then used the mounting block to swing into the saddle. She wouldn't normally use a block, but as it was her first ride with the mare, she didn't know how Ella would react to her vaulting on. "Easy." She breathed as the mare shoot forward as soon as her bottom was in the saddle and circling the mare around, she brought her back to a walk and then halted her. "Shall we try that one again?" She asked the horse. Sitting tall, she tightened her calf muscles and grinned as Ella moved off at a gentle walk.

Every cue she gave the mare was a bit of a hit and miss. If she asked too strongly, Ella took offense. If she asked too subtly, the mare completely ignored her; and the flicking of the ears told the girl that she knew she'd been asked to do something, she just chose not to listen. She just hoped that Ms Carr wasn't watching, and deciding that the mare was too much horse for her. And if she did, well... it gave Ky three months to change her mind.

[Katherine Carr]

Katherine watched the girl as she worked the horse around the arena. Ella behaved as she always did with a new rider, seeing how much she could get away with ignoring her rider. She was impressed with the way that Kyoto just took things as they came, not annoying the mare. Though there were also times that Katherine did question if the girl should be a little firmer with the Hanoverian, but she kept her word, and didn't say anything, as she wasn't here.

She cleared her throat when she had seen enough. "Thank you Kyoto." She said with a warm smile. "I've seen all I need to see. Ella is yours. You can either finish your ride now, or continue. I need to gee back to my work though." With another smile, she exited the arena.