Written in the scars on our hearts

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve hummed to herself as she packed what she needed into her bag and then made her way down to the barn. Things had been going really well with Narcissus since he had become hers a year ago... though he had really been hers since she had started working with him the summer she had joined the Academy. Now, after a year and a half, no one would ever know what a skittish horse her gelding had been when they first met, and she planned to continue building up his confidence every day.

When the bay Grade Horse was tacked up and ready to go, and a few extra needed things added to her bag, Maeve clipped her helmet in place and swung onto the gelding's back. "Onward and upward." She said as she rubbed his neck and asked him to move forward as they made their way toward the round pen, and then onto the Rocky Ridge trails.

[Karina Fuchs]

Kari had caught a glimpse of a familiar horse ahead on the way trails as she and Cas had headed out, and she decided on a whim to try and catch up with the rider. Turning the Lusitano away from the arena they had been heading for, she nudged him into a bit of a faster walk and called out, "Maeve, would it be okay if we joined you?" Maeve would understand if Cas needed a bit more time on the rockier portions of the trail, and Kari would much rather have a friend for Cas the first time they attempted the Rocky Ridge trail system. And since Maeve had worked out issues with her own Rescue Class horse, the two had quite a bit in common there - At least, Kari hoped.

[Maeve McKenna]

Maeve turned slightly at the sound of another voice, making sure to keep her seat still and using her legs to encourage the horse to continue forward, she smiled as she caught sight of the other girl from her prereferral vision. "Of course!" She replied brightly, mostly to let Narcissus know that friends approached them, and she asked him to step to the side slightly. "The more the merrier."

She rubbed her gelding's neck as Narcissus gave the other horse a friendly nicker, tossing his head slightly as he took in the other horse's scent. "How are things going with Cas?" She asked. If she'd been asked when she first started working with the Grade Horse, she'd never have thought that he'd ever get to this stage. At the beginning, she often wondered if he'd even make a good paddockmate for someone.