Try to Survive

[Deleted]

After her first eventing class, which had gone rather well, at least as well as could be hoped, Glen had five minutes to get to the cross country course, hoping that no one had messed with the beginner course, as she had set it up in the morning, knowing that she wouldn't have time beforehand. As she ran through it, walking Murdock along the side, she nodded, seeing all of the jumps in order and all upright. Returning to the field that marked the start of the course, Glen circled Murdock, trying to keep the bay gelding occupied as she smiled at the students trickling in. Some of them, she recognized from her eventing class, while others she didn't know yet.

She allowed the students to warm their horses up as they waited for the hour to officially begin, then stopped Murdock in the centre of the field, where she waited for the students to do the same, "Welcome to Cross Country class. Some of you will know me, from either swimming or eventing, but for those of you that don't, I am Ms. Ó Raghailligh. I don't expect you to be able to pronounce that, so you can just call me Glen." She hated formality, more than she hated almost anything, so she didn't mind letting her students call her by her nickname, as long as they respected her despite it, "Today I'm just going to see how you guys do over a small course, and then we're going to go from there." She glanced around, "First, though, I'd like to get to know all of you. Please, your name, your horse's name, experience with cross country, your goals for the year, and something I should know about you or an interesting fact."

[Miranda Florin]

Why hadn't she dropped this class? Miranda considered that question as she finished getting dust out of Sye's coat, although it wasn't until she was doing up the mare's girth that she found an answer. Her parents would not have been happy had she exchanged it for barrel racing, and she didn't want to devote the extra hour to spend in class, not when she could have that time to work with Dynamite and the other horses at the equine clinic.

Satisfied with Sye's tack, Miranda put on her helmet and then released the mare from the cross-ties where she stood, grabbing the sweet horse's reins and leading her out into the sunlight, which turned the palomino's coat into the gold that she got her name from. As they walked sedately towards the cross country course, Miranda resolved to make the best of the situation, since she knew that Sye enjoyed the courses.

Upon reaching the field, Miranda boosted herself into the saddle, then moved to follow the teacher's instructions, warming up the mare until she felt her loosening up. When she was satisfied, she brought the horse into the centre of the field to stand with the teacher, looking at the rest of the students who followed before tuning back in to the teacher's voice. She was relieved that she wouldn't have to remember the woman's last name, which seemed like a mouthful.

She nodded as she heard about what they would be doing, pleased that it didn't seem like it would be too big a first day. As the teacher asked them to introduce themselves, Miranda glanced around, but then decided to go first, "I'm Miranda Florin, this is Golden Sunrise, or Sye. I've been riding cross country since I started riding, since my parents breed Trakheners." She paused, thinking about an interesting fact about herself, "I'm one of Dr. Carr's vet students." Currently, the only one, but then, perhaps they would take on another one later, once word got out about the open position.

[Thomas Oliver]

Tommy was pumped, he was so excited to get to his first mounted class. He wanted to get Amber ready to be ridden, but he also knew that he couldn't spend as long as he normally did to get her ready, but he knew that as long as he groomed her properly and made sure the tack was on properly, she would be fine with s rushed grooming session.

Once the chestnut Trakhener was ready, he put his helmet on and led her out of the barn. Once outside, he tightened the girth and mounted her easily. Part of him knew that he should probably lead her to the course, but he wanted to get any antsy-ness out of her before they got there if he could help it.

Arriving at the meeting spot, he smiled to the woman and the female student. Once the others arrived, he listened to their teacher, relieved that they could address her as Glen after she had said her last name, he wouldn't have enjoyed tripping over that for the entire year.

He listened as the girl, Miranda, introduced herself and he decided that sooner was better than later. "I'm Tommy Oliver and this beauty is Tender Mist, in the barn she's Amber." He gave a small smile, not wanting to go into all the names that he called her, depending on what kind of mood she was in. "I've been doing cross country since I joined pony club at eight." He frowned in thought as he wondered about the interesting fact thing and gave a sly grin as he thought of the one thing that no one would possibly guess about him. "I'm a witch." He bowed his head and waited for the next person to introduce themselves.

[Othello Buskirk]

Othello stood in the bathroom of White Oak, pressing his head against the cool mirror. The day had started out really well, but as it was drawing to a close, his energy had almost reached it's limit. Pushing himself away from the wall, he headed out to the grooming stall where his patient gelding was waiting for him. He picked up his bottle of energy drink and emptied the bottle before tending to the horse.

As soon as Leo had finished getting Harry ready, he led the gelding out of the barn and down to the cross country course. He was leading the gelding as he had read in books, not the way his grandmother taught him, walking at the horse's shoulder, so that he could use the gelding to balance himself if he needed it, he would be fine as soon as the drink kicked in and his blood sugar levels returned to normal.

Seeing that the two students who were present were already mounted, he tightened the gelding's girth, pulled the stirrups down and used a very handy tree stump as a mounting block. Once settled on the Suffolk Punch, Arab's back, he let the gelding go to sleep as they waited for the others to arrive.

When the teacher began speaking, he felt a little strange being told to address her so informally, but he also didn't want to have to try and get her last name out every time he wanted her attention. He listened as the first two people introduced themselves and their horses, raising an eyebrow at Tommy's interesting fact. "I'm Othello Buskirk, but I prefer to be called Leo. This guy is Harry." He didn't feel like telling people the gelding registered name. "I only started riding two years ago, and cross country kind of just found me when I started riding Harry." He blew out a breath, thinking of an interesting fact. "I used to do rock climbing and learned what happens when the rope's not secure, which is when I discovered riding."

[Deleted]

Essie turned her head to look as Anna tightened the mare's girth, more of an acknowledgement than anything else, and Anna stroked her nose once she finished doing up the girth. The mare was tacked up for cross country in a navy saddle pad and wraps, and now she only needed a bridle. Anna put her helmet on and wiped a layer of dust off of her field boots before bridling the pony and leading her out to the cross country courses.

Once she reached the field to find the other riders already mounted, Anna mounted Essie easily from the ground and began to warm her up as instructed. Essie obviously knew what was coming, and pricked her ears towards the cross country course in anticipation. Anna had only taken her out on them once before, but the mare had loved it, and Anna knew that the two of them were going to enjoy this class.

When indicated, Anna slowed the pony to the walk, pleased with how the warm-up had gone, and walked her to the center. Her cross country instructor was also her swimming coach, and she was happy to see a familiar face. Smiling, she listened to the instructor's introduction as well as the rest of the students' before introducing herself. "Hello, my name is Anna Edwards and this is Caviar and Cigarettes, or Essie. I haven't been riding cross country for very long, since I'm primarily a hunter/jumper, but Essie and I have found it to be very fun." Her interesting fact was tougher, since she didn't like to tell people about herself before she knew them, so she stated an easy one, "In my free time if I'm not riding, I'm often swimming."

[Becca Walsh]

Becca was strangely looking forward to today's cross country lesson, no matter what Frye's attitude was like. She'd missed her cross country class all summer, but she'd done a lot of training with Frye and they had improved quite a bit. Now, she was in a good mood tacking Frye up, and stayed that way even when he snapped at her when she brushed his belly. After she'd fastened on his green Eskadron boots, put on his saddle over a hunter green pad, and bridled him with his running martingale, she fit her hair into her GPA and led him out to the cross country courses. Frye knew well enough where they were going, and danced at his end of the reins, and Becca had to tug down hard for him to stop.

Once she arrived, Becca found that the rest of the students had mounted, so she did the same, using a convenient tree stump to mount, though it took a moment to get the 17 hh thoroughbred to stay still before it long enough for her to get on. Once on, she followed the instructions and began to warm him up, trying to even out his jitters as best she could before the lesson began. She worked him a little away from the others, cantering him in big circles and having him work at a long extended trot, just trying to get him to work smoothly.

When it came time, she joined her other classmates in the center, staying a good distance away from the other horses. She'd tied a small red ribbon into his tail since it was the first class, and some people wouldn't know about Frye's attitude yet. She didn't want for there to be any accidents. She listened to Glen, who she'd had for her eventing class earlier. When it came her turn to introduce herself, Becca began, her voice strong. "My name is Becca Walsh, and this is Frye. I have been riding cross country since I started riding, probably when I was around seven or eight. As for an interesting fact, I love old movies and classic books." Frye was antsy as she spoke, and she had to keep twiddling her fingers to keep his attention on her, though he still fidgeted.

[Athena Achilles]

Athena didn't skimp with getting Bear ready for their class, she groomed him until his coat shone and brushed out his mane and tail until they flowed like silk. She was tempted to put his long luscious mane into a running braid, but stopped herself, as it would be the first time she rode him over a cross country course and she wanted mane to hold on to if she needed it.

When the gelding was ready, she led him down to the cross country course, and noted the change in him as soon as they spotted the course; the sudden bounce in his stride and his tail held out like a banner. Yes, he was indeed a cross country horse. She kept a firm hold on the reins, and when she saw the others were mounted, she swung into the saddle and began to warm the gelding up. She kept the buckskin at a walk and every time he broke gait, she returned him to the walk, even when she started trotting him, if he got mouthy and broke into a canter, she returned to the walk and started over again.

She followed the others as they were called up and her face was panic-stricken as Ms. Ó Raghailligh spoke. What was it with teachers here and getting their students to introduce themselves? There were here to ride, no socialise! She played with Bear's mane as the others spoke, ducking her head and hoping that the teacher would over look her, once again. She was doing her best to hid, though it wasn't easy to do on the back of a horse.

[Deleted]

Glen listened to each student's introduction, trying her best to find a way to link their names to their interesting facts. Some of them were easier, admittedly, although she did her best for all of them. As she noticed that the girl on the dunskin horse didn't speak, she considered calling her out on it, but seeing the panic on the girl's face, she didn't bother. It probably wouldn't help matters.

Since none of the students seemed to be beginners, apart from maybe the silent girl, Glen didn't feel bad about throwing them to the wolves. Gesturing at the course, which was set in an organic, circular shape, she grinned, "Now, you guys get to show me how you and your horse work together, and I'll see which obstacles you have issues on the most. If there's anything on this course that your horse simply won't approach, you can lead them around it for today only, and I'll make sure to work on those before we do this again." Acting as thought it was an afterthought, she added, "Oh, I suppose I'll give you some time to check out the course. You have ten minutes to walk the course, and then we're going to have at it."

Once they were all back, Glen smiled at everyone, "We're going to go in this order: Miranda, Tommy, Leo, Anna, Becca, and then..." She trailed off and inclined her head to the girl, realizing that that was tactless. Whatever. The girl could either offer her name, or continue being referred to by a blank, which wouldn't make her life easier. "I'm going to be in the middle of the course, watching, and the rest of you are welcome to keep your mounts moving, although please stay out of the way, and be ready to move when it comes to your turn."

Course, except imagine it more rounded.

[Miranda Florin]

Miranda listened to the rest of the introductions, although she didn't really need to listen to a few of them, seeing as she knew at least two of her classmates. Once they were done with everything, she listened to the teacher, looking at the first jump. As they were told they had time to walk the course, Miranda nodded, although she didn't move off right away, unsure of if they were to start. Once another student had moved out, she followed their example, asking Sye to walk forward as they approached the first jump and looked at it.

It took her almost the full time to look at the course, but eventually, she had finished, and returned to the starting point. The weather, at least, was nice, and by the time she was done, her legs were almost dry again. Smiling at Glen, she waited for a few other students to arrive, before the teacher started and she had to tune in again. Hearing that she was going first, Miranda frowned slightly, although it wasn't that bad. At least she wouldn't be after one of the better riders and be compared to them. When she heard the teacher trail off, she glanced at the quiet girl, who was in her Algebra class, "Athena." She hoped she didn't annoy the girl, but she didn't look like she would answer.

As it came her time to start, Miranda lined Sye up with the line and then, at the instructor's word, took off, taking the first jump easily. The third jump was a little bit harder, as Sye didn't really like water obstacles, but there were no jumps involved, so it all worked out. As they splashed on, Miranda grinned, feeling better about the class. This was worth it, after all.

It felt like no time at all, and they were at the end, and Miranda had to pull Sye up, although the mare resisted, acting almost as though she wanted to go back at the course again. However, she finally acquiesced, and Miranda walked her at the edge of the field to calm her down a bit, as well as allowing her breathing to slow.

[Thomas Oliver]

Tommy swung out of the saddle when they were told they could walk the course, and as tempted as he was to leave Amber ground-tied, he lifted her reins over her head and led her forward. Carefully walking the course, he counted out the paces between each fence and then converted his paces into the mare's strides.

Leading the mare back to the group, he flipped the reins back over her head and easily mounted the tall mare. He listened to Glen as she told them the order or riders and as he watched Miranda ride her mare over the course, he walked Amber around and then took her into the starting box. Once the girl on the course had reached the second log - jump ten - he put his legs against the mare's sides and she moved off at an easy canter.

The first two fences were no problem, he made sure to keep his legs on the mare as they went through the water complex - the last thing he needed was for Amber to decide she needed a bath - and they continued on their way. As they went around the course, the only place that he had had any issues was the mound, as Amber wasn't expecting the jump at the top of the mound and had almost run out before flying over it.

As they finished the course, he slowed Amber down to a trot and then a walk as he allowed the mare's heart to return to resting rate. They had done the course at a slow canter, so she wasn't covered in sweat, her breathing only slightly picked up. The rider however, wished he was wearing less clothing.

[Othello Buskirk]

Othello walked the course, letting Harry have a look at each of the jumps. Since they had started their cross country career by jumping fallen trees and bushes on the trails around his grandparents' place, there wasn't a lot that phased the large gelding, but he liked to let the horse have a good look at man-made obstacles.

Once back at the group, he listened to the instructor as she explained the order of riders and he allowed Harry to walk and trot around as they waited for their turn. After Tommy had departed, he waited for the other boy's mare to clear the first three jumps before he rode his gelding into the starting bow, and then once Tommy was over the table top, he gave Harry the cue the he was waiting for.

They cleared the course easily, the gelding not batting an eyelid at any of the jumps they went over - as Leo had expected - and it wasn't long before they thundered away from the final jump. Leo then pulled his gelding up and rested his head against the horse's neck, wondering if cross country was a bit too much for him. Standing in the stirrups, he pushed his hand into his pocket and pulled out the small bag of jelly beans he had tucked in there before class and popped a couple of the sugary treats into his mouth. "What do you want?" He asked Harry with a laugh as the Stuffolk Punch came to a grinding halt and flexed his neck around to regard the boy. "You are not getting a jelly bean in the middle of class." He urged the liver chestnut back into a walk