Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
Molly simply smiled when Cara nodded her welcome, figuring that her gushing may overwhelmed her and the teenager decided to dial it back, at least for that topic. She had truly meant the words that she told Cara, since she never thought of riding and school horses like that. Maybe there was more to the quiet woman than she was willing to let on, which wouldn't surprise Molly, considering that Cara hadn't really started talking to her until it became clear that she wasn't going to leave her alone. Annoying status at it's finest.
"I was a fourteen year old doing work with students two years older than myself and the senior male teachers seemed to think that I wasn't as clever as I thought I was." An eye brow quirked at that story, "Really? They must have gotten rid of those guys. I can't imagine any of the teachers being that curmudgey." But what did she know? She was only sixteen and in year two of her stay at Willow Brooke, it's not as if she had experienced all of the teachers there yet, "Then again, I suppose most teacher's don't like their students surpassing them. Anyways, it's in the past. We don't have to talk about it." Not to mention, Cara seemed uncomfortable to discuss the matter anyways, and Molly wasn't going to push a subject like Willow Brooke. The school had its pros and cons for every one, for Molly, it was some of her fellow students that made life uncomfortable and annoying verses the teachers though. It had clearly been the opposite for Cara during her time there.
A ready grin split against Molly's features when the young woman said that she might take her up on the offer to be the pony rider sacrifice, "Oh, please do." Sparrow looked like a bundle of joy to ride after all, but she was certain that Cara heard that all. Her next statement however, nearly called the teenager to do a double take at her, "Eight ponies?" That is a heckin a lot, "How do you find all the time to ride and care for them?" After all, Cara was only one person although she supposed thats why there were at least 6 stable hands at Blue Arces, to help with such matters. Noticing that the other woman was putting away the brushes now and moving forward the lead rope, she stepped out of the way and then dramatically gestured towards the fields, "Lead away. Might as well let her enjoy the remaining few nights outside before it gets too cold." She was certain winter would be moving in fast now.
"Really? They must have gotten rid of those guys. I can't imagine any of the teachers being that curmudgey. Then again, I suppose most teacher's don't like their students surpassing them. Anyways, it's in the past. We don't have to talk about it." Cara shrugged, it really was in the past now. "Teachers aside, I did enjoy my time at Willow Brooke, the gymnastics coaches were great at their jobs and pushed when we needed it. The academic side of things had been easy enough, and there were a few teachers who were more than happy to challenge her when she had completed all the assigned work, they just knew better than asking her to help the other students.
"Oh, please do." She gave a small grin. "You may regret that offer." She knew that she was a strict rider, and she didn't ride for fun, every session was a schooling session, even if it wasn't in the arena. "Eight ponies? How do you find all the time to ride and care for them?" She shrugged again. "I..." She stopped herself before she said she didn't sleep, as she only worked the ponies during daylight hours. "I micro-manage my days, so that I can ride the ones who need that around looking after the children. And, depending one what hours Mr Thorne has at the hospital in the weekends, I get a little more time with them, plus not all eight of my ponies are ridden, one is a foal, her dam is starting her training and the other Exmoors are just starting out too, so their sessions are short and simple."
"Lead away. Might as well let her enjoy the remaining few nights outside before it gets too cold." She smiled again and nodded. She clicked her tongue and led Swallow down the aisle, outside and down to the pastures where her small herd were happily grazing. "The Welsh Mountain Pony is Twist, he belongs to my daughter. The dark liver chestnut Haflinger is Doppio. The five Exmoors are: Autumn Breeze, Summer Mist, Spring Blossom and Winter Rose, who has Ice Crystal." She pointed out the gelding and mares as she spoke, the filly-foal was off exploring the water trough. "I have more Exmoor Ponies at Ms Clarke's other property."
Well, at least Willow Brook had not been all THAT terrible then, feeling a little relived when Cara had actually enjoyed her time there, "I'm glad to hear it. I mean, Willow Brook does have it's pros and cons, but I feel like it gets a lot of flack just because its a prestigious fancy school." Molly knew it was deserved, sometimes the academy did go a little over the top with their antics - foil plated dance tickets, anyone? But the teenager felt a little protective of the school when people - friends or strangers - poked fun at the school. After all, Willow Brook was willing to give her a hefty scholarship when they saw her testing scores on their entrance exam, and her parents were eternally grateful for it, "So, based off of your fancy riding in the arena, I take it your gymnastics lessons have become handy when training your ponies?" Considering the unique bending the young woman had been doing, it almost looked like Janie O'Hara's vaulting and trick riding days.
"You may regret that offer," Cara commented with a small grin. A snort of laughter escaped the teenager, "I bet not. Swallow looked like a lot of fun. Plus, sometimes there are just days where I love a challenge," Molly replied back. Not all the time, but there were times when she was in a very spirited mood when it came to riding and I mean, she would be heling Cara out - never mind the extra riding time, "You know Luna? The hauty, high energy flea bitten grey? She's my favorite but there are days where honestly she makes me feel like a kite. So I am certain I can take on your ponies." Boy, she was feeling awfully bold. If she had been a man, she probably would have been puffing out her chest. Hearing Cara speak of her days, Molly did feel a little floored by everything, "Oh wow, and I thought I had busy days with school work." Clearly, being an adult sucked, "But I do love a good mirco-managing. I swear, not everybody understands how important it is."
She followed the young woman and her pony out of the barn now. Taking the familiar path out towards the paddocks now. Once out of the barn, Molly found herself greeted by brisk air once more. It almost smelled like snow was on the horizon, but that was a little dramatic sounding. It wasn't long before they were in front of a pasture with what looked to be seven ponies all with cute and creative names as Cara rattled them off - probably used to their introductions by now. Dark brown eyes watched and Molly couldn't help but to squeal, "Ughs. Cara, they are so adorable. I do love how their winter coats are coming in to make them look like little teddy bears." Okay, maybe big teddy bears but they are adorable. She rested her hands on the fence line, watching them. That was indeed a herd of ponies, "Who's your mane steed? Is it Doppio? Also, I love the elemental theme you have going on for the exmoor ponies."
"I'm glad to hear it. I mean, Willow Brook does have it's pros and cons, but I feel like it gets a lot of flack just because its a prestigious fancy school." Cara shrugged, a tiny smile curving her lips. "All of my schools were private and prestigious, it's what Father wanted. Willow Brooke was the only one where I wasn't expected to live onsite and without an equestrian section." She frowned in thought as she wondered what direction her parents would really have wanted her to have taken as she grew up. What kind of person would she be today if her mother hadn't taken father dinner that night, and she had grown up with family? For one thing, she knew she wouldn't be here. "So, based off of your fancy riding in the arena, I take it your gymnastics lessons have become handy when training your ponies?" She shrugged again. "Gymnastics and horses are kind of all I am." She replied simply. Sure, she knew more than just horses and gymnastics, but gym and horses were where she had found safety when they rest of the world was falling apart around her.
"I bet not. Swallow looked like a lot of fun. Plus, sometimes there are just days where I love a challenge," Cara nodded, not wanting to mention that she had been talking about herself, as to why Molly might regret her offer, not the ponies. "You know Luna? The hauty, high energy flea bitten grey? She's my favorite but there are days where honestly she makes me feel like a kite. So I am certain I can take on your ponies." Cara nodded, she knew the mare the girl was talking about. "My ponies are school masters, so they aren't exactly challenging, per-sey. They just need a rider on them every now and again that they don't have to babysit." She needed another rider to ride the ponies, not just sit on them. Sure, Kyoto and Kat rode their ponies, but Twist and Doppio did spend more time teaching the girls and looking after them, rather than having fun with their riders. "Oh wow, and I thought I had busy days with school work. But I do love a good mirco-managing. I swear, not everybody understands how important it is." Her shoulders lifted again. "I like to keep myself busy." She offered as an explanation. "It helps quieten my mind." Idle hands, and all that jazz.
She couldn't help but smile at the other girl's squeal. "Ughs. Cara, they are so adorable. I do love how their winter coats are coming in to make them look like little teddy bears." She nodded, the Exmoors did look very fluffy in their winter coats. "Who's your mane steed? Is it Doppio? Also, I love the elemental theme you have going on for the exmoor ponies." She pulled a face as she led Swallow into the paddock and turned her back toward the gate before removing the halter and giving her the cue to move off. "Despite his caffeinated name, which may give people the idea he has a lot of energy, Doppio is the quietest of the ponies in there." She explained. "I used to have a Standardbred mare, but she has found a new home. I really don't have a main steed." All her time and energy went into keeping Naomi's and Mik's horses competition ready. She nodded toward Winnie. "The man, who's property she came from, he had already named her Winne and said she was his precious rose, so it broke his heart that she was part of the round up, as she had a foal at foot. And with her being Winter Rose, the other names just fell into place." The four adult horses that came here had seasonal names, the foal's name was wintry like her dam's, and the herd that was being developed at the stud had poker-based names. "You can come and say hello to them, if you want to."
Huh, well Cara was certainly turning into quite the interesting person and that was after witnessing her shoot a bow and arrow from the backside of a running pony. She wasn't sure if she had accidently touched a sore subject with her father. Molly wasn't sure on how to read that little insight into how Willow Brook matched her father's desires. The teenager herself had only ended up at Willow Brook because they offered her the biggest scholarship. It felt like one of those statements that was best to not push - mainly because this was her first time meeting and talking to the young woman, "Gymnastics and horses are kind of all I am." Molly aimed her with a smile, "Well hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Plus, they clearly compliment each other in your life."
"My ponies are school masters, so they aren't exactly challenging, per-sey. They just need a rider on them every now and again that they don't have to babysit." Molly wasn't sure if she entirely believed the young woman on that front. After all, the teenager tended to believe that pony's had a mind and agenda on their own, and there were a ton of internet memes to back her up. And if the memes about moody mares were true, then how can one deny that logic with ponies? Well, easily, if she thought about it because it was logic with plot holes. Molly did laugh though, "Well, they certainly won't need to babysit me. They'd just possibly have to accompany me on a few adventures." She was certain she could dig up some ole legends on the Hickstead that might require travel by horse or pony.
"Well, if you ever need help keeping busy at the barn, let me know. I am here often and usually up to a few horsey shenanigan's. I like to think that I am part of an unofficial pony squad...even though we have horses, not ponies," she said with a grin now, thinking of her friendship with Janie. Maybe if she introduced her to Maeve, then they really would have some sort of pony club for adventuring since Oliver couldn't ride.
Dark brown eyes watched the ponies in the field while attentively listening to Cara discuss her ponies. She followed along pretty well and was quite surprised to hear that a caffeine named pony was in fact, the opposite of his name, "Were you being ironic when you named him?" she asked with a grin. Given Cara's seriousness, probably not, but it was still fun to poke the young woman on a lighter subject affair such as pony names, "How come you don't have a main steed?" Given how many ponies she had though, Molly was beginning to suspect that the young woman could only sit her butt in so many saddles per the day. She could see how owning this many would add up to a never ending carousel of ponies to ride, "You can come and say hello to them, if you want to." Her grin went even wider at the invite, "Girl, do I ever." She didn't need to be invited twice as she unlatched the paddock gate and snuck in before latching it behind her and headed to Cara, "Who is best to give my undivided attention to? When we're obiviously not talking."
"Well hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Plus, they clearly compliment each other in your life." Cara shrugged, as she had gymnastic coaches in the past that had hated the fact that she spent so much of her time riding horses, when all of her time should have been spent in the gym, and there had been weekends when she had a riding competition and a gymnastics meet. It really wasn't hard to work out where her insomnia had started. "They would probably work better together is I was a vaulter or a trick rider?" She gave a shrug.
"Well, if you ever need help keeping busy at the barn, let me know. I am here often and usually up to a few horsey shenanigan's. I like to think that I am part of an unofficial pony squad...even though we have horses, not ponies," Cara's brows rose, and she wondered if it was normal for teenagers to talk so much, but mentally shrugged it off. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you." That sounded like the right thing to say, though shenanigans really wasn't in her vocabulary.
"Were you being ironic when you named him?" She pursed her lips. "His registered name is Double Espresso." She explained. "Doppio is an Italian drink, similar to a double espresso. Haflingers are an Italian breed, it worked." Plus the word was simple enough for a child to say, even if they did tend to call him Dopey - like the dwarf. "How come you don't have a main steed?" She shrugged as she looked over the ponies. "Because I spend the working day with children, my own, the Clarke-Thorne twins and the daughter of Ms Clarke's personal assistant. After the family are sitting with dinner, I head down here to work, after that I turn my attention to the horses I'm keeping in training." She shrugged. "I don't have the time a horse deserves, so I don't have one."
"Girl, do I ever." She grinned as Molly let herself into the paddock. "Who is best to give my undivided attention to? When we're obiviously not talking." She smiled and shrugged, though Twist seemed to answer the question as the bay Welsh Mountain Pony came trotting up to them and shoved his bald face into Cara's stomach, seeing of he could sniff out any treats and then turned his attention to Molly, his inquisitive muzzle inspecting every inch of her that he could reach. This is Peppermint Twist, Twist. He's my daughter's pony." She looked down as she felt a wet muzzle brushing against her hand and she smiled at the small Exmoor filly-foal. "And this is Ice Crystal." She said as she rubbed the filly behind the ears that were almost hidden in all her winter fluffiness.
Molly supposed the woman had been right, had she combined the gymnastics and the love for horses into a singular sport - she might have been of more 'value' to any school. But the teenager didn't think that was the right way to carry on with a life - being nothing more than cog in somebody's greater plans. Granted, Molly had a different background compared to Cara, and she was still getting to know her, "I suppose," she replied before saying with a grin, "Well, I guess if you ever decide you want to take a stab at trick riding, I know where to get you hooked up." Despite the posh atmosphere and elegant barn, Blue Arces had riders of all disciplines and she knew that her best friend Janie considered herself a trick rider above anything.
Ooof, she saw that look that Cara had shot her - she had talked too much. The response to her rambling wasn't that much better, but knew better than to take it to heart. If she had for every time she got a look like that, Molly was certain she would have dug her own grave by now. As kind and considerate she often tried to be, it was hard to remember that not everyone was as talkative or extroverted as her. Given Cara mentioned that she had a daughter, the teenager just told herself that she was long term preparing the woman for what it would be like to have a teen in her life and unlike Molly, her daughter would be around twenty four seven.
Doppio was a drink? Man, she was learning all sorts of things today, "Huh, I didn't know that. I also didn't realize that Haflingers were Italian." For some reason, the country famous for their food and wine - despite being agricultural, did not strike her as horse country. It was crazy to here Cara go into her schedule and logic behind not being to own a horse. That is a lot of time with children, "So you're like a professional nanny?" she asked now, uncertain of what else to call her. Teacher didn't seem right if she was hanging around with the kids all day and not grade them - plus, Molly recognized those name drops. She knew for a fact that half of the parents mentioned in that group had children that were probably four or under, "Well, that sucks you have to budget your time so much. I had no idea that's what you meant by why you did it. I am sure the ponies still consider you their human."
It probably didn't suck for Cara, seeing as the young woman appeared to like being busy and organized, but Molly didn't think it was entirely fun to have a herd fully of ponies to ride and hardly any time until the evening to do so. She thought it was hard enough to visit Luna and Major - who weren't even her horses per say - and balancing life and school work at Willow Brooke. Dark brown eyes watched as a bay welsh mountain pony arrived to inspect them and likely shake them down for treats. Laughter escaped her when he soon finished with Cara and came over to her, and she could not help but to pet him gently and scratch his eyes, "Ah, I am sorry buddy, all of my treats are back with my bag." She also saw the little filly go over to Cara now too, "I have to say, I do love how winter turns them all into giant fuzzy teddy bears." That winter coat was always so soft, Molly was certain it rivaled the velvety softness of their noses.
Cara's brow furrowed as she tried to work out how serious Molly was being with her statement, though she shook her head. "I don't think I'll be looking at trick riding any time soon." She replied with a shrug. She'd never been one to deviate from what she already new, so picking up new things wasn't her thing to do.
She smiled with a nod. "They're also known as the Avelignese, due to the Italian name of the town they got their name from." Okay, the teenager wasn't here to be lectured about horse breeds. She pursed her lips together at the question as she'd never really given her job a title. "I guess?" She cringed as she could even hear the question in her answer. When the uncle she didn't know had existed turned sent her a letter two and a half years ago and she left here to return to America to be with him, a small child-like dream to have blood relations, she hadn't been planning to return. However, as it turned out that Rick had wanted nothing more than her eighteenth birthday to happen so that she was able to sign over the family fortune and business to him, and he have her married off to a respectable family, sans Kyoto of course. With the help of her lawyer, she had returned to Hickstead, and Blue Acres. She was now an adult and hadn't wanted to be taken in like a lost puppy, so for room and board, she offered her services as a child minder and housekeeper.
Cara smiled as she rubbed Crystal's head, watching as Twist tried to find any hidden treats. "He thinks that he's starving." She said with a shrug. "Because there's no grass for him to eat in here." She was pleased that she didn't have any stroppy geldings who acted like stallions, and that they could all be in the same pasture with the mares. "They have a very interesting coat." She said with a nod, her smile deepening as the other Exmoors approached them, Autumn and Spring both bumping at Molly with their muzzles, neither wanting treats, but curious about the new scent. It's perfect for keeping them warm and dry in the winter." She caught herself before she went into textbook mode and started rattling off information about the coat layers.
Molly noticed how the other woman's brow furrowed before informing her that she would not in fact be doing trick riding. Cara must have been trying to spend time trying to figure out if she was serious or not, and the teenager couldn't help but to laugh, "No worries." She'd let that air of mystery remain on whether or not she had really been serious about her statement.
"The Avelignese? I do have to say that is very pretty," it also took her a solid 30 seconds to realize that this was actually a real fact instead of Cara just giving her herd of ponies some sort of cool gang like name for simply referencing them. Thankfully, it had dawned on Molly before she could say anything stupid to the other woman this was simply about Halfingers. While she knew that Cara wouldn't take any offense to it, she wasn't certain if the joke would have been lost on her, or let alone Molly's seriousness later down the road when she would just ask her how the Avelingese were doing.
Some slight semblance of guilt hit her as she noticed how Cara cringed, "I guess?" Oh god, Cara was even questioning it herself. Man, she really did have to watch her mouth there, "Errr....forget I asked," she quickly sputtered out, trying her best to get themselves both out of this situation. Brown eyes quickly looked back at the ponies, and particularly Twist, who was still with her receiving all of the pets and scratches. Certainly they could get them out of this awkward moment. Thankfully they could as Twist investigated for treats and Cara's comment made her laugh, "I can't say I blame him. I too like to stuff myself during winter time." Another pony fact came up and Molly beamed her a smile as she playful bounced the palm of her hand on the thick fur, "I see what you mean, nothing getting past that." She looked to the other woman now, "Did you have any treats you want to give them? Or is it too late in the evening for that?"
Cara nodded, it was a very pretty place too, though she had only seen the commune as they drove through it on the way home from a gymnastics meet many years ago, what felt like a lifetime ago now, long before she had come to Hickstead.
"Errr....forget I asked," She smiled softly. No, sorry." She said with a shrug. "I've never really had a job title before. I've just done what's expected of me." Well, she supposed that she had been given titles before, just none that she wanted to share with the teenager.
Cara smiled as she watched the ponies, pleased that they were comfortable enough to come and willingly investigate a new person as it showed that they were coming along in leaps and bounds in their training and would be ready for the twins when Viola and Sebastian were ready to ride by themselves; though they were happy enough for Kyoto to ride them, though not off the lead rein just yet. "Did you have any treats you want to give them? Or is it too late in the evening for that?" She shook her head. "I don't carry treats around with me unless I'm training." She explained, as she knew that equines got pushy when they thought that treats were always available. "If you have any on you, I don't mind if you hand them out." Doppio, Swallow and Twist often frisked people for treats, because that's what he knew people carried. The Exmoors however, they didn't know that treats were a thing, outside training, so she didn't mind if Molly had anything she wanted to offer them. "Casey is helping me train Crystal. If you would like to help, I need a gentle rider, with soft hands, to help me with the others." Part of their training was to get used to other riders as well as being handled by others.
Molly couldn't help but to cock her head as she stared at the other woman, rolling her response over in her head. Cara had said it so softly and with a gentle smile, the teenager could not help but to wonder if she had managed to stumble into some personal territory. The kind of territory that sent up flags and made it clear to Molly that she should back right up out of it like a dump truck would out of a neighborhood. Still, it almost felt like it would be rude of her to just not acknowledge anything, "Well, no matter what, I know you are well loved here." And she left it at that.
It was kinda funny being surrounded by all of these adorable ponies as they investigated her, and yet it was so adorable. Molly attributed it to a non horse girl's dream of being surrounded by puppies or kittens. At Cara's admission that she does not carry treats on her unless it was for training, the logic of it quickly make sense to the teenager, "Oh! I guess that makes sense. So they still see you as mom or the leader verses just the treat lady." Maybe she would become the treat lady. Given that the young woman just gave her permission, Molly couldn't help but to fish into her pockets to pull out some peppermints, "I'm sure Luna and Major won't mind if I share with you guys." She commented to the ponies now, holding out her hands flat.
"Casey is helping me train Crystal. If you would like to help, I need a gentle rider, with soft hands, to help me with the others." Molly's heart almost stopped. Her dark brown gaze looked to Cara now, almost forgetting about the ponies now, "Casey? As in Casey Lloyd?" Funny out of that whole entire statement, she found herself zero-ing in on the name of the fellow trainer. Maybe it was another Casey. But what if it wasn't? Casey Lloyd was fucking adorable. Would she be able to concentrate? The thought made her cheeks burn. And yet, Molly knew learning from the woman would be great experience, maybe it would rub off when it came to working with Luna or Major, "Um, yeah! I'll totally help!" she squeaked, "Thank you so much, Cara. I'll give you my number when we're done here."
"Well, no matter what, I know you are well loved here." A muscle jumped in Cara's cheek, but she caught the eyebrow before it could raise as she internally questioned Molly's word. Love wasn't a word that Cara used very much, as it had held anything but a positive meaning throughout her life. Sure, she told her daughter that she loved her, but that was the only time she ever used that word, in English anyway.
She shrugged as she pushed away the curious muzzle of the filly as Ice began to mouth her sleeve, little teeth catching skin, and her brows rose as the filly released an indignant squeal. "And, what?" She asked the filly. She shook her head when Ice, in true toddler fashion, walked up to her dam and headbutted the mare as though annoyed that the mare didn't come to her defence. "If I wasn't the alpha mare in here, that could have been a lot different." She said with a shrug.
"Casey? As in Casey Lloyd?" Cara's brow lifted. "Yes?" She hated that her answer was also a question, but the girl's reaction to Casey's name had thrown her a little and she trying to process the why, especially with the heat in Molly's cheeks. "He commented on the fact that he's only ever ridden fully trained horses, so when we were bringing the Exmoors here, I offered to let him train Ice." She smiled as Molly said that she wanted to help, offering to exchange numbers when they finished. "Autumn and Spring are... will be Viola and Sebastian's ponies, while Mist and Winnie are here to continue their training and then hopefully find their jobs." Or a new home. There were a few in-hand shows she wanted to take the ponies to, but that was for another day.
Herd dynamics were always such a funny thing to Molly, mainly because the pecking order could change at any given moment. It was always shuffling around, never having a true line up other than who the big boss mare was. And this wasn't including Cara. Dark brown eyes watched as Ice, clearly rambunctious and impatient as any human child, appeared annoyed with her human - but clearly knew better, and turned to promptly go give her own mother a headbutt. A sputtering laughter escaped Molly now, only made harder by Cara's words; "If I wasn't the alpha mare in here, that could have been a lot different." The teenager doubled over, before finally getting her wits back, "Well, Winnie certainly is a saint of a mother."
Naturally, the tables had turned on Molly though. The horses were no longer the laughing stock, she clearly was with her inability to keep cool with the mentioning of one Casey Llyod. To make matters worse, Cara looked to be studying her reaction and clearly seemed confused - which only prompted the teenager to feel more of that annoying, sensational burning feeling, "I...er, I won't let Casey distract me." He was probably oblivious to her crush, since he was a boy. Still, Molly felt compelled to say something since she could not decipher the look that the woman was giving her, "I can work with whoever you think I'm best suited for. Whether that's with Casey and Ice, or with Autumn, Spring, Mist, or Winnie." At least she was pint sized to fit all of them, well, minus Ice of course. Trying to distract herself now from the kerfuffle that was her school girl crush, she continued on, "This will be so exciting. I've never worked with a horse that wasn't a school horse before."
"Well, Winnie certainly is a saint of a mother." Cara quirked a smile. "Only because the filly knows her dam won't put up with tantrums." If the youngster had gone up and bitten her bother, Winne wouldn't have just stood and taken it.
"I...er, I won't let Casey distract me." She nodded, wondering if she was missing something here that would be oh-so-obvious to the rest of the world, but then ignored it. "I can work with whoever you think I'm best suited for. Whether that's with Casey and Ice, or with Autumn, Spring, Mist, or Winnie." Autumn and Spring need the most work, because they are going to be Sebastian and Viola's mounts. The young boy was already calling the gelding Tum-tum, while his sister was calling her pony Sing, though it wouldn't be long before she could get the combination of the letters and have the pronunciation for the pony's monosyllabic name. "I think you would get on well with Mist too, and she would enjoy having a rider to call her own." The little dun mare, with her pangaré markings were so bold that she was smokey-brown over her back, while she was a milky caramel under her belly up past her elbows and up to her dock. Her muzzle the same colour that connected with the pangaré lining her eyes, probably felt left out at times; she wasn't destined to be a family mount, and she wasn't nursing a foal, so hang in the background unless called forward.
"This will be so exciting. I've never worked with a horse that wasn't a school horse before." Cara nodded. "Ride them as though they are the best trained horse in the world, and they will meet your expectations."
Molly giggled at the young woman's explanation over how the filly knew better than to mess with her mother, or with her brother, if it meant her dam's watchful eye, "And people say equines aren't smart because of the size of their brain." Clearly, they have never witnessed a youngster in action, or when Molly herself had to go get Luna out of the pasture. Horses and ponies clearly knew how to read a room and try to use it to their advantage, or disadvantage, if needed.
If Cara had felt any reserves about the teenager's sputtering thoughts and words about Casey, she did not let on and continued on in a matterofact manner, "Autumn and Spring need the most work, because they are going to be Sebastian and Viola's mounts," she commented before adding, "I think you would get on well with Mist too, and she would enjoy having a rider to call her own." For some reason, the latter statement almost hit Molly like a brick to the face, or what she imagined a brick to the face would feel like. Dark brown eyes sought after the little dun mare now. Her gaze rested on Mist, minding her own business within the herd, "A horse to call my own?" Well, she was a pony, but the thought was still there. Molly never had something like that before, yes, she had Luna and Major, and while they always felt like hers, they were not. And that reality would hit ever once in a while when she showed up at the barn, and both were already in use for lesson or something else.
Her thoughts interupted now as Cara spoke once again, and Molly couldn't help but to grin, "Oh, I will. I will not let you or any of your ponies down," she said, looking back to Mist wistfully once more, "On that thought, would I take lessons with only you? Or would you like me to utilize your ponies with some of the other teachers also?" The teenager didn't mind either way, but it certainly meant that she would have to rework her schedule at the barn. It certainly might mean more time spent at Blue Arces, but truth be told, that was hardly an issue when it came to Molly. The barn was her favorite place in the world, might as well try to spend as much time here as she could without it affecting her studies.
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