the athletes ;; western horse/rider rp . open

[SydneyandStorm]

The bond between horse and rider is strong, almost too strong to be broken. These relationships do require a bit of upkeep, though, and that takes equal participation from both horse and rider. Most people either skip over the horse's role, assuming that he is merely a robotic vessel for its rider's commands, or figure that there is no partnership and claim that the horse does all the work. But you and your rider know that's not true; it's taken blood, sweat, and tears from both of you to make it where you've gotten today. It's all been worth it, though, hasn't it? That blue ribbon is yours, my friend; go get it.

to view the english version of this rp, click here

[SydneyandStorm]

↠ All of Tess's rules apply.
↠ Please PM your forms to me before posting. Don't worry; chances are, if you follow the guidelines, you'll be accepted.
↠ You may have up to two characters, one male and one female.
↠ No LGBT characters, please, as it does not suit the plot of the roleplay.
↠ Semi-literate is absolutely required, but I'm not going to set a minimum. If I feel like you're not posting enough, I'll just send you a PM to let you know. Grammar, however, is very important to me, so please take care to use it.
↠ Please don't join if you don't plan to remain active.
↠ No power-playing, god-modding, mary-sues, or gary-sues — this includes having a perfect relationship between your horse and his/her rider.
↠ Do not roleplay through the perspective of the human. Stick to the horse's point-of-view in third person.
↠ Keep the roleplay realistic. While these horses are among the best, they're all going to have their bad days and they won't always interpret every cue correctly or curl perfectly around each barrel. Let them get unbalanced. Let them stumble every now and then. Let them throw in a buck or two in the warmup ring. Perhaps their saddle doesn't fit right and their rider can't tell or there's thrush in one foot and it's really been bugging them. Please — be realistic. This goes for humans too; no one has a perfect ride all the time or is always on good terms with their horses. Sometimes they'll pitch fits and the horse will bear the brunt of it and sometimes they'll misinterpret what the horse is trying to tell them and punish their horse for being a "brat."
↠ Reservations last for 48 hours. I will message you after the 48 hours are up to see if you still want the spot; if you do not reply after reading it and continue to post for quite a while afterwards, your reservation will be cancelled. Same goes if you become inactive: If you read the message and are active elsewhere for several hours, your character will be removed. If you respond and are still interested, you may have 24 more hours. After that, your reservation will be opened back up.

↠ Pretty forms are nice, but you don't have to worry about not being accepted if you can't make one. I'm looking solely at writing quality and the character itself.
↠ On the form itself, please include for humans their name, age, gender, am extremely brief description (read: height, build, hair color, eye color, and clothing style, in just a few sentences), good and bad traits (read: "spoils horse but can have a bit of a temper," "good and gentle rider, but primarily cares about winning," etc.), style of riding (not discipline; think "heavy/light hands," "primarily uses leg aids," "uses reins to keep balance," etc.), and the name of their horse. Anything else is optional. For horses, please include their name, age, gender, breed, height, personality, a realistic and brief history, the discipline(s) they will be trained in, and their rider. Tack is now optional, but appreciated. Pictures for both forms are required.
↠ Humans can be any age from 16+. You won't be playing them and they won't be falling in love in-story (the horse can watch them start to grow closer, but that's about it) so no need to worry about that. Be practical about a horse's age. This is a high-level competition, so I don't want to see any horses less than five years old. Anything older is acceptable, but older horses still within their prime will tend to place better. Please keep your horse's behavior acceptable for his age.
↠ All male horses will be geldings for the sake of simplicity. Romance isn't a focus of this role-play (and I'd prefer it not exist between horses, honestly; friendships are fine but horses don't usually form an exclusive romantic bond between themselves and one other horse) and stallions usually need special accommodations to suit them, so we'll just leave that part out.
↠ Please try to use pretty pictures. If you can't find any, try weheartit.com.
↠ I'd prefer that you keep breeds within disciplines realistic, but I understand that there are outliers in every discipline so I won't post a list or anything here.
↠ Horses can be trained in as many disciplines as you would like, but be reasonable. I personally would be cautious of training a horse in more than three disciplines, and the discipline a horse is trained first and/or most consistently in will likely be the one he or she performs best in.

[SydneyandStorm]

the mares ;;
cloud chaser | eight | quarter horse | barrel racing, cutting | gem ;;
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user

the geldings ;;
apollo's golden boy | ten | quarter horse | reining | HunterOfArtemis
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user
name | age | breed | discipline(s) | user

[SydneyandStorm]

Competitions will be scored as they would be in real life, and a point system will be used to determine the current champion of a discipline. First place is worth ten points, second is eight, third is six, and so on. Judged disciplines will include a second number beside the placing, which will reflect on the horse's performance and the gap between one competitor and another. It can range from 60-80, with 80 being flawless. I will determine the times for speed events. Don't worry; I'll be fair, and it will be based on the horse's performance. The judges each have different things that they're looking for and will take off for if they don't see, so just do your best and try to include as much detail as you can, including that which doesn't happen in the show ring. It would be in your best interest to read a little about the discipline you plan to compete in if you don't know much about it in order to be familiar with its requirements. The elements and of the shows will be posted the night before, and shows will take place on weekends. Judging will be done on Monday, so you will have until Sunday night to post your show entry and your performance.

barrel racing ;;

Barrel racing is a speed event run around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. The fastest time, of course, wins. Ideally, a barrel racing horse can turn quickly and go from zero to full in a matter of seconds. A penalty of five seconds is added for a rider who knocks a barrel, and passing a barrel and going off-pattern result in disqualification. However, a rider is allowed to start the pattern from either the left or the right. As it is solely a speed event, the appearance of the horse and rider does not matter. The barrels must be at least two colors, which may result in spooking if a horse has never been desensitized to bright colors.

Current champion:
Competitors: 1

western pleasure ;;

Western pleasure is, as it sounds, judged on how "pleasing" the horse looks to ride. Horses are asked to walk, jog, and lope around an arena with other horses, and are occasionally asked to extend the gaits and sometimes even hand gallop. The horse with the best disposition and movement will win the class, and points are deducted for excessive speed or slowness, breaking gait, or incorrect head position. However, it is desired for the western pleasure horse have slow, controlled gaits, and the horse's poll should be no lower than the withers.

Current champion:
Competitors: 0

reining ;;

Reining is often considered "western dressage," though in truth it is very different. Horses are judged on a series of eight to twelve movements that should be conveyed to the horse with little to no visible cues. Horses start at the score of 70, and points are added (for performing a maneuver with greater difficulty or exceptionally well) or subtracted (for performing a maneuver poorly). Points can also be deducted for a horse displaying a bad attitude or misbehaving. Horse and rider turnout is fairly important but will not greatly impact a horse's score. Reining horses should be fit and have good conformation and powerful hindquarters, as some of the movements can result in injury if a horse is not conformationally sound. There are two classes in this roleplay's adaptation of reining: technical and freestyle. In technical reining, the horse is judged on his or her execution of the required movements in a set pattern. In freestyle reining, the horse and rider are judged on the routine, creativity, and how well they execute required movements, as well as extra movements they have chosen.

Current champion:
Competitors: 1

cutting ;;

In cutting, a horse is judged on his or her ability to separate a cow from a herd and keep it away from the herd for a set period of time. Typically, three cows are cut, although two is acceptable if the rider runs out of time. A horse must possess good "cow sense" in order to stay with the cow and prevent it from returning from the herd. Upon cutting the cow from the herd, the rider is to relax the reins and allow the horse to work entirely on his or her own, although leg aids can be applied if necessary. The cutting horse is judged on how he or she responds to the cow's advances. The shoulders of the horse are to be parallel to the cow, and turns should be made with the horse leaning back on the hocks in order to stay with the cow. Horses and riders are not judged based on turnout.

Current champion:
Competitors: 1

trail ;;

Trail, more specifically known in this sense as a judged trail ride, is a discipline in which horses are judged on their responses to different obstacles on the trail and the teamwork between horse and rider. A trail will usually cover anywhere between 10-15 miles, so the horse must be in good physical condition to do well. Routine vet checks are performed to ensure that the horse is still in good health, and if any horses are having a rough time, they will be retired from the competition. Trail horses should be mentally sound, obedient, fit, and clever. Horse and rider turnout is not important, but most ride in western attire.

Current champion:
Competitors: 0

[SydneyandStorm]

open ;;

[SydneyandStorm]

bump!

[gem ;;]

name; Arianne Rose Blake
nickname; People call her Ari.
age; She's 18 years old.
gender; Female.
description; Ari is about 5'4 in height and weighs around 58-60 kilograms. She's dark blonde with dark green eyes. She usually wears denim jeans with whatever random t-shirt she can find; she's not fussy with clothes.
personality; Ari has always had a strong love for horses ever since she was little. She's never been without at least one horse in her life. Ari is sweet and quite friendly. Her moods can change quite rapidly though, and she could go from being nice and lovely to arrogant and mean. Her patience can run out quickly if she's having a bad day. But other than that, she's a nice girl to get to know.
horse; A dapple grey mare called Cloud Chaser.
riding style; She has been riding most of her life, so her riding style would be average or slightly above. Her adrenaline picks up quickly when barrel racing, so at times she can get a little too quick and pushy on the horse. Her balance can be off at times, so she has falls on a weekly basis.

show name; Cloud Chaser
barn name; Cloud
gender; mare
age; 8 years young
breed; Quarter Horse
height; 15.3hh
coat; dapple grey
eyes; dark brown
personality; Cloud is much like her owner with a sweet aurora about her. She's quick on her feet, which is a bit of a down fall for Arianne since holding on can be a bit of a challenge at times. The mare loves being pampered and is very patient. Don't tease her though; she has a hard bite. Like any horse, she has her down days, but this quiet mare would happily be anyone's best friend.
history; Cloud was sired by a champion barrel racer called Up In Heaven. She was born on a stud ranch and nursed a grey broodmare called Chasing Stars. She trained and competed there until she was six, though her story changes. She was pushed into harder competitions where she wasn't fully trained to run, but the blame was put on her. So she was sent to a sale regarding she was 'no good' for any type of western discipline. Along came Arianne. The young girl bought her and a bond eventually grew between them and Cloud could again barrel race at her own pace. But the two still have a lot to learn..
tack; shown on picture.
riding disipline; barrel racer, though at times she is being trained to cut.

[SydneyandStorm]

Bump!

[gem ;;]

{{ do you have any charries? c: }}

[SydneyandStorm]

{{. Not as of now c: If I judge the competitions, I need to be able to be neutral. ^^ I might make some once I get more time, though. cx