❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄a n d t h e s n o w f e l l l i k e s t a r s❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅✩
Owner:SpartanAmethyst
Show Name:119 SANRE December Darkness
Name:Mikhail
Gender:Stallion
Age:6 years
❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄i n t o t h e d a r k o p e n a r m s o f t h e t r e e s
h a n g i n g o n e v e r y l i m b l i k e c h r i s t m a s l i g h t s❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄ ❅ ❄Discipline & Training:Advanced Three Day Eventing trained, with exceptional talent for dressage.
He's also trained previously in Pas de Deux, Endurance Riding, Foxhunts, and Polocrosse.
Because of his past, he's not yet actually been shown, so he has no ribbons yet to his name.
Amethyst hopes to change that very soon, seeing as how well-trained he is, albeit a bit rusty.
Personality:Mikhail is the kind of horse that isn't easy to read. As a result of his background, the stallion has perfected his poker face, leaving his outward appearance devoid of emotion. He exudes confidence, grace, and regality, but in all reality, the equid beneath the mask is very different. He distances himself from others so they don't see his lack of confidence, or his social awkwardness and inability to connect to others emotionally. He hides his fear and anxiety by sheer will, and refuses to talk about it to anyone; he seems to think that if he ignores it, one day it'll just dissipate and he'll become the competitor he's meant to be. Of course it doesn't work that way, but that's the thought process his sire and owners pounded into his head before he came to Amethyst Ridge. As a result, he overworks his body and expects too much of himself, making him sometimes very irritable and easily frustrated. He expects nothing less than perfection when he really doesn't need it; with his talent and handsome looks, he's already the perfect competitor; he just wants
more. If he could get past his anxiety, though, Mikhail would be calm under pressure, easy to talk to even if he is stone-faced, helpful, and a good friend. He's always everybody's shoulder to cry on in his rare moments of being relaxed and social, but never really lets himself "cry" like he should.
Brief History:Mikhail was born at a small stables just outside of Novocherkassk, Russia. Being a breed that's used to hot weather, not freezing temperatures, life was slightly difficult. But his lineage had been bred in Russia for many years, so they'd begun to develop thicker and darker coats that trapped more heat. He was born to be a jumping prodigy, like his sire had been, to compete on the Russian Circuit and, eventually, the Olympic Circuit. From a young age he was groomed to be perfect: physically, mentally, and skill-wise. And perfect he was.
He had just begun his competition circuit when a particularly horrible winter befell the farm, causing many of the horses and even the owner's daughter to perish. Racked with grief, the father let the stables fall into disrepair, and one by one the horses grew emaciated and eventually passed away. Mikhail was one of the few to survive, though when he was rescued, he was barely more than a walking skeleton and the last of his bloodline. He was taken to a nearby "safe place", a ranch who fostered horses and prepared them for adoption. It took three long years to get him back into peak physical condition, though he continued to have what appeared to be emotional scars. He'd been trained to be serious and near emotionless, so the foster owners had a hard time connecting with him and urging him to be social. Never the less he recovered, and over the course of a year the Russian rescue organization took applications for adoptions. Finally they settled on a ranch in America that worked with "troubled horses" like Mikhail, ones with difficult pasts and challenges to overcome. After a four year long recovery, Mikhail was on his way home.
Now at Amethyst Ridge Ranch, Amethyst and the rest of her crew work with him everyday. He has a set schedule that they adhere to so he'll stay calm and know what to expect, and he's being reintroduced to the show jumping world through conditioning and American training. Soon Amethyst hopes he'll join the rest of her jumpers on the American circuit, though she does not currently have Olympic aspirations. She wants Mikhail to stay unstressed and worried by competition more than the round he's about to clear.
One challenge that's proving to be quite troublesome is the language barrier; having been raised to Russian commands, Amethyst is having to teach him the English commands for him to be successful. That's much easier said than done, as no one on Amethyst Ridge property speaks fluent Russian, but with the help of the Rescue Organization and her own limited knowledge, she continues to make headway with the project. If she could find a Russian rider to make him even more comfortable, then she'd pair them immediately. As long as the riding style was correct for Mikhail, of course!
