[ the a circuit ] | [ literate horse & rider ] | [ 2 slots ]

[astro!]

Ａｌｅｘ Ｓｌａｄｅ
the jumper prodigy ✧ arriving in Florida ✦ tags: everyone
{ "There is a fine line between insanity and genius; I have erased this line." }

Alex jerked open the door on the van they'd ridden in; she hated road trips. They always made her dizzy, and it was impossible to do any work in the car, though Alex had tried her hardest to study some physics while they drove. She sucked in a deep breath, looking around at WEF's showgrounds; they would get the horses settled in at their stalls in a moment. Alex wondered if Phil had rented out a barn this year; a lot of big time trainers did that so that the horses would have a less hectic place to relax while they weren't showing, and so that it wouldn't be as expensive to stable the horses at the show 24/7 for the whole WEF series.

Alex walked back to the semi-trailer; one of Phil's grooms helped her lower the ramp to the massive horse transport box, and she peered inside, greeted by several friendly, curious faces. There was only one she was particularly interested in at the moment, and it was the bright chestnut one with the blaze that peered over the stall dividers, ears pricked straight forward. Alex laid a hand on Willing's soft nose, bending in and kissing him lightly before looking around at the others, then going around a petting each of them. She then turned back to the stalls the trailer was parked by and peered inside; there were several bags of shavings inside each. Picking up a nearby pitchfork, Alex burst them open and began spreading the finely carved sawdust around each stall until it was covered. Setting the pitchfork down and wiping her forehead - the humidity was so great that Alex felt as though she was drinking the air - Alex turned back to the trailer, smiling, and slipped inside. She grabbed a leadrope and attached it to Wit's halter before leading the little mare out of the truck. Her fine head flew up, ears pricked as she took in the excitement and the bustling show ground around them before Alex led her straight into one of the stalls. Unsnapping the leadrope, Alex went back to the trailer for her others. Ziggy was calm and cool in his new environment, but his eyes were also bright as he took in their new surroundings. Astro pranced a little as she walked, but was otherwise collected. Willing eyed the stable aisle impressively, his head up and his nostrils wide; Alex could tell she would have to walk him around later so he could settle in, but he was otherwise okay. Then there was the problem child: Sesto, in the trailer still, and kicking the side of the wall. Alex sighed, and went over to him, tapping his nose sharply; if the horse continued to kick the wall, there was a chance he could hurt himself. Alex slid a lead chain through the rings on his halter; it clinked over his nose, and he blew out a breath, eyes wide. She unlatched the divider to his stall and braced herself for the burst of energy from him; sure enough, he ran right into the chain, then, startled by its pressure, jerked back; Alex laid a hand on his neck to soothe him. She led him towards the ramp, and his aluminium-shod hooves skittered onto it, rattling on the floor of the trailer; he jogged in place as she led him down the ramp, then he stopped suddenly and rose up slightly. Pulling him back down again, Alex ignored his antics, leading him to his stall. He went up once more when his hooves touched the concrete with a sharp clopping sound, but eventually calmed down enough that Alex could get him into his stall, where he began to pace around, whinnying frantically and causing other horses around him to get slightly riled up. Alex watched him wearily; he was causing a scene. She didn't know what she'd expected.

Turning back to the truck, she waited for the others to get their horses; then they would probably head for the hotel, though Alex was reluctant to. She knew that they all needed to drop off their stuff and get organized, but she wanted to stick around the show grounds with her horses, walking each of them around - especially Sesto - until they were no longer nervous at all.

[uncanny valley]

ｌａｕｒｅｌ ⊱⊱ the equitation star

Laurel, too, hopped out of the van; she sucked in a deep breath. The air was humid, and it felt heavy around her in comparison to the frigid air up north in Pennsylvania. Looking to her right, Laurel spotted a groom walking two gorgeous horses, a dapple grey and a bay, their tails braided and bandaged and their coats gleaming brightly. When she looked to her left, she saw a young girl grazing a delicate little pony hunter beneath a copse of palm trees. Everywhere she looked, there was bustle and activity, people zooming from ring to ring in golf carts, riders - all of them neatly dressed in polo shirts - walking around on the asphalt roads. Laurel's mouth twitched up into a smile; they were back at WEF, and this time, she was the queen.
Laurel went over to the ramp of the trailer, passing by the bed of Phil's truck, in which was the black, 6-seater golf cart - Phil's most useful possession, in her mind. The ramp was already lowered, and as Laurel passed, Alex was leading Astro down off the ramp. Several of the jumper rider's other horses were already peering over the sides of the stalls and watching them as the grey mare pranced elegantly down the ramp and onto the concrete, then into her stall. Laurel jogged up the ramp; once inside the truck, she went over to one corner, where her gorgeous palomino was awaiting her; Chance's unique coloring was a vital asset for him in the ring, where he was attention grabbing but not ostentatiously so like a loud appaloosa or even Addy, the paint. Palomino was cool, easy to look good with in the ring as it caught the judges' eyes and held them.
Slipping on Chance's lead shank over his nose, Laurel unlatched the chestbar in front of her horse; then, seeing Alex re-board the trailer, she hung back, knowing that Sesto was the only horse the jumper rider still had to grab, and that he would be her target now. Sure enough, she put the chain over the dapple grey's nose, and Sesto snorted; as she led him off the ramp, she had a little bit of trouble with the horse, but remained firm with him and eventually he calmed down enough to get to his stall.
Shaking her head slowly at Chance's antics and wondering how Cody would behave, Laurel led Chance forward, and the palomino gelding dismounted the trailer like a pro, looking around curiously at their surroundings. Putting Chance in his stall, Laurel went back for the others, grabbing Addy, Brighton, and finally returning for Cody, who looked confused and was jittery. Laurel gently took Cody's halter and clipped the leadchain to it; she led Cody down the ramp, and he flinched away from the hollowness of his hooves striking the rubber mat. When they touched the concrete, he calm down slightly, only to pick his head up again and shy away from a corgi that came running past on stubby legs; he then twitched his ears towards a golf cart that whizzed past them, and let out a shrill whinny - probably in response to Sesto's calls. Cody jigged sideways as Laurel led him to his stall, embarrassed; it was normal for jumpers to exhibit this kind of behaviour, as it was the way they were often expected to go around in the ring, but for an eq horse it wasn't the norm. Of course, Cody had been rescued, but none of these passersby knew that, and Laurel suspected that Phil was regretting allowing her to bring her frisky Thoroughbred to WEF. Once Cody was in his stall, he began pacing as well; Laurel glanced back at the trailer, waiting for the others so that the whole group could decide what to do now.

[~stories untold.]

Bella~The hunter Star
Bella looked around, her eyes sparkling as the truck came to a stop at the WEF showgrounds. letting a soft sigh escape her lips, the teen shut her mac laptop she was doing some history essay on and leaped up to her feet, happy she had an excuse to stop righting about slavery. She stretched her legs as she jumped off the step off the truck and moved beside the trailer, waiting until Alex and laurel got their horses to step in and check on hers. As she waited, her eyes wandered to all those people throughout the area. Smiling, she waved at some little girl with two braids and ribbons in her hair standing beside a small gray pony, whose face seemed to light up at the sight of her and sent a giddy wave back to Bella.

She watched as the last of laurel's horses were unloaded and Bella took her turn to step inside to say hi to her babies. "Hi, cutie," She whispered with a wide grin, tickling Elvis's nose, watching his lips curl into a 'smile' before lipping her hair. He put his nose closer to her, but not in a pushy manor; it was his way of affection, and Bella had learned to appreciate it. She grabbed the gelding and put the chain on his nose and doing the same to Deco. The two always went out together to keep Elvis from, well, being Elvis on a showground. Also, Art served as an example horse and the hunter could only hope Elvis wouldn't ruin the image. She took the two out of the trailer a groom offering to take one of them, but Bella shook her head. Elvis let out a long snort, eyes big and ears pointed. He bobbed his head, but stopped after a few moments as Deco walked quietly.

The hunter looked up with hand holding each horse, just following Laurel who was ahead of her, taking in the showgrounds just as all the horses were, with eagerness but caution. Once done, she returned back to grab Tabby. The second she had the mare, she knew her hands would full for her first competition as the mare nearly took off, but carefully, Bella was able to manage her at a walk. She extended her legs as she walked almost dancing. "You're not Zenyatta, Tabs," Bella said quietly to the mare, reaching up and using one hand to give the mare's chocolate muscular neck a pat.It took her a few circlings in front of the barn for the mare to even be suitable to go into a stall. Just as Bella returned Blur's head peeked out and the mare followed the teen with her eyes up to the front of her. Bella clipped a cotton lead on and moved the divider, allowing the horse to step out. But once she was in front of the ramp, the mare refused to move. After multiple hard snaps of the lead, the horse took a few reluctant steps before halting again. With a sigh, Bella clicked her tongue, bringing the end of the lead to give the mare a painless whack as a reminder. Getting frustrated, the mare kicked out in the trailer and jogged in place two bounces and Bella gave another whack, snapping the lead, and finally the mare unsmoothly unloaded with her ears pinned the entire time. At this point, Bella was hoping Blur wasn't disrupting the other horses. She let out an unsatisfied snort, but moved along at a sluggish walk into the barn. She knew she'd have to bring her stuff to the hotel, but what she did know was she'd be giving Elvis a walk around and tabby was going to be the first horse put to work.
(sorry on mobile)

[DappleSpring]

♛ Phil . Wilson ♛

➳ the trainer | arriving at WEP | tags: everyone

Phil opened his driver's door to his truck, and stepped out onto the Winter Equestrian Festival show grounds. He wore his classic tennis cap with "Virtuoso Farms" emblazoned on the front of it in a striking gold color. Grabbing his phone and tucking it safely in his pocket, he slammed the door shut behind him and looked around. He had parked near the barn that he had rented out for his riders. It was his normal thing to do, and it always seemed to help the horses' nerves, especially at the beginning of the show season. Phil immediately spotted his three stars, Alex, Laurel, and Bella, beginning to unload their horses. He nodded to himself in approval, his narrowed eyes appraising the area for the other three riders that should've been amongst them, but didn't immediately see them. Tsking, his long legs munched up the distance to the stalls in only a few strides. Carefully inspecting each horse in their individual stalls, he made sure that his riders had put down the shavings for them. There were certain things that Phil expected every rider to do, things that he felt the grooms shouldn't have to. Some of those things were loading and unloading their own rides, and the other was putting down shavings. The grooms were paid to clean, but it was an easy enough task to place the clean shavings in when his riders arrived.

Other horses from inferior stables could be heard whinnying loudly in the barns surrounding Phil's. He snorted at the thought of having competition. He wasn't worried, his farm was known for being one of the best, if not the best. However, he would be sure to be extra strict on his riders for the remainder that they were here. There would be no slacking. Julio, one of the grooms that had accompanied Phil and the riders, spotted him and jogged toward Phil. "Here's your clipboard. The horses will be getting watered and fed as soon as they settle in," Julio stated. Phil grabbed the clipboard with the show information on it, and nodded his thanks. He looked around before answering the groom, "Good. Give the horses more time before you feed. I'm going to take everyone to the hotel to get checked in and drop all their crap off, and then we'll be back here to school." The groom nodded in compliance, and scurried off to make sure everything was running smoothly. Phil walked back down the aisle toward the trailer to wait on his riders to finish up.

[astro!]

Ａｌｅｘ Ｓｌａｄｅ
the jumper prodigy ✧ arriving in Florida ✦ tags: everyone
{ "There is a fine line between insanity and genius; I have erased this line." }

Finally leaving her horses in their stalls, where they were well bedded down, Alex walked over to Phil, who she saw standing by the trailer just outside the stabling tent. Walking down the aisle, Alex heard the muffled whinnies of other horses; as she left it, she spotted a gleaming pair walking past their stabling row, led by a pair of grooms, lunge lines attached to their leather halters. Smiling slightly, Alex walked up to her trainer.

"My horses are all settled in," she said; then she corrected herself, "well, except for Sesto, who's being an idiot." She looked up at Phil. "Are we going to school them first, or head to the hotel?" It was WEF, after all; the rings were bound to be crowded, and it might be a better idea to wait until the early hours of the morning to take the horses out and stretch their legs a bit, get them accustomed to the show grounds. However, Phil might want his riders out and on their horses now to get them prepared for the hectic nature of the show. After Virtuoso's peaceful serenity, the bustle of WEF was probably bound to be overwhelming for them. Alex also sort of wanted to ride a bit -- mostly to ride Willing, who she could see when she glanced back at the tent aisle, his brown eyes gazing out of the stall and fixated on her. She smiled fleetingly before turning back to her trainer.

{{ sorry so short -- also, sailboat is on her way home right now, she was late driving home from vacation. so she can't post at the moment, but she'll be online soon c: }}

[cheerfierce]

(Anyone know why lion keeps showing up as noodle?!?)
Dylan~Casual
Dylan hopped out of the trailer the fastest he humanly could. Him and oversleeping seemed to already be a common routine for WEF and he knew to shake that as son as possible. Dylan ran out of the truck and speedily made his way to where his horses were. He wanted to get V out first, the mare needing to stretch her legs at least a little bit. He carefully unloaded the mare with a set of vocals he used in teh ring to symbolize the smaller jumps, and smiled as the mare walked alongside him, and he swore he saw an older horse lover drool as the Rhineland walked by, strides long and graceful. he let the mare inside of her stall, returning to get Lion and Sunny, looking to pick up the pace of his unloading by taking two at once. Lion pushed his way into Dylan who simply pulled the horse's body away in order to make a quick solution. He'd correct the flaw later. he watched the two geldings enter the show barn, moving. quietly into their stalls, although Lion let out his loud neigh as a sign of his presence. Then there was still Sharpie and Phoenix left. although Lion let out his loud neigh as a sign of his presence. Then there was still Sharpie and Phoenix left. Dylan sighed rather softly as he moved back into the trailer to fetch Phoenix. The mare went down the rail quietly and for that Dylan was thankful as he made it to the barn, pushing her stall door open and watching the fancy mare move inside. Finally, Dylan put on his gloves in case of the lead burning his hand at a tug from the lead for his last mare, Sharpie. The horse gave an unfriendly nip to his gloved hand, to which he swatted her away. Finally after some fussing and kicking, the mare was in her stall. Once there, he grabbed the bag of bedding, making sure none of the horses needed anymore.

[uncanny valley]

[[ I'm back guys! I'll post in a bit here c: @DappleSpring, you can just make Phil decide to answer Alex's question however you want c; and @cheerfierce -- huh? noodle? ]]

[Rated R]

[hey guys- sorry I haven't posted yet. I've been away from a computer for around two weeks. I'll read everything I missed and jump in sometime today <3 ]

[Rated R]

♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘

NAME; Soren Alchezo
AGE; Sixteen
GENDER; Male
ROLE; Wild Rider
DISCIPLINE; Hunters
DOING; Mad Rush to WEF
HORSES; Manchester, Diplomat,
Photo Op, and Lingo

♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘♞♘

"Shoot!" exclaimed Soren sleepily as he woke up in his bed with a slightly hungover taste at the back of his throat from his serious partying last night. His eyes glanced at the clock and read 5:30 blinking straight at him. He'd overslept and now Phil was going to single handedly murder him. No big deal, if Soren can get to the barn as soon as possible, then he may be able to outwit his trainer by getting to WEF before the others. Soren's mind was hazy and blurred, and he couldn't even remember what happened last night, but he was going to try and execute this plan as swiftly as possible.

After getting ready, Soren dashed out of the house with an apple in his mouth for breakfast. He jumped onto his motorcycle and revved out of the house without his helmet. He didn't have time to put it on, and he knew that Phil scolded him when he did that, but Soren didn't care. It was clearly more important to get to the stables quickly.

Soren reached the stables, parked his bike, and ran into the stables at exactly 6:11 am. It was still and quiet, just the stablehands walking around and working with the horses who hadn't been taken to WEF. "Ahh, crap," grumbled Soren as he jogged into the stables with two lead ropes in his hands. Just get the horses into the spare trailer and get out, thought Soren.

He wasn't planning on taking Manchester, as the reliable fellow needed a good break from being ridden, and Soren patted the sweet gelding as he passed him. "You be good, okay? I'm giving you a break from this weekend," he said lovingly as he hurried on. His youngest horse, his baby, Lingo was in the stall next to Manchester, as the two got along really well. He'd leave Lingo behind too, because Sore didn't feel that Lingo was confident enough to be shown at WEF just yet. The eight year old was so hyper and still so foal-like in his behavior that he'd be overexcited and overstimulated at the show. "You're stickin' with Manchester, Ling," said Soren smiling and rubbing the chestnut's forehead. "Don't cause trouble."

Diplomat and Photo Op were coming with Soren to WEF. Diplomat was showy and confident, and Soren just loved every quality she had. It was as if the dapple grey mare knew that she was in the limelight, and the way Dip carried herself in the ring caused bystanders to ask Soren if she was for sale. Every time, Soren smiled and said no. As for Photo Op, the shy horse needed some show experience, and was showing signs of trusting Soren more now, so he felt that the horse needed the opportunity to prove to Soren that he was either show-ready or completely unprepared.

Soren swung the lead ropes around the two horses' necks and led them into the trailer. A bit of coaxing got the unsure Photo inside, and Soren quickly put in the saddles and other show gear. He closed the doors of the trailer and hopped into the front seat, driving away.

He reached the show grounds and saw that the others had just arrived as well. He parked his trailer beside theirs, and could see the other students looking at him. "Shoot, shoot, shoot," said Soren, as he hopped out of the truck and into plain sight. He hurried on to the trailer doors and unloaded both Diplomat and Photo Op at the same time, leading them towards the stables where they would be kept. Diplomat nickered loudly, as though she was announcing her presence, and Photo Op looked around at everything with a rather surprised and frightened sort of look.

[DappleSpring]

♛ Phil . Wilson ♛

➳ the trainer | waiting for riders | tags: Alex, Soren

Phil scanned the clipboard before looking back up at his star jumper. "We're going to go to the hotel first so that everyone can drop their bags off, and then we're going to come back here and hack," he stated. "We're going to school in the morning, bright and early." The last part he couldn't help but grow giddy about. He knew that none of his riders were truly early morning people, but he certainly was. He loved to set ride times as early as possible. Phil believed that in order to have a successful show day, you had to get there before anyone else. So far, the strategy had been working for his crew.

Phil's eyes zeroed in on Soren, but rather than shaking his head and lecturing--yet again--on how the young man needed to take his riding more seriously and actually wake up on time, he simply smiled. The smile did not reach his eyes, however, and there was an unspoken warning in it. "So glad that you could join us, Soren," he called out. By now, Phil had wanted everyone to be done with settling their horses in so that they could be on their way to the hotel that he had reserved for them. It was the only part of shows that Phil disliked, the hotels. He was in charge of making sure that his riders represented themselves as professionals, while still having the fun that he secretly wanted them to have. Of course, he was stringent about lights out and sleep schedules. There was no exceptions for people who miss the wake up call, and no tolerance for people who stayed up past Phil's curfew.