637 words (without the timeskips)
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!" The girl shouts, running into the kitchen clutching a half crumpled newspaper in her hand. She pauses at the table, holding onto his chair, out of breath. "Auction." She gasps out, shoving the paper at him.
He takes it in his hands, smoothing it out on the tables' surface. The ad was large and took up half of the back page of the newspaper. The images shown were somewhat smudged from the printing process, but the text was readable.
He skimmed the page, and began to read out loud. "Auction: Yearlings, Geldings, Mares, Lots of Starter Horses, Trick Preformers, Out of Proven Roper/Reigner/Rodo Sires and Mares.
Brindles, Sabinos, Splash, Solids, Champagne, Dun, Grullo.
Great lines, papers, registered.
Friday, June 8th; Pick-up June 8th-10th"
"This one." The girl said, pointing to a small image of a brindled mare. "I want her."
He sighed, looking at the other images, not many others caught his attention. "Alright, we will go and look. But don't get your hopes up."
The girl shouted her happiness and hugged her father before running off outside. She knew her father couldn't say no to new stock. The next day they would be traveling over an hour for the auction.
**Timeskip**
The next morning the girl woke earlier than normal to do her chores, they had to leave soon to be at the auction early to view the other horses for sale. It wasn't long before she and her father were on the road. Being too excited to sleep, the girl stared out the window. Once they reached the outskirts of the town, many horse farms could be seen. Some larger than others, but Tolters were everywhere. She couldn't help but smile.
When they reached their destination they began touring the property, viewing a few starter yearlings and gelding stock. A couple caught attention, but most were plain. Her father marked a couple numbers on his small writing pad. The numbers on the rope tags and prices he would aim for when he bidded on them.
The pair rounded the corner towards the mares and higher quality stock. These were breeders, what they came for. Then she saw her. The mare from the picture. She recognized the mare's brindled face instantly. The girl hurried over, noticing no one else was around. Then she saw that the mare wasn't alone in her pen. There was another, younger mare with her. This was a pair sale. The two were bonded with eachother and couldn't be separated. Making this a harder sale. Both mares were friendly and loved attention, coming to be petted and scratched.
Her father came up to the pen and frowned. "A pair sale." He sighed, "That's not what I expected."
"Dad, please. Just think of the foals she would throw. She's a Grullo Brindle and a chimeric."
He sighed again, running his hand through his hair. "Your right, her foals alone are worth it." He paused. "I'll talk to the owner and see if I can make the sale now."
**Timeskip**
It turned out with using a few well known names in the tolter community that her father was able to make the sale for $30,000 and a few studdings from some of their stock as trade. Though they stayed to pick up a few other breeding stock yearlings as well. In the end, they walked away with 5 tolters. Well worth the trip they had made.
They had also gotten some history on the pair and learned that they were both trick ponies, named
Alaska and
Skylar, and that were used in the local rodeos. That is how they got so bonded with eachother, they were used in the two horse tricks and had lived together for years. Though now the pair was retired, they were great breeding stock now.