[Pandapop]

[size=85]

Range Trotters are the result of crossbreeding Orlov Trotters, Finnhorses, Welsh Cobs (section C & D) and Hanoverians. Later crosses of Quarter Horses, Paint and Appaloosas to gain color and to give a boost to their hardiness.With a height average of 13-15 hands, they're a hardy breed with characteristics for various disciplines.

Created for use as work, carriage and leisure riding horses originally, they now serve as long-distance range horses, such as work with Park Rangers and mounted officers.

Willing and eager personalities, most are quickly trained to be bombproof and therefore trusted mounts in all lines of work; some are being seen in local show jumping competitions, others are notably used in therapeutic sessions for their calm temperaments. Harness races and endurance trials are common for the breed, as they are able to sustain an extended trot without tire. Cross-Country competitions see some of the taller Trotters, but due to their cob lineage this is still uncommon.

Despite the variety of competitions and work these horses are being seen in, they are still famously skilled as endurance racers. Many competitors have chosen Range Trotters due to their tireless work ethic, as well as the ease in which they can be trained. Many have become champions in endurance trials, and they have quickly become a sought after breed for their natural ability.

Tell me a little about this Trotter.
Are they a loner? Do they prefer the company of the other spooky horses?
What's their daily routine like?

(200 word minimum)
((There's no wrong answer, I'm just looking for whatever interests me most!))

End Date: 10/18

Username: Embergleam
Show Name: RRS Petrichor
Barn Name: Kore
Gender: Mare
Height: 12.2hh
Eye Color: Dance with the Devil
Phenotype: Silver Black Pearl Caribou Death's Head Moth w/Birdcatcher Spots
Genotype: Ee aa ZZ prlprl CbCb DhDh + bc spots

- Will always pass silver [Z_], caribou [Cb_] and death's head moth [Dh_]

[Taxidea]

Username: Taxidea
Show Name: TT More Than Enough
Barn Name: Sider
Gender: Mare
Height: 14hh
Halter Color: Flame color
Prompt: Sider is one of those horses that gets along with everyone. Yet, she doesn't feel like she has any truly close friends. She has a lot of horses that she can haunt with, just none that she would single out above another as a confidante. And she's pretty okay with that, honestly. She likes walking the line between introvert and extrovert, spending just enough time with the other horses that she is well liked and generally has fun running around and scaring the pants off Camp Nightwing campers. But, when the sun comes up, she quietly slips away to a private spot where she can relax and not think about the expectations or needs of others. Does she relish that many of the other horses seem to consider her a trusted friend and will often seek her out if they need comfort or guidance? Of course, and she doesn't begrudge them or feel disingenuous fulfilling this role. And still, she sometimes wishes she had that same connection with another. She's content to keep waiting for her special spectre, and in the mean time, she will continue haunting at night and relaxing by day, enjoying the easy companionship and pleasant solitude equally.

[Pandora!]

Username: Pandora!
Show Name: OHS Decadence of Decay
Barn Name: Scarlet
Gender: Mare
Height: 13.1hh
Halter Color: flame colors
Prompt: Scarlet is awfully shy around new horses, and tends to be attached at the hip with Poltergeist who is far more outgoing than she is. Before coming to Oak Haven, most of Scarlet's time spent on Camp Nightwing was in quiet solitude, just the way she liked. Because she strayed further from the Den than most to avoid the usual commotion of the other horses, she was often spotted by camp staff as she wandered the outermost reaches of the forest. After being rounded up, she was in a bit of a shock until she quickly began to appreciate the white noise of the barn operations around her, and the constant supply of delicious hay. Poltergeist had been as wild as they come before coming to Oak Haven, but now he is much more content in looking after the Hallow Trotters that call the barn home. Poltergeist patiently showed Scarlet around, gently exploring her new and much more hospitable world together.

[Embergleam]

Username: Embergleam
Show Name: RRS Petrichor
Barn Name: Kore
Gender: Mare
Height: 12.2 hh
Halter Color: Artist's choice
Prompt:
Kore is what happens when a little ray of sunshine grows up in a horror movie.

On the island, surrounded by creatures vastly more dangerous than she is, she was little more than a ghost. Every ounce of her energy went into keeping her head down and her eyes wide open. Danger lurked in every shadow: monsters in the woods, legends in the mines, and her own personal tormentors on every side. Her herd was composed of hardened survivors, horses who had fought for everything they had and defended it with their lives. They lived or died by the law of 'might makes right'.

Kore had never been mighty, indeed loathed the very idea of it, and everyone knew.

Kore, you see, was something of an anomaly. She lacked the killer instinct that came naturally to so many of her herdmates. Violence was anathema to her, the very idea as alien as somehow swimming to the moon. What she wanted more than anything was to help. So many of her fellows turned up injured, or shell-shocked, or worse, and never really recovered from the experience. Surely there had to be a way to stop their suffering. Surely she could be the one to fix it!

But the ruthless calculus of survival wasn't in her favor. Between her small size and her unwillingness to leap to violence, Kore rapidly fell to the bottom of her herd's totem pole. She ate last, crossed paths first, and found herself shoved to the outside of the herd come nighttime. Time and time again she found herself left in the others' dust, all but forgotten when the herd departed for greener pastures.

She'd been left behind again- the second time that week- when she took her fate into her own hooves and did something hilariously reckless:

She entrusted her fate to a human.

Not blindly, of course, or at least not wholly so. The man had another island horse with him, a chestnut stallion with blue flames flickering around his neck and hooves. Both looked happy, healthy, and well-fed- a far cry from Kore herself. They moved as one unit, completely at ease in each other's company. Most telling of all, when Kore finally revealed her presence, the human's first reaction wasn't to ensure his own safety. It was to drop a soothing hand to his horse's neck and calm him. Such a small thing, that gesture of reassurance, but it spoke volumes.

A few hours and a great deal of paperwork later, Kore clattered aboard the ferry that would take her off the island and somewhere- anywhere!- else.

That 'somewhere else' turned out to be what seemed like half world away from the island. The air there was thin, the ground dry under-hoof, and the horses decidedly lacking in flames. Locals called it Raven Ridge.

Kore fell in love at first sight.

Freed from the island and its myriad fates worse than death, Kore finally had a chance to heal. Part of that process was rediscovering just who she was and, more importantly, who she wanted to be. She wasn't terribly pleased with what she found. Her years-long fight for life and limb had hardened her as it had her herdmates, carving a vast gulf between her current and ideal selves. Transforming one into the other would be the work of years, maybe even a lifetime, but... wasn't that what made it worth doing? Wasn't this what she'd fought for all along- a chance to be different without fear?

Kore is still a mare in transition, slowly chipping away at a lifetime's worth of trauma, but she's making steady progress all the same. Each day she's a little softer, a smidge kinder, a tiny bit more willing to take tiny risks and celebrate small victories. Like the first flowers of spring, she's learning to bloom in the snow, and the whole of Raven Ridge will be there to celebrate her blossoming.

[Baobabel]

Username: Baobabel
Show Name: Dance of the Flames
Barn Name: Mesmerize
Gender: Female
Height: 14.1hh
Halter Color: Flame color
Prompt:
Mesmerize would consider herself a fringe loner. Mostly solo but occasionally on the edges of society. Born to a solitary mare and abandoned young, she grew accustomed and comfortable to being alone. She prefers the quiet and doesn't like interacting with others. She always feels on edge and unsafe around others. She likes the peace of isolated locations and enjoys observing the plants and small creatures around her. Her time is spent wandering the woods responsible for herself and no one else. She enjoys her own company and feels no drive to socialize.

That being said, she inexplicably finds herself drawn to gatherings. The most irresistible being bonfires with large flames and music. The music and flame call to her soul. They serenade until she can't resist the lure to partake in their performance. She feels one with the others and the earth when joining in dance or song. The beat allows her to ignore her usual nerves and trepidations. It’s the only time she’ll interact with others of her kind. And even then, she keeps to the edges and rarely speaks a word unless it's in song.

If you want a glimpse of this elusive mare, let alone any interaction, you must carefully set the stage. A large strong bonfire fire in a dark clearing with intricate and percussive music is a must. If you're observant, you can watch her dance among trees just outside the ring of light, weaving among the shadows. If you're lucky and subtle, you may manage to twist and twirl around her but never making contact. Caught in a mesmerizing ritual until the flames extinguish.

[heyheygirl101]

Username: heyheygirl101
Show Name: LLE Taste The Fires Of Hell
Barn Name: Esmerelda
Gender: Mare
Height: 13.3 hh
Halter Color: royal purple with gold accents please <3
Prompt: Esmerelda's beauty is beyond compare, to that there is not question. Her coat shines with the slightest glimmer of light and if not for the colour of her flames she would likely be the most sought after mare on this Island, but beliefs run deep among the herds and superstitious occupants of this place, making her instead one of the most avoided. Esmerelda's flames although strikingly beautiful, are also her curse, the dark crimson speaking to her crimes committed in previous lives to which she now must serve her punishment, the only problem being she has no recollection of those lives or the crimes she has supposedly committed.

The active avoidance of her by most makes her days often quiet uneventful, other than being chased from fresh grazing patches by the blues and green flamed herds she rarely even interacts with anyone, even the forest critters and spirits seem to remain hidden from her path. In the rare occasions she has come across other red flamed horses, she has been too scared to actually make contact, as if she has done something to earn this reputation it can be assumed they have as well. The only flames Esmerelda has actually ever spoken to were those that were pink, but that is because they seem to be either the most outgoing of the lot or the most unfazed by the predicament... almost as if they chose this existence. In those such occasions, she has had the opportunity to get some additional insight into what exactly she could have possibly done to earn her fires from hell.

On one occasion while minding to herself, in the field beside the forest, as she was making wish upon wish towards the stars, she was ever so rudely interrupted by Alnitak. Even with her limited interactions with those on the Island, Esmerelda knew of this rather quirky soul, he often made little to no sense when he spoke but was said to have been a celestial being long ago; Alnitak had emerged from the forest just out of her peripherals and so when he spoke, she gave a little hop in fright. "They don't listen you know... too preoccupied with their eternal dance" There was no way this old coot of a stallion knew why she was looking up at the stars, she had not spoken a word in hours let alone her wishes out loud, everyone knows that how you ruin a wish. She looked back at him with eyes narrowed, a technique she had learned over the past few years to prevent the ceaseless bullying she often endured from the other horses, it made them think she had ill intentions. "If looks could kill.." Alnitak chuckled at her at her "but unfortunately you have met one that is meant to return to the stars" he pointed his nose up with a content smile as a line of stars seemed to brighten in return. Uugh, here we go Esmerelda could not help her eyes from rolling as the crazy began, finally she spoke wanting to return to her familiar solitude, "Why are you here star horse?" she added venom to her words trying to make his more aware of her utter contempt for his presence. "You have questions... I know answers... answers not even the Sun could tell you..." he all but whispered the bit about the sun making her eyes roll once more. Even if he did have answers to her questions, Esmerelda strongly doubted he would stay coherent long enough to provide them, "I think I'll stick to my stars thanks" her reply was curt the thanks having finality to it to ensure he knew she meant business. Alnitak began to walk back towards the forest, but insured he got the last words "All you witches are the same... thinking you know more than gods...". Esmerelda's ears perked, why would that crazy stallion call her a witch? she turned to ask him more questions but he was gone, not even a flicker of light came from the forest to tell her which direction he was headed. This struck her as rather odd considering how sparse the trees were at the edge, they only began to grow think and block out the light of their flames deeper into the forest, at least 500m but there was no way for the stallion to have travelled that far.

Esmerelda spent weeks looking for Alnitak, she felt as if she had travelled the whole of the Island at least a dozen times in search of that geezer, who, if we are being honest, did not move any faster than a lope and yet she had yet too spot him again, that is until one day she was travelling the fence that bordered the pastures of the town. There in the field was the Alnitak, seeming to have been captured by one of the humans, not an ideal situation to have to put one's self into but Esmerelda had questions that this stallion claimed to have answers for, and she would be damned if she didn't at least try to learn about her past, at the very least it would get her off this bloody Island that she never called home. "Time to go give myself up" she grumbled before heading towards the inn.

[Pandapop]

Username: Embergleam
Show Name: RRS Petrichor
Barn Name: Kore
Gender: Mare
Height: 12.2 hh
Halter Color: Artist's choice
Prompt:
-snip-

Congrats!

HM's to Baobabel and heyheygirl101!

[Embergleam]

I'm just gonna be over here squeeing myself into oblivion for the next week... Thank you so much for this stunner, Panda! Kore's my favorite of all the trotters posted this year, I'm absolutely thrilled I get to keep her!