Travis Mitchel's Story

Both Basil and Radley were in the back of the trailer, kicking up a storm and complaining so loudly that he could hardly even hear himself think. It made the car ride seem all the much longer, and he sent up a prayer to whoever was listening once they arrived, glad that he was finally going to be able to get his stallions out of the trailer and back onto ground that didn't move beneath them. Neither horses liked being in the trailer, though Radley was a bit more tolerable since he was in it almost every other week, moving around to shows and competitions. Basil, though, hadn't been in many trailers. Technically the four year old was still in training.

The stablehands got out first, immediately going to the back of the trailer and were now probably waiting for Mickey to get his horses out. Neither allowed anyone but him to touch them, else you risked bites and kicks. Slowly he climbed out of the truck, moving around to the side of the black and red trailer to slip inside the side door. This got him into the front part of the trailer, where Basil was. Once he had the horse on a lead, the trailer door swung open and he led the dappled stallion out onto the cement. His horse was nearly prancing, all bunched up with nervous energy most likely. Quickly he pulled off the shipping wraps off his legs and then tied the stallion to the side of the trailer, going back in and repeating this whole process for Radley.

Almost fifteen minutes later, Andrew found himself walking towards the barn, studiously ignoring every other student that was now arriving. He had one horse on each side of him, and while Radley was being the gentleman he usually was, Basil was prancing with his head high and tucked against his chest, already attempting to show off for any mares nearby.

:: Basil is a four year old Thoroughbred stallion, 17 hh [x]
:: Radley is a six year old Arabian stallion, 16.1 hh [x]

Givng the gelding a final pat, I Picked up a jog heading back towards the edge of the carpark where my stuff lay unattended. Dust flew as cars and hroses of all shapes and sizes moved about in the dry conditions. Spluttering slightly, I Grabbed the box which held most of my spare and grooming equipment, And began making my way back out to the stables.

Sighing slightly at the weight of the box, I dumped it gently outside the geldings stable. Inside was a few packs of polo's. No matter what i always needed my polos. Grabbing a packet, I slipped the white mint out and popped itinto my mouth before feeding the little gelding one. Running my fingers over his neck, I rested my head against his breathing in th horsey scent i loved. I couldn't actually believe i was here, In a school i'd always dreamed off attending, And with my favourite horse

(Haha... I Dont expect everyone to get along though, Thats not what happens in life haha.. i just did that so that it adds more of a storyline)

I Paired up my Spurs and placed them in the large box too, Still sitting on the floor next to the stallions feet with a small smile. I Rarely needed to use my spurs but sometimes, expecially when it was really really hot and savvy couldnt be able to bear jumping and got lazy because he thought it would mean less work. I Placed them in and carefully got to my feet after closing the large wooden chest and locking it up with a green Padlock. I Smiled ever so slightly and patting the stallioins thick, muscular neck.

Soon enough the stallion heard hooves moving onto the yard and his head rose as he winnied to the mare loudly. He was always one to try and get the ladies.. Even those that were twice his little 14hh height. I Chuckled ever so slightly as i glanced to him before letting my eyes settle back onto the mare as she dissipeered into the stable. "Nice mare" I Commented, my thick irish accent probably not undistible to most of the students here. However it didnt stop me trying to make friends. I Rubbed the inked stars on my neck out of habbit before un-tying the stallion, leading him into his large stable and letting him go.

Aubrey glanced over to the stallion who was trying to get Iams attention. The only acknowledgement her mare gave to the stallion was to perk her ears and stare. She was used to stallions trying to get her attention. Aubrey was caught off guard by the kid who commented on Iam though, in a thick Irish accent. She was prepared for him to speak in an American accent. "Thanks," she replied in her British accent. It was probably easier for her to understand his accent than most of the Americans here. She walked over to him and stuck out her hand, "I'm Aubrey," she jerked her head back to her stall, "and that's Iam." She smiled. Handshake and an award-winning smile, just how her mother taught her, before she died. Sometimes Aubrey caught herself wondering if her mother could see her now, from wherever she was, and if she was proud of her. "What do you ride?"

"Nice to meet you too," she said with a smile. She held out her hand for his stally to sniff, and answered his question. "I used to jump, but then everyone encouraged me to try something else out once I grew taller, so now I do endurance riding." She didn't want to brag about her standings, so she left it at that. "Is it your first year here?" She asked. Another student was passing by when their stallion spooked slightly, and Aubrey let out a giggle, not to be mean, but to show she didn't mind. "I guess all of the horses are on edge from the trip," she smiled at the girl. "What's his name?" she asked her, trying to be as friendly as possible to everyone around. She wanted to make friends, she was never particularly good at that back home. After all, this was a new start and she would be with these kids for a few years, so there was no sense in making enemies on the first day.

Aubrey noticed the boy as he slid past the small group she had gathered. She wondered why he didn't stop to introduce himself. She smiled at him, showing a small invitation to join in the conversation. Whether or not he took it was on him, but she rather hoped he would. She wanted to get to know the other students as best as she could before the competitions started and life began to revolve solely around training and competing. She wanted, for the first time, a social life, but she knew she would have to work for it. You had to be a certain kind of person to dedicate enough time to have gotten into Equus and that kind of person will always choose their horse over another human. It's a reality she knew well, as her father was that kind of person and never seemed too interested in his daughter.

The smile that came from the girl did not go unnoticed, and before he stepped back in the stall he managed to smile back with a short nod. Later he could introduce himself, if he so wished. For now he needed to get Basil out and running before he hurt himself or something else. At this point the horse really was making a lot of noise, enough for the others to notice and he didn't really want to attract attention to himself because of it. Not that he had ever minded being center of attention, but they could think that his horses were unmanageable. Though one look at Basil would show you that he was a younger stallion, and it wasn't all that strange for him to be acting like this, especially with a mare just a bit away. Andrew stepped into the stall and brushed the stallion off a bit more before tacking him up.

It was quite annoying how the other boy seemed to judge him right away. But who didn't? Everyone immediately saw him as stuck up and rude, but did he ever do anything to them? How did they even know? Was it the tattoo's, or perhaps it was the gauges. Though it was something that followed him everywhere, no matter what people just automatically assumed he was mean and spoiled. So, well he acted that way. Their fault for trying to judge him before he even spoke a word to them.

He spoke softly to Basil while tacking the young horse, sliding the reins from over his head and opening the stall door. There was enough room for him to get the horse out without any chance of hitting anyone. Maneuvering the horse out was easy enough, and the clip-clop of horse shoes was heard again as he led the jumpy horse outside.

Aubrey took the smile and nod for what they were worth. She couldn't help but stare, noticing his gauges and tattoos, she was always rather attracted to the rocker guys. Not that they were always good for her... she refocused her attention on the other two. "Thanks, and yeah, nice to meet you Gabby, I'm Aubrey." She didn't shake the girls hand, she normally didn't with girls, but instead offered a small wave. "Hey, do either of you know what time dinner is?" she asked, off hand, as she took the few steps back to her mares stall and picked up the packet the receptionist had handed her.

She took out the welcome packet and browsed through it as she rejoined the others. She wondered what life was going to be like here at Equus.. She'd never been to a normal high school, but she wondered if it was going to be like what she saw on TV or in movies, only college edition. Would they be sitting in cliques, even with the small number of students here? Or would there be one massive table for all of them? She looked up at the others. "Do you guys want to go explore the grounds?" She glanced at Gabbys horse, Soldier, and added quickly, "Once you're finished I mean?"

"haha it's alright I'm terrible with them too, and you are?" I asked the boy with the tatoo. "I wouldn't mind exploring once I put this silly boy in his stable quickly" I said leading him into the stable not far from the group of people and unclipped his leadrope before patting his neck. I quickly filled up his water bucket and took off his thick rug and put on a lighter sheet. I then patted his nose and walked back to the others. I stopped next to Aubrey and curled my hands around one another before noticing the boy who'd walked past us with a beautiful horse and I couldn't help commenting. "Beautiful horse" I said smiling gently at the boy who seemed to have earned a few glares from the others which made me frown a bit. I didn't like people who judged so quickly. "What's his name?" I asked still smiling as I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

Aubrey took a look at her phone, they still had a while until dinner. The kid who had been busy with his horses, Drew, joined the group. Aubrey waited as he introduced himself to Gaby, "Will you be joining us as well? Once you're finished up? We're gonna have a look around." She invited him along, being sociable. She wondered how many others were going to be having classes at Equus this semester, and she wondered if there were any other endurance riders. It would be a good thing, and a bad thing. For one, she would have someone who knows the sport, other than an instructor of course, to train with. At the same time, another rider at Equus would me skill equal to or greater than her own, and she was hoping to do well in competitions over here in the States. Make her father proud.. maybe then he would find time for her..

She turned to Travis, "Do you know if there are any other Endurance riders in our year?" She was just making small talk, but it would be helpful to get a feel for the school (and any possible competition).

Andrew let out a short, amused snort and Basil pulled back, pulling his head in towards his chest and making an attempt to show off. "I wouldn't say that, he's already got a big enough ego." In retrospect, Drew hadn't really joined the group. He was at least two yards away and about to exit the stables, but the red-head from earlier appeared to think differently. Though he supposed he didn't mind, so long as he didn't have to sit and chat for long. The stallion beside him was antsy, it was quite noticeable in the way he was bouncing around, and he really needed taken for a run. For now he could be patient, keep the horse under control for as long as he could, and attempt to be social. Sure, he didn't have to be friendly with these people. But at the same time, he didn't need to make them hate him on the first day. He could save that for later.

Back to the blonde though, then he'd address the red-heads invitation. "It's very nice to meet you Gabrielle," he might have had multiple nicknames of his own, but he had always preferred using ones full name. "Perhaps one day we can go on a ride together, I'd love to see that big boy in action." It was true that he had quite the soft spot in his heart for larger horses, which was actually pretty obvious when you looked at his two boys. Though Radley was only 16hh, you couldn't expect much height from an Arabian. Basil was a good 17 hands though.

His attention shifted back to the other girl and he shook his head slowly after a moment of thought. "I think not, have to take care of these two boys." He felt the corners of his lip pull up in a smile, much to his dismay. He was raised a gentleman- even though he didn't act like one much, and he certainly didn't look like one-, which could be a good or a bad thing.

*HEEEELLOOO*