Outdoor Adventure Time!, part 2, Tuesday, period 1
The class met at Portalocity again today. Eliot looked particularly thrilled this time around, which was a little bit odd; he was usually the calm, zen-like one in this class, not the one who looked like they were going to bounce out of their shoes.
Parker, on the other hand, looked a bit grumpy. “This is more Eliot’s thing. I’m staying at the petting zoo.” Pout.
"I promise it's still fun and exciting," Eliot said. He waved the class to follow and led them through the portal, into a large, sunny pasture. A barn stood at one end, with loads of little padlocks and pens arranged around it, filled with goats and sheep, rabbits, some piglets, a big shaggy cow, and even a llama. That'd be the petting zoo Parker was talking about. On the other end, the one Eliot was headed for, an older man was standing by the gate of a big outdoor riding ring, where several horses of various sizes and colors were tied. "This here is my friend Willie," Eliot introduced. "He trains race horses. And today, you're all gonna get to be jockeys."
“Horses aren’t as scary as I thought.” Parker’s expression was more like a mule’s. “But that isn’t saying much. I’ll be over here. Petting the crias. And feeding them stuff.” Yup. You’re not getting her any closer than that.
"Any of y'all feel the same as Parker, there's no shame. Go have fun with the goats and things." Willie smiled at the kids. "The rest of ya come on over and Eliot and I'll give you a run down on the horses. This is actually a general rescue farm, so we've got horses trained for racing, rodeo, dressage, and simple pleasure riding. Choose your poison."
"Not literally," Eliot promised, mostly talking to Parker. "Horses aren't poisonous."
“Just mean,” Parker said mutinously. “And huge. And sometimes they’ve been teased, and they’re even more mean.”
"This isn't a breeding facility," Willie said, giving her a confused look. "None of them've been teased."
"Just -- let her go pet the crias," Eliot said. "Everyone else, let's get riding!"
Parker, on the other hand, looked a bit grumpy. “This is more Eliot’s thing. I’m staying at the petting zoo.” Pout.
"I promise it's still fun and exciting," Eliot said. He waved the class to follow and led them through the portal, into a large, sunny pasture. A barn stood at one end, with loads of little padlocks and pens arranged around it, filled with goats and sheep, rabbits, some piglets, a big shaggy cow, and even a llama. That'd be the petting zoo Parker was talking about. On the other end, the one Eliot was headed for, an older man was standing by the gate of a big outdoor riding ring, where several horses of various sizes and colors were tied. "This here is my friend Willie," Eliot introduced. "He trains race horses. And today, you're all gonna get to be jockeys."
“Horses aren’t as scary as I thought.” Parker’s expression was more like a mule’s. “But that isn’t saying much. I’ll be over here. Petting the crias. And feeding them stuff.” Yup. You’re not getting her any closer than that.
"Any of y'all feel the same as Parker, there's no shame. Go have fun with the goats and things." Willie smiled at the kids. "The rest of ya come on over and Eliot and I'll give you a run down on the horses. This is actually a general rescue farm, so we've got horses trained for racing, rodeo, dressage, and simple pleasure riding. Choose your poison."
"Not literally," Eliot promised, mostly talking to Parker. "Horses aren't poisonous."
“Just mean,” Parker said mutinously. “And huge. And sometimes they’ve been teased, and they’re even more mean.”
"This isn't a breeding facility," Willie said, giving her a confused look. "None of them've been teased."
"Just -- let her go pet the crias," Eliot said. "Everyone else, let's get riding!"