(Untitled)

[always_thewoman]

Who: Irene and her pupils (open)
What: SELF-ESTEEM CRUSH ie. riding lessons.
Where: Horse ring.
When: 9 a.m. sharp
Warnings: Possibility of injury and/or humiliation
Notes: If anyone wants to hang on the fence and lol, taunt, watch in horror, that's cool too!

Comments

Is it okay if he got a big pissy monster of a horse? XD

[always_thewoman]

She nodded curly at the boy. "Sexby, I take it?" She glanced at his horse's gear. He'd done well; most of the campers managed to get the harnesses tangled or twisted, placed the bit wrong, or got the straps confused. She ran a finger under the horse's girth, then looked at the placement of his feet. "Your girth is too loose, and your stirrups need to be tightened a notch. Perhaps two."

Efficiently, Irene took care of the adjustments, then stepped back. "All right. Are you ready to begin?"

I got this icon especially for this moment.

[always_thewoman]

"All right then, Ed. Heels down, elbows up," she reminded mildly, then with a quick swish of her crop whacked the horse on the rump. "Hiyah!"

And the horse shot off like a rocket around the ring.

[bob_fraser_snr]

[At exactly two o'clock, Robert turns up. As he encounters the horse, he introduces himself. Not in a 'hello, how are you?' but quietly stepping toward the horse, getting to know her. And at the 'saddle up' command, he obeys easily, looking as if he belong there.]

Ack sorry I totally missed this tag >_< doh.

[always_thewoman]

Irene watches as her charges mount up, correcting those who need it. The little plaid-sporting dude seems like he's doing all right, although she tugs on his stirrups and runs a finger under his saddle pad just to be sure. Nodding curtly, she steps back out of the path.

"All walk," she commands. She follows it with a little clicking sound of encouragement that gets those horses whose riders didn't know to squeeze with their heels going.

[bob_fraser_snr]

Robert eases the horse out, keeping it out of the way of the other horses. He's very tempted to just take off, but he stilled himself, though the horse might be going a tiny bit faster than she should.

[always_thewoman]

Irene is silent for a minute, watching to see how the kids handle their horses. Some seem to be doing better than others, as always; there're a few who look terrified, half on the verge of falling off even though their mounts are placid and walking along at a sedate pace. She calls out brisk instructions to a couple of riders, then notices Bob.

"Shorter reign, Mr. Fraser. Give her a little leg."

As with many instructors, Irene had a habit of spouting terminology and expecting it to be understood, mindless of the fact that half the time campers had no idea what she was asking them to do.

Prefect was going to come, but he's more of a noon and onwards cowboy. So no cracked sculls today!

[buywithme]

There's a snake in my boot!

[the_ironman]

Why do I feel like a foot fetishist just propositioned me?

[buywithme]

Somebody poisoned the water hole! ...It's a cowboy fetish :|

[madrassa]

[alzarian_youth]

Adric had shown up, enthusiastically eager to ride a horse. He'd never ridden before, of course. In fact, he'd never even seen one. Therefore, when he was told to saddle up, he asked, "Uh...can you show me?" Then, not wanting to seem completely clueless, he added, "I just need you to refresh my memory. It's been a while since I've ridden a horse."

[always_thewoman]

Oh, dear. It was the enthusiastic one. Irene nodded curtly, then moved to take the reins from the boy. Positioning a mounting block beside the horse, she said, "Step up here, left foot goes in the stirrup, right swings over and around - gently," she reminded.

[alzarian_youth]

"Right! Thanks!" He mounted the horse successfully, before looking to her for instructions on what to do next.

[always_thewoman]

"Both hands on the reins, low and tight - take this." Irene slipped the crop into Adric's right hand. "Proceed," she said, nodding towards the wider expanse of the ring. "Little nudge," Irene reminded, in case he'd forgotten.

[you_run_i_chase]

Parker had wanted a horse, but being in the city meant that they couldn't have one, and there wasn't enough space at the summer house to keep them either. So she had done what most girls at that age had done: read all about how to put on the tack properly, but she was finding that it was a bit more difficult than she had expected. Still, she cooed at the horse and stroked its nose

gdi, parker, you are so adorable without your issues.

[always_thewoman]

"Careful!" Irene barked. It was less and expression of concern than a remonstrance. Moving over to the mounting block, she ran a hand over the horse's neck, belatedly offering Missy a hand up.

"Your girth is on backwards," she said, already moving to swiftly correct the error, "And you've got the saddle on too far back. It needs to be right up here behind her shoulders." Briskly, she yanked the saddle pad and saddle forward until it was resting a bit before the horse's middle. "Otherwise your weight is distributed unevenly, and Sprocket here won't be happy. Let's give it another try," Irene clipped, stepping back to watch Missy take another shot at mounting her horse.

She's going to hate everything when this is over.

[you_run_i_chase]

Parker wanted the ground to swallow her up and eat her. She really, really just wanted this hard ring to somehow become liquid and shift into a perfect Missy-shaped puddle of quicksand. Squeezing her eyes shut for a minute, Parker nearly missed the hand that was offered to help her up.

There was a nod as if Missy knew what Miss Adler was talking about when she said it, and then she caught up as the error was fixed. She looked relieved that she hadn't done anything to hurt the lovely horse, and quickly Parker soothed her fingers over the horse's like-velvet muzzle. She swallowed a bit, and then she took a deep breath and tried again. She was nervous of course, given that the instructor was currently you know, right there. She got seated on the horse and took the reigns and grinned broadly. She was sitting on a horse!

Oh, man. I want to be able to give her the best pony ride ever. :c

[always_thewoman]

Missy had climbed on well enough the second time, now that the saddle was tight enough to keep her from slipping off. Irene moved forward, running her eyes over the girl. She noted her enthusiastic grin, and was half-touched, half-exasperated.

"First time on a horse?" Her posture suggested a beginner. Not waiting for a response, Irene began to crisply inform Missy of the right carriage. "Now - heels down, toes pointed out; that's very important, it'll keep you in the saddle and stop you from sending her mixed signals about what you want. Sit up straight, shoulders back," Irene touched a hand to Missy's lower back encouragingly. "Hands low, right here in the middle." She moved the girl's hands so that the reins sat gathered near the saddle pommel. "You're going to keep your eyes up and forward. All right? Now, give a little nudge."