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[HOLLAND CONNER MARQUETTE]

Saturday, Two O'clock sharp. That's when her horses were supposed to be arriving. Holland had been here for a week already, but it was quite the ordeal, shipping two horses from Massachusetts to Montana. So while she was settled in, they were just arriving. She sat in the barn in jeans, worn paddock boots, and a grey t-shirt, tapping her foot and glancing every few seconds at her Michael Kors watch. (A going-away gift from her parents...as if it was supposed to help.)

At two-thirty, she finally heard the crunch of gravel and jumped up, smiling for the first time in a while when she saw two tails hanging out of the trailer- a long black one, and a stubby little white one--that was, of course, covered in sawdust. She didn't have the classiest pony, but he sure was the cutest.

Anxious, she waited while a couple of the stablehands pulled the horse and pony off the trailer. Immediately, she grabbed for the pony's lead rope and threw her arms around his neck. In surprise, he tossed his head in the air, but she didn't let go. "Baby!" she said excitedly, kissing his neck before stepping back. The pony responded with nothing but a stomp and a snort. The usual.

The scruffy pony paled in comparison to the handsome beast he stood next to. Piccolo was unfazed by his new surroundings. He simply looked around, staying close to his pony companion. Holland greeted him with a kiss on the nose. Nothing compared to her hug for Nick. She loved Piccolo, but she wasn't nearly as close to him as she was her pony, even though she was supposed to be moving on to horses. She was never good at letting go.

A stablehand took Piccolo, the large bay gelding, to walk him around before putting him in his new stall, and Holland took the little white pony. She led him to the front yard outside of the barn and let him graze. Holland draped her arms over the pony's back and laid against him, soaking in the warm sun and heat from her best friend's body. She felt much more settled now.

[WISH AVA DEVON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 366x; height: 190px; padding: 10px; background-color: #dcd4c7; border: #eae4d8 10px solid;] hold me and feel my heart beat Wish's arms swung loosely at her side, the dull ache in her hands ignored. Her blonde locks were piled up in a messy bun on the top of her head and her features were dusted with pale make up. She wore a tank top and a loose shirt over top with her black breeches, her paddock boots covering her smaller than average feet (They kind of creeped her out how small they were. She still wore child size shoes for crying out loud!). Her lithe form walked at a leisurely pace, her feet hitting the ground with a gentle thump each step. Wish was happy. She often was. Brook Haven Ranch helped with that. Wish had been at the ranch for about a week, maybe a little more, and was settling in quickly. She hadn't taught any lessons just yet, she had been given time to settle her horses, and her Chow Chow Tiptop. The cream canine was currently in her room, sleeping the day away. He loved to sleep. It had mostly gone very well, except for some hiccups with King, her Friesian gelding. He wasn't great with change, but they were getting there. As Wish drew closer to the barn, she saw a trailer sitting outside. Her expression turned to one of curiosity, wanting to know who the new arrivals were. If they were English trained mounts, there would be no doubt she'd be teaching their rider. She smiled as she watched a girl rushing toward the two horses she could now see. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the scruffy Welsh, chuckling softly at the disinterested greeting the girl got. His companion was a lot more impressive, Wish couldn't help but admire the form on the handsome gelding. His disinterest with everything showed that he was probably a sound horse to ride. Walking closer to the barn, she smiled warmly at the girl as she passed. "He's a cutie." She complimented her on the Welsh as she passed, heading into the barn to check on her three. As she got to the stalls, her eyes lit up again. Affy was the first to greet her, the Morgan stallion nickering and snorting as she drew closer. His black pelt was currently littered with shavings, making Wish chuckle as she patted his neck. "Hello handsome. I think you try to get under the bedding, not lie on top of it." she laughed, kissing his outstretched muzzle. Next to realise she was there was King. The friesian tossed his large dome and snorted, demanding that she come near so he could search for treats. She did approach, and looked sympathetic when he found none. "Maybe next time, I need to buy more baby." King, now losing interest in his mistress, retreated into his stall and started ripping at his hay net. As the impressive beast backed away, Whistle was able to catch sight of Wish. The bubbly mare danced to the front of her stall and began to whinny her greetings and happiness. Wish laughed, going to the not so pretty mare and kissed her muzzle like she had Affy's. Whistle soon caught sight of the new new arrivals, nickering and calling her greetings. King blatantly ignored them, and Affy took the more gentlemanly approach with just one snort and his ears perked forward. "Sorry," she apologised to the girl. "Their nosy." She explained, gesturing to Affy and Whistle. The pair were still watching the new horses with interest. WORDS: 560 . TAGGED: HOLLAND . OUTFIT: CLICK

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[HOLLAND CONNER MARQUETTE]

_{HOLLAND MARQUETTE}

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I am me, the universe, and you.
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As Holland hugged her pony, a woman passed by and complimented him. It was all she could do to pull herself away from the grey scruff of his mane and smile at her, muttering a shy "Thank you." She did a quick once-over of the person who had spoken to her. She looked older, probably a trainer. She was small and pretty, and she looked really nice. One of the few people here that Holland didn't (yet) feel intimidated by.

She let Nick graze for a few minutes, bothering him as she checked his legs, stretching them and making sure he wasn't sore or injured from his long trailer ride. He was her precious baby, and she couldn't have him getting hurt.

Once she decided the fat pony had enough to eat and was comfortable in his surroundings, she tugged on his halter, having to haul her entire body weight against the lead rope to get him to raise his head and follow her. She walked him into the barn where a few other horses poked their heads out, interested in the newcomer. Holland cross-tied the pony, intending to give him a good brushing. She kissed him on the nose and then walked towards the tack room. As she passed, she saw the woman again with the other horses.

"They're beautiful," Said Holland, walking over to where a big friesian hung his head over his door. She put her hand on his nose, petting him timidly. "Are they yours?"

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NOTES! --
TEMPLATE CREDIT! Arro @ Caution 2.0

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[WISH AVA DEVON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 366x; height: 190px; padding: 10px; background-color: #dcd4c7; border: #eae4d8 10px solid;] hold me and feel my heart beat Now that Affy and Whistle had calmed down, though her mare was still watching the welsh with interest, Wish let herself into Affy's stall and let him out. The stallion, who had such a docile temperament that Wish just looped his lead rope through the hoop outside the stall to groom him. He didn't do so well in cross ties, they frightened him a little and made the once abused equine feel intimidated. With a little more freedom, he was a lot more relaxed. Wish then began the painstaking task of picking out each individual sawdust shaving from his pelt, mane and tail. The morgan really had a knack for making a mess. Wish smiled warmly at the youngster as she came over, and watched as King actually bothered to greet her. Wish rose a brow at the usually anti-social gelding, and chuckled as he snorted as if to dismiss her amusement. She then laughed softly as he pressed closer to the girl at her timid pat, pleading for more attention. "Thank you." She smiled gratefully at the girl's praise, still picking the sawdust out of Affy's mane. "Yes, the three of them are. This is Affy, that one you're petting is King and the mare is Whistle." She introduced eagerly, happy to have attention on her horses. She was proud of the three, very much so. "I'm Wish, or Miss D if you end up being my student. I'm the English Instructor." She smiled at the girl. Wish often preferred to be called by her first name. Though she was a teacher, she liked to think of herself as more of a coach. And you could be on first name basis with a coach. The young femme didn't like the use of Miss D, but she didn't know the rules of names in the Ranch. She'd really have to find out about that. "So, are you and your pair going to be my new students?" She asked hopefully, wanting to meet one of her prospective students. She wanted to get to know them quite well as she wanted to be able to teach them in ways that helped them, not just a majority. She knew she'd also be offering one on one lessons, if needed. WORDS: 376 . TAGGED: HOLLAND . OUTFIT: CLICK

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[HOLLAND CONNER MARQUETTE]

_{HOLLAND MARQUETTE}

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I am me, the universe, and you.
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She laughed softly as the large dark horse leaned into her hand, craving more attention. She rubbed between his eyes, then gave him a hearty pat on the neck. She wasn't used to breeds like this, growing up with strictly fancy welsh ponies and warmbloods. But the Friesian was beautiful, she couldn't help but wonder what he was like to ride.

Holland gave the horse a final pat on the neck, then grabbed a curry comb from a grooming box on the wall and moved back to her grey pony. She began to brush him as he leaned his head against the cross-ties, dozing off as he always did when he was curried.

She listened politely to the woman, hearing that her assumption that she was on staff was correct. So, she was her new trainer. She'd be calling her Miss D, then. Which was somewhat of a disappointment, because Wish struck her as such a pretty name. "I'm Holland." She replied, somewhat timidly.

So, are you and your pair going to be my new students?

"Not this one," Holland responded. "He's just here as a pet." She glanced up at the stall next to them, where her large bay horse hung his head over the door calmly. She gestured with her head at the handsome gelding. "Piccolo's who I'll be having my lessons on." She switched her curry comb for a dandy brush. "I wish I could keep competing on Nick, but we're both getting a little too old for pony classes." She laughed softly. Clearly, the girl favored the pony. While Piccolo was always a perfect gentleman, she was a bit intimidated by his size. Not to mention he was clearly gorgeous, and obviously had a huge price tag. It didn't seem fair to her that her parents had shoveled out so much money for a perfect horse. Not everyone had that luxury, and she felt silly parading hers around.
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NOTES! --
TEMPLATE CREDIT! Arro @ Caution 2.0

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[WISH AVA DEVON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 366x; height: 190px; padding: 10px; background-color: #dcd4c7; border: #eae4d8 10px solid;] hold me and feel my heart beat She watched as the girl walked over to start pampering her pony, smiling slightly. "It's wonderful to meet you, Holland." She enthused genuinely, wanting to assure the girl, who came across as quite shy, that she was very welcome in Wish's presence. Wish liked to meet people, she was friendly and welcoming. She always had been, even after the things she hated to think of, that she refused to acknowledge. Picking out the sawdust, she chuckled as Affy shook himself out, as if he were trying to help her with her task. Sadly, it seemed to make things worse. Amazingly, the sawdust seemed to cling more desperately to his locks. Wish listened as the girl regretfully informed her that she would not be learning on the welsh. Wish looked at her sympathetically, and followed her gesture to the warmblood she called Piccolo. "He's very handsome." Wish complimented, but it was obvious that the Welsh was the girl's favourite. She learned that his name was nick. it made her smile. "One is never too old for pony classes." Wish informed the girl with a grin. "I had a pony up until a few months ago, and we still attended pony classes. She now lives with my sister in retirement, at the grand old age of 30. She'd still gallop with the best of them if she was allowed." Wish told the girl with a smile. "But I do understand the favouritism. There are just some horses you bond with more than others. King is an example of that with me. As much as I love Affy and Whistle, there's just something about King." She cast a fond look to the friesian, who nickered back and flopped his large audits lazily. She'd have to take him out to the arena soon, get him working on the dressage routine they'd been perfecting to music. WORDS: 311 . TAGGED: HOLLAND . OUTFIT: CLICK

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