Keelan O'Brien | Owner/Dressage Trainer | M: All?

The brown-haired man pats the fidgety horse next to him, the deep bay adorned in a leisure western set up namely for rides such as this. With one last look, Keelan adjusts the sage green saddle pad once more before tightening everything just enough to hold it in place. He watches as boarders and students meander around, some collecting horses for their own, slipping from his horse's stall to the aisle.

He had to admit that he had been waiting for this all week, and with the arrival of this year's showing students the day before, he got more excited. The thoughts of warm smores, the crackle of a cozy fire, and the chance to sleep under the stars with his horse were quite enticing indeed. His eyes flick to the time on his phone before getting distracted by the picture behind it. The lock screen was of the pair's first high-level show. They had traveled to London, and although they got nowhere near placing, the experience and journey that went with it were well enough for him. Not to mention Grumps had enjoyed, for once, the atmosphere of the ring.

Keelan snaps his attention back to the entrance of the barn. Everybody should be arriving soon. He checks the stack of supplies by the door once more before striding to tack up the barn's pack mule. He greets the fiery red mule, whose ears flick forward then back again as she is haltered and led from her stall. Everything was almost ready, and the excitement for the trip was clear.

Alila shed a happy sigh as she finished tightening Sig's girth. She had picked her lightweight all-purpose english saddle for the trip, because she thought it would be the comfiest for her and Sig.

Ali was excited about the trip, it was a chance to get to know all the other students a little more, as well as their horses! She hoped her horse would be OK, although Sig normally loved this kind of thing. The two shared a love for the great outdoors, and often went off together down windy paths and secret tracks in the woods, enjoying the peacefullness.

She grabbed a backpack, and shoved some marshmallows in it, along with some other snacks and some treats and food for Sig. Ali adjusted her deep maroon saddle pad a little, fidgeting with the velcro straps. Once she had made sure Sig's bridle and girth were all secure, she smoothed down her maroon shirt and lead Sig up to the rest of the eagerly waiting riders and horses, catching Asters eye and giving him a small wave.

Callum Santiago | SJ Instructor | Ty | M: Keelan briefly

Callum walked into the barn and waved slightly at Keelan with a friendly smile. He was kinda bummed to have to leave Ty behind, but she wasn't old enough to be ridden yet. He patted her gently on the head as he walked past. "I'm sorry, mare." He murmed to Ty. "We'll spend some time together when I get back." Callum continued walking looking for a stall plate with the name SHM Sondosia on it. He had been assigned Bean to take on the ride. He located the stall after a minute and took in the dark gelding. Bean was maybe 15.2 and looked kind enough. Callum had ridden plenty of different horses, he wasnt worried about not being able to manage Sondosia. Callum left the gelding to grab his tack. Callum noticed both an English and a Western tack option. He opted for the English option due to that fact Callum had only ridden western twice. He was happy to see a simple loose ring but on Bean's bridle, and grabbed the saddle of the rack. Callum quickly pulled Sondosia into the crossties and got to work tacking up and getting aquatinted the the dark bay horse.

Ajay Sharma | Rider | Kodi | M: None

Ajay was buzzing with excitement, at her old stable there were very few trails and the manager was always reluctant to let the trails be used, but both her and Kodi loved trail riding. Ajay was also a bit interested to meet the other riders. She had always had a hard time fitting in at school, being both introverted and obsessed with horses. She had already brushed Kodi and was fitting him in his green saddle pad. She put some SMB boots for the trail and slipped his bridle of Kodi's ears.

Keelan O'Brien | Owner/Dressage Trainer | M: All

He tightens the last rope on the pack, securing the cooler of food and the two decent tents to the mule's back. He had, of course, prepared some extra blankets, spare halters and leads, first aid, and other probably important items such as a hatchet and fire starting materials. He collects Grumps, leading the pair outside to the hitching post beside the entrance. "Here we are Poko. Be a patient girl and wait here." His fingers work nimbly to clip the lead to a ring at the back of the saddle, added by his grandfather to easily pull bales and logs when he needed to.

After final check of the pair, of which seemed very western despite the warmblood builds, Keelan makes his way into the barn to check the progress of those joining and to make sure the barn would still be standing when he came back. He waved a hello to Callum before standing where everybody could see him, conveniently on a tack box, "Hello everyone. Ten minutes left to get ready, then we meet outside. Enjoy this, because once we get back, it's hard work for next week. Staghaven is hosting some nearby barns for a friendly competition, and a chance to win some ribbons. If things go well, then I can confirm that a suprise is in store, but thats another topic. That's all. Don't forget helmets." He chuckles and hops down from his perch, talking with a few boarders who had been left in charge before once more returning to his awaiting mount outside.