home coming; (allyson)

[anthony ryan clarke]

Anthony took a deep breath of the cold winter air as he was walking towards the familiar barn. Even though he had returned from the delightful warmth of Florida a week ago, he just hadn’t had the time to pop over to check on how everything was at Wyndfield. He quickened his pace as he neared the entrance; the cold Canadian weather defiantly wasn’t something he missed at all.

He gladly accepted the warmth of the stable when he entered. Anthony began his routine walk down the barn aisle, looking around at the stalls and the horses inside them. As he continued farther, he noticed a few familiar faces. Boston, a hunter who belonged to a fellow rider named Allyson; as well as Jessica’s three stallions. But no face was as familiar as the one that belonged to a certain Hanoverian mare named Cadence. A smile lit up that man’s face as soon as he reached her stall. Inside, the mare was nibbling on her hay net without a care in the world. He quietly stepped inside and greeted the mare with a simple “Hello”. Andy as she was called turned her attention over towards his voice for a second. Her white nose stretched towards him, sniffing the man for any treats. After a thorough sniff and a bit of a snort, she returned to the hay. Anthony just shook his head, and muttered the word snob under his breath before walking out.

Anthony went into the tack room and pulled out a large grooming box from his locker. He even grabbed a couple treats while he was there. Upon returning to the stall, Andy had stopped eating her hay. Shoving the door until he could squeeze through, he entered a second time and placed that big grooming box on the ground. Anthony came up beside the mare, and began to stroke her neck. With the treats in his fist, he opened them up and offered them to the mare. She sniffed his hand and gratefully lapped the treats up from his hand. Her nose kept poking at his hand, expecting more treats. At that moment, someone had walked past the stall door. Blonde hair, short compared to himself, it was Allyson.

“Hey, Ally.” He said in a pleasant tone.

Now, Andy was getting into Anthony’s face. Her nose turned up at his face. He decided that since the mare was close enough, he would plant a kiss on that funny nose of hers. Right on that little light patch on her muzzle.

[allyson grace devon]

Ally hummed softly to the radio as she worked her way around the barn, plastic feed bucket strung out over each arm as she frantically ran around- her blonde ponytail swaying back and forth, a clear expression of the fact she hadn’t even had time to think this morning. Her hair was it’s natural mess- those gorgeous curls everyone always told her they loved, ones that made it even more obvious she hadn’t had time to do her hair. Not that it looked terrible by any means, but she just hated when her hair was curly and in a pony tail- she preferred to at least have it in a bun, in attempt to fake an effort. But today, it was simply tossed up since that’s what happens when you get a call that all your staff is hung over and won’t be coming to work, again. It was the third time this month and Ally was getting sick of it, sick of the barn staff in general- it wasn’t her job to muck stalls, feed horses, change blankets and on top of that clean up after everyone. No, it was her job to work the numbers and ride the horses, and coach when it was needed. She was already over loaded, and days like today stressed her to the max. She needed a break, majorly. But her workaholic lifestyle didn’t allow it, especially with the idiots they had around this place. Sometimes, she just felt like quitting. Expect that wasn’t really possible, but the stress alone was starting to cause her to age prematurely- unlike her fellow barn mates who went out every Saturday night. They needed new staff, and more staff- especially with everyone coming back from Florida. Ally sighed and tossed the buckets into the empty feed bin- she was too fed up to organize them for the staff tomorrow, they could do it themselves.

Ally always walked quickly, and today was no exception as she practically ran towards the stalls near the office- reserved for Jess’ horses and the odd boarder that Jess didn’t mind running into, also known as they didn’t ask five million questions. Her eyes landed on the familiar faces immediately- especially Leno who was tossing his head in the air frantically- apparently thinking he’d been forgotten, though she wasn’t dumb enough to forget that. Nobody ever forgot to feed Leno, he was absolute tool at feeding time if you did. “Leno, get over it. You’ve been fed and you’re not going outside in this weather- you’re clipped and it’s icy, you’ll fall down and break a leg” said Ally as she walked to the stallions stall and slipped him a mint before ducking in to take off his back on track boots, since Jess had at least been nice enough to school the horses for her. Except Boston, but he was okay with a day or two off- especially since Ally was pretty sure she was going to sell him. She simply wanted more projects, showing just wasn’t the same once you’d already won entire divisions on the horse. She liked a challenge, she hated being a ribbon stealer. She felt like she did that enough, she wasn’t going to do it just for fun.

Ally was about to take the chestnut’s boots off when she heard her name, and immediately hung her head out the stall door- despite the fact Leno continued to head butt her in protest that that was ‘his spot’. “Clarke? You’re back?” said Ally trying to peer into the neighboring stall, knowing if it was him he’d be with Andy. Ally was on her tip toes by the time she could actually see into the stall- cons of being fairly short. She watched him kiss the mares nose and laughed under her breath, he had a soft side to him that was for sure. Even if he didn’t always admit it. “Kissing Andy still? Must not have found a girlfriend in Florida” laughed Ally as she shook her head. Her eyes darted as she saw movement, it was another boarder pinning some sort of note on the bulletin board outside Jess’ office. Ally quickly sank to the ground and crouched in Leno’s stall. For the love of God, please don’t see me thought Ally as the stallion sniffed her curiously- he never did play along when he needed to the bugger.

outfit!

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[anthony ryan clarke]

Starting at the front of the bay mare, he unclipped the two front buckles of the navy blue stable blanket. He made his way over the next two buckles around the barrel, and with ease undid them as well as the final two back ones. Anthony gently slid the blanket off of Andy’s back, revealing a clipped coat that was surely growing back in. After it was messily folded, he hung the blanket over the stall door even though it would probably fall down to the ground anyway. With his eyes, Anthony inspected his horse that wasn’t really dirty. A few stall shavings were embedded in her black mane and tail, but that was maybe it. He began by standing on the right side of Andy’s neck so that he could still hold a conversation with Ally while he plucked away at the pesky shavings. Anthony couldn’t help but grin at Allyson’s remark about kissing his horse.

“You know it’s kind of sad when a twenty seven year is kissing his horse rather than another person...” Anthony said with a smirk.

Girlfriend. That word never really entered his mind very often. Anthony wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who had long lasting relationships with women. Although he never treated any of his exes badly, they always seemed to get annoyed with his busy horse related schedule. Which he felt was extremely unfair. To him, horses were not just a hobby anymore; it was a career. And if they truly loved him like they had said, they would have been one hundred percent okay with that.
As Anthony was plucking one of the last shavings from Andy’s mane, he looked over his shoulder to see Allyson crouching in the chestnut stallion’s stall. It was if she was trying to hide herself, or something. A curious Leo sniffing at her while she was near the ground. One of the boarders had just walked by and didn’t notice a thing.

“I think the coast is clear, Allyson.” He chuckled.

[allyson grace devon]

“At least your not the kind of person that has multiple partners, seriously I have my own version of sisters wives around here.. total slut when it comes to horses. Tsk tsk, I’m such a bad girl” said Ally softly from her spot in the shavings, Leno nibbling at her pants and taking full advantage of the fact she couldn’t exactly scream at him. He was too smart sometimes; in fact he was always too smart. It was the main obstacle with him, being the smart one. Which was weird- she’d had a 4.1 GPA, she was an Ontario Scholar but this horse could outsmart her. Whoever said horses were stupid had never met Leno, as he was a genius. Of course he couldn’t crunch numbers, understand why people do the things they do, or argue a case in court- but he knew how to get in control. He kept you on your toes, to say the least. It’d taken a few months for Jess to even allow Ally to ride him, because she honestly thought he might be too much. Turns out they went together like peanut butter and jelly, most days, but it’d been a battle at first. A five rides in a row with three falls a piece battle. She’d had to learn to predict him, and his every single step. She’d always done that, but he wasn’t your typical horse- he’d throw things at you from the left and right wing. He was the definition of challenge. There were lots of horses like that in this barn, as most of the grand prix horses were. It was one of those things that came with the territory of making this sport your career, it wasn’t as easy as it looked. There was no such thing as a social life, going out on a Friday night, or well the whole dating issue. Most people her age were planning their wedding, she was planning how she’d organize her stalls at the Royal. It annoyed her some times, but other girls that rode dated- she just had the history that didn’t exactly line up with ‘dating’. It was a little hard to get close to somebody when you had half the town backstabbing you and calling you a whore, as if you deserved it. But life had never been easy, and it never would be.

Ally slowly got up as she heard Anthony speak, looking out through the bars before standing up to her full height- which wasn’t that tall, considering she fit on most medium ponies. She glanced one more time before laughing softly; her life had reached a new level of stressed. “You know you really need a day off when..” said Ally, more to herself than him. She always talked like that, to herself around others. It wasn’t that she was actually talking to herself, if was just never a huge deal if they didn’t respond- her feelings were never hurt by it. That’s the way she liked, no harm no foul. No trust, no strings- it was easier. Except, it never actually worked that way. Ally was the girl that bought mothers day presents three months ahead, spent three hours picking out a card, she was the girl that cared too much about the people that were close to her. She just didn’t show it, at least not very often. It was very unlikely for her to open up, and when she did it was rare she told you the whole story. It was just her personality, something that came along with the bumps and bruises. The way she’d fret for hours until her mom returned a text message- simply because her mom might be mad at her. She was an emotional wreck some days, but nobody knew. Nobody ever knew, because she remained a stone to the outside world. Never an open book. Well, sometimes- but she liked to pretend she remained closed off. The thing was, it only took the right questions.

[anthony ryan clarke]

Anthony had been looking into the neighbouring stall while Allyson was speaking amongst the shavings. The stallion Leno, nibbling away at her pants. She was right about him not having multiple partners. When it came to horses and people, he normally stuck with one animal and surrounded himself by a few friends. Just a personal preference of his, the smaller the group the easier he could pay attention to them. Sometimes Anthony wondered how Ally could keep herself focused with all the different mounts she rode. It was still a mystery to him.

Although the barn was heated, Anthony felt a sudden chill creep through his body. He thought of how not too long ago, he was leaning on a white fence in his white breeches and show shirt in Florida waiting around for the results of his latest class. It was the kind of weather that he adored, not disgustingly cold and not nastily hot. But when he returned to Canada, he had to forget about wearing a lot less layers. And the fact that he was a little bit tanned. The thought of leaving the sunny state had upset him a bit, but he knew it’d be best to get over it as soon as possible. Anthony had to shrug into his grey jacket until half of his face was concealed and even stayed like that for a bit. Once he felt the chill lifting from his body, he pulled the jacket down to where it normally would be. This is when Allyson had made her re-appearance to the rest of the stable, and took a double take of the place before speaking again. Judging by what she had said, he began to think maybe it was Ally who needed that trip to Florida more than he did. With a majority of the barn staff missing in action it looked like she had a lot of work to do.

“You look you need a day off,” he commented as he pulled out the final shaving in the mare’s mane. Anthony’s eyes were locked on the black mane which seemed a little too long for his liking. “Do you need an extra pair of hands right now?” He didn’t mind offering a hand; after all, he was just at the barn to groom his horse. Anthony was almost always willing to help someone if they looked like they needed it. No matter what the response was, he felt better about himself just for caring to ask.

[allyson grace devon]

Ally bent down and pulled off Leno’s boots, with him constantly nudging her with his nose. He was such a little rascal, and the only horse she knew that could reach you with his neck when you were taking off his back boots. She laughed as he nudged her softly, but was taken by surprise when he thrust his head into her lower back and almost sent her flying into shavings. “Leno, cut it out” said Ally, still laughing but pushing his head away when he tried it another time. Finally, he settled on his hay as she stripped the boots and then pulled his stable sheet off seeing as it appeared to need a wash- He was the kind of horse that always lays down. “Okay little bugger, do you think you can keep yourself out of trouble for a bit?” asked Ally as she kissed his nose before slipping out of the stall. She smiled as Leno followed her, he was the one horse that she truly adored. Ally laughed as she hung his blanket in front of his stall and the stallion started to pout, as if he’d never been alone before. “Oh, suck it up. You know you’re my favourite” said Ally to the chestnut as she slipped a mint form her pocket.

Ally leaned against the stall door as she contemplated Anthony’s offer. She had most of it done, but she could still use the help. She’d been out here since 3am, so everything was up to par. She sighed softly, forcing herself to admit that she wasn’t in fact done. “I just have to organize night feed. I just need to do them quickly so it’s easier tonight. If you want to help I’ll buy coffee? And food, but only if you don’t mention how much you miss Florida” said Ally with a smile before disappearing into the feed rom. It wouldn’t take them long, but she could use the company. When other people were around she didn’t get attacked by boarders. It was sad that she thought like that, because most of them were amazing people. They were often more helpful then the barn staff, who she remembered wouldn’t be in tonight either- so she couldn’t leave a mess for herself to clean up, that was pure punishment. Ally stared at the two white boards- all colour coded as to what each horse was to be fed, down to how many flakes of hay they should get. You’d think boarders would trust barn staff with that, but they don’t. Some people hold back on hay, others practically want a round bale in their horses stall. But then there were people that just didn’t care- to the point that when asked what supplements they’d like their horse on the simply shrugged and said ‘whatever you think’. Some people were clueless, others thought they knew everything and the odd person actually knew everything.

“All the buckets have names on them, simply find the name and put the correct food in. It takes me awhile to do this, seeing as I never do it.” said Ally with an honest smile, more to inform him that it was okay to be slow at it. Ally felt like she moved like molasses, simply because it took her ten minutes to find the horses name on the board. Ally opened the wooden feed bins and revealed the numerous compartments- all labeled. Everything was so organized in this barn, thankfully, but sometimes it made her feel lost. As if something was supposed to be really easy, but she struggled with it- like feeding. Took the normal staff a few minutes, for her it was quicker to clean stalls. At least she knew how to do that. Ally smiled as she came across Oliver’s feed bucket, a horse that she rode for a boarder almost every day. She loved the variety, the challenges. Ally paused her thoughts and turned to Anthony as she scoped feed into the bucket. “This is random, but how do you handle riding just one horse? Do you ever get bored? asked Ally curiously, though she wondered if he’d take if offensively. Everyone always did, but she just asked questions- she wasn’t trying to be nosey, that was just her. She liked to know things, she often used it to help figure out herself.