Crows Don't Fly Through Autumn Rain
Sweet as Sugar
Dakota slowly got to her feet and straightened up, feeling slightly foolish. She didn't have any serious injuries as far as she could tell, but she could tell she was going to be very sore the next day from her fall. Cursing under her breath, she looked around for Charlie.
To her surprise, the pony was nowhere to be seen. She had thought he had simply stopped to graze, but it looked like he had continued a bit further down the trail. Grimacing, Dakota slowly made her way down the trail, making no attempt to brush off the dirt and little twigs she was covered in.
"Charlie!" Dakota called, hoping the pony would come to her when called when she usually does. Charlie's usual nicker didn't answer nor did she see the pony approaching from any direction. Hoping he hadn't gotten into any trouble, Dakota continued to the edge of the fields of the Crow Nest Stables. As she continued along the old trail, she was slowly approaching the stable yard although she was cut off by a couple of pastures. Dakota paused there, spotting some horses in a pasture nearby that looked to be of quality breeding.
"Excuse me," a slightly annoyed sounding voice rang out from a bit further ahead. Dakota looked around, spotting a teenager boy standing on the road in between the pastures coming from the stable yard. "Are you by any chance looking for a pony?" Although the boy was just calling out to her from the pastures, his Irish accent was quite obvious. He looked like he was a couple of years older than her although it was hard to tell; he must have moved into town. Given that Misty Grove
"Yes, I'm looking for my pony, Charlie," Dakota called, attempting to hurry over but winced slightly. The side of her was aching from where she hit the ground, but she was just glad that she had no broken bones. "Did you see him? He's a dun, about thirteen hands-" Dakota was cut off as the teenage boy cut her off.
"See him? Well it's hard not to when he comes charging through here, knocking over everything in the way," the dark haired boy snapped, turning around and heading for the stable yard. Feeling slightly unsure, Dakota followed.
"Er..did you happen to see what way he went?" she asked timidly, not sure if she should keep looking on the trails or the roads. As she approached the stable yard, she spotted the path Charlie must have taken. There were some feed buckets that had been placed outside a pasture ready to be used knocked over, along with some grooming kits. The brushes and grooming supplies had all fallen out of the box and laying on the ground.
"We put him in the paddock on the other side of the barn," the boy scowled as he glanced back in Dakota's direction. He didn't bother to show her the location as he began to step into the barn. Dakota took a step towards the paddocks around the barn when a voice rang out.
"William, who is your friend?" an unfamiliar voice spoke with a pronounced Irish accent. Dakota turned around, her face reddening as her gaze landed upon the young woman who was approaching them from the indoor arena, leading a tall bay warmblood behind her.
"It's the girl who fell off her pony," William, the dark hair teenager replied with a slight smirk. He was about to turn away but paused, seemed to be waiting for another word from the young woman.
"Ah, so that pony belongs to you," the young woman said with a smile as she stopped in front of Dakota, who's face was almost redder than the warmblood's red saddle pad. "I'm Aubrey Wright. Do you live around here?"
"I-I'm Dakota," Dakota introduced herself, wondering if she's ever felt as embarrassed as she's felt now. Here she was, standing in front of an Olympic dressage rider and she was covered in dirt from falling off her pony, which happened to charge off through their stable yard.
"William," Aubrey suddenly spoke up sharply, aiming her words towards the boy. "Go and get the pony and have him ready for Dakota. Cool down and put Macha away while you're at it." Aubrey added, handing the reins of the tall bay horse over to the boy before turning back to Dakota.
"I can get him," Dakota offered quickly, not wanting to cause them anymore trouble. She began to follow William so she could get Charlie ready and leave, but before she could take a step Aubrey grabbed her arm.
"No, why don't I show you around? You're one of our first visitors and I'm sure you would like a look around?" Aubrey began leading Dakota into the barn before she could protest, stopping at the first stall to the right.
"This is Brighid. She is retired now, but I rode her in the previous Olympics." Aubrey motioned to the pretty grey mare standing at the back of the stall, who seemed to hardly notice their presence there. Dakota stepped forwards to get a better look when Aubrey led her to the next stall.
"This is Airmid. She is one of Brighid's foals, and worth about $80,000," Aubrey spoke with satisfaction as she motioned towards the filly in the stall. From what Dakota could see, the filly was still quite young and probably not started yet but she supposed with her breeding, she would be worth more.
"She's very pretty," Dakota said politely, allowing herself to be led off through the barn like a lead pony as Aubrey took her to some of the stalls and show her the horses inside. Although many of the stalls were filled with valuable dressage horses, some were filled with others who Aubrey explained would soon be for sale. She noticed that Aubrey didn't show her all the horses in the long barn; some of the stall doors and bars were curtained off so she couldn't see into the stalls. She supposed a lot of them were still empty, and maybe some horses liked the quiet more than others.
"Well, that should be all. I have to go meet a client now, but it was nice meeting you, Daniella. William should be outside with your pony." Aubrey dismissed Dakota before turning away to talk to someone who looked like another one of her grooms.
"My name isn't..." Dakota's voice trailed off as she realized Aubrey wasn't listening anymore. Shrugging to herself, she walked out of the barn to hear a familiar nicker.
William was standing outside the barn, looking very annoyed as Charlie was trying to rub his head against his shoulder. He pushed the pony away, mumbling under his breath although he looked very relieved to see Dakota was there for her pony.
"Thanks," Dakota said quickly to William as she took the reins from him, not wanting to hear anymore about the possible trouble Charlie had caused. She cinched up the girth before swinging up easily in the saddle, glancing towards the barn before heading down the driveway. It would be quicker to take the road home, and her brief visit had given her a lot to think about.
To her surprise, the pony was nowhere to be seen. She had thought he had simply stopped to graze, but it looked like he had continued a bit further down the trail. Grimacing, Dakota slowly made her way down the trail, making no attempt to brush off the dirt and little twigs she was covered in.
"Charlie!" Dakota called, hoping the pony would come to her when called when she usually does. Charlie's usual nicker didn't answer nor did she see the pony approaching from any direction. Hoping he hadn't gotten into any trouble, Dakota continued to the edge of the fields of the Crow Nest Stables. As she continued along the old trail, she was slowly approaching the stable yard although she was cut off by a couple of pastures. Dakota paused there, spotting some horses in a pasture nearby that looked to be of quality breeding.
"Excuse me," a slightly annoyed sounding voice rang out from a bit further ahead. Dakota looked around, spotting a teenager boy standing on the road in between the pastures coming from the stable yard. "Are you by any chance looking for a pony?" Although the boy was just calling out to her from the pastures, his Irish accent was quite obvious. He looked like he was a couple of years older than her although it was hard to tell; he must have moved into town. Given that Misty Grove
"Yes, I'm looking for my pony, Charlie," Dakota called, attempting to hurry over but winced slightly. The side of her was aching from where she hit the ground, but she was just glad that she had no broken bones. "Did you see him? He's a dun, about thirteen hands-" Dakota was cut off as the teenage boy cut her off.
"See him? Well it's hard not to when he comes charging through here, knocking over everything in the way," the dark haired boy snapped, turning around and heading for the stable yard. Feeling slightly unsure, Dakota followed.
"Er..did you happen to see what way he went?" she asked timidly, not sure if she should keep looking on the trails or the roads. As she approached the stable yard, she spotted the path Charlie must have taken. There were some feed buckets that had been placed outside a pasture ready to be used knocked over, along with some grooming kits. The brushes and grooming supplies had all fallen out of the box and laying on the ground.
"We put him in the paddock on the other side of the barn," the boy scowled as he glanced back in Dakota's direction. He didn't bother to show her the location as he began to step into the barn. Dakota took a step towards the paddocks around the barn when a voice rang out.
"William, who is your friend?" an unfamiliar voice spoke with a pronounced Irish accent. Dakota turned around, her face reddening as her gaze landed upon the young woman who was approaching them from the indoor arena, leading a tall bay warmblood behind her.
"It's the girl who fell off her pony," William, the dark hair teenager replied with a slight smirk. He was about to turn away but paused, seemed to be waiting for another word from the young woman.
"Ah, so that pony belongs to you," the young woman said with a smile as she stopped in front of Dakota, who's face was almost redder than the warmblood's red saddle pad. "I'm Aubrey Wright. Do you live around here?"
"I-I'm Dakota," Dakota introduced herself, wondering if she's ever felt as embarrassed as she's felt now. Here she was, standing in front of an Olympic dressage rider and she was covered in dirt from falling off her pony, which happened to charge off through their stable yard.
"William," Aubrey suddenly spoke up sharply, aiming her words towards the boy. "Go and get the pony and have him ready for Dakota. Cool down and put Macha away while you're at it." Aubrey added, handing the reins of the tall bay horse over to the boy before turning back to Dakota.
"I can get him," Dakota offered quickly, not wanting to cause them anymore trouble. She began to follow William so she could get Charlie ready and leave, but before she could take a step Aubrey grabbed her arm.
"No, why don't I show you around? You're one of our first visitors and I'm sure you would like a look around?" Aubrey began leading Dakota into the barn before she could protest, stopping at the first stall to the right.
"This is Brighid. She is retired now, but I rode her in the previous Olympics." Aubrey motioned to the pretty grey mare standing at the back of the stall, who seemed to hardly notice their presence there. Dakota stepped forwards to get a better look when Aubrey led her to the next stall.
"This is Airmid. She is one of Brighid's foals, and worth about $80,000," Aubrey spoke with satisfaction as she motioned towards the filly in the stall. From what Dakota could see, the filly was still quite young and probably not started yet but she supposed with her breeding, she would be worth more.
"She's very pretty," Dakota said politely, allowing herself to be led off through the barn like a lead pony as Aubrey took her to some of the stalls and show her the horses inside. Although many of the stalls were filled with valuable dressage horses, some were filled with others who Aubrey explained would soon be for sale. She noticed that Aubrey didn't show her all the horses in the long barn; some of the stall doors and bars were curtained off so she couldn't see into the stalls. She supposed a lot of them were still empty, and maybe some horses liked the quiet more than others.
"Well, that should be all. I have to go meet a client now, but it was nice meeting you, Daniella. William should be outside with your pony." Aubrey dismissed Dakota before turning away to talk to someone who looked like another one of her grooms.
"My name isn't..." Dakota's voice trailed off as she realized Aubrey wasn't listening anymore. Shrugging to herself, she walked out of the barn to hear a familiar nicker.
William was standing outside the barn, looking very annoyed as Charlie was trying to rub his head against his shoulder. He pushed the pony away, mumbling under his breath although he looked very relieved to see Dakota was there for her pony.
"Thanks," Dakota said quickly to William as she took the reins from him, not wanting to hear anymore about the possible trouble Charlie had caused. She cinched up the girth before swinging up easily in the saddle, glancing towards the barn before heading down the driveway. It would be quicker to take the road home, and her brief visit had given her a lot to think about.