A/N 1: Hey guys! Happy New Year! Hope 2025 will bring joy, fun, hope, peace and laughter to all.
A/N 2: Hope people are enjoying not only The One At Horse Camp, but also The One At Theater Camp. I am extremely happy with the direction both of them are going. I DO NOT WANT ANY ART DONE OF MY STORIES - I AM VERY PROTECTIVE OF ALL OF MY STORIES AND HAVE CERTAIN IDEAS AND WAYS I SEE MY CHARACTERS.
A/N 3: Horse terms.
Mare - full grown female horse
Stallion - full grown male horse
Gelding - fixed stallion
Foal - baby horse
Colt - baby male horse
Filly - baby female horse
CHAPTER THREE
(Chapter title - Robin and Blue Jay)
Robin relaxed in the Western saddle as she had Blue Jay in a lope, which was like a slow canter.
"Change directions, still on the lope" the instructor - a man named Jeremy - said, watching the class of ten riders.
Robin gently tugged the reins and Blue Jay turned in the opposite direction. She smiled as he changed leads without her even asking.
"How many of you want to try barrel racing?" Jeremy asked. Four people raised their hands, including Robin.
"Let's have Dylan and Cobble go first, then Robin and Blue Jay, then Marie and Dancer. Melody and Ariel will go last" Jeremy said.
Dylan heeled his horse Cobble into a gallop after Jeremy explained the pattern and to not knock over the barrels.
I can do this in my sleep Robin thought to herself as she watched Dylan and Cobble finish up.
"Don't push him too hard, just a canter, okay?" Jeremy said.
Robin nodded and tightened the strap on her helmet before waiting for Jeremy to give her the signal.
Once Jeremy gave the signal, Blue Jay was off like a shot. He and Robin circled one barrel, then went to the barrel across from that one, then finally, headed to the last barrel. They circled it perfectly and cantered to where Jeremy was, being careful not to knock him over.
Jeremy smiled and patted Blue Jay's neck, "that was great."
"Thanks" Robin said, smiling a tiny bit.
Class ended as soon as Melody and her pony Ariel finished the barrels. As far as Robin knew, Ariel was the only pony at horse camp.
Wonder why that is Robin thought to herself as she rode in the arena with Blue Jay and the rest of the riders and their mounts.
After class, Robin headed to the barn, leading Blue Jay by his reins. She smiled at the horses as she put Blue Jay in his stall so she could take off his saddle and bridle.
"How about a bath, buddy?" Robin asked her beloved horse, checking to see if she had barn duty - she did, along with Chandler, James and Rachel.
"I did a random schedule-thing on my laptop and it randomly has the same people doing barn duty multiple days. I'm sorry" Sara said.
"It's okay" Rachel said, "I actually like doing barn duty."
"Same" Robin said, "I'm gonna give Blue Jay a bath. Before I start my barn duty."
"That's fine, sweetie" Sara said, "when you're done with Blue Jay, would you mind giving Rainy Day a bath?"
"Not at all" Robin said, clipping a lead rope to Blue Jay's halter. She grabbed his bathing supplies and headed to the bathing area.
Robin sang softly as she gave Blue Jay a bath. He wasn't the only horse she had that was named after a bird. Growing up, she had Blackbird, Turkey, Eagle and Lark.
Once she was finished giving Blue Jay a bath, Robin put him back in his stall. She put on his dark purple leg wraps, blanket, sleazy, tail bag and halter.
"Please don't get dirty" Robin told her horse, patting his neck as she exited his stall. She went to Rainy Day's stall and entered it, holding a halter and lead rope in her hands, "hi pretty mama."
Rainy Day flicked an ear and looked at Robin curiously.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, pretty girl" Robin said, putting the halter on Rainy Day, making sure to clip it tight, "let's go get you a bath, since it's a beautiful day" together, Robin and Rainy Day exited the stall and went to the bathing area.
Robin tied Rainy Day to a rail and turned on the hose to a light setting, "atta girl. Good girl" she talked to Rainy Day gently, as she did with all horses.
She was almost done bathing Rainy Day when she heard someone calling her name. She looked up and saw Marshall coming towards her leading Irish Whiskey.
"Hey Robin" Marshall greeted his friend.
"Hey Marshall. Hello Whiskey" Robin said, rinsing off the shampoo off Rainy Day's body, "what's up?"
"Just finished class and heading back to the barn" Marshall said, "this isn't Blue Jay."
"I know. Sara asked me to bathe her" Robin said, turning her attention back to bathing Rainy Day, "we're almost done here."
Irish Whiskey pinned her ears flat against her head and barred her teeth.
"Please move Whiskey. You know she doesn't like Rainy Day" Robin told her friend.
Marshall nodded, "see you back at the barn. Later, all of us are going swimming in the creek nearby. You should come."
"And risk being bit by leeches, mosquitoes and other things? No thanks" Robin said, patting Rainy Day's neck.
Marshall shrugged and headed back to the barn, bringing Irish Whiskey with him.
Robin and Marshall had dated a year ago after Marshall and Lily had broken up. Robin ended up dumping Marshall after the two of them had been dating a year. She had said the reason was that Marshall was too perky all the time and he was always in Robin's space.
Robin sighed and turned off the hose, "okay Rain, let's go back to the stable" she untied Rainy Day from the rail and led the gentle mare back to the stable.
That afternoon, everyone was relieved of barn duty, since both the chiropractor and the farrier were there.
"Let's go to the midway, since the fair is only in town for a few more days" Lily suggested.
Everyone agreed and grabbed wristbands before heading down to the midway, talking and laughing with each other.
There were ten rides - the Gravatron, Scrambler, Ferris Wheel, carousel, a swinging pirate ship, two roller coasters - Thriller and The Hydra, a hang gliding ride, a ride that looked like a giant octopus and a spinning teacup ride. There were also several game stalls filled with giant stuffed animals and other prizes, lots of food stalls and barns where people could see farm animals that were doing competitions.
A roar from the midway caught everyone's attention - it was the Demolition Derby.
"Let's walk around and figure out what we wanna do before we decide on anything" Robin suggested.
Everyone nodded and they did a giant loop around the fair, looking at the various rides and games that were in operation.
"Hurry hurry hurry step right up…..Win a prize….You look like a lucky group of people, try your hand at my game…" the carnival barkers called to the various people walking around the midway.
The guys really wanted to go to the Demolition Derby, which did not interest the girls.
"Let's meet at the food stand near the lion's head-shaped trash can in a couple hours and regroup" Barney said.
Everyone nodded in agreement, then were off to do their own things.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The girls screamed as they rode one of the roller coasters called The Hydra.
When the ride ended, the girls laughed as they got off the ride.
"My stomach was in my throat the whole time" Lily said.
"I wanna ride that again! That was so fun!" Robin said.
"Maybe later, honey" Rachel said, "okay, Robin chose that ride, it's my turn. You guys up for the carousel?"
"Sure" everyone said in unison as they walked towards the carousel.
The girls smiled as they got on the carousel, looking for the perfect mount.
Lily found a giraffe; Robin rode a dragon; Rachel, Monica and Phoebe rode horses.
After the carousel, the girls played a few games to calm their stomachs and got some lemonade.
Monica lowered her sunglasses as she looked at the sky, "um guys. The sky is turning dark."
The girls looked at the sky, hearing thunder booming as the sky got darker.
"Let's head back" Rachel said, feeling the first few droplets of rain.
"Good idea" everyone agreed.
"Wait - weren't we supposed to meet the boys?" Phoebe asked.
"I'll text Marshall and let him know we're going back to the barn" Lily said, getting her phone out of her fanny pack and texted Marshall.
'We're headed there too' Marshall replied.
"The guys are headed to the barn" Lily said, feeling the rain start to pick up.
Thunder boomed and lightning flashed as everyone scurried for shelter.
By the time everyone arrived at the barn, they were soaked to the bone.
"ALL REMAINING OUTSIDE CLASSES HAVE BEEN CANCELLED" a voice came over the loudspeaker.
Some of the horses were panicking in their stalls.
"Ignore them. We need to get to shelter" Sara said, closing the tops of the stall doors, hoping that would be better for the horses.
Once that was done, everyone headed to the cabins to wait out the storm.
The storm only got worse the rest of the day and into the night. By the time everyone got up the following day, the ground was a muddy gross soup.
"ALL RIDING CLASSES ARE CANCELLED TODAY" a voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Everyone is on barn duty" Sara said, "the barn flooded a few stalls, so we need to do some rearranging."
Everyone worked together to move some of the horses, along with the feed and tack rooms. Once that was done, everyone worked together to muck stalls, fill water buckets, feed the horses, and go to the feed store to get some more straw and sawdust shavings, since they were almost out of both.
By the time barn duty was done, it was time for dinner, which was burgers, hot dogs, fries, fruit salad, regular salad, and for dessert - cookies, cupcakes, muffins and fruit.
After dinner, all the campers played Flashlight Tag, which ended up being a lot of fun.
Robin went to bed with a full stomach and a full heart.