Dawn At The Stables

Amelia nodded, grinning, "Meet you in the hay shed" She said slowing Tip Toe to a canter the pair headed towards the paddock fence and jumped it with ease. They walked into the stables and Amelia slid off Tip Toe, taking off her bridle and popping her into a stall. She gave them some hay and water then headed to the riders room. The girl dug through one of the draws until she pulled out a thick file full of Mimic's registrations and other stuff. She grabbed two cans of coke and headed into the hay shed, sitting apon a large bale of grass hay.

Matt dismounted as he walked through the stable door and Ballad followed him without having to be led. They jogged to her stall and quickly went inside, not bothering to close the stall door. Ballad could sense his excitement and chewed at her bit until he romoved it from her mouth. Then he undid the girth and slipped the saddle of her back. He found his bag and rumaged through it, remembering that he had put her papers in there a while ago. He found them, ran out of the stall and closed the door then ran to the hay shed. When he arrived, he saw Amelia sitting on one of the bales and joined her, smiling.

Amelia smiled and shifted over, making room for Matt to sit. "Ok well, lets see here. . . " She said opening the large file and pulling out a large stack of neatly stapled papers. "Ok so, I'll read what he is registered for" She lifted the first set of sheets. "Danish Warmblood Stallion Society" She read "Elite stallion" She picked up the next one. "Elite Jumpers Association, International Stallion Register” She glanced at Matt. “You get the idea” She put down the papers into a pile and picked up the next bunch. “Ok, so Mimic was imported when he was a foal, was tested for everything and so on, he is healthy as a horse. No defects and has excellent conformation” She flicked through the pages as she spoke. “His sire attended the Olympics and his dam reached an extremely high level of jumping.” The girl paused and opened the can of coke, taking a sip she continued to flick through the pages.

Matt nodded and looked down at Ballad's papers. "Registered with PRE, EFI Dressage... Her dam and sire both pure Andalusians, also registered with PRE, and both used for dressage. As for Ballad herself..." he began, flicking through the pages. "Her sire was imported from Spain but that's it. I bought her as a 2 year old. She inherited perfect conformation from her parents, their characteristic Andalusian temperament... and she has no health problems either." He smiled and looked up at Amelia. "Sounds like they're both flawless for their breeds." he remarked, then frowned suddenly. "I can't believe I overlooked this before, but I won't be able to ride Ballad for a while." The realisation suddenly made the idea less appealing, but only slightly. He wasn't going to back out, it was simply a complication. He shrugged and smiled again. "What are you hoping for, filly or colt? And which colour?" he asked, thinking about how he would answer.

Amelia smiled and glanced up from the papers at Matt. "Dark bay dappled colt would be good" She paused and took another sip of her drink. "And its only 5 months that you can’t ride Ballad for” She thought for minute. “You can probably ride Tip Toe perfect her dressage moves.” The girl grinned. “Anyway, as for the foal it would be yours, so what do you want?” the girl asked sceptically.

"I was thinking the same." Matt laughed, "Definitely a colt. I suppose 5 months isn't too long, and I'd love to ride Tip Toe, as long as it's ok with you." He looked down at the papers and quickly read through them again. It would be such a fantastic foal, he could barely wait until it was born. "So, uh..." he began, suddenly feeling a little akward, "When should, ah, you know?" He looked away and frowned, hoping Amelia would understand, but somehow doubting she would and dreading having to explain.

Amelia laughed at Matt's discomfort. "Yes I know what you mean" She smiled and glanced down at the papers again. "Erm.Maybe it would be good for them too meet first, you can put Ballad in the stall next to Mimic and we can breed them in a few days to a week" She was used to breeding horses. "And you can ride Tip Toe whenever you like"

Matt nodded, relaxing again and smiling at Amelia. "Thats sounds good. I'll move her now." he said, standing up and walking back to the stables. Ballad nickered when she saw him and as he entered her stall she pushed her muzzle against his chest. Matt smiled and rubbed her cheek before turning and leaving the stall. She followed him loyally, her nose against his back. They walked over to the stall beside Mimic's and Ballad paused to sniff him. Matt turned to watch the pair, reminded again of how beautiful the foal would be.

Amelia smiled and followed behind Matt. She watched Mimic as he pricked his ears, arching his strong neck and his nose bumped his musular chest. He pranced on the spot and flicked his tail, showing off for Ballad. Snorting her stretched out towards the mare. Amelia nudged Matt with her elbow but didn't take her eyes off the stallion.

Matt glanced at her, smiling, and watched as Ballad bobbed her head and nickered sweetly. She reached out until her nose tapped is before pulling away again, ears pricked. She raised a hoof and waved it the air, tossing her head and throwing her long mane about. Matt tapped Ballad's shoulder and her attention returned to him. She followed him into the stall before turning to Mimic again, her head high. Matt shook his head and left, luaghing quietly to himself. "Well, I think they like eachother." he commented as he closed the stall door.

Amelia smiled and looked at Matt. "Yeah.. I think they do" She pulled her gaze away when a horse out in a paddocks neighed then galloped around. The girl glanced at her watch at the same time, her stomach growled. "Mmm. Lunch time" She said. Amelia headed into the riders room and filled up a pot with water and put it onto the stove. Opening a cupboard she pulled out a packet of pasta and a tin of nice sause. Putting those items on the bench she bent down and grabbed a pan.

Matt glanced down at his watch, surprised. "Already? Hm, I'd better give Ballad her second feed. Do you want me to feed Mimic and Tip Toe while you get lunch?" he asked, glad that Amelia was cooking. He wasn't very good at it and his lunch for today was far from appealing. He wandered over and peered into the room, realsing just how hungry he was.

Amelia called out as she put the pasta into the boiling water. "That would be great, what they need is on the white board in the feed room" Amelia opened a draw and pulled out two bowls, folks, knives and napkins.

Matt nodded and left the room, heading over to their horses' stalls to grab their buckets. Holding them stacked on top of eachother, he went over to the feed room and lowered them to the floor. He prepared Ballad's feed first, knowing off by heart what she needed, before checking to see what Mimic and Tip Toe were given. He made up their feeds and managed lift the buckets again and return to the stalls. Ballad whinnied with excitement as Matt gave her her feed, and Mimic snorted beside her. He gave the stallion his feed and the Tip Toe hers before walking quickly back to Amelia. The smell of spaghetti was rich in the air and his stomach rumbled hungrily.

Amelia smiled as Matt walked in. "I hope you like pasta with sause" The girl said as she poured the contents of the tin into the now hot pan. The pasta was not ready so she drained out the water and placed the pasta in the pan with the sause. She added fresh basil and some salt and mixed it.

Matt smiled and leant against the doorway, deciding that it would be easier if he kept out of the way. "I sure do." he replied, "Anything I don't have to cook, I like." He walked over to the small table in the room and began to clear away the papers and other bits and pieces that were on it. He looked around, wondering if there was some other way he could help. "Uh, need a hand with anything?" he asked Amelia.

Amelia glanced at the plates. "Um, yeah, could you put them on the table with the folks, knives and napkins please" She went back to cooking the pasta. With one last taste she turned off the stove. "Ready?"

Matt reached over and adjusted a slightly crooked knife. He stood back and looked over the table before nodding to himself and turning to Amelia. "All ready over here." he said, putting his hands together. He smiled eagerly as he smelt the pasta and waited for Amelia to come over before he took a seat.

Amelia smiled and brought over the hot pan of pasta. She served Matt first before filling her own plate. She smiled and took a seat. "Oops, drinks" Amelia got back up and headed over to the fridge grabbing two cans of coke. She sat down again and handed Matt a can. "I can't wait" She said, hoping Matt would realise she was talking about the foal.

Matt nodded, looking hungrily at the pasta for a moment before realising she was talking about the foal. He frowned, unable to believe he'd forgotten about it. Was he that hungry? He looked up and smiled at her, nodding again. "Neither can I. Oh, and thanks for making lunch." he said, opening his coke and taking a drink. Now that he had remembered, he truly couldn't wait to see Ballad's foal. It was going to be a long 11 months...

Amelia picked up her folk. "You're welcome" She took a mouth full. "Crapish" She said covering her mouth turning away from the table. She swore under her breath as the hot food burnt her mouth. The girl fanned air into her mouth, facing away from Matt. "Geez that is freaking hot" She said turning back to the table.

Matt shook his head and looked away so she wouldn't feel embarrassed. He scooped up a bunch of pasta on his fork and blew on it, taking Amelia's warning. Still looking at his fork, almost unable to stop himself from stuffing it in his mouth, he asked, "Are you ok?" He couldn't push down his worry for her and wanted to know that she was alright, even if it was just a burnt mouth.

Amelia laughed. "Perfect" She said taking a drink. "After this I better get started on the stables and then I was thinking. . . Would you like to take a ride on Tip Toe since she may be your mount for a few months?" The girl asked, blowing on her pasta.

Matt looked up from his pasta, trying to ignore the fact that his mouth was burning, and took another sip of coke. "I'd love to." he replied nodding. He smiled at Amelia for a moment before frowning. "You're right, there's a lot of work to do, too." he added, his thoughts diverted.

Amelia swallowed and placed her folk and knife on the plate, finished. She waited for Matt to finish before clearing the dishes. “Skip!” Amelia called and a few seconds later a black and white collie appeared at the door, his tongue lolled out to the side. The girl patted her knee and the dog walked over to her. Amelia gave him a rub between the ears then turned to Matt. “This is my Collie, Skip, he helps with the work” She winked and laughed softly, patting the dog again.