Cirrus - Claim Attempt
Kass shot a worried glance at the overcast sky for the nth time since she had left her ranch that morning. She was making the few hours drive to a large teddy cob breeding facility that was hosting a pony ringing event that day. Everything had been set to proceed as planned when she had left just a little over an hour ago but as time had passed, dark clouds had begun piling up in the sky, looming nearly ominously. A drizzle should not be much of an issue, but she hoped a storm was not on the horizon.
The previous night, the young trainer had had another look at the ponies that would be available. Many times since she had registered, she had gone back to the host’s website to look at one specific mare that had caught her eye. She was nicknamed ‘’Cirrus’’, which Kass thought fitted her well given her spotty tobiano coat. The mare was not very tall but still a reasonable size for herself and most of her students to ride. As a bonus, the pony’s genetics analysis result showed that she carried a copy of the gene for the teddy-eared mutation, thus she would fit right into the red-head breeding project!
Kass pulled up onto the dirt driveway of the facility about 15 minutes later. As soon as she opened the door of her truck, a strong draft nearly slammed it back right on her foot. A few other participants were there already, talking with the owners of the ranch while looking at the sky and the dancing branches of neighbouring trees anxiously. She caught the trail end of their conversation just as she walked closer, over the howling of the wind.
‘’-on’t think we should take the chance to do the ringing in the pasture. It’s a bit unconventional, but I think we should get the herd into the indoor arena and go from there.’’
The word passed around to every participant and once everyone was on the same wavelength, a groom walked inside the barn. He returned with a few training sticks, handing them out to people.
‘’Let’s get out there and bring them in.’’
As the group made its way to the small herd of grazing ponies, rain began to fall. One of the owners - a middle-aged man - opened up the gate to the paddock and people began to circle around the cobs in a half circle to guide them towards the covered arena. As she was taking her position, Kass spotted Cirrus near the middle of the group. The mare lifted her head from her grazing when the low rumble of thunder echoed. However. Kass had not seen any lighting bolt split the horizon - it appeared that the storm was not upon them just yet.
With loud clucking and energical waving of sticks behind them, the small herd of ponies eventually made its way to the dry indoors. What had started as light showers had grown into a proper downpour along their way, so that both people and horses were soaked once they had finally made it out of the rain. The groom from earlier - bless his heart - had gathered towels for everyone in the meantime. With the ponies now secured inside the arena, everyone was allowed to take a few minutes to pat themselves dry. Then the traditional bell ribbons were distributed to all before entering the large sandy ring where the ponies were exploring curiously.
Cirrus stood near the far corner of the arena, sniffing at a pile of cavaletti stored there. As she stepped towards her, Kass reached for the treats inside her pocket. She pulled them out with a grimace - unfortunately they had not been spared by the rain.
‘’Hey, girl…’’ the woman spoke softly, catching the mare’s attention.’’You don’t seem too worse for wear.’’ Cirrus looked up at her with big brown eyes, her nostrils flaring in a quiet greeting. The tobiano pony’s mane and tail were not dripping anymore, but sticky strands of wet hair clung to her damp body.
Kass stretched a hand toward the pony, who stepped towards her with her neck outstretched to sniff at the soggy treats nestled inside her palm. Ears perked in interest, Cirrus soft lips brushed the young trainer’s fingers as she lapped up the crumbs. If the treats not being dry was of any disappointment, the mare showed nothing of it, nodding her head enthusiastically as she chewed. Reaching for more treats and offering them to the pony with one hand, Kass closed the couple of steps of distance to stand at the mare’s side. She stroked the pony’s neck gently, combing the damp mane with her fingers. Even once there were no treats left, Cirrus stood calmly instead of walking off. The palomino horse huffed out a sigh, her eyelids and lip drooping in contentment.
‘’Aren’t you just the sweetest,’’ Kass whispered with a smile. While the mare seemingly dozed off, Kass split a section of her mane into strands before weaving the bell ribbon into a braid.
‘’Now, I’m not sure how this’ll work in the circumstances. But please hold on to this for a while so we can bring you home, ok?’’ she told Cirrus with a parting pat once she was done.
