Post by shamanss on Nov 23, 2010 12:12:31 GMT -5
Name: Blake Hunter
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Appearance: At first glance, Blake is nothing special. He doesn't have an incredible body that stands out in a crowd. He doesn't have perfectly styled hair, he doesn't dress like a prince, in fact he's quite normal. The one thing about his face that stands out are his eyes. They glow a shocking green which contrasts with his pale complexion. Lightly tossed mouse brown hair crowns his soft features. His nose isn't very prominent, but his lips are full in a masculine sort of way. Blake has never found himself loving his own appearance, and at times wished he had more "handsome" features.
His thighs and calves are well muscled due to years of riding, and his shoulders are broad. He has a well defined stomach, no six pack, but still has a strong core. He's very healthy, between riding lessons plays soccer and its apparent in his figure at 6'1".
Riding Experience: Blake devoted his life to riding. He's shown every style imaginable, eventing being his favorite. He's trained and shown with many different trainers all over the world. He finds confidence in riding to combat his poor self confidence which he had been struggling with his whole life.
Disciplines: He's shown everything, but focuses on eventing and straight up dressage.
Personality: Quiet. Very much so. In school he was the kid that sat in the back and focused on his school work. He had a few friends but none closer to him than his horses he's had over the years. Blake has poor confidence due to an overbearing father as a child but handles it incredibly well. He has a good grip on his emotions, and is mentally very strong. While he does have a tendency to be quiet and shy, he's well mannered. Blake will converse with anyone who decides to talk to him. On the opposite hand, if nobody wants to say anything to him-- he wont say a word. The best thing for anyone who desires to get to know this man, is to make the first move.
He can come off slightly cocky about riding considering he's been competing with his baby sister for years in the eventing circuit. He's found the only way to truly succeed is to sometimes have a great deal of confidence in yourself, even at the expense of others disliking you.
History:
Blake was born pretty wealthy. His mother studied sociology and wrote books while his father was a banker on the east side of England. He and his sister Cadence are 6 years apart. His father wasn't abusive, just very strict with the two. He pushed Blake into sports and tried to gear Cadence towards music and literature. When Blake failed at all but two sports, his father was disappointed. He continuously pushed Blake in those two sports, riding and soccer. Blake found favor in riding and focused more-so on that than anything else. After a while, Cadence decided she wanted to ride too, which left the two on odd ends. She learned fast and tried to compete at his level. Since then the two have been rivals. Despite Blake being older, he had always been in Cadence's shadow. She was the popular girl in high school, prom queen, etc. But she was spoiled. She failed a lot in school but her parents didn't get on her about it. Blake however pushed for straight A's and when he didn't get a good grade on something he felt serious guilt.
After he turned 18, he moved to the US to study veterinary medicine. He wound up getting his degree and worked as a vet's assistant to support his riding hobby. He worked with different horses, never bothering to buy his own. Until he met Altair, than things drastically changed.
He had been working with his boss at a wealthy upscale equestrian center. They were both idle waiting for the owner of the horse they were treating to come out and see them. Blake's eye stopped on a steel dapple grey gelding, standing at the back of his stall. He moved in closer, completely awestruck by the gelding. But the gelding wanted nothing to do with him.
Weeks after weeks he'd go back, claiming he was checking up on the sick horse, but really checking the grey warmblood out. He wondered why his owner had never worked with him, he looked unkempt. Shaggy fur, hay belly, poor topline but Blake knew he could work with him. Finally he asked the barn owner about the gelding, she informed him that the girl who owns him was too afraid to ride him. So as a result he was out of practice. It was at that moment that Blake knew the two were destined to work together.
After securing the sale, he named him Altair (to fly). And through the years, the two struggled to develop a worthwhile bond. Altair would buck, toss his head, broke some of Blake's bones. Blake never gave up, and when Altair gave in , they developed the most meaningful and amazing friendship he had ever had.
Horses Name: Altair
Breed: Irish Sport Horse
Age: 8
Gender: Gelding
Personality: He's full of personality. Sometimes it feels like he talks back to you, and he does quirky things that either annoy you or make you laugh. He's hard to catch out in the pasture sometimes, but once you get him under saddle he's a dream to work with. Altair puts in everything he's got to do a good job. He's a natural jumper and is Blake's best eventer.
Disciplines:
Three day eventing, dressage, showjumping, hunter
Appearance: Steely dapple grey with a slight rosey tint. When he gets riled up, his long grey tail stands like an arab's. And his eyes have a tendency to get wild when he's jumping.
Vices and Quirks:
He can be extremely spooky. If he figures out he can throw you, he will. He's not the easiest horse to ride even for the most advanced riders. Altair has been known to steal things from people, like hats, saddle pads, little things people leave around etc. He will never kick or bite, but he will show signs of aggression.
Sample Post:
Blake stood calmly past the gate, staring down the grey gelding. He let out a long sigh.
"Ok buddy, we can do this the easy way or the hard way..." He said to Altair.
The gelding casually swished his tail to and fro and just stared calmly at Blake. The gears in his head were turning quite ferociously, just by looking at him though you couldn't tell. A nice breeze blew threw his mane and he snorted towards Blake in a come-and-get-me attitude. He bent his neck to graze at the grass beneath him, but not once did he take his eye off Blake.
Blake took two steps forward, Altair continued to eat calmly. The young man gripped his halter and lead rope with dear life, trying to strategically plan out how he was going to catch the infamous gelding. Past plans have failed and the ones that have succeeded only worked once. The gelding was too smart to let him repeat his actions. As the wind passed through the horse, it felt around Blake's neck and he felt it through his breeches. His boots and half chaps were incredibly dirty and were in need of some good polishing and oiling. But working at the vet's office left Blake completely without time for anything of the sort.
Finally he took the initiative to take some more steps forward, and like he predicted, Altair lifted his head and turned to walk in the opposite direction.
"d*mn you! Get back here!" Blake, frustrated, started to walk faster after him.
Altair tossed a look back at him then picked up a trot. Blake's head was swimming with curse words but he kept them to himself. Watching the gelding trot around like he was hot stuff was starting to really bug him. Losing most of his inhibition, He started to sprint after the gelding. Altair spooked a bit and took off at a racehorse like gallop. Tail in the air, mocking the poor human that he did grow to know and love, but still liked messing with.
As Blake ran, he tripped over himself a few times realizing that paddock boots were the worlds worst boots to sprint in. Knowing the horse was faster than him, he questioned why he was even trying. Finally his foot found a large hole in the ground and in a flash his 6'1" self came tumbling down into the ground. He laid on his back and moaned for a bit, holding his ankle. Much to his dismay he heard familiar foot steps as Altair came trotting over to him. The horse trotted a few circles around the human before nosing the halter and lead rope laying on the ground. Finally he pressed his nose into Blake's face.
Blake groaned again and pushed Altair's face away from him.
"You know what? You suck," Blake's slightly british accent came out for a second, although after 8 years of living in the united states had gotten rid of most of it, it still came out from time to time.
Altair tossed his head before Blake finally haltered the beast and lead him out.