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Description

Stable Name: Sugar-Pine-Stables
Show: Rustic Ridge Valentines Show
Class: Dressage
Registered Name: Blue Monday
Rider Name: Sévère Archambault
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Sévère struggled to focus on his work during the early days of February. The man had some big plans for the year. These were, more specifically, romantic plans; which was probably why they took so much of his attention and caused as much stress as they did. He had been official with his current partner, Benjamin, for a while, though before that, they had been sweethearts in college. The coming Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the first that they had shared together, but he already decided that it had to be special. The hopelessly-in-love ravenette had the ambitious goal to propose by the end of the year, and leaving the subtle hints until then would be part of his plan. There were a few things that Sev still had to sort out before popping the question though. One such task included asking his partner’s parents for their blessing. They were a more traditional family, though much less toxic in that regard than his own. Asking for their approval had more to do with respect than anything, giving them ample opportunity to air any concerns and hopefully give him some advice for the pair’s future. They surely seemed more functional and capable of that than his own parents at least.

Not wanting to be too obvious, Sev opted not to tell Ben that he was planning on seeing his parents. Usually, the Canadian had to be dragged there due to nerves about saying the wrong thing or messing something up, even if that hadn’t happened thus far. So, making the suggestion to visit them himself would be a little suspicious, to say the least. Instead, he would find some kind of excuse to fly to the States, and likely treat his fiancé-to-be to a romantic Valentine’s holiday and a family rendezvous at the same time. If he could just find an upcoming horse show to attend near enough, his plan would surely go without a hitch.

Fortunately, the Rustic Ridge Valentine’s Show was still open for participation sign-up and would be held at a convenient time for what Sev had in mind. What’s more, the location was in Florida; a much warmer climate than where he and his partner currently lived in Ireland. Ben was his best little cheerleader and always had been, but if the horse show wasn’t appealing enough, he hoped the sun and beaches might be extra reasons to convince him to tag along. Aside from being a nice spot for a holiday, it was only a couple of states away from Benjamin’s hometown; so it wouldn’t be too much hassle to swing by and fulfil the true purpose of the entire trip.

The final part of the plan before things were booked, packed up and set in motion was deciding which horse he would bring to the show. The obvious answer would be Blue Monday, Sévère’s friendly chestnut mare, who was already waiting for a chance to debut her advancements in her dressage career. Sev had bought her as an eventing prospect, but her sire’s extensive dressage record was beginning to show itself, and she really seemed to excel in the sport. At the novice level, she had previously placed second internationally, to her pedantic owner’s annoyance. However, throughout the year, the pair had trained extra hard and worked their way past several issues that may have held them back before. Thus far, Sev had only ridden Lundi in a simple snaffle. They hadn’t found a need to use a double-bitted bridle just yet, and the show didn’t seem to have anything against that preference, and that made it an even more perfect choice.

Sévère’s own outfit for the day of the dressage test was probably a little on the darker side, compared to the pretty pinks and purples he saw among the other competitors. Pastels did him little justice and pink was not his colour, at least according to him. He would leave such fashion choices to his partner, who pulled off prettier fashion much better than he did. The long tails of his coat blew around in the light breeze as he impatiently waited his turn. The arrogant man was extremely critical of his competition, but luckily, he would keep his unconstructive comments in his head. The petals from the surrounding trees were carried softly by the light wind into the covered arena. They danced around in time with the graceful chestnut, who didn’t seem bothered by them, the crowd, or her owner’s nerves at all. Sev was a little less calm and collected. He had made it to Florida, and was well prepared for the dressage class, as shown by his mare’s beautiful movements. But his mind was elsewhere; worrying about all the other cogs in his grand scheme that could still go wrong. He had brought the love of his life here, to share a special Valentine’s Day, and to ask his parents a scarily important question. What if they refused? It wasn’t as if he would give up on proposing altogether, but it certainly would be a spanner in the works. The possibility weighed heavily on his shoulders. Mostly because he knew that there were very valid reasons to object to a marriage between himself and his beloved Benji. He hadn’t always been the kindest to his partner, or anyone else, for that matter. Sev was not a good or wholesome person by any means, and he knew he probably didn’t deserve the small ray of sunshine that Ben provided, at least by any objective measure. Despite that unfortunate fact, Sévère had made progress and was a much more stable man for his efforts, even if he did have a long way still to go.

It was something of a miracle that despite his distracted mind, the dressage test itself couldn’t have gone much better, Sev would think to himself. The mare had a powerful, determined gait and her confidence far outweighed his own. She carried her silk and velvet-clad rider across the sand as a testament to the freedom of a much simpler mind.

1012 words
--
Sev and Lundi belong to me

Description

Stable Name: Sugar-Pine-Stables
Show: Rustic Ridge Valentines Show
Class: Dressage
Registered Name: Blue Monday
Rider Name: Sévère Archambault
--
Sévère struggled to focus on his work during the early days of February. The man had some big plans for the year. These were, more specifically, romantic plans; which was probably why they took so much of his attention and caused as much stress as they did. He had been official with his current partner, Benjamin, for a while, though before that, they had been sweethearts in college. The coming Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the first that they had shared together, but he already decided that it had to be special. The hopelessly-in-love ravenette had the ambitious goal to propose by the end of the year, and leaving the subtle hints until then would be part of his plan. There were a few things that Sev still had to sort out before popping the question though. One such task included asking his partner’s parents for their blessing. They were a more traditional family, though much less toxic in that regard than his own. Asking for their approval had more to do with respect than anything, giving them ample opportunity to air any concerns and hopefully give him some advice for the pair’s future. They surely seemed more functional and capable of that than his own parents at least.

Not wanting to be too obvious, Sev opted not to tell Ben that he was planning on seeing his parents. Usually, the Canadian had to be dragged there due to nerves about saying the wrong thing or messing something up, even if that hadn’t happened thus far. So, making the suggestion to visit them himself would be a little suspicious, to say the least. Instead, he would find some kind of excuse to fly to the States, and likely treat his fiancé-to-be to a romantic Valentine’s holiday and a family rendezvous at the same time. If he could just find an upcoming horse show to attend near enough, his plan would surely go without a hitch.

Fortunately, the Rustic Ridge Valentine’s Show was still open for participation sign-up and would be held at a convenient time for what Sev had in mind. What’s more, the location was in Florida; a much warmer climate than where he and his partner currently lived in Ireland. Ben was his best little cheerleader and always had been, but if the horse show wasn’t appealing enough, he hoped the sun and beaches might be extra reasons to convince him to tag along. Aside from being a nice spot for a holiday, it was only a couple of states away from Benjamin’s hometown; so it wouldn’t be too much hassle to swing by and fulfil the true purpose of the entire trip.

The final part of the plan before things were booked, packed up and set in motion was deciding which horse he would bring to the show. The obvious answer would be Blue Monday, Sévère’s friendly chestnut mare, who was already waiting for a chance to debut her advancements in her dressage career. Sev had bought her as an eventing prospect, but her sire’s extensive dressage record was beginning to show itself, and she really seemed to excel in the sport. At the novice level, she had previously placed second internationally, to her pedantic owner’s annoyance. However, throughout the year, the pair had trained extra hard and worked their way past several issues that may have held them back before. Thus far, Sev had only ridden Lundi in a simple snaffle. They hadn’t found a need to use a double-bitted bridle just yet, and the show didn’t seem to have anything against that preference, and that made it an even more perfect choice.

Sévère’s own outfit for the day of the dressage test was probably a little on the darker side, compared to the pretty pinks and purples he saw among the other competitors. Pastels did him little justice and pink was not his colour, at least according to him. He would leave such fashion choices to his partner, who pulled off prettier fashion much better than he did. The long tails of his coat blew around in the light breeze as he impatiently waited his turn. The arrogant man was extremely critical of his competition, but luckily, he would keep his unconstructive comments in his head. The petals from the surrounding trees were carried softly by the light wind into the covered arena. They danced around in time with the graceful chestnut, who didn’t seem bothered by them, the crowd, or her owner’s nerves at all. Sev was a little less calm and collected. He had made it to Florida, and was well prepared for the dressage class, as shown by his mare’s beautiful movements. But his mind was elsewhere; worrying about all the other cogs in his grand scheme that could still go wrong. He had brought the love of his life here, to share a special Valentine’s Day, and to ask his parents a scarily important question. What if they refused? It wasn’t as if he would give up on proposing altogether, but it certainly would be a spanner in the works. The possibility weighed heavily on his shoulders. Mostly because he knew that there were very valid reasons to object to a marriage between himself and his beloved Benji. He hadn’t always been the kindest to his partner, or anyone else, for that matter. Sev was not a good or wholesome person by any means, and he knew he probably didn’t deserve the small ray of sunshine that Ben provided, at least by any objective measure. Despite that unfortunate fact, Sévère had made progress and was a much more stable man for his efforts, even if he did have a long way still to go.

It was something of a miracle that despite his distracted mind, the dressage test itself couldn’t have gone much better, Sev would think to himself. The mare had a powerful, determined gait and her confidence far outweighed his own. She carried her silk and velvet-clad rider across the sand as a testament to the freedom of a much simpler mind.

1012 words
--
Sev and Lundi belong to me