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Description
EDIT: so jenn pointed out that the original geno for her was silver grulla and not only am i a dumbass but i've changed her color to match so say hello to the actual sonja

Ohohoho more Sonja because she's great and now i can start on my original plotline

~~~

Unbeknownst to them, Sonja was already a proven showjumper. Of course there were photos of her jumping but it was impossible to tell how high they were from the pictures and it was never recorded. It had been a unanimous decision to retrain her as if she had never seen humans before, but after the sight of a lunge whip left her a terrified squealing mess and Keke with a dislocated shoulder did they begin to research her past.

A call to the stables that she had been purchased from revealed very little. When the mare was brought there there was only one woman running it and she had passed away before the stables had been taken over. From what the current owners could piece together, she had been either bought or traded from a backyard operation up north as a 3 year old and completely trained by the woman but never extensively showed. A few ribbons addressed to her had been found in the house and tack room but there was no evidence of what class or even what show they'd been from but based on the pictures they'd assumed jumping.

Unfortunately there was no record of her owners before that and the trail had run cold until someone remembered the sales ad in the photo album delivered with the horses. Luckily the number was still in service but the person that answered vehemently denied knowing of any previously sold horses, especially not abused ones. After a winding stream of questions it was revealed that a family had bought a mare matching her description from a livestock closeout sale in Virginia in 2004.

She had been intended as a childrens 4-H companion and was purchased under the assumption that she was a dead broke 14 year old Quarter Horse. By the time it was discovered that she was only 2 and relatively unhandled it was too late and the family was forced to take her. They had very little horse experience beyond a few trail rides but had fenced in their yard and decided to keep the mare anyway.

Their lack of experience resulted in a few brief stints to find a "natural horsemanship" trainer to do the work for them. Coupled with the lack of respect natural horsemanship employs and the frustration of her owners, she had been whipped and kicked into adolescence. Their method worked for a while and the mare was an "easygoing pony" for several months until she began biting and kicking anyone that tried to touch her.

The trainer was called back to try and correct this problem but after the yearling broke his hip it was decided that she would be put up for sale. Obviously a horse with her track record never sold so another ad was posted along with a picture of her pedigree and the simple text that anyone willing to make the drive up there could have her.

Dannika Hazel was the first and only person to respond to the ad and took the horse home with her. At their request Morning Dew Equestrian, as the womans stables was now called, had sent everything they had pertaining to the horses Vechnyy had taken. Among those things was a detailed training journal for each horse, Sonja's spanning more than 2 years and chronicling the thousands of hours it had taken to teach the horse how to cope with abuse.

According to the journal she had started out at 3ft but was easily able to jump 5ft and had competed in those divisions before, but her placing wasn't recorded. The journal left off with her jumping 5'6" but since none of the pages were dated, it was impossible to tell how long ago it had been. Moole had been born when Sonja was 5 and Vechnyy had bought them when he was 3, meaning the mare had been out of work for anywhere from 5 to 8 years and handled only twice in that time, both very briefly.

While the mare was perfectly healthy and becoming used to humans again, she was still impossibly independent. She pulled you towards whatever she wanted, refused to be caught, and crowded anyone handling her. Sonja bucked and balked her way through countless hours of trot poles and fought viciously against any attempt to ride her until she was declared untrainable and dismissed.

Jumping had turned out to be her only talent but if she couldn't be ridden she had no purpose. It took several weeks of brooding before it was determined that she would try her hand at free jumping before being retired to breeding. She had been trained it with her previous owner and after a few rehearsals she was quickly signed up for a show to prove her worth.

~~~

Horse's Name: Homeward Bound
Link to Ref: n/a (old ref fav.me/d39d9iv )
Age: 13 years old
Handler: Keenan Cristo
Stables: Vechnyy
Country: USA
Class: Free Jumping
Starting Number: n/a
Show Journal: Royal Outlaw Stables Show

~~

Sonja and art: Jyynxx
Ref used: fav.me/d3ilnp3

Description
EDIT: so jenn pointed out that the original geno for her was silver grulla and not only am i a dumbass but i've changed her color to match so say hello to the actual sonja

Ohohoho more Sonja because she's great and now i can start on my original plotline

~~~

Unbeknownst to them, Sonja was already a proven showjumper. Of course there were photos of her jumping but it was impossible to tell how high they were from the pictures and it was never recorded. It had been a unanimous decision to retrain her as if she had never seen humans before, but after the sight of a lunge whip left her a terrified squealing mess and Keke with a dislocated shoulder did they begin to research her past.

A call to the stables that she had been purchased from revealed very little. When the mare was brought there there was only one woman running it and she had passed away before the stables had been taken over. From what the current owners could piece together, she had been either bought or traded from a backyard operation up north as a 3 year old and completely trained by the woman but never extensively showed. A few ribbons addressed to her had been found in the house and tack room but there was no evidence of what class or even what show they'd been from but based on the pictures they'd assumed jumping.

Unfortunately there was no record of her owners before that and the trail had run cold until someone remembered the sales ad in the photo album delivered with the horses. Luckily the number was still in service but the person that answered vehemently denied knowing of any previously sold horses, especially not abused ones. After a winding stream of questions it was revealed that a family had bought a mare matching her description from a livestock closeout sale in Virginia in 2004.

She had been intended as a childrens 4-H companion and was purchased under the assumption that she was a dead broke 14 year old Quarter Horse. By the time it was discovered that she was only 2 and relatively unhandled it was too late and the family was forced to take her. They had very little horse experience beyond a few trail rides but had fenced in their yard and decided to keep the mare anyway.

Their lack of experience resulted in a few brief stints to find a "natural horsemanship" trainer to do the work for them. Coupled with the lack of respect natural horsemanship employs and the frustration of her owners, she had been whipped and kicked into adolescence. Their method worked for a while and the mare was an "easygoing pony" for several months until she began biting and kicking anyone that tried to touch her.

The trainer was called back to try and correct this problem but after the yearling broke his hip it was decided that she would be put up for sale. Obviously a horse with her track record never sold so another ad was posted along with a picture of her pedigree and the simple text that anyone willing to make the drive up there could have her.

Dannika Hazel was the first and only person to respond to the ad and took the horse home with her. At their request Morning Dew Equestrian, as the womans stables was now called, had sent everything they had pertaining to the horses Vechnyy had taken. Among those things was a detailed training journal for each horse, Sonja's spanning more than 2 years and chronicling the thousands of hours it had taken to teach the horse how to cope with abuse.

According to the journal she had started out at 3ft but was easily able to jump 5ft and had competed in those divisions before, but her placing wasn't recorded. The journal left off with her jumping 5'6" but since none of the pages were dated, it was impossible to tell how long ago it had been. Moole had been born when Sonja was 5 and Vechnyy had bought them when he was 3, meaning the mare had been out of work for anywhere from 5 to 8 years and handled only twice in that time, both very briefly.

While the mare was perfectly healthy and becoming used to humans again, she was still impossibly independent. She pulled you towards whatever she wanted, refused to be caught, and crowded anyone handling her. Sonja bucked and balked her way through countless hours of trot poles and fought viciously against any attempt to ride her until she was declared untrainable and dismissed.

Jumping had turned out to be her only talent but if she couldn't be ridden she had no purpose. It took several weeks of brooding before it was determined that she would try her hand at free jumping before being retired to breeding. She had been trained it with her previous owner and after a few rehearsals she was quickly signed up for a show to prove her worth.

~~~

Horse's Name: Homeward Bound
Link to Ref: n/a (old ref fav.me/d39d9iv )
Age: 13 years old
Handler: Keenan Cristo
Stables: Vechnyy
Country: USA
Class: Free Jumping
Starting Number: n/a
Show Journal: Royal Outlaw Stables Show

~~

Sonja and art: Jyynxx
Ref used: fav.me/d3ilnp3