The pre-Christmas Auction

[Sync]

Zack and Scout were sat side by side in the front of someones borrowed truck. Another borrowed item was attached to the back of the vehicle, and Zack grinned happily as he cast a look back to it. He and his fluffy companion were on their way to the auction, fully intending on buying another equine to accompany Mockingbird. The Appaloosa gelding was getting awfully lonely in the pastures when Zack and Scout weren't around, and the cheeky sod needed to be kept occupied or he got destructive. The male chuckled as he thought of the horse, he really was a character. The vehicle was turned into the driveway of the auction house, which was already pretty full. His brow furrowed, he hoped that there was still a lot up for grabs. Parking the vehicle better than he'd expected himself to, he and Scout left the truck and made their way over to the auction house.

As soon as he had entered the building, the hustle and bustle made his form mentally shrink a little. Zack wasn't the most outgoing of people, but this wasn't enough to deter him from his mission. Two little girls paused to ask him if they could pet Scout. He nodded and smiled at them, and Scout lapped up the attention. The male gave a contented sigh, but made no other noise. Scout made very little noise. Once the girls were done, Zack continued and allowed his oracles to scan over the horses on offer. There were a few Hunter Jumper ponies, and usually they would appeal to him. Today they didn't. He wanted something a little different, and it wasn't long until he stumbled across him. A Clydesdale looking gelding, who was too small to be a pure bred, caught Zack's eye. He had his painted cranium hung over the gate of his pen, pulling faces at anyone who passed. Zack chuckled, which caused the audits of him to flicker forward.

Zack had been fussing him for a good ten minutes before the seller came over. He looked quite pleasant, and wasn't holding himself in a threatening manner as many seemed to do so. Zack smiled back at the man, and the conversing began. "Alright lad? Got an interest in ole' Moo here, d'you?" the man asked, his vocals pleasant. Zack looked over to the information sheet about the gelding, there wasn't that much on there. It informed Zack that he was seven, and that he was a Clydesdale cross Quarter Horse. He also hadn't been trained in anything specific. This pleased Zack. "Suppose I am, how much is he going for?" he asked. The man grinned, he already knew that he had a sale. "300 quid. He'd make you a great companion." he said, gesturing to Moo who was now lipping at the sleeve of Zack's jacket.

"I'll take 'im!" Zack announced, pulling his wallet from his pocket. He counted out the money and handed it over to the man. Shaking the sellers hand, he then picked up the head collar offered to him. He slipped it onto Moo, who took it surprisingly happily. Patting the horses' neck, he then began to lead him from the pen and out to the back entrance of the auction house. Taking him over to the horse box, he tied him up at the side as he opened up the box and set it up for him. Zack then lead him inside and secured him safely. They were then ready to go, so Zack closed up the horse box and he and Scout went around to the front of the truck and climbed in. Now all he had to do was decide what to start Moo training in. He knew the pair were to have a lot of fun.

[Sync]

Josh was a little undecided about what he was looking for at the auction. With two horses with such different characters, anything in between would be a welcome change. Turing the vehicle which towed his horse box, he was surprised by the amount of cars outside the auction house. He thought that Park was a small town. He guessed that people from the surrounding towns and even cities had come to see what was on offer. Josh suddenly wished he had brought the dogs with him, even just Helena. Even with the smallest of terriers with him, he felt safer. He knew that the majority of sellers and buyers today would be men, and this intimidated him. Taking a deep breath, he parked the vehicle and stepped out. His feet tread lightly as he wandered toward the auction house, a bead of sweat beginning to form on his upper lip.

As he entered the room, a wall of noise bounced from him. He winced visibly, but tried to keep hidden. No need to draw unwanted attention. The youngster walked slowly up and down the aisles of horses. He first stopped in front of a large Cremello Warmblood stallion. He studied the beast for a while, but found him of little interest. One stallion was enough, and this one looked as if he would be a handful like Slumber. Maybe even a little more. Giving the horse a farewell pat, he turned on his heels and continued on his way. He saw that many of the horses had been sold, he was glad to see the empty pens. At least some would be earning a new, loving home. Continuing on his walk, he froze in front of the pen which held a beautiful Dapple Gray Warmblood. He chuckled at the horses expression, he had his tongue poking out of his mouth a little as he compromised with the lock on his pen. The concentration on his face made Josh chuckle, fascinated to learn the outcome of this horses escapade.

The horse had just about succeeded when Josh reached up to slide the lock back into place. The gelding pulled his cranium back in surprise, he obviously hadn't been informed of Josh's presence. He cocked his head in interest, reaching out to snuffle at Josh's shirt. The seller then came over, sensing that a deal was to be made. Josh was more than happy to see that the seller was a woman. Her features were stern, but as soon as she smiled the harshness faded. "Like him d'you boy? He's going pretty cheap. He's 8 years old, goes by the name of Ray. Show name is Doe Ray Me." she informed him, and also told him that he was a Danish Warmblood. Josh had never worked with Warmbloods, just his Curly horses as well as his grandmothers cross breed. They had never been sure what breeds she possessed the genes of though. A warmblood would be a completely new chapter in his life.

Reaching up to scratch under his forelock, Josh grinned when the horse snorted appreciatively. "Go on then, tell me how much he is." Josh said with a smile. The woman returned it and then spoke again. "450." Then, when Josh shook his head, she dropped it down to 400. "That's better. I'll take him." he told her, digging into his pocket for money. Handing it over, he was then given the horses lead rope. Josh clipped it onto Ray's head collar and then proceeded to lead him from the auction house, speaking quietly to him as they went. With every sentence, Ray's audits flickered as if he was really interested in what Josh had to say. This made his new owner smile, he knew he had made the right choice in Ray. He was easy to load, if a little eager to get into the box. Soon they were on their way back to the college, something Josh couldn't be more happy about.

[Cara]

Alex had been at PEC for a couple of months now, and as she'd not been visited by her girlie "friend" since before arriving here, she knew that her worst fears were true - and the positive tests - she was more than certain that she was with-child. She knew that her decision to come here had been the right one after all as she didn't want to be in the same country as her parents (all four of them) when she told them.

The horses that were owned by the College were awesome to ride, but she really wanted one of her own, so after a phone call with her father and step-mother she had been sent a couple of grand so that she could go and have a look for a new mount.

Walking through the auction house, she walked past the horses, nothing was really catching her eye. The ones that were written down as jumpers were too small - even if Pet was super cute - and she would feel cruel riding one let alone competing on it.

She had just about given up hope until a tall skewbald caught her attention. She frowned as she got closer to the horse, a gelding by the looks of it. "Hey you." She said as she walked up to the yard and rubbed the horse's forehead. She read his info. "Ten years young, huh?" She asked him as she tickled his chin.

"He's yours for 500 quid." A man said from the other side of her.

Alex jumped and turned to look at the man who had spoken. "Five?" She repeated with an arched eyebrow before she turned to look the horse up and down again with narrowed eyes, her nose curled a little. The horse was drop-dead gorgeous, but she wanted to pay as little as she could get away with - she'd done the auction thing before.

The man looked at the girl, his eyebrows shot up. He didn't want to miss out on this sale when there were so many other horses around. "He's yours for 400!"

Alex beamed. "Sold!" She pulled her wallet from her pocket and counted out the money. "Thanks for the horse. Keep your eye out as Mo will still be making a name for himself." She had decided that she couldn't be bothered calling him Moment, so she'd shorten it down to Mo. She accepted the gelding's paper and his lead rope with a smile.

Before too long she was leading the gelding out to her float, loading him and and taking him back to the College.

[Onzy]

Quinn had been playing with the idea of a buying a horse for a while now. He knew perfectly well that if he fell he could be permanently paralysed and after after breaking his back, he knew that the chances were increasing against him. For Quinn though, life was nothing without chance and risk, so today he decided was the day he was going to buy a horse. He borrowed the College's trailer and hitched it to his truck. There were many cars there already and people were already leading out horses that they had bought.

Entering the sales area no horse really stood out for him. There were many ponies, but Quinn wasn't one for the ponies anymore. He took his time walking among the horses, until he saw a gorgeous Cremello. The info sheet said that the horse was a 12 year old stallion and had successfully competed. The horse's previous owner had died, and Quinn stood there. He knew that a stallion was problematic, but the horse's name was something. Gleam of Hope. For the pair there would be a silver lining, a future together.

A well put together woman came to him. She looked like she did not belong around horses, and had most likely never even been in a stable. I'll sell him to you for 600 quid, she said with a nasal sound. Quinn had to recover from the price for a moment before answering. 400 quid and I'll take him, he replied. The woman, knowing that the offer was most likely the highest she would get, shrugged and took the money Quinn offered her. Leading the stallion to the trailer, Quinn wondered if he made the right choice.

[Sync]

CLOSED

This auction is now closed as all of the horses have been bought. Come again to the next one!