I've been meaning to downsize & give away some of my horses for a while, so here we go. I'd rather they went to people who are determined to give them a good home and a job, so this isn't just a 'claim to win' kind of thing. All I ask is that you tell me why you want this horse, and what you are planning to do with it. I will leave this journal up for a week, at the end of which I will go through the list of possible owners and assign the horses to their new homes. And yes - you can try for more than one, but there will be no guarantees you get both of them!

And now, onto the ponies!


#3, a blind Maharajan who will need some special care.


Sky, a Kaimanawa mare, ground broken, plenty of training still left to go



Chunk, an Irish Draught stallion whom I sadly never clicked with

That's all for now - although if you are interested in any of my other horses you are free to make an offer - even if I'm not ready to part with them, a lease or a breeding can still be arranged.

Good luck & thank you!

'Cause it's been over a year since I did that...

So I just had a quick look at my last update journal, so we'll pick up from there, I  think, and just quickly go over the most important bits, for those who are interested

My internship over the summer of 2016 was great. The friend who I was originally going to work with had left at that point, which didn't really help with the anxiety, but I pushed past it and went anyway, and I'm glad I did. It was a lot of work in the sun and the heat (temps regularly reached 40C) but the place was beautiful, there was a little riverside beach nearby, and I got to go on a few hacks, which was really cool. I mostly lunged horses, groomed and tacked up, and got to teach a few lead line lessons to the stable hand's kid. I wouldn't go back if that rider were still there though, he was quite rough to the horses and then tried to justify himself for things that weren't really justifiable. (let's just say that I don't condemn the use of a whip, and I use one frequently, but I've never brought a horse back to his stall covered in blood from being whipped so badly that it broke the skin)

My third and last year of Uni started shortly after. I tried to ride Coimbra again but she got a really awful saddle sore at the start of the year (it would've been fine if our professor hadn't told us to ride her before it healed...) and eventually she was taken away. Where to, I'm not really sure. I miss her

I was a bit lost for a while, trying horse after horse to see if I could find one that would help me through the last year tests, which weren't exactly meant for horses who couldn't even do a leg yield. I briefly worked with a young endurance horse, Ginja, but my professor eventually took her back to his stables and I was left without a horse... Again. At the end, I just borrowed a double bridle and rode Conan with it, which kept him from exploding everywhere and worked well enough for me to manage to pass. I fell off while warming up for my last test, but still. I passed.

The way the last year works is that the first semester is spent at school, and the second semester is spent in an internship. Since I hadn't managed to do a student exchange on my second year, the lady at the international relations office at my school suggested I go abroad for my internship instead. Of course I took the chance! I started looking for places quite early, and I'm pretty damn glad I did, because finding one ended up being more complicated than I thought it would be.

I found a lovely little riding school that would be happy to take me in, and found a place to stay, too... And then the riding school shut down. So I found an equestrian centre in Wales, that could offer accommodation... Then, two weeks before I was supposed to hand in my documentation, they couldn't take me in anymore because a groom they'd hired was going to take my place. (I wonder what would've happened if that had been the case while I was staying there!!) Thankfully, I found a place on time - Overdale Equestrian Centre, no less than Mary Wanless's home base - and I would be staying at her house!!

Needless to say, it was an amazing experience. There was room for improvement, mind - the place could be quite disorganised at times and one of the other grooms seemed to take pride in doing the least possible while somehow still holding the job, but everyone else was super nice, and the horses were lovely, and I learned so much and would love to go back. The Cotswolds are such a beautiful place that I'd wanted to visit for ages - and best of all, I got to meet (the now-boyfriend ) Rory ofcowardiceandkings in person for the first time, at the Cotswold Wildlife Park And also at Gloucestershire Pride - which was great, even if it was super windy that day!

My internship ended in June, which, as it turned out, was the perfect timing to allow me to finally attend the Royal Highland Show, after much pestering by Christine ElreniaGreenleaf, so I asked if Rory could come along and, the morning after my last day at Overdale, I took the train to Birmingham, where I met Rory so we could travel up to Glasgow together, for a week.

It was... so good, my dudes. Glasgow is a lovely city (even if we got booted out of every museum we went to they close far too early!!) but even if it wasn't, spending time with my best friends would have made up for it. Both Rory and Christine are just so sweet and kind and so much fun to be around!! The RHS was pretty damn amazing but, to be honest, my favourite day was the one spent in Christine's room, just playing video games and chatting and making stupid jokes (and accidentally riding unicorns off cliffs)

Coming back home was the hardest thing I've ever done. Honestly - a part of me stayed in England, and damn if I'm not going to go back. I'm looking for jobs now, and I'm hoping I can get back sometime in February. Keep your fingers crossed - especially cause now I've got the boy waiting for me

In the meantime, I graduated (with first-class honours, which is awesome) and started seeing a therapist for gender things. I won't be able to change my name before I leave, as I'd planned (because I am a dumb and kept putting things off) but I should be starting HRT very, very soon!

(if any of you is feeling generous, i have a gofundme thing to help with transition costs here)

Aaand I think that is all. I'm searching for jobs both nearby and in England right now, trying to get some money together before I leave cause my appointments are eating all of that up. No dice so far, though. I'm trying to stay optimistic and telling myself something will turn up on time, but we'll see. I hope it will.

Hope everything's alright with you guys

Lucas the drama queen got tagged by Helsinge 

BASICS:

    1. Full Name
        - Lucas d'Almeida
    2. Age
        - 23
    3. Birthday
        - September 10
    4. Birth place
        - Estremoz (a.k.a. the middle of nowhere), Portugal
    5. Current Residence
        - Manhattan, New York
    6. Job
        - Yard Owner, theatre Actor
    7. Siblings?
        - None
    8. Parents?
        - Far too protective, in his opinion. He moved out as soon as he could.
    9. Pets? (Other Than Horses)
        - A cat, called Tivoli.
    10. Horses Owned/Training
        - Smoothie, Pitti, Leo, Abby and Miss, as well as a couple of foalies. They're all his own.

FRIENDS & RELATIONSHIPS:

    11. Best friend?
        - He doesn't really have close friends, but Aaron and Lauren are two of the few that can put up with him for longer than ten minutes.
    12. Married? In a Relationship?
        - Nope, and nope.
    13. Any kids?
        - The mere thought of it makes him break out in a sweat.
    14. If they aren't married now, do they want to be?
        - He loathes the idea of being tied to anyone.
    15. How many relationships have they had?
        - A couple of flings, and a more significant relationship that lasted five years.

LIKES & DISLIKES

    16. Favourite Colour?
        - Dark green
    17. Favourite Food?
        - Any sort of pie. He likes the crunchy edges.
    18. Favourite Animal?
        - Horses, though he also likes cats and a few types of birds.
    19. Sweet or Savory?
        - Savory
    20. Favourite Movie?
        - Party Monster (it's the sort of movie that's so bad it's almost good)
    21. TV or Movies?
        - Movies, he'd rather see the whole story at once, instead of waiting weeks to figure it out.
    22. Favourite TV/Movie genre?
        - Documentaries, dramas, and romcoms (the latter, though, is a secret he intends to take to the grave!)
    23. Music taste? Do they have a favourite song/anthem?
        - He enjoys classical music and soundtracks from his favourite musicals. He doesn't really have a favourite song though, it usually changes every few weeks or so.

DO THEY...

    24. Sing in the shower?
        - Yes. All the time. Loudly, too.
    25. Have any really bad habits?
        - He smokes like a chimney, and he can't keep his opinions to himself, whether they're good or bad. He also tends to doubt other people. He can also be incredibly messy, he doesn't see the point in tidying up when he'll just end up using stuff again. Swears a whole damn lot.
    26. Get annoyed at other peoples' bad habits?
        - Oh, yes. And he won't keep that to himself.
    27. Avoid getting into trouble?
        - He tries, but trouble seems to have taken a liking to him.
    28. Voice their opinions?
        - Yes, quite bluntly too.
    29. Have any piercings/tattoos?
        - Nope.
  30. Have any scars?
        - A fairly big one on the side of his head that he tries to keep hidden from when he fractured his skull, and a handful of smaller ones from cuts and scrapes he got while growing up.
    31. Talk through movies?
        - If he finds the movie boring or unpleasant in any way, yes.
    32. Like technology?
        - God, no. His phone was so old it didn't even have a camera, before Aaron forced him to switch for a shiny new iPhone. 

NEVER HAVE I EVER

Has your character...
    33. Driven a car?
        - Yep, he got his license as soon as he was able to.
    34. Crashed a car?
        - Also a yes, before he got his license, though. He "borrowed" his father's car when he was sixteen to pick up a boy, got drunk, and hit a tree when he was coming home.
    35. Gotten drunk?
        - Yes. He does it more often than he should.
    36. Taken drugs?
        - Nope. Thought about it, though.
    37. Had sex?
       - Yes.
    38. Been arrested?
        - Nope. Money can get you out of a lot of trouble.
    39. Been in a fight?
        - Honestly, given his personality, it's kind of unavoidable.
    40. Been skydiving?
        - Nope. It's a bit too risky for him.
    41. Been scuba-diving?
        - Yes, off the coast of Madagascar when he was a teen.
    42. Visited another country? Which ones?
        - He's visited quite a few, but more recently, the US, Australia, and Sweden.
    43. Injured themselves trying to impress someone?
        - Nah. He doesn't really care about impressing people, he always assumes they hate him anyway! (and that's often the case)
    44. Gotten a speeding ticket?
        - A few, yes.
    45. Cried/flirted their way out of a speeding ticket?
        - There's no need when he's got enough money to pay for them, heh.
    46. Been in a talent show?
        - Nope. He thinks they're too biased towards singers.
    47. Been homeless?
        - No.
    48. Walked for more than six hours?
       - Probably, yes, to get away from people.
    49. Broken something at someone's house and not told them?
        - Nah, he'd own up to it and offer to replace it. He'd probably be pretty embarrassed, tbh.
    50. Shoplifted?
        - He always got everything he needed growing up. So of course he rebelled and nicked a packet of cigarettes in a couple of occasions.
    51. Broken a bone?
       - Yes, his skull when he was 16. Boi gotta be dramatic, he can't just break an arm like a boring person.
    52. Walked out of a movie because it was bad?
        - Yes. He tried to ask for a refund, too.
    53. Shot a gun?
        - No.
    54. Fallen in love at first sight?
        - He doesn't believe that can happen, so even if it did, he just dismissed it.
    55. Cheated on a test?
       - Nah, he always studied more than enough.
    56. Cheated on a partner?
        - No, but he's been cheated on.
    57. Been on TV/radio?
      - A couple of times, on advertisements and reports for plays he's been on.
    58. Thrown up on a rollercoaster?
        - Nope, he's got a strong stomach x)
    59. Been slapped?
        - Yes. Deserved it, too.
    60. Thrown something at a TV/computer screen?
        - No, he's more likely to throw his computer at something rather than the other way around.
    61. Been screamed at by a customer/client?
        - Yes. He doesn't really know how to handle sensitive people.
    62. Bungee jumped?
        - Nope.
    63. Fainted?
        - Yes, when he fell on his head.

CAN THEY...

    64. Sing?
        - Yes, his job pretty much requires it.
    65. Dance?
        - Also a yes, and a few different styles as well, though he's most fond of ballet.
    66. Play an instrument?
        - He can play the piano and the cello.
    67. Draw?
        - Squiggly stick figures. His hands shake when he does that type of precision work.
    68. Speak another language?
        - Yep. He can speak Portuguese, English, German, French, and LGP (Portuguese sign language), and is learning ASL.
    69. Juggle?
        - He tried it once, when he was drunk. You know those bartenders who juggle with whiskey bottles? He owed a small fortune in spilled whiskey after he was done.
    70. Do a handstand?
        - Nope, he just sort of crumbles.
    71. Say the alphabet backwards?
        - He can't be arsed to try.
    72. Sing their national anthem?
        - Nope. He learned it when he was a kid but it wasn't something he deemed important enough to remember.

WHAT IS THE TL;DR VERSION OF THEIR LIFE?

    TL;DR: Tell us your character's life in a nutshell.

Loves acting, ponios, music & dance, currently trying to get his life back together after starting over in the US. Will probably yell at you if you look at him wrong.

Tagging!!
ElreniaGreenleaf - Niko
Tjihopp - Louise
Shotechi - Will
Tattered-Dreams - Chess
ofcowardiceandkings - Nicole

 DRESSAGE 

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 GRAND CHAMPION