a reflection on good will

[eamon padraig o'kieff]

It was quiet this early in the morning, with the sun only just spreading its warming rays across the stable yard. But, Eamon had always been an early riser, waking with the morning sunlight shining through the windows of his apartment and falling across his closed eyelids. So, wandering down an empty barn aisle wasn't anything new to him. He yawned, covered his mouth with one tanned hand as he stopped in one of the furthest stable boxes from the door. There were three here, occupied with snoozing, chestnut horses, alternatively napping gently it investigating their new surroundings. Raising his arms, the new vet rested his elbows on the first stall, bending one leg to move his chin onto his forearm. A chestnut stallion stood within, one ear pricked towards him as he tugged gently at a haynet hanging from the ring near the door. "Hey buddy." He murmured, reaching over to stroke his fingers down the stallion's neck. He turned his large, majestic head towards Eamon for just a moment before deeming his haynet more interesting.

Eamon, ever since he'd begun training, hadn't thought too much about being a vet. He was fully qualified, with a years worth of internship below him, but he'd always thought he'd just follow his father. Become a breeder and a trainer, but, no...No, it seemed vet practice was just in far more demand than anything else. Which wasn't under any circumstances a bad thing. His three equines were still getting trained, they were still going to be schooled and handled and sold on eventually. And he would always be looking for more youngsters. And he'd also be a vet? Could that work out, could he do both, coincide with the world of vet science and training all at once. He could try at least. If it didn't work out then he still had options, his horses would sell for a high enough price and he'd be a full time, continuous vet. Either way, working around horses was what he'd wanted to do as a child, now as an adult he was living the dream.

Straightening up, the Irishman moved on, looking over the stall to where a lengthy, spindly looking filly was eyeing him with suspicion, though her ears were up, they were constantly moving, flicking back and forth as though to catch every sound. "I know it's strange, girl." He spoke softly, resting his arms on her stall door, a small smile pricking the sides of his lips. "But, biting me is never the answer, we got that one down yet?" He chuckled softly, watching the little filly with a soft smile, listening out o the sounds of the morning.

[reese alexandra weatherby]

early mornings were no stranger to reese. owning a barn and running a training program were full time jobs that had her up early in the morning til late at night. reese walked down the steps of her apartment and into the private barn's lounge. it was relaxing knowing she wouldn't stumble into a client in this room and that it was reserved for her and enzo and the occasional visitor. the pitter patter of paws followed her down the stairs nad she knew woodrow, her french bulldog, had come with her. "hey boy" she crooned to him, crouching down to pet his small head.

reese tightened her ponytail and exited the lounge, woodrow following at her heels. "we're going to check out some new horses that arrived buddy, you ready?" she asked him, walking out of her barn, patting a few of her horses on the nose as she left. it was a moderate walk from her barn to the main one and she was slightly eager to look at the new horses, she always loved seeing who would be brought to the barn, every horse stabled here was worth more than ten thousand dollars.

reese walked into the large main barn, stopping to take in the smell. the smell of horse was more prominent as more horses were stabled here. enzo had met the owner of the horses, the barns new vet, and had been the one to place the horses in stalls, so she was on a scavenger hunt of which of forty-eight stalls housed the new horses. she ran her hands down her black breeches and started peeking in stalls that are usually empty.

reese spotted a tall figure at the end of the barn, leaning over into a stall. i wonder if that's the new vet she mused to herself. walking to the end of the barn she became even more sure that she was correct, she had definitely not seen him before and she knew all of her clients by their cars and clothes.

reese walked up to the stranger, peering into the stall he was looking at. "she's cute, she'll make a nice eventer one day as long as she doesn't lose the spirit she has." reese smiled at the new guy, turning towards him, "i'm reese, the owner of windcase farm, and co-owner of windchase eventing".

[eamon padraig o'kieff]

There were many things that Eamon was only just growing accustomed to right now. The culture clash was one thing he hadn't quite grown used to, the different words, the different foods, the different customs. But, they were small things. There would always be small things that Eamon didn't quite get, but that was just through upbringing, and no matter how long he spent in America, there would be parts of his personality which stayed intact, no matter if it wasn't common practice. But, one of the biggest things he had yet to grow accustomed to was not having a dog around. Back in Ireland, whether it was a cold, frosty morning, an afternoon of blazing sunlight or an evening of slanting rain, Eamon would have a dog at his side, if not more than one. They'd be faithful, Irish wolfhounds or working cocker spaniels which followed on his heels, came out with riding with him, running up the Irish downs as he exercised the horses. That's what he missed. Right now a dog would be sitting at his heels, panting softly, or possible sniffing around the stable doors.

He sighed, maybe he'd have to get a puppy soon, just something small and cheerful to potter around him when he was on call, when he was alone in the apartment. But, right now he had a lot more on his plate, and adding a puppy wasn't going to be the best of options. Eamon was pulled from his thoughts by approaching footsteps tapping softly along the concrete of the aisle. He pushed off slightly, standing up to his full height as he smiled politely, resting his hands into the pockets of his old overcoat. His eyes strayed back to Sandy, who had now pricked up both ears towards the new comer, although one ear did swivel backwards after a moment.

"Yeah, she's a looker a'right." He agreed with a smile, looking over the lean figure of the filly. "Got more attitude than drive at the moment though." Which hopefully she'd grow out of. She just wasn't incredibly willing. She could free jump over fences he'd only ever seen Seal jump, but Sandy didn't have her willingness when it came to direction. She just wanted to do her own thing and Eamon had yet to persuade her that what her 'own thing' really was actually 'his thing'.

He tipped his head in greeting, a polite gesture he always used, taking a hand out of his pocket to hold out towards her. "Pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He replied, recognising his position as a worker of hers, as and acting accordingly, not that he was ever different to someone of a different status. "Eamon O'Kieff, your new vet." There was a soft huff behind him, a clink of a door which caused him to glance over his shoulder towards where the high, proud head of Seal stood, extending her head towards him as though looking for some sort of treat. Smiling he reached up to scratch her muzzle, earning a relaxed snort as the mare lent the weight of her head into him. "I appreciate you lettin' me use the boxes as well,"

[reese alexandra weatherby]

reese smiled softly at the filly and stuck her arm in the stall, but the filly ignored her with a snort and trotted to the other end of the stall. "my, my if you need help training that one, please let me, i would be more than willing to offer my services." she said lightly, even a few words out of her mouth and you could hear her thick british accent, something she had never been able to skillfully get rid of.

reese shook eamon's hand and thought hard on how his name sounded familiar. his irish accent and name should have been enough but she still had to think about it. "eamon o'kieff. the horse trader from ireland, correct?" she asked him, her grandfather had bought horses from his father and if she wasn't mistaken monty had been bought from the o'kieff's.

it's my pleasure to let you use these boxes since you so graciously decided to be our vet, i was scare for awhile no one was going to replace our old one, he quit after declaring monty was unreasonable and needed to be gelded." reese glanced at the amre who had stuck her head out of her stall. she was a gorgeous chestnut color, as red as a mare could get. she was tall, but strong, reese could very easily see she was holstiner like her personal horses.

"who is this lovely mare and is she for sale?" reese questioned, if their was one thing reese couldn't resist it was a holstiner. while enzo wasn't as picky with her on breeds, reese swore by them, they took eventing with ease if you found an honest one. reese moved to stand next to eamon, and realized just how short she was, he was nearly a foot taller than her, but she tried to ignore that and scratched the lovely mares cheek.

[eamon padraig o'kieff]

Eamon gave a roll of his eyes at the filly's antics. "It's nothing personal, I assure you." He glanced into the stall where the filly was watching him reproachfully, shifting from hoof to hoof before stilling again. "She's like that with everyone, sometimes I wonder if it's just inbuilt. That could be her whole personality, which would mean she'd be a very expensive brood mare if she won't take the halter let alone a bridle." He directed a smile at her, tearing his eyes away from his renegade filly. "I'd appreciate that, maybe she just doesn't like men." He half-joked. He'd had a gelding once who'd much preferred the female touch and bucked at a rider that was too heavy for his liking, no matter how light they sat.

He blinked slightly in surprise as he shook her hand. The accent was somewhat surprising, but he'd passed it off as starting off a new yard here in the heart of horse country. "That's me, miss. Surprised you've heard of me, it's hardly a big franchise." But, it was kinda nice to be recognised, especially for something other than 'that's the vet that told me he'd have to put my cow down.' An experience he would always remember from his vet training days.

Eamon continued to scratch Seal's neck, running his hand over her cheek. The calm mare was slowly relaxing her head over his shoulder, eyes closing and ears drooping as she enjoyed the attention. "It's my pleasure miss." He assured her once more. "I didn't think I'd ever end up being a vet, even after seven years training, but I can't say I don't enjoy it." He replied flippantly, even though there was a true sparkle in his eye. Any medic, whether for animals or humans, loved their job, their want to help anything with a heart beat, but there were aways times when the want to help wasn't always enough. "Monty? I don't think I've met him yet. The only time a stallion needs to be gelded against the will of the owner is if he's truly dangerous. I can't see any broken doors or gouges taken out of the walls round here yet."

Eamon smiled almost sadly. "Reluctantly for sale I should ay." He patted the mare's neck, running a hand down her silky coat. "Home bred, this one, little prodigy of my career I'd say." He was proud to say it. "But, I can't take her as far as she could go. She's a good horse, one of the best I've ever seen." He gave her another sad pat. "Should give her a ride, she' got paces like I've never seen on a horse before, but watch out for the bucks, she can get a little frisky in the jumping ring." He loved her personality. So calm and gentle on the ground, so high and mighty when ridden. Gorgeous combination.

[reese alexandra weatherby]

reese glanced back at the little filly. if eamon would let her she had a good chance of persuading that little filly to like humans enough to trust them. reese looked back to the tall irish man in front of her. he was shocked to hear that she actually knew who he was. did he not remember her, they spent hours riding together as small children, she was always showing off in front of him.

reese tilted her head while studying eamon. he was hard to forget, he had a handsome face and his eyes always had captured her attention. "mr. o'kieff my grandfather bought my prized eventing stallion from you and your father just six short years ago. does the name ring master ring a bell for you? gorgeous bay holsteiner." she wasn't going to tell him how she really knew, not yet.

reese was eager to see how long it would take eamon to figure out who she was, which shouldn't be too hard considering there aren't many reese weatherby's who were entirely dedicated to hroses floating around.

reese placed a small kiss on the nose of the silky mare. "i'll have to take you up on that ride mr. o'kieff, i've been looking to add another few horses to my private stock. do you mind if i give her a go now? i have a few hours before i have to start working anyone else. two of my horses are on a week rest so i'm getting a nice break. although i've been having to play lawn darts lately. "

[eamon padraig o'kieff]

The day he'd bought her all he'd seen was spirit. A kick here, a buck there, tugging and pulling on her halter. He'd been impressed. You saw a good jumper by how they were in the paddock and he'd seen that little, gangly filly clear a two foot three barrel before just bombing off across the hillside. She had potential, so much of it, but if you couldn't tap into it then there was little anyone could do. He'd thought of sending her away sometime, maybe to a Parelli professional, or something similar, just to bring her out of his shell. He could see the benefits of Parelli, but he had his own way of training, and some of the Parelli stuff just tended to get him to shake his head. Sure, it all worked, but whenever he talked to anyone who invested in Parelli, they always tended to discount any other training method. He'd heard Parelli worked for all horses but he wasn't sure that was entirely true. It works for the herd mind, the herd mentality, but nowadays? Not always.

He raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "Ringo..." He recalled with a smile. "I remember backing him, he must be..." He contemplated the timeline, running a hand through his jet black hair. "Ten now?" He asked, remembering the stunning bay. He'd had an extended trot to die for. The amount of interest they'd had in him as a two year old was phenomenal, but they'd wanted to train him themselves. He'd been something of a prodigy. Their own stallion and their own brood mare. A complete O'Kieff foal. But, similarly to Seal, they'd had no-one to ride him further. Eamon had competed 3* when he was younger, at 22 he'd been to Blenheim, coming in fourth, but since then his competitions had been far between. Vet school had taken over. "So is that why you hired me? For my horses?" He smiled cheekily, patting Phoenix's neck as he passed towards Seal. "How's ol' Monty going right now."

He smiled, rubbing a hand over Seal's ears. "Yep, go for it. She's a little sprightly under the saddle, she'll test you out first, always does. She seems to lose all her ground manners and a lot of her confidence when she's not being led, but she's incredibly willing. I haven't had a problem with her for months, but just to warn you." He gave the mare's neck a pat. "I'll get your saddle, I haven't unpacked it yet." He backed off slightly, moving towards the tack container that was sitting outside of Phoenix's stall. The chestnut stallion watched him with interest as he pulled out the polished black all-purpose saddle he'd been riding Seal in for the past few weeks. "She has a dressage and a jumping saddle as well, but she might be a little stiff from the journey, best to use this one." He hefted it over the door, picking up the bridle as well.

The mare, well trained as all his horses, backed up slightly as he opened the door, nudging him lightly with her nose, saddle settled onto her back, plain white saddle cloth newly cleaned underneath. "She's good with everything, tractors, traffic, trailering, shoeing, I've never had a problem with anything with her. But, the moment you get on her she can spook at a speck of dust if she's not concentrating on something." She smooth snaffle was taken with interest, munching slightly on it as he smoothed out her forelock. "She's all yours." He gave the handsome mare a pat on the neck. "As I said, she'll be a little stiff, but she'll be tugging at the reins ready to go already."

[reese alexandra weatherby]

reese chuckled softly. monty was a grand stallion, "monty is definitely not the stallion you remember, please take care in that. he doesn't let anyone near him that's not me unless he's sedated and even then he puts up a fight. but he might remember your charm, but i've had to learn to doctor him up, because the vet couldn't get near him." reese shook her head over monty, he was a champion, but an ill mannered one if she wasn't around. "but monty is a champion, he excels at 3* eventing and we head to the 4* events when we can." she smiled brightly at the mention of monty's accomplishments.

reese studied the mare as eamon saddled her. she was very polite and stood still even while she was in her stall, which reese enjoyed. she couldn't stand when a horse had poor ground manners, and yes she was referring directly to chip. reese switched her gaze from seal to eamon. he had filled out a lot since the last time she had seen him, well, it was just a picture his father had flashed her six years ago, but he still looked nice. his muscles had filled out and he had grown into shoulders.

reese took the offered reins from eamon and grabbed a helment she kept in the barn, she had a helmet in her barn and two in the main barn for instances like these where she was way too lazy to fetch her good one. "we can head over to the arena and i'll try her out over there. " she stated, walking out of the barn and was extremely glad she pretty much lived in breeches, polos, and tall boots.

reese opened the gate to the arena and watched seal's reaction. she was pretty much as uninterested as they come. "hey, could you give me a leg up? she's really tall and i'm really short. " she asked eamon, after adjusting the stirrups on his saddle, which had to be taken up to the highest notch, which made her feel shorter than usual.

after a leg up, reese grabbed seal's attention and started her off at a walk around the arena followed by her trot. she had a ground eating stride which reese loved and was something eventers looked for in a horse. her canter was smooth and even, and after working through the stiffness of her muscles she flowed from one gait to the next effortlessly.

reese stopped next to eamon, "i'm going to take her over a few jumps if you don't mind." reese smiled down at eamon, he was really cute now, she couldn't lie about that. reese trotted seal off, and looked over the jumps that were currently set up and aimed for a staggered grid, seal popped over the first jump effortlessly and flowed over the next two with the same grace. reese slowed her down after the last jump and patted her neck and then aimed her to a jump that was 3'6. seal took reese over it with ease which left reese beaming and patting both sides of her neck as she walked back towards eamon. "you have a real winner on your hands here, she hardly blinked an eye at any of those. give me two more rides on her this week, dressage and cross country, and i'll let you know what my final decision will be." although reese already knew what her final decision would be on the gallant mare.