Juliette Inspection

Striped feet galloped across the hard mud path, the black and beige thundering over the land as the palomino roan moved. The paddocks were orange with the autumn leaves falling delicately around her, the wind curling her mane and the subtle chill nipping at her fur. Pale mane met beige face as she slid and skidded to a halt, dark brown eyes gazing out over the wooden gate when her beloved rider wandered closer. Talutah grinned softly and placed a soft kiss on the little mare’s muzzle, swinging the gate to the round paddock open to put the rope halter over the mare’s face.

Juliette, a second-generation Teddy Cob mare born to two ‘import’ parents, has been working here at Longhorn Ranch in her training for a long while - specifically specialising in ‘western dressage’. It’s a newer concept in the world, and even more so at Longhorn - their concepts of riding are much more natural than the patterns and paces that dressage usually holds, which is why Talutah has been specifically interested in the newly-seen western dressage. It’s something that Juliette has come to enjoy more than anything.

Standing at 12.2 hands high and with the longest name of any of the Longhorn ponies, this palomino roan has a personality that’s sky-high - she’s bright, quick on her feet and incredibly intelligent. She listens well, she’s a dream to work with, and she picks up new things within the first few tries of showing her. She’s well-taught in various tricks; she can give a fist-bump (much to Ciqala’s dismay), rear on command, and show off a couple of fancy movements that she watched and learnt.

Recently, there had been more and more talk around of how the Teddy Cobs were growing in popularity. This meant that people wanted ones that weren’t just taken from their herds in the wild, and sometimes the Adoption Centre’s waiting list went on for miles. So, a new method was breeding safe, reliable, kids-friendly mares to similar stallions and having professionals train them up to be hopefully as reliable as they wanted for their children. The breed was discovered and looked out for with children in mind, so the growing demand is mostly for parents looking for a safe first pony to look after alongside their children, who range from toddlers to twelve-year-olds, and depending on the size of both pony and rider, then sometimes even older.

However, to get a Teddy Cob mare or stallion inspected, they must go through the process of an ‘inspection’. These inspections are typically in front of a judge, where the pony will perform as though they were in a show ring - walking, trotting, and occasionally showing how they react when ridden, alongside being monitored for their behaviour, temperament, and how they respond to their handlers. Depending on the judge, you will sometimes be allowed to go above and beyond, to showcase something of your own - typically getting a loud child over to fuss around it, or getting a few dogs to run about or a cat sit on its back to prove how safe they can be.

Originally, the plan had never been to inspect the mare, but after a little while, Talutah had managed to be convinced. She was such a darling mare and had a very pretty (although short) lineage, it would almost be a shame to not at least have the option available. So as the day got closer, Talutah and her brothers were going out of their way to make sure that Juliette got used to as many things as possible - the more peculiar, the better. A scarf fluttering around her face? She looked at it with disdain. Some random punk-rock music playing loud enough that their father came and told them to turn it off? Well, it might’ve bothered him, but it certainly didn’t bother her. This little lady was ready to go.

The only downside would be getting her clean.

An inspection is as it sounds - made to inspect. The ponies need to be well-behaved, yes, but it would just be embarrassing to turn up with a messy, mucky pony, even if her favourite hobby is rolling in the thickest patch of mud she can bring herself to find. Sometimes, she’ll just doze off in it, which is strange because she absolutely loves to have a bath. Bathing her is never an issue, it’s when they try to let her have a while in the paddock, or the stable, before hand - and she finds a new patch, or a pile of poo to use as a pillow for her shoulder, or her tummy. Then it gets irritating. And so, the only reasonable thing to do was, of course, get up at the crack of dawn (or earlier, given the nights are getting longer for the coming of winter) and bathing her on the day.

‘Cmon, little lady, we’ve gotta bath you. You’ve got a big day and we can’t have you looking like…..’ Talutah glanced over the side of the beige-turned-brown pony and sighed quietly, gesturing aimlessly. ‘This.’

Juliette snorted and nuzzled her nose into Talutah’s pockets, sniffing around as though she expected a reward for being quite so supreme at getting herself in a state. Her ears flickered when she realised there was no snack in there, and her expression seemed mildly let-down before she walked next to Talu towards the stables. She stood in the washing space neatly, hoof resting and eyes closed as she took a nap under the warm water on a chilly day. It was extremely comfortable, even more so when she was dried off with a towel and snuggled up into a rug and set of travel boots.

The travelling itself was quiet, uneventful (thank goodness), and luckily didn’t cause Juliette herself any stress. She unloaded, looked around, and subtly sulked about having the warm rug taken off as her name was called into the ring;

‘And well, if this isn’t a name and a half, I don’t know what is!’ The judge called, grinning and shuffling his glasses to read her full name - ‘The Roseheart Bouquet: An Old Folktale in the Desert; I Have Yet to Make It Up with a smiley face at the end. Well, let’s hope this little mare is as fun as her name.’