Horse Ranch: The Training Grounds - 4 of 5

Here comes the 4th chapter of my unscripted mini series «The Training Grounds», where features of the The Sims 4 Horse Ranch EP are explored. The Training Grounds is a residential lot owned by the M.E.A., rented by Stian. There he lives alone with his 3 rescued horses, and he just started entering competitions.

The horses Tornado, King and Saffron all seemed to like their new home. Stian Pratt-Anderson (56) recently entered with King for the Show Jumping competition, and they won Silver in the Beginner class.

Tornado and King might have something going on for them, and Stian wondered if he should encourage them to have a foal. 

Although it would be interesting, he can't see a foal being very useful at the Training Grounds, assumingly it would need to grow up to be used for riding. Neither would it bring in money anytime soon, unless it was sold.

So, he decided to pause the idea for now. Maybe in the future, if he found ways to make ends meet. Tornado and King building a strong relation would be a good thing, foal or not.

Few days later some members of the Foals club visited again. Stian had grown used to seeing them around, and they trained their riding skill by borrowing his horses. However, he suspected that the horses didn't build skills while being used by out-of-household riders. Even so, he prepared some coffee and even planned serving some food. The puzzle game was rarely used, as they rather spent time with Tornado, King and Saffron.

One of the members was Lady Corva Saxor (25), daughter of the Duke of Meadows.

She decided to take Tornado for a ride, and after some coat brushing she mounted.

Tornado wasn't too happy about it though, so the lady was thrown off, screaming.

Some other day a person who Stian had never seen before, wanted to ride Saffron.

Valeria Phlum (28), a young Doctor from San Myshuno, was wearing high heals, and Stian expected Saffron to refuse going for that ride, but surprisingly Valeria was not thrown off.  

- Saffron must be nothing but a gem for newbies!, Stian thought to himself.

Then a fine young man, the awarded Equestrian Contenders club member Lord Vincent de Croismare (44) stopped by. Stian invited him inside for a chat.

- I'm getting married, Lord Vincent said. - I would love to borrow a horse for the wedding day!

- Oh, we could arrange something, but San Sequoia is quite far away...?

- I checked with my brother the Duke de Aarbyville, but he keeps only one black horses at the moment, and my wish is a white horse for my bride, Miss Lizzy! You shall be paid, of course!

- I'll try to talk Tornado into it, Stian concluded.

The following days were hectic. Stian sent off Tornado for the Lord's wedding in San Sequoia, and constantly checked his cell phone - even while cutting some prairie grass. He definitely missed his friend, Tornado, and decided never again to send a horse away!

Summer turned into Fall, and day by day the air became sharp and crispy. The sound from horse shoes hitting the ground during a ride felt different. Stian tried to take each of his 3 horses for a ride at least every other day. He wanted to take them to Galloping Gulch, but it was a long ride and he was not sure if they were ready quite yet. Because he would need to return the same day to tend to the other horses, he could not hike out there to give the horse time to recharge.

He trained them well, but his finances was about to come short, he would need to enter more contests and it could not wait much longer!

And, although 3 horses was quite the handful, he longed to assign that fourth and final horse bed to someone. 

King, the brown horse, was probably best suited for a long ride. If only the rain would stop, they would plan for a visit to Galloping Gulch.

But the rain continued. He got soaked from riding the nearby streets. Galloping Gulch was not within reach...

He discovered a plot of prairie grass that seemed endless. He harvested and harvested, and there was still more to cut when they had to return back home.

He now had enough grass to feed the horses for a full week! It would help a bit on the shrinking cash balance!

He decided to enter a competition with Saffron. They trained barrel racing. Stian had decided to assign each horse to a different discipline, this way it would be easier training them for specific skills and to enter them without a lot of decisions having to be made beforehand. 

It was a depressing season, though. The crisp air was now just wet, with more and more rain.

It was a good time to focus on indoor activities.

King overlooked Stian cleaning the horse bed. Again he pondered about benefiting from this great fertilizer. He needed to contact someone to check whether the manure could be sold. Perhaps the local Count Advorton would be interested?

Or would Plopsy accept horse poop? No, they did not.

Finally, the rain stopped, and Stian decided to rescue a new horse! It would be the fourth, and probably the final addition to the stables.

He picked a mare named Tuff, of Hanoverian breed. Her traits were Fearful, Needy and Energic, and she had a strong wish to wear a silly little hat!

Stian first removed the hat, but he immediately understood that it was a mistake. So he put it back on and Tuff smiled gratefully at him.

- You might be interested in Western Pleasure, Stian said. - We'll learn about your ability tomorrow! Then you and I shall go for a ride!

There was no rain the following morning, and Stian mounted Tuff, getting ready to ride off for the very first time.

But then appeared a man that he did not want to talk to - Robert Calves, Leader of the M.E.A. (Mazaloom Equestrian Association).

- Stian Pratt-Anderson! I was out jogging, then I thought I'd stop by to inspect our Training Grounds! If you neglect any maintenance we might have to raise the monthly rent!

- Oh, such a bad timing, Stian said. - We are off to Galloping Gulch and we need to leave asap!

He didn't originally plan to take Tuff for such a long and demanding first ride - she might not even last the full distance, but it was the perfect excuse to escape Mr. Calves.

It was years since Stian visited, but Galloping Gulch had not changed a bit!

He wondered if the old little shed was still there, and it was!

Many generations ago the Chestnut native tribe owned the entire Chestnut Ridge, but then they were gradually tricked to give up most of their land, and the family branch still dedicated to their local heritage now lived a simple life up here at Galloping Gulch.

Stian knew most of their story, and he felt sorry for how badly they had fared. Once owning so much land, and now being restricted to a very restricted life off the grid, far away from civilization. Some day he would knock on their door. But he did not want to come empty handed, so he would save up some crops to bring them as gifts.

Tuff did surprisingly well! Stian tried to ride slowly, to save her energy. It would be quite the catastrophe if Tuff broke down, with no way of returning to the Training Grounds. Then they ran into a stray dog sitting on the trail, howling.

The dog joined them, and for a short second, Stian wanted to adopt it. But first, he would need to make sure that Tuff made it back home, sound and safe. If the dog usually did hang out in this hood, Stian could befriend it before the Winter.

They made it back home, and Tuff got her hat back on and quickly got familiar with the stable.

Stian found it was time to enter the Barrel Racing competition with Saffron...

Saffron won gold in Beginner class!

- Well done, Robert Calves grunted as he left the Equestrian Center.

Stian was very proud, and so was Saffron! Next up was Tornado, and Stian had not yet decided whether they should go for Endurance or Western Pleasure.

And Tuff - what about her?

Tuff was kind of proud, too! Wearing that hat, being hand fed prairie-grass, and making her new owner proud by lasting all the way to Galloping Gulch and back on first try - she was just a big smile. Perhaps Stian would allow her to wear her hat as riding gear, also?

To be continued.