Gala Royale and Leo Turner.
Pursuit of War and Sam Munn.
Superbad and Lahni Rawler.

"Well this is service!" Connie remarked with an impresed smile, observing the picturesque view of a trio of Juveniles, all saddled up in the Grooming Bays and near-ready to mount. She could hear the shuffling of somebody in the tackroom near by, and stepped into the doorway to see who the culprit was. Sam looked up from his busy task of searching through a tack box, "Just for you boss!" gesturing with a playful 'salute' at the young stable owner. Connie grinned, "I should have known, Sam. We can always count on you to be one step ahead of us all." She pivoted on her heels to gaze back over the trio, who were being particularly well behaved considering their age. With somewhat of an exception in Gala Royale, who was reaching at the end of his tether to try and lip at the dark mane of the bay filly next door to him. Luckily, Penny was a patient sort and eyed him with a quiet curiosity.

"I wouldn't know what to expect from a workout with this lot in all honesty," she remarked, stepping closer to the Bay Filly she had so grown to love and greeting her with a gentle rub over the eyes. Sam reappeared, three bridles slung over his arm as he moved to the chestnuts colt side and untied him from his ring. "Well, Leo didn't want to gallop them today, so I suppose it's a good trio to guarantee a slower pace," he paused between the clanking of the bit on Gilly's teeth, who was actually closing his incisors around the aluminium tool and bobbing his head whilst Sam attempted to ease it into his mouth, "Unless this trickster decides he's going to have some fun." A moment of shuffling feet sounded Leo's arrival, "You can pretty well guarantee that Sammy!" And behind him appeared a young woman, Lahni, whom had been away for some months now.

"Lahni," Connie was surprised to see her; and truth be told she didn't get along swimmingly with the outspoken woman, but regardless she was a welcomed asset when she was around. "Hey!" Came her hurried response, "I hope there's a wildchild in here somewhere - I've been missing the saddle, and what better way to make an entrance than a challenge?!" Typical of her nature, she slipped under the tethers of the horses and wrapped Sam in a hug, before looking over the big, well-built son of Gallant Knight. "Yep, this is the one!"

"Well actually, I think we're..." fine without you today, Lahni - she was cut off by Leo. "No, you're on the pretty colourful one," the red-head gestured to Superbad with a cheeky smile, who though alert, was standing much too quietly for Lahni's preferences. "As long as I get my girl," Connie smiled, planting a kiss of the forehead of the charming bay filly, Pursuit of War. "You're the overseer today boss-lady, you can watch the magic happen," Leo retorted teasingly, spurred on by Connie's frown of dissaproval and Lahni's giggle. "I'll look after her," Sam promised as he finally finished getting the bridle all buckled on the goofy chestnut, Gilly.

"Lahni, just be aware that Ruby doesn't like being disagreed with. She'll get thrown off her game if you start an argument," Leo mentioned whilst leading Gala Royale from the washbay. Amusing. Connie knew Superbad would be a difficult ride for Lahni, which explained why Leo had paired them. She liked difficult horses because she enjoyed winning disagreements, she got her kicks from out-willing horses into her control. With Ruby, she wouldn't be able to do that if she wanted to have a successful ride. This would certainly be interesting to watch.

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Three rumps of alternate colouration jogged down the walkway to the dirt track, Connie closing the gate behind them as they all veered onto the surface and continued on at a jog in a relative unison. She found her place atop the railing of the bordering fence to watch the workout unfold. She expected that Gala Royale was going to be the pace setter here, even if the trio weren't going to gallop. Though, knowing their riders, there'd be some sort of playful race to finnish the workout. Connie pulled the small binoculars from the her pocket as they rounded the furthest bend and eased into a canter.

Gala Royale was starting to show his playful spirit now, tugging at the bit and throwing random flying changes into his rythm. Unsurprisingly. That colt always made the day seem a little bit brighter, his character alight with a keen sense of play. It added an extra degree of challenge to his training, but it did so in a way that didn't make him difficult. He had a strong drive to race, and that sort of thing couldn't be trained no matter how much work was put into a horse. If nothing else, he adored his work, and it most certainly didn't feel like work to him. To be too hard on the young colt would be saddening; there was nothing worse than breaking the spirit of an animal who had the passion to be a racehorse and turning play into strict routine and work. The team enjoyed his light spirits, and it would be the thing that gave him a cutting edge in a race against a horse that had been pushed too hard too soon.

True to her nature, Pursuit of War was cruising at her own pace. Keeping an eye on the duo that loped just ahead of her, but in no hurry to catch up to them. She worked in lovely unison with Sam, who knew her quite well, despite that she wasn't a regular ride for him. She was transferred to Highgrove upon weaning from her Intrepid Racing dam, Silver Stalker. Highgrove had ordered her of course, and the excitement of an Akuma Battlecry filly resulting from the lines of Night Stalker was something anybody could be enthusiastic about. But it wasn't just her breeding that made her a favourite; she was a joy to work with. And again, work never felt like work when Penny was involved. She was so willing, it was simply a matter of finding the right mixture of guidance and allowing her raw talent to still shine through.

Superbad seemed a little less straight forward. Her pedigree was much less proven than the rest of her crop, but she was still a very exciting prospect. As the staff had hoped, she inherited the entirety of her sires wits, and it was clear from birth. From Connie's standing point, it seemed that Lahni was not having a smooth ride with the flashy sabino filly. That much was to be expected. Ruby's neck looked stiff, and her strides were short and choppy in comparison to the fluent movement of her partners. Connie squinted through the binoculars, but lowered them as the trio rounded the bend and headed homeward. "Let her do her thing, Lahni," she murmered to herself, watching as the group's speed increased from a casual lope to something just short of a gallop.

It seemed Leo stuck to his guns, and held Gala Royale in just enough to prevent the workout from becoming a sprint - a gallop wasn't in the schedule today, after all. The chestnut colt was obviously enjoying himself, his ears pricked forwards and his strides attempting to lengthen and become more eggerated as he endevaoured to persuade Leo to let him go. Two red-heads, huh! Connie was surprised the pair didn't give in to their wilder natures and have a little fun. They should have been slowing now, but as expected it seemed there was some sort of a half-hearted race going on here. Sam was a little slow to catch on, and kept Penny at a regular rythm - falling behind somewhat. Meanwhile, Lahni and Ruby continued to disagree with eachother, and it was becoming more and more blatant by the second; the bay and white fillies ears pulling tight against her poll in frustration.

"Give her some slack, Lahni!" Connie attempted to shout as they whirled past, but it seemed the young woman either hadn't heard or wasn't taking the advice, which would be true to her stubborn nature. Leo was clearly glancing over to the struggling duo, and realising their qualms began to slow the pace. Well, Sam and Penny saw their time to shine, and whisked forwards with just as much power as they began with. Pursuit of War really would have owned that if it had of been a gallop.

By the time the team eased up and were riding back towards Connie in a warm walk, she hopped off the fence to meet them. Leo and Lahni had been busy in conversation, but the curly-haired blonde hadn't been quite within earshot to catch what was said. "I see you two don't get along," Connie remarked, rounding the shoulder of Superbad to walk with her and pat her neck. "I don't get it, she just didn't like anything I had to say," it was clear Lahni was frustrated by the ride. She was less experienced and she was stubborn in nature, it hadn't come as a big surprise to anybody that the pairing was far from elegant.

"You were saying too much," typical of Leo, to be to the point. "She's an amazing ride if you work with her and not against her. Just trust her to get you where you need to go. Less is more." He pulled Gilly to a halt and dismounted, "Sam, hang on. Can you give Ruby a quick leg stretch so she doesn't finish on a bad note?" Lahni's discomfort was obvious now, but as she dismounted Leo gave her a playful nudge and smile as if to loosen her up. Connie took Penny from Sam and the group hung around to watch. Ruby seemed pleased to see Sam, who was her regular excersize rider and knew her well. The pair had a good understanding of eachother and were clearly well tuned to working with one another. Superbad was going to need a jockey who knew how to be patient.