Welcome To Corner Forest Stables

Maria

Maria stood in the bus stop, a suitcase sat beside her legs as she fiddled with an old tag fastended around its handle. She'd never lived away from her parents before, she already felt a bit homesick even if she was only a five minute walk away from their house, but she was ready and excited to start her new life. Maria had been one of six young people to have been selected to ride as working students at Corner Forest Equestrian Centre and Stud, the most prestigous stable in the country. It had been a tough competition, an ODE had been held at a facility near to Corner Forest to select the top six riders, it had been a fierce competition with Maria pent against hundreds of other riders from around the UK but she managed to score a spot in 5th place thanks to her loved gelding, Ginger. Maria sighed, turning her phone on to check the time but found herself stood staring at it, her lock screen was a picture of her and Ginger that day of the competition. She looked so happy. Ginger looked so happy. As the screen faded to black she lifted a hand to wipe a small tear away, even if moving to Corner Forest was her chance at finally becoming an elite rider - she hated the fact she had to say goodbye to her chestnut friend.

A few minutes passed before a minibus came down the lane, embelished with the stables deep green colour and sliver logo running along the sides. Maria grabbed her suitcase and stpped forward, using her free hand to gesture outwards to the driver in case he missed her. The van came to a stop beside the bus stop and took a second to admire the paint job on the outside before opening the door and walking in. She quickly realised that none of the other riders were here yet, just the driver and Maria.
"Hey there, you must be Maria right?" the driver said, glancing at a piece of paper on his dash that had a few names scribbled down on it.
"Yeah, Maria Harris," she smiled, offering a hand to the man.
He roughly shook her hand as a greeting before walking out of his seat and extending an arm towards Maria's suitcase, "have a seat, I'll take your luggage and put it in the storage compartment under the van. Don't worry, it won't fall out," the driver chuckled at her.
Maria let out a small laugh and handed him the silver suitcase before turning to admire the van. It probably just looked like any old van to anyone else (bar the expensive paintjob on the outside) but to Maria it looked magical with its sleek silver chairs and the faint smell of show sheen and hoof oil, she guessed this was a minivan they used for shows if they needed to transport a lot of people. She took her seat near the front and gazed out the window, she had already got the chance to meet the other people she would be sharing this epxerience with at the ODE, but she didn't have the best memory and couldn't remember any of their names or faces very well, she was sure there were only three other girls though.

"We've only got four more stops as two of the kids live pretty close, it won't be long until you have some company don't worry," the driver said as he came back into the van and closed the door behind him. "It'll be quite the journey though, I have a few snacks and some water with me in the front - if you want anything just give me a shout."
"Thank you..."
"Adam," he smiled at Maria through the rearview mirror before starting the engine and driving away towards the next stop.