Post by anna on Feb 2, 2013 22:56:31 GMT -5
our setting
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Horses have always run in the Thompson family heritage. Nathan Thompson SR, the original owner of a small farm named Glendale, set off with a simply idea; to run an equestrian center focused just as much on education as it was on horses. Choosing a plot of land in a small town named Smithfield, they started at 30 acres and progressed to 300 with time. His wife and himself ran the farm for 50 long years, before retiring in Pheonix and allowing the farm to fall into their son's hands. They had themselves a son named Nathan Thompson JR, who held his family's legacy on his shoulders.
While his parents had been riding and breeding Warmbloods for most of his life, Thompson JR was a bit more adventurous, spending his youth branching out into different areas of the equestrian lifestyle. He became a world-class endurance rider at 25, competing internationally. Although his career flopped due to a couple bad habits, it didn't extinguish the passion he had for the sport itself.
As soon as the farm fell into his hands, Nathan immediately hired an all-new staff team- a little too extreme for his parent's tastes- and introduced a new Western program to the once humble Glendale farm. There's a bit of a culture clash going on; the students of years before disagreeing with the actions of Glendale's heir, and the influx of new business that's been brought to the farm.
All of these changes has stirred up a bit of dust. New vs old, two disciplines competing for a a sliver more attention, more validity. Glendale has seen the rise and fall of many riders, however, it hasn't quite seen a shake-up like this. The college has never been more tense, or more exciting.
It's up to the new students to either continue this game of tug-of-war or call it a truce between both sides.