about

HISTORY OF HIGHMOOR

Image - Image

Highmoor Stables was once a privately owned equestrian center with over sixty members. It had rooted itself into the Appaloosa Plains community decades ago, ruled by a generation that not only loved the sport, but the animals and the people. Though it was a massively successful community, it was hit by the emigration trend that left Appaloosa Plains to decline into what could only be described as a ghost town, and as such - collapsed.

Though it was not profitable enough to run an equestrian center anymore, the owners - Mr. and Mrs. Grennet - could not see themselves living a life without horses. They shut down one of the stables and kept only two of the originally thirteen horses, retreating to live a calm life with the occasional one-man training sessions for the few interested left.

One of these people was the frequent visitor Holly Benson, a plain young girl who had little else to entertain herself with. She spent a lot of time with the old couple and, in later years, came to assist them with most of the stablework that was becoming heavy for aging bones.

In a sense, it was heartcrushing for both parts when Holly had to go to college, and when she returned, the couple was gone and the stables in the hands of a man named Ian Felder. Holly was amazed to see that his ambitions had led him to completely rebuild the place - extensions and all - and she quickly learned that this was the son of an influential architect down in Bridgeport. When the center stood finished, it was almost twice the size of the initial buildings.

Though their first meeting was rather brief and awkward, he took some interest in her affiliation with the place, and later asked her to stop around if she was interested in continuing to work with horses - for a wage, of course. It was not a deal to pass up on, and as such, Highmoor Stables had their two founding members.

THE STAFF
Ian Felder comes from a long life spent in central Bridgeport, showered by luxury to a point where it became pointless. Instead of wasting his parents generous donations on things that only lasted him for as long as it was useful, he decided that he wanted an experience. Though Ian's experience with horses is limited to the time spent with his mother's family, he is a level-headed thinker who works calmly with even the most difficult horse, and therefore makes a fantastic trainer.

At first, his idea was to move abroad, but that quickly became unattractive as it also meant moving very far from his family. Instead, he had a spur of the moment idea when he read the ad for Highmoor Stables in the paper, and after much research and planning, he bought it.

Holly Benson comes from a lower middle class family that never could afford her any horses, no matter how much she had pleaded. A life in Appaloosa Plains was never much exciting for a teenager, but it was appropriate for someone with a passion for horses, and this caused her to aimlessly wander around from stable to stable - private or not - until she found the Grennets.

After several years of her youth spent in their stable and farmhouse, she had found herself a second home. Not only did she like the Grennets, she learnt a lot about how to properly take care and manage horses. Devastated by her family's pressure to go to college - in order to achieve better than they had - she could not stop thinking about coming back to Highmoor,  but when she did so, it had changed more than she had dared to think.

Holly has an unending patience. She hosts great love for horses and sees herself as amazingly fortunate for having been offered this opportunity.