{open} things get old, so you need new things.

[zipper2009]

Jason walked into the tack store. He walked in like he was pissed off. In a way he was, but not really. He was just irritated because he hated to go to stores. But hey, he needed to because he was being stupid and put a old tie down on a colt that had never had one on before. He had put one on so he could get use to it so he could start roping off the youngster, because the colt tended to throw his head in teh air when you roped off of him. And Jason was stupid enough to put a old tie down on him, that was brittle. He put it on to tight and the horse jerked his head then flipped out and reared and the thing snapped and made a welt on teh horses neck.

Now Jason was buying a new thick leather one. And this time he would put it on loser. He walked to the back and looked through all the tie downs. Well, they had a lot. He grabbed the ones he liked and he studied them and put them in order from cheapest to the most expensive. The most expensive was a really fancy one with silver on it. Jason didn't care for silver and bling. So he put it back because his colt would jsut break the silver off. He looked at the cheaper ones but they didnt' look like they would last with a colt that was hard on everything. So he those one in the middle. It was thick, plain, and seemed well built.

He walked around the corner and saw some saddle pads. He should get some knew ones while he was here. So he looked through them and found a couple thick blankets and put them under his arm. He decided now to get out before he found anythign more to buy. He needed to keep soem money in the bank for this weekends rodeo. He walked toward teh check stands and waited in the somewhat long line.

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[ariellefairholm]

One of Arielle's favorite things in the world was the smell of a tack store. And the general atmosphere of it, actually. Maybe it was because a tack shop was a concentration of everything horsey- the smell of leather, competing brands of fly spray, brightly colored saddle pads and leadropes hung against the wall. And the people there were always just like her- horse obsessed. There was no one who would look at breeches and tall boots and be like "Um, what the hell are you wearing???" Actually, tack shops were a well blended thingytail of two things Arielle loved most: shopping and horses. How could you go wrong? She'd been excited to make this trip for a couple days, and as she drove into the small parking lot, a tiny smile couldn't help but appear on her face. However, it faded quickly when she noticed the clear lack of parking places. Most of the cars here were huge, brawny pickup trucks meant to pull a large horse trailer, and they put Elli's small red Mini Cooper to shame. Arielle loved her car: it was small, got good mileage, and totally her. But pulling even a one-horse trailer was a major struggle, and so whenever she went to a far away show or anything, she had to borrow a friend's truck or trailer. In her mind though, it was worth it. The car was a gift for her eighteenth birthday. True to his thrifty nature, Arielle's dad had bought it at an old used car store that was really more of a junkyard. The car was a total piece of shit when he first got it, but Gerald was pretty much a car master and he had it all fixed up and pretty just in time for Arielle's birthday. It was her dream come true, and so she definitely wasn't complaining. She was complaining though, about how there was no parking place in this lot, whatsoever. It didn't really help that there were only about ten legitimate places... but still. It wasn't the freaking mall. Impatient, Arielle watched the door for a couple minutes, idling in the lot till she saw a young woman leave, carrying a huge bag and looking flustered. Elli gave a sigh of relief as the woman hurried to her car. A few minutes later, the woman was backing out and leaving an empty parking place. Finally, Elli sighed under her breath. She pulled quickly into the slot, and gave the woman a friendly little wave as she drove off. Happy to finally be getting somewhere, Arielle unconsciously started to whistle some Taylor Swift song. Before getting out, she flipped down the overhead mirror and checked her reflection. This morning, she didn't really have the energy to plan a really good outfit, so she was wearing short jean shorts with a brown and white plaid button down, a lacy camisole, a long gold necklace and a super cute leather belt she'd found at a thrift store. Her shoes kind of failed- black Old Navy flip flops. They were the first things at the door and she didn't really feel like looking for something better. Reflecting on the choice of shoes, Elli gave a little sigh. What five extra minutes could have added.... oh well. Her hair looked decent; it was done up to two braids just like she always had in elementary school. She smiled at the reflection, trying to boost her confidence before snapping the mirror shut and stepping out of the car.

The inside of the tack store was just as good as she had hoped for. It smelled of leather and hay and woodsmoke, and was filled with racks of breeches, walls covered with bridles and bits, saddle racks, riding coats and button up shirts and hangers, aisles of random barn supplies... it was heaven. A woman who looked to be in her mid forties or so smiled at Elli and asked if she needed help finding anything. Nope, I'm good thanks, Elli replied with a smile. She made her way to the back, where the whips were. Time to replace the old crop that had served her well for years. She flicked through the different styles and brands, still she found her favorite brand, Fleck. There was one whip with little crystals in the handle, and Arielle smirked. What some people would buy... there was also a sparkly pink one, and that made her smile too. About ten years ago, she would have flipped for this. She finally settled on a thin, traditional-looking black whip. Now for the next item: mane and tail conditioner. Lately, she had just been using the same stuff for Sunny that she used for herself, but she ran out of that super fast if Sunny was sharing it, so Elli decided to buy him some legitimate horse conditioner. She wasn't entirely sure on which brand to get, so she settled on Cowboy Magic, which she had heard good things about. On the way out of the shampoo/conditioner aisle, she passed a rack of saddle pads and stopped to look. They had a lot of champagne color; apparently that was the newest "thing"... but it really was kind of boring for Elli's taste. Sunny's "color" was a elegant navy blue, but that was getting kind of boring and she wondered if she should change things it. It would be kind of expensive, and she wasn't sure if she could actually afford it... but that hunter green with silver trim was sooo gorgeous and Sunny would look super cute... oh, what was she thinking. She didn't need another saddle pad, she'd got one just a month ago. Before she could change her mind, Arielle left the saddle pads and came to a rack of Joules tops. She had always loved Joules... and they had a new one! Now that she needed, right? She didn't have any good schooling polos, except for a gray one that was soo boring. Excited, she flicked through the colors and styles. The Maywood navy one was super cute... and it was Sunny's color. Arielle flicked until she found her size, and then made her way quickly to the checkout line before she could convince herself to buy anything she really didn't need.

Ahh, shit. The checkout line was really long, and Elli was definitely not excited for the long wait. She almost considered shopping a little longer till it got shorter... but there were a lot of other people wandering around and she figured it would probably just get longer. And there was only one checkout register?? That was not cool. Any good store owner should know that only one checkout register is a recipe for disaster, even with a tack shop. After all, this was Pinewood and almost everyone rides horses here. Ugh, if there was one thing Elli hated, it was long lines. She should have come here another less busy time... maybe worked Sunny for a while and then come. He was really acting up lately, and Arielle didn't understand why. At first, she'd thought it was just the stress of a new barn, but Sunny had moved barns tons of times and been fine. Maybe there was something different about Pinewood. He always was a spazz of course, and super unpredictable. Maybe she just didn't know her horse as well as she thought she did...? She decided it would be a good idea to ride when she got home. Maybe go on a trail ride to calm him down. Sunny had always loved trail rides; and even though random things like buckets and rakes and totally normal barn stuff scared him, nothing was scary at all on the trails. Elli moved forward absentmindedly when the next customer moved up to pay, and she reached into her pocket to be sure that she was carrying the right amount of cash. The shirt was like $55, but it was on sale 30% off.... ah she had always hated math. She took a wild guess of about $40. Then there was the whip, that was pretty expensive... $77. It had better be worth it. The conditioner was about seven dollars, so it added up to something Elli didn't really want to calculate. She sorted out a fifty and three twenties... damn that was a lot of money! Oh well, she wouldn't need to get anything else for a long time, and if she did she would have to go to a used shop or something. Sighing, Arielle shoved the wad of cash back into her pocket and stared ahead, bored to death. The cashier was having some sort of trouble with the computer... this was going to be a really, really long wait. She glanced at the person in front of her, a guy holding a leather tie-down who looked about a couple years older than her. He had two earrings, a factor that generally turned her off, but who was looking for a boyfriend? All she wanted right now was someone to talk to. She waited till she caught his eyes, which were hazel, and smiled. God, they need to get another register. This line is way too long. She said lamely. She knew it was a pretty stupid thing to say, but honestly she didn't really care enough to think of anything better to say. The way she saw it, she had been the one to actually start a conversation, so he couldn't complain.