Rory Barton

[ifnotwinter†]

Name: Rory Barton
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Grade: 12
School: Aurora High School
Hobbies and Interests: Equestrian Sports, Animal Husbandry (Equine), Literature

Appearance: Caucasian with short brown hair and large hazel eyes framed by thick lashes, Rory doesn't particularly stand out in a crowd. A sharp nose dusted with a light spray of freckles is probably his most noticeable feature, being distinctively crooked from a childhood break. Below it his mouth is thin-lipped and often drawn down into a faint frown. His 5'11" and 160lbs frame arranges itself into a long torso and muscular legs, his upper body lean but still well-built. Although he has the normal assortment of freckles and small scars one stands out if he ever wears shorts; a star-shaped indent just above his right knee.

At school he favours jeans with heavy runners or boots and plain shirts, tees in the warmer months and button-downs in the cooler. An assortment of jackets, hoodies, and windbreakers all bearing the logos of various equestrian equipment companies or his own barn's name usually complete the outfit although his favourite by far is a light waterproof black jacket designed with multiple zippers at the back, arms, and sides in order to make it as comfortable as possible to wear when riding.

Biography: Six years after the birth of her daughter and four years after returning to the world of eventing, world-class rider Margaret Barton (nee Lewes) became concerned when she started feeling tired and off-balance while riding. After an embarrassing fall she reluctantly agreed to see her doctor, who diagnosed her as being almost four and a half months into her second pregnancy. Although it was unplanned Margaret chose to embrace the idea of having another child and took the opportunity to finally settle down with her husband and open up their own farm -- Brokentree Stables -- where Rory Barton was born, his mother having elected to finish teaching a lesson over going to the hospital.

Although his parents often promised at length to still love and support him if his interests lay outside the world of horses, Rory's birth seemed to have set the tone for the rest of his life. In preschool and kindergarten he preferred the My Little Ponys and Barbie stallions over Tonka trucks and Lego and regularly threw tantrums if not permitted to help with feeding or follow his parents during their teaching hours. His childhood was marked with a succession of ponies and as a direct result more than a few falls, but true to the Barton-Lewes name he always got back on. By twelve he was regularly competing and winning, making his parents proud with both in his placing and in the sportsmanship he never failed to display whether or not he pinned in his classes. At school he often dreamed his way through class while sketching out imaginary courses and although he had his share of casual friends would never go to their houses after school when he could be doing riding instead. His closest friend were always whatever mount he was currently riding and his sister Addie, who despite being six years older generally tolerated and appreciated his presence. A celebrated amateur in the eventing circuit she homeschooled only, focusing mainly on her riding and helping to manage the stables as well as keep track of her little brother when her parents were away competing without her. For Rory it was the ideal life and he often felt that the only way to make it better would be remove school completely. His parents refused, concerned that his lack of focus and tunnel vision when it came to riding would lead to him neglecting his work if he homeschooled, and Rory compensated simply by putting in the least amount of work possible to scrape a pass. His grades improved significantly only once, when at fourteen his parent's purchase of a young Warmblood for him to compete with was conditional on him managing to bring his grades up. Rory was successful in this and his reward was Beau Soleil, barn name Sol, a huge six year old chestnut gelding with plenty of chrome and the attitude to match. The two clicked almost instantly and for the next year Rory enjoyed the most successes ever on a horse that seemed destined to take him to the top.

At fifteen, however, everything changed.

A split-second bad decision during the cross-country phase of an event resulted in a rotational fall (a fall in which the horse flips over on top of the rider), leaving Rory paralyzed from the waist down and Sol with career-ending injuries. When it became clear that Rory would be at the hospital for a significantly extended period of time, Margaret and her husband Mitch rented a basement suite and began a routine of one parent staying with Rory for two weeks while the other looked after the farm (located in Bellevue). They kept the suite for sixteen months so that they wouldn't have to deal with the commute for Rory's PT and doctor's appointments, even enrolling him in the local high school during the last months in hopes that he would be able to continue with his schoolwork. Unfortunately it didn't work -- although Rory didn't mind attending classes there, a combination of the physical exhaustion and pain of rehab and the emotional issues that were beginning to manifest more apparently soon made it impossible.

After two years of surgeries and intense physical therapy Rory eventually regained full use of his legs and received the go-ahead to begin easing slowly back into riding, but the emotional scars were slower to heal. He was plagued with depression and anxiety and although desperate to get back in the saddle, couldn't even look at Sol without being overwhelmed with guilt over the accident. When he did ride other horses he found himself paralyzed with indecision and irrationally afraid, feelings which weren't helped by the fact that his still-healing body meant that his cues to the horse under him were often muddled and difficult to interpret. When not reluctantly helping out around the barn or being coached by his well-meaning parents and sister Rory would escape to his room and find solace in books, devouring fiction and non-fiction alike as a way of temporarily avoiding his situation and the feelings he struggled with.

After reluctantly agreeing to sessions with a psychologist, the worst of the emotional symptoms began to ease and Rory soon felt comfortable enough to reenter school. After expressing concerns about returning to the school he'd attended before the accident and having to deal with old acquaintances reminding him of better times, his parents agreed to send him back to Aurora High, the same school he'd attended for a brief time while living in Seattle. Although the commute could be long he found that he enjoyed driving, feeling more in control than he ever had on the back of a horse. Despite the change of location as time passed he fell neatly back into his old pattern of coasting through school and devoting the rest of his time to the barn and his horses; notably his parents chose not to push the issue of better grades or a more varied social life, feeling that anything was better than seeing him curled in his room day after day.

Now almost twenty, Rory is finally graduating. He spends the least amount of time possible at school and works with the horses in every moment of his spare time (although he still won't go near Sol, who is retired and lives mainly out at pasture). With his parents both semi-retired from competing and Brokentree Farms focusing more on breeding and training there's always plenty for him to do. He hasn't competed since the day of the accident and still dislikes riding anything trained to a higher level, unable to shake the anxiety that he will somehow ruin them and frustrated that his aids still aren't as precise as they once were, but still enjoys working with the young and green horses. Physically he has healed incredibly well from the accident but still takes prescription painkillers often and is noticeably stiff in his walk. His right foot drags slightly as a result of both the spinal damage and damage to the muscle above his knee where one of Sol's studs punctured him just after the fall.  

He's slightly more outgoing than he used to be and definitely isn't rude at all, always ready with a friendly smile or hello, but one doesn't need to talk to him for long before getting the impression that he's thinking about something completely different. He's never really connected with any of the other Aurora students, especially considering the age difference but he's got a generally good reputation as a nice guy. Rory still enjoys reading especially if he's had a difficult day or something is troubling him, but his tastes now run more towards studying bloodlines and breeding in horses as he prepares to take a more active role in running the farm instead of moving on to post-secondary. Although still scarred both emotionally and physically from the accident almost five years ago he has been able to move on somewhat, and is focused on getting better every day.

Advantages: Years of riding even after the accident means that Rory is physically strong and has a heightened sense of balance, possibly giving him the edge in a fight. Working with horses has also given him quick reflexes and a good sense of body language, and he's not easily intimidated.
Disadvantages: Rory's injuries mean that he has low stamina and is often in pain, especially without access to painkillers or in situations of heightened tension. His indecision when it comes to decision-making could easily make him freeze during a stressful situation, and his guilt and anxiety could cripple him emotionally.