Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
she wasn't sure what it was but she believed him when he said he cared about the job he did and the people he was there to keep an eye on. she'd never been scared to be in pubs and nightclubs before but there had certainly been times she hadn't felt safe and had stuck close to the people she'd been out with, especially when she'd been back home. the more alcohol people drunk the better it seemed, regardless of what that alcohol caused them to do or what happened after it had been drunk. money was the aim, not letting the people in the place have a good time. so long as the drinks flowed, they were happy and a few drunks, thugs and injuries along the way weren't much of a problem for them.
she smiled, a slightly wicked smile as she agreed with him. there was still much time for fun to be had and the night was still young and while she was currently deciding whether to flirt with tall dark and handsome in front of her, there were plenty of people in here to keep her occupied for the next few hours. it wasn't often she had trouble finding people to entertain her for a while, what she struggled with was keeping them interested long enough to keep playing with. "oh i have no doubt, now that handsy has been put in his place." she glanced to where he'd sulked off into the crowd and she hoped she'd not have to look at him again for the rest of the night.
her smile sweetened a little as he agreed to have a drink with her as thanks and she stepped across to the bar, settling herself into one of the free stools next to where he leaned against the bar. she couldn't help but notice how well the shirt he was wearing was filled out and she took the time to drink in the sight before she swiveled the stool to ask one of the bartenders for his soft drink and a glass of wine for herself. she could drink the hard stuff with the best of them but tonight wasn't a night for that, at least not yet. she looked back at him when he asked what her name was and she tucked crossed one leg over the other, feeling the hem of her dress slide up her thigh a little as she did and she held her hand out to him. "roxy wood."
she hated hospitals. with a passion. they meant illness and death. they weren't for healthy people and she was anything but unhealthy. most of the time anyway. injured wasn't sick and she could recover just as well from the comfort of her own bed and her brothers house than she could in a hard as a rock hospital bed being woken every half hour to make sure she was still alive and the constant beeping of the various pointless machines she didn't need around her. she narrowed her eyes as the nurse tried to ignore her swatting and had her brother not suddenly appeared at her side she might have tried to find the strength to do more than swat. "it's not a bitch fit." she said as she felt her grip on the nurses station start to falter so she reached her other hand out to grip it around the front of her brothers jacket tightly. "they're withholding the good stuff anyway." they weren't but she wasn't about to let her brother have the last word on it, no matter how much pain she was in or how close to passing out she might feel, she'd been born with the burning desire to have the final word in just about any conversation.
wait, why was he here though. she hadn't called him. she turned her attention to the nurse who had gone from trying to force her back into her room to staring at her older brother and had she been in a better state of mind she'd probably have said something bitchy to the nurse about him not being that drool worthy but she had more important things to worry about, like staying on her feet, making her way home and finding out how her brother knew she was in here. "i didn't call you." she said as she blinked slightly, as if trying to make sense of how he'd known. logically it made sense, the hospital would have called him but her brain wasn't working logically at the moment. it was drugged, rattled and set on getting the hell out of here. it was then the world seemed to spin just that little more on it's axis and she faltered slightly, not able to help the wince as she leaned a little too heavily onto her injured side. "i just want my clothes."
for one moment roxy was convinced that the neanderthal would throw a punch at her rescuer. even she could tell, through the slightly tipsy haze that was starting to creep across her brain that it was a bad idea. there was something intimidating about him and roxy had a feeling that not many people would mess with him, while they were sober at least. drunk however was a whole different ball game. she should have stepped back, stepped away in case they came to blows but she couldn't help but feel even if they did there wasn't a chance in hell it would come anywhere close to her, even though she was only about three feet from both of them. she reached her hand up to rest it against her neck lightly, her eyes still trained on both of the men before her.
though any drama was avoided by brains working over testosterone and she couldn't help but feel some of the tension leave her shoulders as stupid walked away from them. as much as she was sure she could have aimed one well placed knee to his nuts, she wasn't an idiot. she could easily be overpowered, though she never planned on saying that out loud and as tough a face as she tried to put on she'd been a little worried about what he'd have tried to do had no one been paying any attention. "it might be, but not many bouncers actually seem to care." she said with a confident smile crossing her face once more as she dropped her hand from her neck to rest it lightly on her hip.
"it makes it hard when one just wants a night of dancing, drinks and fun." there was a thing as too much fun and then there were types of fun she wanted nothing to do with, she wasn't exactly straight laced but there was a hell of a lot she wouldn't do or get into. besides, public image had been drilled into her from the moment she'd been born and it was a little hard to break the habit sometimes, as often as she tried to do. "can i thank you with a drink?" she asked, motioning over to the bar as she looked back at him and resisted the urge to lick her lips as she drank him in, subtly she hoped.
she didn't want to stay here. she was fine. they'd checked her out. she'd done the tests, she'd done the scans and she'd been poked from here to kingdom come by some trainee doctor who had started shaking the second he'd walked into her cubicle. she just wanted to go home, take a shower and get into something a whole lot more flattering and comfortable than a stupid hospital gown. observation, that to her had to be a joke. hadn't they dispelled that rumor that you couldn't sleep when you had a concussion? she'd just set some alarms and wake up and know she wasn't dead. it was that simple. she touched her cheek lightly, feeling the bruise from hitting the ground when she did, well that was going to need a lot of coverage, was all she could think of in the moment. not how much it made her head hurt, how the room spun just a little when she moved her head or how close she'd come to possibly not being around anymore. she didn't want to think about that, if she did it might shake her just enough to worry about getting on the horse again.
she took the opportunity to sneak out of her bed when the nurses left her alone for a moment. she wanted to leave and there was no way they were going to stop her. they couldn't legally keep her here right? she thought she remembered that from somewhere. luckily they'd unhooked the iv before they'd left, thankfully the painkillers they'd dosed her up with after her head scans came back clear from nasties, had gone straight in. she slipped out of bed, catching herself on the bed when her leg threatened to give way under her. she gtitted her teeth and steeled herself against it, forcing herself to take a step so she could see around the space so she could grab her clothes and get gone.
she frowned when she couldn't see them and she took the slow steps to walk out of the cubicle, pushing the curtain back as she walked through it, looking for someone who could tell her where they were. she blinked a little as the desk in front of her took on a hazy, almost double looking tint she pressed her fingers into her eyes for just a second as she limped over to it. she leaned heavily against it with her hands, almost glaring down at the nurse who only noticed her when she looked up from the paperwork she was filling out. "someone took my clothes, can you find whoever took them and tell them to bring them back?" she asked, following the woman with her eyes as she got up hurriedly to walk around the desk to help roxy back to bed. "don't touch me." she said as she swatted the nurses hands away lightly, keeping one hand almost gripped onto the desk. "i want to leave so go find my clothes."
she hadn't planned on coming out tonight, she'd planned on an early dinner and a comfortable night on the couch. she was still recovering from the fall she'd taken the week before and while she might not have stayed resting as long as she should, while she'd been out today all she'd felt like was a night in. then when she'd actually gotten home intending to follow through on the night in when she'd felt the familiar itchy feet that had walked her right back out the door. at least after she'd showered, put on a little make up to make herself feel slightly better and she'd fluffed her hair into submission, and she'd left. she wasn't in her usual heels though, her hip would have hated her for that, so she'd settled for some tragically boring flats and hoped that the dress she was wearing would make anyone glance away from her feet.
she ordered a glass of wine at the bar, smiling her thanks to the bartender who handed it over to her and she took a sip before she glanced around the room to see if there was anyone she knew or anyone she might like to get to know. it was a mix of the town usuals, men who liked to punch above their weight when they were drunk. sober she might have thought they were cute but when they were influenced by alcohol, not so much. she swirled the wine in her glass slightly before she settled her gaze on a face she hadn't seen before. she walked across the bar to him, sliding into the stool next to him without asking for an invitation and she looked at him. "bad beer or is it just a multiple beer kind of day?" she asked as she sipped her wine, crossing one leg over the other as she leaned her elbow on the bar and turned to face him slightly.
it seemed that handsy was also a little cocky. because the grin that crossed his face made it clear to her that he did think he could grab women and just get away with it. she frowned, feeling everything in her start to despise this sleaze bag even more than she had a moment ago. it seemed her warning wasn't enough to deter him because he was either stupid enough or drunk enough to be one of those men that thought no was really an invitation to try again because the next thing she knew he was taking a step towards her. she took a step back and held a hand up to him. "are you deaf, stupid or both?" she said, her voice firm but she was actually a little worried about this guys intentions. it was then she stepped back into what felt like a brick wall and she jumped a little, shifting to the side slightly as he heard a deeper voice than hers address the town idiot. she folded her arms and fixed the dope with a hard glare as she stood to the side of her rescuer, and without meaning to just a little behind him because while she could fight her own battles she wasn't stupid enough to try and fight one she really couldn't win.
for a second it seemed like he was going to try and push his luck with the bouncer too and while she'd have been delighted to see him be put in his place with a well used fist, she was disappointed when the idiot just blew a raspberry at her before he seemed to skulk off back to the dancefloor, no doubt hoping to run into a women who didn't have attitude or a right place right time protector. she looked back at the guy who had saved him and instead of her usual assurance she could have handled it herself she was a little taken back by the sight she was. no wonder she'd felt like she'd walked into a wall. she'd love to get her hands all over him, to explore just how hard everything was and with a face like that she didn't know how he was working here and didn't have every girl in the place throwing themselves at him. "thanks for that." she breathed out a little as she pushed a hand through her hair gently, careful not to mess it up but enough to ruffle it softly. "he was clearly another unevolved neanderthal who can't take no for an answer."
the music was thumping, the people were jumping and the drinks were flowing almost freely at this point. at least for her. she knew it was probably a little shallow but there were perks to looking as good as she did, the dress she'd picked hugged everything in just the right places, the neckline dipped just a little lower than what was probably considered normal and the heels she was wearing helped her move just right. she didn't flaunt her body often but when she did, she normally didn't have to pull her wallet out for drinks. she moved with her friends on the dancefloor, having come out with some of the girls from her university course when they'd suggested it and honestly it had been a while since she'd let her hair down. with moving countries, settling in and getting herself set up in the showing world plus dealing with her courses, she'd had little time to relax. so tonight she was doing just that. she didn't have a care in the world, she didn't have anything on tomorrow so she could drink what she liked and sleep in till noon and no one would be any the wiser.
she held up her hands to her friends and excused herself from the dance floor when her feet started to hurt and she promised them she'd be back after a spell. she couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes as her friend turned and draped herself across the shoulders of the nearest guy. well that was one way to have fun. she worked her way to the edge of the dance floor and she took a breath. there were a few empty booths but she found herself distracted as she thought about going to get her drink but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted and her blood boiled at the feel of a hand that slipped lower than her back. she stepped away from the touch, turning to face the drunken idiot with too much of a goofy look on his face and her eyes flashed. "just because my ass exists, doesn't give you the right to feel it up." she almost snarled at him.
full name • roxanna austin wood nicknames • roxy, call her roxanna and risk a painful death. age • twenty three birthday • 7th of april occupation • equestrian & socialite & animal genetics student gender • female sexuality • heterosexual
the appearance
face claim• liz gillies
identifying features• she has piercing blue eyes that are not usually anything other than icy. her hair sits at the middle of her back and is usually styled but when she's just at the barn it's always up in a ponytail. she loves fashion, buys far to many clothes and has boots for every occasion.
the personality
likes • horses, riding, music, sunshine, shopping, when people bite back, sushi, annoying her brother, animals, defying her parents wishes, flirting, fancy cars and tight jeans. dislikes • being judged on her looks, failing, ripping clothes, boring people, conflicting patterns, the colour yellow, cold weather, snow and french fries. strengths • a strong will, her fashion sense, her riding ability and her intelligence. weaknesses • her lack of mouth filter, her competitive nature, her love of a stray, she has a weak knee from injury (she'll never stop wearing heels though) dreams • to help the next generation of female riders. fears • losing her sight. overall personality •
doesn't suffer fools | roxy has spent her whole life being treated as one of two things. a well dressed bimbo with no brain between her ears or a shallow horse girl whose only aim in life is to win trophies. now those assumptions are only half right. she is well dressed and she does like to win trophies, but she is also as smart as they come, cunning enough to know when she's being played and to play people right back and she's got a competitive fire to beat all fires. she's talented while on the back of a horse but she has talents while she's off a horse too. people only make the wrong assumption about her once though as she doesn't give anyone who judges her wrongly the time of day.
more than she seems | smart, vibrant, witty and energetic are just a few words to describe this girl. she'll train from dawn till dusk if she feels she needs to and when she loses she'll go over tapes, strategies and plans in order to overcome what might have caused her to lose. simply not being the best isn't an option. at anything she attempts. in school she was a straight A student and in the barn she's as hard working as they come, she just doesn't love grunt work and does her best to get out of it with a pretty smile and a sweet talk.
stubborn | she doesn't back down. from anything. if someone tells her she's wrong she'll argue until they believe she's right. she'll only change her opinions for one person and that's her brother dallas and even that doesn't happen very often. her stubborness has come from being under estimated her whole life, from being told she's only worth the prettiness of her face to being told she'll only go as face as her looks will take her, she's determined to prove everyone wrong and make something of herself, both in the equestrian world and the real world.
sucker for a set of puppy dog eyes | she's not all ice and bite though. there is something that will melt even her icy heart and that's a creature in need. humans don't often fall under that category but sometimes, one will slip through. mostly it's horses, dogs and cats. while she was growing up her parents changed her horse as often as she changes her boots now. the second she outgrew one they replaced it and it broke her heart every single time. now she's an adult she keeps them.
the history
father • peter nickolas wood - 45 - horse trainer mother • susan wood - 43 - horse breeder siblings • dallas jake wood - 27 - equestrian important people • none hometown • kentucky, usa overall history • being born with a silver spoon in ones mouth usually marks a person with a certain arrogance, and roxy wood is no exception to that rule. that's not to say she didn't learn to work for whatever she got, she just knew that her parents would provide it once she did. being born the only daughter of peter and susan, horse world royalty (or at least they liked to think so) meant that she was put onto the back of a horse the moment she learned to sit up on her own. horses were a must for her and her brother, they didn't really have a choice in the matter. they were taught from the get go. they learned how to sit perfectly, to hold their posture like they had a stick up their backs and to the outside eye like they had one somewhere else too. failure wasn't an option and the expectation was to win. there was no rewards for second place and she hardly ever remembers a word for first place either. there was always criticism to be had from her parents, hardly ever praise.
horses came and went while she was riding under her parents, they were always looking for the next horse that could take her to the next level, to sell the ones that had worked hard to get here where she was like they were nothing to her. it broke her heart every time she had to say goodbye to the animals that always stole her heart, but she didn't show it. that stiff back she'd been raised to have also became a stiff upper lip and showing weakness and emotion wasn't an option. emotions didn't make winners. it might not have been a lesson her parents wanted her to learn but it was one they taught her all the same. she wasn't offered the pearls of wisdom from her father like her brother, she was expected to follow in her mother's footsteps and learn the art of breeding horses.
she didn't want to. she'd have much preferred to work with her father and brother, taking the horses that her mother bred from green babies to champion adults. it took her more than a year or arguing and fighting for them to finally listen, to learn from her father and her brother. though it wasn't long before her parents decided that dallas had gone as far as he could in the u.s. so they told him to conquer the world. the world at home got a little quieter as she missed her brother, for his company and the fact that with him gone they had more time to focus on her. like dallas, she collected award after award, touring the circuit and competing in both cross country and show jumping. she loved the challenge both provided her.
she followed in her brothers footsteps not too long ago, flew the nest and jumped the pond, as they say, to conquer the world of equestrians in a different country along side her brother so they could keep making their parents proud. she's glad to be out from under their thumb though. she learned to let her hair down and she does enjoy doing it just a little too much.
the role player
alias • shadow age • how rude other characters • when they stand still long enough i'll count them