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!.
River Bloom could not believe he allowed himself to get talked into this - a physiotherapy appointment. He hated his body for betraying him in front of the boarder who did said physiotherapy, and he hated himself for his past. Unfortunately, there was nothing River could do about that, other than deal with it. As he stood outside of the office though, the man felt like he was having cold feet. He bitched and moaned about this to just about anyone who would listen to him at the barn, fuck, even the horses probably got an earful on how much he did not want to go. And yet, he was here - because deep down, River knew he needed the help.
A deep, heavy sigh escaped him as he stared down the door. Everyone on the other side of that door could see him from the waiting room, standing outside like a bloody idiot. If only he could still drink, he probably could have given himself a shot or two of courage to go inside. Sobriety was annoying like that though, he hit six months clean and couldn't risk it, not over somethings stupid like being chicken shit about a physiotherapy appointment for his battered leg and body. Squaring up, River shoved the door opened and entered, stalking right over to the poor lady at the front desk and flatly said, "I'm here to see Everett about my leg."
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
He must have found a spot, because the stallion was leaning into him now almost aggressively to get it after nearly dozing off. A chuckle couldn't help but escape River as he made sure to spend some extra time on that one itch before finishing up. Parkour appeared to be wide awake now, ready to rumble, and River decided that the time for bonding on the ground with the brushes was over, "Yeah yeah, I'll finish up." He muttered now, doing a quick sweep of the stallion's body with the soft brush and combing out a surprisingly knot free tail. River soon disappeared quickly to grab his tack, thankful that he popped some ibuprofen to help with his old injury - something told him that he might have a full horse on his hands today.
Gently but efficiently, the man worked through tacking up Parkour now. He but all had figured out most of his quirks when it came to saddling up, and mining the girth and bridle. The stallion had almost been too perfect in the saddle, which River superstitiously thought it meant that he was due for something, anything, to happen - what though, he wasn't sure. Putting his helmet on, River tossed the thought aside as he took the reins, "Let's go, Parkour." He lead the stallion outside to the outdoor arena, standing him by the mounting block before quickly getting up in the saddle.
As blue eyes stared across the arena, with its low jumps and poles, he suddenly thought of a different idea. An idea that River loathed, but, given how good the few months had been since ownership, he might as well see if he could award the stallion outside the arena, "Want to try a hack?" he asked now, knowing full well the Parkour could not answer him back. Taking a breath, he gently squeezed the stallion forward and steered him back outside of the arena now, pointing him towards leaving the property and onto the trails. Off in the distance, he thought he heard the sound of barking, but paid it no heed. Little did River know that perhaps, he should have thought differently about dogs on the property.
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
River watched as the young woman showed her empty hands and pockets to the mare now, displaying that there was no more. Raven, after a thorough search with nosing about, finally let out a disgruntled snort and pulled away from the fence line and moved onto River, not for treats but for pets. Thunking her head into his shoulder in demand of attention, a sigh escaped the man as he gave his mare a good scratch now while listening to Daisey talk about her life style. The idea of cardio made River want to grunt, but that was his leg talking, "Heavy lifting?"
Seemed odd for a girl like her to be doing some heavy lifting, but who was he to judge a book by its cover? Or at least, River tried vey hard to not do that anymore. Given the direction in which she was heading though, it finally dawned on him where she may be going, "Oh. You work over at that orchard? Malloy's or something?" He gave Raven another firm and solid pat now, before dropping his hands, hoping to send her on her way despite the mare stubbornly standing around, "No wonder the horses love you. You got the skinny on all the apples in town, yeah?"
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
He thought this night was off to a pleasant start. He was being well behaved, nice even, and so was Kayleigh Hayden. She didn't quite seem snarky like she had back at the Tack Store. Perhaps the saddle fitting and day of professionalism had some them some good. But then, River made a comment about Raven, and just like that, the woman scoffed at him. Scoffed! The man could feel a scowl coming on his face now, and he rolled his blue eyes so hard it was shocking they hadn't gone into the back of his skull, "You're just saying that because Raven's a mare and you're taking her side." Actually, he was probably a liar, Parkour was getting more attention, but fuck him if he was going to let Kayleigh Haydn be right.
At least there was food there to distract him, even if the woman was reaching over a poaching some for herself. He allowed it to happen once, but as her hand honed in for a few more, even River couldn't help but to tease, "Yer not my girlfriend," his manchester accent coming in thick, "Who says you can steal my pretzel bites?" He was willing to bet that Kayleigh would say that she gave herself said permission, but he wasn't about to put words into her mouth. As she proclaimed that she would play an axe game with him, but only if he were 'nice', River couldn't help but to chortle, "Oh, you don't think I can be nice to a lady? I can be a fancy gentleman and not let the competition get the best of me. I try to save that for the show arena." And arguing, but he didn't feel like bringing that up.
His shoulder shrugged at her next question, "I'm too sober to get into the semantics of why I piss people off." And perhaps, it would be the only insight River would offer into his past for the evening. Blue eyes still watched her though, sipping her tea like she may or may not own the world. How could someone look so coy when they were just drinking a bloody cup of iced tea? River shoved the thought out of his head though, "Ah yeah. I suppose booze and axes don't mix well at all. Neither to hangovers for a work day." They never quite fit him well either and his 'work' day had revolved around working out and riding back when he had benders, "But you? Clumsy? You didn't strike me as that. Am I gonna have to worry about catching you like in some fairy tale?"
River was caught off guard by her playful but gentle bump, her arm knocking into hers. Blue eyes actually glance down at it, just for a fleeting moment before his eyes locked back onto her grey ones. Damn, she got his bluff there, "The snarky kind." He replied now, smiling wryly before pulling his arm away from hers now - putting some distance between them. River doubted that Kayleigh wanted to date him, too classy for that, and he wasn't looking for a relationship quite yet. The man thought best about saying anything though, it was too early to make the night awkward, "Me? Have friend? You haven't talked to those kids at Seven Oaks yet then. They're terrified of me. Rightfully so." Out of the corner of his eye now, he caught the room attendant now. Pushing himself up from the bar, he held out his hand in case Kayleigh wanted to take it for lifting herself up, "Ready to try and beat my ass at axes, Kayleigh Haydn?"
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
It became clear to River that he must be being too nice for once in his life, since it felt like the woman was giving him a look. Never in a million years would he had thought that it would be weird for him to sound like a nice, normal human being. Although if she subtly giving him permission to be snarky once more, River would gladly take it. Even just his earlier comments were a bit draining, "Parkour is doing well, settled in nicely. Raven...well, I think she liked being my only horse prior to his arrival." He had actually forgotten that he had introduced his mare to Kayleigh, must have been an off day when she came to do the saddle fitting.
Blue eyes watched as she snagged herself a pretzel bite now, and he soon enjoyed himself to one as well along with the beer cheese - deciding that despite the name, the alcohol must be baked or cooked out of it and shouldn't give him any issues. At her question, he just smirked and shrugged, "It's not like we got off on the right foot, yeah?" River commented now, "Maybe I'm just used to people getting even when I piss them off. Need I remind you that you're just as snarky as me. Being late would have just been extra salty."
He was a little caught off guard when she prompted him on what she wanted to drink. Blue eyes looked down at his iced water, shaking the glass a little to let the ice cubes rattle. What River wanted was something more, the invite to order whatever he wanted tantalized him. River closed his eyes, and took a deep breath in for four seconds, held it, and then released it before glancing back at Kayleigh now, "Just water. I can be your DD if you want something stronger." He was certain this place new well enough when to cut people off, and River supposed he could look out for the woman if she needed it. The axes were dull enough to not kill, but he wasn't certain about maiming. At least there were lanes to keep parties separate.
Kayleigh's question broke into his thoughts. Funny. He had been pondering the same thing earlier. River just smirked at her now, "Because I thought we had a connection," he teased, his snarky tone back now. He finished off his water now, asking for a refill and once it was handed to him, River gestured for the woman to follow, "Really, I just don't have friends here. And I'm not pathedic enough to do axe throwing by myself."
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
River couldn't help but to feel like he had fallen into a trap like some stupid bloke to this girl with the flower power name. Daisy didn't fear him, she didn't quake in her shoes like most did, all what she did was stand her ground and politely sass him right back. As his blue eyes stared at her, the man found himself thinking that she was actually enjoying herself. His mare certainly was, playing into this game like a willing ally. He stubbornly ignored her probing comment about his certainty to not being a lemon head, but the next one had him arching an eyebrow.
He stared at her for a long beat, knowing now for certain that she was just egging him on. And while River knew he should just walk away, he couldn't. Not when the young woman was still feeding the horses carrots - irreguardless of her permissions, "And why do you think Heather is a boring name? Now it sounds like you're being the judgmental one." He fired back now, mainly because he didn't trust himself to pick Daisy a name that didn't sound insulting in the moment. It was silly how much she had gotten to him, even River could see that - but the day, and the pain in his leg, had taken its toll and now the man was just irritable to be irritable.
Raven had finished her carrot, already looking around for a new one. Her ears pointed forward in curiosity as a soft black muzzle nudged the young woman once more, "I swear - she gets fed." He interjected into the quiet now, blue eyes still eyeing his mare and her utter sense of betrayal. Daisy could think he was a dick all she wanted, but he would rather die than be accused of being a terrible horse owner even with his faults. At least Daisy could see that though, despite Raven's apparent addiction to carrots. His balk at her compliment hardly seemed to phase the young blonde now, "Uh...no. Not anymore." Even thinking about compliments from the past seemed jaded due to fame, not that it mattered now. A snort escaped him when she pointed out that he too, had an earth bound name, "Yeah. I don't know what my mum was thinking when she named me. Probably thought it made me unique." It was hard to fault his mother though - he loved her too much to do that, "So why do you walk? No boyfriend or girlfriend to give you a lift?"
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
He was a little surprised to see her nod in agreement with him only just minutes earlier Skye had nothing to say but spew venom. River supposed that they both had gotten off on the wrong foot then. A snort escaped the younger woman now followed by a smirk, "Yoda? Okay if you say so.” A dark eyebrow arched, both at her reaction and her words, "That's his name? Yoda?" Perhaps it was just as well he had never seen those movies then, he probably wouldn't make it through without some off handed comment, "And what's the smirk for? Think I can't handle you?" He made sure to deliver that line with his own smooth smirk, just to avoid starting another war after they just made truce, but it was hard to deny that River wasn't riled up by a perceived challenge by a younger rider. God. Maybe he was gettin' old.
River merely nodded when the young woman confirmed the trio of grey horses belonged to her, as well as the stated obvious that she loved greys, "They're a good bunch, even on their off days." Not that he rode them, but as a stablehand, the man got to know each and every horse on a personal level it felt like between taking them out to the pasture and taking care of their stalls. He supposed he did much more, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
His attention was brought back down to earth though as he said his apologies about being a dick. River Bloom didn't like to often admit that he was a dick or that he was in the wrong, but every once in a while, his conscious got the best of his pride and attitude. Also, keeping his job would be nice. It would seem that he wasn't the only one handing out apologies though as Skye voiced her own, "Safety mechanism?" River asked now, felt like there was a story there. But he wouldn't pry. She was entitled to her own privacy. Speaking of privacy though: "Why don’t you jump anymore?” The question hung in the air like an omen that River didn't know quite how to deal with, but he just answered with the truth, "Bad riding accident. I was drunk. Happened on national tv, you can youtube it. My mare did her best to save me, but it wasn't good enough. I'm lucky I got away with what I did and Raven kept her life."
He smirked at the memory now, and the thought of how hard he had fallen, "Happened on international stage too. Lost my sponsor, coach. Everything. Now I'm here, mucking stalls," and then he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket now, before grinning, "And nitpicking young riders about their stride counts." River wasn't sure if this would be uncomfortable for her now, being near him. River Bloom. Once a star and then crashed it all a way in one night. Perhaps it was a long time coming, and he just refused to see the writing on the walls. Everyone left, and he went into exile, "I have to say, what's nice about Hickstead is somehow nobody seems to know who I am."
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
River had been pleased that the walk back to the stables had been uneventful, and the only thing the human felt was the evil eye being given to him from a pasture over. Still, the man had to had it to Parkour, the stallion was getting better and better each day. The liver stallion had been more or less a gentleman since arriving, except for the occasional kerfuffle - but River didn't entirely mind it. No horse was perfect, even though they were all guilty of thinking it, but unfortunately, that sort of thought lead to someone getting hurt or their heart broken. Horses, above all, were still prey animals and there would always be moments to remind their humans of that.
Thankfully, today was not one of those days, at least not on the walk. He set Parkour up in the grooming stall now, cross ties attached to the halter. Blue eyes watched the stallion seemingly relax as always, his head already drooping in anticipation of what was to come. River Bloom hardly smiled any more, he always seemed sour for a human, but this stallion always seemed to cause a small smile to crack across his features without even trying. He took the rubber curry comb now, and went to work, slowly and methodically moving in a circular clock motion, techinque trained into him the second he first learned how to bond with a horse, "Seems like you're settling into the yard nicely, boy. No one's uttered a complaint about you in these last few weeks."
River knew that he would not get a response - Parkour couldn't talk, this wasn't a fantasy novel, but there was something relaxing about talking to a being that was content with listening and doing nothing more. The man liked that about horses, they never judged, they only showed you what you were. A mirror. A reflection, "Although I don't think my mare likes me hanging out with you all the time. Maybe one day you'll meet her without Raven trying to murder you or...I guess, you not wanting to mount her." All things considered though, he thought the young stallion rather well behaved around mares given his age. River perhaps still didn't trust him to be pastured with them or besides them, but he had gotten quite good at not being distracted all the time.
Replacing the curry comb with a hard brush now, River went to work loosening up all the dirt that the curry comb hadn't managed to catch as he kept on talking, "Figure we might change it up today. Go on a hack. Maybe check on the cross country course as well. I'm sure you're getting bored of the arena and flat work. I know you're destined for more than that. We both are." And the man was determined to make it happen, "What do you say to that? Eh Parkour?"
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
Blue eyes watched the liver stallion in the field, waiting for his whistle to be acknowledged. After a moment, Parkor finally seemed to acknowledge him. He saw that minor head tilt, the mid pause of chewing on the delicious summer grass. After a moment, the stallion seemed to kick himself into gear, or at least, Parkor's version of kicking it into gear. It was times like these where the difference between his two horses were astronomical, given that just a few minutes earlier, he had Raven who had been dying to come out with him which he denied, and he had Parkor here who thought he could take all the time in the world to come. River didn't blame the stallion though, even though they had been working together for a few months, their bond still wasn't completely there. That would take time.
"Finally," he commented now as Parkor waltzed up to the gate now, "You took your sweet ass time, Parkor." But naturally, the stallion didn't care and had more important things to inspect from the fence line, such whether or not he had any treats. He could feel the soft velvety nose pushing up against him, already inspecting the usual places, "Yeah yeah, hello to you too," he replied now, producing a few coveted black jelly beans and held his palm out flat for the taking. As the stallion munched away, River skillfully pulled the leather halter over Parkor's large head now and lacing up the chain lead. Making sure none of the other stallions were approaching, he then opened up the gate and carefully pulled his horse out now before shutting it behind, "Come on Parkor, let's get you brushed up before working."
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
Her retort was fast and quick, River didn't know what to make of it. On the one hand, he was annoyed at Skye's attitude with him given that he had attempted to help her out by pointing out a glaring flaw during her ride. On the other hand, he found her attitude a little bit cheeky mainly because the young woman reminded him of himself back in the day. But he certainly wasn't going to tell her that. Besides, the man knew that he had secretly gotten the last laugh as Skye took a deep breath through her nose, because it was a small action that admitted that he had been right, she just refused to say. Naturally, she went back into defending herself, "Well, you two may be rusty then," he simply replied before rolling his blue eyes, "I'm not your mother. I'm like...a wise little old sage. Like that green fellow in Star Wars."
Given these past five minutes, River wasn't even sure if he was that, but hell if he was going to let her push him around like some common stablehand. They may have met a small truce though over his comment about Ghost's affinity to sneeze on him, and she replied that the grey horse needed his affection fast and if it wasn't met, clearly the boogers went flying. Skye then went on to give him other information on two other horses he knew well enough now, "Ah. Guess you have a thing for gray horses then? I didn't realize the trio belonged to you." He supposed he should have seen it coming though if she was jumping. Now that quippy snaps were out of the way, Skye appeared to relax, and therefore, so did River, "Ah...before I got here. I get it now," he mused outloud. Blue eyes looked to the grey horse again before adding, "If it helps, I wouldn't have guessed that by what I saw." It truthfully just looked like miscommunication and blunder, verses Ghost getting back into the rhythm of things. A sigh escaped him, "Sorry I was a dick earlier, I get caught up in watching jumping. Miss it...guess I was taking it out on you. If it helps, you two did look pretty good."
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
River Bloom had decided that he liked the tack shop owner, to what extent though, he didn't really know. He wasn't really looking for a relationship at the moment, sometimes he was lonely, but that was just it. The man couldn't decide if he craved comfort that came with a committed relationship or he had just wanted someone to share his bed for the night. The latter didn't suit Kayleigh Haydn at all, and given that she ran a business and had several clients at the barn that he worked at, River settled for getting to know her just a bit more. They hadn't exactly gotten off on the right foot, but she had keep up with his tongue and cheek so it had been hard to ignore.
He hadn't seen her again since she came to fit Parkour and met Raven on the way out. But they had spoke, after he took the plunge to reach out to her via text in an attempt to get to know her just a little bit more beyond the 'im a business woman' façade. It hadn't been going very well, which lead River to invite her out on a hangout at the Rage Room. The man had been surprised to learn that there was an axe throwing pub in Willow Bridge, thinking this more of a London thing, but given all the bumpkins out in Hickstead, maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised.
Ordering himself a water, along with pretzel sticks and pub cheese, he waited around at his assigned alleyway. When met with a few flirty smiles from various patrons, River simply offered a cool smile back and nodded his hello. But he never spoke, never beckoned them closer since tonight only had his goal of Kayleigh Haydn. And speaking of her, blue eyes just caught the woman just walking in now. He grinned, waving her over and waited as she made her way through the crowds. Before he could even open her mouth, she spoke and somehow it was unsurprising it was about work. He laughed, "Kayleigh, we're not here to talk about work. But if you must know, the saddle working out great with Parkour." Somehow, he wasn't surprised that this was her first topic of choice, "Thanks for coming out though. I was beginning to think you were going to keep me hanging forever."
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
It would appear, much to his announce, that simply snapping at the girl would hardly make her cower before him and move on. She apparently had a bigger back bone than over half of the riders at Seven Oaks when it came to his attitude and personality. Her shrug and nonchalant attitude simply riled him up when the young woman informed him that she knew plenty of horses and their horses. Unable to walk away from a perceived challenge, River simply asked, "Oh yeah? Like who?" That wasn't the only thing that had gotten him riled up though: “Man, maybe it’s because your attitude is a lemon head you don’t know!”
His eyebrows arched as he stared at her, not bothering to keep the incredulous look off of his face as he actually laughed, purely out of rage, "My attitude is not a lemon head," he shot back, unable to keep the sourness out of his voice. In the back of his mind, a nagging little voice might have said something about how he was simply not helping his case either with this girl. But the man just snuffed that little voice of reason out, one of his many talents that had lead to his professional crash and burn. The girl introduced herself as Daisy and her stupidly bubbly personality seemed to double as a force field shield that protected her. "Of course you're named after a flower," some stupid hippy name. No wonder Daisey here was annoyingly cheerful. Unlike River though, his horse didn't seem to mind. Raven was doing her best to lean over the fence now, her nose bopping the young woman's arm to see if she had a tasty morsel. That did it, River just threw his hands up in the sky, frustrated by all of this and the exasperated sigh just said it all, "Fine Raven, take a stupid carrot from her," he muttered to himself. Blue eyes narrowed at Daisy, uncertain of what to say, "Are you...are you giving me a compliment?" Now he was just perplexed, "I'm...River. And yes, she's a good horse."
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
show name • Darkest Night owned by • RIVER ARLO BLOOM barn • Seven Oaks Stables age • Fourteen breed • Dutch Warmblood height • 15.5 hands discipline • Show Jumping - National Levels gender • Mare likes • River, Being the Center of Attention, Long Grooming Sessions, Bath Time, High Jumps, Humans in General (especially the stablehands), Clapping Crowds, Being Rewarded for a Good Round dislikes • When Other Horses get near River (whether in her pasture or a different pasture that she can still see), Being Passed Over, Scrambling over Jumps, When River is out of Sync in their ride, Some new horse arrival trying to dislodge her from near the top of the pecking order, Being Ignored by Humans, Floating Day strengths • Elite Jumper, Quick Thinker, Always tries to Save the Jump weaknesses • Ill-Tempered outside of Humans, Owner Possessive fears • Being Forgotten, Certain Trail Areas overall personality • Raven is a people's horse, she is not a horse's horse. She doesn't care for hanging out with her own kind, and gets ill tempered when she thinks that another horse is zero-ing in on her human or time for affection. She loves to be the center of attention, whether its at the barn, or in the show arena. Anything related to grooming or getting cleaned tend to be her favorite things. The claps from crowds tend to get her riled up, and she can be hot entering the arena. Raven is always eager to please River though, and when they are in sync, the are a force to be reckoned with. She'll always listen to commands, but she's also quick to try and make up any mistakes with poles or jumps if she can help it.
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
barn name • Park, Parker owned by • RIVER ARLO BLOOM barn • Seven Oaks Stables age • Nine breed • Swedish Warmblood height • 16.3 hands discipline • Show Jumping, Cross-Country - Minor Dressage gender • Stallion likes • Black Jelly Beans, Jumping - will jump anything, Ear and Jaw scratches, Swimming, Farriers [likes to lean on them], water - will try to eat the hose! dislikes • Going Slow, Riding Spurs, Stiff Riders, Other Stallions, Geldings, Small Animals and Children strengths • Bold Jumper, Nimble weaknesses • Hard-Mouthed, Doesn't like Change fears • Dogs, Water-Jumps, Whips overall personality • Park is generally a chilled out stud who has decent ground manners and understanding of space around people. Though he is a bit mouthy and has bitten people before. Aside from his nibbling tendencies, Park is not malicious or violent, and if he does turn, its usually out of reaction to something that offends him - a hard voice or unnecessary force on his part. He is generally easy to control and bring under control, rarely wild from moment to moment, unless there is a lady around - then he's all but deaf to reason, so rider beware. He's a leading horse and will assert himself to no end. He's also a bit of a goof, getting himself into situations that defy general logic.
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE
The look on the young woman's face said it all - she was holding herself back from a flurry of biting remarks, rude gestures, and exasperated sounds. River didn't care though, it was nothing he hadn't heard before from a woman or a man for that matter. Yet, he did feel like he had to give her some credit when due. The man decided to hold off on any compliments yet though, since he was curious to see how this would go. The laugh escaped her now, and he got his answer, "Yeah you’re not my type hun.” Now it was his turn to let out a snort, "I'm everyone's type." Blue eyes watched as she allowed her horse to stretch out his neck now, looks like they might be talking for a while. River didn't mind, he interrupted her after all. Maybe he'd give her a pointer or two, although riders like her probably have been on a horse since they could walk and thought they knew it all.
She certainly was trying to put him in his place it would seem, just some lowly stable hand. River supposed that was his life though, a shocking amount of people didn't seem to know him. Sometimes he was fine with that, other times it annoyed him. Perhaps that was the problem with reaching stardom, when you crashed and burned, there were reminders everywhere and then, people simply forgot who you, "Well, if you're already out on the local shows, then spectators shouldn't distract you," River replied, "This not being a show arena shouldn't change that reality, nor should the horse." And now he was in the arena, invading the space, as the rider arched her eyebrow at him. He simply ignored though as he looked over the grey gelding, powerful, conditioned, perhaps not in total form yet.
And then, he got a name. Skye and Ghost, "Ah, a name to to the owner's plate." There were a few grey horses at Seven Oaks, but now that River was up close and personal, he recognized Ghost with ease, "I guess I didn't recognize your horse without him sneezing on me." River commented wryly before looking up at her, "River, I'm one of the newer stable hands." His gaze turned from her and then surveyed over the jumps again, the double oxer, the combination, the distance between them as well as the height, "Consider me curious. What exactly were you working on improving besides not knocking over poles?" His brain had been wracking over whether someone had mentioned to him that Ghost had been on stall rest prior to River's arrival at Seven Oaks, but his brain was pulling up short and foggy.
it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
thanks aofie!
Thirty Three . Professional Equestrian . Stable Hand - SOS . LGBTQ+ . SINGLE