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!.
Cassandra tried her best to meet up with her brothers once a month. Since she was the oldest, she felt responsible checking in on her siblings since they had all moved to the UK.
Leon was off at the local gym, needing to prepare for the upcoming NHL season - which was unfortunately just around the corner. After dropping him off, she drove herself and Rocket to the Pier, deciding that it was going to be nice enough weather to spend time outside. The blonde had brought some snacks and a few cans of sparkling water - in case the two of them got hungry during their chat.
The blonde hopped out of her car and clipped the leash onto Rocket's harness - the dog was much older now and would most likely walk beside her but she wanted to follow the rules just in case. She picked up the small picnic basket and led the Golden Retriever to the end of the Pier, sitting down on the ledge and letting her feet dangle.
The older dog laid down beside her, feeling content as the warm sun warmed his fur. The woman opened the basket and glanced inside - making sure for about the fourth time that day that she remembered everything.
Wes had looked at his watch a few times already. There was no reason he would be late, but he always had this feeling about being late. Cass would always understand, as she was always with him – but he didn’t like coming up with excuses.
The pier was empty and it didn’t take him too long to find a parking spot. He picked up a bag of sandwiches he got from work earlier in the day. They were still considered fresh, and he didn’t like the idea of food going to waste. There was also a bottle of wine from the vineyard that he thought Cassie and Leon would enjoy.
He found his sister and her dog, Rocket, sitting – legs dangling. “Hey, Cass!” Wes called out, making sure to announce his presence. Even though the fencing of the pier would keep them safe – he didn’t like surprising someone.
Wes sat down next to Cass after giving Rocket a quick pet. “How’s your summer been?”
Cassie opened the picnic basket and pulled out a can of lime sparkling water before opening it, setting it beside her. She then opened her water bottle and pulled out Rocket's plastic dish before setting it on the ground and poured some water into it for her canine friend.
"Hi Wes!" She was always happy to see family as they meant a lot to her. The woman barely heard her brother walk down the pier towards them but she recognized his voice instantly.
Rocket took a big drink of water from his bowl as he got pets. "I swear that dog is spoiled." Cassie joked. She knew Rocket wasn't a young pup anymore but she spoiled him just the same.
"It's been good. Glad I was able to go see Leon's parents and have a vacation with them." It was tradition in the summer for them to go somewhere in Europe together. "And you? Winery keeping you busy?"
"Help yourself to the food or the drinks in the basket. I made peanut butter brownies, pasta salad and there are cans of sparkling water inside too." Sure she went all out but she loved cooking and baking.
“I think all dogs should be spoiled,” Wes smiled, keeping a hand on the old dog. It was one of the best parts of his job, meeting all the dogs. Some of them were scary, but most were pretty good. Wes did often leave treats for people on his route, whom he had permission to. People were often surprised when he remembered their dog’s allergies too.
“Oh? Which country did you go to this time?” Wes had met Leon and his family a few times. He didn’t do a lot of crazy things with them, as having a meeting with five people was a lot for him. But he managed with family and future family. Strangers were a lot different.
“We had our first wedding there! I was very unprepared for the question, but they loved the look of our function building and the rolling hills. Ty handled it all to spare me the stress. From the pictures, it looked lovely. Maybe a new adventure.”
His eyes glittered with excitement when food was offered. “Thanks!” Wes could cook for himself, but his sister’s cooking made him look amateur. He took his hand off of Rocket who looked disappointed. Wes grabbed a small serving of pasta salad and took a big bite, prompting Rocket to look up with big, begging eyes.
“I definitely agree with you there.” Rocket was more spoiled than other dogs though - especially when he was much younger. Cassandra was thankful that her brothers and Leon were dog people as well and assisted in the spoiling. “Are there any cute dogs on your mail routes lately?” As Rocket was much older now it was harder for him to keep up during a run, but Cassie knew to slow down her pace when they were out.
She took a sip of her sparkling water and set it down on the bench beside her. “We went to Germany for a bit to visit his Grandparents and then we headed to Malta with his friends.” It was always nice to see Leon’s family - over the ten years of knowing them, they felt like family already. “And then we went to Austria with his parents for a few days.” Leon’s father didn’t have much time as he was coaching but he made the effort to join them. “Wow, that's great! So glad to hear it went well.” She knew there were things that overwhelmed Wes, but she knew she could rely on Ty to help out in those situations. “You’ll have to put it up on the website as something you offer!” It was always fun for her to hear how the vineyard was doing, as it was something she wasn’t experienced with. “Did they have a lot of guests?”
The blonde took a bowl of pasta salad for herself as well after Wes had served himself a serving. “Let me know how it is! It’s a new one that I haven’t tried yet.” It was from one of Leon’s teammates who loved to cook as much as she did.
Weston nodded. “Yes, quite a few actually. I have a new Terrier on my business route. Kind of a shop dog? There name is Buttons, so I made sure to give a lot of pets. There are still a few that bark and growl – but most of them have been really kind.” He knew better than to push anything. Weston always made sure he was safe, and so were the dogs.
“Ah a trip around Europe, kind of then?” Weston asked, taking another bite of salad. Weston had traveled a bit, mainly so he could learn more about this wine business he and his brother had inherited.
“Ty said it was about fifty guests. I think that’s a fair number. I mean, we can technically fit up to one-fifty, but I enjoyed the intimacy of it all. Big weddings…are a lot.” Big crowds in general were a lot for Weston. He didn’t like the idea of having to mingle in that setting. He knew he would have to deal with it when Cassie got married. But that was something different. She knew his habits and wouldn’t be upset if he had to go into a space where he could breathe for a moment.
“It’s tasty! A bit vinegary, so maybe add something to balance it out more?”
Cassie loved hearing about the dogs on her brother’s route. “Aw, how cute. Aren’t you glad we grew up with dogs?” She could never understand why anyone didn’t like them. Her Grandparents wouldn’t have their successful ranch if they didn’t have the dogs. There were moments when she was younger where she would have been in big trouble without them. “Glad they are well behaved. Do you think you’d get a dog of your own?”
She took a bite of her own salad, wondering if there was something missing. “Honestly, it always feels like it. I’m shocked his friends want to take me with them on their boy's trip.” Though more recently, Leon’s friends had started having girlfriends - so it technically wasn’t a boy's trip anymore. “It’s fun though. Always great to see him. Next time he comes, we should all get some dinner.”
After setting her fork and bowl, she took a sip of her water again. “That sounds like a nice number. One hundred and fifty people sound like way too many, even for me.” She gave Wes a soft smile, knowing what her brother could handle. “Though I do hope it gives you some more people visiting the winery.” She was admittedly very proud of her brothers for taking over a business. “I’ll have to order a case of wine soon. There are some hockey friends that sent me a goodie box so a bottle would be a great thank you gift.”
Cassie nodded. She also thought it had too much vinegar. “That’s what I thought when I read the recipe. I could try adding less next time but there might be another vegetable or sauce ingredient I can add.” Baking was more her strong suit, but she tried her best.
“I don’t think Mom and Dad could’ve kept dogs away from us. There was a lot in our neighborhood!” Thankfully, the family wasn’t devoid of pets. Granted, there wasn’t more than two at a time – but their neighbors had a lot. There was also the rescue he helped do paper delivery too when he was younger, so he got a lot of love there.
“Maybe! But I work quite a bit. I wonder if we could have a winery dog, you know? Like how people have a shop dog. Could give it a bit more friendly air, though I am worried about allergies and whatnot.” Wes has always wondered what it was like, to have people to travel with. He had his family but not a lot of close friends like that. Or even a partner to consider the travel. Wes liked the idea of getting out there, but large social interactions made him a bit nervous. He got overstimulated and didn’t enjoy the idea of having to put himself in a stressful situation. Ty had joked that he needed to meet another introvert.
“Hopefully, it’s not just the boys. Or are you truly the only girl going to be there?” He found it odd, but never really questioned anything. Wes was sure the other’s partners were welcomed too, but the social aspect of boys and girls-only trips was weird to him.
“Absolutely! I’m sure we can curate you a good box.” Usually, he wouldn’t have Cass pay, but knowing her – she would insist and he wasn’t about to argue with her. “I think it will too. Winter will be a bit slow, so we’ll take all the people we can.”
Wes finished his plate and placed it down on top of the basket. “I talked to them a few days ago. They’re enjoying life so far. Work’s been a bit busy on their end, but they never complain.”
“The Grandparents didn’t help with that either.” Cassandra joked. Their grandparents had a large Ranch back home, which meant they had several dogs to help herd the cattle and horses if they needed it. Cassandra found it very helpful, especially when she helped with barn chores or if one of the animals decided to get out.
She nodded; any animal was a huge time commitment. Cassie herself barely had time for her three horses plus a dog. “Well, you could always foster a dog for the winery. It would give it some possible adoption options and it wouldn’t be such a big commitment.” She suggested. “Or you could borrow Rocket on the days you are free.” The dog was reaching the senior point of his life, which meant he basically slept all day anyway. In some ways, he was much easier to look after than a puppy.
“It wasn’t this time, but the first few times it was. His friends are getting girlfriends now, so it shouldn’t be next year.” She really didn’t mind it. Leon’s friends were becoming her friends, which made traveling together so much easier for everyone. “Thank you. They created a more female friendly merchandise line for all the hockey teams and even though I live here they sent me a box of the new collection.” It was something she wasn’t expecting as the owner's husbands didn’t play in Edmonton.
Cassie took another bite of the salad. “I’ll have to gather you two up with some winter clients then. I think there are some parents of my students that haven’t even started their Christmas shopping yet.” It wasn’t everyone who gave her a gift, but between teaching at the barn and teaching at the school - she ended up with more Christmas presents than she expected.
She finished off her plate and set it on top of Wes’s. “Oh good. I don’t think the two of them will ever retire. The League will have to drag Dad away from hockey.” Cassie shook her head. Their grandparents were forced to retire from farm work, but they still overlooked everything that needed to be done. “I really need to give them a call soon. I’ve been terrible with school starting back up.”
“As long as they’re enjoying themselves.” While Wes agreed that their parents would need to slow down, it appeared the family line was more about them working until nature forced them not to. Sometimes sitting still was boring. Wes knew all too well that feeling. It was why he liked doing his mail route.
“What classes are you teaching this year?” Wes couldn’t remember what her schedule was. There were times that things changed, but he, unfortunately, wasn’t that into remembering. He tried though, so he could ask Cassie how her days were. He didn’t know if he could handle it, teaching. Being around a lot of adults was hard, the idea of kids was scarier. She liked it though, from what she had told him. That was all that mattered.
"I think Mom is desperately trying to get him to retire. She keeps seeing those cruise ship ads and wants to take Dad on one for a month through Europe." Though she wasn't slowing down either. There were always clients to coach and competitions to attend, though she was more keen about settling down. Especially now that all three kids were out of the house. It must feel odd for them.
She put her dirty dishes into the picnic basket and opened the container with brownies inside. "Regular old gym class. I have the sixteen year olds this year so there are some not so enthusiastic so I'm trying to make it more fun and interesting for them." She found it hard to get teenagers motivated as she had very athletic people and ones who couldn't' care less. "I'll take any advice on how to motivate kids, though I know you don't really deal with them at work." She often asked others even if they didn't teach - it was always nice to hear other opinions.
"Are you still enjoying working at the post office too?" She asked before taking a bite of the brownie and setting it on her plate.
“Well, I’m sure there’s some stuff on the social media that you could look into?” he offered. “Like some dance, or race…I hear disc golf and ultimate frisbee is something that people like.” Even though he wasn’t someone who partook too much, he heard plenty from his coworkers who had children like the age group Cassie taught.
“Yeah, it’s been kind of slow – so I’ve been helping in the mail organizing room. It’s been fun! See more of my coworkers, and it’s been a bit hard to keep up with the conversation. But they’re very nice about it,” Wes replied, making sure his plates were clean enough before gingerly placing them inside the basket. He hand sanitized his hands before going back to pet more of Rocket.
“When does the school year start for you? Any lessons at the barn, too?”
Cassie nodded, social media was a good tool if one knew where to look. She tried her best to encourage them to keep active during the summer holidays, thankful that most of her students in class rode horses. "Yeah, I think I might try those. Are those TikTok dances still popular? Those might be fun to learn and practice as a class." She knew she was still young, though she really only used social media to keep in contact with her friends back home - and with Leon of course. Cassie cleaned off her own plate and pulled out a package of wipes, using one to clean off her hands after eating.
"I'm glad you've found somewhere they respect you. I can't imagine. Anyone in particular you've made friends with there?" Cassie seemed to make friends wherever she went, though that was all thanks to her bubbly personality. "September first, so I've got a few days left until I have to go set up my office again. So I'm sure a lot of parents will come flocking into the Winery for teacher gifts." She often didn't know if the parent's realized that it belonged to her brothers - but she never wanted to make it awkward for them.
Cassie packed the wipes back, tucking the used one with the empty container of potato salad. "We'll be going back to Fall lessons here soon. I've been teaching more often in the Summers when I'm here. So with school, I'll be going back to teaching Wednesday evenings and then Saturday mornings." Cassie often felt sad going back to just teaching twice a week, though being a teacher was her full-time job. "When can I convince you and Tyson to get on the back of a horse?"
"Ah okay. That doesn't sound too bad then. I'm sure you'll have a few students that will be ready to get back into it and others that will be really slow." Wes was one of those students who struggled a lot during school. Mainly the socializing part. His studies were fine, and he loved geography and anything pertaining to remembering routes. Thankfully, he was never scared to go to school. Wes had heard stories about that, and that was rough.
He smiled at her question. "Probably winter. Less busy for us. Though, it might be the busiest time for you." He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had ridden. Probably before they moved here. Wes was more of a casual rider. Competitiveness was never in his blood.
Cassandra nodded, getting her students back into the swing of things was always a struggle - no matter if they were prepared for it or not. "It really all depends on the class. Most parents are pretty good at getting their kids to keep in shape during the summer." Most of her students rode horses, which kept them in shape enough. Cassie wasn't someone who expected her students to be Olympic athletes. "I can't remember, you didn't like gym class right?"
She reached down and gave Rocket a few pats on the head, glad that the older dog knew how to settle down. He had been introduced to many situations as a puppy. "Yes! That's my down time too. Most people will be enjoying a more relaxed lesson. When was the last time you two rode anyway? Maybe I'll throw you both on the lunge line." She knew her brothers weren't avid riders, though they were surrounded by it growing up. Cassie sat up properly again after rewarding the dog for being quiet. "You could both take turns riding Willow? She's calmed down a lot since you last saw her." Charm was still too young and Eddie was still his usual stallion self, with way too much energy.
