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!.
It had been the best of days, it had been the worst of days, but Othello was getting used to them, and right now, he was feeling okay. "Hey dude!" He said with a grin as he walked up to his gelding's stall. "Shall we go for a ride?" His plans had been to go rock climbing, but it seemed that those plans were trashed when he couldn't find his gear.
After giving the liver chestnut a thorough groom, he tacked the Stuffolk Punch cross up and headed outside before mounting up. "I know buddy, I know." He soothed as the gelding pranced on the spot, eager to get going. Which the teenager didn't blame the gelding for, as the horse wasn't ridden, properly ridden, as often as he was used to, maybe Othello needed to talk to the Whites and see if he could add exercising into the horse's management plan.
"Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen!" He said with a grin as they made their way through the forest and then guided the gelding to turn down the path that led to the beach. He knew that the beach was quite popular with other riders, but he had come out for a ride to escape the four walls of his room, not for privacy.
It had so far been an exhausting day. Several dog parents had come into the pet salon needing a bath after their dog had rolled in some mud, which meant Savannah had a busy morning. She had ridden Monte before work, leaving the busier of the two horses for afterwards - hoping she would have more energy, which wasn't the case.
She pulled her car into the parking lot, letting out a sigh in hopes to release the chaotic energy that was buzzing around her. The brunette made her way over to the bay mares stall, moving her to a grooming stall to get her ready. It was finally nice enough to ride outside - something that Savannah took advantage of as soon as it was warm enough.
The mare and rider were ready to go, Savannah deciding to hit the beach trail for once in case it decided to rain on them during their trail riding adventure. She tightened the girth and mounted up after rolling down the stirrups, gently settling into the dressage saddle. Poppy walked on as soon as the rider got in the saddle, Savannah picking up the reins and heading down the path towards the beach. She heard an unfamiliar voice call out, turning her head to see if the man was talking to someone else.
"Going to find some lost treasure today are we? I apologize if I scared you." She didn't want to startle the younger rider with his horse as she didn't know either of them well. "Would you like some company? I promise I'll let you keep any gold we may find on our way."
Othello's brows flew up at the sound of another voice, though he shouldn't have been too surprised, as Harry had slowed to almost a halt and his ears were pointed toward the other person and horse, though the fact that she was in a dressage saddle on the beach trail was intriguing, though each to their own.
He flashed the woman a grin. "We just finished reading Treasure Island in English class, and Long John Silver left a mark." He laughed and shrugged. "I don't think there are any pieces of eight hiding around here." He flashed another grin. "You're more than welcome to join us though. He jiggled his reins as his large liver chestnut seemed to be eying up the mare, releasing a small come-hither huff in the mare's direction. The horse was a gelding, a complete gelding, there were just times that he liked to pretend he wasn't. "I'm Othello and this is Harry."
Savannah was glad that the rider didn't seem startled. She didn't recognize the young man at first, but due to her running the dog grooming she often rode at odd times. She sat up in her dressage saddle, still wanting to practice what she had been learning during her lessons even during a trail ride on the beach.
"How fun. Did you enjoy the book? I do remember reading it in school myself, though it seems like forever ago." Savannah smiled as she let the mare catch up to the gelding so they could ride side by side. "You'll need a metal detector if you want to find your treasure." Unless the young rider had a treasure map, it was the best way to go. Poppy happily walked along, enjoying the fact that they weren't riding in the arena anymore. "Why thank you, maybe we will find a treasure of another kind on our trail ride." It was nice having company as she typically rode on her own.
Savanah nodded, smiling as the rider introduced himself and his horse. "Nice to meet you both. I'm Savannah and this is Poppy. Do you ride at Seven Oaks or Blue Acres?"
Othello grinned and nodded. "It was a great book! Especially when you think of how long ago it was written. The modern day image of pirates, are actually based off Long John Silver." These days books inspired movies to be made, or remade, back when Treasure Island had been written, it had inspired so many things other than movies, though Long John Silver inspired many characters in a number of movies, both modern and not so modern. He pouted and snapped his fingers. "And on the day I didn't pack the metal detector in my saddle bag." He grinned again, dropping his reins and giving Harry his head as they walked along, using his legs to guide the horse. The only treasure I'm here to find is a little room to breathe, that's not inside."
He bowed his head as the woman returned the introductions. "That I do, Ma'am." He replied with another grin. "The other barn seems a little uppity, so I picked this one when I moved to town." Well, it was the cross country course at Blue Acres that had raised a few red flags with his mother, so Seven Oaks was the preferred barn, even if his grandmother had suggested the other. "Do you specialise in dressage, or are you an eventer?"
Savannah was always happy to hear there were youth that enjoyed reading books - and not just on their phones or some sort of screen. "Cool, sounds like a book I need to read. Do you enjoy adventure books the most?" She probably had read it back in her school years, but that seemed ages ago. "You have an actual one? I wouldn't even know where to buy one." Not that she had the sudden urge to hunt for treasure, though geocaching seemed to be gaining popularity. "Is this your first ride outside of the season?" She understood how the young man felt, even her quieter gelding Monte was starting to get tired of being ridden inside.
"Oh! I ride at Seven Oaks as well. I just do dressage, Eventing is a bit too...intense." She also always rode dressage, even back home in Ireland. It was a passion her mother passed on to her, though only a few foster siblings followed suit. "And what kind of riding do you do with Harry?" If she had to guess, they would do something like show jumping or Eventing.
Othello pressed his lips together and probably put more effort into making sure Harry's mane was lying flat on the correct side of his neck than he should. Yes, he enjoyed adventure books, but he'd grown to love them because they allowed him to go on adventures when he wasn't able to go anywhere. "I don't read books to get smart. I read to escape reality." He said with a grin. "No, I don't actually own a metal detector." He said with a laugh and a shake of his head. He pulled a face at her question, knowing that once more he'd said too much. "Something like that." Was the best he could come up with.
He nodded as she spoke, thinking that this woman would get along well with his grandmother. "Harry and I just plod along." He said with a smile and a shrug. "I want to get into eventing, but... things are a little in the air at the moment, and we're happy just plodding along when we can." To get lessons, he needed parental permission, and there was no way that way happening, as he'd also need to get his doctor to sign off on that one. Life sucked big time! "Do you do all that dressage to music stuff too? With the top hat and tails?" He had a few more questions, if her answer was yes.
The dark brunette nodded, it was the reason majority of people read books. "I can imagine you are very smart. What's your favorite genre of of books though?" She allowed the mare to pick up the pace at the walk, knowing she was starting to get impatient. "Darn, maybe we can find some coins or pieces of gold anyway."
"It's our first ride outside as well. Poppy tends to be a bit funky. She really should have been a chestnut mare with her attitude." Right on queue, the mare pinned her ears back as a butterfly came fluttering towards her. "Does it have to do with getting your parents permission? Eventing sounds a bit crazy to me. I've only watched it at a show back home." One of her foster siblings ended up doing it and was in the progress of doing it professionally.
Savannah quickly calmed her mare down, patting her on the neck after the butterfly had left after it had flown away. "Yep, usually the music is only during competitions but some of us listen to the music we want to use during our hacks." It got her in the mindset and helped her with the timing of when the cues were.
Othello grinned and laughed. "Book smart, but not that intelligent." He said with a shrug. "I like the classic adventure fiction. Science fiction tends to need a little more brain power than I have at times." He shrugged again, knowing that he'd just insulted himself and not caring.
He laughed as Harry snorted, seemingly in reply to the woman's comment about the attitudes of chestnut horses. "Not so much the permission. More the convincing them that... Um, yeah, I guess it would be getting their permission." His mum was freaked out that he wouldn't be able to mentally handle the physical sport, and he knew that she was having imaged of him falling off his horse in the middle of the cross country phase, but he was stronger than that, and he felt that he could do it.
He took up his gelding's reins, as the horse took interest in the departing insect, though did nothing more than blow out his breath before lowering his head. The boy listened as the woman spoke about dressage. He grinned. "I like listening to music while riding too, but then Harry here gets jealous that I'm listening to music and he isn't, and I still need to find headphones in his size." Music helped him forget about the world for a while, and when out on horseback, it helped even more.
"Do you really think book smarts are everything?" She raised her eyebrow - with her various amounts of foster siblings, not all of them were book smart, but they were successful in their own ways. "It's just a matter of who you ask." Teachers of course drilled it into their students that being book smart was the most important thing. "Ah, typical boy genres. Any favorite book in particular?" There were way too many books to choose from, but maybe there was a specific book for Othello.
Poppy flicked her ears forward after the butterfly left her vicinity. The mare tended not to like things too close to her - most of all things she didn't know or understand. "Maybe there is someone that can help you with that? The eventing coach at the barn maybe?" Any sport was dangerous - it just depends on how one looked at it. "Are your parents always so protective of you?" Savannah's parents thankfully were protective of her - it was difficult for her parents to juggle the large amounts of kids in their house.
The brunette nodded, understanding where the boy's thoughts were coming from. "I do too. Darn, do they not have ear bonnets for horses with bluetooth speakers in them? I think Poppy or Monte would like that too." It made her two mounts perfect for dressage - that and their movements were something people talked about for ages. "If you do plan on doing Eventing, then dressage is perfect. What kind of music do you enjoy?"
Othello's brows shot up, his mouth opening and closing - probably making him look like a fish - as he tried to work out what he'd said that had put the woman on the defensive. "No, Ma'am!" He replied with a shake of his head. "What I was trying to say was that my witty comebacks and grandiose ideas come from the books I've read, not because I have a high level of intelligence." Probably being homeschool for a year and a bit didn't help either. "No brothers or sisters, and not a lot of close friends of either gender, so probably not surprising I don't have a vast range of book genres." Being an only child sucked, but at least it meant that he wasn't taking the attention away from siblings while his parents were always at the hospital with him.
He shrugged again, not sure he wanted to rock the boat too much when it came to horses. The last thing he wanted was for his riding privileges to be completely removed. "I'll have a talk to the Whites and see if they can point me in the right direction. And yeah, the bubble wrap has always been a little tight." He grinned. "Mum almost has an Apoplexy when Gram started me riding."
He pressed his lips together in thought as he pretended to give her question serious consideration. "I don't know if they do, but it would be a pretty cool project to patent, and it couldn't be that hard to sew some into a set of bonnets." Okay, maybe the idea wasn't that stupid, now that he'd voiced it, and he wondered if they did exist - they'd be great for horses that could do with soothing music playing at all times. "I quite like hip-hop." He rubbed Harry's neck, the gelding quite liked hip-hop too. "Not the modern... uh, stuff that objectifies women, but the ones from the 90's. Like Vanilla Ice." He shrugged, not sure where he was going with this, so decided he'd probably said too much.
“Ah, thank you for the explanation. Most intelligent people get their remarks from wanting to prove their intelligence in a not-so-nice way.” Working the pet salon meant dealing with a wide variety of people - not all of them were kind and respectful of her or the work she did. There were some clients who thought they knew better than her, which wasn’t exactly easy to deal with. “Only child? That must not be too bad then. Or would you want a sibling?” Savannah never knew what it was like to be the only one - her parents had constantly fostered children when she was younger.
The woman nodded, the Whites would be the best people to talk to about starting Eventing. “I mean, riding isn’t exactly the safest sport so I do understand. Though what sport is one hundred percent safe?” Even something like running could be considered dangerous - tripping over a rock or a fallen branch was always a possibility. “Oh goodness. My dad was the one who panicked over me riding. Though he knew my mom rode as well so I don’t know why.” She shrugged her shoulders as well, not understanding why. “Is she feeling better about it now though?”
Savannah patted Poppy on the shoulder after she had remained calm at the walk. “I think the University may have a sewing class, maybe the teacher could be of some help if you wanted to continue the idea?” She wasn’t someone who was creative enough to learn how to sew - that was something she went to her aunt back in Ireland for. “Hip Hop? That would be a great choice for Dressage, it’s becoming more and more popular there too. Have you tried it to a test yet?”
Othello shrugged at the only child question. "Sometimes I think it would be fun to have siblings, but then now that I live away from home, I'd have more people to miss." He shrugged again, not quite sure. He also wondered if his parents had sent him away because his mum was pregnant and she didn't want him around the new baby, in case he got the baby sick - because leukaemia was so contagious - but he knew he was being an idiot, so pushed those thoughts away.
He laughed at horse riding not being the safest sport. "I think my dad finds riding much safer than me climbing up rock walls, and not the indoor kind, though he's a shrink. Mum's just... smothering?" He shrugged, instantly feeling guilty, as he knew why his mother was like she was. "I think she's coming to realise that I wouldn't do anything that would put me in anymore danger than I'm in when I cross the road." He laughed and shrugged as he patted Harry on the neck.
He shrugged, as he didn't think he wanted to go through the whole thing of creating earbuds for horses. He grinned, he knew that he had a weird taste of music. "No Ma'am, I haven't tried to work out a dressage test to music yet. I'd need to so a little more research on the whole dressage to music thing first, and maybe try and copy a test, with classical music, before I think about inventing my own." Sure, he was creative, but he was also still learning about horses, and he wasn't ready to start being too creative on the horse front, as he didn't want to do something that might end up hurting Harry.
Savannah didn’t have an idea what it was like not to have a sibling. Her parents constantly had foster children in their house, so the Taylor home was always noisy and busy. “I do admit, I miss my siblings. They are back home in Ireland from what I know. Where are you from originally if not here?” Savannah could tell he had an English accent, but she knew she wasn’t always the best at placing where people were from. Her Irish accent was still pretty present, despite being in Hickstead for a few years now.
“I mean your dad isn’t wrong. Free climbing a cliff wall isn’t exactly what I’d call safe either. Honestly, if you think about it no Sport is truly safe. Though where is the fun in that?” She was surprised she said something like that. Having Duncan live with her was rubbing off on her. “I see. Mothers seem to always worry about their children. Accidents happen and you always learn something from it. Is there something that makes her more protective of you? Or is it because you are an only child?” As Savannah was the oldest of her siblings, her parents seemed to always have their hands full with the others, leaving the brunette to go off to the barn and ride at such a young age.
Poppy flicked her bay ears forward as a squirrel crossed the path in front of them. The bay mare was starting to get impatient. “Ah yes. If you go on YouTube there are a lot of examples of dressage riders showing to music. It’s something I’ve been doing for ages now. Is there a dressage coach you can ask? Do you mind if we start trotting up ahead?”
Othello nodded, he missed his parents enough while he was here, he could imagine that he'd miss any siblings as much too. "I was born and raised in Exeter." He replied with a grin. "I... got in trouble at school there, and my parents have close friends here, I've called them aunt and uncle forever, and this seemed a good move." At least was kind of the truth.
He moved Harry's mane from one side of his neck to the other as he worked out how to answer her question, without mentioning the extent of his illness. "I had an accident while climbing a couple of years ago, which lead to a few complications, and because of that mum's a little more freakish than she was before." She gave a boyish grin and shrugged. "She's lucky that I found a new interest during the summer I spent with my grandparents... and not just horses either." That was the summer he had decided he wanted to be a vet.
He reined his horse in when Harry wanted to follow the squirrel, using his seat and legs to keep the gelding where he wanted him, and nodded as he listened. "I'm sure I could talk to the Whites about a dressage coach." He said with a shrug. He swallowed hard at the thought of trotting, but knew that Harry would enjoy the faster pace. "Sure!" He said with a bright grin that he didn't feel - fake it 'till you make it. "Trotting sounds like fun! He sat up a little straighter and waited until the woman cued her horse to start trotting before he asked Harry to do the same, knowing that his horse had a long stride in the trot.
