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!.
Ora Oliveria Flores had all of the ingredients to make her beloved Pão de Queijo, otherwise known as 'Brazilian Cheese Bread' to a non-native speaker. It always reminded her of her home country and her mother's cooking when she made it - soon the smell of mozzarella and parmesan would be willing up the kitchen and warming up the house of a mildly cold March day. March was also a dreaded month for Ora since it meant that the rabbits would start popping out of the woodwork and eye her gardens when everything was attempting to sprout. The woman never thought she could have this much contempt for an adorable animal, but they clearly pushed her paitence now given the lack of marsupials in England.
She went to work though on her cheese bread though, dark brown eyes occasionally glancing out the window to be on the hunt. Boiling her milk, water, and oil together while throwing tapioca flour into her stand mixer, Ora waltzed around the kitchen like a pro. Soon she was pouring her hot mixuture into the flour and mixing it to death, watching the dough turn into that familiar sticky mixture before adding one egg at a time. Right when she was getting ready to add the cheese did the woman catch movement out of her eye. Her attention snapped up, looking out the window once more and saw the bane of her existence. A rabbit. And it was eyeing something important.
Cursing to herself in Portuguese, Ora quickly abandoned her kitchen and her dough, sprinting outside as fast as she could in her rain boots and screaming at the rabbit. It must have been quite the sight to behold as the rabbit quickly scampered and she chased after it - only being stopped when the animal managed to make it under the fence line and into the Cadwallader yard, "You stay over there!" She screamed at it, before her senses tingled off. Ora had an audience member. The woman turned now only to see her teenage daughter staring at her. And while Ora was certain that her daughter was quite used to her fiery, hot headed antics, this might have been the first time in all of her life did Izzy witness her actually going after a rabbit, "Izzy!" she said now, throwing her hands up in greeting before running over to hug her, "You're home early! I thought you'd be at work longer."
If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.
Izzy had helped bring in the last of the horses at Helping Hooves. It had seemed that there was an overscheduling issue for the afternoon and as final exams were quickly approaching - Izzy volunteered to clock out early. She had a pile of studying to do, though she always appreciated the hours.
The woman headed into the feed room, writing down her hours for the day before heading off towards her car. She wondered who would be home, or if it was early enough for her to be home alone. She had already ridden Queenie before classes, so there was no need for her to stop at Blue Acres on her way home. With her music blasting from the car radio, she headed home. The long drive seemed to drag on, Izzy being careful as she weaved her car through the traffic.
She parked her car on the driveway, allowing room for a second car beside her in case one of her parents needed to park beside her. The brunette got out, locked her car door and headed towards the front door. She stopped shortly after, seeing her mother run out of the door and ran screaming after a rabbit. The younger woman raised her eyebrow, wondering what on Earth had been going on. She glanced over to the rabbit, who seemed to now be running for it's life towards the neighbor's yard. "Hi, well that's not what I was expecting when I came home this early." She gave the other woman a soft smile. "Oh, yeah. The center was overstaffed for this afternoon so I offered to come home early to study for exams." She quickly turned around, unlocked the car and picked up her backpack before locking it again. Izzy returned the hug, though let go shortly after.
"So...are we allowed to talk about why you were angrily chasing a rabbit towards the fence? And how was your day today?" She was still utterly confused as she gently swung the backpack straps over her shoulders and headed towards the house.
Breaking the hug, Ora pulled back and got a good look at her daughter now, who may or may not be trying to hide some sort of look as she cast glanced over to the Cadwallader yard, the scene in which the rabbit had disappeared to. Okay, so maybe coming home to your adoptive mother yelling at an 'adorable bunny' was a little bizarre, but truth be told, Ora had never been one to shield away from the possibility of embarrassing Izzy. Plus, there were no eye witnesses other than the young woman herself and the rabbit, "Exams? Already?" It did make sense though, it was already half way through the semester with it being Spring now.
Given the weather, and likely he long day, Izzy was already turning to head to the house. Dark brown eyes shot one last look towards the Cadwallader yard, sending her threats telepathically to the rabbit, before following after her. Sure enough, the woman wasn't surprised when Izzy brought said rabbit up, "It was going after something in my garden. I had to defend my turf!" She most certainly was going to have to ask Auggie to build her a mesh cover of some sorts. Granted, Ora had her doubts that such a thing could protect her garden from rabbits, since they had the power to burrow.
As for the rest of her day, "Oh, I was making some Pão de Queijo before I was so rudely interrupted by our furry friend," the woman commented now, "The weather seemed like the type where something warm and cheesy is needed." Plus, one could never go wrong with warm and cheesy. Given that Izzy already appeared dressed for such a day of lounging in the house, Ora then offered, "Want to keep me company in the kitchen while I finish up before you get to studying? I'm always happy to feed my wonderful daughter."
If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.
The teen wrapped her arms around her mother after noticing the rabbit had run off into the neighbor's yard. It was definitely something she would have laughed at, if it wasn't someone she knew. It was embarrassing enough of a situation.
She let go of the hug when her mother did and nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately. Beginning of April is jut around the corner." It seemed like the school year had flown by, though she was looking forward to having her summer - granted she would be working, riding and competing for the most part. "So, if you had caught it...would we be eating it with dinner?" A rabbit was a pest, yes but they were harmless for the most part. "Did it go after the precious carrot patch?" She attempted at a joke, not sure it would get across the right way.
"Oh that sounds good. Nothing like some good bread and cheese with dinner." She glanced up to the grey sky that had been forming since the morning. Izzy was sure it was going to rain. "I'd love to help you. What step are you on? And how was your day? Students behave themselves?" She asked as she headed towards the door and opened it. As she entered the house, she took off her shoes and headed towards the kitchen.
Ora smiled warmly at her daughter, "Well, I am sure you will do amazing on your exams." In fact, the woman was certain of it. However, she didn't like to exert any pressure on Izzy, in fact, Ora never did it. She tended to believe that students flourished more by laid back expectations rather than a forcefulness that could ensure anxiety. While she doubted that Izzy suffered from such feelings, Ora felt better about taking a back burner on expecting straight A's from her daughter, and preferred her to just aim for the good grades she always gets.
She made a face when prompted about whether the rabbit would have ended up as their dinner or not, "I would never do that to you and Auggie," Ora retorted now. In fact, while she talked a tough game, she probably couldn't harm the rabbit at the end of the day. It had too cute of a face and she preferred to not know what her dinner looked like, "However, I may have to find myself a humane trap if it keeps this up." Perhaps come this summer when she became certain that baby bunny season was over. As for the carrots, a deep sigh escaped her, "Carrots and the lower half of my blueberry bush." In the back of her mind, Ora knew that her daughter was simply teasing her but the joke had been right on the nose of reality.
The woman could not help but to beam like a proud hen when Izzy appeared to approve of having the cheese bread as an appetizer for dinner, and even more so when she agreed to help, "We just have to roll them into the little dough balls and place them in the oven." It was simple enough, and just long enough to keep Izzy with her before setting her loose to her own thing within the house. She marched to the house now, with Izzy hot on her heels, "Oh, they were fine. I think even at four years old, they seem to know that their school year is coming to a close. No time outs today which I call a win," and soon offered her thanks as her daughter got the door.
Ora got rid of her rain boots, slipping back into her slipper Uggs and returned to the kitchen where her dough was. She rinsed her hands in the sink and quickly set up shop for Izzy to join her in the dough rolling. Powdering the counter with flour, Ora went on to talk, "I appreciate your help with this. I have Feijoada in the slow cooker so I hope you and your father have your appetites' tonight." There was a low rumble that could be heard outside now, and her dark brown eyes looked to the window, "Seems we went inside just in time. Were you able to see Queenie today or did the weather just have you working at Helping Hooves today?"
If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.
"Right, no pressure." Izzy laughed sarcastically. Her parents never put any pressure on her, though she always put unnecessary pressure on herself. Doing well in her classes meant getting a job at an interior design firm after graduation. "Thankfully, this year it's a project and not a traditional exam." It was hard to write an exam on design, when a student could easily sketch their project themselves and present it to the class.
As she entered the kitchen, she stopped at the sink, washing her hands to help with dinner. "Do they not eat rabbit in Brazil? I do appreciate it. Rabbit isn't something I'd consider eating." They were far too adorable for her to eat. The way they hopped around near her lecture hall was enough to make it happen. After drying off her hands, she was ready to help. "A humane trap? Maybe ask the neighbors if they have a lead on where to find one?" She was an animal-friend, even if some of them were deemed pests by the general public. "You know they love carrots. A chicken wire fence around the plants then? They do that at work and it seems to help." There was often a lot of wildlife around Helping Hooves and the pests had to be kept at bay.
"I'll grab the baking sheet and line it." She walked over to the oven and pulled out the baking sheet from the bottom tray, setting it on an empty counter. "I swear I drove everyone crazy counting down to the break. How many weeks left?" She rummaged around in the cupboard and found the baking paper, cutting a sheet to fit the pan. "It smells wonderful. Remind me what that is again?" There were too many Spanish recipes to keep in her head to remember what was what. She placed the paper on the sheet and headed towards the pantry. Noticing the fact that Ora was now ready to roll out dough, she rolled up her sleeves and stood beside her, choosing a dough ball to roll out.
"I feel like the rain never ends around here. I rode Queenie this morning before work. Had a lesson with Stephanie finally. I feel like that woman is always on her feet but show season is coming up." There wasn't a true hunter instructor at Blue Acres yet, but as Stephanie competed in it when she was younger - so it made sense.
Ora chuckled at her daughter's sarcasm, but she knew that Izzy knew that there was no pressure from her to well. Okay okay, maybe there was a little pressure to do her best, but she trusted Izzy to take care of herself school wise and to find help if she needed it. It was a little curious to hear that one of her final exams was swapped out from a standard test to a project, "Oh? How so? Is this for one of your class majors?" It sounded like it would be, given the young woman's major in interior design, but Ora could not help but to ask. College classes always felt so unique, so it was curious to to hear when a professor went a different route with their assignments - even if the assignments were way above budding brains of Ora's own students.
"No, no rabbits for us in Brazil. We have one native, but they are often in the rain forests that need protection," Ora said, although given the current political structure of her home country, the woman doubted that much protection would be given to to the rain forest unfortunately. She gave thought to what her neighbors might do after Izzy voiced her opinions, "Hmmm, you may be onto something there Izzy," Ora murmured to herself, "I suppose I can ask the Cadwalladers and St. Croix's..." Truth be told, the woman felt loathed to do it - mainly because their house, yard, and garden always looked so perfect and while Ora's herself was picturequse, it was a little more on the wild and vibrant side. The idea of chicken wire seemed like a better idea though, "Perhaps I will ask at work, I am certain a few of my fellow teachers have chickens themselves that need protecting from foxes. Carrots and rabbits can't be that much different."
The woman smiled a thank you when Izzy went to go grab a baking sheet and line it, "Great! You know where to find everything." After all, it was as much her daughter's kitchen as it was her - only Auggie really wasn't allowed in it unless it was to make his wonderful coffee or to spoil Ora with breakfast in bed and other special occasions. She peered into her mixing bowl, relived to see that her adventure outside and making the dough sit hadn't really compromised it and she quickly got to work with rolling the dough into little pao de queijo. Glancing over her shoulder, she made sure that Izzy was ready for her to transfer everything to her, "The Feijoada? Black bean stew with pork and beef." Thank goodness nobody in this family was a vegetarian or else it would seriously crimp her style.
"Ah, I'm glad to hear you got your ride in before the rain and a lesson," Ora said with a smile, "Did you give her a carrot for me?" She thought it over for a moment before following up, "Queenie. Not Stephanie. Speaking of - are you still happy with her?" The woman had no hard feelings against the coach, truth be told, she wasn't even certain if she followed what Izzy did or her coach did, she just showed up at the competitions to cheer and be an obnoxious parent. But Ora always felt the need to look out for her adoptive daughter, no matter the situation.
If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.
"Yes, for my major class. We are having a design presentation next month. Someone is coming in and talking about garden design." It was all part of their final project. Their class was supposed to design an entire home for their portfolio - including a garden. "I really don't mind it, though designing a garden is not something I've done before." Gardening was something subjective, all depending on what the client wanted. Some wanted just a veggie garden and others wanted a full on English garden. It would just be a matter of tying the design aspects outside as well.
Brazil wasn't somewhere she had been yet, though it was somewhere she wanted to go. "Oh, I defiantly thought somewhere exotic like that would eat rabbit. I take it there isn't anything being done about the rainforests either?" During the school year, she wasn't one to pay attention to the news around the world. She was far too focused on her school work and working at Helping Hooves. The brunette nodded, she was often thankful for working on a farm - it allowed her to have different experiences too. "It's worth a shot anyway. I know that animals have a hard time finding food now. It's still too cold." As the weather was warming up, it would be easier for animals to find their food somewhere else - rather than the gardens. "Or they will know of farmers in the area. They deal with pests more than we do." They had more produce for the animals to eat too, which seemed to attract more of them.
She began rolling out the dough ball she chose, using her hands to flatten it as much as possible. "Oh, that does sound good. Especially because it's still chilly. Is it your recipe?" Izzy was trying to get more into cooking now with school winding down. "I would have bundled up if I did have to ride in the rain." She was so used to the English weather by now, her rain jacket was often kept in her locker at the barn. "I did! Though I need to bring more carrots out to her, I ran out yesterday so she had a cookie instead." They were also much easier to keep in her locker - cookies didn't tend to go moldy. "I'm sure Stephanie would have taken a carrot, she is a vegetarian." She didn't know how her coach stayed full, though she never saw the woman faint. "I'm still very happy with her. She has ridden in Hunters as a teenager, so she's still got the knowledge." As long as she stayed on her good side, the lessons were amazing. "I may do a show jumping classes come show season too."
"Garden design?" Ora asked now, "What a curious idea." Her brown eyes looked to her own garden now, figuring it looked probably a little wild compared to some of her neighbors in Oldaker. The woman thought about who the University could possibly bring in to discuss such a thing until it hit her: Dahlia Baker. She knew the woman specialized in flowers, and some herbs, although, she wasn't sure about vegetables. And while Ora could be stubborn about many of things, it would be hard to say no to organizing and beautifying her garden, that is, if Izzy wanted to, "Well, if you need a project after that lesson - you and I can redesign this as long as the vegetables remain in place." Flowers and other things she didn't mind rerouting, but her babies were another thing.
Her daughter's comment couldn't help but to make her laugh, "Ah, we have exotic fish to eat, and some meat, but I admit we are pretty standard." Hopefully she could take Izzy there one day - to Brazil, and show her the world in which she grew up. Full of life and color, a stark contrast compared to Hickstead, "No...sadly not. The rainforest is dying, and the government is furthering it along by robbing the trees of their home for farmers. Such a shame...I hope it still stands strong for centuries though despite corruption and men." Now it was making her all fiery just thinking about it, but this was not the soap box topic of the day - it was the rabbits, "We'll figure it out. I'm sure there's a human way to do it that does not involve me running after them and screaming at the top of my lungs like a mad woman. Either way, I'll make sure your father does the hard labor and not us." Ora said with a wink now.
Amber eyes watched her daughter go to town on the dough now, feeling rather pleased with herself that despite her age, job, and schoolwork, that Izzy was still willing to help her out in the kitchen, "It is, actually! My mother's. Lots of my recipes come from my family - traditions and all." As each little dough ball started to appear, Ora sagged it and put it on a sheet, figuring they would bake half (since the woman herself was quite guilty of eating most of them herself) and then freezing the other half for snacks later on. She looked up from her work when the young woman made a comment that she had run out of carrots, "Ah! Well, we will have to fix that then for Queenie. I'll make sure to stop by the store tomorrow." She was certain the mare would appreciate the store's super charged carrots compared to her tiny organic ones, "I am glad you're still enjoying your lessons while juggling school. I was a little worried it might all be too much." She arched a brow, "Oh? Show jumping? Sounds like a big step...when does show season start again?"
If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.
Izzy felt her shoulder shrug - it had also been a new concept for her. “Yeah, it was something the professor was getting us to do. Something about designing the perfect outdoor space to go with the decor inside.” It had made sense to her, but the concept was completely new for the entire class. Granted, their final project was to design a whole home for a pretend client. “That would be fun, though I think Dahlia Baker would be someone we should talk to first. She’s the one that is teaching our classes for the next bit.” Or at least the most important one for the semester - it was the one that would add another piece to her portfolio.
“Yuck, I think I’ll pass on the exotic fish. I don’t need to taste seawater anymore than I have to.” Izzy didn’t mind salmon or white fish - she would pass on any others though. Like most people, she enjoyed the foods that she knew, only trying something new when she felt comfortable enough to do so. “There seems to be political bureaucracies everywhere. It must be sad watching your home country change so quickly. And not for the better.” It was one of the reasons she decided not to study history - learning about wars and men taking over countries was too depressing for her.
Izzy chuckled - it was quite hilarious picturing the older woman running around the garden screaming at rabbits. “I also don’t think that works. You are giving them the perfect home. Warm soil to burrow in and food from the garden to eat.” The rabbits also didn’t understand Spanish either, but she didn’t want to mention that flaw in Ora’s plan. “Maybe if we had a trap but keep them in a box and release them into a forest somewhere?” It made her sound like a child again, but her animal-loving heart continued on into adulthood. No animal deserves to suffer a painful death. “I don’t mind helping if he needs it. You just don’t want to break a nail?” She asked, continuing to work with the dough as she glanced over to see what she was supposed to do next.
“Oh nice, did she teach you how to cook then?” Izzy herself wasn’t the best cook, but knew how to make a meal if her parents were out for the night. There were usually enough leftovers for her to make herself a mixed plate of different things. “She’d appreciate that. I did get her some mints, but there’s nothing like a fresh carrot or apple.” The chocolate palomino mare wasn’t picky with her treats - though she had to put up with horse cookies or mints until it was time to harvest carrots and apples. Izzy walked over with her dough ball and put it on the baking sheet as well, watching it slowly fill up. “Ah, it started already. Usually March is the start of it. I think I’ll do show jumping come the summer. We’ll just stick to the handy pony class until we have a few more lessons under our belts.”
"Oh! Well I am sure Dahlia will be an excellent guest teacher for you," Ora said, "I always do love looking at her flower arrangements. Even more so when your father brings them home." She added on with a wink now. The preheat signalled it was done and the oven was ready to go. Thankfully, with Izzy's addition of extra hands, the little cheese breads were ready to go - the first wave at least. Ora set to work grabbing the pans and putting them into the oven, twenty minute wait now, but that was fine. She had plenty of distraction. Behind her, Izzy's complaint about fish made the woman laugh, "No piranha for you then when we visit Brazil, got it." She returned to the island now where her daughter was, right as the topic got a little bit heavy. A sigh escaped Ora, "I can't argue that - its depressing. Good thing I have you and your father though. We don't need to discuss such things." And just like that, she waved off the discussion as if she were a fairy godmother.
As her daughter chuckled, Ora knew that some potentially sassy teenager response may be coming out of her soon. Brown eyes blinked at the description that followed for the rabbits, something that Ora had not thought about before. She frowned, "Well...that's...true. But how am I suppose to grow my plants then? I will not give into those furry terrorists." Now she was just being dramatic, but hey, she wanted her garden. It would seem that Izzy had a plan though, one that involved a trap. The woman could see it in her daughter's eyes - as if she were but a little girl again - wanting to save the animals, "Oh filha," without warning, or perhaps causing Izzy 'daughter' in portugese was the warning, Ora wrapped her arms around Izzy now, "I won't murder the little rabbits, don't you worry. We can drag the box trap out of the garage."
A snort escaped her, "Break a nail? Psh, I don't mind. I just like roughing my hands up in other ways. Plus, I love to watch your father work and sweat. I can sit on the deck and drink a lemonade like it's a show." The dough was slowly disappearing now, looks like two more trays would need to be cooked, but that's fine. The work was done thanks to Izzy, maybe she'd just freeze those batches instead. Hmmmm. Decisions decisons. Her thoughts nearly caused her to miss her daughter's question, but she snapped to it, her brown eyes glancing over at Izzy, "Oh yes - she did. I learned cooking very young, when I wasn't running around trying to beat up boys that is." She had a very rough and tumble childhood, Ora knew that her family was utterly shocked that she settled down, let alone become a teacher.
She merely smiled, "Well, we can't just be having Queenie live off of mints then. Home made horse treats will be on the menu soon then." Ora maneuvered around the kitchen now, making sure that nothing needed her attention, but thankfully between the oven and the stew, everything could kinda just plod along without her help, "Ah okay! Well you just let me know when I get to come to the shows to embarrass you as a show mom."
If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.
