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!.
Dylan whistled as she groomed the buckskin Selle Français. She'd hacked out on a couple of the lesson horses here at the barn, and managed to get a ride on a couple of the horses that boarded here by offering to clean stalls and tack. It was while she was cleaning tack one day that she saw a girl putting a brightly coloured paper on the noticeboard, looking for a rider for her big horse.
The gelding as tacked up and ready to go in no time, and after clipping her helmet under her chin, she led Sandman outside, asked him to halt by a mounting block, and swung into the saddle. "Easy, buster." She soothed as the gelding shot forward, and she got him to stand again before she tightened the girth and made sure that her stirrups were the correct length for a trail ride and then, when she was ready, she touched her heels against the horse's sides, letting go of the tension in the reins as he walked forward.
To keep out of the sun, as she had forgotten to put sunscreen on, she turned the horse onto the trail that led into the forest and she sank into the saddle as they plodded down the path, hoping for an easy ride. "You're not lulling me into a false sense of security, right?" She asked the buckskin with a laugh, as he was rather relaxed. "Maybe you're just happy to be out of the arena?"
When the path opened a little, she took up the reins a little and asked for a trot. "Steady." She cautioned as the gelding's head shot up and he jogged forward before settling into something between a trot and a jog. "I asked for a trot." She said as she brought him back to a walk and asked for a trot again. "You are going to pull something if you race off before you are warmed up." The gelding wasn't interested in her opinion though, and either wanted to walk or race, nothing in between.
Even with lessons off, Jameson 'Jamie' Hughs never missed a day at the barn. One, he generally loved being there with the smell of hay and manure along with the quiet wicker of the horses. Two, the young man knew his mother expected him to spend almost every living second with Fiver after she had purchased him for Jaime. It actually prompted him to get his part time job at Clover Lane Sheep Job, since Shelby Thomas said surprising him with the horse was the only cost she'd ever cover. His mother had been true to her word, and given she was helping with University, Jamie figured the least he could do was spend as much time with Fiver - a sacrifice he was always willing to make.
He found his gypsy vanner waiting for him in his stall, in preparations to keep the horses inside and cool during the day time summer heat before they were allowed back out to pasture to romp around, "Hey Fiver, let's get you out of that stall, shall we?" While he know that they should go out and practice some things that their coach, Aurora Sky, had requested of them, Jamie knew he had other ideas - specifically going for a hack. It was going to be far too hot to work in either arena, or so he told himself, and the idea of a nice jaunt through the forests sounded better. He placed in his last show, so he was fine, right? In the back of his nagging mind, the young man knew that wasn't enough, he knew better, but for today, he was feeling rebellious even with no friends or brother to encourage him.
After a quick brush and clean of Fiver's hooves, Jamie had him saddled up in his gear. Grabbing his helmet, he lead the horse out to the stationary mounting block for those who wanted to take on the trails and left. He was thankful that the competition between Blue Arces and Seven Oaks mostly died down, since it had opened up the trail access to everyone. Jamie didn't care to go back to those days either, and while he could get into the competitive spirit, it was always of friendly nature. It came no where near the hijinks of what some of the other riders had gotten into. The fact that it took an unsolved barn fire and horses nearly getting injured to kill it certainly had something.
Cool air hit the horse and rider now as they entered the forest path now, a welcome relief from the open fields where the sun could beat its rays down on them. Jamie half way allowed Fiver his head so that he could stretch out, but still kept his guard up. Jamie had learned the hard way one time that just because one was on a trail, that didn't meant that you could trust your horse and take a back seat. His fall had ended him in the hospital with a broken arm and plenty of time to study trail videos and read up on articles after that from Clinton Anderson. Horses always had to be working, even on trails. And speaking of working, it would appear that they were not the only ones on the trail today from Blue Arces.
Up ahead, he spotted a lesson horse he knew well enough from just hanging out at the barn: Sandman the Selle Français. However, he was fairy certain that was not the owner: Angél Petit. From his angle, he wasn't sure who was on him though, so he simply called out, "Hello! Fine day for a hack, right?" As the rider shifted in her saddle now, Jamie caught sight of her face: Dylan Williams. He actually didn't know much about her, other than seeing her in passing and knowing her name. She was cute, not the sort of cute that would make him stumble through his words thankfully, but cute none the less. He squeezed Fiver so they could ride up along aside the pair now, "It's Dylan, right? Dylan Williams? I'm Jamie, we both ride at the same barn."
I'm setting out into the great unknown, I don't know where I'm going but I'm ready
thanks aofie!
Eighteen . Student - Pre Vet . Crushing on SABRINA RAVEN LEDOR-KITA Blue Arces Rider - Dressage Student
Dylan was getting tired of fighting with the stubborn gelding, and if she hadn't have been just as stubborn, she would turn around and head back to the arena - though that wasn't going to change anything, and she put the horse's antics down to the fact that he didn't get out of the arena enough.
She sighed as she heard a voice behind them, and she plastered a smile on her face before she circled the horse around so that she could see the owner of the voice and get the gelding's attention on her, and not the idea of racing off. "It's a lovely day." She replied, placing her right leg against the horse's side as soon as he made a move to break gait, threatening to circle him again and relaxed her leg when the horse listened. Her smile deepened and she nodded. "I am she. We're both at the university too." She'd seen him around the barn more than she had at the uni, but she was good with faces.
She had Sandman take a step to the side as he began to fuss about having another horse beside him, and she chuckled when the horse seemed to shrug and decided to behave himself, and she took the chance to look at the amazing horse beside them. "Wow, your horse is amazing!"
Jameson could not help but to notice how plastered on the girl's smile looked, it wasn't fake per say, but she was straining a little. The young man was certain he knew that smile well, and it had to deal with arguing with an awfully stubborn horse, something that he had heard rumored to be with the buckskin Selle Français. He smiled at her as she agreed with him on the lovely day, and before he could remotely give her a reply, Sandman appeared to try to take advantage of the distraction, although the rider proved to be just as tactical as him and corrected the situation. To Fiver's credit, the gypsy vanner just plodded along, ignoring the antics of the taller horse, and for that Jameson would always be deeply grateful for his gelding's nature. It's not to say that Fiver was always a star horse, just that he liked to find his mischief in other ways and typically without Jameson around.
At least he got the face to the correct name, and he felt oddly proud of that until she pointed out that they attended the same University as well, "Oh! Wow...I didn't realize that. Must have my head up in the clouds at school." Well, it was more of he was so distracted by being studious and trying to be at the top of his classes, but there were certainly still occasions that he daydreamed of other things - a certain someone to be exact. But that didn't matter, she wasn't here, Dylan was, and it would be rude to not give her his full attention given that he had bene the one to interrupt her ride, "You're not in Vet Studies also, are you? If so, I am going to be very embarrassed with myself." That was certainly the truth.
The young man and his Gypsy Vanner decided to set the pace once they were once aligned next to the Selle Français. Out of the corner of Jameson's blue eyes, he watched as Sandman seemed to take a fuss with having company. It was enough of a fuss that even Fiver appeared to be paying attention, his ears twitching towards the other horse and no doubt giving him the horse version of a side eye, but thankfully, everyone seemed to settle down as they headed down the forest trail. At Dylan's complement, he couldn't help but to smile, "Thank you. I think Fiver appreciates the compliment too," he said now, leaning forward just a little bit to give the gelding a good pat on the neck, "I can't imagine having any other horse. Is Angel Petit leasing her horse to you? Or do you just like a good challenge for your trail rides?" He asked with a laugh now - he wouldn't be surprised either way, but if memory served him correct as well as barn whispers, Dylan Williams did not own her own horse. Not yet at least.
I'm setting out into the great unknown, I don't know where I'm going but I'm ready
thanks aofie!
Eighteen . Student - Pre Vet . Crushing on SABRINA RAVEN LEDOR-KITA Blue Arces Rider - Dressage Student
Dylan was impressed with the other horse's calm nature, and was pleased that he seemed to ignore the stupidity of her own mount. She could understand why Sandman's small owner was happy to have other riders for the horse, as Angel wouldn't have the leg length to really wrap around the gelding when he was doing what he was doing now.
She grinned as it seemed that the young man didn't recognise her from the uni, and she shook her head to being a vet student. "No, I'm just good with faces." She assured him. She guessed that it was from being hidden from the world for so long that she spent so much time just people-watching now, and she'd ben riding long enough to be able to spot horse people from regular people.
She released a long breath as the buckskin she was riding had finally seemed to chill out and was just enjoying the ride, or the fact that he'd worked out that she was as stupidly stubborn as him and they worked better together than against each other. She laughed at the question and shook her head. "I'm not ready for the responsibility of owning a horse just yet, not with uni classes and trying to find a job, or two, so I told Angel that I'd Mr Sandman here for as long as she needed me to." Okay, that was kind of a lie, as she was more than ready for the responsibility of her own horse, she just needed to be able to up and leave if the need arose, and she couldn't do that if she had a horse that depended on her.
She leaned forward and gave the Selle Francais a good pat when the gelding released a sigh and gave a big yawn, and sat up with a bright smile, bridging the reins so that she was holding them with one hand now, the other hand resting on her thigh. "Atta good boy!" She turned to Jameson. "How long have you had Fiver?" At least with a relaxed horse, she could now hold a proper conversation.
If Jameson hadn't been embarrassed before, he certainly felt that way now when Dylan admitted that she was good with faces. Had he somehow missed her on university all of this year? It was shocking considering, well, she was rather cute. Granted, Jameson had his head up in the clouds for someone else, but it was hard to deny that Dylan Williams didn't have some sort of ethereal look to her, "Ah! Well! Hope mine is easy enough to look at then," he joked now, just in case she happened to be one of the campus's people watchers. The young man noticed how she didn't bother to state her major, but didn't feel the need to press. Picking a major was stressful when one didn't know what they wanted right off the bat - Jameson supposed he had just been lucky his dreams had never changed from a young age.
Even with their conversation, the young man could still hear the long breath escape the other rider now, as if she finally relaxed now that the buckskin beneath her had relaxed. Jameson couldn't blame her for that reaction, Sandman was a big horse, and he had heard one or two things about the horse's antics. He chuckled a little bit, and commented, "For the record, I think you handled him quite well from where I am sitting." But even he knew he was lucky that he had ended up with a more mellow horse, granted, Jameson had done his research heavily because even though he loved to ride, he preferred to have a less hot mount. He listened to Dylan's explanation now about how she had yet to own a horse, "Hey, nothing wrong with a free lease with a horse like Sandman. He'll keep you busy for the same price of owning a horse," Jameson said with a grin now, "I work down at Clover Lane Sheep Farm as a farm hand. They still have openings if you need some paying work."
Laughter escaped him when he heard the Selle Francais let loose his own sigh now - guess the buckskin had felt the same way about his rider as she did him. A snort escaped Fiver himself, the gyspy vanner uncertain of what all the fuss was about, which only made Jameson laugh harder. He leaned forward to follow Dylan's suit of giving a good pat now, reassuring Fiver that he was not forgotten. Blue eyes glanced over at the young woman now when she prompted her question, "Oh! A few years now. My mum and I figured out a plan to buy Fiver for me when she realized riding wasn't going to go away. I think she rathered I had the horse to throw my money away at rather than someone else's horse." Jameson wasn't sure why though, unless it was also just a reason to spend his father's war zone money in anger, "How long have you been riding? You look like a pro here on the trails at least."
I'm setting out into the great unknown, I don't know where I'm going but I'm ready
thanks aofie!
Eighteen . Student - Pre Vet . Crushing on SABRINA RAVEN LEDOR-KITA Blue Arces Rider - Dressage Student
Dylan's brows dipped as she tried to work out how she was supposed to reply to Jameson, his tone told her it was said in humour, so she just answered it with a shrug. Learning about social cues when you were an adult was hard work, but she felt that she was picking things up quite quickly... well quickly-ish.
She smiled, ducking her head at the compliment as she felt her cheeks heat up. "Thanks." She knew that riding Sandman was going to be fun, but she had no dreams of actually being able to compete on him, as she couldn't chance their grandmother finding where they were, and since horses were really all the siblings knew, she wouldn't put it past the woman to be keeping a close eye on what was happening in the equestrian world - at least through the owners of the centre they had ridden at. She smiled and shook her head at the suggestion of working on a sheep farm. "I've put my name down at the bakery and even with the owner at the flats." Plus she had also offered to exercise a few horses.
She smiled as she watched the interaction between Jameson and his horse. The silent communication between a horse and person always intrigued her, as it was different from one person to the next, yet it was also the same. She nodded as she listened. "For some people, it's isn't just a phase." She said with a nod, a meme she saw quite a bit while perusing equine sites. She played with the horse's black mane as she was asked the question she should have anticipated. "Um... I started riding when I was around ten. I had read about them during our studies... we were homeschooled, and I wanted to know more. Grandmother had a good friend who had a riding stable." She could hear that her answer was evasive, but she really hadn't thought about how to explain how she got into riding without other people thinking she was a freak.
Jameson certainly felt a little idiotic now that the blonde girl was dipping her head to think over his words. Shit. He should have thought this through, given it must have sounded like he was attempting to flirt with her. It was too late now though, Jameson knew that if he tried to make up for the fact or backtrack, the situation would just become downright awkward and there would be nothing for him to do but to leave Dylan and Sandman behind. They certainly didn't deserve that because of his moment of lacking a brain to mouth filter, and despite the young woman being more than capable of seemingly handling the large stallion, she appeared to appreciate having Fiver there to set the pace and ignore antics.
Blue eyes clocked that light blush cross her cheeks now, and Jameson hastily looked away, uncertain of what to say before Dylan offered one word behind the look: "Thanks." Ah! Now it made sense. She was blushing because of the riding comment, not for anything else or stupid that he might have said earlier. The teenager felt himself relax now, and a snort escaped the Gypsy Vanner beneath him, no doubt Fiver had been sensing the inner turmoil inside of his rider's head. He leaned forward a bit, giving a good pat to his horse's neck before glancing back over at the other teenager now, "No need to thank me. Just calling it like I see it." Jameson replied with an easy smile now.
He was glad to hear that Dylan agreed with him on horse back riding wasn't just a phase, "Thanks. I'm glad you agree. I don't know why my mum was so taken aback by it or it took a while for it to settle into her brain." Maybe it was because it wasn't very 'manly' by her ideas or even his father's ideas, or perhaps it was just because it was an expensive sport, Jameson couldn't clock the reason why. Although it did him no good to ponder it either, given he won in the end and had Fiver to prove it. The young man wasn't even sure why the sport tended to lack male riders, after all, in a hormonal sense, the male to female rider ratio was quite nice. He couldn't help but to notice how Dylan broke eye contact with him again.
She seemed rather interested with Sandman's black mane all of the sudden, like she was avoiding something. Jameson was starting to wonder if he accidently stepped into something, but Dylan finally gave him an answer. A somewhat evasive answer, but an answer nonetheless. While Jameson found it curious, he was smart enough to know his own boundaries, "Ah! Well, that's cool. Riding as long as me, no wonder you're good." Jameson joked, "And honestly, there's nothing wrong with being-" he couldn't even say the word 'homeschooled' since Fiver stopped abruptly, and given the young man hadn't fully been paying attention, it nearly caused him to loose his seat. The gypsy vanner had his head help up high now, ears pricking forward as his nostrils flared, "What do you see?" Jameson asked now, uncertain if he was talking to his horse or Dylan herself in the moment.
I'm setting out into the great unknown, I don't know where I'm going but I'm ready
thanks aofie!
Eighteen . Student - Pre Vet . Crushing on SABRINA RAVEN LEDOR-KITA Blue Arces Rider - Dressage Student
Dylan laughed and shrugged, she had lucked into riding, and tended to be more stubborn to stay on a horse, than the horse was to remove her, so she had good stickability, and she loved running barrels, so knew how to stay on at speed when a horse seemed to vanish from under her. And, there was no way to explain that she had thrown herself into horse riding so thoroughly because it kept her away from the house, and allowed her to spend time with people her own age, that weren't part of their flock.
She grinned. "From what I've read, horse riding is more of a 'girl thing'." Finger quotes and all. "Maybe your mother thought that you were trying to impress a girl at first?" Hmm, maybe she'd done a little too much reading since they are arrived here?
She looked through the trees as she once again felt the burn in her cheeks at the next compliment and she shrugged her shoulders, though a laugh escaped her as Sandman came to a sudden halt and she watched as her fellow rider was almost jettisoned over his horse's shoulder. "Lions, tigers or bears? Oh my!" She might have been watching a few movies too, though her humour was to hide the fear that had removed the blush from her cheeks as her eyes moved around. Now that she had put the thought in her head, she suddenly wondered if there were wild animals out here.
Jameson always got annoyed when people said that horse back riding was a 'girl thing' given the number of professionals out there who were men. He supposed he always got the last laugh though, because at the barn, for one guy, there was typically five girls around, and well, those statistics were pretty nice. But Jameson wasn't about to voice those boyish thoughts to Dylan. A laugh escaped him when the young woman voiced her thoughts, which more or less aligned with what his mum really had thought, "I'm pretty certain she did. I think she thought I'd turn out more like my old brother in interests, so it sort of baffled her when I didn't." Jameson didn't mind though, he was allowed to be his own outside of Ollie, his Mum, and even his Dad.
When the horses came to a halt, he could hear Dylan laugh at him at his near jettison. Jameson didn't really care, he must have looked quite comical, "Glad to see you were worried about my life there while it flashed before my eyes." The young man joked now, grinning at her before the horses regained his attention. They were looking to be stupid, and the fact that Jameson couldn't see what was setting them off did bother him. Granted, horses, even well behaved ones like Fiver, had their moments where some unseen entity was out to get them. He would never forget the time a lone leaf fell on Fiver's haunches from it's shedding.
Besides him, even Dylan seemed a little worried now: "Lions, tigers or bears? Oh my!" He appreicated her humor in the moment, they both needed it. Another snort escaped his gypsy vanner now, tossing his head and he took a few steps back, "Well, we do have a zoo..." Jameson mentioned, but escaped animals seemed a little extreme. There was movement amongst the trees now though, Something large, "Uh...Dylan. Did you see that?" Was that the sound of something approaching? He kept a heavy leg on Fiver, making sure he didn't decided to run out on him as he shorten up the reins, keeping a firm contact right as a stag stepped out. A sigh escaped Jameson, and all of the sudden, Fiver seemed to relax, "You nearly scared us to death over a deer?" Jameson chastised his horse now, blue eyes glancing over to Dylan and Sandman to see how they were doing.
I'm setting out into the great unknown, I don't know where I'm going but I'm ready
thanks aofie!
Eighteen . Student - Pre Vet . Crushing on SABRINA RAVEN LEDOR-KITA Blue Arces Rider - Dressage Student
Dylan knew what it was like to not live up to someone's expectations, or, in her and Nat's case, it was that they weren't allowed to grow up to become their mother. "It seems that our elders have our lives already planned for us, and are surprisingly disappointed when we don't live up to their expectations."
She clamped her hand over her mouth, with an impish grin, realising how insensitive it was to have laughed. "I only laughed because you nearly came off." She offered. "I would be helping you put yourself back together if you had eaten dirt." She rubbed Sandman's shoulder as she could feel the horse's tension, and she was hoping it wasn't coming from her.
"There's a zoo?" She knew that she sounded like an excited toddler, but she'd never been to a zoo before, and if there was one around here, she'd need to go check it out. Her thoughts of wild animals vanished as she caught a movement and she nodded to Jameson, closing her hands on the reins to remind the gelding that she was still there, and in charge. "Wow." She breathed, her eyes widening as she looked at the stag. "Easy boy." She soothed as Sandman shifted underneath her and she blew out a long breath, rubbing the gelding's neck when he echoed her and she could feel the tension leave him. "I thought he was going to leave me behind for a moment there." She said with a laugh.
Jameson was a little surprised by the words that escaped the young woman besides him. Blue eyes looked to Dylan now, and he could not help but to say with a smile, "I have to say, those are quite somber yet wisdom filled words for someone who looks my age." It almost made the young man wondered what Dylan could have possibly had going on in her life that could make her say such things. Then again, maybe she just really liked majestic books or movies that touched upon those themes. Who knew? As tempting as it was to poke at the mystery now behind the cute girl, Jameson knew better to let certain sleeping dogs lie.
Clearly though, Dylan had no qalms about laughing at his expense as her hand came up to her mouth. She may be hiding quite the grin, but that didn't take away from the devilish sparkle in her eyes, "Ah! Well I suppose nearly coming off and coming off are quite different in reactions." Thankfully none of that had happened, "But good to know that you would have so graciously offered to help me back up onto my horse...or maybe chase him down. I wouldn't have put it past Fiver to leave me here with you and Sandman."
The shock in Dylan's voice caused Jameson to laugh when the teenager girl asked him that there was a zoo. It was child like excitement, "Yes - there's a zoo in Hickstead. Or well, it might be over in Willow Bridge. Either way, I take it you haven't done much exploring yet." Maybe he should be a gentleman and take her some time. Still, none of that mattered in the moment when their horses were being silly, silly over a stag. As the majestic beast stepped out, Jameson could feel himself relax. Fiver's ears remained forward, but thankfully, the gypsy vanner appeared content with standing and blowing a little rather than try to run away. He had seen plenty of deer before. Sandman seemed to let loose his pent up energy in a shutter, relaxing now as the stag walked on, leaving them behind in his glory, "Good thing he didn't. While Fiver and I can be fast, I wouldn't say we're speed demons enough to catch Sandman."
They remained still for a few more minutes, just to make sure that there were no stragglers behind the stag before blue eyes looked back to Dylan, "Feeling confident to complete the trail?"
I'm setting out into the great unknown, I don't know where I'm going but I'm ready
thanks aofie!
Eighteen . Student - Pre Vet . Crushing on SABRINA RAVEN LEDOR-KITA Blue Arces Rider - Dressage Student
Dylan pressed her lips together and looked away, go figure that her mouth would get her in trouble, even when she was out riding a horse! "Nat and I have been brought up with the hope that we wouldn't become our mother." She finally said with a shrug and then gave a small smile. "Decisions were made for us, rather than letting us decide. And then we made our own decision and came here." Her smile brightened, as following her university acceptance was the best thing she had ever done - if not terrifying at the same time.
She widened her eyes in angelic innocence, hoping that she hadn't offended him with anything she had said. "If you came off, would Fiver really have run off?" She began to second-guess her idea of taking Sandman out on the trails, as she'd never been ditched by a horse before, not one that could run for kilometres before stopping, if he decided not to head for home.
She beamed at the news of the zoo and shook her head. "I go to uni, spend a bit of time at the barn, and I keep house. My exploration as gone as far as finding the location of all the stores I need." She hadn't even been to the barn where her brother worked. Just because she had grown up in a bubble, maybe it was time for her to expand her bubble and go exploring? Wasn't that why she was on the trails?
She looked at him and blinked, nodded. "I think Sandman would be happier if we were moving again." And she was keen to see more of the trail. "Thank you for being here. I get the feeling I would have been without a horse if we had been alone." She wasn't too proud to admit that she might be way out of her depth here.
