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!.
John Ryan had left the grooms and his personal assistant in charge of the barn for the day while he took a day trip to London to visit the England's Equestrian Federation Headquarters. It had been a long day, full of paperwork and stopping by to see some familiar faces and peppering them with jokes about how they sold out their days of horses for boring offices. It had been a good time, but like all trips, John felt that yearn to head back towards home after five hours. While the trips never exhausted him, the man was always one for putting on a face and doing networking, he always felt like one of his horses felt the need to be stupid while he was gone.
And sure enough, when he was saying the last of his good byes did he get a text from one of his grooms, Ty Webber, "Shit." He muttered, blue eyes looking over the message, "Fucking Jett." It was serious for John to be throwing around the f-bomb but it could not be helped. The black irish sports horse was his main mount now for show jumping and just about everything else, and currently, his favorite mount as well. The text wasn't very elaborate, just that Jett had hurt himself. John knew why the young man kept it brief and short, he didn't want to freak his boss out while he was a few hours away. Sighing, he texted Ty back that he'd be back as soon as possible.
Loading up into his truck, he headed on his way out. Saying goodbye to the busy streets of London once more and heading back to sleepy but comforting Hickstead. It was the evening by the time he pulled into the lot of Ryan Sports Horses, dusk settling in on the evening sky. Not bothering to lock the truck, he headed inside now and making a beeline towards his horse's stall. Sure enough, a black head greeted him and blue eyes saw the groom close by and in the stall, "Ty, lay it on me. What did he do this time?"
whatever it takes 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
thanks aofie!
FORTY THREE . EQUESTRIAN . OWNER OF RYAN SPORT HALL HAPPILY MARRIED - Marie Iylah Ryan. THREE CHILDREN MANY FUR BABIES
self-belief and hard work will always earn you success
Even when the boss was gone the barn was busy. There were people complaining why John was gone - resulting in Ty explaining that he was in London for the day. A few people were disgruntled, but accepted their fate. Ty himself asked another groom to give him a flat lesson with Beachie during their lunch break. The mare decided to throw a tantrum - it took the two of them a bit to settle after that.
He thanked his coworker and pat the mare on the neck, not knowing what was up with her. Usually, out of his three mounts she loved flat work. In the two years of working for the Ryan's, he knew that the horses acted odd when John was gone - it was as if they knew. When Ty dismounted and led the bay mare into the main barn, another groom came running towards him. "Ty, Jett isn't walking right. I just brought him in for a ride and noticed it." The red head lifted his head up, Jett was John's show horse - meaning he had to talk to the boss. Ty often tried his best to leave the boss man alone, as he was allowed to have his time away from the barn. "Great, just what we needed. Here, you look after Beachie and turn her out and I'll deal with Jett." The other groom nodded, gently taking Beachie's reins as Ty took Jett's lead rope. The man gently led the Stallion into a clean, empty cross tie. With one glance, he could see blood drip down one of his back legs.
With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and called the vet. It was a quick conversation and the team was on their way. Ty made his way over to the injured leg, seeing that there was a small gash - which if he was to guess would need stitches. While he waited for the vet, he pulled out his phone again - sending John a text, warning him about Jett. The vet arrived not that much longer and looked at the wound. "Someone had fun playing outside today I take it." The vet spoke, pulling out a saline solution to clean the wound with. "Of course he picked the day John isn't here to do this." And if he remembered right, there was a show coming up in three weeks.
The vet treated the wound and put stitches in - leaving Ty with instructions before he left. He thanked the vet and leaned against Jett's stall door. He checked his watch, knowing John would be home shortly. Sure enough, the man approached him. "Someone decided to throw a party in his pen and get a cut. The vet just left. He cleaned it out and put two stitches in. He'll probably have to be on stall rest for a few days though." It wasn't the best news but at least the horse wouldn't need surgery.
"Of course this had to happen on your day away. I do hope this didn't cause you to leave earlier than you wanted. But, I know how important Jett is to you." He knew John would do the same if something happened to his three - people were also lining up to have their mare's bred to Capitan and Hiroko. "Did you enjoy the visit? Or were they boring as usual?" Ty was sometimes glad he wasn't a pro rider - the media attention would drive him crazy.
Perhaps the good news was that upon laying eyes on Ty Webber, the young man hardly looked worried. John told himself that this boded well, at least, just a little bit. Granted, he paid his grooms to be level headed and non-panicky, but the man was willing to bet that whatever had happened to Jett, had it been career or life ending, Ty wouldn't look as cool as he did in the moment. Nor, did the young man look like sick when he opened his mouth to talk: "Someone decided to throw a party in his pen and get a cut. The vet just left. He cleaned it out and put two stitches in. He'll probably have to be on stall rest for a few days though." The explanation alone was enough to let a sigh escape John.
The black horse himself seemed to sense his human's presence as well, since it wasn't long before Jett was sticking his head over the stall door now looking for treats. A wry smile pulled at John's lips, "You sir, don't get any treats." He informed the stallion now, still giving the horse a good pat on the neck before returning his attention to his groom now, who continued to talk: "Of course this had to happen on your day away. I do hope this didn't cause you to leave earlier than you wanted. But, I know how important Jett is to you.". John smiled now, nodding his appreciation, "Well, I appreciate you taking care of the situation Ty, and handling it with care. I'll see what I can do about giving you a bonus of some sort. And do not protest that."
Bonuses didn't happen very often outside of the competitions, but if an employee of his handled putting out a figurative fire swiftly and efficiently, John Ryan was always willing to express gratitude when it was due, "It's like Jett knew we had an upcoming show. Although, it sounds like he will be back up and running in no time." The man shook his head now at Ty's question, "Nah. I was mentally checked out anyways by the time you called. Just gave me an excuse to leave a bit earlier. No issues at all." Laughter did escape him though, as he mulled the visit over, "Lots of politics over at the headquarters, the kind where you have to pay your respects and shake a bunch of hands to keep the relationships up. I'm sure you and or Harlow will be doing it one day yourself."
whatever it takes 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
thanks aofie!
FORTY THREE . EQUESTRIAN . OWNER OF RYAN SPORT HALL HAPPILY MARRIED - Marie Iylah Ryan. THREE CHILDREN MANY FUR BABIES
self-belief and hard work will always earn you success
Ty knew accidents happened with horses, though it felt ten times worse when it happened to the boss's horse. The grooms were all well trained enough with horse first aid to do what they could, but there was always the line that needed to be drawn about when to call the vet. He glanced over at the stallion who looked pleased with himself.
"He won't be too happy about not getting treats. I didn't realize until recently that he is a bit of an attention seeker. Has he always been like this?" Ty liked to think he knew Jett well enough by now, but knew little about his background and where he came from. He knew out of his three horses, Hiroko was the one that always wanted attention - often reaching over his stall door to anyone passing by for a pet on his liver chestnut nose. "It's really just part of my job, but thank you. Maybe I can compete this coming year after all." His fathers had insisted on paying for him to compete as it gave the two stallions he had a chance to shine and get noticed. Ty was honestly just happy riding at home and helping others get ready to show.
The red head nodded hoping that Jett would recover before the competition. "The vet was pretty hopeful about it. She said she'd come back in a few days to check the incision as well. Do you have another horse as backup?" Ty was lucky enough to have three of his own, though only two of them could jump at the same height. He felt a bit of relief when Ty hadn't interrupted anything too important. It was something he hated to do, though when a horse got injured - the owner needed to be informed. "Well as long as it was just shaking hands and not kissing them. It's something I'm not really looking forward to." He felt his shoulder shrug, glad it wasn't anything he had to do as of late.
"Don't tell me you had to do interviews or a press conference on top of all this?" August 10 2023
A bit of a chortle escaped John now as he stepped up towards the box stall for Jett to greet him fully. The large black stallion's ears were forward, eagerly reaching out as he nosed around John's hands and pockets before realizing they were empty. A snort escaped Jett, clearly disappointed that he would be settling for scratches and pats, but leaned his head into his human nonetheless, "He was a bit cuddly when he arrived, but I think his personality really blossomed here. I'd feel a little under the weather too if I lived outside of Dublin." The man joked with a wink, "I think he gets some unexpected love around the yard as well."
When Ty attempted to shove off the compliment, John merely shook his head, "Ty, take the compliment. I mean it. Even if it is your job, I'm grateful for what you did for Jett. I know it took time out of your day...in fact, you're here late now." Both he and Porter were good lads, and unfortunately, young. The older man sometimes felt like he was on borrowed time with them, it would probably only be a matter of years before they might want a shot at the glory as well. John wouldn't blame them if they did, they both were very skilled riders - it had been a steal having them on his staff, "If you want to compete, you have my permission. You certainly have been putting in a lot of work and hours, not just here but into your horses. I think the four of you are ready."
He finished giving Jett his love before stepping away, and the black Irish sports horse became more interested in his water and dozing off anyways, "Ah well - I have two prospects in the wings, but admittingly, I have not been putting as much time into them as I should have. I'm sure Marie can lend me one of her mares or young colts or fillies to show off for some shows this season, but I wouldn't use them for qualifiers." John thought about it for a moment before jokingly saying, "I could always borrow Beamer from your girlfriend and risk her wrath." The idea of interviews and press conferences certainly exhausted John just thinking about them, thankfully they were not on his plate...yet, "Not for a while. It was just ass-kissing today. But, let's make sure nobody outside of the barn and the vet finds out about Jett. People will come sniffing around for comments and interviews and I don't need that."
John nodded for Ty to follow him, "Come on, let's go to the office. You can give me the bill and I can have a shot of whisky. I'm curious to hear your show plans since you mentioned it earlier."
whatever it takes 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
thanks aofie!
FORTY THREE . EQUESTRIAN . OWNER OF RYAN SPORT HALL HAPPILY MARRIED - Marie Iylah Ryan. THREE CHILDREN MANY FUR BABIES
self-belief and hard work will always earn you success
The man nodded in understanding. His three horses were born and raised in Hickstead - so it's all they knew. Granted, Captain and Beachy did do a few shows in Spain - though Ty quickly took over their riding and training after that. "Out of all the horses in the barn, Jett gets the most spoiled." As he was John's top show horse - meaning the black horse needed to be well looked after.
Ty smiled awkwardly. He knew it was the truth - any of the grooms would be on top of things. It was just in his nature to brush off his hard work. "Thanks. It's honestly nothing new being here late. I don't really know where else I'd be." The red head grinned - Harlow was off shopping with her mother and he wanted any excuse not to go with them. Shopping wasn't really his thing anyway. "We couldn't do it without your great coaching. I was going to start with local shows as of course I know the bigger ones are required for me to work." It depended what John planned on doing - usually himself or Porter tagged along with him to look after Jett during a show.
"Sounds like it's time for the young prospects to step up to the plate!" Competing was something that gave horses the experience - though there was a point where it was too early to show a young horse. Every horse had their own pace - and jumping them too early wasn't good either. "There will be someone though, and with show season almost done, you'll have all Winter." Definitely by then, Jett would be off of stall rest and on some sort of rehab plan - though that would be between John and the vet. He would be there to assist with what was needed of course.
Ty raised his eyebrows at the thought of John borrowing Harlow's prized horse. "You know she would never let you. I'd rather you take one of my three instead." None of his were ready for the Grand Prix classes, though Captain was getting closer. Harlow would have a hissy fit if anyone but her rode her horses - it was a miracle if he was allowed to if she was sick or something. "It wasn't ass kissing about making the team for Paris was it? My lips are sealed in terms of Jett." It would be bad if the media found out - they'd be all over the barn.
His eyes glanced at John, nodding as he got the cue to follow him. "Demeter will get her receptionist to email you a PDF of the bill." He picked up his water bottle from Hiroko's stall, taking a sip as they continued. "Was today really that rough to result in a shot of Whiskey?" He had dealt with his fair share of media - Harlow's family tried not to drag him into it all though - it was inevitable.
