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 almost a year since Kegan took over. There have been a lot of changes she has made so far, mostly with the property. She was still updating her home, but that was last on her mind. Kegan had made sure the barns and anything about her staff were up to date. One barn needed a lot of attention, to the point Kegan had to accept it most likely needed to be rebuilt. Money wasn't an issue. At the moment, it was the horses that were in the care of the barn. Thankfully, a few places could house those horses until the third barn was rebuilt.
Now, Kegan's goal was to start training herders. Most, if not all, were talented in their own right. But it was evident some were lacking in the way they worked. Nothing awful, but she witnessed a bit of disconnect. She was hoping they would answer some questions for her. But she also wanted to meet with them to meet their companion.
Kegan and her family always insisted on having a dog by their side. Some people found it an odd practice, to have such a small animal help herd. But it was a necessity. There was so much a person on a horse could do. So, to up production and a stronger sense of purpose - Kegan got some dogs that were well trained from a neighbor. They were downsizing and didn't need more dogs for their livestock. After an exchange of meat and dairy, Kegan got the dogs. Now, it was the time to match those dogs with their herder.
A few picked theirs out, leaving Violet and Sam. Sam seemed easier to pair with out of the two, so she called him first. Kegan asked him to meet her at the vet's office, where the dogs rested and received checkups.
It had been a year since Kegan Diesel bought the ranch, and ironically enough, it took Sam Graves about a year to get used to her being the new boss in charge. It's not as if the woman was a bad boss, she was nice (even if she was a redhead), it was just that she was insanely more hands on. Even Sam, who typically was rather laid back (or so he thought) felt on edge whenever Kegan waltzed in on him with the cows or took that dramatic paint horse of her's out on the range with them. He felt like he was being evaluated even though when she came in, they were all informed that they were keeping their jobs. Still, as far as bosses go, Sam didn't mind her, nor did he mind the highland cows she decided to add to the herd. Secretly, he had become rather smitten with them.
But none of that had changed the fact that she had summoned him with a vague text that suggested some changes were coming to how the herders would go about their business. Sam hadn't quite known how to take the text. Forrest told him not to worry, Violet had no idea what was going on since she hadn't gotten a summonance yet, and Tenaya, well, she wasn't a herder so he couldn't ask her either. The man wasn't sure how he felt about it, mainly because he had some personal shit going with his mom and siblings, and then there was a matter of his...well, feelings and pussyfooting around them. Surely, none of that would come up, would it?
He didn't have much more time to ponder it though however, as Sam was outside the vet's office now, the place that he was informed to meet. Knocking on the office door, mainly to warn that he was coming in, he pushed the door open into the open space. Blue eyes immediately locked in on the woman, she was hard to miss after all with that head of hair of hers, "Ma'am, you said you wanted to see-" but his gaze was soon pulled to something else in the vet space, "Are those herding dogs?"
What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.
thanks aofie!
Thirty . Ranch Hand . LGBTQ+ . It's Complicated - TENAYA SYDNEY HOLLAND (unrequited crush - 2 years)
It didn’t take long for Sam to show up and when he did, it was evident that he was about to be distracted through the whole process. Kegan didn’t blame him though. Dogs were always a welcome sight, working or not. “You are correct. It took me a few months, but I believe they will make the process more streamlined. They’re all well trained, but they will need some hands-on training with their new people,” she smiled. Her words were straightforward as Kegan wasn’t a person to beat around the bush.
“I’m guessing the former owner never had you work with them before?” Kegan had a good answer already, but she didn’t want to make it seem like the former owner was a piece of shit. Things were different. But there also felt like a difference between English ranching and Texas ranching. Kegan didn’t want to come across as demanding, but she liked things to be more efficient than her workers were used to.
Sam found himself eyeing the dogs, uncertain as to why they where there. Yes, he understood to a degree, but it was if his mind could not compute it fully. Truth be told, the man was still stuck in the past a little bit, still adjusting to new ownership and it became clear that Kegan Diesel was going to be more hands on than he originally thought. Back in his mind, Sam thought about Sam and Tenaya's panicking when the news officially came that the ranch was being sold - he had thought them dramatic at first, but now, he wondered.
"Uh, no, he didn't believe in them to my knowledge," Sam replied to the woman now, his blue eyes snapping back to her. The dogs - to their credit - where perfectly quiet in their spaces. But it was clear from the way their eyes were trained on himself and Kegan Diesel, they were clearly looking for a job to do, "When you say well trained...are you saying that they are to come with us when we move...the herd?" The idea wasn't forward, he had seen it before, but it had never been on this Ranch, "Ma'am...er, Miss Diesel...I don't know a thing about dogs. I know horses. And cows. I'm not sure..." Suddenly, finishing that sentence seemed like a death sentence, so Sam went a different way, "What...do I need a dog for?"
What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.
thanks aofie!
Thirty . Ranch Hand . LGBTQ+ . It's Complicated - TENAYA SYDNEY HOLLAND (unrequited crush - 2 years)
“Yes. They are your lower ground assistants, helping handle those that stray – like calves or curious ones. I know people heavily rely on their riding, as well as ATVs and such. But the dogs are compact and can move a herd in a tighter formation – ideal for penning.” Kegan did her best to keep the information compact and somewhat interesting. She knew she could drone on it forever but knew attention span and interest could heavily vary.
“All herders will learn a set of verbal cues as the dogs cannot not look at you while working. Everyone wil; be getting one on one training with me, and slowly worked into larger groups. It’s not something I expect to happen overnight, obviously. But with more cows coming in – I want everyone to be more efficient and not tire themselves.”
