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!.
Maeve knew it was coming, she knew that sooner or later Naomi would replace her. She'd had lots of fun bringing Inka along, and the mare was doing really well in competitions - which had nothing to do with her and all about how talented the mare was. What she hadn't expected however, was for her to get a call the night before, telling her she was being assigned two new horses to bring along.
It was early morning when she got out of her car in the parking area of Blue Acres and after a quick stop of at the tack room to collect her helmet and back protector, she headed out to the arena, where she was told her new horses would be waiting for her.
A million thoughts ran through her head as she approached the arena, where she could see a string of horses patiently, and not so patiently, waiting. She tipped her head to the side as she looked at the Sporthorses, in a range of colours, at her best guess, ranged in heights from fifteen to seventeen hands, none of them really jumped out at her. She smiled toward Cara, who was sitting on the top rail of the arena, quietly talking to the chestnut closest to her. "Good morning." She greeted. "I was expecting to find Naomi. Nice looking horses." They all looked young, about the age Inka was when she first started campaigning the mare. Her brows dipped as she looked at the horses, guessing that the new rider was going to be turning up as well. Knowing that it was inevitable they would be training together, she shrugged into her back protector, placed the helmet on her head and brushed down her navy blue riding tights.
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
Sage Lavigne had been at the bar last night when he got the call - be at Blue Arces early, he was testing out new horses with two other girls. By other girls, the young man had no doubt that his boss meant Maeve O'Doyle and Cara Kitchi. He had yet to formally meet them, he was just that new to the barn and work. While Sage politely agreed over the phone, he groused at the idea of working with others has he had closed out his tab and went home to sleep.
With the morning upon him though, the young man could do nothing but meet his destiny, or perhaps, competition. He was, however, mildly excited about the horses. Sage was curious about the young horses that Naomi Clarke would pull for competition growth and miles. As he pulled into the parking lot now, blue eyes clocked one car. So, he wasn't the first one. Grabbing his bag with his helmet and his protection vest, Sage headed for the barn now - not bothering to lock his car and promptly left the keys tucked away in the shade flap.
He headed inside and made a beeline to the indoor arena where he was greeted by a line of horses - an array of colorful sporthorses if one would. But they weren't the only living beings in the barn, "Ah. Guess I'm the one fashionably late," Sage smirked now, his blue eyes looking between the two young woman from beneath his mop of brunette hair, "I take one of you is Cara and the other is Maeve?"
Cara knew that she should be tired, as it was early in the morning, and she had finished working Mik's and Naomi's horses, and now, after helping Naomi bring in the half dozen Sporthorses and tying them to the arena fence, she sat on the fence, patting the nose of a flaxen chestnut mare as she waited for the other two riders to arrive, and their boss to return.
She offered Maeve a smile as the young woman entered the arena. "Ms Clarke will be back in just a moment." She said.
She looked up as a young man entered the arena and remained on her perch, as it gave her a little extra height, and her eyes glanced toward the door, silently willing Naomi to return. "I am called Cara." She offered, glad the arena was pretty silent as her voice wasn't exactly the loudest. Her eyes moved to the door again, wondering if she was supposed to do the equine introductions, and released a breath when she saw the blonde headed woman walked through the door.
Naomi groaned as she stretched out her back, she was getting too old for these early mornings with the horses, but she was pleased with the horses she had chosen for her riders and with a coffee mug in her hand she walked back into the arena, pleased to see that all three riders were in there when she returned. "Good morning" She greeted with a smile. "We're not going to play any silly get to know you games, as you're all old enough to know how to introduce yourselves, so lets get down to it." She consulted the clipboard in her hand, even though she knew who was going to whom. "Sage, your three horses are: the grey tobiano mare, Madame Butterfly, in the barn Bug. The dun gelding, Sorcerer's Apprentice, or Orb. And the bay Gelding, Black Hawk Down, Hawk" She smiled her thanks as Cara had walked down the line of horses and held the heads of each horse as she had named them.
"Maeve, you have the three remaining. The grey gelding, Broken Arrow, Nuc. The bay mare, Sundown, Dusk. And the flaxen chestnut, mare. Homespun Honey, Sugar" She smiled again. "They are all between the ages of four and six, they have all had basic training done, they all know how how to wear tack and accept a rider, the direction their training will take is up to you. If you want more information on them, their files are in my office. Right, you have your assignments, I will now leave you in peace to work out who you are going to work this morning, the other two will need to be taken out to their pasture. Cara can answer any questions about their training up until now." With a smile and a wave, she left them to themselves.
Maeve turned when she heard someone else enter the arena, slightly disappointed that it wasn't Naomi. She smiled as the young man spoke. "Naomi's not here, so you can't be late." She gave a bright smile after Cara had spoken. "And I'm Maeve." Anything else she wanted to say was stopped as their mentor entered the arena and got straight to work.
Her mouth formed into an o as she was given her horses, and once Naomi left, she hurried forward and went to meet her horses. Sugar was a typical flaxen chestnut; beautiful chestnut coat with honey blonde mane and tail, though her tail got darker closer to the bottom. Nuc was a dark grey, almost a smokey black, but she had a feeling as the gelding got older, he would grey out. And the bay mare was a dark bay with a triangular blaze and a snip on the side of her nose. "Hi." She greeted them all. Her mind boggled as she tried to decide which one she was going to ride and she shook her head to quieten her inner voice and then frowned. Where were Cara's horses? None of her business! She looked at her horses again, finally settling on Sugar, as she had been the first horse she had noticed. "I'm guessing your horses are out in the pasture?" She asked Cara before looking at Sage. "I've worked out who's staying in. Shall we head outside with the rejects?"
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
The one who identified herself as Cara almost looked utterly loathed to deal with him. The frown on her face only made him laugh quietly and shake his head. Maeve, the blond, on the other hand appeared quite cheerful. But before Sage could say anything to either one of them, a warm voice carried over all three of them. He looked to see Naomi Campbell there with a professional looking clip board.
He listened to her rattle off the names of his assigned horses now: Bug, Orb, and Hawk. Ice blue eyes searched the small herd for them, but he stayed put as he clocked them out, unlike Maeve who already went to go speak to the horses as if they could understand here. Well. Sage couldn't judge, he was guilty of speaking to horses in private as well. As soon as Naomi left the three of them to their own devices, Sage smirked, "Cara's horses must think they're too good to hang out with ours."
Just by watching the three interact around the herd, he knew who he would be riding this morning: Orb. He looked a little skittish and willful compared to Bug and Hawk. While all three horses would likely have their own learning curves, Sage was already taking a bet with himself that Orb was the one who needed the most sorting out. Walking up, he pulled the lead lines hanging from around his neck and attached them to Bug and Hawk's halters now as he placed himself inbetween the two, "Feel free to lead the way, ladies."
Cara silently reminded herself why she liked working horses while everyone else was asleep, she didn't need to try and work out what people meant when they said things. "Cara, already knows which horses she is riding, so Ms Clarke didn't see the point in having nine horses in the arena when she only needed six." She replied, not caring that she had just referred to herself in third-person - too many years of people doing talking about, rather than talking to her. The other reason she'd left her horses in the field, was because she wanted to ride the bay gelding she had been assigned, and she decided that one less bay in the arena during introductions would make things a little easier, as well as the fact that she would have had only one horse inside.
Once the other two had decided on the horse they were going to ride and had the other two in hand, she led the way out to the pastures. She gave a soft smile as an exuberant whinny came from the field they were walking past, and she stepped over to rub the white forehead of the little bay Welshie, and then continued down to where her three assigned horses were standing by the gate. "Mish, Charger and Fae." She said as she pointed to the grey, bay and buckskin. "Fae somehow missed the fact that she's not supposed to be pony-sized." She made a shooing motion with her hands and sent the trio away from the gate as she scooped the red halter and lead off the ground and then slipped into the field and caught the large bay horse before using him to block the other two so that Maeve and Sage could bring their horses in and release them.
She led the Sporthorse from the field and headed back toward the barn, doing her best to keep the gelding walking in a straight line, even when the horse wanted to have a look at everything that was around them, though she only needed to snap the lead once to get the horse listening to her and walking forward and quietly into one of the grooming stalls.
Maeve chuckled at Sage's comment and then pressed her lips together as Cara answered and she shook her head as she pulled Dusk and Nuc's leads free. Riding with Sage was going to be interesting, but she thought it would also be fun to ride with someone who she could talk with - no offence to Cara, but the older girl was a little too focused at times. "So, Sage. Are you an eventer or a single discipline person?"
She had a bounce in her step as she followed Cara out of the arena, through the barn and down to the field. She smiled as Cara introduced her assigned horses. "Looks like Fae's head didn't realise that she was pony-sized." She said with a laugh. When the gateway was clear, she led her two horses through and waited for Sarge to bring his in before she removed the halters and stepped away so that the two horses could walk away at start grazing.
She followed Cara back into the barn, and then through to the indoor arena to collect Sugar and brought her out to one of the other grooming stalls and attached the cross-ties before she walked into the tackroom and found the mare's gear and returned to the mare to give her a good groom - aka, bonding time. "What do Sugar's parents do?" She asked Cara as she began to pick out the mare's hooves. Yes, she could wait till after their ride and have a look through the mare's notes, but didn't see the point in waiting when the other female knew the info she wanted.
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