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!.
Lily was looking forward to meeting her first client of the week. She was full of optimism and positive spirit for this week. She had heard about the young lad she was teaching - through Leo of all people - and he seemed like a good kid with some real ambition. Lily was only too happy to help encourage the ambition and make it a reality. Having not seen him ride yet, Lily planned to make this a bit of an introduction for them both, so he knew how Lily taught, and Lily knew what level they were at - more so than 'novice'. She had set up a rudimentary showjumping course, including a couple of their cross country fences to see how they approached a solid fence, as well as coloured poles.
She surveyed her work and then gave herself a nod - they were all small fences, nothing crazy, as it wasn't about the height today. Once everything was set, Lily headed over to wait at the entrance to the school - She had made a note on the office lesson sheet for the day that Othello would be in the indoor school and to meet Lily there once he was ready.
Dice roll
Odd number - lesson goes poorly Even number - lesson goes well
Othello had signed up for the lessons before he had told his parents what he was doing, but they had been pretty okay with it, as he had told them that he was only doing low level lessons, so it wasn't like he was going to be going over Olympic sized fences.
The day had started pretty good, he brought Harry in from the pasture, gave him a thorough groom and tacked him up, making sure that his gear was clean and that he too was looking tidy. It was as he was leading his horse to the arena that he wondered if he should have signed up for a group lesson, but at least with just him and the instructor, it wouldn't be too embarrassing if he was sick in the middle of the lesson.
He paused at the entrance of the arena, giving the one person who knew about his medical issues, a nervous smile. "Hi, I'm Othello and this is Harry." The Suffolk Punch had some fancy show name, but Othello could never remember what it was, and with the lightning shaped star on the liver chestnut's forehead, Harry suited him.
Lily smiled in return, wanting Othello to feel at ease and not worry about anything. "Hi, I'm Othello and this is Harry." Lily nodded, "nice to meet you Othello, I hear you met my brother the other week, I hope he didn't annoy you too much." She joked, though really she knew how Leo could be and he did have a tendancy to poke people a little too hard. "Lovely to meet you too, Harry," she nodded to the horse, offering her hand for him to check out before she went to give him a quick pat. Always good to make friends on the ground with client and horse so they could build trust with the instructor too - that was also important as it was for the horse and rider to be working together.
"Alright, so you want to get cracking with eventing, is that right?" She asked, wanting to make sure she knew where Othello was at and what he wanted to get out of the lessons. "Is there anything in particular you've been struggling with so far, or want to improve on? Anything you have in mind that you really want to achieve or get out of this?" She smiled, "It can be something really small, or what you might think is small, but any target and achievement is huge." Lily hated to think that people thought their dreams were small. "When you're ready if you want to get on board and start getting warm, so we can get down to the hard work once you've both gotten moving and relaxed."
"nice to meet you Othello, I hear you met my brother the other week, I hope he didn't annoy you too much." Othello's grin widened. "He was really cool! Helped me find my way around the place." And then wondered if he was being too informal... oh well, to late for that. And Leo had been a great help for when he'd first arrived and wasn't exactly feeling the best. "Lovely to meet you too, Harry," He loosened his hold on the reins, letting the liver chestnut stretch out and say hello to their instructor.
"Alright, so you want to get cracking with eventing, is that right?" He nodded, though guilt gnawed at him a little. "Is there anything in particular you've been struggling with so far, or want to improve on? Anything you have in mind that you really want to achieve or get out of this?" He pulled a face as he thought of his answer. "It can be something really small, or what you might think is small, but any target and achievement is huge." He fiddled with the buckle on the reins. "I just want to show mum that I can actually do stuff on horses, not just walk around the arena." He shrugged with a sigh. "I'm not really sure what I want to do, but I've always watched eventing on the telly and wondered what it would be like to actually get out there and give it a go." He shrugged again, knowing that he was making a huge hash out of this.
"When you're ready if you want to get on board and start getting warm, so we can get down to the hard work once you've both gotten moving and relaxed." He smiled and nodded, as least this was something he could do! He pulled down the stirrups, tightened the girth up as much as he could and lifted the reins over the horse's head before swinging into the saddle. He rubbed Harry's neck as the gelding stood like a statue as the boy found his stirrups and then squeezed the horse forward, guiding Harry to the outside of the arena as they began their warm up, though his mind was going through his position in the saddle, going through everything his Grams had taught him about straight lines, shoulders and heels.
"He was really cool! Helped me find my way around the place." Lily smiled at that, "nice to hear he was being useful, it makes a change." She added a wink so that the young lad would know she was joking - mostly. Of all her staff, Leo was the most likely to go off and get stuck into something random or trivial instead of doing his chores. He always did the jobs that were more important when it was to do with the horses but after that, he seemed to get very easily distracted and wander off. She smiled as she gave the horse a quick scratch and then let them get on with things, moving out the way.
She gave him time to think on his answer, not wanting to put any pressure on him. "I just want to show mum that I can actually do stuff on horses, not just walk around the arena." She smiled encouragingly. "I'm not really sure what I want to do, but I've always watched eventing on the telly and wondered what it would be like to actually get out there and give it a go." Lily nodded at that, understanding. "That's fine, you don't have to know exactly what it is you want, that will come in time, but that's a great starting block. We'll just work on getting you solid in the saddle and confident." Lily said, already thinking ahead to what they could work on. A strong foundation in the saddle and the paces, so he felt fully comfortable up there and could get the most out of Harry, and then that confidence would help him in progression with eventing - trying new things, jumping a bit higher or a more complicated combination etc...
Lily watched the two warm up, allowing time for Othello to relax - hopefully - and get warm. She always gave people time to get moving before she started with suggestions or observations. People needed time to shake off the nerves and once they had relaxed into their regular warm up routine, she could see the real things that needed some work. She spoke up after a little while, "you're looking great up there, already a good position." She complimented, not wanting Othello to feel this would be about pointing what needed fixing. "Try to relax your knees a little and soften your elbows, your lower leg position is looking strong already, we just try not to grip with knees as it can send the horse on a little quicker than we're asking. Softening the elbows helps with our connection through the reins."
"nice to hear he was being useful, it makes a change." Othello grinned and shrugged, not sure that anything he could say would help or harm the situation, so he opted for silence.
"That's fine, you don't have to know exactly what it is you want, that will come in time, but that's a great starting block. We'll just work on getting you solid in the saddle and confident." He gave a small nod. "I've done a few baby shows - as mum likes to call them - where I walked, and trotted around a judge standing in the middle of the arena. I just want to do more than basic walking and trotting. Grams was my instructor, so she was probably a little biased." Okay, she was a lot biased, as he knew he didn't have the best seat.
He kept his hands light on the reins, keeping that contact, but not pulling on the gelding's mouth. "you're looking great up there, already a good position." He gave a small smile, at least that was positive. "Try to relax your knees a little and soften your elbows, your lower leg position is looking strong already, we just try not to grip with knees as it can send the horse on a little quicker than we're asking. Softening the elbows helps with our connection through the reins." He frowned as he tried to follow all of her instructions, pleased that he had signed up for private lessons. He sat back in the saddle a little, opening his hips, which released the grip his knees had, but then he had to push his heels down again. He gave up trying to do everything at once and closed his hands on the reins, rubbing Harry's neck when the gelding halted and he turned the horse to face Lily. "How does one soften their elbows?" He asked with a self-conscious laugh and shrugged.
She smiled slightly as Othello left her comment between them - she could understand that, nobody wanted to tip the apple cart - especially if it was the stable owner's. She was never offended by it though, not until someone really crossed a line. She'd heard her brother called all sorts of things, and nine times out of ten, Lily agreed with it. "I've done a few baby shows - as mum likes to call them - where I walked, and trotted around a judge standing in the middle of the arena. I just want to do more than basic walking and trotting. Grams was my instructor, so she was probably a little biased." Lily nodded, showing she was absorbing his words. "That's a great start, and we all need to start somewhere. It all adds up to experience, and it'll help make you both more comfortable in the ring going forward." As sometimes it was actually more people's nerves than their ability that could let them down on the big day.
Lily focused on the boy in the saddle, ignoring the horse somewhat for now. Whilst the way the horse moved showed what the rider was offering them, there were certain things - especially in the beginning stages - that you could see by a person just sitting in the saddle. She nodded in encouragement as his knees released, "good, that should feel more comfortable for you too - less tension in your hips, it just might feel a little less secure to begin with but it will actually help with your balance in the long run," which was why most people gripped - when actually, things were easier if you stayed softer. "Don't worry if things don't go to plan straight away, it takes time to cement it all in your head and make it feel natural, it'll be tough work to start with but one day you'll suddenly find you don't have to think about it anymore." She promised, knowing how much brain power it took to try and change how you rode all in one go.
"How does one soften their elbows?" Lily grinned, "sorry - always let me know if I don't make sense!" She encouraged, putting her own arms up as if she was holding reins. "The best way is to relax your arms - not in the way of just letting them slump to your sides," She demonstrated as if her arms suddenly dropped, "but you shouldn't feel tension in your arms or shoulders, you should be able to move your forearms back and forth by your sides here nice and fluidly," she moved her forearms as if they were on a light elastic, keeping her elbows tucked to her sides. "If you feel like your arms are locked in place, or feel tired or tense through your arms, it'll mean your elbows aren't soft. Does that make some kind of sense?" She asked with a slight frown, hoping it did.
"That's a great start, and we all need to start somewhere. It all adds up to experience, and it'll help make you both more comfortable in the ring going forward." Othello nodded and shrugged. "I'm just sick of doing things that kids that have just graduated from lead rein classes are doing. Though he was probably lucky that he was too old for lead rein classes, as he could see his mother wanting him in those classes if she could.
"good, that should feel more comfortable for you too - less tension in your hips, it just might feel a little less secure to begin with but it will actually help with your balance in the long run," He nodded, though he wondered if he was so stiff because he knew his riding was being analysed. "Don't worry if things don't go to plan straight away, it takes time to cement it all in your head and make it feel natural, it'll be tough work to start with but one day you'll suddenly find you don't have to think about it anymore.""Probably didn't help that my Grams was my instructor."
"sorry - always let me know if I don't make sense! The best way is to relax your arms - not in the way of just letting them slump to your sides, but you shouldn't feel tension in your arms or shoulders, you should be able to move your forearms back and forth by your sides here nice and fluidly, If you feel like your arms are locked in place, or feel tired or tense through your arms, it'll mean your elbows aren't soft. Does that make some kind of sense?" He watched her, his entire upper body relaxing. As his shoulders relaxed, so did the rest of his arms, and he nodded. "That makes lots of sense." He told her with a smile. "It's good getting technical instructions." Though he had a feeling that he was going to have to relearn a lot of things.
"I'm just sick of doing things that kids that have just graduated from lead rein classes are doing." Lily smiled in understanding, "I get that," it was part of getting older, wanting to progress and take ownership of that progress and what you stepped up to doing. "Foundations are important but there needs to be a balance between getting the basics right and then building on those skills and progressing." She agreed, knowing how difficult it could be for young kids to find the right places to learn - some teachers were too slow, some too quick, and it was hard to know until you were paying for them.
"Probably didn't help that my Grams was my instructor." Lily raised her eyebrows and made a sympathetic noise, "Oof, guessing she was quite tough on you?" She guessed, as most of the older generation did seem to have that way. Not that it wasn't sometimes useful to have the tough love - even if Lily had never really known her grandparents and couldn't comment.
She watched the boy begin to relax, able to see it in the way the tension left his arms and they fell slightly, into the right place. "That makes lots of sense. It's good getting technical instructions." She grinned in response, "I'm glad you're enjoying it so far - and you're doing great! This relaxation will help you get a better feel and contact with Harry too, you should be able to feel more in tune with his mouth and how relaxed he's feeling too." She said, watching them go round. "Okay, let's pop forwards into a trot and see what happens."
"I get that, Foundations are important but there needs to be a balance between getting the basics right and then building on those skills and progressing." Othello sighed inwardly, he was sick of hearing about foundations and progressing from the basics. These were things that were drilled into him as he was recovering from all the chemo and he was struggling to do anything that involved more than sitting up in his bed. However, he could understand how important foundations were in horse riding.
"Oof, guessing she was quite tough on you?" He pulled a face. "The opposite, actually." He laughed and gave a shrug. "I went and lived with her while I was... getting better, and she felt that Harry was part of my... um... recovery."
"I'm glad you're enjoying it so far - and you're doing great! This relaxation will help you get a better feel and contact with Harry too, you should be able to feel more in tune with his mouth and how relaxed he's feeling too." He smiled, as he could actually feel the gelding play with the bit in his mouth, something he hadn't really noticed before. "Okay, let's pop forwards into a trot and see what happens." He laughed as he was almost left behind when Harry heard the word 'trot' and sprang forward into the next gait, though the boys quickly pulled himself together as he took shorted the reins fractionally and watched the gelding's stride before he posted with the outside leg.
