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!.
Blue Acre Stables. When Emma chose Hickstead to settle down in, she had heard it was a horse-crazy area. There were several barns, stables, and ranches around that boasted plenty of opportunities to get involved. She was anxious to feel at home again in the saddle, around an arena, and walking through a pasture. She had grown up spending all her free time on her Grams and Pops’ ranch and missed it.
One of the bigger, more well-known stables in the area appeared to be Blue Acres. Anyone who spoke of it never failed to mention something praiseworthy - from the high expectations of their competitive riders, to their high quality amenities. They were a stable with pride etched into their souls. Emma wasn’t overly confident or haughty - but she would admit that winning was fun. She was in need of a new competition horse anyway and maybe Blue Acres could help her out.
She hadn’t settled on a barn just yet but she knew Blue Acres had a good reputation and decided to check it out. She donned a more “crisp and clean” outfit today - no holes in her jeans, no oversized hoodie, and a cowgirl hat instead of her Hooey trucker cap. She took her new truck through the car wash and then drove up to the stable property. Getting out, Emma breathed in the scents and took a look around the sights briefly. As soon as she spotted the barn, Emma moved forward. She walked with purpose - like she belonged there - and smiled when her feet hit the inside of the barn.
[attr="class","character-coffeeshop-h1"]
[attr="class","character-coffeeshop-note"]spring • Outfit • open
Mik went from stall to stall, making sure that the breakfast buckets had been removed when the stalls were done earlier, and checking the haynets for the horses who were stuck indoors.
"You still in a foul mood?" He asked the young silver dapple Sport Horse who was standing in the back of her stall with her ears drawn back. "Naomi only kept you in cause you lost a shoe, don't be such a brat." He slid the bolt across, watching the mare the whole time, as she looked like a coiled spring. "I've got a fresh net for you." He said as he held the net up for the mare to see and slowly entered the stall. Still watching the mare, he headed over to swap the empty net with the fresh one.
"I'll ask your mam if you can go outside." He said as he turned to exit the stall. As soon as he'd turned his back on the horse, he knew he'd made a mistake as he heard the movement of the horse. "Charm!" He felt the mare's teeth graze his shoulder as she grabbed hold of his maroon and gold shirt, and as he twisted away, cringed at the sound of the fabric tearing, though that was enough to startle the mare and she shot back to the back of the stall, her ears once again flat, her head held high in a challenge. "Pity you aren't as charming as your name." He muttered.
He turned as another horse closer to the door gave a friendly nicker of greeting and he smiled when he saw an unfamiliar woman standing there. "Welcome to Blue Acres." He figured that he may as well sound as professional as possible, and if he positioned himself just right, she wouldn't be able to see how badly his shirt was torn... well, that would depend on how long she had been there. "I'm Mik. Can I help you with anything?"
While Emma’s sense of smell was occupied by nostalgic senses of the barn, her hearing noticed when she heard someone talking in the barn. She took a step forward and listened closely. She couldn’t tell what they were saying, but it sounded like they were talking to someone else and Emma realized she definitely wasn’t alone in the big barn. She tilted her head to the side, curious, but non-judgemental, wondering. Maybe they were talking to someone in a stall and she simply couldn’t see. Then again, maybe they were talking to the horses. Goodness knows Emma talked to her animals back home all the time - they made the best listeners.
“Charm!” Emma heard the person suddenly cry out from a stall in the barn. She jumped a little, concerned at whatever just happened. She glanced around, not noticing any other people in the barn and started walking forward, wondering what might have happened and worried whether or not the guy was okay. "Pity you aren't as charming as your name." When she heard him talking again, she supposed he must be okay and she slowed her pace, taking a step towards a stall nearby. She knew better than to physically interact with a horse she didn’t know, but she could appreciate them and she smiled and whispered a small “hi there darlin” to the beautiful creature. “Welcome to Blue Acres.” Emma smiled at the guy walking out and started walking towards him, closing the space between them.
"I'm Mik. Can I help you with anything?" Emma nodded her head and stepped up to Mik with her southern confidence and ADHD-riddled soul “Yes, you absolutely can. Mik, right? That’s a cool name, sounds like some really cool, dark, mysterious, sunglass-wearing, motorcycle-driving badass, ya know what I mean? Not someone who talks to horses, although, I talk to horses myself. But, my name’s Emma, not something cool like Lola or Scarlett, just Emma. I’ve been told it’s a simple name but I think it’s sweet but I’m okay either way, it’s not like my name defines who I am, but… yeah, I’m Emma, it’s nice to meet you.” Emma gave Mik a bright smile and stook her hand out to shake his.
“Yes, you absolutely can. Mik, right?" Mik nodded with a smile, a twinkle in his eye as her mouth continued moving. "That’s a cool name, sounds like some really cool, dark, mysterious, sunglass-wearing, motorcycle-driving badass, ya know what I mean?" He was going to need to remember that an tell Amber when he got home, and he wondered what she would think of Mikhail. "Not someone who talks to horses, although, I talk to horses myself. But, my name’s Emma, not something cool like Lola or Scarlett, just Emma. I’ve been told it’s a simple name but I think it’s sweet but I’m okay either way, it’s not like my name defines who I am, but… yeah, I’m Emma, it’s nice to meet you.” He grinned as he wiped his hand on his riding pants and then shook the proffered hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Emma. You have a lovely name, enough so that there's a book with that very name for the title." Personally, he'd never read the book, it wasn't the kind of book that all-boys schools assign for reading, but he knew of it. "How can I be of assistance?" He asked, bringing her back to her reply to his original question.
Emma noticed Mik wipe his hands first. She appreciated that - not the wiping, necessarily, although that meant he was a gentleman - but the fact that he was a hard worker. Most likely either he was sweaty from over-exerting himself as he worked or they had dirt or dust on them from working the stalls. Either way, she appreciated hard work when she saw it. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Emma. You have a lovely name, enough so that there's a book with that very name for the title." Emma nodded sweetly when he mentioned the book. She had gone through a Jane Austen phase one summer with her mom as the captain of the ship and they’d bonded over it. "How can I be of assistance?" Emma gave a soft giggle when he offered his help once again. She had a bad habit of rambling and getting turned around. Her late fiance was really good at redirecting her and boy did she miss him. Returning to the present, she looked sheepishly at Mik. “Sorry, I tend to get a bit off topic. But, yes, I’d love your assistance, if you’re up to it. I’m new in town but I heard quite a bit about Blue Acres here and thought I’d check it out - see if all the hype was really true.”
“Sorry, I tend to get a bit off topic. But, yes, I’d love your assistance, if you’re up to it. I’m new in town but I heard quite a bit about Blue Acres here and thought I’d check it out - see if all the hype was really true.” Mik smile with a nod. "I might be a little biased, but I believe the hype really is true. We strive for the best." He tried to ignore the fact that his uniform wasn't looking as polished as it normally was. "This is the barn. It's pretty empty at the moment, because Naomi likes the horses to be outside as much as possible when the weather allows. The ones inside are either ready for lessons, on stall rest or have been kept inside for the farrier." He looked toward Charm's stall, narrowing his eyes when he saw the silver dapple mare looking over her door, ears pricked forward, as though butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "Is there anything in particular you would like to know? I can give you a tour if you would like? He knew that Naomi was in her office, so if Emma wanted to talk to her, the owner was at least in - and he made a mental not to ask Sofia to order him a couple of new BA polos.
"I might be a little biased, but I believe the hype really is true. We strive for the best." Emma nodded her head as she listened to Mik talk about the stables. "This is the barn. It's pretty empty at the moment, because Naomi likes the horses to be outside as much as possible when the weather allows. The ones inside are either ready for lessons, on stall rest or have been kept inside for the farrier." Emma liked hearing that Naomi liked the horses to be out. Her own horses back home always preferred the pastures over anything else. She really only kept them in a stall or paddock for the same reasons. She got a good feeling inside. She watched as Mik looked at the horse he had just been with and Emma took notice of something off. Emma decided to take a moment to look at the barn around them, noticing little details here and there that showed just how much pride they had in their amenities. It may have been a barn (a place for big - albeit beautiful - animals), but it was definitely one of the nicest barns she’d set eyes on. Her grandparents had a nice barn but it was just the family ranch, not a facility, and it definitely had its own “rustic charm” so to speak. "Is there anything in particular you would like to know? I can give you a tour if you would like?” Emma took a small step toward the horse’s stall - the one Mik had just come out of. “Honestly, I would love a tour. That’d be pretty great. I’d really like to get a feel for the place.” Emma took a deep breath as she smiled at the gorgeous horse. “I’d also love to know what happened to the back of your shirt… did you fall that hard or something?” Emma kept her eyes on the horse, waiting for a response.
“Honestly, I would love a tour. That’d be pretty great. I’d really like to get a feel for the place. I’d also love to know what happened to the back of your shirt… did you fall that hard or something?” Mik grinned, he didn't mind being a tour guide, and then laughed at the question, finally reaching a hand over his shoulder to touch the ripped area - yeah, he was going to need a new shirt. "Charm over there." He gestured to the silver dapple Friesian Sporthorse who was looking at them with her ears pricked forward, obviously over her sulk about being stuck inside. "Decided she wanted to play a game of tag, and I wasn't aware that she was it before she tagged me." He grinned. "She's a nice horse, normally. She spent the first three years of her life running around a huge paddock with other youngsters and she hates being cooped up inside when she knows all her friends are out."
He led the way down the barn aisle. "I think you can work out that we have stalls on either side of us. Formal to cheeky in zero point five seconds, normal Mik style. "Down this small hall, we have the tack room on one side and the feed room on the other. On the other side of the aisle are the stairs that lead up to the loft. We also have the regular ladder that most people associate with a hayloft, but our loft is set up like a lounge, club room, as well as a place to store hay." He continued the tour, pointing out the door to Sofia's office, which led to Naomi's office. The wash and grooming stalls, the entrance to the indoor arena then down through the male end of the barn and outside. "Out here we have the outdoor arena, the pastures and the quarantine barn."
Emma bit her tongue as she listened to Mik talk about Charm and what happened with his shirt. She couldn’t help but giggle at what happened. She tried to remain proper and dignified but…. Who was Emma kidding? She was a giggler. She did, however, give Mik a knowing and understanding nod with a soft smile. She understood accidents around horses and a barn in general - herself being the cause of many to begin with. She couldn’t help when her momma’s southern hospitality lessons seeped through. “Well, I’d offer to sew it up for ya, darlin’, but I don’t think it would look too sharp.” Emma gave an apologetic shrug and as he began the tour.
"I think you can work out that we have stalls on either side of us.” Emma gave a faux gasp of shock and pretended to look around amazed. “NO! Seriously?!?! Dude, I had no idea…” She giggled, not missing an opportunity to have her fun before bouncing along. Emma listened as he spoke, nodding to things here, mmhmming to things there. “That loft sounds amazing.” Emma was honestly impressed by what she saw. Don’t get the girl wrong, she’d spent plenty of time in upscale locations - she competed and took some specialty classes, etc., but that didn’t take away from the hard work that had honestly been put into Blue Acres. It showed and Emma could appreciate that. Naomi obviously knew horses well enough and she either had a good eye for business or had a partner who did. And Mik seemed like a decent guy - not a stiffnecked snob like she was afraid she’d find. It was pretty typical to find the rich and snooty at the nicer barns back home, so Mik was a happy surprise and was really glad to have found.
Emma stayed relatively quiet through most of the tour. Not going to lie, it took all of her strength. The girl was a talker, but she did it. Once they stepped outside, she figured she’d take the chance to relay what she’d learned. “Okay, so, lets make sure I understood everything you showed me so far. You have stalls ON EITHER SIDE. That’s the most important thing.”
Mik grinned when it seemed that Emma found his encounter amusing, which was a good thing, because it meant that she wasn't scared away from the place, yet. He bowed his head at her very generous offer. "That's very kind of you, but I'll just ask Naomi's PA if I can get a couple of new ones." He gave a wolfish grin. "I tend to go through a few of them." Not that he wasn't careful with his clothes, more that he wasn't fast enough for some of the more... playful horses in the barn, and while he didn't think that their boss would care too much if his shirts didn't look brand new, he always liked to look his best while he was on the job.
He laughed as she took his humour for what it was. "I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship." He quipped with another laugh. He felt that the whole place was amazing, but he might be a little biased. "The barn was designed to meet the needs of the people that use it, no matter their age or social standing." While the loft in the old barn was comfy, the new one had been designed to give the feel of being at home - even down to the freshly baked goods.
His eyes moved over the pastures, making sure that none of the horses looked like they had legs on odd angles, and laughed as he watched the ponies chasing each other around their field. He laughed and rolled his eyes at her sum-up of what she had seen in the barn. "We could have had them on one side only, but could you imagine how long the barn would have to be?" He grinned. "Okay, other than the fact that there are stalls on both sides, do you have any questions?"
Emma giggled at his words. The fact that he went through quite a few of them lended itself to some theories on just what kind of either rider or individual he was. Emma raised her eyebrows and stuck her tongue in her cheek from saying anything. It’s not like she was any better, but she also didn’t want to embarrass the lad if it wasn’t his fault after all. She wasn’t easily embarrassed herself, but she didn’t know Mik well enough just yet to joke in that way with him. Give it time, though, and things might be different.
Emma laughed and nodded her head on his comment about friendship. She pretended to bow and put on a various serious tone. “Depends on whether or not you can truly handle the tornado that is Emma Marie Brownie, darlin’.” Emma twirled around right there in the barn and shrugged her shoulders in a carefree way. Emma felt the place looked and sounded amazing. She could definitely keep herself busy in a place like this.
Emma watched Mik’s gaze and followed it to the ponies. She almost teared up just a tad when it brought back all the memories of home. From her grandparents’ ranch where the horses would run the pastures, to her and Hunter’s horses. Their horses had ended up buddying up to each other, one of the many things that cemented their bond. She smiled at the memories before returning her attention to the young gentleman in front of her. “What? You mean you DON’T want a barn a couple miles long? Who wouldn’t want that? Sounds like a dream to me and anyone else trying to stall a fussy horse.” Emma made herself giggle. “Well, what’s it like being here? Are you just a rider, an employee, a boarder…? Give me the scoop on the place, but make it chocolate chip, I like the details.”
Mik regretted saying anything about the way he went through clothes as fast as he did, but it was too late now, so there was nothing he could do other than shrug it off.
He laughed as she referred to herself as a tornado. "You seem to be more a breath of fresh air than destructive." He offered with a grin.
He turned to look at the barn, trying to picture it as though it had as many stalls as it did but all in one line, frowning in thought and shook his head. "Other than it being good for the odd fussy horse, I feel a barn like that would take us so much room that we wouldn't have the space for anything else, like our pastures, arena and cross country course." He'd have to have a word with Cara and see if she could draw him an image of what the property would look like if the barn did look like that. "To answer your question; I'm all of the above. I work as a stable hand, I have two horses boarding here and I teach cross country. I'm slowly getting back into riding after a small incident a while back that left me with broken ribs." And a few other injuries that he wasn't going to list. "I had one of the young ladies who lives here, keeping my boys in work for me while I wasn't able to ride. The people who work here all do their jobs to the best of their abilities. Naomi's a great boss, and she's not afraid to tell us to pull our heads in if we need it." Or to send them home if she felt they weren't healthy enough to be at work. "Not everyone who rides here has their own horse, as we have a number of horses here that people can lease, and/or have lessons on. If you find yourself busy and unable to ride, we also have people here who can exercise your horse for you."
Emma heard his comment about being a breath of fresh air and she couldn’t help but give him a big, bright, southern belle smile. She wasn’t sure exactly what he meant - it made her wonder what sort of company he kept normally. Emma wasn’t anything special; she just enjoyed life and wanted other people to be able to do the same. She knew the consequences of a life cut short and she wasn’t ever going to take a moment for granted again.
Emma watched as Mik seriously contemplated their topic of an extra-long barn. His mind was obviously a very active one as she saw the wheels turning around and around inside his head. Perhaps Mik was a deep thinker. Emma never took things too seriously, so she didn’t quite understand deep thinkers, but she liked finding out just what those deep thinkers were thinking about.
Emma listened as Mik explained his situation with complete interest, nodding when appropriate and listening intently. She had to bite her tongue not to interrupt like she normally would. She didn’t want to scare the poor boy off. Although, her rambling might end up scaring him off anyway. “I’m so sorry to hear you got injured, but I’m really really REALLY glad to see you’re alive, up and going. You’re more than welcome to talk about what happened but I also 100% absolutely completely and entirely understanding you don’t want to. Actually, you sound like you really have a head for this place; like you really know your way around.” Emma glanced around at the horses. “I do have my own horse, but he’s back home in the states at my grandparents’ and is going to be a lesson horse as well as first competition horse for a cousin of mine since I’ve left. He’s a little older but still has a good fight in him, so he’ll work well for her, but I’m in need of a new competition horse. However…” Emma looked sheepishly at Mik for a moment before slowly walking around him, slowly making a decision of whether or not to admit her inexperience to him. She finally stopped next to him, glanced around like she had this huge secret, stood on her very tippy toes to whisper in his ear. “I’ve never competed in a cross-country event before.”
Mik smiled at her sympathetic words, but remained quiet, letting her talk, nodding at the information provided. It made him think of the string of horses he had left at home in Ireland, wondering if his parents had sold them off already, or if they were still being worked and waiting for his return to the manor. He so hoped that they had all been sold, and found new homes.
I also work as a waiter at the nightclub, I was jumped on my way to my car after my shift. I don't remember anything of the attack, just waking up in the hospital." He shrugged, a firm believer in honesty being the best policy, and it's not like it wasn't public knowledge. "As for this place, I was lucky enough that Naomi accepted my application when I moved here." He was also lucky that his boss wasn't a gossip and while she knew exactly who he was, she was happy enough to let him be as average as he wanted to appear. Sounds like your horse is going to teach your cousin well." Hand-me-down horses were often the best teachers. "Well, you won't be short on places to find a horse around Hickstead. There's the sale yard, the Ryan's have a Sporthorse yard, and even Naomi has a few youngsters that need new humans."
His brow arched as she circled him, wondering what she was up to. He stood a little straighter as she moved closer to him and laughed gently at her words. "You're in luck then. I have." He replied with a grin. "And I'm sure that tornado Emma will do great while galloping over a cross country course. If you are interested, you could sign up for one of the lesson horses here, until you find your own, and join my classes." Nothing wrong with a little self-promotion, right?
“Oh my goodness,” Emma whispered as her eyes widened when Mik told her about getting jumped in the parking lot. She cringed for him, and instinctively put a hand on his arm - a comforting gesture her aunt’s southern hospitality lessons would somewhat approve of. Always be comforting, never be scandalous. Emma could hear her voice now.
“Yeah, Dash will be great for her. He got me through high school rodeo really well and he adores kids. Where would you suggest I start looking first for a horse? I wouldn’t know where to start on this side of the pond.” Emma wasn’t sure how much competing she was going to do, either. She knew she wanted to keep up her riding but she didn’t know much about the area and what all was around. Emma’s southern drawl came out, “see, back home, my grandparents have a big community of riders and ranchers around them. They may not have a fancy facility, but they’ve got the love and the people. So, I’ve always had easy access to good horses. In fact, Dash was bred with me in mind. I’ve gotten to see him raised from the day he was born. I was there that day, actually."
Emma knew about almost all disciplines of horsemanship, riding, or competing. Her grandmother was insistent that any child who learned to ride must be well-rounded. Unfortunately, though, her knowledge was limited - surface level - of anything outside of western riding or rodeo events. Even so, she loved learning new things and was always up for a challenge or new adventure. “Until I do find my own horse, I suppose I could dain to take a class with the good teacher.” Emma winked and giggled before his words registered and realization struck. She bowed dramatically before starting… “So, if you moved here that must mean you’re not from here, then? Where dost thou originally hail from, dear sir?” Emma playfully curtsied and grabbed his hand, using it to twirls herself around once as she waited for his response.
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