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!.
Mik pulled a face and shrugged, he'd moved on from the attack, plus he should have been expecting something like it happening, but he refused to dwell in the past.
He smiled as he listened to Emma talk about her horse. From her attire, he'd already pinned her as a cowgirl, so wasn't surprised that she was a rodeo rider. "If you want a horse to work with, the saleyards would be your best choice. If you want one ready for the show ring, the Ryan's would be your best bet." He fell silent as she spoke again. "Your grandparents' place sounds like the place the vet's mum is at." Demeter had often said that her mum was the manager of the place, but he was sure she owned it too. "I'd love to have that kind of memory with any of my horses." All of his horses had been bought fully trained for the job they would be used for; showing, polo...
He laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment." He grinned. "You might have other opinions after seeing my teaching skills." Not that he'd had any complaints. He pulled a face when she asked the question he dreaded. "Originally, Ireland, though I've been in England since I hit my teenage years; for boarding school and then university." And while in uni, he rode for the British show jumping team, but he left that unsaid as it could start unravelling threads he'd tucked away nicely.
Emma nodded at his response on buying horses. “Okay, so if sale barns here are anything like they are back home, I can guess how to work them pretty well. But, um, who is Ryan? Because unless it’s Gosling, Reynolds, or Seacrest, I have no idea who you’re talking about.” Emma gave an innocent faux pouty face as she raised her eyebrows. “Ooooo, the vet! What’s the vet like here? We had several different people we would use back home. We had one that was mobile for regular visits or when we couldn’t trailer a horse well but we also had a couple of equine vets we would travel to for certain injuries or problems. Does Blue Acres have just one vet or does everyone use their own…? Sounds like you know this vet pretty well.” Emma heard his comment about her memories and she tilted her head sympathetically. “Yeah, I guess I’m pretty lucky. What have your horses been like?”
Emma giggled and looped her arm in Mik’s cheerily. “I highly doubt I will have anything bad to say about your teaching skills mister, but you could always have me sign a gag order. Ya know… just to be safe.” Emma winked and chuckled at her own joke. “To be honest, I haven’t been much of anywhere except here since I moved. We did some vacation traveling growing up but mostly around the states - never here. Oh my gosh, Mik!” Emma abruptly stopped as she came up with a thought. “You could be like my own little European tourist sherpa.” Emma giggled and smiled triumphantly.
Mik shrugged. "I only know about the sales yard because I've heard of it, both of my boys arrived here with me, so I've never been there myself. Naomi's eldest, Cara, got a horse and pony from there though, so she'll be able to answer any questions you have." Yeah, the young woman would probably kill him if he gave her number to someone she didn't know, but he was sure she's get over it, or he'd be looking for a new job - may the odds be ever in your favour! He chuckled at the mention of all the Ryans. "The barns around here are family owned and run: Naomi Clarke and Nathan Thorne have Blue Acres, the Whites, Seven Oaks and John and Marie Ryan have Ryan Sports Hall." Though Naomi pretty much controlled the goings on here, as Nathan's attention was in the hospital. He listened as she spoke again. "The vet we have on speed dial is Demeter Katsaros, who is really good at her job, with both small and large animals, though with this being a horsey area, there are a number of large animal vets, and everyone has the one the prefer. I know Dem as well as everyone else around here, she's friendly and doesn't mind sharing her life stories if you have the time to listen."
Thinking of his horses, both past and present, he looked over to the pasture his boys were in and frowned as he could see his dappled buckskin leaning against the gate as he was stretching his neck over it, shaking his head when he realised that Glory had thrown his jolly ball out of the pasture, and it was slightly out of reach, and smiled when he saw someone walking past the pastures who picked up the ball and gave it back to the gelding. "My horses have been trained for the job they needed to do." He replied with a shrug. "I evented, I show jumped and I played polo. So I had a string of horses for the competitions, and another for polo." How to say you were spoilt without saying you were spoilt.
His brow arched as she looped her arm through his and he laughed at her next words. "Nope, no gag orders." He laughed again ahs shook his head. "I've done my travelling, and I'm quite happy here. Plus, my girlfriend would probably have something to say about me being a tour guide for someone else." Okay, he did want to go travelling some more, as there were a few places he wanted to take Amber to.
Emma listened to Mik’s information about the horses and ranches. She put on her best thinking face. “Welllllll, I can’t wait to meet this Cara, then, and maybe just maybe I’ll just have to get a horse from both places? I didn’t realize just how many big ranches there were here in the area. Gets me a pretty excited, though. I feel like a kid on christmas.” Emma clapped her hands excitedly. “That makes sense about the vet. I look forward to meeting Demeter.” Emma gave Mik a sneaky, knowing smile. “Mik, one thing you’ll learn about me is a LOVE - no i freaking LIVE - for people’s stories. It’s, like, the bread and butter of who they are and I will sit and listen to anything anyone wants to share with me. Give me your deepest, darkest secrets, or just tell me you love tacos… doesn’t matter.” Emma loved people and people had stories. It’s one of the many reasons one of her favorite places was the retirement community back home. The stories that generation would share were always a kick and she loved it.
“Sounds like you have had great horses.” Emma smiled encouragingly. “Dash was my high school rodeo horse, but my first horse was this severely broke red roan. Every horse has its talent, just like people. My best talent? Definitely my ability to talk and bounce for hours on end. Seriously, please, Mik, shut me up already.” Emma laughed and shrugged her shoulders. Oh well, it is who she is, and she wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed by it.
“No gag orders? Okay, then, I pinky promise with all my heart to be a good little student.” Emma stuck out her pinky - her inner child blossoming out. She stopped abruptly at the word girlfriend. “Oh, shush, now, just bring her with you. If she’s half as fun as you, I’m sure I’ll love her. She might not love me, but it’s okay. I tend to grow on people - like a leech. Although, leeches aren’t exactly cute… so maybe not a leech…” Emma paused a moment to think about her words but ended up shaking it off and grinned at Mik. “Maybe it could be fun? I mean, yes, three can be a crowd, but there were also three musketeers, so… I say take chances, make mistakes, get messy!” Emma giggled and twirled around as she did her best Frizzle impression, smiling kindly at her new friend.
"Good luck with that." Mik chuckled at the mention of Cara. "Unless you manage to catch her here with the children, she isn't often in the barn while people are around." Normally the only times he caught her was when he was arriving in the morning and she was heading into the house to help the children start the day, or when he was getting ready to leave at the end of the day and the young woman was getting ready to start her training schedule. "There's a working cattle ranch in the area too," he offered with a grin. "They work with rescue horses... or at least they used to, not sure the direction the new owner is going to take the place." His brow lifted at her excitement about people's stories, but lowered it again, not wanting her to think that he had anything to hide.
He nodded, he did have good horses, Lady Antoniou wouldn't have her son seen on anything less then the best. And that was only because it would look poorly on her if the heir to their legacy didn't perform properly. He had taken on polo to try and get her to loosen the reins a little, but that had the opposite effect. He laughed at her description of her talents. "You work your talents well." He chuckled. "My talents would be that I'm observant well and work hard." Something that did him well in both of his jobs.
He grinned as he curled his pinky around hers and shook on it. "Well... before I show you were to sign up for the lessons, would you like to meet the lesson horses? Are you a gelding or a mare person?" He mentally went through the list of lesson horses, instantly crossing the beginner horses off the list as he felt Emma would get bored on one of them, and thought he had the perfect horse for her to meet, depending on her preference for genders. He smiled as he thought about Amber, wondering what she would think of the young woman with him and shook his head. "Well, outside of barn hours, we both work at the nightclub." He decided not to mention that there were more than just three musketeers, as it was an elite corp that d'Artagnan wanted to join and he was befriended by three of the most formidable musketeers, which gave the book it's name.
Emma’s feigned an offended expression about the Cara comment before he explained. She listened to the why before nodding her head. She made a mental note. If Cara was one of the people she might like to talk to about getting a horse, she would do what she needed to do in order to talk to her. Emma wasn’t very patient as far as conversations go, but she was determined when she wanted something and would do what she needed to. The mention of a cattle ranch got Emma excited, though. She beamed and gave a small squeal. “That sounds amazing - I hope they keep doing that. What an amazing place that must be. My grandmother was always good with troubled horses. Her passions shines as a trainer. You should hear her story, my goodness…” Emma explained, thinking about her fabulously feisty grandma back home. “But, her story is for another time, I can't wait to hear yours.”
Emma grinned at his praise of her talents, giving a small chuckle. She liked his talents, though and gave him an approving nod. “Those are good talents to have, sir.” Emma paused a moment and then stood back, gesturing dramatically to herself. “IF you are so observant, what would you say you have observed about me?” Emma asked him, pretending to have a serious interview-style tone of voice.
Emma clapped her hands excitedly at the mention of meeting the horses. “Mik, seriously… do I want to meet the horses… hmmm…. do horses drink water? Duh, of course I want to meet them! I tend to connect with geldings a lot, though some of my favorite barrel racing horses have been mares. They’re so fiery. Most - though not all - of the mares in my life have been just like women - moody and dramatic, making them fierce competitors.” Emma shrugged her shoulders and laughed. Yes, she was a woman herself but the assessment still stood.
Emma nodded her head about his girlfriend. “So, you both work the nightclub - I have yet to go there since the move. Actually, I haven’t been to a nightclub at all, to be honest. I’m only 18 so back home my nights were usually spent at the rodeos or doing homework, blah blah blah… So, what is your girlfriend’s name? Wait, does she ride? Oh my gosh, Mik, will she be here today? Will I get to meet her?” Emma asked excitedly.
Mik smiled as he listened to Emma talk, her grandmother sounded amazing, though he pouted when the story came to a rather quick halt. "I don't have much of a story. Born in Ireland, attended school in London, went to Cambridge, competed on horses, came here and got a couple of jobs." If you left out his family, being part of the British Show Jumping Team and the Olympics, but that was pretty much his life.
He pursed his lips as he studied her for a moment. "That you're full of life and energy. Both of which in a good way of course." He shrugged at his rather simple assessment of her, and it felt better than telling her that she reminded him of a whirlwind.
He laughed at her enthusiasm about meeting the horses. "Right this way, Ma'am." He said with a small bow as he gestured forward and led the way down the path to the pasture a group of geldings were hanging in, happy to see the horse he wanted to introduce Emma to was watching them from the gate. "This is Water Horse, or Splash as he's known in the barn." He rubbed the horse's forehead affectionately before stepping back to watch the chestnut, who had a blaze that ran all the way down to his top lip and a splash of white near the girth area - which was a marking, rather than a rubbing girth. He's a ten year old Quarter Horse. He likes to pretend that he has no idea what you're asking when you want him to move forward, or to stop once you've got him going." He just needed a rider who wanted to take the time to form a bond with him, rather than being a weekend rider. Mik dug into his pocket and pulled a out a bag of mints that he offered to Emma in case she wanted to give one to the chestnut.
He laughed as the topic turned to his girlfriend. "Her name is Amber, and no, she doesn't ride." He shrugged with a grin. "In her opinion, there's more to life than horses." And he had no problems with that, though he had every intention to get her on a horse at some point.
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