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!.
Stephanie had a few minutes to catch her breath in the warmup ring while the rest of the class went. When the ring announcer mentioned the jump off was a few riders away, she began trotting the gelding around the arena - taking a few warmup fences at the canter with Naomi's supervision.
When her coach approved that she was ready, Stephanie walked the bay out of the warmup ring and back into the show ring. She halted her horse, quickly going over the jump off in her head before preparing herself to get her horse to canter. As soon as their names were announced and the buzzer went, Tai leapt into the canter and the two were off towards fence number one. The pair flew through the jump off - Stephanie using an opening rein over the appropriate fences to get the horse to turn in the air, knowing he wasn't a tiny pony who could turn on a dime.
As the pair went up and over fence 14, Stephanie sighed - not realizing she had forgotten to breathe for the second half of the jump off. Tai huffed as he came back to the walk - Stephanie reaching down and patting the bay on his neck as they left the ring to go cool down. "That's the jump off horse I know!"
Stephanie had finished riding Violet, giving the chestnut mare a thorough flat workout. Aurora had been giving them things to work on to help with their jumping and it was working. She cooled out the mare before hopping off of her back, handing her off to Cassie who had offered to groom for her for the day. The brunette handed the other woman her helmet and gloves as well - placing a hat on her head before she began getting the jumps ready.
The course she had set up was simple, having a few lines as well as a combination. As soon as she was finished, she rubbed her hands to get the sand off of her hands. The woman heard the gate open and turned her head to see her three students arrive at the same time. "Hello ladies, don't forget to check your girths before you get on. It won't be that difficult of a lesson as it's one of the first times riding outside. Let's get on and start walking around." She stood at the end of the ring, close to the gate in case the three of them needed some help.
Stephanie King has experience riding, coaching and training young horses. Before she moved to Blue Acres, she worked for professional show jumper and Olympian Kent Farrington. Her accomplishments ranging from competing on the USEF U25 circuit and national championships, riding various 1.60 horses and winning at various classes at Spruce Meadows.
class objectives
Stephanie enjoys watching her students shine and have fun. Her true understanding of a variety of horse and rider combinations helps her give everyone a variety. She bases her courses on which horse and rider combo she has in her classes - the course for the day reflecting that as well.
Stephanie was happy to see how many fellow Blue Acres riders joined her at the show. Usually, she would just coach but she had the itch to compete. It was a hard decision for her to choose which horse, but Tai was her chosen mount for the day.
She had spent the morning getting the bay gelding ready. He had his usual attitude of wanting attention and any sort of treats from people passing by the show barns. After grooming and tacking up, she got herself ready - buttoning her black show coat up before placing her helmet on her head. She felt like she was ready, taking a deep breath to try to get rid of any nerves. The nerves were always there, despite Stephanie doing many competitions before this. She slid the snaffle bit into the horse's mouth, doing up the straps before leading him towards the warm up ring. The brunette checked the girth and rolled down her stirrups before using the mounting block to get on.
Tai was excited, meaning Stephanie would have to put him through his paces. She made the gelding work, doing various things like downward transitions, loops and serpentines at the walk, trot and canter. As if she knew, Naomi came into the arena - watching Stephanie and Tai do some warm up jumps to prepare them for the course ahead. Steph reached down and patted Tai on the shoulder - it seemed that the gelding had finally settled down enough.
They quickly realized that the two of them were the first ones in the class - which was both good and bad. Stephanie steered the bay into the show ring - picking up the trot and then the canter. She had her eyes on the first fence which was an upright fence with some flowers underneath. Tai seemed to have locked his eyes on it as well, flicking his dark ears forward as they approached. The bay soared over the jump with ease, landing softly on the other side before continuing on towards the single oxer. She used her legs and squeezed during the take-off, causing the gelding to contain his energy - going up and over the jump, leaving both rails up. As the course continued, Stephanie felt Tai was going to explode with energy - though the jumps kept staying up as they went along. She settled him down for the water tray and the first jump of the double, knowing those were the two things that excited him the most. The rest of the course went smoothly, only really having a bit of a hiccup at the last fence of the triple, but Tai saved her butt. They had finished the thirteen jumps before going up and over the final fence, Stephanie letting out a sigh as they landed on the other side. All the fences had stayed up and the gelding decided to do one happy buck as if he was happy with himself. Stephanie stayed on, bringing the bay back to the trot and walk after the circle was done, patting him on the neck as they walked out of the ring. "Good boy, Tai. That was fun!" She said, wishing Mik good luck as she passed him on the way out - walking the gelding back to the warmup ring to cool out and chat with Naomi about how the round went.
Stephanie was slightly surprised when her friend admitted he wasn't waiting on anyone. She was fully prepared to be rejected by him, though she nodded and took the seat at the bar next to him. "Why am I surprised? Oh do you think I'm that scary to keep the creepy ladies away? I hope I don't look that terrible." She joked, using her hand closest to him to flip her hair so that it settled on her back. Stephanie wasn't one to be cocky about how she looked, but recently she was becoming happier with how she looked.
"Are you offering to buy me food and a drink? Only if I can buy yours then." She picked up the menu, which the bartender set in front of her as soon as she joined him. The woman flipped to the vegetarian page, happy that they seemed to have more options this time. "What did you end up ordering? I'm debating between the Moroccan tofu bowl or the BBQ tofu sandwich with sweet potato fries." She was trying to be better about what she ate and when she ate. Setting herself timers on when to stop for lunch during her days at the barn. The bartender approached her again, asking her for her drink order. She ordered a water and a glass of white wine. When the bartender left to fill her order, she turned to her friend. "You look exhausted. Work busting your butt again?" Stephanie really wanted to ask about his love life, but it seemed too soon of a topic.
Stephanie really didn't know what she was getting herself into. Luna Lounge really wasn't anywhere she tended to spend her evenings, though Tiffany had practically begged her to come along. Something about a Halloween themed show being put on by the employees. She knew she needed a night out, so she ended up agreeing.
It was the night of the party and Stephanie had finished up work at the barn. She already had started her invoices for her students, shutting the laptop down for the day. The brunette got up from the chair and headed to the tack room. She had her outfit for the evening inside her locker, taking the garment bag out before heading to the washroom to change and get ready. It didn't take her long to get changed and put makeup on before she was in her car - on her way to meet Tiffany.
About twenty minutes later, she parked her car and got out, picking up her clutch purse and locking the car behind her. She could see Tiffany by the front door. "You really owe me one. Do you have any idea what we are getting into?" About a week ago, she had no idea she would be finding herself at an adult only Halloween party. As the two entered the building, her eyes glanced around at the decorations. It had seemed they had gone all out. It wasn't long before the two approached a man, who also seemed to be wearing all black. "Sorry, I don't know who Maelle is. I'm just here because Tiffany decided to invite me. Can you also explain to us what we are in for tonight?" She knew it wasn't going to be some kids magic show, but that was a little to vague of an idea for her to have.
The woman could hear shuffling coming from where Gideon was standing. She knew he must be doing something with the jumps, so she continued working the dark bay mare. After gathering up the reins she changed direction across the diagonal of the arena. “Oh goodness, I had no idea. Honestly, no pressure. I just like to have someone on the ground when I jump.” There were some riders who jumped on their own, but Steph was always keen to learn from other show jumpers. When she was younger, she attended all the local clinics she could. “I was a new teacher here once too, just trust your coaching gut. We’ve all got it.” Steph didn’t know him well enough, but if Naomi hired him - he must be truly good at what he did. She was one of her good friends and she knew how picky the owner of Blue Acres could be.
“Isn’t Ireland just as cold? I apologize if I’m wrong, I’ve only been there twice for competitions.” Her previous Boss tended to ship his horses around the world, which meant she and the rest of his staff came along. She remembered Ireland was just as rainy and cold as England. “I moved from Florida almost six years ago now. It’s been a whirlwind but, I do enjoy it here. The students are good too.” Like anywhere though, there were grumpy and cranky people to deal with, but Stephanie tended to focus on the positive. She nodded and loosened her grip from the reins, letting them slide through her fingers until she had a loose rein once again. The brunette used her calves to nudge the mare into the trot. May let out a snort and picked up the trot, glad to be going faster than a boring walk. “That’s always a fun adventure. Did he know how to jump before you got him?”
Stephanie needed a night to herself. Show season was coming to a close after a successful yet busy summer. Her dating life was now non existent, having her boyfriend break up with her due to their busy schedules. She had a serious discussion with Aurora and Cassie at the barn one day afterwards which helped at first but she still felt crappy about it.
As it was Jazz night at the Lounge, Stephanie wanted to treat herself to a dinner out and a drink. She had a good day at work, coaching lessons and having time to ride her three horses in between. Thoughts of Bradley came flooding in, wondering how his love life was going. Recently, she had started thinking about him in a different light - but Steph knew she still had to get over the breakup. She walked into the Lounge, the heels of her boots clicked along the tile flooring - her brown eyes glancing around to see if she knew anyone. Eyes landed on Bradley, a soft smile gracing her face as she approached him.
"Hey, mind if I join you tonight? It's been a long day as usual and I'd like the company." She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder as she stood behind him. The jazz music lightly in the background as she waited for his answer. "Are you waiting for someone though? I don't want to step on any toes if you have a date or something."
"Yeah, a stationary bike class. It's cardio and weights all in one class." And the teachers all had different music styles, so there was a class for everyone. Morgan's 6 AM class always fit her schedule, so she tried to attend at least once a week. "Call me crazy, but I do get up at 5:00 to go to a specific teacher's class." That was nothing compared to how early she got up for horse shows, especially if she was braiding for her clients. "Do you enjoy fitness classes or do stuff on your own?"
Stephanie noticed her drink was getting empty as she took another sip. "That does make sense, have you ever lived in a house you've renovated?" She had only ever done so when the landlord was putting in a new stove, though that really didn't take them too long. "I feel that's the way with a lot of people. My parents haven't moved here yet, but they keep threatening to." That and they wanted to visit Bradley - she swore they wanted to adopt him ever since they met. "That's the last thing people want to hear. It might sound better if you faked the accent though."
It felt good to see Tiffany again - adding another friend to her group. She knew the other woman didn't ride, but she was trying harder to get a life outside of the barn. "We can both eat them, they are milk chocolate. Knowing your brother he has something else to eat.' She was in such a hurry at the store that she forgot about Bradley's disgust for milk chocolate.
She unzipped her vest and hung it on the back of one of the chairs in the kitchen. The woman raised her eyebrow before speaking. "I hope no one wants to murder you. I'd like to keep you around, though I'm sure Tiff has something different to say." Steph couldn't imagine what working at the airport was like during the holidays. People wanted to travel and Christmas made those people go crazy. The woman turned her head to Tiff now, giving her a nod. "Oh, that does sound fun though. Anything really crazy happen though? Anyone jump off a building?" It was a bit morbid, but she always enjoyed hearing the hospital adventures.
"Wait, what happened?" It sounded like Bradley had quiet the adventure and she was curious to hear what he had to say. "Well, it depends on the group honestly. I feel like my school age students are getting to the end of their nerves with school, so they are definitely trying to press my buttons. My non student students seem to be enjoying them. Though ask them come no jumping January. No one likes that but it's for their own good."
Stephanie nodded, those all sounded like things she enjoyed doing too - though on her own terms. "Wow, you do way more than I do. Though honestly, with the work I do with my three horses I really only attend Spin Class when I can. Is it something you've tried?" She tried to attend twice a week, though six AM was a bit early for her. It was nice being part of the regular group though.
"Nice, did you design the house you live in now?" Stephanie often wondered what it would be like to build her own house from scratch. She was honestly used to living out of a hotel room - so she really didn't have a choice about what her living situation was like. Though honestly, she really only had the hotel room to sleep and get ready.
She raised her eyebrow as she caught the quieter comment. "Do you not get along with them?" Stephanie hoped it wasn't too much of a personal question - they barely knew each other after all. Though what better way to get to know someone anyway. "Are you serious? I think faking it would be worse. I always shudder when I hear a fake one. It's not as easy on the ears." She grinned, remembering that one of the announcers at a smaller show she used to compete at tried to do.
"I do think so too, and my three horses have seemed to settle in as well. It's like they know this is horse country."
Stephanie took a moment to glance at the decorations already outside the house, she expected nothing less than the extravagant lights. It reminded her of her younger days, lucky to be in Florida for the Holidays even with the WEF horse show. She always made time to come see her family and friends. It wasn't long before the door opened and a much older Tiffany than she remembered appeared behind the door.
"Tiff?! It's so great to see you. Yes! I didn't know what else to bring, I figured everyone but Bradley would eat the brownies." She carefully handed the tray over to the other brunette, shocked at how long it had been since the two women had seen each other. Stephanie entered the home, smelling the scent of food cooking away. She unlaced her boots and stepped out of them - making sure they were off to the side in case anyone else had been invited. Stephanie placed her bag and vest by her shoes, now ready for the hug.
She laughed at Bradley's comment. "No one is going to be murdered today, I promise. It's just harmless decorating." Stephanie loved Christmas, it meant a lot to her as a child - like many others. "How are you both doing? Holidays keeping you busy at work?" She was lucky in the fact that the Winter was when she was the least busy, though her clients were enjoying the flat work bootcamp she was putting them through.
"That's what fitness classes are for though. Do you attend any? Or are you more of a gym person with no instructors?" Stephanie tried her best to attend a yoga class once a week now, realizing she didn't really have a life outside of the barn. She took another bite of oatmeal and nodded. "That must be fun and a lot of hard work. How long have you been doing it for with your sister?" Stephanie was lucky and rented a flat, meaning the landlord was in charge of any repairs that were needed - meaning she didn't need to worry about hurting herself with a hammer. She knew she wasn't creative enough to do any DIY projects herself. "The nice thing is that you aren't to far from the rest of your family. Most people I've met who have moved here say it's because they needed a change. Maybe it's a good spot for new beginnings?"
Or were people just saying that? Stephanie didn't think she would ever find out. It was the excuse she gave, a simple internet search of her name would let people know what happened with her previous employer. "So I'll never have a true British accent? Darn, that's why I moved here.' She laughed, taking a sip of her iced coffee. Her accent didn't really bother her, unless she was self conscious about it. "We competed together when we were younger so I feel like she has known me forever. I'd be stuck with the job from hell if she hadn't pulled me out." Actually, she would be jobless as Kent closed down his barn after the drug scandal was made public.
Stephanie unrolled her stirrups on either side after tightening the girth. She quickly wiped her boots against the mounting block and brought her left foot into the left stirrup, swinging her right leg up and over the dark colored mare. She picked up her reins and nudged the mare - asking for a walk.
"Have you had a chance to teach anyone else yet or am I the first one?" She smiled, remembering when she first arrived at Blue Acres. Stephanie was thankful that she knew Naomi from back in the day. The woman focused on riding now - sinking down into her heels as she allowed the mare to warm up underneath her. "Well I hope it grows on you here. I finally feel like this is home though." She was secretly glad that she wasn't the newbie any longer at Blue Acres. It was nice finally feeling settled in. "Yes, a lot of students are starting to take more lessons from me. With competitions just around the corner, it's time to get my three horses in the right mindset." She didn't want to admit that she had troubles wanting to jump - though with the help of other instructors she got her mojo back.
"Let's give you the full teaching experience. Go ahead and lead us through a warmup. This is May by the way, figured I didn't want to give myself a too difficult time." She shrugged her shoulders, using her reins to steer the mare off of the wall, working on keeping the mare straight even when they weren't on the wall. "You own Dragon correct? Have you had him long?"
Stephanie's show jumping crisis seemed to have left - thanks to other instructors giving her lessons away from jumping. It was time for her to get her horses back into it though. She recently asked Gideon if he could give her a lesson, finally feeling ready.
She found herself grooming May, the more trustworthy of her three horses. "Alright May, we are actually going to jump today." She sighed, resting her head against the dark bay mare's shoulder. The woman knew her love for show jumping would spark again eventually and today was going to be the day. The brunette finished brushing the mare, picking out all four hooves with a hoof pick. She swept her cross tie with the broom and shovel - throwing it gently in the nearest muck bucket. The show jumping tack followed shortly after, Stephanie deciding on a plain black saddle pad and matching overreach boots.
Stephanie walked over to her locker in the tack room, putting her hair in a ponytail and placing her black helmet on her head, doing up the chinstrap before sliding her feet into a pair of tall boots. She zipped them up, picked up her figure eight bridle and headed back to the main barn area. Quickly switching the halter for the bridle, she slid the metal bit into the mare's mouth and adjusted the straps - making sure it was on correctly before leading the mare towards the indoor arena.
She lifted her gloved hand, knocking gently at the arena door before opening it. The woman opened the door and led the mare inside, heading over to the mounting block. "Morning, Gideon. Thank you for fitting me in for a lesson this morning." She started tightening the girth as she spoke. "How have you been? Getting your students ready for another season of competing?"