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!.
Tenaya took a deep breath. She kept reminding herself she did a great job at work. The blonde tucked a piece of hair behind her ear - thoughts of losing her job came rushing in. To be truthful, Tenaya didn't expect the Ranch to sell - though the previous owner seemed distant lately.
She took a deep breath as Kegan approached. "Good afternoon, Kegan." The other woman's smile did bring her some comfort, offering the red head a smile in return. "I just thought it would be somewhere different. We spend too much time there for work." It was her goal at least twice a week to leave the Ranch during her time off - and running errands at the feed store didn't count. Even if it was a simple drive to the tack store to chat with Kayleigh and check out the newest Western fashion.
"I'm feeling...alright. It's nice to put a name to a face and that you are willing to meet with us all individually." Her mind wandered to Sam - wondering how on Earth his chat with Kegan went - the poor guy must have been scared. "A little shocked because of the sale, but I think I can say all the employees feel that way." She disliked speaking for others, though it was the general feeling around the Ranch. "I feel it’s been tough. But I’m trying to stay positive and keep pushing forward. There are some rough patches, but I know things will get better eventually." It was the same with change - it'll be normal eventually.
Tenaya took a sip of her latte before setting it down. "I'm assuming you have big plans for the Ranch in the next little bit?"
Tenaya awkwardly gave Sam a glance. She could see he wasn't in a great mood either. Clearly, the two of them had a bad feeling about the Ranch being for sale. The blonde glanced at Violet now, listening as the two of them talked back and forth for a few moments.
"You usually don't look like you've been hit by a truck. Happy is probably the wrong emotion, but you know." The woman shrugged her shoulders - there had to be someone who was going to see the positive in all this. "You fell off too? What happened?" Tenaya raised her eyebrow - it seemed as if Violet was okay but she knew people were good at hiding their injuries.
Tenaya glanced over at Sam again, offering him a smile this time. She offered a hello before turning her head back. "I'm alright, trying to stay positive about the whole thing. I did hear a stable hand say that they already had someone in mind to buy it. They saw a woman go into the office with a relator." It was something she didn't have much control over.
Tenaya laughed softly, it was true that she spent too much time at the Ranch. The blonde knew it was her own fault - working way later than she should and barely taking a day off. "Yeah, they allowed me to leave the high security prison!" The woman smiled at her own joke. It was still odd having a new owner, though she was much more on top of everything - which Tenaya appreciated - though that meant having actual days off.
"What are you harvesting now? Once it's apple season, I'll have to come for a harvest day. Coltrane loved the apples from last Fall." She always got herself some too - it made for a quick snack between horses during her farrier work. Though the cafeteria kept her full enough to get through her work day.
Tenaya used her arms to get out of the pool and sat next to Rosin, leaving her feet in the water to keep herself cool. "Yikes, well there is a calendar on your phone to juggle it all. What classes are you taking?" She often reminisced about her College days, though she was one of the only females - though that did mean that there was less drama.
"Oh you know, just the usual work. Lots of horses needing all four shoes put on due to competing in rodeos and such. Though pretty soon most of them will be down to just the fronts so I'll be busy again here soon." She still needed to trim the back feet - but it was the shoes that took the most time.
Tenaya nodded - she would want to check on Coltrane before she went to bed too. The roan gelding was doing great, though it was habit for the blonde to check on him and give him a treat before bed. "That's fine, we can do that." She smiled - the cows always fascinated her.
The blonde moved up in line, listening to Sam as she did so. "Ah dang. Does that mean I can't have any coconut cream pie?" She joked, reading the menu board which was in front of her. There seemed to be a variety of options - though Tenaya would choose something that wasn't messy.
As they approached the front of the line, Tenaya handed Sam a tray of his own. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I have thermals on underneath." Tenaya was always cold, though she assumed that most women were that way. "You have built a bonfire before, right?" If not, she had done a few herself. In that moment, she silently thanked her grandfather who had taught her camping skills. She picked up a small salad bowl, quickly talking to the employee in charge of the salad bar about what she wanted with her greens.
When Sam talked, she turned to face him, letting out an auditable sigh. "It was exhausting. I didn't think that many horses were going. 14 horses...14!" She was glad they all had their hooves trimmed and new shoes - though they would all be due in six to eight weeks again. "And that was on top of the regular horses plus my work at the Sales Yard." Plus riding Coltrane and attending her lessons - it was all a balancing act on her part.
The woman retrieved her salad and moved down to the main course area. "Wait, for sale? Where did you hear that?" It came as a shock to her - thinking that she better do some digging on the subject.
Tenaya had received a text from Kegan, asking to meet her at the local Starbucks. It seemed so far as if the new owner was more hands on compared to the previous one. She usually checked in to see that everyone was actually doing their work. Thankfully to Tenaya, all the horses were shod on time and she threw herself into helping pick up the slack.
The blonde had finished helping turn the horses out before heading to her truck. She checked the time, wanting to make sure she was going to be early for her meeting. On the drive there, she wondered what the main topic of their conversation would be. It didn't exactly sound like a meeting to catch up though, making her worried. The woman pulled her truck into a free parking spot and headed inside, her keys jingling in her hand as almost to serve as a distraction. She waited in line, needing to read the menu board to see what she wanted.
It wasn't long before she was at the start of the line, ordering herself a pistachio latte and an almond croissant - something she hadn't had before. Getting coffee out was something that she considered a treat. Once she paid for her order and grabbed her coffee and snack, she surveyed the shop - quickly heading towards an empty table for two. She set her coffee down before taking a seat - facing the front door so she was able to see when Kegan arrived.
Tenaya wasn't expecting to run into anyone she knew. She tended to be too much of a workaholic to make friends outside of the people she worked with. The woman continued into the water, stopping as the water hit about knee height.
She heard her name called by a familiar voice, which made her turn around. Placing her hand on her forehead to shield the sun from her eyes, she recognized it as Roisin. "Hey! Long time no see. I ended up finishing my ranch work earlier than I thought today so I thought I should show myself in public for once." She began heading towards the other woman, stopping as she reached the edge of the pool again.
"What did you say to your family to get out of working today? Or is it because you start school again soon?" She didn't know the Malloy family well enough, though they all seemed nice. Tenaya tended to buy her share of apples and carrots for the ranch horses, but mostly for her own. "How have you been?" Of course she started a conversation about work first, it was something the woman needed to work on when it came to talking to people in town.
Tenaya had a lot on her mind recently. It seemed as if the Ranch was for sale and like all the other employees - she was worried about the future. The blonde kept herself busy, currently leading Coltrane back to the barn after a session in the round pen. She was too tired to actually get on and ride, knowing the gelding would have more than enough of a workout in the round pen.
She led the gelding back to the cross ties, giving him a good grooming session before putting him back out with the other geldings. With the quick check of her watch, she realized she had time for a snack. The blonde stopped quickly at the food hall, getting herself a glass of lemon iced tea and a slice of pound cake, wondering who else was sulking about after the news broke. Deciding to head to the new building, she took a sip of her drink before spotting Violet in the distance. The blonde waved as she approached her coworker.
"You look like you need some company. Mind if I join you?" She stood in front of the steps, waiting for an invitation to take a seat next to her. "Are you going to be alright? You don't look like you usually do." Tenaya had a feeling what the sadness was about, but she wanted to make sure they were on the same page.
She didn't know what Sam was going to wear to their hangout. It was still Winter time, which meant neither of them would be wearing t-shirts and shorts. The blonde took a moment to glance at his outfit, smiling back at him as he greeted her in return. "We can check on them when we are done with the bonfire if you are worried about them." The cloven hooved animals would be a welcoming distraction in case it got super awkward for either of them.
"I think I should be thanking you for hanging out with me! Should we go grab some food from the buffet and find a table?" She realized she was still wearing her beanie, though she didn't really want to risk having hat hair. Tenaya glanced around the food hall, seeing that there were a few two person tables available for them to sit down on. "How was your work day today? I honestly can't believe how fast the two weeks have flown by." She had to start the conversation somewhere, starting to head towards the lineup. Tenaya hoped that Violet wasn't around - she'd be spying on them having dinner together and that was the last thing she wanted.
Tenaya let out a noticeable yawn, her long day of doing farrier work was finally coming to a close. There was only a few more local indoor rodeos before things started to speed up for the Ranch, though there was always work to do. Once the stable hand she was working with took her last freshly shod horse away, she started cleaning up her area - starting with sweeping the hoof clippings and dust into a pile. She then used the shovel as a dust pan and dumped the contents into a nearby muck bucket.
The blonde wiped her brow, wondering how much time she had until she had to get ready. Sam had agreed to have dinner with her before they had a bonfire and s'mores. She let out a sigh and hurried herself - always wanting to leave her area neat and tidy for the next day. Once her chores were all done, she headed to her room. After a quick shower, Tenaya got herself dressed, hoping she would be warm enough to be outside. Violet had convinced her to put some makeup on, so she did - something natural looking with a pink lip.
She checked herself in the mirror one last time before she slid her feet into her boots and headed to the dining hall. The familiar face of Sam came into view as she approached him. "Hello, Sam. I jokingly thought you were going to bail on me tonight. How are the calves doing?"
No, it's not work related. We are just having a bonfire and smores after dinner on Saturday. You'll be proud of me for asking if he'd like to join me for dinner too
It felt odd for Tenaya to be away from the Ranch. She decided to take her afternoon off and head to the outdoor pool. The woman packed a bag with a towel, coverup, water bottle and a snack - heading into the pool area. She paid for her entrance and headed into the change room - changing into her light blue swim suit and locked up her bag with her clothes and shoes in a free locker. The woman took a deep breath and headed to the pool deck. She set her bag down and pulled out her water bottle, taking a sip before setting it down next to a free deck chair.
She brought out her towel and laid it across the back before heading into the pool, dipping her toes in first to test the temperature. It seemed like there were a lot of people at the pool - enjoying the last few days of summer. After a few moments, she kept going in - the nice cool water feeling nice after a hard morning of helping with barn chores.
As soon as Tenaya had heard about the fundraiser, she knew she had to help out. She didn't quite know anyone that rode at the barn that had burned down, but that didn't mean she didn't want to help out.
She headed down to the area with the tents and began browsing what was available for her to do. She figured that she would start with something to drink. The blonde stood in like at the bar tent and waited her turn.
"Yes, Hi. Can I get the cranberry margarita please?" She said once it was her turn. Tenaya pulled out her wallet and paid for her drink before she continued on.
As she didn't have children, she just glanced past the faceprinting tent and the pony rides. She had read a sign saying that there would be a riding show though and headed off to go find the riding arena.
