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!.
"Yeah, I mean we met last night when he came in. I didn't realize he was yours until just now." She smiled. ”Oh you were still here? I didn’t see you, probably too busy fussing over him.” She had been keen to get the horse settled in after the long drive. "How long did it take you to convince your parents you needed a new horse?" She let out a laugh and shook her head. ”Well they actually don’t know about him yet” She grinned. She was hoping her parents would be okay with it. She’d convinced herself they would be anyway. "Long night with the boyfriend or something?" She snorted and shook her head. ”No I was here getting Kenzo settled. .besides I don’t have a boyfriend.” She half smirked. She had thought her fling with Porter was over until he decided to follow her home to England.
"I'll get Bonzai ready once you get on. I wasn't sure who you wanted to lesson with." She moved over to the bay’s head and stroked his soft muzzle. ”I’m not riding Kenzo today, I’m going to let him settle in properly for a few days first.” She said, assuming his stable was now ready for him. "My morning? It's alright, glad I could ride Captian at least before my shift started. Hoping to ride another one during lunch and then save one for afterwards. If I had to admit, I'm also tired." She grabbed a comb from the grooming kit and got to work on the horse’s mane. ”Busy day” She noted with a grin. ”I can take over here if you want to take a power nap.” She offered.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
Riley moved the brush back and forth across the bay’s well-conditioned body, taking her time as she continue to build on the bond she had made with the stallion she’d fallen in love with whilst back in Germany. She glanced towards Kenzo’s face and pressed her lips into a smile when she saw that his eyes were half closed and his bottom lip limp. The horse was clearly enjoying every moment. ”Ay sleepy, don’t be nodding off.” She said, reaching a hand up to scratch the top of his neck.
She dumped her grooming kit back in the box and placed it outside the stable before grabbing the horse’s tack. She’d turned up just as one of the stablehands – Ty, was about to take the horse to be groomed but she’d asked to do it herself. She liked to spend the quality time with her horses when she wasn’t pushed for time. Riley spent a few minutes tacking up the stallion, double checking everything was sitting comfortably before grabbing her hat from the railing outside and slipping it onto her head. ”Come on then.” She smiled, leading the horse out of the stable and towards the exit.
The sound of approaching hooves made her pause and back up a step when the source of the noise almost collided into her. "Hey! Why don't you watch-" She steadied Kenzo as he backed up another couple of steps then looked back to the girl and her horse, lifting a brow at the girl’s outburst. She had been the one at fault. ”You! Why are you flirting with Ty Webber?!" She took a quick glance behind her, checking to make sure the petite girl was actually talking to her. ”The hell is Ty Webber?” She said, more to herself as she turned her attention back to Harlow. ”The stablehand?” She asked with a surprised laugh. ”If asking him not to groom my horse is flirting, then sue me.” She said, shrugging her shoulders.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
Riley stifled a yawn as she ran a hand through her morning bed head that she'd just about managed to rag a brush through before racing out of the door, entirely too excited to contemplate even wasting time on grabbing breakfast when she could eat later. The horse she had fallen in love with in Germany had finally arrived to the family barn the previous evening – which wasn’t ideal but seven oaks didn’t have the room for him to stable alongside Nova. She’d just have to split her time between the two barns for the time being until she figured out a better solution. She had moved Nova to SOS a few months before the pair took off on the show circuit, wanting to distance herself from her parents after a falling out. Now things had settled maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to move back to the family barn permanently. .especially since a certain groom had acquired a job there.
She flirted with the speed limits of the road as she made the short drive to the barn, eager to get there to check Kenzo had a good first night and to possibly intercept her parents as she hadn’t told them about her new conquest yet. Her parents had already left for home when he’d turned up and it wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have right before crawling into bed. Riley parked the car and jumped out before walking quickly to the barn. She had a few hours before daddy dearest was turning up for her lesson on one of the barn horses – Nova was still having a well-deserved break but her father still wanted to see what her years away had taught her.
Riley headed inside to get Kenzo’s halter. A stable hadn’t been ready as his arrival was unexpectedly pushed forward so she’d had no choice but to turn him out into one of the smaller paddocks for the night – hoping he wouldn’t do something stupid. As she walked passed the cross ties, the sight of her horse made her pause, giving her time to recognise the groom who turned his head in her direction. She’d met him a number of times during the few weeks she had been back at the barn – mostly to bug Porter at work and to occasionally help exercise some of the horses. ”Hey Ty, I see you’ve met Kenzo.” She greeted. "Good morning Riley. It seems I'm your groom for the day. How are you this morning?" She walked towards the pair with a smile. ”Tired as usual, how’s your morning going? Sweet I’m riding Bonzai today. .I think he may have been in the field next door.” She said, recalling a glimpse of a similar bay in the scarce lighting in the adjacent paddock. Now that she thought about it, the two horses did look surprisingly alike.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
A huge smile spread across her face as she took in the house when it came into view. God she’d missed this place. Training all over Europe had been a dream but she was definitely a homebody. She’d missed her crazy family and her hoard of nephews. Jake and Carly had clearly been busy. After everything kicked off with Ben, she’d spent the first few months away from home barely talking to her parents while she processed the news of her oldest brother’s adoption. She was pissed they hadn’t been told. She’d still kept in touch with her brothers, mainly over whatsapp and only warmed back up to her parents when she’d visited briefly for Christmas and a handful of times throughout the year. Her second year away left no time for visits home and video calls became sporadic as her schedule was constantly full from training or shows. When she finally did land in one place to train at a yard in Germany with a respectable show jumper, she found her free time taken up by a certain stable hand which made it feel like she hadn’t seen her family in forever.
As the car pulled to a stop outside the house, Riley laughed at the sight of her dad running out of the house to greet them then swatted her hand at the finger that so rudely poked her in the back of the head. "oh look, here he comes to greet his favourite child." She glanced her Jake with a smirk ”I’m the youngest and the only girl, of course I’m the favourite.” She teased. "Come on, one out all out of the taxi - and don't forget to tip the driver.” She looked at Ben after getting out of the car with a grin. ”5 stars on uber coming your way.” While Ben did the chivalrous thing and grabbed her bags from the boot, she moved towards her father’s outstretched arms and enveloped him in a hug. "How is my favorite daughter?! Oh, and my two sons that I saw a mere few hours ago.” She snorted at the last part and pulled away. ”Tired but happy to be home, I think and your sons are annoying as usual so nothing’s changed there.” She said then walked over to Marie.
”Hi mum” She wrapped her arms around the woman, pulling her into a hug before looking over to Ben being a drama queen. "About to snap my legs, Riley clearly packed the bricks as well as the kitchen sink to bring home." She rolled her eyes and smiled sweetly at him. ”Europe has some of the best shopping. . You really thought I wouldn’t be adding extra luggage for the ride home?” She questioned. "maddie, this is your aunty riley. riley, this is your favourite niece, maddie. i'm sure your nephews are inside destroying the house just for you." Riley turned to smile at the little girl in her brothers arms and gave her a little wave. ”Hi Maddie, I’ve heard so much about you. . ha. . as long as they’re not in my bedroom. . how are the little rascals?”
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
She smirked again when her former bed buddy took the brush from her, teasingly brushing his fingers against hers as he did making her body involuntary shiver, traitor. "what did she do to you beautiful." Riley took a step back and half snorted, half scoffed at his words. ”Hey she’s been rolling in the field, I did nothing.” She smiled back, defending herself against his teasing. She watched Porter run the brush back and forth to remove the dirt from the mares sleek neck whilst having flashbacks to their time in Germany when similar encounters had started innocent but ended up with the both rolling round in the hay loft. "i think she needs to keep that beautiful ass in the saddle where it belongs and keep her hands off the brushes." She snorted a laugh and folded her arms across her chest. ”Well wasn’t that a backhanded compliment.” She smirked. ”What brings you overseas?” She asked, moving to Nova’s head to give her muzzle a scratch.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
"Then I think you are in the right spot, this should be pretty similar to your usual class." Riley glanced around the room wondering how being on a bike was similar to her usual class but she smiled anyway, assuming the girl meant the cardio aspect of things. "Alright, let's go over the hand positions. So, if you put your hands on the part of the handlebars closest to your legs with your knuckles facing forward, this is position number one." She listened to Morgan’s directions and moved her hands into the position shown, ready to begin. "I'd like to give a warm welcome to our newest rider, Riley. Let's not scare her off.." Her eyes glanced up as she was introduced to the class and she gave a small smile as she glanced around the room at the other riders before looking back to Morgan to start the class.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
"I can understand that, I'm sure you have made your own mark on the world." She grinned a little and nodded towards Nova. ”I like to think I’ve started to, with the help of this pretty lady.” She said, giving the mare a solid pat on the neck. "I like the idea, I can be that way sometimes, but get stuck in my dressage mind set in the school." She nodded in understanding and smiled. ”Well if you ever fancy a play around over some jumps let me know.” She offered. "It is a beautiful part of the country, very quiet though, here feels busy." She was surprised at that. She’d always thought Hickstead was quiet compared to Willow Bridge but she guessed coming from an even smaller town, Hickstead could be perceived as busy. "It's equally beautiful here though," Riley smiled again and nodded in agreement. ”Yeah it is. . I’ve missed it.”
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
Riley let out a sharp whistle as she leant against the paddock fence, a large grin spreading across her face when the chestnut mare let out a shrill whinny in response as she cantered over. ”Hey pretty lady” She reached over and rubbed Nova in between the eyes before clipping on the lead rope and opening the gate. The pair headed back towards the barn, briefly stopping so Nova could have a flirt with the stallions in their paddock. When they reached the stable, Riley tied the horse up outside, making sure she had access to her haynet before grabbing the grooming kit from her storage box. She cleaned each of Nova’s hooves thoroughly then picked up a brush, moving onto her body, cleaning away all of the dirt and grease the mare had acquired in the field. "you call that well groomed? i call that a horrible attempt at a hack job. how about you let an expert try." She heard footsteps behind her but ignored them until a voice made her jump. A small smirk turned the corner of her lips upwards as she turned around, hiding her surprise. ”Have at it.” She said, offering the brush out to him.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
"Well, I do hope you enjoy the class! We pedal to the beat of the music and I go through the different moves before we start." She placed her feet in the pedals and rested her hands on the handles, waiting to start. "Okay sounds fun." She smiled. "What class do you usually attend?" She took a quick sip of her water while Morgan sorted out her bike. "Uh just the body pump. . a mix of cardio and weights." She answered with a small smile. "Good Morning everyone, welcome to the six AM spin class. Just start warming up your legs by pedaling and I'll get some music started here shortly." Riley began pedalling when Morgan did, taking a quick glance around to make sure everyone else was doing the same.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
"I'm sorry, maybe I have spoken out of turn," Riley's eyebrows rose slightly as she shook her head with a small smile. "Don't be daft, i've been thinking about it for a while, even before I got back home. . I've enjoyed doing my own thing out of the shadows of my brothers and I'm keen to continue. ." Before she had left she had trained at the family's own stables with her dad as her coach but boarded her horse at seven oaks to get some space. She loved her parents but living at home and having her father as a coach was enough, spending all day every day with them at their barn would be too much.
"I would like that, if you in turn will give me courage for jumping." She gave the girl a wide grin as she nodded enthusiastically. "Oh definitely! I have a do first, think later approach so by the time i'm scared of the jump, i've already gone over it." She liked to thank her ADHD for that one. Her impulsive issues came in handy at times. Until she decided to go big or go home - usually ending up injuring herself. "I am from Tuscany, in Italy. Are you from here?" Riley smiled, already jealous of the girl for growing up somewhere else. "Ah it looks so beautiful there! Yep, born and raised."
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
"You should absolutely come to take a look. I am sure they will only improve upon the place with rebuilding but the facilities were top of the range, and the people are nice." She gave an enthusiastic nod as she smiled. ”Don’t tell my family but as much as I love it here, I may just be tempted by the new facilities.” It had been on her mind since coming home. She loved Seven Oaks but she’d trained at some brilliant facilities whilst she’d been away and was keen to continue that. Plus it may give her an edge against her brothers. "I have not yet competed since arriving here, but I plan to. I specialise in dressage. What about you?" She refrained from pulling a face at the mention of dressage. She didn’t hate the discipline but it was her least favourite out of the three. ”I’m an eventer. . maybe you can give me some pointers on how to stay focused in dressage, my mind always wanders” She loved the fast pace of show jumping and cross country. She enjoyed dressage to a point but she found it boring. ”Where are you from originally?” She asked, picking up on the earlier part of her sentence and her accent.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
Nice to meet you."”And you” She said with a smile. Riley lowered one knee to the floor and planted the opposite foot forward, pushing her hips forward slightly in order to warm them up. The right side of her groin had been twinging lately so she made sure to spend a few extra minutes in the stretch once she’d swapped over. "So, what makes you want to try Spin and especially this early in the morning?" She looked up at the woman with a slightly sheepish smile. ”Ah well. . my usual class was cancelled and I didn’t want a wasted journey so I thought I’d give this a try.” She stood back up and did a few arm circles, warming up her shoulders before moving on to air squats to get the blood pumping in her legs. We will get started with class in a few minutes. Everyone take the time to stretch a bit longer before we get on the bikes." She gave a small nod, moving back to the bike after she had finished stretching and climbed on, ready to start.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
"violence! mother dearest would not approve. Yeah, and you'd know all about that," Riley bit back a smirk as the two continued to banter back and forth. she drinks coffee .. i have a thousand children. coffee doesn't work on me anymore. soda works much better." She snorted and turned to look at Jake. ”You need a straight shot of adrenaline to the heart with all of your rapscallions.” She joked. She was excited to see her niece and nephews but hopefully after they were worn out. "Dude will you quit being an ass. Sit back properly before you go through the windscreen?" She finished off her coffee while Ben chastised their brother for sitting like a child, knowing full well he probably wouldn’t listen. "if anything's going to take me off of this earth, it's going to be carly. i don't think a car would dare take that honour away from her. No but I can give it a good shot. It'll hurt at least." She grinned ”oh the honours all hers, ben can start it off for her and I’ll just help hide the body.” She teased. As they drove down the road towards their house, she turned her head to look out of the window to take in the familiar scenery, excitement bubbling in her stomach as the car pulled into their driveway.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
I do not suck, I just don't put up with your bull Why? What're you angling for? I'm not babysitting your crotch goblins. . theres too many they'll gang up on me.
thanks aofie!
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider