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!.
she'd barely had a chance to look around the car park for her brother when she felt arms wrap around her. a grin made it's way onto her face as she hugged her brother back tightly, laughing softly when her feet left the ground in the moment. "Benny!" she smiled when he inspected her in his usual way "I haven't grown a third eye if that's what you're worried about". she let him take the bag as she moved toward the passenger door. "same as usual. . cold and boring with overpriced snacks". she ditched her backpack into the foot well as she sat down in the front seat - eyeing the coffee in the cup holder enviously. "can we please stop for coffee? I feel like i've been awake forever". dramatic but she always was when she was tired. she'd only been awake for six hours but had slept for three at most the night before.
her original plan was to come straight home from the final destination along with her horse but her coach had convinced her it would be good to get some r & r and she had agreed as it wasn't a terrible idea - so she sent Nova home with her coach along with a charming threat to get the mare home safely in one piece. Riley had spent some time exploring more of Germany before flying over to tenerife for a week of much needed sunshine. she looked out of the window and rolled her eyes at the grim weather "always a downer when you come home to weather like this. ." she huffed and looked over at Ben "so how's my favourite brother?" she called them both her favourite to their face because honestly, who could choose between them. "catch me up on the goss." she figured she was up to date on most things in her family life but she was a sucker for small town gossip.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
NICKNAMES: riles, ryan, ry ry GENDER: female AGE: twenty D.O.B: 28th october SEXUALITY: bi-sexual - in closet RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single HOMETOWN: hickstead HAIR: shoulder lenght, wavy, brunette/copper EYES: brown HEIGHT: 5ft 8 PLAY-BY: shelley hennig
PERSONALITY/LIKES/DISLIKES
much like her brother, riley is extremely confident and cocky but lacks the arrogance her brother charms everyone with. she's always been a pretty loud and talkative person partly because of her adhd and partly because she always wanted to be as loud as jake. she is an over-achiever and extremely competitive, always pushing herself to be the best which is hard when you come from a family of winners. she can be pretty impulsive when it comes to decision making, to impatient to take the time to think things through properly. throughout her teenage years she could be quite forgetful and easily distracted due to her over-active mind, although they aren't as bad now she's on meds. she is a very outspoken, feisty and hot headed person if you get on the wrong side of her or her family/friends. she's a stubborn but hard working/determined perfectionist that will often put a lot of pressure on herself, leading to riley becoming overwhelmed by her anxiety/insecurities which then causes her sensitive side to show.
LIKES: riding partying family nights travelling chocolate sunsets judo oreos beaches surfing annoying her brothers her nephews and niece dogs coffee DISLIKES: dickheads people - especially her family lying to her hospitals yogurt bananas spiders fish needles kiwi - allergic her anxiety & ED pressure even though she works very well under it STRENGTHS: brilliant rider eventing - particularly excels at cross country pretty athletic FEARS: her brother getting sick again her ED relapsing so badly she ends up in hospital again not being able to ride SECRETS: her eating disorder relapsed when she was away travelling
LIFESTYLE
STATUS IN SOCIETY: upper class OCCUPATION: professional rider WEALTH: well off TATTOOS: has this on her right inside arm & a leukaemia ribbon behind her left ear SCARS: one on her knee from falling from her bike, one on her elbow from being thrown into a x country jump DRINK: most weekends SMOKE: occasionally after a drink DRIVE: yep HOME: oldaker avenue
FAMILY
FATHER: john charles ryan; 43; rider & trainer MOTHER: marie louisa ryan; 42; trainer OTHER HALF: SIBLINGS: benjamin charlie ryan; 25, jake michael ryan; 24 CHILDREN: FRIENDS: ashley white, jackson o'hara, skye kingston, theia redfern, katerina de luca, jessie delaney
riley is the youngest in her family, born to strict but loving parents and two older brothers who she loves dearly. her earliest memories are of being on top of a horse, seeing as she was in the saddle before she could even walk. growing up she lived and breathed horses. with parents who were top, well known eventers she didn't get much choice in the matter, not that she would have chosen differently anyway, she couldn't imagine life without riding. riley is extremely close to her brothers, with people often referring to her as a mini jake as a child. growing up, she was more drawn to jake's outgoing, confident nature and would copy his teasing/making fun of ben, although she regrets it now.
when she was nine/ten, her family life turned upside down due to ben being diagnosed with cancer. she didn't know he was sick at the time, she just remembered him being unwell & always tired. she figured something definitely wasn't right when jake's teasing had died down considerably. her parents had hid all of the hospital appointments/stays from her for the first year, trying to keep her life as normal as possible until she finally found out through eavesdropping on a conversation one day. she'd heard the word 'leukaemia' and badgered her parents until they finally told her what was going on. she didn't get annoyed at her parents for hiding the truth from her until she was older when she could comprehend what it was. consequently she now hates being lied to. as a child she didn't know what cancer was, she just knew her benny was sick and she couldn't help him.
riley threw herself into riding instead of processing her emotions, focusing on being the best she could be to lessen her parents load. they expected their children to follow in their footsteps and that's what she was going to do. when she wasn't at the barn, school or harassing jake, she spent as much time as her parents would allow trying to entertain ben, whether that was playing card games or simply watching a film. during the last year of his treatment she would often accompany him to chemo sessions to help pass the time.
ben was finally in remission as her teenage years began and life started to get back to normal. with her fathers guidance and coaching from the family trainer, over the next couple of years, she was starting to get somewhere with her riding, showing a talent for cross country. it became something she hyper-focused on until her parents pulled her up on how her overall eventing had become sloppy, especially dressage. although she did enjoy all three events, dressage didn't give her the thrill that jumping did. riley pressured herself and knuckled down in her usual over-achiever way and practiced until her parents saw a difference.
it was during the run up to her mock exams in year 10 when things began to go downhill. between stressing about getting decent marks in her exams and placing in the many upcoming competitions, cracks began to form under the pressure. when she wasn't studying, she was riding and when she wasn't riding, she was trying to catch up on sleep. she began to skip meals to save time, opting to snack on things throughout the day, often forgetting to even do that. she began to gradually lose weight and with the constant social pressures of school, that wasn't a bad thing. skinny was and always had been one of the 'in' things in high school. she hadn't had the best start in high school, turning up with retainers then braces and being pretty short at the time, she had been a target for bullies. although when they realised they wouldn't get a reaction out of her they left her alone. her brothers had made sure she wasn't afraid of fighting back, something she was grateful for. she'd kept a small circle of friends over the next few years, so when she started getting flattering comments about how good she looked and popular people wanting to be her friend, she figured skinny was the way to go. since her future was written by her parents expectations and her grades were in the hands of the school system, it felt like her eating habits were the only thing she had control over. . but it turns out starving yourself wasn't easy and led to episodes of binging and purging.
she'd done a pretty good job of hiding her eating disorder until she passed out one day. she'd ended up in the hospital and things spiralled from there. she was diagnosed with numerous health issues that were linked to eating disorders and her parents eventually dragged the truth out of her. after what happened with ben, she hadn't wanted to worry them but honestly telling them had been a weight off of her shoulders. they had a lengthy conversation and she'd agreed to go to a counsellor. competitions took a back seat, although she was still allowed to train - just not as vigorous and a tutor was hired to help with the stress of her upcoming exams. over the next few years her relationship with food had healed through working with a counsellor, who had also helped her discover that she had ADHD, which explained a lot. looking back at her childhood, the signs had always been there - she was always distracted, forgetful, overly talkative, impulsive and messy but they were easily dismissed with being brought up with brothers.
armed with medication and coping mechanisms, riley felt like her life was finally getting back on track and she was ready to dive back into eventing properly. her parents gifted her a new eventing horse of her choice for her 18th birthday and they've been turning heads in the eventing circle ever since. she's spent the last couple of years away from home, travelling around different countries competing and training with the best of the best. a short while before she was due to leave, the family was rocked with the news that benny boy was in fact adopted and she's still pissed at her parents for keeping it from them all.
PETS
Defying Gravity - Nova - 8 - Warmblood - Mare
Bold Ambition - Kenzo - 5 - Hanoverian - Gelding
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
white trainers struck the tiled floor as she strolled through the airport, narrowly avoiding the hoards of people rushing to get through passport control to be first at the baggage claim. some were going so fast, they could probably give olympic speed walkers a run for their money. she never understood why people acted like storming norman at the airport - unless they were actually late for their plane. it didn't make the plane leave any faster and where people really that eager to get back home? the weather was absolutely abysmal for a start. as she reached boarder control, she adjusted the backpack slung across her shoulder in order to pull out her passport. the guy behind the glass scanned it briefly before handing it back to her. she offered him a small smile with a thanks, slipping the passport back into her bag as she walked toward the baggage claim.
she skipped through a couple of songs on her phone as she leant against a post, waiting for her suitcase to make it around the conveyor belt. hopefully it had made the trip in one piece. riley stifled a yawn and glanced at her watch. it was nearing 9am and she was desperate for a coffee. she'd had to wake up at a god awful hour in order to catch her 6:30am flight and she was started to crash. spying her bag, she zig zagged through the crowd and dragged it off of the belt in one motion. finally free to escape the hustle and bustle, she grabbed the handle and made her way to the car park, where her brother was hopefully waiting. although she was desperate for a nap, she felt a buzz of excitement as she waited by the curb. she had only seen her family in the flesh a handful of times over the past two years and seeing them over a screen just wasn't the same.
20 - confident - perfectionist - competitive - professional rider
full name • riley james ryan nicknames • riles, ry, riz, auntie ry ry, ryan age • 20 birthday • 30th october occupation • professional rider gender • female sexuality • bi-sexual - in the closet
the appearance
face claim• shelley hennig
identifying features• looks very similar to pb, small leukaemia ribbon tattoo behind her left ear & this on her right arm
the personality
likes • riding partying family nights travelling chocolate sunsets judo oreos beaches surfing annoying her brothers her nephews and niece dogs dislikes • dickheads people - especially her family lying to her hospitals needles her anxiety & ED pressure even though she works well under it strengths • eventing - particularly excels at cross country pretty athletic weaknesses • her adhd, ED & anxiety needles - makes her feel woozy dreams • becoming a famous eventer like her parents fears • her brother getting sick again her ED relapsing so badly she ends up in hospital again not being able to ride overall personality • cocky feisty confident loud talkative sensitive protective forgetful at times competetive impulsvie easily distracted hot headed perfectionist stubborn determined hard working over-achiever
the history
father • john charles ryan - rider and trainer mother • marie louisa ryan - trainer siblings • ben & jake important people • hometown • hickstead overall history •
riley is the youngest in her family, born to strict but loving parents and two older brothers who she loves dearly. her earliest memories are of being on top of a horse, seeing as she was in the saddle before she could even walk. growing up she lived and breathed horses. with parents who were top, well known eventers she didn't get much choice in the matter, not that she would have chosen differently anyway, she couldn't imagine life without riding. riley is extremely close to her brothers, with people often referring to her as a mini jake as a child. growing up, she was more drawn to jake's outgoing, confident nature and would copy his teasing/making fun of ben, although she regrets it now.
when she was nine/ten, her family life turned upside down due to ben being diagnosed with cancer. she didn't know he was sick at the time, she just remembered him being unwell & always tired. she figured something definitely wasn't right when jake's teasing had died down considerably. her parents had hid all of the hospital appointments/stays from her for the first year, trying to keep her life as normal as possible until she finally found out through eavesdropping on a conversation one day. she'd heard the word 'leukaemia' and badgered her parents until they finally told her what was going on. she didn't get annoyed at her parents for hiding the truth from her until she was older when she could comprehend what it was. consequently she now hates being lied to. as a child she didn't know what cancer was, she just knew her benny was sick and she couldn't help him.
riley threw herself into riding instead of processing her emotions, focusing on being the best she could be to lessen her parents load. they expected their children to follow in their footsteps and that's what she was going to do. when she wasn't at the barn, school or harassing jake, she spent as much time as her parents would allow trying to entertain ben, whether that was playing card games or simply watching a film. during the last year of his treatment she would often accompany him to chemo sessions to help pass the time.
ben was finally in remission as her teenage years began and life started to get back to normal. with her fathers guidance and coaching from the family trainer, over the next couple of years, she was starting to get somewhere with her riding, showing a talent for cross country. it became something she hyper-focused on until her parents pulled her up on how her overall eventing had become sloppy, especially dressage. although she did enjoy all three events, dressage didn't give her the thrill that jumping did. riley pressured herself and knuckled down in her usual over-achiever way and practiced until her parents saw a difference.
it was during the run up to her mock exams in year 10 when things began to go downhill. between stressing about getting decent marks in her exams and placing in the many upcoming competitions, cracks began to form under the pressure. when she wasn't studying, she was riding and when she wasn't riding, she was trying to catch up on sleep. she began to skip meals to save time, opting to snack on things throughout the day, often forgetting to even do that. she began to gradually lose weight and with the constant social pressures of school, that wasn't a bad thing. skinny was and always had been one of the 'in' things in high school. she hadn't had the best start in high school, turning up with retainers then braces and being pretty short at the time, she had been a target for bullies. although when they realised they wouldn't get a reaction out of her they left her alone. her brothers had made sure she wasn't afraid of fighting back, something she was grateful for. she'd kept a small circle of friends over the next few years, so when she started getting flattering comments about how good she looked and popular people wanting to be her friend, she figured skinny was the way to go. since her future was written by her parents expectations and her grades were in the hands of the school system, it felt like her eating habits were the only thing she had control over. . but it turns out starving yourself wasn't easy and led to episodes of binging and purging.
she'd done a pretty good job of hiding her eating disorder until she passed out one day. she'd ended up in the hospital and things spiralled from there. she was diagnosed with numerous health issues that were linked to eating disorders and her parents eventually dragged the truth out of her. after what happened with ben, she hadn't wanted to worry them but honestly telling them had been a weight off of her shoulders. they had a lengthy conversation and she'd agreed to go to a counsellor. competitions took a back seat, although she was still allowed to train - just not as vigorous and a tutor was hired to help with the stress of her upcoming exams. over the next few years her relationship with food had healed through working with a counsellor, who had also helped her discover that she had ADHD, which explained a lot. looking back at her childhood, the signs had always been there - she was always distracted, forgetful, overly talkative, impulsive and messy but they were easily dismissed with being brought up with brothers.
armed with medication and coping mechanisms, riley felt like her life was finally getting back on track and she was ready to dive back into eventing properly. her parents gifted her a new eventing horse of her choice for her 18th birthday and they've been turning heads in the eventing circle ever since. she's spent the last couple of years away from home, travelling around different countries competing and training with the best of the best. a short while before she was due to leave, the family was rocked with the news that benny boy was in fact adopted and she's still pissed at her parents for keeping it from them all.
the role player
alias • peps age • old other characters • just a few