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!.
Everett had thoroughly enjoyed his lesson with Sunday. They did well, which encouraged him to try it with his palamino gelding - Fernie. He gave the palamino a thorough brushing, knowing that even though they were doing natural horsemanship, he wanted to make sure his gelding was looking good.
He adjusted the leather halter on the horse's face, before clipping his lead rope to the ring and leading the gelding to the outdoor arena. Everett waved at Bruce as the pair entered - leaving the gate unlocked as he knew someone else was coming to join him. "Hello Bruce, I thought I'd bring Fernie along this time." He led the palamino over to the pile of gear and started the process of changing halters. Once he got Fernie reorganized, he moved the gelding away and found his own space.
The man glanced at the gate to the arena, smiling when he realized it was Jules and Blanche who were joining them. "If a horse has a spot they don't like you touching, does that mean something?" Fernie was generally a good horse, but sometimes his back caused him some issues.
Everett was glad the lesson was going well. Sunday was used to being close to humans - Everett had done chiropractic work on both his horses since he knew of their existence. He took his time finishing off the friendly game, Sunday kept calm and swished her black tail at the feeling of flies landing on her body.
He moved to stand in front of the mare, standing beside her as he watched Bruce's demonstration. "You have more than one horse as well?" Everett had a hard time keeping track of what horse belonged to who - but usually the owners showed up for their appointments. He smiled when Ash backed up before turning to face the blue roan's face. He held his long lead in his left hand, lifting his right hand and using his pointer finger to press gently against the mare's velvet nose.
Sunday flicked her ears forward - unsure what her human wanted. Everett shook his head and applied more pressure - Sunday tucking her nose towards her chest before backing up a step. Everett smiled and removed his finger from her nose. "Yes! Good job Sunday." He reached up with his hand and gave the mare a good scratch with his fingers under her forelock.
Everett had a full day of clients at the practice. People were wanting to get adjusted after the most recent horse show - even his barn days were starting to book up for the week. His mother was busily working the reception desk, passing him the clipboard for the next patient as he led the previous one to the desk for payment.
"Are you River? Everett is right beside you and will take you to the room." The woman knew by talking to him over the phone that he would be a bit of an interesting for an adjustment for both of them. Everett cleared his throat and held the clipboard in his hand. "If you follow me we can get started. I have a few questions." He made his way to the room, leaving the door open for River to follow behind him.
Everett took a wipe and cleaned off the chiropractic table - moving his hand to suggest to River for him to sit down on the table before he took a seat in the chair nearby. "So, tell me about what's bothering you. Did you have some sort of accident to cause your leg to hurt?" The more information he had the better treatment plan he could build.
Everett had the truck packed the night before - having to work on a few clients before he met up with Aspen and Danny on the trail. He took a bit longer to wrap up his last client as they wanted to chat afterwards. His mother shooed the man away - he had been coming to the chiropractic clinic ever since the family practice started. The man locked up his room and headed out, but not before his sister double checked he had enough food for the overnight trip.
He tried to wave her off but the sight of her trail mix was something he couldn't resist. The blonde woman tucked it in the outside pocket of her brother's pack and closed the door of the truck. Everett waved goodbye to his family, the engine of the truck coming to life before he drove off. Thirty minutes later, he had made it to the meeting spot - seeing that both Aspen and Danny had beat him. Everett waved back at Danny before he parked his truck close by. He turned the key and got out of the truck, pulling his backpack out of the back seat before locking the truck with his key.
"Hello to you both. I apologize I'm late. One of my regulars decided he wanted to chat after being adjusted. How are the two of you today? Ready to hit the trails?"
Everett nodded - he knew horse people could be touchy when it came to missing competitions. “Yes I know, but I was the one that brought it up. Paris will be here before you know it and I’ll be cheering you and Jett on from home.” He would be watching Aurora Sky as well as he had worked on her three horses quite often. “You aren’t a robot, John. You know perfection is impossible. You’ll do great.” The man was already starting to book his horse clients in advance - most barns choosing to do a monthly visit with him so he could balance days at the clinic and being in the barns. “I am happy that your family comes first for you. Not every Olympian does that.” The fame and glory were much too important for them - he often worked with the type and had to explain that their horses weren’t robots and needed to rest sometimes too.
“You know if I rode English I’d buy a horse from you. For some reason, Western stuck with me. That was what the local barn had for lessons.” His sister on the other hand rode English - neither of them minded the difference - they always had their sibling trail rides come the warmer months. “Do you have a few horses for sale this year? I can imagine it must be difficult to decide who stays and who goes.” That’s how he ended up with both Fernie and Sunday - he couldn’t say no to the last two horses at the rescue his friend ran. “Ah, is Jett your heart horse then? Is that what the young kids call it?”
The blond man waved off the comment. The two had no choice but to jump over the fallen tree. “Ah yeah with a little help from you, Fernie and I will be in the show jumping ring in no time.” The older chestnut gelding wasn’t meant for fancy jumping - he was quite content being ridden for fun by Everett. “Oh? Who did you manage to convince to come home?” He couldn’t imagine having children live away from him, but he also didn’t know the ins and outs of the Ryan family dynamics.
“That’s what I thought when I moved there. I may do the handy pony classes this coming season but I also know i have a lot of work to do.” He knew how to ride, but entering a competition was another rodeo in itself. “Oh come on, I’m sure your grooms coach you from time to time?” Everett always enjoyed having someone on the ground when he rode - its not like he could see what the lower half of his body was doing while on a horse. “That sounds perfect. Where did you get this miracle horse anyway?” He was already glad to be stuck with a bomb proof horse. Everett grabbed the bridle and began putting it on the grey’s head, sliding the bit into his mouth before doing up the various leather straps.
“A mounting block would be great, thanks. I’m ready when you are. Lead the way!” Everett held the reins in his hand and waited for his friend and the dark colored gelding to leave the grooming area.
Everett knew he needed to start taking lessons. He rode well enough to ride on his own, but there was always something for him to learn. The man was excited, deciding to go with Sunday to test out Bruce's lessons.
It was odd for him not to have to tack up the blue roan mare, but that was the whole point of natural horsemanship after all. With the mare brushed, he clipped the black lead rope on and led the mare towards the outdoor arena. It seemed the mare had finished her Spring fever, settling down to her usual self again recently. He opened the gate, leading the mare inside the arena before closing it behind him. "Hello Bruce, thank you for having us today. We are excited to see what our lesson brings." He continued leading the blue roan towards the pile of equipment and switched halters first, leaving his own halter and lead rope set on the other side of the arena fence.
Once they were ready, they found a place around the center of the arena. He made sure his mare was halted nicely before dropping the carrot stick on the ground beside him. "And what does this do?" He held the long lead in one hand and began touching the mare with his other one, starting with the mare's face.
“I apologize if I hit a sore spot. I’m just always curious about the plans for the future.” He also had to remind himself that this wasn’t a work visit. Everett discussed upcoming show plans to get his client's horses in the best possible shape in terms of his work. “Did you really miss both of them?” He didn’t realize it - though time seemed to fly by faster than anyone expected. “To sell them or show off the breeding program?” Either way, he knew Jett was the main event and one of their top show horses.
Everett waved his hand towards John as if to brush the idea aside. “Oh it was just on the trails over a fallen tree. Fernie decided he wasn’t lazy and jumped it nicely.” There had been a storm that had knocked over the fallen tree and required the older Quarter Horse to jump. He nodded, knowing that the other two barns were using that idea already - he had an idea making money often came from younger or beginner riders catching the horse bug and wanting to continue. “Ah yes, I do remember meeting those two. I’ll give you two months before it blends. This place overlaps way too much with your personal life.” He had a hard enough time separating work from his personal life - though he was also in business with his own family.
“See I have my lessons to keep me accountable. I’m usually at Seven Oaks anyway so I either ride before or after.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Sounds like you need a coach to keep you accountable.” Everett laughed and turned to watch John do up one side of the girth - it seemed simple enough. He followed the instructions on the other side, making sure it was tight but not too tight. “I mean, the fact that you allow your grandchildren to ride Rocket make me hope he has a good head on his shoulders.” He patted the grey and grabbed the bridle. “Yep, let’s get this interesting lesson started. Are we going to ride inside?"
Everett nodded - being able to provide your own meat saved an awful lot of money. Only his grandfather knew how to hunt - though he didn't make the journey over when the rest of the Strome family moved to the UK. "What can you hunt around here anyway?" He assumed there would be deer and some sort of fowl to begin with.
The dark blond male took another handful of trail mix and began munching on it. He had grown used to the different flavor. "Too sweet though? I know some people don't like sweets. Don't understand why though." The German man shrugged his shoulders. He knew that Americans tended to pump sugar in their treats, though he wouldn't ever say no to a dessert himself. "Do you tend to have a sweet tooth?"
He took a sip of his own water as he listened to June continue on. "Nice. And no, I grew up in Germany and moved here when I was twelve. So this basically has felt like home for awhile now." He felt a smile form on his face, hoping his German accent had faded by now - people were getting too good about guessing where he was born.
As it was turning into Fall, Everett knew his sister's birthday was approaching. Somehow, he had managed to get the morning off of work. His mother had convinced him to go get the shopping over with - it was something he really didn't like to do. Often, he pitched in money for his mother to go get but she was busy working reception at the chiropractic clinic.
The book store was something he could walk to from the clinic so he put on his shoes and headed out the door. The crisp Fall air brushed against him, making him to hustle along towards the warm bookstore. He opened the door, causing the bell to ring. The wind caused the door to slam behind him, making him feel embarrassed. The store seemed to be quiet and he glanced around, wondering if someone was there to help him. He headed over towards the romance section, knowing it was something his sister would want to read, or at least the right genre anyway.
His eyes glanced along the shelf in front of him, not even realizing that someone had walked up behind him. "Now if I was a girl, what book would I want to read..." He muttered to himself.
Everett laughed, giving the woman a nod. "Yeah, unfortunately I do get that. Though people are starting to be more open to it. Once they realize how helpful it is." Thankfully, the majority of his clients couldn't talk. There were more and more options in terms of medical help, which was working in his favor. "My dad is one too, so I didn't get any teasing at home." He shrugged his shoulders, his father was just happy that he followed in his footsteps.
"Do you enjoy cooking? I know. I have a few clients who microwave their food. I really don't understand why people don't learn." He could at least say he knew where his food came from. His family often bought from the market, which meant their food was produced locally. Everett took the bag and shook some in her hand before taking some himself. "Let me know what you think. She added coconut and dried bananas to a typical trail mix. It's quite popular back home." He took a few and popped it in his mouth, knowing his sister typically did a great job when it came to making food. "Speaking of home, have you been living here long?"
"You'll get them next time. The 2024 Olympics will be here before you know it." There was already buzz around his clients about the qualification competitions coming up - and wanting their horses looked at before they headed off on the road. "Everyone wants their horses and themselves to have an appointment with me before they leave on the road." He glanced at the older horse, telling from the first glance that Rocket fit into the Ryan program. "Are you going to do the qualifications for it?"
He nodded, it seemed to make sense to him. "I do admit that I've jumped small jumps with my saddle. Though that was on the trails and we didn't really have another choice." There were often situations like that, though having an entire jumping lesson would be a different situation. "It's worth looking into if it works. I understand though it's busy running a place like this." Lesson horses meant more to look after and that wasn't always possible. He was lucky he had his two horses and a coach to ride with when he wanted a lesson.
"So, he'll be the one calling me if your horses need an adjustment then?" He always tried to be organized himself, thankful his mother kept their appointments in their system. "Oh good. She'll probably keep her schedule open for that. It'll make her year." The horse bug seemed to have bitten both Strome siblings. "And that's the way to do it honestly. My father tends to be that way as well. Making sure I don't have too many clients to see in a day, and leave time to ride my two." He often tried his best to group his Seven Oaks clients before and after his allotted lesson time.
He nodded, carrying the first load of tack over to the cross-ties. Everett set the saddle on the saddle rack and headed for the second load. He pulled out the bell boots and the set of front boots from the clear container, setting it back in the locker before heading to the grey horse. "Perfect, I think I've got everything. I think I know how everything goes, though if you wouldn't mind helping me with the girth? I didn't realize how different it was from the Western one." He started by placing the black full pad on the back of the gelding, then placed the half pad on top. "Should I go on the lunge line first? Or do you trust me enough to ride on my own?" Everett grinned, not really minding either way. He knew he wasn't ever going to be a pro rider.
The palomino gelding relaxed underneath his touch. He moved up over towards the tail bone now. "Is it more his ground manners or being under saddle?" He didn't want to diagnose the horse without being asked, but there were always ideas floating around his head about why horses behaved the way they did.
"Actually, it's been more my human clients who call me. If they've thrown their back or something. His horse clients tended to be able to wait, though he usually kept emergency appointments open for just in case. He could always send his father out if someone really needed it. He placed his hand on the top of the tail bone, putting one hand on top of the other and pressed down. "Only in the Spring though right? At least there isn't too much rain in the summer." He would much rather have the rain than the snow. From what he could tell, Germany was a bit colder in terms of temperature. "It's nice weather to hike in though. Can't really hike in the snow." Everett laughed, his friends back home would do the craziest hikes though.
"They are horse crazy over there too. Though they often gave me a weird look because I ride Western." He did try English riding as a kid, though it wasn't something that stuck with him.
"Is Apollo a work in progress then? I think a person would be worth more than just a horse treat." He didn't quite have all the Seven Oaks horses in his head now - it would take him awhile to be familiar with them all. "Thanks, that's the whole reason why I do it. His parents thought he was crazy working with such big animals, but they also knew how horse crazy he was so it made sense.
Everett glanced at Skye as he moved around the Quarter Horse gelding, noticing the blush. "Sounds good, I usually have it on in case the vets need to bring me in for an emergency. So even if it's a text at 2 AM, I'll get it." Or once a horse had surgery and was ready for physio, he was also ready to help if needed. "Nothing but sunshine and beaches right? I bet the rain really gets to you sometimes." He pressed his palm into another rib, pressing it back into place. "Germany is nice. Lots of different landscapes. I do love the Winter though, we do get a bit of snow too."