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!.
Kennedy was starting to get impatient. She was always excited to meet a new troublemaker, not that her parents were looking to recruit anyone. The cover of the Pietrangelo’s running a fancy car dealership was still fooling everyone and if she was the reason their cover was blown - she’d be dead. “I do actually. I’d like to mention that I’ve never been caught.” This caused the brunette to twirl her hair and happily shake her head. Lorenzo had saved her several times, but never by the police.
The woman almost let her guard down. The word safe wasn’t used in her family, though she felt safe with Lorenzo. He was the only one who concerned himself with her security. “Exactly, that’s what I thought. Having a steady boyfriend is overrated anyway.” She enjoyed having her flings - some deep part of her wanted someone steady, but working at the club meant different men every night for her to choose from. As the conversation changed to Eva’s brother, she became more curious. “Oh, well nothing like being a homewrecker. Is she younger than him?” It seemed as if some men preferred to have a younger girl on their arms, which wasn’t something she was interested in. She wanted someone as old as her who could keep up with her evening activities. “Do you like that your brother has a girlfriend? Or does that bother you?” That question could either go one of two ways - though Kennedy was curious.
Kennedy nodded - her mother didn’t lift a finger around the home. That’s what the hired help was for. “Part of me wants to learn to cook, but our personal chef does a great job. I can’t complain.” She secretly thought that her mother was a terrible cook, which led the Pietrangelo family to hire someone to do it for them. “Did someone teach you?” Maybe she’d ask Lorenzo to teach her one day. The brunette let out a sigh - Lorenzo made her realize she had a pretty lame life. “Yeah, I usually grab something at work, but he wants me to make new friends or something.” He really cared about her and due to her lifestyle, having friends was difficult.
“That’s what I thought. I don’t know a teen in our age group that wouldn’t. My parents don’t seem to notice.” She glanced around as the waitress began bringing their food. “Ah, do they make you do enough physical labour at work then?” She nodded as the waitress set their pizzas down in front of them before turning and leaving.
Kennedy wondered what Harlow’s horses were like. It seemed that Alpha was relatively calm so far. Rosso had groundwork and manners drilled into him from a young age - the reason why he could continue being a stallion. “It’s not like he’s a robot. He is allowed to have fun and enjoy himself.” She shrugged her shoulders - at least one of them didn’t have a father breathing down their neck.
“Ah, but you can’t really bring your horses anywhere fun by yourself.” She thankfully had Lorenzo who would drive the truck and trailer if needed - even to a competition. It was much nicer being able to trailer Rosso home after her classes were done rather than waiting all day for her barn mates to be done. “Oh god no. Lorenzo drives me everywhere.” Her parents wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to their best employee. The beloved driver knew all the tricks in the book to get them out of a sticky situation if need be.
Rosso flicked his ears at the gentle touch of flies landing on him - not paying attention to the gelding beside him. “Ah, so he’s a workaholic then. How long have you two been together now?” She couldn’t imagine what it would be like having a boyfriend - too much commitment for her. “At Luna Lounge and for my family, yes. I don’t really consider that work though. It’s fun.” Kennedy nodded - it sometimes got her into trouble but it made her life much more interesting. “I ride Rosso six days a week. I have two lessons a week on him.” Stephanie was a saint in the fact that she adjusted her schedule to fit her lessons in.
If Rosso could have rolled his eyes - he would have. The stallion was not impressed by the cattiness between the two riders. “Alright, alright. I just find it odd that you also ride at Blue Acres but you’ve never heard of me.” Kennedy shook her head - most of the boarders there knew who she was and often ran the other way. “Oh right, it’s always only bad things about you. Everyone shudders when they hear your name.” Kennedy felt she had a bit of competition - though they never really saw each other at the barn.
“That’s the hope anyway. He does love jumping so it’s just a matter of practice.” She reached down and patted the dark bay, realising he wasn’t putting up with her attitude. “I ride with Stephanie King at BA, sometimes Naomi teaches if she is away. Does John teach you?”
“Well, it’s not my fault my clothes are worth a lot of money.” She didn’t even dare wiping her hands on her clothes - it was something she got away with as a child but it was quickly drilled into her that it was wrong. Her clothes were a status symbol for her and she felt it was a reflection of who she was. “But it’s pretty popular around here? I don’t think I’ve ever been here and not seen anyone skateboarding around.” Kennedy had her fair share of drug runs in the most random of places. The skate park was one of them - there always seemed to be at least one person doing tricks - even later in the evenings.
Kennedy scoffed - who on Earth would want to be with some dingy person? “I would not do that to my parents! Has anyone tried it with you though?” She shook her head - dating gross just to make her parents angry wasn’t something she would consider trying. There was a lot of expectation on her shoulders - being an only child and all. She watched as Hunter rolled off towards the bench with his skateboard, which caused the dark haired woman to scoff and roll her eyes again before her heels clicked along the concrete. “Why do you enjoy being grimy anyway?”
Kennedy hopped off of Rosso's back - handing him off to one of the stable hands after her lesson. She had already arranged with them to take care of him for her - as she had an appointment to get ready for the gala. Quickly, the brunette followed into the barn and took off her riding boots and helmet. She put them in her locker in the tack room, leaving it open for the staff to put her gear away.
She slid her feet into her Hunter boots and threw her barn jacket over her shoulders before heading out. Lorenzo was already waiting for her when she stepped out, allowing the brunette to get in the back of the car. The man handed her a lunchbox, containing her lunch. She thanked the man, buckled their seatbelt and they were off - spending the time chatting about the day in between bites. It had been awhile since Kennedy had a day off from either job, so she was looking forward to the change of scenery. Once her lunch was finished, she quickly changed into her outfit for the day - leaving her riding clothes in the car.
After they arrived at the salon, the brunette stepped out of the car and walked inside - her high heels clicking along the concrete. As soon as the door opened, Hope greeted her. The blonde salon owner worked her magic - doing her hair, makeup and a fresh gel manicure in three hours. Kennedy paid for her services using cash and rushed back in the car - Lorenzo spent the time reading his book as he waited. Finally, the two were off towards the Silver Stag, making the brunette wonder if Harlow and Nat would beat her to the Hotel.
She stepped out of the car as soon as it arrived at the front, grabbing her tote sized bag as she closed the car door behind her. She gave Lorenzo a wave goodbye as a thanks for the driving around. The woman stepped into the hotel lobby, smiling as soon as she saw Harlow. "Hi again. Long time no see. Do you think Nat beat us to it?" She stepped towards the elevator and waited for it to arrive. As soon as it did, she stepped inside and held the door open for Harlow.
It wasn't long before they arrived at the penthouse floor, the elevator making a ding sound as they arrived. "Wait, there wasn't anything said about chocolate. Please say you didn't eat all of it. How long have you been waiting for us anyway?" She asked, stepping into the space first.
Kennedy held back a scoff. She watched as the blonde frowned at her comment, rolling her eyes lightly. “Addiction? To what, causing trouble?” It was practically her middle name at this point. Her parents let her get away with it. Doing these things was all part of her job, though she hid it well with her job at the Lounge. “Or are you suggesting something else?” Sure she hustled drugs but she swore to herself never to touch the stuff - that was way too dangerous, even for someone like her.
“So you live with a bunch of goody two shoes then. Must be nice?” She was curious to see how the other woman felt about it. Kennedy sometimes wished her family wasn’t in the world of criminals - it would be a lot less stressful for her and her mother. Her Father on the other hand had lived like this all of his life. “Speaking of that, what about you? If I were to guess, I’d say you don’t either.” She shrugged her shoulders before the waitress came back with their drinks - setting both down in front of each female. Kennedy took a moment to open the package containing the straw before putting it in her glass. “Ugh, that’s an old man. But I’m curious, does he have a girlfriend?” It seemed like in Hickstead there seemed to be less people that enjoyed fooling around with multiple partners, but Kennedy didn’t mind being part of the select few.
The brunette took a sip of her iced tea as she continued to listen. “Yeah, we are a super busy family so it’s nice having someone cook for you.” She was at the barn six days a week and worked full time - which allowed no time for her to cook. Kennedy also didn’t know how. “Do you cook at home?” The brunette watched their chef cook when she could - trying to learn. “My driver made me come here. I just finished up at the barn and I need food before I go to work.” Usually, Lorenzo brought her something to eat from home, but he was busy running errands for her parents. She wondered if secretly the older man did this on purpose to make her socialize.
“Yeah, being healthy is something I should have started ages ago.” Her parents weren’t exactly great about it either. Their late nights working meant they used to get takeout and Kennedy often ate at the Lounge, which didn’t help either. “See I should have thought of that but my bedroom is at the back of the house. I’ll have to get myself a ladder then for out the back.” It was too high of a jump to get the guy to jump out the window, unless they wanted a broken limb. “Does this mean you have experience with the sneaking?”
Kennedy laughed, the blonde wasn’t wrong. She was needing a bit of grease in her diet before dancing her butt off at work that evening. “You’ve never heard of a cheat day?” She looked over and saw their pizzas being brought over from the kitchen.
Kennedy was shocked she got a compliment so quickly. She watched as the other woman didn’t roll her eyes or say anything. The woman took pride in matching with her horse, Kayleigh was a godsend when it came to that. She often custom-ordered her gear through the tack store when she felt like buying a new outfit. Kennedy watched Rosso out of the corner of her eye as if she were to monitor his reaction to the other male horse walking right beside him. The darker stallion didn’t seem to mind, though she was sure he was hiding his anger.
“Him? Rosso is pretty quiet for a stallion. Unless he is out in his private pen, that’s where he causes chaos.” She caused more chaos at Blue Acres than he did. The stable hands were forever grateful that the stallion was well-behaved - the horse was only a horse when he was outside. “I thought you’d like the independence of driving? Or is it the fact that the horse in the back of the trailer is precious cargo?” Maybe Harlow had a soft spot after all - though she always got someone to drive the truck and trailer for her. Her parents bought her own and Lorenzo didn’t mind driving them. “Boyfriend? Is he too busy with something else to spend time with you?” Kennedy sometimes wished she had someone steady, though she did love fooling around. “That must keep you busy then. How many days a week do you ride all three of them?” Kennedy didn’t know what it would be like having more than one horse, though with her two jobs - one was all she could juggle.
“It’s all I really have the time for honestly. I’d like a second horse but right now it’s not really ideal.” With her two jobs she was mostly awake at night, which meant she slept in for the most part. She also was paying for board and lessons herself. Kennedy scoffed, clearly neither of them knew each other. “I’d ask you to prove it but, I don’t know how you could.” It wasn’t like she was a celebrity or something. She just thought she was when she stepped on stage at the Lounge. “That’s the plan anyway. I’d like to do some shows in other parts of the UK first.” Things were starting to pick up again with the tourists visiting the Lounge so she was getting some pretty good tips recently.
Kennedy was quickly able to put two and two together. Now she knew who the other woman was. She found it odd that Harlow would board two horses at one barn and the other at Blue Acres, but everyone had their own situations to deal with. “Ah, okay now I know who you are. I’ve heard your name mentioned around the barn.” She now could put a name to a face. Usually she knew who they were talking about when it came to people boarding their horses at BA. “At least someone knows who he is. I was visiting the London International Horse Show with my parents a few years ago and saw him. After watching him jump I just had to have him.”
Kennedy was surprised to hear that Link was in school still. It made her feel old, granted she decided not to go to College or University. Her parents both wanted her to follow in her father's footsteps. "Ew, so you like school then? Or did your parents force you?" The students she went to high school with were practically almost all done University by now. Part of her wished she would have, but the brunette was happy enough earning money.
"I mean my parents have an embarrassing name for me, but yes everyone just calls me Kennedy." She shrugged her shoulders. The younger woman hoped that everyone's parents had one for their children. Angel wasn't exactly embarrassing, but it would expose what her family truly did for work. "What nickname would you give me anyway?" Her friends didn't come up with one for her - and there weren't many shorter versions of her name anyway.
Kennedy laughed at his comment - maybe dancing wasn't for everyone. It did take her long to figure it out though. She used the Internet to teach herself and was now confident enough to do her own choreography. "Oh come on, are you really that clumsy?" She winked at him, giving him a once over with her eyes.
"Aw, you poor thing. Did your friend not enjoy the party?" Kennedy loved when the lounge was packed with people - having that many eyes on her while she danced was the best feeling ever. "Video games? What kind? Don't tell me those ones where you just shoot people."
Kennedy had no clue what the skateboarding world was like. She knew some guys liked it when a girl was clueless - so that's the card she was going to play. "Huh? Steeze? Is that some sort of hip word that I don't know about?" She flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder with one of her hands.
She was grossed out by the fact that Hunter had wiped the wheels of his skateboard on his shirt. Her own clothes were far too expensive to do that with. "Yuck, why did you do that?" Her nose wrinkled in disgust. Clearly he was one of those types that didn't care about what he wore.
"So falling didn't bruise your Ego?" She knew all about the fragile male ego so she was shocked that he seemed so chill about it. If she fell off of Rosso, she made sure no one at Blue Acres saw it - being the laughing stock of the barn wasn't anything she needed. "What the hell did you just call me? A ramp tramp? I am not one of those. You must not hang out at Blue Acres then." He seemed a bit too young to hang out at the Burlesque club, which is another place she seemed to spend her time.
She shouldn't have expected to be alone on the trails. It was Summer time and all the equestrians around town were getting their horses out of the arena. "Beautiful more like it, but I'll take the cute compliment." The rider beside her was clearly also decked out in the newest gear. Rosso gave the flaxen horse the side eye as he walked in step with the large bay stallion.
"He's fine though, defiantly used to different riding situations." Being on the Italian Olympic team meant Rosso had been trained professionally - and used to different climates as well. "Do you not like coming here or something?" Riders had their preferences but, most of them enjoyed the beach trail. Reminding them somewhat of a tropical destination. When the topic switched, it was Kennedy's turn to glance over at the other rider. "So, you have more than one horse then? It must be sad for him not to spend time with you." This made Kennedy happy she only had one horse - secretly hating if she paid attention to one over the other.
As they rode along, Rosso began settling down. He was used to it just being himself and Kennedy as she paid extra for private lessons with Stephanie. "Clearly you don't know who I am either so maybe I'm not the only one who lives under a rock." Most people recognized her either from the barn or as a burlesque dancer. "Locally for now, though that's going to change shortly." She was starting to convince her parents that she needed to do more shows - it's how she could get better.
"Now I've heard of you. I'm Kennedy, I ride at Blue Acres. Wait, is your retired horse Aristocrat or something?" She had heard the stable hands talking about him while she was getting Rosso ready for a lesson. "And this is Rosso, I'm sure you know him. He competed at the Olympic games in Tokyo before I bought him."
Kennedy shook her head - making a scene wasn't something she wanted to do either. "That's a little too intense. You need to cause trouble just until you think you'll get caught." It was the whole point in her opinion anyway. Doing illegal and things that are frowned upon gave her a rush. "Oh come on, you really don't know? Doing something behind your parents back." Her parents always thought she was at the barn or doing a drug run when really she was dancing at the Lounge.
The brunette watched as the other teen's face changed, clearly she had ticked the other woman off. "That's an answer you'll have to wait for. I'm not someone who kisses and tells." The truth was that the boys weren't flocking to her door - though some were desperately trying. "Damn. Is he like old old?" They had the experience but it was also kind of creepy - she was only twenty after all. She shook her head when Eva asked if her mom cooked. "We have a personal chef that cooks for our family, so no one in the house cooks." Even their driver ate meals with them - Lorenzo was really part of the family.
"That does sound good. I'm trying to get my family on a health kick." It wasn't hard to get their chef to agree with her. She was in on her secret after all. "Our chef knows what I like and don't like, so I do too." She nodded and pushed her menu off to the side. "Exactly, it's hard to sneak boys in the front door." They had a doorbell camera now too, so her parents knew who came and left their house. "And I'll get a Hawaiian pizza and an iced tea please."
"Math? Ew, don't tell me you are still in school?" She secretly didn't mind it, but learning really wasn't her thing. The brunette got out of it as soon as she was allowed to, glad her father had offered her a job as soon as she graduated. She flagged the bartender down, ordering herself a water and a plate of fries - she had done more working out than originally planned and needed some carbs. "No one has come up with a nickname for me yet, but I do think that's a good thing." Her family though called her Angel at home - but none of her friends knew that.
As soon as the water was delivered, she took a sip as Link spoke again. "I like to think so too, thanks. I'll have to start thinking of a Halloween one here shortly." It was over a month away, but she needed all the practice time she could get. "Ah everyone says that but with some practice I'm sure we can get that right foot back on." She was taught to be quick and agile as soon as she was old enough to help with drug running. Being caught was something no one in the industry wanted. "Really? Are your friends here for some sort of party or something?" There was usually a reason people came to the Lounge for the first time - often times for someone's birthday or bachelor party.
She gave him an odd look at the fact that his friends didn't drink. "So what do you do with your friends anyway? I'm really not much of a beer drinker either." Her dad drank it but her and her mother opted for wine or a cocktail when it came to dinner drinks.
She glanced around for a few moments, making the educated guess that it had belonged to the only person using the skate park. Kennedy kept her foot on the board so it wouldn't roll away again, letting out a sigh of relief when the male approached her.
The brunette took her foot off as he approached, slightly tilting her head in confusion. "What? Does that ruin the cool vibe of the board or something?" She knew how clueless she was when it came to skating, though she would be devastated if anything of hers got water on it - even Rosso after a lesson in the rain.
"I saw you fall. Are you trying new tricks or something?" Being a perfectionist was drilled into her - screwing up a drug run was the last thing her father wanted her to do. It also could result in her being brutally murdered. "Oh. I'm Kennedy but I can imagine you've heard of me before." Her burlesque job was starting to gain her more popularity and it was getting more and more difficult to hide it from her parents.
The brunette finished another drug run - handing off the black duffle bag off to the man, him giving her the cash in return. Kennedy thanked the man and put it in her bag. She turned and walked off towards the pond, noticing the skate park off in the distance.
She headed there, wondering who was skating this early in the morning. Kennedy didn't even know the skate park existed - though the park wasn't somewhere she hung out often. Her drug runs were usually done late at night and somewhere in town itself. The walk only took two minutes, the dewy grass squishing beneath her sandals.
The brunette crossed her arms, watching a figure skating back and forth on his board. It wasn't something she didn't watch at all, but it was keeping her entertained. The board seemed to roll towards her suddenly, and she put her foot on it to stop it from rolling. "Hey! I've got your board!" The brunette didn't know where the person it belonged to was, but she didn't know what to do with it.
Kennedy moved the stallion towards the water, allowing his hooves to touch the cold, wet sand. She serpentined him to keep the stallion busy, finally getting him to lower his head. Something about the salt in the air made Rosso more alert. She wondered if the previous owner worked him on the beach before a big competition or something.
The stallion snorted as Kennedy asked for the trot. The brunette rolled her eyes, the stallion had as much attitude as she did - making them the perfect pair together. She heard thundering hoofbeats coming behind her and Kennedy brought the bay back to the walk. She glanced over and saw another brunette with a light colored horse - neither of them she recognized before. "Cute wasn't really what I was going for, but thanks." Though being beautiful on the back of the horse was something she took pride in - more in the show ring though. Beach riding meant she could wear her older clothes. "Yes actually. Though we've been on trail rides together. And you?"
She sat up and practiced her position. All the things that Stephanie yelled at her for were flooding back. She really needed to sit up before the jumps - it was messing with her horse's form. "I don't think I've seen you around before. What barn do you ride at?"
"Now I see why you go by Link. I thought maybe you were good at technology or something." Kennedy's only nickname came from her father's mafia ring - though it was something she kept on the down low.
She finished off her drink and ordered another one. The company was enough for her to stay a bit longer. "I sure hope so. Dancing is hard work. I even come up with the choreography myself." During her first ever visit, she was fascinated with it all - from the moves to the glamorous outfits. She worked her butt off to get the job. "Do you like to dance? Or what do you like to do at the Lounge?" Other than watch her of course.
Kennedy took a sip of her new drink - the bartenders knew how to make her favorite. "Is getting drunk not cool anymore? Or does it just not taste good?" Her driver got stern with her if she came into the car drunk. Lorenzo was like a father to her and she hated it when he was disappointed in her.
