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!.
"Ronan, are you going riding today? Weather says its going to be cool." Roy Shaeffer said from the kitchen table, looking over the newspaper as his grandson, Ronan Slade, poured himself a cup of coffee. Blue grey eyes looked over at him curiously, ignoring Muffin as she leapt onto the counter to try and get a few head rubs, "Really? I mean, if that's okay." His grandfather was quick to wave him off, telling him to go enjoy his fun with his friends and horses. A slight smile rested on his lips, forgoing the correction that he actually didn't have very many friends at Seven Oaks, that was more at school. But that was semantics for the both of them, so he quickly finished his coffee, grabbed himself a piece of toast and headed out the door.
His grandfather had been right about the weather, despite it being the first of August, typically the most hot and humid month of summer, there seemed to be a lack of heat. The young man wasn't going to complain about that though given the ugly days they had for June and July, and on top of that, the onslaught of rain. Today was cool, yet sunny, without a cloud in the sky. The perfect day for a ride down to the beach or to go along the ridge side. Give the horse something to do that was outside of a fenced arena. The two of them had taken to reigning since moving to Hickstead last fall, a lack of cows in the area meant that Ronan had to find something new for his brumby to work on and keep his mind busy with when they were not trail riding.
Getting to the barn now, he parked his grandfather's rust bucket of a truck and got out, "Looks like I'm not the only one who's taking advantage of the day," he muttered to himself. Granted, he knew that there were pony camps going on about also, even more so a reason as to why a trail ride was a great idea today. Ronan made his way to the barn, only to run into one of the stable hands, "Horses are out in pasture, halters are out there also." River Bloom informed him, gruff and annoyed by everyone's existence as always. He just nodded and headed on his way. Ronan himself was beginning to think that he was the only one who never took insult to the older man's attitude, as he heard Odette Lachepelle complain about him all the time and a new acquaintance, Brooklyn Hazelton, appeared terrified to death of the crabby stablehand despite that sassy mouth of hers.
It occurred to Ronan now that River hadn't bothered telling him just which pasture Max was in, but that shouldn't be hard to figure out with a sharp whistle. There was a whinny that responded to it, although, no chestnut brumby came running to him now. Frowning and grabbing the halter off the gate, the young man followed to fence line now to his horse and it would appear, Max was not alone. On the one side of the fence stood Max, chest pressed up against the fence as his neck arched over it as he investigated a new friend - a foal. Old enough to think it was independent of its mother, but young enough to not be a yearling. He could make out the words 'Radar' on the halter, "I don't think you belong here, buddy." He said now, as he took a step forward, and the foal cocked his head now, daring Ronan. Well shit. This might be a little more complicated than he thought unless Rory Way magically showed up.
"People ought to quit worrying so much about whispering to their horses and just start listening to them." —Greg Darnall
"Invested, huh?" Ronan laughed, "I'll keep that in mind. Guess I'll have to come up with something epic then." He knew he would have to ponder that over for a bit, given that this was fairly new to him. The young man had been considered a loner back home, and kept to himself since it had just been easier that way to deal with people. His getting even after a prank against him ended in his father shipping him off to the United Kingdom to let the aftermath die down, and Ronan knew he had been lucky that Hickstead University had been willing to overlook it somehow. Mason's laugh cut into his thoughts though, so his blue grey eyes looked over to the other man, who clearly had become a pro at knowing where to tackle overlooked spots on the fire truck. Ronan made mental note of that spot for the future.
"Noted on fitness level," he supposed he wasn't too surprised, given the physical labor behind being a fire fighter. The gear you had to wear, the equipment you had to drag, and while this probably wouldn't qualify to him, the people you had to rescue and carry, "What do you recommend I work on in the gym?" Ronan figured it didn't hurt to ask Mason, given that he looked like he was in great shape for the work that he did here - both in an emergency and off. Thankfully, asking the other man where he had been from seemed to be fine, since Ronan knew that could be a touchy subject, "Oh yeah? Where are you the two of you from? Come here for Uni then?" Seemed like the right assumption if they had moved here at eighteen like him, "Ah, from down under," he joked, "Scone. Australia's 'horse capital' as they like to say there and put on all of their signs. Quite different from here, but still nice. Sometimes I miss it, sometimes I don't" He scrubbed the last of his section and craned up, "Do we have to do the top of it also?"
It had been a few months since that fated day at the library that Ronan Slade had passed Jaana Hagen his number in an attempt at starting a friendship. For all intensive purposes, it had worked. They texted off and on, and hung out on the occasion within a group of people, but never one on one. They always missed each other, something popping up at the last minute with school work, family, or uniquely to their individual needs. On the rare occasion that Ronan had hosted a weird hodgepodge of friends over at the cottage, his grandfather had taken a special liking to the redheaded girl. Why? The young man had no idea. Maybe it was because she was polite, or gave off a naïve, wholesome air, but Roy Shaeffer would not let up on how Ronan should ask her out on a date.
Ronan kept on dodging around the questions and demands of his grandfather as best as he could. It wasn't that Jaana wasn't nice, she was, and she could be interesting. They just didn't seem to have much in common other than being a transplant to Hickstead, and coffee he supposed since she worked at Hickstead. Besides, the young man couldn't help but to have another girl on his mind - a gothic, costume loving, horse riding girl from a stupid theater fashion class. But Ronan didn't know how to handle that situation either, being friendly with just about anyone, let alone talking to girls and asking them out on dates. Still, to get his grandfather off of his back, Ronan did just that. Although, instead of Piper Kita-Ledor, he asked Jaana Hagen out.
Which is how he found himself waiting outside of the Pier's Amusement Park. While it was normally a summer attraction, they repurosed it for winter time. Some of the more romantic rides were still available, and they had recently switched their lights display from the christmas holidays to that of Valentine's Day. Neverminded it was still January. Plus, there was hot drinks and the nightsky. Whoever said that wasn't romantic was out of their mind. Still, Ronan felt like he was getting a little jittery, and he had arrived early. This was Jaana Hagen after all, he had no reason to worry. And yet, he had this nagging in the back of his mind that this might be an awkward night. And it hadn't helped that even though he was a nobody at Hickstead University, their date news had still traveled like wildfire and he didn't exactly know how he felt about Bambi Pelner, one of Piper's on and off friends and coworkers, knowing about this date either.
All of that worry came to a halt though when he heard approaching footsteps and looked over to see Jaana, who, well actually looked beautiful. It caught him off guard, "Jaana, hey!" Ronan called out, stuffing his hands into his pockets and offering a genuinely nice smile, "You look nice."
"People ought to quit worrying so much about whispering to their horses and just start listening to them." —Greg Darnall
show name • N/A owned by • RONAN DAIRE SLADE barn • Seven Oaks Stables age • Estimated at Twelve breed • Australian Brumby [wild horse] height • 15.1 hands discipline • Reinning, Cutting, Stock Horse work gender • Gelding likes • Working, Going for hacks, Apples, Feeding Time, Laying in the sun, Mares and Geldings dislikes • Fruit Treats (Bananas, Watermellon, Berries, etc), When the stable hands do not feed him on time, Sitting in a stall during the day time, holding his leg up for a ferrier for an infinite amount of time, Stallions strengths • Sociable, Quick, Surefooted for a horse, Smart weaknesses • Impatient, Greedy/Pushy when it comes to food, Excitable over cows, Curious fears • Weird smells, The sound of a tractor engine misfiring overall personality • Unlike his owner, Max has no issues always showing his true colors around strangers. He is a very social horse despite initially coming from a feral background. He is always curious about new people and will routinely investigate from the pasture or the stall to see who is coming. Max tends to be more loud and obnoxious when he sees either Ronan or knows that the delivery of food is on the way. He tends to also be over dramatic if he catches sight of a cow, the sight of the animal signaling that he knows he will be doing his favorite thing ever: work. Despite this though, Max does know how to relax in the pasture and doesn't cause too much mischief. He can be greedy when it comes to treats and will over extend his head and neck to snatch them or try to steal them out of pockets. He will even make ugly faces at other horses to keep them away from the treat giver.
While Mason politely declined to physically partake in any mischief seemed warranted given his air of seniority, his offer to still help Ronan with steering him in the correct direction seemed genuine. Enough so the young man offered a slight smile, "Thanks. I appreciate it." It would seem he was on the right track though regarding the squirmy kittens, and the older man's reaction seemed to seal the deal: "Now you’re talking.” And it was sealed with a smile. Laughter escaped Ronan, "Good to know I'm onto something then. I'll see if I can propose it after a month of being here. I'm stubborn enough to play the long game."
The idea of working out to Ronan seemed utterly foreign, even though it was by far a logical one. Mason seemed to do it, and he clearly could pull it off, "Yeah, I suppose." He commented, blue grey eyes looking over at the equipment for a second, "It's funny, I grew up on a ranch so I never really needed to work out. Now I have no ranch work and it's making me lazy being a student." All of that physical labor and riding had really made the difference when he had been growing up, well, he was still growing up and just doing less stuff, less riding as well much to his annoyance which he quickly took out on scrubbing the truck. Despite being the scrawny kid, at least Mason seemed to think he was cool enough for his shift.
"Great, I'll swap digits with you after this," and then hopefully, sticking around with Mason would mean less hijinks in the future. Or at least, falling for them, "Did you grow up here in Hickstead or are you a transplant too?" It didn't seem like too far off of a question, given the number of people from different places he's met so far in his short amount of time of living here. He continued working his way down the truck with the soap, but he still kept himself aware of Mason, both of where he was and whether he was willing to engage in the chitchat to pass the time.
I have a thread giving problem so I finally am breaking down and making this tread tracker I'm listing my posting order for characters also so you can always track where I am =D I do my characters in groups of threes now. If there is anything pressing though, I will jump. If you have any concerns, please DM me on discord. I will always try and do my best to not keep you waiting long, but please keep in mind that I have 30 characters whom all have numerous threads. Thank you so much in advance and I look forward to threading with you in the futre!
Kenzie's words made him feel a little foolish now, "Well...yeah, I thought you were going to do that." Man, did that make him the asshole now for just automatically assuming such a thing? And then, she went on, "I can do that if you'd prefer..." Even though instincts told him that the dark haired girly was simply toying with him, that knee jerk reaction still spilled out from, "No!" As soon as the worlds left his mouth, he felt utterly embarrassed. She had just played him like a fiddle without even trying. Ronan already felt himself getting aggravated by her and couldn't help but to wonder if this is what it was like having an utterly annoying older sister because even he would admit ignoring their first meeting, she was actually kinda cool. No that he would fucking admit that to her face. Ever.
When she agreed to helping him, Ronan didn't even bother trying to hide his relief. This cat meant way too much to his grandfather, and admittingly him, to let ego and social politics over a first meeting get in the way. Maybe money talks too, but he had a feeling that Kenzie would have no qualms about saying no if she really hated him. That much he knew, "Though if you really want to win me over, chocolate and coffee is the way to do it." Okay, she got him there. A small smile fell across his lips now, "After we get Muffin back, I'll take you out for all you can eat and drink chocolate and coffee for a day as long as you don't have a man who might beat me up over it." Because if she was dating someone, it must have to be someone with a pretty strong personality to put up with her antics and Ronan wasn't sure how he felt about meeting her other half.
The idea of taking Kenzie to his place felt a little weird, but he was willing to do anything, "Alright. My grandpa lent me his truck so I have it parked right here on campus. No ubers or taxies for us today." He made a mental note to not talk her ear off in the cab on the way back to his place, "I'm good at finding stuff out, not just animals. You could say I have a sixth sense for it. Extra cash really, and just seems to be something I'm good at." Blue grey eyes stared at her for a moment, feeling like there was more to that comment then what she was sharing, but he wouldn't push it. If they ever made it to that point in this short relationship, then maybe she would share more. But Ronan wasn't a pryer, mainly because he hated when people were up in his business too, "Well. It's a good skill to have, so thank you. Come on, let's go." He headed for her door now and paused, glancing back at her. A huffy sigh escaped him, mulling over something before finally saying, "Hey Kenzie, sorry I was a dick the first time we met."
As they headed on out, it was funny to see the differences between their horses. Max, his scrappy little brumby being utterly complacent while Leo's big, flashy show horse appeared rather discontent with the idea of taking it slow. The horse certainly tried to make his displeasure well aware with a few sporting antics. Ronan's chestnut let out a snort beneath him, shaking his head as if Adonis was being utterly childish - at least, that's what the young man thought that's what Max would be commenting on if horses could talk. The trails always brought out a different attitude for the brumby though - for him, that was real work, not running around in circles in the arena with flat terrain and a lack of cows. Leo's voice cut through his thoughts though, "I hope yours can keep up, otherwise they'll be catching you first."
Ronan couldn't help but to feign an insulted look, jokingly of course, "I'm a little insulted that you're insinuating that you wouldn't come back for us if we were caught. And here I thought we were shaping up to be friends." And perhaps more importantly, "Max may be small, but he is mighty and fierce. So I am sure we can keep up with the two of you." As if on cue, the chestnut's horse flicked forward, looking like he was ready to rumble now and take on whatever and left no rock unturned. Ronan's kind of riding. They followed Leo and Adonis as they turned towards one of the trails now, which was looking to be a rocky shake up. At the given compliment, Ronan thought the bragging rights would come on from the energetic guy, but Leo appeared humble enough about it.
"He's all flash and no cap," a snort of laughter escaped Ronan at that line, "Nah that's not fair I can't lie like that, he's not one of mine so naturally, he's not the best horse on the yard. He's my sister's - Adonis. Nice ride, takes a lot of riding but he's got one heck of a ping on him." Blue grey eyes looked at him curiously, "Your sister's okay with horse-napping him?" Although as soon as he said it, it felt silly. If you had t hat many horses to exercise, might as well let your siblings lend their asses to help with that chore. Probably did Adonis some good too to have a different hand. And then the tables had turned. How long had he been here? Ronan shrugged, "About a month maybe? I got in trouble at school back home in Australia, thankfully they didn't expel me but they didn't want me back either. And then, my grandmother here passed away, and my dad thought it'd do me some good to come be here with Grandpa so he wasn't lonely and maybe get to know my mom's side." Damn, that was a lot of talking he just did, "Sorry, wasn't my intention to overshare."
I'm listing my posting order for characters also so you can always track where I am =D I do my characters in groups of threes now. If there is anything pressing though, I will jump. If you have any concerns, please DM me on discord. I will always try and do my best to not keep you waiting long, but please keep in mind that I have 30 characters whom all have numerous threads. Thank you so much in advance and I look forward to threading with you in the futre!
