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!.
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
"Naomi," Sage said out loud, rolling the name off of his tongue and lips, "I think I can handle that." Still, he hovered in the doorway of her office, blue eyes staring at the woman before him. She was warm and welcoming, a far cry from his parents. It was strange, given that Naomi Clarke was on same footing as them, but the young man supposed that even in the Equestrian World, there were high ranking people who weren't complete snobs. As Naomi motioned to the two guest chairs in front of her desk, Sage supposed he should probably step inside her domain now.
He crossed the threshold, and when he wasn't struck by lightening, Sage continued his way to those chairs. As he slid into them silently, Naomi Clarke then asked the deadliest question known to man: "And tell me a bit about yourself." Blue eyes locked with hers, how he hated this question. It was always a trap. The young man stalled, leaning back in his chair and shifting, as if he were attempting to get comfortable, when really he was trying to figure out the best way at not coming off as a dick. Unfortunately, Sage Lavigne didn't know how to do that, so he went for simple, "I can stay in the saddle and ride whatever you throw at me, ma'am," he managed now, "Without complaining, of course." Not to her face at least.
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
Sage was really beginning to wonder why this horse's file had been all over the place. Was there something he was missing here? There couldn't be given that he read over the file three times. The guy who delivered him to Blue Arces told him to watch out and that the stallion was a dick, and yet, he was walking like a gentleman. He wasn't sure on what to think. Still, Sage doubted that his parents got him the perfect horse. The young man knew better than to suspect that.
He passed his worries off for now. There was no point in trying to figure out what might go wrong, he just had to wait for something to go wrong. As they stepped outside into the sunlight, he could hear Pointer beside him give a huff of content, "Huh. They really kept you cooped up then, didn't they?" Sage made a mental note to talk to the stablehands about that. Perhaps the stallion was best kept on his own in the pasture verses the stall when he wasn't specifically with Sage himself and the grass was fine. He had been lost in his thoughts, and that content allowed him to grow lax. The stallion's head lowered, walking nicely until.
Sage felt a slight pull and resistance. Blue eyes looked to Pointer now, who faltered and halted, now trying to get a patch of grass rather than walk forward. The young man frowned, let a sharp whistle, and pulled, unware of the surprise that was instore for him that came in the package of 1100 lb stallion by the name of Pointer.
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
Sage Lavigne had been at the bar last night when he got the call - be at Blue Arces early, he was testing out new horses with two other girls. By other girls, the young man had no doubt that his boss meant Maeve O'Doyle and Cara Kitchi. He had yet to formally meet them, he was just that new to the barn and work. While Sage politely agreed over the phone, he groused at the idea of working with others has he had closed out his tab and went home to sleep.
With the morning upon him though, the young man could do nothing but meet his destiny, or perhaps, competition. He was, however, mildly excited about the horses. Sage was curious about the young horses that Naomi Clarke would pull for competition growth and miles. As he pulled into the parking lot now, blue eyes clocked one car. So, he wasn't the first one. Grabbing his bag with his helmet and his protection vest, Sage headed for the barn now - not bothering to lock his car and promptly left the keys tucked away in the shade flap.
He headed inside and made a beeline to the indoor arena where he was greeted by a line of horses - an array of colorful sporthorses if one would. But they weren't the only living beings in the barn, "Ah. Guess I'm the one fashionably late," Sage smirked now, his blue eyes looking between the two young woman from beneath his mop of brunette hair, "I take one of you is Cara and the other is Maeve?"
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
Rich people were so weird. Maybe that was hypocritical coming from Sage Lavigne, son of two ranked equestrians. But considering he had been chucked away like the troublemaker he had been, and still was to this day, the young man thought he had every right to look at the rich through the lens of an outsider. Speaking of trouble, he hoped he didn't find any tonight, but sometimes, it just had a habit of finding him. It's not that the young man minded, but it could be irritable all the same. It usually came in the form of girls, and their boyfriends, who expected him to fight fair, and no doubt, this graveyard movie night would be littered with them.
Sage couldn't even remember how he heard about this event, it had been exclusive. Probably from some of the snobby riders at Blue Arces. Required tickets and a list and everything, that's why he was hanging out by the back, and would be jumping the fence - six pack and all - to get inside. But he had company tonight, so Sage lingered around, looking as nonchalant as ever waiting for his coworker, maybe it was friend, to arrive. Dusk was settling across Willow Bridge City and its graveyard, no doubt the movie would play when it was dark, but Sage didn't really care. He was more about the thrill of getting into somewhere that he didn't belong verses watching something that the rich and fancy deemed atmospheric for a moonlight night amongst the tomb stones. Right when he pondered if he was going to need a smoke did his blue eyes catch a familiar figure, "And here I thought you were going to chicken out on me." Sage said with a smirk now, finding himself staring at the one and only Dublin de Brun.
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
Sage wasn't sure what he had been expecting when he had opened up the stall door fully - the stallion bolting maybe, trying to bum rush him out given how he had been cooped up. Instead, the opposite appeared to happen. Pointer took one or two steps out and stopped, before leveling him with a look that seemed to say: What the fuck are you doing boy? Give me a signal. Blue eyes blinked, staring at those mismatched eyes, "Maybe you're not as terrible as they laid you out to be." Humans were never misunderstood, but animals were all the time, "Alright, let's see where we can go so you can show me your stuff."
He made sure to give some slack in the lead, the perfect 'j' so to say, and his hand rested a good few inches under Pointer's mouth to make sure the stallion didn't feel crowded - after all, he already had a stallion chain on. Sage led the way now, first heading to the indoor arena. Besides him, Pointer seemed to be walking just fine. Fine to the point where the young man almost felt like it might be safe to let his guard down, but he also knew that doing that may also be a mistake within itself. Unfortunately, the indoor arena was taken, which meant that they would have to walk to the lunge pen. If memory served him correct, they would be walking right by the pastures. Thankfully, given it was a schooling day, everyone was inside and not outside, not even the boarders, so walking by the pastures shouldn't be the end of the world.
"Guess we're going outside then," he said to the horse, mainly talking to Pointer as if he were a human who could understand his words. Some people thought that talking to their horses was silly, but Sage ultimately thought it was a good bonding tool even if he did sound stupid to someone listening in. He lead Pointer out through the double doors at the back of the barn and into the sunlight with the pastures in view. His steely blue gaze was locked ahead though, looking to the path towards the round pen. Little did he know that his morning was about to get incredibly interesting.
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
Sage Lavigne stared out at the pastures, leaning up against the outside wall of one of the barns while blue eyes rested on a small field with a sole black stallion sitting in it. This morning, had not gone as planned, with taking his new horse out. The young man was rather impressed that he had gotten out of the situation with all of his limbs in tact. Looks like his new job wasn't going to be the only thing that would come with a learning curve, Pointer, his fucking horse, required a learning curve too. No wonder his parents had gifted him the stallion.
A heaving sigh escaped Sage now at the thought, as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box of smokes. He tapped it a few times against the palm of his head, still watching Pointer from across the way. The black stallion looked like he had settled out after this antics this morning between the indoor arena and the hallways of the barn, eating up the spring air and ripping into the grass at his heart's content. He looked like the epitome of calm, unlike how he had been with Sage. No matter though. He'll figure Pointer out like any other horse he had sat on. Despite the antics and excitement, even Sage could tell that he had a potentially good, if not great, prospect on his hands.
Popping the box lid now, he slid out a cigarettes' and put it into his mouth. Next followed his lighter, as he cupped along the end of the cancer stick, lighting it up and taking an deep inhale before exhaling out the smoke. His nerves had long been steadied since talking to Naomi this morning, and dealing with his horse, but that didn't stop him from smoking. He earned it, and it was only 10 am. Sage was half way through his cancer stick now when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye - a girl, leading a horse. While earlier, Sage had left a note on the pasture with Pointer that nobody should put their horse in their unless they wanted a huge vet bill, he decided to just warn her ahead of time, "Hey. Don't put your horse in the field with the black horse with a blaze." Little did he know that his interaction with her wouldn't end there.
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
Sage Lavigne couldn't believe that the day was finally - first day on the job. He had gotten the low down over the phone from his boss, and Sage had been to Blue Arces enough to know the in's and out's of the place as a visitor, but he figured there was more to it as an employee. His parents had surprised him with the purchase of a horse recently, who would be arriving soon from the Sale Yard, or maybe already had, truth be told, Sage hadn't been tracking the situation that much.
He knew that he should be thankful that he was the son of two ranked equestrians, that they could afford to give him a half decent show stallion, and yet, Sage remained to have parental issues over it. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise him that even though he was convinced he got this groom position to Naomi Clarke on his own that they didn't have something to do with it behind his back. How he loathed them merely because they weren't around when he was growing up, and now they thought they could just meddle in his affairs like it was nothing. But that didn't matter to Sage, all what mattered that he was going to beat them one of these days.
With that resolution burning in his mind, Sage walked through the grounds now and headed straight to the office. Blue eyes took in the space once he entered, reminding him of all of Naomi Clarke's accomplishments over her equestrian career between the trophies, rossettes, and winning pictures of her horses. Sage knew the woman had another rider or two working underneath her - two women - but as far as he was concerned, he would get to the top of selected riders for Naomi's horses. Shockingly, Naomi's gatekeeper, Sofia Papaioannou, wasn't at her desk, something Sage relished as he moved towards the closed door. Upon hearing typing behind it, he knocked and pushed the door open, "Ms. Clarke. It's Sage Lavigne. Your new groom."
I’d always thought I was above being fascinated by anyone but myself.
Sage Lavigne wasn't sure what his parents had been thinking about buying him a horse, now of all times, when he was just starting his work with Naomi Clarke. Surely, she wanted him to spend more time with her own horses - given that's what she was paying and teaching him on - rather than his own - who, according to the file he received, may or may not be a nutcase. Truth be told, the incident in questioned listed in the file, Sage didn't believe it was the horse's fault. He put the blame on the former owners - a cruel thing to do given the aftermath of the accident left the stallion's previous rider likely unable to ride again - but maybe one shouldn't let a wife nor an unpredictable toddler near such an animal.
Blue eyes continued to pour over the file a bit more, from pictures, to previous numbers from competitions. While his parents may not have done their due diligence on 'Flash Point's background, Sage couldn't deny that he had a possible contender on his hands for their future together. Still. He had to crack the stallion first. It wasn't a task that Sage didn't mind, he tended to excel in figuring any horse out, but time to do so, would be the issue. The young man glanced at the clock in the office now, "Guess I have time now," he muttered, tossing Flash Point's file back on the desk - leaving the mess for the barn manager to take care of. After all, he had a stallion to go see.
A short walk to the boarder section of Blue Arce's and he already heard the black stallion before seeing it. But sure enough, a fine head with a white blaze marred by a single spot was sticking out of the stall now. So, Flash Point, or Sage supposed he should call him Pointer, was dramatic on top of being 'dangerous and crazy'. Sage was even more annoyed at his parents now, starting to understand what they had done in their own snide way. They got him a show horse who could match his own attitude. The file probably only scratched the surface. He stopped outside of the stall now, blue eyes staring at the black stallion before flicking to the name plate: 'Pointer' followed by 'Flash Point' followed by 'Owner: Sage Lavigne'. Well, they really went all out.
"You want out, Mate?" he asked, grabbing the leather lead line now - best for his hands if something should, and probably would, go array. The stallion chain glistened in the light. Sage didn't care for them, but right now, he didn't know much about his new horse other than what was on paper. There were no lessons right now, so the young man could run the horse in the indoor arena, before taking him out to pasture. Might be the best course of action given all of that hollering and whinnying, Pointer might be more about his own anxieties at the moment rather than pay attention to what's going on around him. Sage opened the stall just a little bit before politely, but firmly, Sage held the black stallion's head and halter, putting the stallion lead on, while humming a tune. Once done, he finally spoke again, "Alright. Let's see what you're really made of outside of the papers." And with that, standing to one side of the stall, he pushed the door completely open now to see what Pointer may do with his new found 'freedom'.
full name • Sage Aster Lavigne nicknames • N/A - although he wouldn't put it behind any of his friends to call him something dumb age • Nineteen birthday • February 2 occupation • Equestrian & Groom - Blue Arces gender • Male sexuality • Hetero
the appearance
face claim• Tom Blyth
identifying features• Sage is a lanky 6 foot even, with blue eyes and a mop of brunnette hair. Depending on how hot it gets in the summer time, he's known to make impulsive decisions to shave his hair down close to the skin. Sage has softer features than some of the other young men in town, making him more boyish but that doesn't take away from his ability to melt hearts. Surprisingly, his body is free of any scars or tattoos, but Sage is still young and impulsive, so anything is possible in the future.
the personality
likes • Horses, Pushing Boundaries, Hanging out with Wendell Alenko, Being a Bad Boy, Being free of school work, Impressing Naomi Clarke, Winning, Being in Control, The Thrill of the Ride, Adrenaline, Sweets & Cakes, Smooth Beer dislikes • Being Outsmarted - by horse or human, Losing Control, Fighting with his friends, Disappointing people important in his life, Being put into a box or somebody thinking he needs fixing, Warm Beer, People who put crisps into cookies/biscuits (that is a crime). strengths • Smooth Talking, Staying in the Saddle, Counting Strides weaknesses • Typical Wants Stuff He Can't Have, Grows Bored Easily, Takes stuff for granted dreams • Dreams are for losers - although, he can't wait to go out on his own into the competitive equestrian world fears • Causing the Death of a horse, falling unconditionally and irrevocably in love overall personality • Sage tends to come off as a little bit of a bad boy, he only took to taking one friend at Willow Brooke and the rest of his time is spent playing hard to get. He's intelligent but often bored and prefers to being in the saddle than sitting in a desk. Sage can come off as reserved and snide towards his peers, but he knows better than to take on a respected adult. He takes joy in getting his peers riled up and flustered, especially members of the opposite sex, seemingly knowing no boundaries other than to not force himself on someone. While his people skills outside of those closest to him require work, he is rather good with horses given his parents instilled their knowledge into him the second he could walk and understand words. Given this along with a natural gift, Sage takes his skill and time with horses for granted, which no doubt will be corrected over time during his groom apprenticeship.
the history
father • Benoit Lavigne, 58, Professional Equestrian, Ranked mother • Olivia O'Hallaron, 58, Professional Equestrian, Ranked siblings • N/A important people • Naomi Emily Clarke (mentor), Wendell Henry Alenko (best friend, fellow equestrian), Florence Gayle - Godmother hometown • Paris, France (born); Birmingham, United Kingdom (childhood), Hickstead, United Kingdom (teenager to present) overall history • Sage was born to ranked equestrians Benoit Lavigne of France and Olivia O'Hallaron of Great Brittan. From an early age, Sage was put into the saddle by his parents. They liked to joke that their old horses did more parenting than they did when he was two. Despite his birth, neither Benoit nor Olivia had any interests in putting their careers on hold to raise a child, so they did both. They kept a watchful eye on him under the roof of their barn outside of Birmingham (along with Olivia's parents) as he grew, and made sure that he had schooling tutors for homeschooling as he became of age to enter.
The older Sage became though, the more absent his parents became. Yes, they still had time to grill him on how to ride horses, how to count strides, and unlock speed without loosing his seat, but everything else? Well, that was for the tutors, or for Olivia's parents. Like any growing boy, Sage began to act out simply because he could get away with it - especially when his parents left Birmingham for their out of town competitions. His riding took a slide, his schooling, and he spent more time outside of his family's home (although it felt like a compound) than he did inside of it. Boys will be boys as they say, but at age fourteen, he had one too many incidents with shoplifting and drunken tomfoolery and finally got caught.
His parents were livid, but uncertain of how to punish him. That meant punishing themselves and their career, so instead, they shipped him off to his Godmother, Florence Gayle, an armature competitive rider on the local circuits and a working business to support her. Sage wasn't sure on what to make of this situation when he landed in Hickstead, Florence was strict as if she had belonged in the Army yet compassionate, and unlike his parents, she was around more often than not, keeping a watchful and often hawkish eye on him. She enrolled him into Willow Brooke Academy to keep his mind engaged and to keep him out of trouble. Sage didn't really make friends though nor take to anyone until two years later with the arrival of Wendell Alenko.
As for riding, Florence kept him riding on her small property of three horses. She taught Sage herself, keeping his equine knowledge from getting rusty. With his tuition to Willow Brooke, any other stables was out of the question for now other than the occasional visit to Blue Arces to accompany Wendell to visit his own horse. While Sage was better about keeping out of trouble, it didn't change that bad boy persona that he seemingly arrived with, and became the academy's nomination every year for 'most likely to break your heart'. Due to this, it was probably best that he had been kept out of the local barns.
After four years though, he had finally graduated and never once ended up a juvenile detention facility. Sage also had little aspirations for university, and Florence knew that. She also knew that riding with her and her horses had grown stale for Sage, there was nothing left she could offer other than her contacts within the equestrian world. However, while Benoit and Olivia had been absent, they did gift him a show jumper as his graduation gift. Sage knew then, that he wanted to take on his parents, he wanted to outshine them just to prove how wrong they were to value their careers over him. At eighteen though, he didn't know where to start, and Florence gently pushed him towards what she thought was best.
It took a year, but Sage finally found himself able to convince Naomi Clarke of Blue Arces Stables to take him on as a groom and mentor for her own fleet of show horses. Upon her agreement, Sage moved his horse from Florence's property to Blue Arces, given he would be spending what would likely be every waking minute of his day there. Sage knows he's entering a new world now, full of opportunities and just as many dangers to fuck it up, but what's the worst that can happen, right?
the role player
alias • forevedr age • olddd other characters • the herd