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.
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
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