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!.
jake rubbed his hand into shades neck as they waited for their turn in the ring. they'd finished their warm up and while jake wanted to be confident they'd have a good run, he wasn't sure. shade had been distracted while taking the warm up jumps, knocking a few poles he should have been able to take easily and he didn't know how that would play out in the ring. while he wanted to win, he knew that it wasn't the most important thing, right now. right now was just about getting back into the swing of showing, getting ready to hopefully jump back into the circuit a little more now his kids were a little older and he and carly weren't battling babies and toddlers at the same time. they were still battling, but it felt slightly easier now most of their children were little people, not spawns of the devil causing terror and strife wherever they went.
he heard the announcer come across the ring, letting them know that leo had gone clear and he clapped his hands a little half hearted. he and leo were friends but in the ring, there was no harm in hoping for a knocked pole or two. he walked shade towards the show ring and once signaled, he circled shade around the course at a canter before he started the course with him. from the moment they started, he knew it wasn't going to be their day. while shade didn't refuse a jump, jake could tell that his heart wasn't in it today. he had to encourage him toward the fences instead of steadying him and holding him back, because the horse he rode was nothing if not a rocket hidden inside a chestnut horse.
there was still hope that they'd make the round clear as they cleared the fourth jump, however as they pushed towards the fifth jump jake felt shade hesitate a little despite his encouragement and then as they let the ground and flew over it, there was the tell-tale thump as shades hooves knocked the pole on top of the jump. it clattered to the ground as they landed and jake knew that it was over since they had to have a clear run or they were disqualified but he wasn't going to not jump the last jump. that would be giving up and that just wasn't in jakes nature. they took the last jump but the same thing happened, shades hooves knocked it and that was that. the poles fell to the ground and once horse and rider had landed, jake slowed shade up and patted his neck gently. "not our day huh mate." he said softly as he slowed to a walk and left the ring.
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
he hated whatever had happened to this horse to make him distrust people so much. there was never any reason to mistreat any animal but for some reason, horses hit him harder than most. even horses he didn't like, such as his partners demon animal, he'd never hurt, never scare and never lay a hand to him. he gathered the long line slowly in his hand, careful not to wrap it around his hand in case monster took off on him and he was careful not to tug on it at all. "that's it mate." he said softly when he saw the slight relaxation of the tenseness the horse was carrying within him.
he took slow and small steps forward towards him, only because he didn't want to spook him anymore than he already was, there was no fear within jake at the horse before him. just a desire to help him be a lot more comfortable and to get him away from a place where people obviously didn't trust him or even like him enough to treat him with some decency. "shh." he made a soft noise as he reached to lay his hand gently on the strong neck of the horse, not wanting to reach for the bridle straight away. "i can help with that itch if you let me." he said with a slight smile as he waited to see how the horse reacted to his touch.
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
how he'd gotten from the cross country course to the hospital, he couldn't remember. he'd been riding with his brother, challenging him to a timed run to challenge himself, to see if colarado still had the gumption he'd had when jake had been showing him full time and he'd been going brilliant, until he hadn't. the usual steady horse had baulked at a tiger trap, something they'd jumped before and jake hadn't been expecting it. he'd been too cocky to. had he been riding shade or even cleo, he'd have been more ready but he often found himself getting complacent while on the back of his usually rock-solid mount, but he should have known better.
now he was laying in a hospital bed, the stark surroundings a far cry from the woods he'd been in just hours ago without a care in the world. he'd tried listening to the nurses and the doctors but he couldn't focus on them, their faces were a blur, their voices sounded like they were talking to him through a dozen sheets of glass and all he really knew was what they were pumping into him wasn't making him feel any better. the pain was ever present, the left side of his chest felt like it was caving in every time he took a shallow breath in, unable to take anything deeper, even with the mask they had strapped onto his face.
the one thing he was sure of was that his brother was there, he could hear his voice, feel his presence close to him. it felt stupid to think that but it's all he could call it. he was glad he was there because there was no denying that he was scared. none of the faces around him looked anything but worried and even in his half out of it state, he could tell it wasn't good. he knew they wanted to operate on him, he'd heard that much but he still couldn't tell anyone why, the words ruptured spleen just weren't sinking in. he could feel the broken ribs, he knew they were there. how could he not, but they masked anything else he might have been feeling.
he watched one of the nurses replace a bag of red liquid on the line that was hanging just above his head and he closed his eyes for a second before he turned his head in the direction that he hoped his brother was. if they wanted him to have surgery, he couldn't do it until he'd seen the one person that he kept seeing in his head. the one face he was scared that he'd never see again. his daughter, maddie. only a baby, she was his whole world and if they thought there was a chance he might not make it out of this (even though those words hadn't been said, he just couldn't let it go) he needed to see her. "ben." he rasped out, the mask muffling his voice a little. "maddie.." he said it more as a question than just a name, hoping his brother got the message and quickly. his eyes flickered to the door as another nurse came into the room, though she didn't appear to be here for him so he didn't pay much attention to her, he just let himself drift out of focus as the nurse told his brother that their parents were here.
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
once or twice he worried that the hooves flying around him would hit him, but it didn't take him long to realise that monsters intention wasn't to hurt him, but to scare him, to make him want to get away from him, to make him run. if he wanted that, he wasn't going to get it. at least not from jake. even as he flung his head towards his legs, there was no pain, no bite and no real contact with anything aside from the fabric of jakes pants and that in itself told him that he wasn't dealing with a monster, just a scared horse. he could have easily made contact with jake, torn chunks from him and trampled him into the dirt if he'd wanted to but he was still standing there. it meant that what had happened to the kid at the horses old stables had been nothing more than an accident.
jake watched him for a second from the other side of the pen as he stood against the fence, his sides heaving from the effort of the show he'd just put on and jake watched in sympathy as he couldn't get rid of the flies that were bothering him, for some reason the people here had braided his mane, as if that would entice someone to buy him. he looked uncomfortable and that was what had jake moving slowly towards him, his hand stretching out slowly as he got closer to him. "let me take the bridle off mate." he spoke to him, softly as he slowly bent down to pick up the line that trailed the horse, bunching the long line in his hand so it was a bit shorter.
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
well his words had had the desired effect on the groom who was watching them and giving his unsolicited opinion about what was happening in the ring, but it had had an unwanted effect on the horse. something jake should have thought of before but it was just something he needed to deal with now. would it change his motives and demeanour? no. would it mean he'd need to work a bit harder to gain the horses trust back? yes. though he was positive it would be a darn sight easier without an audience questioning the horses motives when he flicked his tail or took a breath. he cringed a little as the horses hooves struck the metal bars on the fence but he couldn't help but give props to the horse for the way the groom scurried away from the pen and into the barn.
he kept his body loose and as limber as he hoped he could be as he watched the horses with careful eyes. he wasn't sure there was any intention to hurt him coming from the horse so he stood his ground for the moment, watching as intently as he could without staring at the poor animal. he saw the ears and the way he was tense but he couldn't pick up danger vibes from him, at least not to the point he was worried enough to get out of the pen. a kick or a bite would be painful but it wouldn't be the end of him and he could survive them. he just hoped he was quick enough to pick up the change in the horse if he did decide to go from testing the water to trampling puny humans.
the kick the horse threw hit air and that in itself helped jake make his decision to stay where he was. he doubted a horse that hated people would give him another chance to hurt him if he really didn't want him there. it was something of a gamble but jake was all for the risks, that was the only way to get a decent reward. he heard the squeal and he lifted his hands up a little as the horse was coming towards him, he held his ground though. "steady mate." he said softly as he fought his own flight response to take a step back from the horse. "that was my fault i know, but he was an idiot." it was something of a blessing as the horse came into his space because while he was close to him, jake could move with him to avoid getting kicked or bitten somewhat, with horses the closer you were to danger the further you were from harm. or something like that, he could remember his old trainer from when he was about 7 telling him that. "it's just us now bud."
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
there was something about the groom that jake didn't like. beyond what he'd seen when the guy had been handling the horse and his body language towards the animal, it went deeper than that and jake made no effort to hide it from him. as he was talking his eyes narrowed a little and his frown deepened slightly. it was clear to jake that assumptions had been made about the horse before eyes had ever been laid on him. he firmly believed in letting a horse show their personality before he passed judgment on them. if he'd taken his last new horse shade at face value before he'd worked with him, he'd never have taken him on and he was one of the best horses jake could have imagined.
he didn't say anything back to the groom, his 'you're an idiot' face before he turned back to monster and started thinking of the best way to work with the horse. if he didn't trust people he couldn't just approach him and he knew if he didn't push the horse any he'd probably get nowhere. there needed to be this middle ground where they could both find connection. "if you're going to stay, shut your mouth." jake said calmy but with as much attitude as he could to make sure that groom understood that me meant it.
he couldn't help but smile slightly as the horse came over to start checking him out. there was caution there, there was fear and jake was certain that there was apprehension about what jake might do within the creature's mind. he felt the push and smile gently, making a soft shushing noise with his mouth. it took a second, just a second for the progress to be ruined by the groom making a noise from behind them. the moment was over, the horse backing off and taking off and jake couldn't help but spin sharply on his heel to glare at the groom. "get the fuck away from here." he snapped at him. "if you're still by the fence in five seconds i'm going to bend you over it, tie you up and let him have his way with you."
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
jake watched everything unfold with interest and also amazement. it unfolded in something of slow motion but he just watched, if the groom was worth his wait in salt he wouldn't need someone to bail him out of the situation, it might not have been the safest but it was something self inflicted with the way he'd been working the horse. it wasn't like the horse wasn't working because he was being lazy or just energetic, any boob with half a brain could see it was also because he didn't trust the hand on the rope. luckily what this groom made up for in the lack of brains was a decent sprint on him and jake watched as he bailed out as quickly as he could, dropping to the other side of the fence safely and jake shook his head a little. "you don't like the horse, do you?" he asked as the groom stood up and dusted himself off. though jake took his attention off him and put it back onto the reason he was here.
it seemed that it was then monster noticed he was even watching because suddenly those dark eyes were on jake and he felt them doing their best to read him. now he wasn't moving as fast jake could see the marks that hands had laid on him before and it made his blood boil that someone could do that to any animal, much less to a horse. he'd dealt with difficult horses before but there was never any reason to do this. he didn't make any sort of moves as the black stallion moved towards him slowly, as if they were each sizing each other up and trying to work out what each other was about. he felt the breath from the horse on his arms and he smiled slightly, the slight tickling sensation working through his arms. "well look at you." he said softly as the horse turned to walk away from him.
he watched him for a few more minutes until he made a choice, one that might have been stupid but he had this sense that if he didn't threaten the horse, the horse wouldn't threaten him. he was also just as fast as the groom so he knew he'd be able to get halfway up the fence before monster got to him. "lets see if we can get that rope off you." he spoke, just as softly as he had before. he didn't approach the horse, he just turned to the side slightly, holding his hand out in front of him to see if he could peak the horses interest enough for him to come over and investigate what he was doing.
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
jake really didn't like it when horses suffered because people were stupid. he'd never imagine blaming a horse for actions that clearly weren't caused by nothing, unless it was jupe. jake would blame that horse for anything if he could. but that didn't mean he'd hurt him, withhold care or do anything to make him suffer or scared of his surroundings. he'd grumble, roll his eyes and complain but he'd treat him like any other horse he had. when people couldn't do that it angered him. so that's why he was here today. to check out a horse that sounded like it had just been put into bad situations and blamed when they turned ugly. he and carly had talked about it, decided they could take on another horse, at least for a while to see if it worked. at the very least jake could provide him a safe home, safe handling and round the clock care while he took the time to find someone who could look after the horse properly.
he was directed to the yard the horse was in by a groom that didn't really seem to like the horse. was everyone here against the poor animal? he knew what had happened with the stablehand at blue acres. his brother's girlfriend had been one of the paramedics that had saved his life and taken him to hospital so he'd heard about the gist from her, not details or names but he'd heard there had been a kid hurt by a horse from her. the rest of the horse people in town had spread the details around. he ran his hand through his hair as he walked into the sunlight towards where the large black horse was being worked and even through the fence jake was impressed by the way he moved. he reached the wooden slats of the round yard and he climbed up onto the first rung to lean his arms onto the fence quietly, he didn't announce himself but he didn't try to hide himself either. he couldn't help but smile when there were a few bucks thrown in and it seemed that he was running without regard to who was holding the rope, and the poor groom looked like he was just trying to keep up with the horse as best he could.
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
if i woke up next to -- leo "what the fuck happened at the stables last night ...."
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1
TWENTY FOUR | CROSS COUNTRY INSTRUCTOR | CARLY HANNAH WELLS MADDISON RYAN | 7 TRACE RYAN | 4 BENJAMIN RYAN | 4 XAVIER RYAN | 4 ASHER RYAN | 1 AARON RYAN | 1