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!.
“Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
It was an early spring evening and Cara was in her happy place. She had finished her work of looking after the Clarke-Thone twins and Kyoto was in the capable hands of her grandparents as the family ate their dinner - sweet and sour chicken, with rice and egg foo young - and now she had some time to herself.
She smiled as she watched the ponies as the moved around the pasture, knowing that a whistle from her would have their attention, though she was happy enough just being an observer for now. The herd had changed over time, she had gained a couple of new ponies that needed retraining, and had brought over the two foals, Fish and Bankroll, from her wild herd once they were at an age where they could be weaned. Ice, however, had been weaned for a long time (though she still tried to see if her dam would let her try and nurse), and Cara decided that it was time for her training to move on.
She looked over at the bay filly, who was trying to challenge Blossom, which the mare wasn't having any of and gave the youngster a warning nip before she turned around and gave the filly a very firm kick. "Silly girl." Cara whistled and smiled when all of the ponies turned to her as one and Cara gave the filly her whistle, smiling as the pony flicked up her heels at Blossom, earning her another nip, and daintily trotted over to where Cara was standing. "Hi, baby." She said softly as she offered the filly her hand and then rubbed her forehead. "Casey is going to come and do some work with you." The filly knew all the basics; how to wear a halter, stand still while being groomed, lift her feet to have them cleaned and trimmed. She was still a year or more away from being ridden, but there was still a lot of training to do without needing to tack a pony up.
Cara groomed the pretty little buckskin before tacking her up and putting her cross country boots and then pulled the body protector on over the top of her long-sleeved polo. She removed the cross-ties, once again wondering if she had made the right decision by signing up for lessons - which had been Mrs Clarke's suggestion - but as her lesson was in half an hour and she needed to warm her horse up. "Let's do this." She said as she led the mare out of the barn and vaulted into the saddle.
The mare had the most uncomfortable walk, her trot was even worse, but she guessed that's what happens when the young mare's sire was over sixteen hands and the mare barely reached fifteen. She blew out a breath, shaking all thoughts out of her head as she made her way to the cross country course. "Steady." She soothed as she lined the horse up to the gate, leaned down to open it and the mare almost vanished from under her. "Good girl." She smiled as she got the horse to turn on her haunches so that she could close the gate behind them and rode toward the start of the course.
She rubbed the mare's neck as she jumped to the side as there was a noise in the bush to their left and she spoke quietly to the horse as they approached the man who was waiting for them. She shrugged at his words, she'd heard them all before from the grooms where the mare had spent her first four years. "Her dam is a Connemara, sire is an Irish Sporthorse. Yes, we are ready...Well, I'm ready." The jury was still out on what the mare was going to do with how spooky she had been so far.
Cara knew that she should be tired, as it was early in the morning, and she had finished working Mik's and Naomi's horses, and now, after helping Naomi bring in the half dozen Sporthorses and tying them to the arena fence, she sat on the fence, patting the nose of a flaxen chestnut mare as she waited for the other two riders to arrive, and their boss to return.
She offered Maeve a smile as the young woman entered the arena. "Ms Clarke will be back in just a moment." She said.
She looked up as a young man entered the arena and remained on her perch, as it gave her a little extra height, and her eyes glanced toward the door, silently willing Naomi to return. "I am called Cara." She offered, glad the arena was pretty silent as her voice wasn't exactly the loudest. Her eyes moved to the door again, wondering if she was supposed to do the equine introductions, and released a breath when she saw the blonde headed woman walked through the door.
Cara gave a small smile, as it seemed she was getting better at this social interaction thing. Looking after children was teaching her as much as it was teaching them. "It's a pity that the French are not often mentioned when you look up the best bakers." Not that that was a topic many people would look up just for the fun of it, and she only knew the information because an old classmate who had become a pastry chef had told her.
She nodded, pleased that it seemed Molly understood what she had been saying. Luna might surprise you." She offered with a smile. "Horses become so used to being told what to do, that they feel they lose a bit of their freedom. Once you start asking and waiting for an answer, they become more inclined to work with you, because you aren't the only one doing the talking." At least she'd discovered that that was why so many lesson horses got such a bad reputation.
She smiled again and bowed her head as she watched Molly with Mist. "You letting me down isn't something I'm worried about. I've seen you working with both Major and Luna, and you treat them both as though they are your own, rather than just handing them off when you've finished. She finally released Twist and gave him a little push, bringing her energy up, telling the pony that enough was enough and lowered her energy again when the Mountain Pony backed off and then walk away. "When you start jumping her, please have someone with you. She likes to buck, after a jump, and I'm not sure if she'll do the same with a rider on." She'd ridden enough ponies who liked to buck after a jump, just because they were having a blast, not because they were being naughty.
Cara blinked as she picked herself up off the ground, from where Apeiros had slammed her into the gatepost as he'd barged out of the arena as they had finished their light workout under the spotlights and she'd been about to lead him back into the barn, where she could tell Mik to go home.
Blinking back the spots, she experimentally circled her arm, wincing when it refused to go all the way around, and then looked around, the stallion was nowhere to be seen. "Kuso!" She swore as she picked up a jog and headed toward the barn doors, ignoring the spots still dancing in her vision, Ms Clarke would be most displeased with her if anything happened.
She paused when she got to where Mik was standing and nodded as he pointed deeper into the barn and she picked up her pace when she heard a scream. "Hey!" She called when she could see the tail end of her horse, trying to catch his attention, wincing when he skidded to a halt and reared up. "Easy, love." She soothed as she stepped out of the shadows. Her grey-yellow eyes landed on Molly and Maeve, both of whom looked terrified. "Breathing would be the best option." She said gently to the two teenagers, as she approached the giant grey horse, holding her hands up when he shied to the side, knowing she had to get the stallion away from the mares.
"Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life." —Bill Cunningham
Due to her tiny stature, Cara had never been a fan of clothes shopping. Back when she had attended private school, that required a tailored uniform, it hadn't been a problem, as she was measured and the clothes were made, and other outfits had been made the same way. Now, as an adult, she still had to shop in the children's section of stores - which was great if she loved pretty and colourful things - so she ordered most of her clothing online, or had it made for her.
However, with the show season approaching, she knew she needed new show attire, as well as her daughter and the Clarke-Thorne twins needing new clothes as they had all gone through a growth spurt - even if Kyoto, who was a year older than the twins, was the same height as them. Drawing in a deep breath, she brushed down the long sleeved maroon and gold Blue Acres polo shirt that she was wearing, and walked into the tack store. She had a list of the children's sizes, as Naomi had thought it was best not to let the children loose in the tack shop, and she headed over to look at the show jackets, trying to work out which ones would look best on her with the horses she rode, while also making sure they didn't look too... young for her to look professional while in the show ring.
Cara fixed Twist's plait, sewing the button braid back into place and turned to look at the scowling face of her daughter. "I know you want to be in the ring with him mon cheri, but not when you're competing against people years older than you." She said softly, using her thumb to wipe a tear from the girl's cheek. "We'll run a small show at home and you, Akaterina, Sebastian and Violet can compete." She knew that her daughter could hold her own in the show ring, but not today.
"You be a good boy for Mama." Kyoto said as she gave her pony a kiss on the nose. "Have fun."
Cara smiled as she finished tacking the pony up and then led him toward the warm up area before vaulting into the saddle and putting him through his paces, making sure that he was warm and supple before their names were called for the Handy Pony class. She could have entered Aperios in this class, but knew she would have put the stallion well out of his comfort zone, and today was all about fun.
Walking the Welsh into the arena, she looked around, giving the pony a chance to look at what was in front of them too, and then they picked up a canter and started the course. The pony zipped his way through the poles, neatly bouncing from side to side as they went through, though Cara asked for a trot as they approached the washing, just in case, and needed have bothered as the pony didn't even bat an eyelid at the clothes as they went under.
Opening and closing a gate was nothing new to the pony, and with Cara on his back he did the obstacle textbook style and was ready for the next challenge. He did eyeball the postbag a little, but didn't put up a fuss as Cara picked it up and asked him to walk forward, the pony not caring about the flapping bags, to the hook where the bag needed to go.
Of all things for the pony to stop at, Cara was no expecting it to be a cross rail, and as well as stopping, the pony swerved to the side, almost dislodging his rider, before Cara let him have a good look at the jump, circled him away and asked him to jump it, which his did beautifully, and even threw in a little buck afterwards. Shaking her head in amusement, they continued on.
The tarpaulin didn't cause an issue as the pony happily walked over it, as though it was something he did every day, the bridge however brought the pony to another halt and he tried to walk around it, rather than over it. "Go on." She soothed as she circled the pony back to the start of the bridge. "Have a good look, it's not going to hurt you." She released the reins, allowing the pony to stretch his neck out as far as he could and have a sniff at the bridge. When he seemed happy enough that it wasn't going to move, he stepped forward and pawed at it and finally stepped up onto the bridge and crossed over. "Okay, we have some things to work on." She said as she gave the pony a rub on his neck as they left the arena. "I'm guessing if Kyoto were riding you, you would have done that at a flat gallop and not had time to look at anything." She shrugged as she rode the pony back to where her daughter was waiting.
Cara blew out a breath as she finished taking off her tracksuit and pulling her navy blue jacket. Her nose curled as she noticed the jacket seemed a little large on her, but there was nothing she could do about that right now, and she circled her shoulder to get it sitting properly. There was a tiny voice in the back of her head, telling her she shouldn't be doing this, that she had told herself that she wasn't going to put herself through this anymore, and yet, here she was.
Walking out to her huge mount, she once again questioned the sanity of her choices, but there was nothing she could do about that now, and if she allowed the thoughts too much attention, she would just make herself ill, and she didn't have time for that. "We're just going out there to have fun." That inner voice called her a liar, but she pushed it away again as she made sure the stallion looked perfect, and that he hadn't rubbed the yellow ribbon she had threaded through the palit on his tail off. "Parfait!" She swapped the halter for his bridle, led him over to the fence and used that to mount him. "This is just like any other day in the arena." She soothed as he shifted under her while she tightened the girth and pushed her feet into the stirrups. "No pressure."
Even after a long warm up, while they were waiting for the bell, the stallion still felt tense under her, and Cara released a long breath, blowing out the tension in her body, a smile curving her lips as the grey did the same. "Let's show them what you can do." She gave the her horse a pat as the bell sounded and she asked for him to pick up his trot as they entered at A and headed toward X.
It seemed that all her worries about the stallion had been for nothing, as soon as he'd entered the arena, he had just flowed, and a slight shift in her weight was all he needed to know what to do next as he worked nicely on the bit, his body held nicely, tail flowing out behind him as he showed off to the people watching. And she had a feeling that the test was well and truly below both of their abilities as they trotted back down the centre line and halted to give their final salute and exited the arena on a long rein. "Magnifique mon garçon!" She said with a smile as she gave him a pat and they headed back.
Cara pressed her lips together and nodded, she was very aware of how self-aware she was. She knew each of her own faults and did her best not to allow them to cause flaws in her daughter, or anyone else around her. She was described as a jack of all trades. Yes, jack of all trades and master of none. She could do everything, but wasn't great at any one thing that she did. She gave a small laugh at the mention of some parents being single minded with the direction they wanted their children to go. The Clarke-Thornes were the only family she knew that actually encouraged their children, her included, to be themselves. To follow their own path, rather than it being predestined. Until she had moved in here, everything she did was about how much money she could make for someone else. "I just want her to be the best she can be at whatever piques her interest."
Her nose scrunched up at the mention of art therapy. She'd hated how the psychotherapists went though all of her sketchbooks and diaries with a fine tooth comb as they tried to delve into her mind during the trial, tried to find her psyche through what she had drawn and written. The only problem though, was that she drew what wasn't in her head. "Just remember, that sometimes and rain cloud, is just a rain cloud." She offered with a shrug and a tiny smile. "I did child psychology, when I finished school." She watched as Kyoto stood in the pasture with Twist's forehead pressed against her chest as the girl rubbed the pony's ears, the other ponies in the pasture watching between grazing, waiting to see if anything was going to happen.
Cara sat lightly in the saddle, holding the reins with just enough contact that the horse knew she was still there, and she could check him if he needed a reminder that she wasn't just a passenger, but not enough that the huge grey felt he had to be on the bit. She released a breath as she glanced around, remembering why she didn't often go on trail rides. Out here, without the constant thought about what was coming next; the next transition, the next jump, the next gait, out here her mind was allowed to wander and with half her concentration on the horse beneath her and the path in front of her, the other half was thinking about what she was going to do with her life.
She was now, in the eyes of everyone else, a young adult - not that she'd ever had the chance to be a child - and she really needed to take charge of her life. She'd had a word with her lawyer and any contact between her and the man who had sired her daughter was now gone. Her psychologist had spoken to her about taking back her life, letting go of the past and all that, but the young woman was struggling with that. While other people could just file their past away and tuck it in a box that would remain in the dark recesses of their brains, slowly forgotten over time, Cara didn't have that luxury. She did however, need to take hold of the reins of her present and steer it in the direction she wanted.
She snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of a voice behind them and used her leg to shift the stallion over to they gave the other horse and rider room to ride beside them, or pass if they so wished. "I am she." She replied, grey eyes glancing over at him and the Paint he was riding. font color="yellow"]"You came to the barn the evening that Ms Clarke's horse, Rex, decided to stand on his shoe when standing up in the pasture and ripped it off, along with part of his hoof. He is not enjoying the stall rest, but is healing well."
[/font] While she had Dr Katsaros as her vet, she had seen the man around the barn. "Hush, mon petit." She soothed as the stallion spooked at a strangely shaped bush. "Company of a level-headed horse would be very much appreciated, thank you, Sir." She said with a small smile, rubbing the grey's neck as he settled down again. "Unless you have somewhere else to be." Yes, he had asked if she wanted a buddy, but she knew that people asked questions like that to be polite and weren't always genuine. [/div][/div]
Cara pressed her lips together, she knew from the other girl's body language that she had said something that hadn't been the answer Molly had wanted, and she wasn't sure what she had said that seemed to have upset the other. "They help as much as they can." She replied. She tried to include the two teenagers into her dinner prep plans as much as possible, but with both of them so busy in the barn, she was often left to her own devices. "Scottish macaroons are a lot nicer, and not as... painful to make, as the french variant."
With her daughter safely in the arms of her grandmother, Cara turned her complete attention to Molly. "Small questions are easy. Catching your horse's attention, is a small question. The correct answer to that question would be the horse remaining still as you approach them. If that question is too big for them, they walk away as you approach. Your next question would be to catch their attention and then hold it. Them taking a step toward you would be the best kind of answer, but them not walking away is still a good answer." She said with a small shrug, hoping she had been able to explain it well enough.
She smiled as Mist and Molly got to know each other, knowing that another grown human would be good for the mare. Sure, Kyoto could ride the mare, but the toddler's riding abilities were as lacking as the mare's training, so Mist needed someone on her back the knew the ropes better than she did, so that she could keep learning more. "Mist is a well-behaved pony... well, as well-behaved as a newly trained adult horse can be, but she needs a human friend who knows more than she does so that she can go to the next level. She know what trotting poles and small cavalletti are, but I haven't schooled her in jumping yet. I have seen her jump over logs before I brought her here, so she has a big jump in her." She rubbed Twists' ears as the Welsh Mountain Pony thrust his forehead into her chest, wanting attention and seeing her as a good substitute to his owner.
“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.” - Chinese Proverb
With the children being cared by by Naomi, and a comment about Cara not taking enough time for herself, Cara found herself with some time on her hands. Rather than taking some time out - as was hinted - the young woman prepared the small horse truck and gathered the things she would need for a small outing, as well as her stallion's tack, and then collected the giant Irish Draught.
Apeiros was doing well with his training, and even without any shows under their belt, Cara had had a few people, who knew of the stallion, contact her with interest in the horse covering their mares, but they wanted to see what he was like in the show ring first. Now, the issue with this, was that the thought of entering a showring brought Cara out in a cold sweat. She shook herself out of her thoughts as she finished securing the horse into the truck and headed off toward the beach.
She knew that it wasn't exactly beach weather, but it would also mean that it wouldn't be crowded with people or too many other horses, so it would be a great way to add something new to the stallion's training. "What do you think?" She asked the giant dappled grey as they stepped off the ramp and the stallion raised his head into the air, nostrils flaring as he drew in the new scents of the ocean that wasn't too far away. "Easy, love." She soothed as she walked him in a circle just as his front feet were about to go up in a rear.
Once the stallion was calm, she tied him to the side of the truck and then she gave him a thorough groom and tacked him up. After locking up the truck, she clipped her helmet under her chin, untied the stallion and looked around for something to use as a mounting block, as her lack of height was not in her favour with a horse who was almost 18 hands high. "Come on." She led him over to a fallen tree down the path, which she assumed people coming from Seven Oaks would probably use as a jump. After pulling the stirrups down and tightening the girth she climbed onto the trunk and then vaulted into the saddle. "You're such a good, brave boy!" She praised the horse with a pat as she found her stirrups, took up the reins and squeezed him forward. She knew that she probably resembled a bit like a pimple on a pumpkin, but she loved riding big horses, and she had no fear about how high up she was from the ground. "I know it's new, but I'll keep you safe." She soothed as Apeiros leapt to the side as he spooked at a bird in the bush on their left. She kept her hands light on the reins as she began to wonder if maybe they should have come with company, rather than riding out solo.""
Kyoto gave a big smile as her pony's name was complimented. "His show name is Pep... Pep...Peppa..." She frowned as struggled to get her tongue around all the syllables in the pony's name. "The yummy mint that's in candy canes. He's that kind of twist." She gave a nod as though it was all explained. "I'm going to do everything, just like mama!"
Cara sighed as she leaned against the fence, watching as her daughter climbed between the fence rails to that she was in the pasture with her pony. "I'm not that amazing." She clarified with a shrug. "Those that can't do, teach. So I teach, and I can't even do that well." She knew that she had just insulted herself, but she knew that there would be a point that all of the children she was currently teaching would need better coaching, and she just wasn't that person. "Part of me is waiting for the day that she grows out of horses and realises that there is more to the world than riding." There was another part of her that hope her daughter would always be happy as a rider, but id the girl turned her back on riding to pursue other interests, Cara would be happy for the girl to follow her heart, not wanting to make the girl feel that she had to always be interested in riding, if that wasn't her passion.
Do you only draw for pleasure, or do you do commision work too?" Cara caught her lower lip with her teeth as she realised how forward her question was. "Sorry, that was a very intrusive question."
Cara took the children's goodies and placed them on the table so that the twins and Kyoto could help themselves when they were ready, and hopefully make as little mess as possible.
Her face paled, eyes flicking toward the tree and she swallowed, her heart pounding in her chest, before bowing her head in acquiescence, though made no movement toward the tree. "The lights are on reels." She offered softly, something she had taken care of as she put everything away at the beginning of the year so that they didn't have an issue with tangled lights again, though she didn't doubt that the ends of them were probably caught around something. At the mention of mistletoe - a strange concept she had never understood - she nodded toward where she had hung a bunch of the evergreen plant.
Her eyes moved around the room, looking at the decoration with a critical eye, knowing that she could have done a few things differently, but what was done was done. She gave a soft smile as it seemed Kyoto was bored of the business with the tree and the girl skipped over to the table and sat down with the plate that had a snowman cookie on it. "Ne me dis pas, mange lentement." The girl said with a cheeky smile as she bit into the cookie. Cara gave a small smile and nodded. "Wipe your sticky hands before you help with the tree." Finishing the cookie, Kyoto dutifully wiped her hands on a damp cloth before hurrying over to help Casey with the baubles.
Cara sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, as she could see the amusement the teenager got from her question. And, in hindsight, she guessed her question was probably a touch on the blunt side, and possibly rude. "Most of my baking is done while the rest of the house is sleeping." She offered with a shrug. "Kyoto and the other children I look after do enjoy spending time and creating things in the kitchen with me during the day." Even if those times weren't as much enjoyment for Cara, as the mess the children made would make her anxious and she'd need to centre herself and carry on, reminding herself that cooking was an all around educational activity, as they needed to follow direction, there was counting, reading if they were able, and there was also a whole lot of science too. "What is your favourite thing to make?" She regretted the question as soon as it was out of her mouth, as social ettique would normally mean the question would be given back to her.
Kyoto rested her head on her mother's shoulder and shrugged her own shoulders. "You just need to give your horse questions they can grasp." She said sagely. "If the question too big, they will walk away." Her brows shot up as she lifted her head up and looked her mother in the eye. "Right, Mama? Hi Baba!"
Cara kissed the child on the forehead as she released the girl and let her race off through the pasture to the gate where Naomi was standing. She returned the woman's wave as the child was picked up and the pair walked away. She turned her attention back to Molly. "To answer her question. Yes, you need to ask your horse small questions when you want something from them. If your question is too big, your horse will get confused and will look for a way out of being with you." She smiled as Mist approached them, finally deciding to come up and see what was happening, since the humans had been in the pasture for so long. "Molly, this is Mist." She gave introductions, rubbing the mare's forehead.