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!.
Cara nodded, it was a very pretty place too, though she had only seen the commune as they drove through it on the way home from a gymnastics meet many years ago, what felt like a lifetime ago now, long before she had come to Hickstead.
"Errr....forget I asked," She smiled softly. No, sorry." She said with a shrug. "I've never really had a job title before. I've just done what's expected of me." Well, she supposed that she had been given titles before, just none that she wanted to share with the teenager.
Cara smiled as she watched the ponies, pleased that they were comfortable enough to come and willingly investigate a new person as it showed that they were coming along in leaps and bounds in their training and would be ready for the twins when Viola and Sebastian were ready to ride by themselves; though they were happy enough for Kyoto to ride them, though not off the lead rein just yet. "Did you have any treats you want to give them? Or is it too late in the evening for that?" She shook her head. "I don't carry treats around with me unless I'm training." She explained, as she knew that equines got pushy when they thought that treats were always available. "If you have any on you, I don't mind if you hand them out." Doppio, Swallow and Twist often frisked people for treats, because that's what he knew people carried. The Exmoors however, they didn't know that treats were a thing, outside training, so she didn't mind if Molly had anything she wanted to offer them. "Casey is helping me train Crystal. If you would like to help, I need a gentle rider, with soft hands, to help me with the others." Part of their training was to get used to other riders as well as being handled by others.
Cara's brow furrowed as she tried to work out how serious Molly was being with her statement, though she shook her head. "I don't think I'll be looking at trick riding any time soon." She replied with a shrug. She'd never been one to deviate from what she already new, so picking up new things wasn't her thing to do.
She smiled with a nod. "They're also known as the Avelignese, due to the Italian name of the town they got their name from." Okay, the teenager wasn't here to be lectured about horse breeds. She pursed her lips together at the question as she'd never really given her job a title. "I guess?" She cringed as she could even hear the question in her answer. When the uncle she didn't know had existed turned sent her a letter two and a half years ago and she left here to return to America to be with him, a small child-like dream to have blood relations, she hadn't been planning to return. However, as it turned out that Rick had wanted nothing more than her eighteenth birthday to happen so that she was able to sign over the family fortune and business to him, and he have her married off to a respectable family, sans Kyoto of course. With the help of her lawyer, she had returned to Hickstead, and Blue Acres. She was now an adult and hadn't wanted to be taken in like a lost puppy, so for room and board, she offered her services as a child minder and housekeeper.
Cara smiled as she rubbed Crystal's head, watching as Twist tried to find any hidden treats. "He thinks that he's starving." She said with a shrug. "Because there's no grass for him to eat in here." She was pleased that she didn't have any stroppy geldings who acted like stallions, and that they could all be in the same pasture with the mares. "They have a very interesting coat." She said with a nod, her smile deepening as the other Exmoors approached them, Autumn and Spring both bumping at Molly with their muzzles, neither wanting treats, but curious about the new scent. It's perfect for keeping them warm and dry in the winter." She caught herself before she went into textbook mode and started rattling off information about the coat layers.
"Well hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Plus, they clearly compliment each other in your life." Cara shrugged, as she had gymnastic coaches in the past that had hated the fact that she spent so much of her time riding horses, when all of her time should have been spent in the gym, and there had been weekends when she had a riding competition and a gymnastics meet. It really wasn't hard to work out where her insomnia had started. "They would probably work better together is I was a vaulter or a trick rider?" She gave a shrug.
"Well, if you ever need help keeping busy at the barn, let me know. I am here often and usually up to a few horsey shenanigan's. I like to think that I am part of an unofficial pony squad...even though we have horses, not ponies," Cara's brows rose, and she wondered if it was normal for teenagers to talk so much, but mentally shrugged it off. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you." That sounded like the right thing to say, though shenanigans really wasn't in her vocabulary.
"Were you being ironic when you named him?" She pursed her lips. "His registered name is Double Espresso." She explained. "Doppio is an Italian drink, similar to a double espresso. Haflingers are an Italian breed, it worked." Plus the word was simple enough for a child to say, even if they did tend to call him Dopey - like the dwarf. "How come you don't have a main steed?" She shrugged as she looked over the ponies. "Because I spend the working day with children, my own, the Clarke-Thorne twins and the daughter of Ms Clarke's personal assistant. After the family are sitting with dinner, I head down here to work, after that I turn my attention to the horses I'm keeping in training." She shrugged. "I don't have the time a horse deserves, so I don't have one."
"Girl, do I ever." She grinned as Molly let herself into the paddock. "Who is best to give my undivided attention to? When we're obiviously not talking." She smiled and shrugged, though Twist seemed to answer the question as the bay Welsh Mountain Pony came trotting up to them and shoved his bald face into Cara's stomach, seeing of he could sniff out any treats and then turned his attention to Molly, his inquisitive muzzle inspecting every inch of her that he could reach. This is Peppermint Twist, Twist. He's my daughter's pony." She looked down as she felt a wet muzzle brushing against her hand and she smiled at the small Exmoor filly-foal. "And this is Ice Crystal." She said as she rubbed the filly behind the ears that were almost hidden in all her winter fluffiness.
"I'm glad to hear it. I mean, Willow Brook does have it's pros and cons, but I feel like it gets a lot of flack just because its a prestigious fancy school." Cara shrugged, a tiny smile curving her lips. "All of my schools were private and prestigious, it's what Father wanted. Willow Brooke was the only one where I wasn't expected to live onsite and without an equestrian section." She frowned in thought as she wondered what direction her parents would really have wanted her to have taken as she grew up. What kind of person would she be today if her mother hadn't taken father dinner that night, and she had grown up with family? For one thing, she knew she wouldn't be here. "So, based off of your fancy riding in the arena, I take it your gymnastics lessons have become handy when training your ponies?" She shrugged again. "Gymnastics and horses are kind of all I am." She replied simply. Sure, she knew more than just horses and gymnastics, but gym and horses were where she had found safety when they rest of the world was falling apart around her.
"I bet not. Swallow looked like a lot of fun. Plus, sometimes there are just days where I love a challenge," Cara nodded, not wanting to mention that she had been talking about herself, as to why Molly might regret her offer, not the ponies. "You know Luna? The hauty, high energy flea bitten grey? She's my favorite but there are days where honestly she makes me feel like a kite. So I am certain I can take on your ponies." Cara nodded, she knew the mare the girl was talking about. "My ponies are school masters, so they aren't exactly challenging, per-sey. They just need a rider on them every now and again that they don't have to babysit." She needed another rider to ride the ponies, not just sit on them. Sure, Kyoto and Kat rode their ponies, but Twist and Doppio did spend more time teaching the girls and looking after them, rather than having fun with their riders. "Oh wow, and I thought I had busy days with school work. But I do love a good mirco-managing. I swear, not everybody understands how important it is." Her shoulders lifted again. "I like to keep myself busy." She offered as an explanation. "It helps quieten my mind." Idle hands, and all that jazz.
She couldn't help but smile at the other girl's squeal. "Ughs. Cara, they are so adorable. I do love how their winter coats are coming in to make them look like little teddy bears." She nodded, the Exmoors did look very fluffy in their winter coats. "Who's your mane steed? Is it Doppio? Also, I love the elemental theme you have going on for the exmoor ponies." She pulled a face as she led Swallow into the paddock and turned her back toward the gate before removing the halter and giving her the cue to move off. "Despite his caffeinated name, which may give people the idea he has a lot of energy, Doppio is the quietest of the ponies in there." She explained. "I used to have a Standardbred mare, but she has found a new home. I really don't have a main steed." All her time and energy went into keeping Naomi's and Mik's horses competition ready. She nodded toward Winnie. "The man, who's property she came from, he had already named her Winne and said she was his precious rose, so it broke his heart that she was part of the round up, as she had a foal at foot. And with her being Winter Rose, the other names just fell into place." The four adult horses that came here had seasonal names, the foal's name was wintry like her dam's, and the herd that was being developed at the stud had poker-based names. "You can come and say hello to them, if you want to."
"Really? They must have gotten rid of those guys. I can't imagine any of the teachers being that curmudgey. Then again, I suppose most teacher's don't like their students surpassing them. Anyways, it's in the past. We don't have to talk about it." Cara shrugged, it really was in the past now. "Teachers aside, I did enjoy my time at Willow Brooke, the gymnastics coaches were great at their jobs and pushed when we needed it. The academic side of things had been easy enough, and there were a few teachers who were more than happy to challenge her when she had completed all the assigned work, they just knew better than asking her to help the other students.
"Oh, please do." She gave a small grin. "You may regret that offer." She knew that she was a strict rider, and she didn't ride for fun, every session was a schooling session, even if it wasn't in the arena. "Eight ponies? How do you find all the time to ride and care for them?" She shrugged again. "I..." She stopped herself before she said she didn't sleep, as she only worked the ponies during daylight hours. "I micro-manage my days, so that I can ride the ones who need that around looking after the children. And, depending one what hours Mr Thorne has at the hospital in the weekends, I get a little more time with them, plus not all eight of my ponies are ridden, one is a foal, her dam is starting her training and the other Exmoors are just starting out too, so their sessions are short and simple."
"Lead away. Might as well let her enjoy the remaining few nights outside before it gets too cold." She smiled again and nodded. She clicked her tongue and led Swallow down the aisle, outside and down to the pastures where her small herd were happily grazing. "The Welsh Mountain Pony is Twist, he belongs to my daughter. The dark liver chestnut Haflinger is Doppio. The five Exmoors are: Autumn Breeze, Summer Mist, Spring Blossom and Winter Rose, who has Ice Crystal." She pointed out the gelding and mares as she spoke, the filly-foal was off exploring the water trough. "I have more Exmoor Ponies at Ms Clarke's other property."
"Man, you're right! I guess it's kinda hard to remember that sometimes." Cara shrugged, it seemed that when people watched their equestrian heroes, they seemed to think they were born with the magical ability to ride like champions from the cradle. "Well, I think that just became my new mantra in the ring whenever I mess up. So thank you Cara." She bowed her head with a quick smile. "You are more than welcome."
"Man, you must have been a real rebel then, Do you have some sort of legendary status that I should track down at school?" She was already shaking her head before Molly had finished speaking, wishing she hadn't said anything. "I was a fourteen year old doing work with students two years older than myself and the senior male teachers seemed to think that I wasn't as clever as I thought I was." She shrugged uncomfortably, as she didn't like talking about how quickly she could learn things, or the fact that she could remember everything she read.
"Are you bossy, girl? Are you like Luna?" The question wasn't directed at her, so Cara left the pony to answer the other girl however she wanted to. Truth be told, she thoroughly enjoyed the pony's current attitude, and the fact that she hadn't minded having a rider hanging off her side had made the little pony even better, as that was often the last thing she taught them and today's actions had been off the books and she knew that it could have gone very wrong and set them back. "Well, if you ever want someone else to ride her so you can see her from the ground, I totally volunteer as tribute." "I'll take you up on that offer sometime." She said with a smile, it wasn't easy finding people who were pony-sized and also good riders. "Wait, herd? How many ponies do you own?" "On this property, I have eight ponies." Technically two of the Exmoors belonged to the Clarke-Thorne twins and Twist was her daughter's, but on paper they were all under her name.
She returned the brush to the grooming bucket and clipped the lead rope onto the mare's halter before removing the crossties. "Back to your stall, or do you want to spend a night outside?" She needed to head out there anyway to check on the other ponies.
"Thank you! I like to think the school horses make me well rounded." Cara bowed her head. Having never owned her own mount, until she had come to Hickstead at fourteen, she was well versed in riding school mounts and even with her own horse and ponies now, she still rode as many other horses as she could; not only did it keep her own skill up to par, but it allowed her to change things up from time to time, depending on who she was riding and what that particular equine was schooling in at the time. "Everyone started out on a schoolmaster at some point, even the Olympic riders."
"Yup! I am attending there on scholarship. Are you an alumni to there?" She shrugged, as she really hadn't thought much of the Academy since the day she left, but she guessed, in all technicalities, she was an alumni. "I attended for a year and a half before getting my GCSE, and was on the gymnastics team." She offered with a shrug. "I think they were happy to see the back of me, so I haven't returned."
"Really? That's pretty funny. She seems quite quirky then." Cara grinned and nodded as she ran the brush over the mare's back and then between her front legs and behind her elbows, making sure to brush out all the sweaty patches, even if the mare didn't work hard enough to work up a sweat. "She is very quirky. She just has trouble focusing on what she's doing at times, and remembering that her rider is the one who makes the decisions." She quite liked the silver dapple pony, and knew that she would make a great pony for a child who was moving out of the novice level. Swallow wasn't a schoolmaster, but she was calm enough for riders still finding their own stride. "So, is she to be your pony? Or are you training her up to be gifted to someone smaller." She studied the pony and shrugged. "For now she will join my herd, though she could find a small person who needs her." She knew that she couldn't collect ponies, as much as she wanted to. She already had the start of a herd of Exmoor Ponies on the land of Naomi's breeding facility, she didn't need a large herd of ponies here too.
"I don't think I'm ready to move on yet from my favorite school horses, I'm sure they'll get me wherever I am destined to go though." Cara smiled and nodded. "School horses are great, as you get a lot of experience from riding different horses." After all, the key to being a great equestrian was riding lots and lots of different horses so that the horse and rider didn't become complacent.
"Well, I am sure now they are something that you do choose for yourself, or else, you wouldn't be putting the time and effort into them." She shrugged and blew out a breath. "It's what I'm good at." She answered simply as she took the quiver from the saddle and set it against the wall in the back corner, and then removed the mare's saddle. "Ah, it was an accident. For one semester, my school signed some sort of contract with the University to do riding as an elective. So I signed up because it was different. Turns out I loved it. My school also thought it was too expensive and a liability after that, so they canceled the program. Obviously, I couldn't ride at the university, so I found Blue Arces and have been here since." Cara's brows rose as she listened. "You go to Willow Brooke Academy." It was a statement, more than a question. Cara had attended the same school when she had first arrived in Hickstead, though she was a thirteen year old doing classes with students three years older than her, and it was only her skills as an elite gymnast that kept her in the good graces of the school. The fact that they didn't have horses had thrown her, as her social worker had purchased two ponies - with her money - enroute, but when the ponies had been delivered here it began to make sense. She had only been at the Academy for a year and a half though, as one of the senior teachers felt that they would teach her a lesson for being too smart, and had intended to set her up to fail as he asked her to sit an exam. He hadn't thought she would pass, but once she had her GCSE in hand, there was no taking it back. "I really love it though. I feel so free when I am riding, like exploring the great unknown or something. Nobody's going to hold me back." She gave the girl a soft smile, as she too felt that the real world seemed to evaporate around her when she was on a horse.
"Is she okay to pet?" Cara was sweeping the brush over the mare's back and nodded. "Be warned that she licks." She said with a quick smile and a shrug. "The family I bought her from said that she took lesson from the family's Labs." She discouraged the licking as much as possible, but she knew that Swallow tried it on anyone new, and Kyoto thought it was the funniest thing in the world when the pony was licking up the side of her face, plus she didn't want Molly to think the mare was going to try and bite.
"Oh, I am having an existential crisis on what discipline right now," Cara's brows rose in question as she led the mare through the gate, making sure that the pony didn't barge or rush. "I just aged out of pony jumping. So I am sort of dabbling at the moment. I just started taking lessons with Ms. King." Cara's lips quirked with a tiny smile, as she was normally the only person to refer to the adults here so formally, much to their chagrin. With her own petite frame being short of five feet, she would never outgrow ponies. However, her showing days were over, and when the showing season started up again, she would be one of those show mum's, with her daughter in the lead-rein classes. "I'm sure with the right horse, you can go in any direction you want to." She said with a shrug. The question of if Molly owned her own mount or was riding one of the barn ones seemed a little blunt, so she decided not to ask, as she couldn't think of how to word it.
"How did you get into riding?" Cara's steps faltered for a moment as the question brought so many things to the surface, and she pressed her lips together as she thought about the best way to answer the question. "Because I looked good on a pony and had a natural seat." She drew in a breath and pressed her lips together, even though she didn't have the clearest memories before she was six, some things before that age were still crystal clear and she needed to stop the past from crashign on her like a tidal wave. "Horses are more something I am good at, rather than something I chose for myself." She shrugged with a sigh as they walked into the barn and she led Swallow down to one of the grooming stalls and after removing her bridle and fastening the poll-strap of the halter and then the other side of the cross-ties. "What about you?" She asked as she ducked under the pony's neck and undid the girth. "How did you get into horses?"
"Oh wow, well that's very cool! And I feel like ponies definlently need that, after all, they're usually the ones who want world domination." Cara's brows rose and then dipped as she tried to make sense of what had been said. "Thank you." She said with a quick smile that was gone as quickly as it appeared, as she had at least understood the compliment. It was the bit about ponies and world domination that had gone completely over her head.
Cara worried her lower lip with her teeth as it seemed that the other girl wasn't going anywhere too soon, and when Swallow shook her head in irritation, she knew that she had asked the mare to stand still for long enough and she couldn't put off dismounting forever. "I'm Molly by the way, Molly Mac'Intosh. I take lessons here so I am sure this won't be the last time we run into each other." She bowed her head, finding it would be rude to say she knew who the other was. "I am... Cara." She offered as she tucked the bow into the quiver, quit her stirrups, leaned forward and swung leg leg over the mare's rump and then paused before she jumped to the ground. She blew out a frustrated breath as her legs refused to hold her up and she landed on her butt. "I'm fine." She said quickly as she stood up, brushing down her breeches and rubbing Swallow's forehead as the mare gave her an inquisitive nose bump. "You're a good girl. You'll make a novice rider a great mount." She undid half of the Irish martingale, lifted the reins over the pony's head, ran up the stirrups and loosened the girth before leading the pony toward the gate.
"What kind of riding do you do?" She asked Molly as they reached the gate. Horses was one topic that she knew, and was pretty confident with to be able to talk without tripping over her words.
"So, are you two like a trick team or something?" Cara shook her head as she used her legs to keep the mare moving around the arena as she nocked another arrow, drawing it back to her cheek, checking the full extension of the string, forcing her back to remain straight even as she was expecting the string to snap, Sure, the string wasn't made of natural fibres like they were traditionally, but she hadn't touched her bow for a while and she didn't want to risk it. She blew out a breath as squeezed the mare into a canter and circled her around the arena and loosed the arrow as they approached the target.
She slowed the pony down as she slipped the bow over her shoulder and rode toward where Molly was standing, as she owed the girl an answer for her question, more than just the headshake she had given. "No we aren't a trick riding team." She replied. "I'm..." She pressed her lips together and gave a frown as she thought about what she was doing with the mare, and how to explain it so that it made sense. "I teach children the... the basics of riding, and for this I-I need ponies that are completely... bombproof." Which is where the archery came into it, she didn't have bombs. She gave a self-conscious shrug as she finished off the mare's cool down and halted her, releasing the reins as Swallow stretched forward to itch her pastern, leaving her feathers covered in green slime from the corner of the bit.
"That was so cool!" Cara had her left hand reaching for another arrow when she heard the voice, and with only her legs holding onto the mare's sides, she was almost unseated as the mare shied, though the lost both bow and arrow as as she took up the reins again. "facile mon petit" She breathed as she settled the mare down and turned her to face the owner of the voice, dropping from a canter to a trot. "Sorry, I can go if you want!" She shook her head. "You're fine." She said as she tried to get Swallow's attention back on her, nodding as the large pony lowered her head, saying she was ready to listen again, though Cara really couldn't blame the mare, as her mind wasn't completely on the task at hand either.
After circling the mare a couple of times, she rode back over to where she the bow was. Knowing that she could dismount, she figured that she'd just use this as a part of the mare's training and see what she could get away with, even though she wasn't riding in a saddle really designed for tricks like she was about to do. Without over thinking it, she removed her quiver and clipped that onto one of the D-rings on the front of the saddle. "Trust me." She whispered, rubbing the mare's neck before she dropped the reins, leaned down toward the ground, using all her years as a gymnast to her advantage, and scooped the bow from the ground before sitting up again. "What a good girl!" She praised the pony with a hug and then checked the bow over, pulling the string to make sure that wasn't damaged. If nothing else, at least she knew the mare wouldn't mind having children hanging off her.
"Progression and regression go hand in hand with mental health. You often take one step forward and ten steps back." - Theresa Larsen
Early evenings were becoming Cara's favourite time of the day. The family were up in the house eating dinner, the borders were at home eating their own dinners and the stable hands were tidying up the barn so that they could finish their days. And that gave her time alone in the arena to work.
She tipped her head to the side as she stood back and looked at the target she'd just set up in the middle of her arena, arching her brows at the silver dapple Irish Cob pony who was waiting not too patiently where she was tied to the fence, her tack on the ground beside her. "Easy, Swallow." She sang as she looked at the target once more and then headed toward the mare and gave her a quick brush and then tacked her up. "What do you think of this?" She asked as she picked up the recurve bow that had been leaning against the fence and offered it to the mare, nodding when Swallow sniffed it and quickly lost interest. She had been working with the mare for a couple of week, loosing arrows near her, and getting her used to being ridden by just responding to leg aids with no contact with the reins.
After slipping the quiver into place, she untied the mare and put her bridle on. "Let's go have some fun." She smiled as she walked the mare away from the fence and then vautled into the saddle, riding Swallow toward the target, letting her inspect that from all sides, so that she knew it was nothing to be worried about as they circled it. "Good girl!" She rubbed the mare's neck as they rode back to the track and began warming up.
At the trot, Cara dropped the reins and pulled an arrow from the quiver, nocked the arrow and pulled back, getting the pony used to the feel of the movement before she asked for more speed. "Ready?" She asked after they had gone around the arena in both directions and she was sure the mare was warmed up. "Let's go!" She squeezed the mare forward and asked her to reduce the size of their circle and as they passed the target, she loosed the arrow, patting the pony's neck as she shied with the mixture of what was happening on her back and the arrow connecting with the target.
Rose Kennedy said, “Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?”
They say a change is like a holiday, but I guess I would have to know what a holiday is to know that that means. My therapists decided that it was in my “best interest” to be in a household where my primary caregiver wasn’t a male so I once again find myself moving foster homes and only half days at school.
My visits with the team of dietitians and doctors hasn’t changed though and my gain of ten pounds hasn’t impressed them much, which is probably because I’m also pregnant, but I’m trying. I guess I just burn more calories than I eat.
Why do people think that talking through all the bad things that have happened will make them better? Is living through it the first time not enough? It seems that the line of questioning one day brought on contractions, and after a rather short labour I welcomed a very tiny (5lb 4oz) Kyoto Dulcea into the world.
Gandhi said, “Better to be violent if there’s violence in our hearts than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence.”
I could not imagine harming another living being; be they human, animal, or insect, so I cannot work out why for so long I have been so acceptable of the fact that that violence is alright when it is directed toward me.
I can only fathom what my parents were like when they looked after her. Were they caring doting parents? Or was I no more than a bother, getting in the way of both of their jobs? I been told that her mother had been driving to take her father his meal the night of the fire that had their lives extinguished in a factory fire. But still, that tells me nothing of how they were toward me.
I care deeply about the welfare of my horses, some would tell you more than I care for myself, but I cannot say I love them. What is love? Can I give it to another without knowingly have felt it myself? In the past people have said they only do they things to be out of love, because the care for me. But how would you show those things by using fear and pain?
I try my best to hide my emotions and feelings from the world, and have done so for so long that I often forget what they are, but I still feel. I may have trouble trying to understand how I feel, but I still feel pain. Do I not bleed when I am cut? Ok, I don’t cry, but that doesn’t make me any less human that any other person.
I am slowly coming to grips with my past, unravelling what happened to me and why, though I think it will be a long time before I fully understand it. Find the logic to why I have been through what I have. Though, as bad as it may have seemed to others; I knew exactly what to expect and when. I just fear that it has become the norm to me and what I may do to compensate.
I finish with this: Gandhi also said, “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary. The evil it does is permanent.”
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