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!.
Between lessons and family life, Bruce felt that he had been neglecting his horses a little lately; so the man found himself at the stables pretty early in the morning and he had Ash out of her stall and in a set of cross-ties as he groomed the Gypsy Vanner for a ride.
Rather than taking the saddled mare into the arena, he swung into the saddle and they headed toward the trails and onto the meadow trail, where the mare would be able to expend some energy - not that the mare was exactly pulling at the reins. "Come on." He laughed as the mare finally moved into a trot. He grinned when the mare finally got the hint and took off across the grass, Bruce holding the reins at the buckle. "Ho." He called as he felt his phone buzzing and he applied a little pressure, smiling as Ash dropped back to a trot.
Pulling his phone out, he saw that he'd missed a call from his brother, and he touched the button to call back. "You rang." He said as he heard his brother's voice. "How's lambing going?" His brows rose as he asked the mare to walk, and let her amble along the path, still holding the reins at the buckle. "Chin up, big bro." He laughed. "We've handled lambing during snow before. Get Tana and Scott to hand rear a few if need be. Clean the shearing shed, bed it down and put any ewes that are still to lamb in there if you think the polar blast is going to get worse." He rolled his eyes, laughing, as he held the phone away from his ear as he listened to Hemi yelling at him about teaching their grandmother to suck eggs. "Don't be such a kaka." He laughed harder. "Porangi, it's just another lambing season on the Crown Range. Yeah, yeah, give the whanau my love." Snow this late in the year, back home, was nothing new, and as he pocketed his phone, he knew that his brother was in full control of what was going on, he'd just needed to vent. He frowned as he looked around. "Okay, have we turned around, or completely veered off the path?" He asked the mare.
"Oh absolutely, got to have that proof." Bruce nodded. "After all, if it's not on Insta, it doesn't exist." Or some stupid saying like that floated around when he was back in school, and god that felt like so many years ago now! "I will have to draw the line if he wants to take up ballroom dancing though."
He smiled as he watched her eat, happy that she still liked his cooking. "Should I be concerned?" He laughed as he watched her and shook his head in amusement, before setting her straight. "Okay so they're all in your head? Like voices?" He shrugged. "Would you rather I told you that I see dead people?" He shuddered at the thought. "I think they are more in here," he tapped his chest, "than here," a tap to his temple and shrugged, as his kuia (grandmother) often said that he cooked with his heart, more than his head - which was a lot nicer than what his male cousins would say about his interest in being in the kitchen.
"I didn't want to say anything but..." He pouted as he rubbed his stomach, as though suddenly self-conscious about his looks. "Round is a shape too." He protested before laughing. "yeah neither am I." He patted her leg sympathetically, knowing that he needed to do some reading to find way to help her when the swelling time came. "I know, my love, and I appreciate it." He beamed, always happy to know he was appreciated. "What are the next plans for the nursery?"
"I'll get the flip pad out and make sure he can recite them correctly." Bruce pursed his lips and nodded, as though what she had said made perfect sense. "When you do this, just make sure you film it, in case I'm not here." He teased.
"lucky for me he has a pretty good appetite. He might moan about the occasional burnt pizza but it's not killed him yet." He chuckled. "Ah, really-well-done pizza, we've all been there before." He offered with a grin. Cookies were what he'd burned the most when he started out exploring the wonderful world of kitchen creations, because he'd get too caught up in doing something else that he'd lose track of the time and it would either be the smoke alarm or the smell of something burning that would remind him he had forgotten about something - then his mum taught him how to set the timer on the oven.
"and is that the only time they speak to you?" He gave an impish grin and shrugged. "I can't confirm or deny." He laughed and shrugged. "I can promise you that they don't float around the place, like the ancestors in Mulan's family temple." That would be a little creepy, even for the king of pranks. "Yeah, I'm feeling okay at the moment, I know the worst is yet to come so I'll enjoy being comfortable whilst I can." His brows rose in question and he nodded. "I'm trying not to overthink and get ahead of myself, just one thing at a time... how are you feeling?" Bruce pouted and rubbed his stomach. "I think I'm getting sympathy weight gain." His pout was broken with a grin. "Can't say I'm looking forward to the sympathy cankles."He gave her a warm smile. "Just remember, I'm here to offer a massage whenever you need it. And I'm always here to lift heavy objects."
"We made a bet." While her comment would often get an eye-roll as a reply, he thought it was cute and just arched his brows with a nod, as though it were a perfectly reasonable answer. "I'm quite sure I'll never see it." He chuckled. "Just make sure he doesn't confuse bucks with barks."
"Oh I'm aware, Thank God you're good at it or we'd all be in trouble." He laughed as he poured himself a drink. "You're not that bad in the kitchen. Liam was hardly malnourished when we first met." Sure, he was more a make nuggets from scratch, rather than take a bag of frozen ones from the freezer, but there was nothing wrong with convenience cooking, and he would never fault anyone for using them. "Oh so the ancestors call to you, and force your hands into making a feast." He laughed again. "I add things until I hear them say that's enough." He replied with a mock-serious nod. His style of cooking was a little too modern to say that any of it came from his ancestors and their stone-age lifestyle, but his love of cooking had to have come from somewhere in his lineage, and it sure as hell wasn't from any living relatives.
He sat back, getting comfortable. "How are you feeling, other than the need to get all the nursery finished before little one arrives?" His dad had told him that during all three of her pregnancies, as the time grew nearer, his mother would clean the house from top to bottom, making sure that there wasn't a hint of dirt that could get her pepi (baby) sick, which was funny since they were out with the farm animals in the front pack when they were a week old, his mother hated being stuck inside - which was a trait she passed on to all of her children.
While his lessons so far had been in the outdoor arena, being later in the day for the private lesson, Bruce booked the indoor arena.
"Please behave?" He said as he rubbed the Warmblood's forehead as he unclipped his lead, leaving the gelding where he was standing while the man gathered the things he needed. Leaving a selection of rope halters on the arena fence - because he wasn't sure what size the horse attending the lesson would need - as well as a carrot stick and 12-foot lead rope. "Are you going to listen today?" He asked Ash as he returned to his mare, smiling as she gently butted him in the chest with her nose. "I think you'll be fine."
He gave a welcoming smile as a man entered the arena with his horse. "Welcome." He said. "You must be Tristian and Arizona. I'm Bruce and this is Fain." He patted the bay tobiano on the neck. "Over there you will find everything you will need, a rope halter, a long lead and a carrot stick. It may look like a riding crop, but the stick is an extension of your arm, rather than something to use to discipline. Once you've swapped halters and found a space for the two of you we'll get started."
While he waited, he clipped the lead back onto Fain's halter, unlike the mare he'd used for his other lessons, Fain was more likely to walk over to the pair and see what they were doing and why, rather than just standing and waiting for the next instructions. "The first game is quite simple, it's called the friendly game. What you are going to do is run your hands all over your horse." He demonstrated by running his hand down and over Fain's back and down his hind leg, tsking when the gelding lifted his foot, keeping his hand where it was as the gelding lowered his fot again and his continued down the horse's leg until he reached the heel and straightened up again, rubbing the horse's sweet-spot to reward Fain for listening. "It may seem silly, but it helps create a strong bond between horse and human, and it will give you a good idea of any no-go zones your horse may have." And those no-go zones, was what the carrot stick was for, but he'd go onto to that if there were any places that Everett couldn't touch.br]
Dice roll
Odd number - lesson goes poorly Even number - lesson goes well
"Good girl." Bruce said as he rubbed the Vanner's forehead as he unclipped her lead, leaving her where she was standing while he gathered the things he needed. Leaving a selection of rope halters on the arena fence - because he wasn't sure what size the horse attending the lesson would need - as well as a carrot stick and 12-foot lead rope. "Are you going to listen today?" He asked Ash as he returned to his mare, smiling as she gently butted him in the chest with her nose. "I think you'll be fine."
He gave a welcoming smile as two men and with their horses the arena with his horse. "Welcome, and welcome back." He said. "I'm Bruce and this lovely lady is Ash." He patted the bay tobiano on the neck. "Over there you will find everything you will need, a rope halter, a long lead and a carrot stick. It may look like a riding crop, but the stick is an extension of your arm, rather than something to use to discipline. Once you've swapped halters and found a space for the two of you we'll get started."
While he waited, he clipped the lead back onto Ash's halter, not that she needed it, but it was easier if he needed to demonstrate something. "Today, we are going to start by playing some games with our horse. The same ones as in our last lesson." He said with a smile toward Everett. "The first game is quite simple, it's called the friendly game. What you are going to do is run your hands all over your horse." He demonstrated by running his hand down and over Ash's back and down her hind leg. "It may seem silly, but it helps create a strong bond between horse and human, and it will give you a good idea of any no-go zones your horse may have." And those no-go zones, was what the carrot stick was for, but he'd go onto to that if there were any places that couldn't be touched. "There should be no place on you horse that you can't touch. This is also a good time to let me know if you have any questions."
Dice roll
Odd number - lesson goes poorly Even number - lesson goes well
Bruce played the game too as he ran his hands over Ash's body, smiling as the mare moved into his touch as he ran his hands over places she really enjoyed. "The long line will come in handy as we move along in the games."
When he was happy that is seemed Sunday was happy enough to be touched all over, he decided to move onto the next game. "Now we're going to work through the porcupine game. With steady pressure, from your finger, you are going to get your horse to move backwards." He held the rope loosley in his left hand while standing in front of his mare and lifted his right hand, index finger pointing toward the horse's nose and laughed when Ash obediently took three steps backwards. "I'm getting the feeling I should have used one of my greener horses for my lesson." He joked. "The idea is to get them to move with the slightest of touches, till you get to what Ash did, and she moved from a suggestion. The reason for the name of the game is because you work through phases." He brought the mare back to him. "The first phase is a light touch, nothing more than the weight of a fly handing on their skin," His finger touched the Vanner's nose and she backed up. "And if that doesn't get the horse to move, your pressure increases until you become as firm as a fence post. Just remember, a fence post doesn't move though, so they are rewarded when they move away from pressure. Then, once you have your horse backing up from a simple touch to the nose, you can move the lesson on and have then yield from the fore or hindquarters, get them to move sideways, stuff like that."
When he was first planning his lessons, Bruce had thought to hold them in one of the smaller pastures, so that the students and horses would have room to space out. However, with one student, the arena worked fine.
"Good girl." He said as he rubbed the Vanner's forehead as he unclipped her lead, leaving her where she was standing while he gathered the things he needed. Leaving a selection of rope halters on the arena fence - because he wasn't sure what size the horse attending the lesson would need - as well as a carrot stick and 12-foot lead rope. "Are you going to listen today?" He asked Ash as he returned to his mare, smiling as she gently butted him in the chest with her nose. "I think you'll be fine."
He gave a welcoming smile as a man entered the arena with his horse. "Welcome." He said. "You must be Everett and Sunday. I'm Bruce and this lovely lady is Ash." He patted the bay tobiano on the neck. "Over there you will find everything you will need, a rope halter, a long lead and a carrot stick. It may look like a riding crop, but the stick is an extension of your arm, rather than something to use to discipline. Once you've swapped halters and found a space for the two of you we'll get started."
While he waited, he clipped the lead back onto Ash's halter, not that she needed it, but it was easier if he needed to demonstrate something. "I thought that today, we could start by playing some games with our horse. The first game is quite simple, it's called the friendly game. What you are going to do is run your hands all over your horse." He demonstrated by running his hand down and over Ash's back and down her hind leg. "It may seem silly, but it helps create a strong bond between horse and human, and it will give you a good idea of any no-go zones your horse may have." And those no-go zones, was what the carrot stick was for, but he'd go onto to that if there were any places that Everett couldn't touch.br]
Dice roll
Odd number - lesson goes poorly Even number - lesson goes well
I'm Bruce Ropata from the Crown Ranges in New Zealand. I grew up herding, and shearing sheep and then went onto instructing at the Hawea-Wanaka Pony Club. While learning to work with my ponies as I grew up, I took an interest in natural horsemanship and I like to teach others how important is is to listen to your horse. Some people have called me a horse whisperer, but I don't whisper to horses. I let them whisper to me.
class objectives
The idea of the class is to teach you how to listen to your horse when they are trying to tell you something, and while you learn how to speak their language, you will also build a new level of respect between the two of you. You'll learn how to ask your horse to yield to pressure, and do many other things, without even needing a rope to connect you.
availability
April 8th group 1. EVERETT LUKAS STROME - Any Given Sunday 2. @name - horse 3. @name - horse individual 1. @name - horse 2. @name - horse
Bruce pouted at the eye roll, pretending that it had hurt his feelings, though the smile never left his eyes, so it was a give away that he wasn't hurt at all. "And might I say you do a very good job of it too." He grinned and nodded, pleased with her answer. He lived and breathed for this woman, and if he wasn't doing a good job of making sure she was looking after herself, then he wasn't doing his job properly!
"And you owe me ten pounds, Giz." He quirked an eyebrow as he looked from the retreating canine to Flynn and back again. "I'm sure you'll be able to settle that up later." He said with a shrug. "Only the hope that you'll sit and share this with me? You've done entirely too much," He frowned as he looked at the food he had prepared, knowing that he had probably made a lot more than he needed to, and shrugged. "Thank you for this." He grinned as he took a seat. "You know that I'm happy when I'm in the kitchen... And I can't be held responsible for what happens in there." He took a plate and filled it with a selection of goodies. "I start making something small, and then I can hear my nga tupuna (ancestors), and... stuff happens." He grinned as he broke a muffin in half and popped it into his mouth.
Bruce was so happy to be here, helping his partner to build the furniture for their baby's room. His family were already dropping hints, wanting to know what was happening and when they were going to meet his new family - which obviously wasn't going to happen until the baby had arrived. His mother said she needed to give him something the next time she saw him, something that she didn't trust to send by post, and he was curious to know what that was, or if it was a ploy to get him back there faster.
"God only knows." He laughed again and pulled a face at her, and then became serious again. "Well, I guess he would." He chuckled again. "Same here," He gave her a grin. "And that's what I'm here for, to make sure you remember to put your feet up and get pampered." He told her.
Once back in the kitchen, Bruce decided to do a little more than a simple grilled cheese sandwich and instead gathered the things he needed to make a cheesy focaccia pizza, and while he was already working, he also make some savoury muffins. "I hope you plan to bell me with this!" He chuckled. "I'll be right there!" He called back as he sliced the pizza bread and plated that up along with some of the muffins, leaving the rest covered on the counter top for when Liam got home. "MiLady." He said with a grin as he walked back into the lounge and placed the plate on the tray. "Bed." He said to Gizmo, as he offered the dog a biscuit and smiled as the merle took the snack and padded off to her crate. "Do you need anything else?" He asked Flynn with a smile.
With his hand casually resting on Flynn’s shoulder, Bruce remained in his relaxed stance as he watched what was happening around them. While he watched, he noticed that people really weren’t that much different from humans and he saw the moment that the switch slipped in the young man with the knife at the counter, the moment when it really all did hit the fan. However, he kept his casualness in place, reassuring hand on Flynn’s shoulder - though he now wondered if he was also partly keeping her in place, as the nurse in her would be wanting to go and see to the wounded man.
Blonde woman, wait, what? He watched the young man with the bat turn toward them, his brows arched as he shifted his position, his energy rising with it. Sure, he wasn’t a huge guy, but he was a wall of muscle. When he had been a pony club instructor, one of his students had said that he was like a grizzly bear when he was showing the children how to raise their energy to stop their ponies from running over them. The young boy had said that Bruce had gone from soft and cuddly to looking like he was seven feet tall, the man was hoping that he’d give off those vibes today.
He gave the bat-wielding male a warning smile. “If you want to leave here with both your arms still attached to your body, you may want to step away.” His tone was friendly, though held an undertone of a very serious warning. Sure, Bruce was normally the most friendliest guy on the planet, but had no worries of also showing the guy a more creative way to use his bat.
"Just your regular average woman," Bruce grinned as he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. "You, my dear, are anything but average." He knew that all of Flynn's time was spent thinking about everyone else; him, her son, her patients, and not a lot spent thinking about herself.
He grinned at her teasing. "I'm not the one you need to beg to," He laughed. "I was begging the universe." He said. "Surely there has to be some deity out there who will listen." He shrugged, as he'd never really been a religious man. "You do have a fair point there, I can't lie. Maybe we will get just that lucky..." He grinned, pursing his lips in thought and shrugged. "Happy and healthy, mum and bub, is all I want." He said.
"Hmmm..." His brows rose in silent question. "Surprise me - but I'm feeling cheese needs to be involved in some way, please." He grinned, his mind already working through what was in the fridge and pantry and what he could put together quickly as he offered her his hand to help her stand. "I'll see you with your food." He dropped a bow as he left her and headed down to the kitchen.
Turning the oven on, he quickly put together a cheese and fruit platter so that Flynn could nobble while she waited for what he had planned, and carried the platter and a wine glass filled with sparkling grape juice into the lounge, placing both on the butler tray beside the couch - well out of Gizmo's reach - and headed back into the kitchen to put together the grilled cheese sandwich he had planned.
"You're my superman." Bruce grinned and bowed in response. "And you are our wonder woman." He knew that he wasn't the only male who worshiped the ground she walked on, even if Liam didn't always show it. "Yeah you got me there," He grinned and nodded, as he knew that her thoughts were always on someone else, and not often enough on herself. However, he was hoping that he could change her focus as the pregnancy developed, as she wasn't doing this all on her own this time.
He beamed in response to the kiss. "You'll be great, I already know it. Plus.. no baby is ever the same. This one could be worse." His eyes widened in mock horror as he shook his head. "Have mercy!" He placed his hands together as though praying. "But... if this one could be worse, does that mean there's a chance this one could be better too?" He gave a hopeful grin, not really worried either way. He was excited that they were having a baby. "At least, so there's no need to panic just yet." He wiped fake sweat of his brow in a dramatic gesture as he released a breath in a woosh. "Food would be good, I think I could eat. There's too much to do to be resting," All joking aside, he gave her a warm smile. "Then how about we head downstairs? You can get comfortable in the lounge, and I'll put something together for you. Any recommendations, or would you like me to surprise you?" There was enough time left before the baby arrived that everything didn't have to be done today, and he was happier when she wasn't pushing herself too hard.
"I would have worked it out in a heartbeat," Bruce grinned and nodded. "Good thing I'm not Superman then" He didn't think he'd be able to handle all the responsibility that would come with being a superhero anyway, plus he didn't think his everyday clothes would be very good for wearing over a latex bodysuit with a cape. Meta-Man. Express elevator. Dynaguy, snag on takeoff. Splashdown, sucked into a vortex. No capes! He chuckled softly. "I really do.." His grin deepened. "In between thinking about everyone else?" He teased.
"Oh yeah, no chance he's staying in there - he took years off my life with me trying to get him to stay in his in the first place." His grin lessened a little as he pulled a face, wondering all the things he needed to learn about before their child arrived. "All the fun things I have to look forward to?" He asked. "At least we should have a few months before junior tries to break out of their cot." He was sure that human babies didn't move too much to start off with, they were a tad slow compared to all the other species. "Well, firstly I think it's time to take a break, what do you think?" His eyes travelled down her body before returning her face. "A break sounds good. Are you hungry, or do you want a rest?"
