Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
"I'm just sick of doing things that kids that have just graduated from lead rein classes are doing." Lily smiled in understanding, "I get that," it was part of getting older, wanting to progress and take ownership of that progress and what you stepped up to doing. "Foundations are important but there needs to be a balance between getting the basics right and then building on those skills and progressing." She agreed, knowing how difficult it could be for young kids to find the right places to learn - some teachers were too slow, some too quick, and it was hard to know until you were paying for them.
"Probably didn't help that my Grams was my instructor." Lily raised her eyebrows and made a sympathetic noise, "Oof, guessing she was quite tough on you?" She guessed, as most of the older generation did seem to have that way. Not that it wasn't sometimes useful to have the tough love - even if Lily had never really known her grandparents and couldn't comment.
She watched the boy begin to relax, able to see it in the way the tension left his arms and they fell slightly, into the right place. "That makes lots of sense. It's good getting technical instructions." She grinned in response, "I'm glad you're enjoying it so far - and you're doing great! This relaxation will help you get a better feel and contact with Harry too, you should be able to feel more in tune with his mouth and how relaxed he's feeling too." She said, watching them go round. "Okay, let's pop forwards into a trot and see what happens."
Lily felt incredibly rusty, being back in the showgrounds, and she was working hard not to let Adonis feel her nerves. He'd already been a bit of a tit in the warm up but she'd managed to hold it together and sit tight, and she was hoping the multiple rounds would settle the horse - either that, or he would get progressively more difficult to hold as he worked out the course was the same each time. She settled him with a quick pat and then released her hold to let him spring forward into a canter. He leapt with the release of the contact, and she was quick to bring him back - though it took a few strides.
The first fence was a little extravagant, he threw his head above the bit and shot off for the warm up jump, clearing it by several miles. Lily gathered him on the landed, but Adonis fought her every stride to the big fence. God were her arms going to ache tomorrow. She kept her hands down and light, even as the bay threw his head around and tried to rush - the last couple of stride were a bit frantic, but he stayed on his haunches and pinged the wall in a wonderful rounded motion. She patted him again on landing, then had to focus on her seat as the horse let out a few explosive shapes to the sound of the roaring crowd, and took a minute to come back to Lily so she could safely exit the ring.
<3 LUCAS JACOB COLE | THREE DAUGHTERS (ROSE, FELICITY, CLAIRE) | ONE SON (SLADE) THREE HORSES (SAFFRON, REBEL, ADONIS)
She was looking forward to seeing her cousin, even more so for giving him something to think about - he had asked for a challenge, and she'd given him one - with a tricky combination across the diagonal of the school - an oxer, to an upright, to another oxer - and then another large upright just off the corner which made it a tight line, and to that - a relative distance to another upright. It would be an ask, and she hadn't put it small either - smaller to warm up over of course, but she'd be putting those poles right up once they were ready. She checked the time on her phone then tucked it away, putting the last of the poles into it's cups as she waited for Chris to arrive.
Dice roll
Odd number - lesson goes poorly Even number - lesson goes well
Lily was keen to see how Rory had been getting on since last time they'd had a lesson - though it was a different horse, she hoped that her instruction had been useful enough to apply to Rory's other ride. She found she was often able to apply the same principles, unless she was working on something specific with her horses. She was curious as to whether there was anything Rory wanted to work on today and so she'd kept the exercise relatively simple so she could adapt it if needed - a couple of uprights and a couple of oxers, with one being a double across the centre of the school. She could move things but generally she'd be able to make things testing if Rory needed a challenge, or they could work on the simple things if they needed.
Dice roll
Odd number - lesson goes poorly Even number - lesson goes well
She smiled slightly as Othello left her comment between them - she could understand that, nobody wanted to tip the apple cart - especially if it was the stable owner's. She was never offended by it though, not until someone really crossed a line. She'd heard her brother called all sorts of things, and nine times out of ten, Lily agreed with it. "I've done a few baby shows - as mum likes to call them - where I walked, and trotted around a judge standing in the middle of the arena. I just want to do more than basic walking and trotting. Grams was my instructor, so she was probably a little biased." Lily nodded, showing she was absorbing his words. "That's a great start, and we all need to start somewhere. It all adds up to experience, and it'll help make you both more comfortable in the ring going forward." As sometimes it was actually more people's nerves than their ability that could let them down on the big day.
Lily focused on the boy in the saddle, ignoring the horse somewhat for now. Whilst the way the horse moved showed what the rider was offering them, there were certain things - especially in the beginning stages - that you could see by a person just sitting in the saddle. She nodded in encouragement as his knees released, "good, that should feel more comfortable for you too - less tension in your hips, it just might feel a little less secure to begin with but it will actually help with your balance in the long run," which was why most people gripped - when actually, things were easier if you stayed softer. "Don't worry if things don't go to plan straight away, it takes time to cement it all in your head and make it feel natural, it'll be tough work to start with but one day you'll suddenly find you don't have to think about it anymore." She promised, knowing how much brain power it took to try and change how you rode all in one go.
"How does one soften their elbows?" Lily grinned, "sorry - always let me know if I don't make sense!" She encouraged, putting her own arms up as if she was holding reins. "The best way is to relax your arms - not in the way of just letting them slump to your sides," She demonstrated as if her arms suddenly dropped, "but you shouldn't feel tension in your arms or shoulders, you should be able to move your forearms back and forth by your sides here nice and fluidly," she moved her forearms as if they were on a light elastic, keeping her elbows tucked to her sides. "If you feel like your arms are locked in place, or feel tired or tense through your arms, it'll mean your elbows aren't soft. Does that make some kind of sense?" She asked with a slight frown, hoping it did.
It had been a hot minute since Lily had taken Rebel to a competition, the older mare was going well at him, and Lily had felt it was time to get her back out again. She had always been a wonderful showjumper - generally very neat and quick to respond to Lily's lightest commands - but they were rusty. She felt it in the warm up, the way the mare was a little on her toes, the way she had a little look at the warm up fences. Lily only had herself to blame for it, she should have gotten her out again sooner, but she'd gotten distracted by life and hadn't been to a show for months - maybe even years.
They entered the ring feeling somewhat unprepared, but Lily decided to treat it like a training session and just pop round. She wasn't aiming to win, but a nice steady, collected round would be the dream. The first couple of fences were a little messy, their striding was off, and Lily had to pull and give as Rebel rushed the fences in her excitement to get going. She heard two poles go before they'd hit number four, and Lily battled a little to settle the grey. She finally listened, and the remainder of the round was more polite. Lily gave her time to see each fence, taking the longer routes and not cutting any corners so she could focus on settling her in a nice rhythm and finish the rest of the course without anymore poles.
<3 LUCAS JACOB COLE | THREE DAUGHTERS (ROSE, FELICITY, CLAIRE) | ONE SON (SLADE) THREE HORSES (SAFFRON, REBEL, ADONIS)
"He was really cool! Helped me find my way around the place." Lily smiled at that, "nice to hear he was being useful, it makes a change." She added a wink so that the young lad would know she was joking - mostly. Of all her staff, Leo was the most likely to go off and get stuck into something random or trivial instead of doing his chores. He always did the jobs that were more important when it was to do with the horses but after that, he seemed to get very easily distracted and wander off. She smiled as she gave the horse a quick scratch and then let them get on with things, moving out the way.
She gave him time to think on his answer, not wanting to put any pressure on him. "I just want to show mum that I can actually do stuff on horses, not just walk around the arena." She smiled encouragingly. "I'm not really sure what I want to do, but I've always watched eventing on the telly and wondered what it would be like to actually get out there and give it a go." Lily nodded at that, understanding. "That's fine, you don't have to know exactly what it is you want, that will come in time, but that's a great starting block. We'll just work on getting you solid in the saddle and confident." Lily said, already thinking ahead to what they could work on. A strong foundation in the saddle and the paces, so he felt fully comfortable up there and could get the most out of Harry, and then that confidence would help him in progression with eventing - trying new things, jumping a bit higher or a more complicated combination etc...
Lily watched the two warm up, allowing time for Othello to relax - hopefully - and get warm. She always gave people time to get moving before she started with suggestions or observations. People needed time to shake off the nerves and once they had relaxed into their regular warm up routine, she could see the real things that needed some work. She spoke up after a little while, "you're looking great up there, already a good position." She complimented, not wanting Othello to feel this would be about pointing what needed fixing. "Try to relax your knees a little and soften your elbows, your lower leg position is looking strong already, we just try not to grip with knees as it can send the horse on a little quicker than we're asking. Softening the elbows helps with our connection through the reins."
Hearing the sound of hooves, she glanced up, giving a quick smile at the sight of Rory and her ride. "Hello Lily. Long time, no see. This is Merlin. I do hope he behaves himself today." Lily gave her a quick wave, helping to shut the gate, "Hello hello, lovely to see you again!" She, naturally, knew every person who stabled at her stables, or anyone who took lessons, but she didn't always get much opportunity to actually speak to them. "I hope so too, but if he doesn't then I guess we'll be in for some entertainment. Nice to meet you too, Merlin." She added with another quick grin, moving toward the middle of the arena as the pair began warming up around her.
She liked to let people take their time warming up, keeping an eye on them and offering suggestions as they got going, before she started really honing in on people. "So, how have things been going with you two? Did you have a particular goal you need to achieve, or something you really want to get out of this, or anything else going on?" She asked as she watched the horse move, seeing how he began to relax a little as they got going. Lily liked to find out what was going on with her clients, and if they wanted to achieve something specific in their lesson or just wanted to touch base with someone who could watch from the ground and give tips and pointers.
Lily smiled in return, wanting Othello to feel at ease and not worry about anything. "Hi, I'm Othello and this is Harry." Lily nodded, "nice to meet you Othello, I hear you met my brother the other week, I hope he didn't annoy you too much." She joked, though really she knew how Leo could be and he did have a tendancy to poke people a little too hard. "Lovely to meet you too, Harry," she nodded to the horse, offering her hand for him to check out before she went to give him a quick pat. Always good to make friends on the ground with client and horse so they could build trust with the instructor too - that was also important as it was for the horse and rider to be working together.
"Alright, so you want to get cracking with eventing, is that right?" She asked, wanting to make sure she knew where Othello was at and what he wanted to get out of the lessons. "Is there anything in particular you've been struggling with so far, or want to improve on? Anything you have in mind that you really want to achieve or get out of this?" She smiled, "It can be something really small, or what you might think is small, but any target and achievement is huge." Lily hated to think that people thought their dreams were small. "When you're ready if you want to get on board and start getting warm, so we can get down to the hard work once you've both gotten moving and relaxed."
Lily finally finished setting up the course for the lesson, brushing the residual sand off her hands and straightening up. Nothing too challenging for a first lesson, especially as this was a new client - it was meant to be a group lesson but with two spaces still available, it was going to end up an individual one. Lily didn't mind, a client was a client. There was still a particular combination they were going to work on today though, to see how horse and rider worked together. Having dragged in some of the few cross country fences they had, she'd arranged a trio of jumps, each at an 45 degree angle, with the first facing toward the fence, the second facing away from it, and the third facing back toward it. A zig zag really, each with only two strides between.
It wasn't a huge question, but if horse and rider were not in sync with each other and the rider was not properly communicating, then the fences offered the perfect excuse to run out. She headed over to the gate, making sure to pop it open so that the student knew they could enter once they were ready.
Dice roll
Odd number - lesson goes poorly Even number - lesson goes well
Lily was looking forward to meeting her first client of the week. She was full of optimism and positive spirit for this week. She had heard about the young lad she was teaching - through Leo of all people - and he seemed like a good kid with some real ambition. Lily was only too happy to help encourage the ambition and make it a reality. Having not seen him ride yet, Lily planned to make this a bit of an introduction for them both, so he knew how Lily taught, and Lily knew what level they were at - more so than 'novice'. She had set up a rudimentary showjumping course, including a couple of their cross country fences to see how they approached a solid fence, as well as coloured poles.
She surveyed her work and then gave herself a nod - they were all small fences, nothing crazy, as it wasn't about the height today. Once everything was set, Lily headed over to wait at the entrance to the school - She had made a note on the office lesson sheet for the day that Othello would be in the indoor school and to meet Lily there once he was ready.
Dice roll
Odd number - lesson goes poorly Even number - lesson goes well
Liliana Honey White - but please call her Lily, or she'll cringe. She's the owner of the stables, and she's had plenty of experience in eventing to give you a lesson worthwhile! Much like her siblings, she's been riding for a long as heck time, and has worked hard to get where she is. She's had her falls and her lows, just like everyone else, so she can always sympathise when people are having a tough time or not feeling it, and she always knows the right thing to perk you up and make you feel like you've done something good. She's had a lot of training over the years; private and group lessons as well as some clinics to get as much experience as possible. She's soaked up her learnings like a sponge, and applied it to her own riding to better herself. She's had a lot of lessons with William Fox-Pitt and Pippa Funnell, as well as some from Mary King, and Mark Todd. Lily has also had some more indepth training in dressage and showjumping on their own, joining her brothers in lessons with top riders such as Carl Hester and Michael Whitaker.
Don't be surprised and think Lily is a soft touch, she can be quite hard and a real task master and she takes no prisoners - she's firmer than both her brothers, but not unkind in it. She wants people to do well, and wants to draw out the best in her students, even if that means pushing the boundaries and comfort zones a little. She'll never get you to do something you're not capable of, or push you to your limits, so just have a little faith in that she knows what she's talking about and knows that you can do it - and you'll be flying! Lily is not unsympathetic, and she'll listen to what the rider says and will work with you on how best to achieve those things. As a horsewoman, she's good with a little bit of mischief and has surprisingly good stickability for a little woman, but she has a particular affinity with horses full of energy and short attention spans - and one's that seem to be strong in the hand. As a smaller woman, she's learnt lot's of ways in which to hold a horse together and how to combat horses who's minds wander.
class objectives
Lily likes to help people get the best out of themselves and their horses, and will push you to the edge of your comfort zone, so be prepared to be pushed a little out of bounds! She's encouraging and positive and will instil that confidence in you and your horse too. She'll spend a lot of time working on your confidence, as that is the pin-nickle of a good cross country round, as well as working on ensuring you're up to shape in all aspects of eventing. From her experience, most people lack dressage skills, and so there will be some lessons dedicated just to that and your weaker areas, where you're marking poorly, and then other lessons will be specific to showjumping and cross country - with the showjumping working on earning a good clean round, as some confident cross country horses often tap a pole in the showjumping. Lily will help you and your horse to become more adaptable to each stage of eventing so that you can succeed across the board, and look to gain more consistent marks across the board. She likes to see where people need to improve and then will spend time working on those weaknesses, before building on what you already know.
availability
8th - 21st April group - Intermediate 1. RORY ROSE WAY - Merlin - Intermediate - Thread 2. @name - horse - level 3. @name - horse - level
She got it, she really did, she knew how it would feel to see him injured from something he loved, even if it wasn't something that had happened to them. Luke's hobbies didn't have a penchant for that kind of trouble, she wasn't going to count his gambling issue, she didn't regard that as a hobby. It must be difficult, she got that, but this wasn't just a hobby for her, it was her life, it was the thing that had saved her all those years ago. She loved Luke, she had always loved Luke, and she always would, but she loved horses too, there would always be moments when they hurt her or something less desirable happened, as was liable to occur with animals in general, it was something Luke had to understand, even if he didn't like it. "i know lils, i do." She relaxed a little at his words, feeling the tension between them ease enough that she knew it wasn't about to turn into an argument. She really didn't need to add that on top of her issues with the damn horse and her scratched up back.
"adonis probably listens better ..." Lily have a small chuckle at that, raising an eyebrow at him over her shoulder as the washcloth was carefully handed over. "I think most of the animals do," She teased, but it was soft, no harm in the joke. She knew he was being gentle but she couldn't help the wince all the same. It would need to be properly cleaned and that meant it was going to hurt. She worked hard to hide every wince, every hint of pain as Luke worked, for his sake. She didn't want to make this anymore of a deal than it already was. "i'll believe that in a few days." She looked up and met his gaze as he held her chin. She didn't have anything to add to his words though, knowing there was nothing she could say to ease his worry in that moment that she hadn't already. "come into the bedroom and i'll go get the stuff to dress it properly." Lily nodded, leaving her top off to make life easier, she turned back around. "Okay, thank you, love." She said gently, placing a hand on his cheek and reaching up to kiss his nose gently.
Lily had already had a rather manic and stressful day given the circumstances. She'd been sorting out the yard and her family after the whole saga with the dogs, Chance and Maya and the fact that they had a lose pony somewhere out there who was still yet to come home. She had just finished saddling one of her own horses, Rebel, ready to go out and look for the blasted pony herself, along with a couple of other stable hands, when her phone buzzed. Frowning, she was quick to bring it out - everyone was on high alert right now and she was trying to settle everything back down. Her brow furrowed as she saw it was Naomi pinging through a text. Upon opening it, her shoulders relaxed. Mystery solved. She shot back a quick text to say that yes the pony did belong to them and to thank her for taking charge of it; she would pop over with the truck and retrieeve the animal. Following that, she shot off a text to Logan to let him know that the pony had been found and was all okay, before she turned back to her saddled horse and then called out to the other hands, "Stand down ladies and gents, the beast has been found!"
<3 LUCAS JACOB COLE | THREE DAUGHTERS (ROSE, FELICITY, CLAIRE) | ONE SON (SLADE) THREE HORSES (SAFFRON, REBEL, ADONIS)
Her gaze searched Luke's for a moment, expecting to see him smile like he always did when she gave him that look. He didn't though, and she bit her lip, the expression fading after a moment. She knew why - having grown up with him, Lily knew every look on his face, every nuance in his expression - he was worried. It was why she'd tried to hide it in the first place, she had wanted to avoid this. Now, she had to try and make a joke about it. "tell me you cracked him a good one in return." The joke eased the tension and she felt she was a little bit forgiven with those words. She relaxed slightly and smiled again, a slight wrinkle of her nose, "Sadly not, by the time the dust had settled, he wouldn't have known what the telling off was for. You know, him and Leo have that in common," She chuckled slightly, though Leo pretending not to know what he was being told off for was definitely more an act.
"i suppose if i told you to let leo or logan work with him instead of you, you wouldn't listen right?" Lily gave Luke a look, but it quickly softened as she reminded herself where the words were coming from. A place of care and love, of not wanting to see her hurt - the same way she felt whenever she saw something was wrong with him. "Sorry, but no. He's my horse, and I'm not pregnant, so I have no reason not to see him through his rehab. I won't ask someone else to handle him." She had handled worse before, but she didn't want to tell him that and make him worry more. She released the cloth over to him; at least he would be able to reach places she couldn't and it wouldn't be so awkward. "where else are you hurt?" She tilted her head slightly, catching the quiet of his voice and unsure for a moment if he was hiding frustration in the tone. A small shake of her head, "No, it's just my back." She said honestly, turning her face slightly to look at his. "It's not that bad, I promise."
