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!.
After finding them in one of his pockets, Jonathan placed his gloves inside his helmet. He wondered if Odette was one of those trust fund children who often relied on their parents' wealth rather than getting a job. He knew being a professional hockey player was like winning the lottery - but he always had retirement in the back of his mind. “Yeah, and sometimes my girlfriend wants to see me too.” Jon laughed, he often thanked the stars that Alana was patient and busy herself but they always made time for each other.
“How does it feel being related to a coach at another barn?” He realized after the Fire at Blue Acres, the tension and drama between the two barns seemed to have settled down. Jon didn’t mind - it gave him more riders to learn from. Jon nodded as he fixed the cover on his saddle after noticing it wasn’t on correctly. “The Stars? You mean the Olympics right?” It was something he had already done - though riding and hockey were two different sports.
Jon took off his riding boots, swapping them for his rain boots and pulled out a rag. He then started cleaning the sand off the bottoms. “No thanks, I’ll stick to my small jumps. Sunny wouldn’t be too happy with the bigger jumps anyway.” Jon was genuinely happy with the paint mare - she didn’t fit in with the other fancy Hunter horses, though she was well-behaved. “Oh. That does sound like an interesting story. How long ago did you and your family move here?” It seemed like most people left their hometowns because of drama. He went back to cleaning the boots, allowing the woman to speak again.
“Yes, I played hockey for a really long time before I moved here.” The perks of living in the UK - not many people knew who he was - even by looking at his last name.
Jonathan shook his head - Andrew definitely had more experience in the dating field than he did. The two men had the same career. Playing Hockey professionally meant being on the road and not everyone understood that when it came to dating. "You really don't need a degree in relationships to be an expert. Out of most of my friends you are the only one married." His teammates were all basically all married, tending to wait until later in their career when they did. "The fact that you two were able to date and juggle your jobs is just a little crazy." He never expected any of his girlfriends to stay at home and wait for him - but dating another athlete was something that required a bit more planning.
He took a sip of his drink, signaling to their waiter that he wanted another glass of water before taking another bite of food. It felt odd for him to be eating at a restaurant - he was getting better at cooking at home for himself.
"Those aren't easy conversations to have. Do you just bring it up randomly or is there ever a right time?" Having children wasn't a dealbreaker for him - he was happy enough being an uncle. "My last name? Well, she can keep hers if she wants. Did Aurora choose to keep hers or did she end up changing?"
Choosing jewelry wasn’t something he was used to choosing. Sure, he had a few watches but those felt easy to pick out. This had more pressure attached to it, but not as much as choosing an engagement ring or anything. His mind continued churning as he debated the possibilities. As if someone snapped him out of it, he quickly came to a decision - hearing Gideon speak shortly after.
“Let’s go with the safe option. This is the right style though. I’d like to stick with the turquoise stones though. She would probably wear the not-safe option, but I don’t want to mess this up.” Jon felt like last year he got a freebie in terms of gift-giving. He had learned that the two of them were equally as easygoing - Jon even telling her around the Holidays not to get him anything, though it felt weird not getting the other person anything. The jewelry was to commemorate their being together a year so to him there was a bit more pressure. “I’m okay with it being something she doesn’t wear all the time. A special occasion piece is fine too.” Something like an engagement ring wasn’t quite where they were yet in their relationship - though Jonathan didn’t know how she felt about it.
Jon laughed at her comment. He often blamed his type A personality to finding things that matched. Some people considered it over the top because it was just furniture, but the man tried to take pride in his apartment behind the clothing store. “Well, yeah. I feel like I’m living in Hickstead for the long haul so I figure its time to make it feel like home.” Jon shrugged his shoulders - sure that there were others that felt the same way. “As an artist, isn’t it weird when things don’t match or at least fit? I think they will. I can always get help to move the bed over a bit if they don’t.”
The man nodded, he knew Alana would try to have things that were locally made if she could. “Oh no, I was just curious. I heard from a few customers about a furniture maker in town.” Jon had basically sold all of his furniture with his apartment in Chicago and had to start fresh - so furniture wasn’t really something he needed to look into now. “Is it that new place on Main Street?” Jon continued glancing at the tables while Alana was unwrapping her gift.
He watched as she shook the box, feeling a slight blush come to his cheeks. It was something he had a long discussion with Gideon about and now was the true test. “Not super fancy, not like Tiffany’s or anything.” The thought of engagement this early was scaring him. Inside the box were an earring and bracelet set, which he hoped Alana would enjoy.
Jonathan nodded, dating for anyone was hard, let alone someone who was constantly away from home for nine months of the year if the team won the Cup. “I guess it was just a matter of making time for each other when you were home together?” He had only really briefly heard Aurora’s side of the story, though as long as the two were happy together that’s all that mattered to him. “It’s early days yet, but yes. Even though we are living in the same town, we are both pretty busy.” Granted, riding took up some time as well, but it was Winter and he wasn’t one to compete hard-core like other riders at Seven Oaks. “Yeah, it really wouldn’t be life without it’s ups and downs. It’s just nice knowing someone is by your side for it all.” He was lucky his parents were by his side during the times he wasn’t dating anyone - he always had someone to call after a game, no matter how it went.
Their food had finally arrived, both meals smelled amazing and Jon began cutting into his steak with a fork and knife. “Sorry for the tough question, just trying to get advice from the relationship expert.” Jon smiled before he popped a piece of steak into his mouth before chewing it. “Well, someone who doesn’t want to be the life of the party. Those days are long over for me.” He was getting much to old to wake up with a hangover. “Also, getting married is something I want to do too, Alana and I haven’t had that conversation yet though. Don’t really want to scare her off.”
Jonathan raised his eyebrow. Holding the cake sounded like some secret term, unless there was actually cake to be eaten. "Uh, there is cake? I mean now that I'm not a pro athlete I guess I can eat what I want." It was something he truly missed eating during his pro hockey days.
"I really don't mind drinking kettle coffee. No need for me to have the special treatment." He thought it would also look bad if the owner and her boyfriend got the fancier coffees. Jonathan began unwrapping the gift, trying to guess what Alana got him from the shape. Once the tables were revealed, he smiled. "Why thank you. Those are really cool! Is it because you don't have a table on your side of the bed yet?" They were something that would fit nicely in his apartment. He turned and gave her a hug, placing a kiss on her cheek. "I'm going to guess that someone local made these?" He was getting better and better supporting local businesses - as he was an owner of one himself.
Jon thanked her as he picked up the first larger package wrapped in brown paper. He knew it would be obvious what it would be from the shape. "I think you'll know what this is."
“I tend to see her wearing more quirky things. They seem to be a mix between modern and vintage, if I knew the name of the style that might be more helpful for you.” Jon chuckled, feeling silly for not knowing. Sometimes he felt like he had known Alana forever, but times like these made him second guess that. “Even if it’s a nicer event we have gone to, it’s something in that style but a bit more subtle.” He could remember from the Valentine’s Gala, she was dressed in something meant to stand out from the crowd, making it easier for him to find her in the group of people.
He glanced around to see if he could find something close to where he was standing but Gideon beat him to it. Jonathan’s dark eyes were caught as soon as he saw the earrings and bracelet, taking more than a moment to glance at them before looking at the necklace. “Definitely the bracelet and the earrings are something similar I’ve seen on her before. The necklace is nice though too.” It seemed as if the jeweler was understanding what style he was going for. “Are they meant to go as a set together even though the necklace isn’t blue like the others?” He really only had his mother to compare his knowledge jewelry with, though she enjoyed the more classic style.
Jonathan never knew whether to give out his lesson times or not, though most people at Seven Oaks seemed to be nice enough. He was one of those riders who did spend time with their horse, though sometimes running the clothing store meant he relied on the barn staff to get Sunny ready if he was going to be late, though he always felt guilty afterwards. “Yes, my job doesn’t really allow me to take the same lesson time every week, though I am my own boss so I can bend the rules a little.” The University students working for him were busy studying for final exams and wanted to cut down on their hours because of it.
“Do I know your mother or something? Does she ride here too?” There seemed to be more and more families who rode together, though as of right now he only knew about Drew family who shared Mary, a chestnut mare who seemed to also have a good head on her shoulders. “Wow, I’ve seen people compete in Eventing at shows. You don’t have a death sentence do you?” Jonathan smiled, even though he was a professional hockey player back in the day - Eventing seemed to be more intense than that. “I ride Hunters, nothing too fancy. I may switch to Show Jumping once I get more comfortable.” He shrugged his shoulders, some people found hunters to be boring - but it was just the right pace for him with his busy lifestyle.
He set his helmet and the grooming kit back into the locker - putting his helmet upside-down to allow it to air out. “Nice to meet you too, Odette.” Remembering names was something he was good at, having teammates that constantly changed really did help with that. “Oh wow, that’s really not that long then. What made you move here?” He was secretly hoping she wouldn’t ask him the same question, as his accent was obviously not British. “Yeah, I started to compete about a year ago. Really it’s everyone else who influenced me to start riding. I needed a new sport to keep me busy.”
"She hasn't bucked me off yet, it's the main reason I bought her. She has a good head on her shoulders, which as a beginner I need." Sunny didn't look like your typical hunter horse, but he knew he would never be a professional rider, so it didn't matter. "When are we going to see you in the Show ring? Or at least take Alexi in the lead line class?" It would give the older man something to do, though raising a child was definitely enough work.
Jon raised his eyebrow, wondering if Alana would ever ride a horse. "I really don't think so. The closest I think she would get to a horse is if she sculpted it out of clay." They both had their own interests, which kept their relationship interesting. He loved spending time with her, though like anyone else he also loved his time alone - which was when he was at the barn.
He picked up his fork and began eating his salad. "She is definitely a good fit for you. I can't imagine how complicated thing were though, with you both being pro athletes at the time." He knew how hectic the NHL schedule was - let alone the schedule of a pro rider. "I think being with Alana will be the same. We've only been together a year and a half, but I feel like she is the one I'd like to be with forever. How did you know Aurora was the one?" He was wishing for some sort of sign, though the fact that Alana hadn't broken their relationship meant something, right?
"Sounds like a plan, that way we can both concentrate on the Art collections." It was something he never knew he was really interested in until he met Alana. He didn't know anything about the artists or any of the pieces - though he was learning what he liked and didn't like. "Please, open yours first. Ladies do go first after all."
Jonathan nodded and got out of the car, gently closing the door behind him. "I didn't have the best sleep last night, and you know me I also never say no to coffee. Does the fancy machine work again?" It was something he wanted to have in his store - his staff worked hard and deserved something similar. He stopped at the trunk, smiling as Alana opened it. "If you are sure." He placed the gift bag and the flowers gently in the trunk, smiling brighter when he saw the tablecloth. "Sneaking about the back makes it sound like we need to hide from someone?"
"Wow, are you always so fancy with your wrapping? I feel lame with my gift bag." He began unwrapping the gift, wondering what was under the cloth.
I'm joking! Did you win a contest or something? If you paid for it, let me please pay for my half. I can't even remember the last time we went on vacation together... I'm really looking forward to it!! :-)
"Not to worry, I usually take my lessons in the evening but my work schedule changed." It was part of the perks of working for himself. Finally, he had someone interested in being a manager - they were currently running the store while he had a makeup lesson with Sunny.
He carefully shuffled around the mystery woman, trying his best not to disturb anything with his saddle. A quick sigh escaped his mouth as he slid the saddle in his locker, making sure the cover was on properly before closing the door gently. "Nice to meet you. Unfortunately, I'm still new to the riding world so I don't know who your mother is." He was far too caught up in the NHL scene, causing him to barely know the equestrian world existed until he moved to England. "Do you also want to do Eventing?"
From what he had seen, Eventing was a bit too intense for him. The Hunter ring was nice and slow, though technical. "I'm Jonathan. Though I'm sure you gathered that from my locker. How long ago did you move here?" He flipped his fuzzy girth upside down and set it on his saddle, letting it air out for his next ride.
After his recent dinner with Andrew, he realized how long it had been since four hockey friends had gotten together. Jonathan fixed that with the creation of a group chat and they had agreed upon meeting for lunch. He had made the phone call, getting them a reservation at the Pizza Express.
The day had arrived and Jonathan made sure he locked the front door of his apartment and headed towards the restaurant, deciding that he could walk. It wasn't long before he had his hand on the door handle, pulling it towards him to enter the building. There seemed to be a few people in front of him so he didn't mind waiting. Once he made it to the front, he spoke with the hostess. She picked up a few menus and headed towards their table. He took a seat facing towards the front so that he could keep an eye out for the three others.
He was able to order a pitcher of water for the table and pulled out his phone, answering the text messages he hadn't answered during the course of the day.