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!.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
The blonde gave Boss a pat on the shoulder, it seemed that her flat work away from jumping with Stephanie was starting to pay off. The bay gelding was basically like a puppy - listening to what she had asked, though the woman knew he wasn't a robot horse. There was always something for the two of them to work on. Today the jumps were set up to practice roll back turns, preparing them for an upcoming local show.
It only took her a moment to recognize the newcomer. It was the newer vet in Hickstead. He seemed to be stuck walking Harlow's horse - though Blue Acres was more his retirement home. "Hi Nate! Long time no see, thankfully for my pocket book." She laughed. Boss had stayed sound for awhile now - only needing his necessary vaccinations. "We are good thanks, just finished our lesson with Stephanie. How are you? Whitney still wanting to spend time with you after your late hours?" She teased, only having met Whitney a few times when she tagged along on calls.
She steered the gelding in a circle around one of the jumps. Kayleigh wanted to allow Boss to catch his breath - the lesson was a bit more strenuous than the two of them were used to.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
Kayleigh was surprisingly shocked that River wasn't being snarky towards her. She was fully expecting some pushy banter between the two of them - similar to what happened at the tack store. The blonde needed to simmer it down though - not wanting to push any buttons. She let out a scoff at his comment about his horses. "Of course Raven is feeling that way. I know I don't know you that well but I feel that Parkour gets all the attention." It was hard for anyone to go from number one BFF to number two.
She watched him grab a pretzel bite - stealing another one as it didn't get a negative reaction from him. "Okay, okay. I'll play nice but only if you will. Though once we throw axes I can't promise not to be competitive about it." She did come from a competitive family after all - and her ex boyfriend wasn't ever happy if she won anything but 1st place at a horse show. "Why do you think that is anyway?" People were becoming more and more rude - though usually there were at least a few decent people in the world.
Kayleigh took a sip of her iced tea. She watched his facial expression after she had offered to order a drink for him. "Oh no, I don't feel like drinking tonight either. A hangover isn't something I need for tomorrow." She was booked solid at work - there seemed to be a show coming up soon and everyone competing wanted a saddle fitting beforehand. "And with there being weapons involved, I really need a clear judgment. I am a bit clumsy, so I need all the help I can get." Kayleigh laughed softly after setting her glass down on the bar gently.
"What kind of connection are we talking about?" She gently bumped into him with the arm closest to him. Kayleigh wasn't one to assume that a guy wanted a relationship with her - they had just started hanging out after all. She had heard of too many relationships going too far too fast. "You would think a guy like you would have friends. Especially in the riding world. But yeah, friends would be nice." One of the room attendants approached them, telling them both that their room was ready.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
Kayleigh started looking at the books on the shelf in front of her. She hoped she didn't startle Wendell - he seemed to be busy looking at books himself. "I hope I didn't startle you. What kind of book are you looking for?" She knew she didn't work at the bookstore, but her shelves at home were starting to get pretty full.
The blonde wanted to start steering clear of books having to do with horses. Boss was starting to get frustrated with the new flat work training that she was incorporating into their training. "How is riding going for you? Your horse still doing well?" She felt terrible for not remembering his horse's name but she was starting to get more and more clients coming into the tack store. "I do apologize that I forgot their name. There are far too many horse names to keep track of."
A book caught her eye as her hand reached out towards the spine of it, pulling it off of the shelf. It had bright font on the side and the title caught her eye. She flipped the book over to the back and began reading the synopsis.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
Kayleigh had locked up the tack store for the night after making sure everything was in it's place for the next morning. It had been a day full of people wanting to schedule saddle fittings, especially those with younger horses. She was glad she had staff she could rely on while off doing fittings - so that the store could be open during those times.
It was Boss's day off from being ridden, which meant Kayleigh was going to do her weekly walk down High Street for a new book to read at night. The blonde wandered off towards the store, stuffing her keys in the pocket of her jeans. Most of the stores, including her own had decorated for Fall. She glanced and admired the various window decorations, walking inside the bookstore once she reached it.
The store seemed to be quiet, which was perfect for her to find a new book in peace. Kayleigh turned and headed toward the mystery section, knowing her favourite author had just released a new book. She saw the back of a familiar person as she approached the nearest shelf.
"Hey Wendell, long time no see. Looking for a book are we?" It was apparent, but the store also sold other things as well.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
The bar seemed to be busy, people were giving her smiles as she approached River. She knew what axe throwing was - and was totally ready to be competitive about it. Kayleigh knew to keep her cool, River hadn't actually said it was a date or anything - they were just two adults hanging out, right?
"Oh come on, I have to do my due diligence and make sure I did a good job." It was odd as River wasn't speaking in his usual snarky tone - almost as if someone had flipped a switch in the personality section of his brain. "I'm glad it fits, hope both horses are doing well." She nodded, glancing at the bar in front of him and stealing a pretzel bite, dipping it in cheese before popping it in her mouth. "You really think I'm that kind of person? I hate being late. It would be bad, especially given my job." She finished chewing her snack and nodded.
"Did you want to drink first and then go in? Or how does this work exactly?" She waved down the bartender and ordered herself an iced tea as soon as she realized that River was sticking to water. Mixing alcohol and axe throwing would be a bad idea - it could prove to be a hazard. "Can I ask what made you invite me out here? Kind of sounds like a guy bonding time thing to me." She laughed as the bartender set a glass of iced tea on the bar in front of them. Kayleigh raised her glass and took a sip before setting the glass down again.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
Kayleigh had just finished another lesson with Stephanie. They were hard at work preparing for another upcoming show. The dark bay gelding smoothly sailed over the course, Stephanie smiling as the two went along. It was clear the pair were ready to go. The darker haired woman clapped, impressed on what Kayleigh had done. "Clearly, you two are ready. Depending on how this weekend goes, you can probably move up afterwards." Stephanie said, waving goodbye to Kayleigh before she left.
The blonde was left to cool Boss out on her own, leaning over and gave the gelding a few pats on the neck. She let out a sigh, it had been awhile since she had competed. Running the tack store had kept her away from it, which made her gelding cranky. She let the gelding walk around the arena, glancing to see someone and their horse approach the arena. Kayleigh smiled and loosened the grip on her reins, holding them on the buckle.
"I'm just cooling Boss out, but feel free to join us." She called out to the other rider, taking her feet out of the stirrups and letting her legs dangle - it felt nice being able to stretch them out.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
After the saddle fitting was done, Kayleigh had thought her dealings with River were over. They had texted back and forth, deciding finally that they would hang out. Kayleigh felt odd at first, leaving him on read until she made up her mind. It was one of her employees that replied to his text, saying that she would agree to meet him.
It was finally the day. She left Skye and Violet to run the store for her, getting ready in her apartment before leaving for the Rage Room. It wasn't something she had heard of before, but she did have quite a bit of anger to let go of. She fixed her blonde hair in a low ponytail and headed in the car - driving off towards Willow Bridge City.
Thirty minutes later, she parked her car - finding it easily with the use of the Map app on her phone. She got out of the car, grabbing her purse and headed inside. Kayleigh glanced around once inside, smiling when she saw that River was already there. "Hey, long time no see in person. How have you been? The saddle fitting Parkour right still?" She wanted to smack her head after talking about work, though it was too late now for her to take her question back.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
Kayleigh nodded, not realizing how the movie stunt world went. Though she assumed, like any job it was more complicated than most people thought. "It's still impressive what you do. Do you have to travel far for a shoot?" Sometimes she wished she could travel for her job, though having moved around the World enough made her think twice about it.
She listened and watched the horse move around the arena. Carefully leaning against the fence and crossed her arms, hoping she didn't look like she was about to give the stranger a riding lesson. "That sounds..painful if I'm honest. Do the hospital staff know you pretty well by now?" She couldn't help but smile, sure that the man had some pretty interesting stories - not only because of his work but his injuries as well. "Do you teach here?" It was an obvious question, but with how big the horse community was in Hickstead - it wasn't right to just assume. "I understand how to see it that way. I'm more of a dog person than a bird. Though I have a Corgi, so she doesn't fall into the big dog category." The little bundle of fur popped into her head, she often bounced around the tack store.
"I can see that. Too much attention isn't always good either. A...friend of mine was an Olympian and I couldn't get the media off of him. Some people enjoy it though." The friend was really her ex boyfriend but she didn't quite want to admit that. Michael wanted nothing more than to win Gold, which in the end ruined their relationship.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
"Anything I would have seen you in?" Kayleigh wasn't a huge movie watcher as running the tack store took up most of her time anyway. She tended to spend most of her free time at the barn - feeling terrible leaving her horse for too long.
She glanced at the horse, it seemed to be a good mover in her eye - though she would admit she wasn't an expert or anything. "That's impressive, do you take lessons or do you teach yourself?" Kayleigh's eyes glanced upwards to the rider, giving him a smile. "The birds and big dogs aren't a little scary?" The woman was happy with her Corgi dog and her Warmblood, nothing exotic ever appealed to her as a pet. They were wonderful to admire from afar though.
"I do live under a rock though, so if I don't recognize you I do apologize. I keep myself quite busy away from catching up from the latest Hollywood trends."
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
"I promise I won't take videos or pictures to sell your training program on the internet." Kayleigh smiled at her own joke. She wasn't sure if he was famous or not but it would have been rude of her either way.
She carefully crossed her arms and leaned against the wall of the arena, intently watching the horse and rider. The more she learned about different disciplines, the more she could help her customers understand what equipment they needed. "That's interesting! Have you been in any movies? or are the stunts more for social media publicity?" Kayleigh spent too much of her time at the tack store to recognize anyone from anything popular.
"Both, actually. I own the tack store in town and I take show jumping lessons with my horse, Boss. I tend to ride at odd times of the day, depending on when the store is short staffed." Though between the four of them there was always someone during the hours the store was open. "May I ask why you chose vaulting? It's definitely a discipline that isn't too popular around here." She hoped the man didn't take her comment the wrong way, it was coming from a genuine curiosity.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
Kayleigh was on her way to the barn. She wasn't there to ride though - someone had asked if she could bring out some saddles for them to try.
Once she arrived, she greeted Boss in his stall - giving him a carrot and a pat on the head. It was the gelding's day off, but Kayleigh always checked in on her horse when she found herself at the barn.
The woman met with the person wanting to try saddles - leaving them to get and groom their horse. She headed out to the outdoor arena - feeling odd just standing there watching the person groom their horse.
She wasn't expecting anyone in the arena, but she smiled when she approached. "Hi there, hope you don't mind an audience." She didn't want to startle the rider or his horse. Kayleigh leaned against the fence, curious to see what he was going to do.
"Are you a vaulter?" Kayleigh knew that vaulting was one of the less popular of the disciplines from the items she sold at the tack store.
"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody!"
It was rare that the community came together - she had decided to post posters around town asking for gently used tack to sell - with all the proceeds going to the rebuilding of Blue Acres.
Kayleigh set up her own tent - placing the items for sale on the tables. Each item had a price sticker on them and she was surprised how many people had donated. She turned to one of her workers and smiled. "Are we ready to open?"
The other woman nodded and finished fixing the collar on a hunt coat. "Alright! We are open. Come check out the tack tent!"
Because Kayleigh moved around a lot, she really hasn't felt "at home" anywhere. She isn't good at making friends at all, but hides it by trying to be friendly anyway. Kayleigh works hard and loves her job, but not as much as her horse and boyfriend. She hates silence in the store and tries to liven it up with the local radio station. Due to moving around a lot she hasn't found any friends in Hickstead yet. She boards her horse at Blue Acres.
enemies
She has moved around too much to make any enemies anywhere. And due to the fact she runs the Tack shop she tries to stay neutral in the barn rivalry. But there may be some enemies out there...