Marley's CharactersName: I'm
Ian McKinley, head trainer at Bayley Equestrian Academy. You can call me coach, you can call me sir, and if I like you enough you can call me Ian but no one calls me 'Mr. McKinley'. Ever.
Age: I'm really only
38, most days I feel older.
Personality: I guess you could call me a little
rough around the edges. I've settled down a good bit since my twenties, but that doesn't mean people have forgotten my wild streak. I go hard, am
stubborn as a mule and won't stop until things get done. Usually my way. People say I've got a
short fuse, or that they can't figure out what drives me to do the things I do. I tell you one thing though, I'm an
honest man. Or at least I'm trying to be these days.
History: Ha! Well, you better sit down then. First off, you have to realize that the land Bayley Academy sits on has been owned by my mother's family for three generations, and while the academy itself has only been around a decade or so, world class equestrians have been training here since the day the Bayley's first bought the property
. My parents initially knew each other as rivals, both ambitious young Show Jumpers seeking spots on the 1972 Olympic team. But while my father would lose his trip to Munich to my mother and her horse Fleet Apple, he would gain Robin Bayley's heart. A few years later they were married they were married on the polo field of Bayley Academy, and a few years after that I was born, the oldest child only son of this prestigious equestrian family.
Like many 'lifers' I was riding nearly before I could walk, showing locally at first and later competing nationally.
I was never quite the caliber of my parents or even my two sisters, a fact my father reminded me of daily, but what I lacked in raw talent I made up in my ability to train horses. I was never an Olympic Contender, but my skills did land me a spot on one of the few collegiate equestrian teams accepting men and a full ride scholarship to the university. I wasn't exactly the star of the team, to enamored with parties, booze, and pretty girls eager for a ride on a pretty horse to ever reach past mediocrity but I did enjoy it
. I was planning on retiring after college anyway, settling down to teach and train horses at Bayley, but things changed with one more pretty girl, a pretty girl eager to ride a pretty horse... I told you before that I consider myself an honest man. But to tell you the truth, there's more than a few things I've done in this life I'm not proud of and this one haunts me every day
. I'd only been seeing Maggie Walker, a freshman who hung out around the show barns feeding horses and cleaning stalls, a couple of months when she told me she was pregnant and immediately I panicked. I thought of my father's rage, my mother's disappointment, my friend's scorn and my dreams ripping apart. In hindsight, I can see the raw cowardice and selfishness of my reaction...
I denied that the child was mine. I refused to allow my name onto the birth certificate, and broke up with Maggie immediately. I wasn't there the day my son was born, was never asked to officially pay child support, but as the boy grew older I did send check or two. I visited occasionally staying a few weeks then disappearing for months. I started drinking in earnest around this time, my friends and family in Hilton Head worried for me, though
none of them ever knew. Eventually I had to leave, after a fight with my father. I left Bayley and wouldn't return for several years. However, while I couldn't face my hometown neither could I face Maggie and my son who had by this time moved to Austin. She was a wreck. He needed me and I knew it, but instead of being a man for them I decided to play hero.
The attacks of 9/11 offered a facade for which I could make my escape. I told friends that I felt called to protect this great nation, that I was fit and able and therefore had a duty to defend the nation.
I joined the marines in December of 2001 and was deployed the next year. I hadn't seen Maggie or my son for over a year at that point, she was sinking into alcoholism by this time and I couldn't bear to watch it. The last time I saw Maggie she was drunk, angry and screaming.
The last time I saw my son he was crying, clutching a picture he'd drawn for his preschool class, three garbled figures representing our family. She quit returning my letters shortly after I joined the service, and I didn't try to contact her.
And that was that...
I given an honorable discharge in discharge in 2005 myself after having my right
leg destroyed in a helicopter crash. I consider lucky though, only three of my buddies made it and of the three I was the only one that stood a chance of walking again. I spent a year recovering and was drunk most of it. I returned briefly to Bayley in 2006, but left as soon as I was able to ride, unable to tolerate the alternating pity and disappointment of my parents. I'll walk with a limp the rest of my life, but
being in the saddle was all I had ever known and I knew I would have to go back to it. On a whim I would sign on to work with the bueru of land management, trading my English saddle for a western one, my twenty thousand dollar warm-bloods for jug-headed mustangs. I could have spent forever out in the nothings of Utah, drinking bad coffee and
chasing down wild mustangs, but a call from my mother would bring with it a crushing reality.
I returned to Bayley in August 2010 to care for my dying father and take over his place as head trainer at Bayley Academy. ALS is a cruel disease, stripping the body of function while leaving the mind in tact. He was barely 60, fitter than anyone I knew when last I saw him (including the marines), and here God had chosen to strike him down without reason.
Its not a period of my life I really enjoy talking about, but in the end I think it saved me. My father would die suddenly seven months later, his now deteriorated body found slouched against the stall of one of his beloved horses. The report called it an accident, but most
everyone at Bayley suspected suicide.
And I decided that I needed to be better.
I needed to be a better man. For my mother, for my father, for the students of Bayley academy and also for my son.
And for me, there was only one way to do that. After all, being in a saddle is all I've ever known.
Notes: Ian is retired so I'm not listing a horse for him but as you can imagine he has many. At game start I would prefer it if no other characters (the exception being my upcoming character Will) knew about Ian's son and his real motivation for starting the troubled teen project. I'm being intentionally vague in the bio but its really not gonna be that hard to connect the dots once I have other characters up, still if you have questions or want to connect to Ian in any way let me know! I'll have the other bios up later and am still working on the intro. And don't worry, there is absolutely no need for your bios to be this long. (or have this color coded nonsense I have going on, or to be in first person) I may end up asking you to post these in the main thread when its up, but most likely we'll just leave them here.
Name: Why should I tell you? If you must know, its
Samantha Bennett. I don't really have any nicknames, though some people call me Sam.
Age: I'm
16 currently, but I'll be 17 the first of November. Academically I'm a
Junior.
Personality: I pride myself in being
relentlessly driven to success. I'm viciously competitive and won't let anyone or anything get in the way of my meeting of goals. Some say I'm a
perfectionist and I don't disagree. I'm intensely organized and
disciplined. Every moment of my day is carefully thought out, and I hate it when things don't go as planned. Between academics, training and caring for Lady, I don't have much of a social life. Its not that I'm shy really, If I have something to say I'll say it, I just don't get the point of being all buddy-buddy with those who, when you get down too it, are my competition. Besides, social gatherings make me
anxious. People make me anxious. And I hate being anxious about anything. Michael says I need to quit being so
guarded, to be friendlier, and maybe I do push people away sometimes... I hate the feeling of being attached to, or relying on, anyone other than myself. No one wants to say it, but honestly they probably don't want to be friends with me either, not really. Why give your heart to someone if its only going to get
broken?
History: Although both my parents were English, I was born in the South of France. I loved both my parents dearly, but they traveled frequently and
I spent most of my days alone save for one nanny or another. My was and is a passionate and successful business man and while we moved often, we always had large houses or beautiful holiday homes.
My mother did three day eventing.
I was given my first pony at four, a tiny, fat little thing that I still remember fondly.
I don't even remember a time when I wasn't riding. My mother took over my training when I was seven, and though I enjoyed the time I got to spend with her,
she was very strict. Many nights I would come home absolutely exhausted. I was sure that she hated me, that I had failed her, but then without fail she'd take me gently in her arms and reassure me and I knew that
I couldn't let her down. I trained with my mother from the time I was seven to the day before my eleventh birthday.
And on my eleventh birthday
I watched her die.
It was a
freak accident. Her horse had a heart attack while flying over a six foot oxer and collapsed. I remember
I was alone in the stands that day, my mothers barn mates attending to their own horses. Her neck snapped when she hit the ground and she died instantly.
My father was reluctant to let me keep up with lessons after that, but I insisted. It was strange how we grew closer in the little things we learned about each other, like what he liked in his tea or who my favorite composers were, after my mother passed and yet how
we remained distant. I didn't think my father would ever get over my mum, so I was surprised when
only a year and a half later he remarried. Don't get me wrong, I liked Becca with her soft smile and perpetually warm demeanor, but she seemed so different from my own understanding of what a mother was that for a while I didn't even really consider her as much. But she did make my dad happy, and convinced him to stay home more.
And there was Michael, who was 12 years old like me and enjoyable enough... if not occasionally annoying.
My feelings surrounding my new family were mixed, but overall I think they were good.
Maybe I was just numb, maybe I still am but it doesn't matter anyway. Now I'm at Bayley Academy. I've been here since my Freshman year with Michael and with several of our top riders having graduated last year, their is nothing stopping me from reaching the top.
Primary Show Horse: I call her
Lady, but her show name is
Luck Be a Lady. I didn't come up with it, but its bad luck to rename a horse. Lady is a eight year old Holisterner/Thoroughbred cross.
Personality: I won't lie, Lady is a
difficult horse to ride. Though she has
incredible speed and agility, she can also be
skittish and hard to handle. I only bought Lady in July, so this will be our
first year showing together.
Discipline: Hunter/JumperShow History: I've shown extensively since coming to Bayley. I may not be the top rider, but I'm definitely in the top 5.
Notes: I promise not all my characters will be so tragic! So are yall annoyed with my profiles yet? XD If you can't figure out exactly what kind of person my charries are form these bios feel free to ask questions. Sam would probably come off as a bit of a snob, a sort of 'head cheerleader' type but with a little bit of a 'loner' vibe to go with her obsessive personality. She speaks three different languages, maintains high grades, and when not riding enjoys playing piano, reading, and staring scathingly at people she disapproves of. ^_^
Name: Oi! Well they call me a lot of things 'round Bayley don't they? My name full name is a bit of a mouthful,
Michael Bennett-O'Conner. Not Mike mind you, I don't like Mike, but
Michael is good, as is
Ducky, or
Sunny, or
Ginger Snap. Alex calls me
Baby sometimes, and no that's not my girlfriend... not my boyfriend either! Its just... Eh... Never mind, call me whatever you want. I'll answer to anything. Just not Mike. I don't like Mike. Did I mention that?
Age: I'm
sixteen years old, just got my drivers license actually! I'm a few months younger than Sam but also a third year student... erm...
junior, at Hilton Head Prep.
Personality: I'm the type of person who doesn't take too much seriously. My mother calls me a '
Goofball' my step-dad calls me 'Sport' a term of endearment that masks a sort of amused disapproval... I think. I'm not lazy per-say, though Sam certainly thinks I am, I'm just more focused on having a good time than being the best.
I like making people laugh. Some may call me silly, dramatic, or even
immature. I make friends easily and am
loyal to a fault. I believe in savoring life,
laughing often,
loving intensely and
trusting when it doesn't make sense. I'm scatterbrained, hyper and often oblivious but
I take care of people I love, though sometimes I can't take care of myself. I'm the kind of guy who wears my
heart on my sleeve, with rather noticeable
highs and lows, and a real fear of disappointing people. Coach says I'm
lacking in confidence, but if I am I fake it well.
History: I don't think my history is all that interesting really
. I grew up outside of London, or at least I say London because that's a city people recognize here, in a
quaint little two bedroom flat with my two parents and our cat. That is until they split up and later went through what must have been the most
amicable divorce to ever have taken place. She smiled, told him that she would make sure I visited him on school holidays, and lamented that they had fallen out of love so soon. He shook her hand, secured the cat in a pen, and assured her that if she ever needed anything he was only a phone call away. I would never understand how it could have been so anti-climatic, how they could remain so jovial and upbeat through it all.
Love for me is always like a roller coaster, first bringing a giddy euphoria and then making you sick to your stomach but for them it seemed more like taking the train to work. People get on, and people get off, and while you may enjoy the conversation you wouldn't follow them when they left for the station.
Love isn't worth sacrificing your own plans right?Anyway, I lived alone with my mother until I was twelve. I visited my father on the weekends and my mother adopted a new cat. Things ambled along until
Jay Bennett came along and swept my mother off her feet. I'll admit that I resented Jay at first.
I disliked his polished shoes and ever tailored suits. His daughter seemed to me stuck up and vain. In time, however, Jay and I would reach an understanding of sorts. He wouldn't expect much of me and I would continue calling him by his first name. I did fall truly in love with Sam though, as a sister I mean... And I would worry about her too... as a brother.
I have always loved animals, and while most of my afternoons back then were spent messing around at the skate park or similar shenanigans, Sam always managed to coax me out to the stables once or twice a week.... Looking back,
I think she was lonely. But nonetheless it was
Sam who first taught me to ride, and Jay who later payed for my lessons. I wasn't nearly at Sam's level of course, but I found myself falling in love with the animals. I took a job at a nearby yard and worked hard to catch up with Sam, even competing in a few schooling shows.
Sam had known for a while that she wanted to attend Bayley when she got into high school, but I think we were both surprised when Jay asked me if I would like to attend as well.
But I think he was more surprised when I said yes. I joined Bayley as a Hunter/Jumper student,
but after only a summer switched to the Polo team as an alternate.
I loved it. But if you think the Bayley's Polo team are nearly the same caliber as the Show Jumpers, you'd be fooling yourself. Usually we win our district, but never regionals.
It worked out though. Because not going to regionals meant, not having a to be gone for the summer, not being gone for the summer meant
I was able to attend the summer tour with Sam and the other show jumpers as a groom, and attending the summer tour as a groom allowed me to get to know the other girls...
Especially one girl. Remember what I said earlier about roller coasters?
We lasted exactly 22 months, four days, and 17hrs... well, maybe I don't know about the hours but the rest is right.
She'd been my first girlfriend. I loved her. No really, I loved her. And when
she broke it off I didn't know what to do.
So I went to Spain. Now don't look at me like that! I'm not completely
irresponsible! I was a mess after the breakup, so instead of going on the summer tour with Sam and the others... and her...
I asked Jay if I could just fly home for a few weeks... Then after holing up in my room for a few days, I snuck out of the house quietly one morning and caught a train to Barcelona.
I think the original plan was to meet Alex (yes, the Alex that calls me baby) near his hometown, travel for a few days then return to play polo for the rest of the summer.
But a few days quickly turned to a few weeks, a few weeks to two months. I wasn't lost, my parents knew where I was... roughly. But apparently I 'worried Jay sick'. Its all a bit of a blur honestly. A strong drink here. A moonlit beach there... Playing guitar and singing for a group of beautiful women...
Sitting by a ditch and crying.... That's not really the point though is it?
The point is that I'll be back at Bayley
September 2nd.... and... well... I guess that is the point.
Name: See Spot Run or
Spot (Well, what woud you call him?)
Age: Spot is
six years old.
Personality: Spot's a good little pony, but still pretty
green. He's probably not as good as our regular polo string, yet, but he's
my first horse and I love him to pieces.... shut up. I can oggle over my pony if I want.
Discipline: Polo. Surprise! I wasn't much good as a jumper, but the Polo team at Bayley is just my speed. We're a competitive group, but a lot more laid back than the jumpers. They think we're hooligans, we think they're sticks-in-the-mud and generally we all just have a grand ole time.
Show History: I was an alternate when I first joined the team, now I play third position.
Notes: So I'm realizing that I'm liking this style of profile for my characters. Its time consuming, so I wouldn't want to push it on anyone but I enjoy writing from my charries POV and I also feel like I can tell a unique story through which words and phrases I highlight. I'm also realizing that I'm just using my notes to say 'hi' to yall and tie up loose ends with the characters (lets see, I forgot to mention that Michael wants to be a vet, I think I got that he sings and plays guitar... being Ed Sheeran doesn't hurt in that regard XD). I'm excited, I like these three and am still excited about the two to come. Oh! Also, if anyone wants to play the girl who broke Michael's heart feel free, but most likely I'll just have her as a cameo npc of sorts.