Hope Kassendale

Hope is a bit shy and self-conscious at first, but once the ice melts she's a really outgoing person - to an extent. She knows how to party and gets along with virtually anyone, but she also needs a fair amount of alone time. There's a part of her that's hard to reach and discover as she keeps the "real" her disguised, thanks to people always having assumptions about her just because of the family she comes from. She loves her family and wants nothing more than to be successful for herself, not for her Kassendale name.

History

Hope was born in Germany in 1995, a few minutes before her twin sister, Lucy. The two of them were thick as thieves growing up, annoying the heck out of their older brothers who sometimes had problems telling the two girls apart (not so much their mother, Gina - she could never be fooled by any of her kids).

They grew up at Kassendale Stud, a huge facility in Germany founded by their great-grandfather, passed down through the generations. There were always horses around, and a feeling of family and belonging at Kassendale. It can't be said that any of them were spoiled, but none of the kids ever wanted for anything - Hope herself only discovered she came from a much different background than her peers when she entered high school. She knew others looked at her different because everyone knew her family, but with their easy tempers and especially with Lucy's outgoing nature, the two of them won over their peers fairly easy, so they never had any negative comments about their backgrounds. Still, Hope didn't like knowing people judged her by her family before they even met her, and that knowledge made her become a little reserved towards people, especially when she experienced people wanting to get close to her only because of her family, or Lucy.

While still very much alike, as they matured, the girls became very distinct both in their appearance and nature. Lucy bloomed, finding herself in the world of partying and modeling, enjoying the attention of guys she was receiving. Hope was caught up in her spotlight, finding she could enjoy the parties once her initial reservations disappeared, but only knowing true happiness on the backs of horses who never judged her or made expectations of her.

Once adults, the twins went their separate ways - Lucy found her true, unique calling away from Kassendale, something Hope always adored about her, as she became a model, a very good one at that. Not quite liking that spotlight but still loving horses, Hope went to the appropriate schools to become a horse trainer, competing throughout her teens and into her adulthood.

Relationships

Hope was caught up in the spotlight with Lucy, so she started dating guys in her teens, but nothing serious until she was a bit older. However, while Lucy only had eyes for the boys, Hope found herself attracted to girls as well, discovering that she was indeed bisexual. She had her first girlfriend when she was 17, and even though her family was surprised, they got over it quickly and accepted her as she was.

From adolescence to adulthood, Hope had a few serious boyfriends and girlfriends, but none of these relationships were what she wanted to commit to for life - usually they ended because Hope was too busy with the horses, something her partner of the time didn't take too well. Hope was 24 when she met Sonja, a woman from another equestrian family, who immediately captivated her with her vibrant, outgoing nature. One thing followed another and while not exactly girlfriends, Hope and Sonja became a - rather complicated - thing, as Sonja wasn't the committing type and instead lived in honest, but very much open-ended relationships. The two of them meet whenever their time allows, though a bit less since Hope moved to Hungary.

Horses

Hope's love for horses was something she never questioned - she was born to an equestrian family with a beautiful stud farm, and even her first word was "pony". Both she and Lucy owned a pony each when they were little, but when Lucy discovered clothes and boys at the tender age of 13, Hope actually inherited her pony. While Lucy drifted more and more away from the equestrian world, Hope remained captivated by these beautiful animals. Both her father and her older brother Erik took the time to get her the best riding education they could, letting her ride better and better horses and she advanced through the eventing classes. By the time Hope was 19, she was competing at a national level, although being disappointed that her results were tallied up to being a Kassendale instead of them being her own unique achievements.

Her friendly competition to always do better was her younger-older brother, Albert, until he changed out of eventing and settled for dressage. When she was younger, Hope thought that one day she would be directing Kassendale, but as she grew up she understood that her oldest brother Erik would be taking over the stud farm with Bert by his side, and that leading Kassendale was simply not in her future. Instead of being discouraged or jealous, she supported Erik taking over the family business and fought even harder to find her own way. Erik and Bert had Kassendale, Lucy had modeling, and Hope just felt out of place in her family.

Once finished with her horse-trainer studies, Hope spent a few years training and riding at Kassendale, grateful that she could gain experience as a proper trainer even if it was only her family farm. Word spread about her and people have brought their horses to be trained by her, but still she struggled with the feeling that she wanted something more than being associated with the name Kassendale.

Affiliation with Lovelyta

Hope came to Lovelyta on purpose, knowing this Hungarian facility from when Wishes was at stud at Kassendale, and also after they sent two of his foals to live in Lovelyta. Hope wanted to get a job somewhere where she wouldn't be judged based on her name and family, and she thought she'd try her luck in Hungary. Sandra gave her a fair chance at proving herself, and very quickly Hope settled into life at Lovelyta as a trainer and rider, riding mostly the eventing and show jumping horses.

[3de] 2nd place - CT Autumn Schooling Show with Kassendale's Regenbogen
[dr] 5th place - Autumn Leaves Event Kassendale's Walpurgisnacht
[sj] 6th place - Autumn Leaves Event with Kassendale's Regenbogen