The History of The Nightingales House
December 1st of 2019, the House opened its doors for the second time.
The first attempt to get off the ground only lasted two weeks, and was quite discouraging, but this time was going to be different. There was a goal, a plan, and I was determined to get it right this time.
There were no leaders that second time, no friends to build it with, no loyal followers to see the takeoff. It was just me, a nameless nobody.
I knew right away that after the results of the first attempt to fly, I needed a different approach, an approach that wasn't very glamorous, but was necessary. I spent the first weeks and months of the club advertising in the global chat, every discord server I could find, almost every single day, and perhaps what really allowed for growth was the fact that we had little to no restrictions or requirements. It was messy, but, it was necessary.
Out home server was Night Star for the first leg of our journey.
Discord was not required, all dressage was done in the chats, everyone was allowed to join regardless of age or experience, and slowly but surely we grew.
Our first club horse was the Lipizzaner, but shortly after the release of the Andalusian, a member suggested it and when the handful of other people mentioned that they had that horse, we officially swapped over.
Our first outfit was modest (we jokingly referred to the pants as diaper pants) but neat, and it was unique at that time.
I don't have many pictures, and none from the time of the Lipizzaner, but here are a few with some of our very first members: "Breeze" Cora Breezelake who is still with us today, "West" Autumn Bluerider, "Fancy" Isla Goldfire, "Winter" Isabelle Winterlake, "River" Sandy Riverscroll, "Deer" Blake Deerheart, and "Char" Dakota Maplehunter.
Life was pretty good, aside from the occasional chat ban shutting all of the practices down. I was the only Instructor at first. One of the first members, West, was an angel right from heaven, doing a practice here and there when I could not. Her maturity, level-headedness, and firmness helped grow and shape the club, and she was there for me every time I needed it.
When the time came for me to choose the first club leader, Lieutenant in this house, there was no question in my mind on who it should be. West became the first Lieutenant on April 12 of 2020.
In terms of ups and downs, we definitely had our fair share.
The first major down was our first server move off of Night Star. I became restless. Night Star was my birth server, but Hazy Galaxy was the server where I grew not just in my dressage but as a person as well, and I knew that Hazy Galaxy was the dressage capitol of SSO. We needed a change, and a server move might be what we needed.
When we moved, we lost members that were more connected to the server than the club, and that was unfortunately a handful. Advertising wasn't as fruitful, and as I hunted servers it became clear to me that Night Star was our lifeline, and it may have been a mistake to move.
For a couple months, July and August I believe, we were in a slump. Attendance dropped, numbers dropped, and the club went on break for a whole month. Sadly, we also lost West during that time, though she has since moved on to a noble career, and we are still in contact.
Things came to a head on August 30th when I had lost two Instructors, possibly my only Instructors at that time while I was away on vacation. I polled right then and there whether the members wanted to disband and move on, or try and keep going.
The remaining 11 all voted to keep trying, and so I did, and the next day we had our second Lieutenant, River, another obvious choice. She was a gift, and a good friend.
I believe it was around that time that we switched our outfit to what it is today.
Advertising continued, we moved servers monthly, competed in our first comp, installed media and event teams, became a Registered Club for SSD, and instated Breeze as our first ever Royal Nightingale. We celebrated our first anniversary as a much more stable club than before, but we still had applications open almost constantly. Around that time, we stopped advertising in global chat.
Many systems were added to the club, most fading while others stayed. Our three Houses, the Wisps, Ravens, and Spirits (inspired by the Wild Woods Herds) have become four with new names inspired by the Harry Potter books: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.
Somewhere in there Lieutenant River left, and so on May 19th of 2021, after the club had been without a Lieutenant for a short while, Onna became the House's third Lieutenant. Onna's knowledge of dressage coupled with her loyalty and dedication to the club made her the clear choice.
May 22nd of 2021, the club horse became the Gray Dapple Arabian, and on July 17th the Sabino Arabian joined it.
The usual struggles of inactivity have been ever-present, but as of December 18th of 2021, things have been quite stable.
It has been quite the journey, but by no means is our journey over. The hardships and lows that we've faced are mere memories in the face of what is to become, and the Nightingales of this beautiful, wonderful House are stretching their wings in preparation for 2022. The year to come will be unforgettable, and I am proud to fly into it alongside my family, my home away from home, my Nightingales.
2022 was our best year yet competition-wise!
With a few second places and a culmination of attending our first Internationals and placing 4th, and being 2nd in Region Rankings, it was highly successful.
Currently there have been few changes, but more growth as the ever-changing world of dressage is not mastered yet. I have learned more about it, and aim to make 2023 even more successful than 2022.
Currently Royal Nightingale Breeze and I consider changes in roles, but one change has already been made.
The role of Lieutenant has gone permanently dormant, and is replaced by the role of Royal Nightingale.
Further updates will be listed as 2023 progresses.