August 2021 ~ Player of the Month

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August 2021 ~ Player of the Month

🐈~BV~Keep Staring At The Stars⭐🎵
August 7th, 2021 7:09:02pm
8,085 Posts

August's Player of the Month!

Note: Forum Post Contest Information!
Contest starts Sunday August 8th at 10:00pm HP time!
Be sure to sign up before then or run the risk of having to play catch up!

A Huge Congratulations to Kuryakin!

Kuryakin (#1984) has been chosen to be in this month's spotlight! Jumped right in and made a big splash! We are really happy you decided to join us!

Community Chatter
"I just love how positive she is and her enthusiasm is infectious! She throws herself into the game with such gusto in spite of being super busy IRL and has achieved so much in such a short time."
"They are so friendly and willing to help!"

The Interview Questions!
Anyone who wins P.o.t.M. can answer as many or all of the questions as they feel comfortable answering!

......HP Questions......
1. How did you first learn about us?
Well on the surface it's not too much different than how most learned about Horse Phenomena! Though I did not transfer directly from Horseland to this site. In May this year, I felt a big desire to experience some nostalgia via HL only to find, to my dismay, that it did not exist anymore. I actually made a petition to bring it back 😂 And then someone commented saying "You know there's Horse Phenomena, right?" and I was like?? No?? And then I found this site. I'm so happy I did!

2. What is your favorite thing about HP?
I love love love the community! It's so fun to chat with everyone and get to make new friends who most often share the same basic interests & loves. It's also very flexible, you can have so many different focuses & goals on here.

3. How long have you been playing for?
3 months! :P Since the beginning of May/end of my spring semester. Though admittedly, I've been playing quite intensely for those 3 months, if that counts for anything.

4. How did you come up with your player name?
I chose "Kuryakin" because that's the last name of my favorite character from a series & movie very near and dear to my heart called "The Man From UNCLE". I also study/specialize in Russian language as well as history/politics in university so I felt it was a fitting way to express a combination of my interests. :)

5. What is your favorite breed of horse or dog to train?
Well I'm very partial to the Orlov Rostopchin Sporthorse, so I'd have to say that's my favorite! It was added to HP per my request by Koni a few months ago!!! As for dogs, I love both East European Shepherds (also recently added after I requested it :P) and Dalmatians.

6. What caused you to pick the breed(s) you train and breed?
The Orlov Rostopchin Sporthorse is my favorite horse breed in real life. I'm obsessed with the idea of one day acquiring one (when I'm not a poor law student) so it felt only natural to choose that one. I also love and have ridden Irish Sport Horses, and Lusitanos are just a gorgeous breed! I'm a big fan of dressage so that one just made sense too. :) Doggo wise, I've always dearly wanted a Dalmatian though I've never gotten one. I'm not in the position to do so currently. So I'm living vicariously through having them on here. For East European Shepherds, my thesis is focused in the Soviet Era so I knew a bunch about the breed already haha.

7. How do you come up with names for your animals?
I have a TON of fun doing names. They all have a certain "theme". My ORSH's are either named after real life ORSH's or just Russian names related to the theme of 'beginning', since the existence of ORSH's on this site has just recently begun. I have a Skyrim lore-themed line for my ISH's, and a super super fun Cold War history themed line with the EESDs! I could go on and on about the meaning behind each name and how they fit in but I won't do that lol.

8. What are your current goals on HP?
Well mainly to have fun!!! I have some pretty fun plans for next year's mascot contest (yes, very premature lol, but I'm a planner). I want to get to the 3rd generation of my ORSH's and start an embassy for them! I also would love to start an East European Shepherd one too.
I've recently become immersed in the realm of CSS coding & graphic design too, which has been fun. So I'd love to improve there. Though that's more of a personal goal!

9. Do you have a favorite animal? (It can be your own or another player’s you admire!)
Hmm that's a hard question!!! While I'm partial to my ORSH stallion 'Abrikos', as well as my east european shepherd 'Argonaut', I'm excited to see how far City of Angels goes with her DWB mare 'Outlaw'!!!!

10. Who’s your go-to graphic artist or coder? Are there any services you offer?
Well I do a bit of the coding :P I also do a bit of graphic art though I'm very very new to that. I could go on for ages about how much Fathoms' coding skeletons and guides via the Coding Vixen have helped me learn CSS!!!! As for graphic art, I'd definitely say Utakata. She is so crazy talented and makes such gorgeous pictures!!! I've ordered from her a ton and plan to do so more in the future. :P

I do offer services!!! :) I offer coding services and I also plan to offer some lineart services in the near future! I have a premade in the auctions currently, and am always happy to get inquiries about coding orders, even if my current list is a bit full.

11. What is your favorite Site-Wide yearly event?
Well I haven't gotten to experience all of them yet!!! I read a ton of the old forums for the Mascot Contest so I think that one looks amazing. But I have to say I'm currently most partial to the 'Christmas in July' event that just ran this/last month. I had a ton of fun with this one!

12. What other contests or activities do you usually participate in?
I love to do the puzzles/weekly and monthly challenges. :) Those are super fun and I honestly haven't done puzzles in years before joining here, so they're very enjoyable. I also will get into any and every bingo game I possibly can haha.

14. Which seasonal layout art is your favorite?
Well I've only seen two of them. I love this one but I've seen screenshots containing the fall one, and since I love reds/warm colors I'm SUPER excited to see that one here in the next few months!!!

15. If you could change one thing about HP, what would it be and why?
Agh I'm not sure! I love all of it a lot. Initially when I joined I deeply missed having little avatars for my horses with colors/markings/heights. I love color genetics, and am a very visual person. However, I have to say now after playing a bit more I like it how it is presently too! I can play color genetics myself via my linearts and Mango's PRISM color genetics generator!!!! Which is a ton of fun itself.

......Real Life & Random Questions......
1. Where are you from?
I am from North Texas, around the Dallas area. Born and raised & still living here presently haha.

2. What do you do for work?
Currently I work in information security for my university. However, I am a full-time college student. I'm majoring in Russian Area Studies/Foreign Policy and History. I am on track to go to law school after I graduate starting Fall 2022!! Long-term plan is to be a lawyer. :) I also eventually plan to go into foreign policy, though in which specific field I'm not yet sure.

3. Do you own any horses or dogs?
No horses. :( I don't have a dog of my own either, but my parents have an adorable bloodhound named Trusty!!! I count him as my own haha.

4. Do you have any other types of pets at home?
I have two kitty cats!!! They are my babies and are extraordinarily spoiled little critters. One of them is an orange rescue I got in high school named Scooby and the other is a bengal cat named Caesar. :)

5. What are your favorite breeds of horse and dog?
Orlov-Rostopchin Sporthorse for horses! I also am very partial to Thoroughbreds, as I've worked with a few OTTBs and they were absolute dolls. For dogs, I'm stuck between saying Dalmatian or GSD! I love both very dearly.

6. Do you have any hobbies? If so, what are they?
I have a good handful! Well, mainly HP for now. But, I also play video games like Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption II and the Witcher. Also, Animal Crossing. I also love to write. I like hiking/running, watching sitcoms (lol), fashion design and drawing!!! I adore going to history museums too.

7. What’s your favorite color?
It changes all the time haha. But most of the time it falls back to being red. I love warm colors the most in general!

8. What’s your favorite Holiday or Month?
December!!! I looove Christmas.

9. Do you have a favorite vacation spot? If so, what or where is it?
I have gone to Port Aransas, TX so many times as a kid. It's such a nostalgic area for me and I have to say it's my favorite even if it isn't as glamorous or fancy as other vacation spots. It makes me very happy.

10. Do you have any special talents? If so, what are they?
Haha I don't really know. I guess I'm good at art? I'm also a pretty good writer, apparently. I type quite informally on here so that might be hard to see. :P I'm pretty good at making cocktails too.

11. If you could own any breed of horse, what would it be and why?
Again, have to say Orlov-Rostopchin Sporthorse. Because it's so rare, but it's so beautiful. I love black horses too so that's another plus. I am very partial to dressage, so dressage-centric breeds are always a favorite of mine.

12. If you could own any breed of dog, what would it be and why?
Probably Dalmatian, because I think they're adorable! But I'm stuck with also saying German Shepherd Dog, because they're also adorable. And also would probably make me feel far safer to have by my side when out and about alone.

13. If you could meet any celebrity, who would it be and why?
Henry Cavill. He's the handsomest man ever but he also seems like such a sweetheart!!! Also would love to meet the Impractical Jokers, because they're hilarious.

14. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
I'd go to Russia! I've never actually been. I was supposed to go Summer 2020 but then the world got super weird. I want to put my language skills to the test and I want to go see all of the historic sites, like Volgograd or the Red Square.

15. What would be your dream job?
For the longest time the answer to this sort of question was 'diplomat'. But I'm becoming more and more of a homebody as I get older. Honestly I really want to be a lawyer and stay in Texas. A ton of defense contractors are housed here, and SpaceX is too, so I'd love to work for one of those so that I can also put my Russian foreign policy skills to the test as well. Regardless of what field of law I go into, I want to get to the place in my career to offer pro-bono (free) services to victims of human trafficking and child crimes. This is an issue I feel very very passionately about. Regardless of what I do with the money-making side of career, this is the biggest driving force for my law degree.

16. What would be your dream meal of choice?
Haha I love biscuits and gravy, being a southerner and all. But I'm also obsessed with tex-mex. I LOVE beef fajitas made with very tender steak with sides of guacamole/salsa/chips.

17. What is the top thing on your Bucket List?
To graduate college!!! Hopefully magna cum laude, though we'll see how that works out. After that I really want to go to Russia between then and starting law school! Hopefully it works out.

18. What talent do you wish you had?
I wish I could sing. I can't, at all, but I wish I could!

19. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
I actually moreso love sherbet. And my favorite sherbet flavor is orange. :)

20. What is something you fear?
Hahah. Do you want a list? Hmm. To keep this lighthearted, and not get super candid, let's just say spiders. Some people like them, I don't. I think they're terrifying. Scorpions are also on the list.

21. What’s the funniest joke you heard recently?
Ooh this is a hard one. I really love cringe humor, deadpan humor and absurdist humor, which makes it hard to give a "joke". I love Eric Andre, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Impractical Jokers and Aubrey Plaza as far as comedians/comedies go. A shorter skit that made me laugh SO hard recently was Sethward's "giraffe" skit he did for America's Got Talent. Very very absurdist and silly, though, so be warned if you look that up lol. On that note, make sure to vote for him for AGT this year!!! If he's your cup of tea lol.

22. What Meme do you currently relate to? (please provide the pic link)
I made this one :P
(though in all serious I have to say I'm so flattered you guys voted for me that is the sweetest thing ever!!!!! that made my week I didn't expect it at all haha. so thank you for that!!)

23. Any good books or comics that you’ve read recently?
Ooh this is a hard one. Most books I read are academic books for school haha. Hmm. Prose wise, I have to say 'A Gentleman in Moscow' by Amor Towles. Or maybe also the Witcher series. Also very dearly love 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley.

24. Any good movies or shows you’ve seen lately?
I've been re-watching Spongebob Squarepants recently, so I don't know if that qualifies for this question. :P
Definitely recommend "A Man in the High Castle" on Amazon Prime though! For movies, I highly recommend "Australia", or anything by Baz Luhrmann!

25. What is your go-to show to stream? (Via Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.)
Currently? Spongebob Squarepants. 😅 Also Drake and Josh, Impractical Jokers, The Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and maybe The Politician. Definitely recommend Bojack Horseman, too!

New Nominations Open Now Through August 24th!

NEW VOTING OPTION: Click Here!

All Requirements, Information, and New Nominations can be found here: Player of the Month Thread

Thank You! :D
Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!
~Broken Vow (#22700)

View Comments 1

🐈~BV~Keep Staring At The Stars⭐🎵
August 7th, 2021 7:09:59pm
8,085 Posts

utakata - 🌟 -{main; dwbs}- -stars are better off without us
August 8th, 2021 2:36:39am
1,478 Posts

Congratulations, Kury! You 100% deserve this, the fact that you've only been on HP a few months just makes your achievements (and level of involvement) more impressive!

(and thank you for the mention!)