Phantom: One Last Chance

by Belinda Rapley

  Mr McCuthers popped back inside Phantom’s box to do one last check and pack up his bag.

  “I’ve done as much as I can for now,” he said to Charlie, resting one hand on Phantom’s withers. “But you’ll have to carry on making regular checks for the rest of the night. He could deteriorate and, if he does, I want you to ring this number and get Mr Honeycott to drive him straight to the vet’s surgery. Ring me on the way and I’ll meet you there. Okay?”

  Charlie nodded as she took the number Mr McCuthers had scribbled down. “Thanks so much, for everything.”

  “I hope he’s okay,” Neve sniffed, taking one long last look over the stable door.

  Mr McCuthers promised to come back first thing, then he and Neve headed across the yard. From the next stable Pirate looked out to watch them go. As Neve walked away to a new life filled with rescue ponies, Charlie wondered whether Pirate’s chances of finding his perfect partner had just been shattered.

  “Is he going to be all right?” Rosie asked, peering over Phantom’s stable door after the jeep had rumbled away.

  “I don’t know,” Charlie replied honestly as she stroked Phantom’s face. He didn’t wrinkle his nose, or swish his tail. He just stood there, exhausted. There was a loud echoing, grumbling noise, then all of a sudden Phantom lifted his tail and broke wind violently, swiftly followed by a rapid-fire torrent of splattery droppings and a long, loud groan.

  “Crikey!” Rosie squeaked, taking cover.

  Suddenly Phantom’s knees began to buckle. Rosie squealed as Charlie and Hettie side-stepped and Phantom went down on his front end then lowered his back end. He lay for a moment with his head up. Charlie stroked his forelock, pushing it to one side, then, tentatively knelt down next to him. Phantom didn’t even blink.

  “Look, he actually seems quite sweet,” Alice whispered.

  “He seems quite ill, more like,” Rosie replied before Mia nudged her hard.

  Charlie sat, stroking his neck. Suddenly he let out a long, juddering groan and laid his head down in Charlie’s lap. He blinked a few times, as Charlie rested her hand on his cheek, bending her head down over his. She kissed his forehead, brushing her fallen tear from it. For a moment, everything in the yard was silent. Charlie hugged his neck gently, staying as quiet as she could.

  “Er, is he dead?” Rosie whispered to Alice.

  Charlie raised her head, her shoulders shaking and her eyes blurred.

  “No, you idiot,” she giggled through tears, “he’s asleep!”

  “Talking of which…” Rosie said, stifling another yawn.

  “You three go back to bed,” Charlie whispered, gently pulling Pirate’s black, silky ear, as Hettie settled into a corner of the stable. “I’m not leaving Phantom tonight.”

  They nodded, but on the way back to the cottage Mia suggested that they should take it in turns through what was left of the night to check on both the patients at regular intervals.

  “Ooh, bagsy I do my check at eight o’clock tomorrow morning,” Rosie said, suddenly skidding on a patch of compacted snow by the gate. She lost her balance and landed flat on her back, sliding half under the gate and getting wedged. Mia had to help Alice pull her out, and all three were weak from giggling by the time they headed back inside.

  As their laughter died away, Charlie looked down at the beautiful black horse. Her heart jolted as she thought of his stable at Blackberry Farm being empty; she suddenly couldn’t imagine him not being there. Hearing his rhythmical, regular breathing, she started to feel tired.

  “If you pull through,” she whispered into his mane, “I’ll write your diary from now on, and I’ll do everything I can to make all of the chapters the happiest they can be, I promise. But please, please, don’t let tonight be your first chapter and your last.”

  She leaned back against the big bank of straw in the stable and closed her eyes, Phantom’s warmth in her lap shutting out the bitter coldness beyond the stable walls.

  CHARLIE rolled over sleepily.

  “Phantom!” she whispered under her breath, almost falling out of bed. Charlie vaguely remembering being led half asleep up the stairs by Mrs Honeycott, just as dawn was breaking. She checked her watch – it was nearly ten! Then she realised what had woken her. She rushed to the window to see a large, shiny horsebox bump down the drive and pull up outside the yard. It was Mrs Millar! She watched as the trainer, dressed in smart jods, riding boots and a puffa jacket, walked to the back door. Charlie listened, her heart racing, as Mrs Millar was shown into the living room. She just heard Mrs Honeycott say that Charlie’s parents were on their way as she quickly pulled her jumper on one-handed over the clothes she was still wearing from the night before. She hopped down the stairs two at a time, grabbed her wellies and raced out of the back door.

  As she skidded up to the gate an unearthly, ghostly neigh echoed round the yard and stopped her in her tracks, taking her breath away. She looked up; there, with his striking head over the stable door for the first time ever, his ears pricked as he watched her, stood Phantom.

  Charlie gulped, and held her breath in disbelief, wondering if she was dreaming.

  She stood at the gate and blinked. But he was still there, his head upright, looking straight at her. The neigh echoed round again. Charlie’s heart pounded, her hand shaking as she clambered clumsily over the gate and ran to his stable. He didn’t flinch or rush out of sight; instead he reached his muzzle forward to greet her. Charlie stepped up and flung her good arm around his neck. Her eyes blurred as she buried her head in his mane.

  “Now that”, Rosie smiled as she let herself out of Dancer’s stable, carrying her grooming kit, “was one powerful Christmas cake wish!”

  Alice skipped over from the tack room as Mia pulled out her phone to take a picture. “Evidence,” she explained, “just in case this is a one-off!”

  As Charlie let herself into the stable, Hettie stepped forwards and Phantom suddenly pricked his ears.

  Charlie heard a car pull up, then car doors slam. She looked round and saw Neve plumping through the snow in her wellies up to the gate, accompanied by her grandparents. Mr McCuthers walked into the yard and stepped over to Phantom’s box to check on him. Charlie waited nervously for the vet’s verdict. Phantom snorted gently and rubbed his head against Charlie’s good arm.

  “He’s recovering well,” Mr McCuthers announced, breaking into a broad grin. Charlie beamed. As Mr McCuthers went to join Mrs McCuthers inside for a cup of tea, Neve stepped up to Phantom’s door and stroked his neck.

  “When did you work out that Phantom was Fable’s foal?” Charlie asked, as the others gathered outside.

  “Pretty much the first time I saw him,” Neve smiled, shyly. “He’s the spitting image of Fable, although I couldn’t be sure. And when I saw that you were struggling with him, I thought of Mum’s diary, so I sneaked into Hope Farm to get it. It felt horrible going in when Fran was out in one of the fields, but I wanted it so desperately, in case it could help Phantom. I should have just asked her for it, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her – I was worried she blamed me for Fable’s death. And I thought I’d lost the photo you’d found, too, so I took some of Fran’s while I was there, and Fable’s passport, as a keepsake.”

  “So that’s why the Sellotape in the notebook Fran showed us was still pretty sticky,” Mia said, nodding.

  “And I kept letting Hettie out, too,” Neve said. “Molly helped Fable so much, I was sure Hettie would be just as good for Phantom.”

  Charlie smiled. Neve had been right. She let herself out of Phantom’s stable and noticed Pirate looking out over his door. For a second her heart twinged, feeling terrible that his wish hadn’t come true. Then Neve walked across to Pirate. His nostrils fluttered in a soft greeting as she found him a mint.

  “I guess you’ll have your hands full now,” Charlie said quietly, “once you move into Hope Farm.”

  Neve nodded. “Although we popped into Fran’s on the way over,” she said, “and a lot of t
he rescue ponies can’t be ridden, which means I’ll be doing quite a bit of groundwork with them.” Neve looked down and pulled something out of her pocket. “So, I was wondering if you were still looking for someone to take Pirate on loan..?”

  “The adverts!” Charlie cried, seeing the crumpled postcards in Neve’s hand.

  Neve blushed. “I know I shouldn’t have done it,” she giggled, shyly, “but I came back here to see Phantom, to check if it really was him. Then I bumped into Pirate here, who was looking as down in the dumps and lonely as I was feeling. So I started to pop in and see him each day, giving him a bit of a groom. I hated not being around ponies and he was so sweet and cheeky, I… I kind of fell in love with him. And I couldn’t resist having a quick ride, sorry Charlie.”

  “But why didn’t you just ask about riding him in the first place, rather than creeping about the yard?” Rosie asked.

  Neve’s face clouded over again for a moment. “I didn’t want to stay here,” she explained quietly. “I wanted to be back in Ireland, but I wanted everything to be how it was before. Only I realised last night, even if I did go back, things could never be how they were ever again. Not without Mum.”

  Neve sighed as the girls exchanged glances, feeling terrible for her.

  “Anyway, I didn’t want to ask about riding Pirate as if nothing had happened,” she continued, “because I worried that Nan and Granddad would think everything was okay and that I wanted to stay. But at the same time, I couldn’t face losing Pirate after I’d just got to know him, not on top of losing everything else, so I took down the ads. And now that I am staying, I know that loaning Pirate will be the best way to help me settle in. He already feels like a best friend and he’s so much fun!”

  Charlie laughed. She was over the moon. She knew that Neve was the rider Pirate would have picked, a thousand times over. “Pirate would love you to take him on, and so would I.”

  At that moment they heard a car arrive and Charlie’s stomach flipped. She knew that it would be her parents. They walked into the yard moments later as Mrs Millar came out of the cottage door. Charlie took a deep breath and walked over to meet them all.

  “Mum,” she started, already knowing what she wanted to say, “about Phantom, please can I keep him? Yesterday really, truly wasn’t his fault.”

  Charlie’s mum looked at her for a moment, then over to Phantom.

  “I don’t know, Charlie,” she said, watching her closely. “A week ago you didn’t seem that bothered by the idea of losing him. What’s changed all of a sudden?”

  “We didn’t trust each other,” Charlie said simply, feeling her heart race faster and faster, “but we do now, everything’s changed – look!”

  Charlie led them over to Phantom’s stable. He stepped towards her with his ears pricked as she let herself in quietly. The black horse fluttered his nostrils and Charlie gently cuddled his muzzle, dropping a kiss on his velveteen nose.

  Mrs Millar gasped. “He’s never been like that with anyone before!” she said.

  “Well, I guess we could give him one more chance,” her dad said finally.

  “No,” Charlie said firmly, “not one more chance, a million chances. I want him to know that he’ll be safe here for ever, no matter what. Please?”

  “I’m more than happy to come over and give you some lessons. We can do lots of work with Phantom on the ground, even if the paddock’s too hard to ride on,” Mrs Millar barked in her forthright voice. “I know you had a wonderful connection before when you competed together. You just need to get your confidence back up and you’ll be amazing together, I can tell.”

  “So…?” Charlie asked, looking at her parents and hopping up and down.

  “So, I guess we’d better give it a go then,” her dad said, starting to smile. “Phantom can stay!”

  Charlie let herself out of Phantom’s stable and hugged her mum and dad wildly, her heart feeling as if it was going to burst. Then her parents headed off towards the cottage with Mrs Millar. Neve walked over, looking hopeful.

  “One last thing,” Neve asked, biting her lip. “I know it’s a huge thing to ask, but is there any chance I could keep Pirate at Hope Farm, now we’re moving there?”

  Charlie thought for a second. Deep down she’d always dreaded finding someone to loan Pirate because she never really wanted him to leave Blackberry Farm – but she realised that, with Neve, suddenly it felt right. As much as she’d miss him like crazy, she also knew that Neve would look after him like nobody else. Neve could look out of her bedroom window to talk to him whenever she wanted, just as she’d read in the diary her mum, Caitlin, had once done with Fable. And Hope Farm wasn’t far, so Charlie could visit loads – it was perfect, and Pirate would be in heaven there. She took a deep breath, then nodded.

  Charlie helped Neve tack up, giving Pirate hundreds of mints and kisses, and Alice, Mia and Rosie piled his gear into Mr and Mrs McCuthers’ car. Charlie gave Pirate the biggest hug ever before Neve jumped into the saddle. With a wave, she rode off, grinning, and promising to ride back and visit loads and inviting them to ride over whenever they could.

  As Neve and Pirate disappeared up the drive, Rosie suddenly scooted off towards the house, calling over her shoulder that it was time for a celebration. She came back a few moments later, with Beanie racing beside her, scattering the clucking chickens as they went, and carrying a plate laden with thick wedges of Christmas cake. Alice, Mia and Charlie all helped themselves to a piece.

  “To the Pony Detectives,” Mia toasted. “For successfully uncovering who was behind the mystery of Pirate’s escape and the black hairs in my grooming kit!”

  “Well, yes, eventually,” Rosie grinned, taking a huge mouthful of her own piece of cake.

  “And for working out where Neve had gone,” Alice added, “and why she wanted to run away.”

  “That’s five cases we’ve solved now.” Charlie smiled, biting into her slice. “Who knows what the next one will—” But she stopped suddenly, as her teeth clonked on something hard.

  “Ow!” she mumbled, fishing around until she pulled something out of her mouth. “What’s that?”

  “It’s the coin!” Rosie cried as they all crowded round. “You get another wish!”

  Charlie looked around at her three best friends, standing in the snow in the ramshackle yard, with four happy ponies looking over their stable doors. Pirate might have left Blackberry Farm, but he was heading off to start a whole new adventure with the perfect partner to look after him.

  “I don’t need another wish,” Charlie beamed, slipping the coin into her pocket. “I’ve already got everything I could possibly wish for, right here.”

  Mia’s Guide to Cleaning Your Bridle

  Cleaning tack isn’t always a popular task at the yard, but it’s one of the most important!

  Why is it so important?

  It keeps the tack supple, so it won’t rub your pony or crack and break when you’re riding (which is dangerous).

  It makes your pony look lovely and smart!

  How to clean your bridle:

  1 Strip your bridle down – this means taking it completely apart. Undo all the buckles and lay out all the leather straps separately.

  2 Wash the bit and leave it to dry.

  3 Grab a sponge, dip it in warm water and clean the grime off all the straps and buckles. Be careful not to soak the leather.

  4 Once the bridle is dry, take another sponge and make it slightly damp. Rub some saddle soap on the sponge, then rub it on the leather.

  5 Buff the leather with a clean, dry cloth to make it shine!

  6 Put the bridle back together again and reattach the bit.

  Mr McCuthers’ Guide to Colic

  Colic is the horsey equivalent of tummy ache. You should always call a vet if you think your pony might have colic.

  Signs to look out for:

  Pawing at the ground

  Turning his head to look at his tummy. He might start nipping or kicking at his tummy too.


  Restlessness and getting down to roll

  Lying down more than usual

  Lots of gut noise, or none at all. There should always be a little noise in your pony’s tummy – you can hear it if you put your ear to his side when he’s well.

  Sweating up

  Increased heart rate and breathing faster than normal, sometimes with flared nostrils

  Some causes of colic:

  A change in routine, amount of exercise or diet

  A change of yard

  Stress

  How to help your pony avoid getting it:

  Make sure his feed is good quality and that he always has access to clean water

  Worm your pony regularly

  Always ensure that any changes to his routine are introduced slowly

  The Pony Detectives’ Guide to Bareback Riding

  Nothing makes you feel closer to your pony than riding him bareback. But it can be tricky, so before you try it, check out our top five tips!

  1 For your first go at riding bareback, choose a really steady pony and always wear your hat!

  2 Think about your position and try not to wriggle too much! Without a saddle between you, you’ll feel all your pony’s muscles moving and he’ll feel every move you make too.

  3 Remember that it’s not just you who has to get used to riding without a saddle – your pony will take time to get used to it as well.