The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance

by Clare Balding

  Polly winced as she pulled on her riding boots. It was quite a palaver to get everything in order and get herself ready, especially if she needed to be fast.

  ‘The more I rush, the harder it gets,’ she complained to Charlie. ‘I want to help tack up and I’ve never been one to avoid hard work – in fact I love grooming and mucking out! But it’s just not as straightforward as it used to be.’

  Charlie flicked a brush over the thoroughbred’s mahogany coat before collecting the borrowed saddle and securing it in place.

  ‘Don’t worry about it.’ She waited for Noble Warrior to stop blowing his tummy out and then hitched the girth up another two holes. ‘It’ll come in time. We’re a team and the whole point is that I’m here to back you up when you need it. Anyway, I enjoy it too!’

  She patted Noble Warrior and moved on to the rather more rotund figure of Percy.

  ‘As for you, Perce!’ Charlie had to put all her strength into trying to make the girth strap reach from one side to the other. ‘We might need some extensions to get this round you!’

  She finally got the metal buckle up to a height that just allowed it to slip into the first hole. Charlie exhaled loudly with the effort.

  ‘Either we have to take more exercise or you need to eat less, Percy,’ she reproached him. ‘This is not the fine physique of an athlete.’

  ‘Now, now – remember what Doctor Patterson said!’ Polly chuckled. She walked forward to help, using a stick for balance. She was trying it out in place of her crutch.

  The two girls grinned at each other as they put the final touches to their mounts. Charlie patted Percy’s tummy and his eyes seemed to twinkle at her. They were all ready for their lesson.

  Charlie and Polly made their way to the arena where Miss Cameron supported Polly as she climbed up the plastic steps and got herself into the saddle. Noble Warrior spooked at his reflection, but this time he didn’t rear or scoot across the arena. After a couple of circuits, he took no notice at all.

  ‘Excellent.’ Miss Cameron’s voice was crisp and clear. ‘Now we will use this lesson to see how much further we can push ourselves. Your first attempt was very good, but dressage is an endless well of opportunity. There is always something new to learn, something more to master.’

  Polly squeezed Noble Warrior forward into trot and tried to keep his head low so that his neck rounded into a slight curve.

  ‘Use that Buttdar! Feel the movement and ask him to lengthen down the long side!’ Miss Cameron was immediately expecting a higher standard than last week from Noble Warrior and Polly.

  Percy plodded along behind with Charlie struggling to turn him from a furry ugly duckling into an elegant swan. It was going to be a long and painful lesson for them.

  As both girls concentrated on the instructions they were receiving, they failed to notice the dark green Range Rover raising dust as it came racing into the parking area. Miss Cameron wheeled round on her heels as she heard the screech of tyres and the slamming of doors.

  Charlie looked across at the car and the three people who had emerged from it. She saw Mrs Williams, who looked to be in a terrible state. Joe was alongside her, his face pale and drawn – and with them was Polly’s father.

  CHAPTER 13

  Polly slowed Noble Warrior down to a walk, her face anxious. Charlie followed suit and they waited in the centre of the arena to see how the confrontation would unfold. Mr Williams walked towards the fence, where he stood with his arms crossed. Mrs Williams joined him, her face red with tears. Joe stood two paces behind and mouthed, ‘Sorry,’ at Charlie.

  ‘What’s going on here?’ Mr Williams said.

  Miss Cameron walked calmly towards the group. ‘We have a lesson in progress,’ she said crisply. ‘And I do not appreciate interruptions when my pupils are concentrating. Unless there has been an emergency, I do not see any reason to suspend our training. Has there been an emergency?’

  ‘No,’ said Joe.

  ‘Yes,’ said Mrs Williams.

  Miss Cameron locked eyes with Polly’s mother. ‘And what would that emergency be?’

  ‘Her father and I have only recently discovered that our daughter has been riding.’ Mrs Williams pointed at Polly. ‘And it is our duty to protect her. She is not allowed to ride like this. One fall, one accident and she could be brain-damaged for life. She could be paralysed. She could die.’

  Miss Cameron put her head on one side and waited.

  ‘Furthermore, she should certainly not be riding him!’ Mrs Williams’s arm shuddered as she pointed again, this time at Noble Warrior. ‘He nearly killed her in the paddock at Ascot – he’s a liability!’

  Miss Cameron raised her hand to indicate silence.

  ‘Alex, you tell her!’ Mrs Williams retorted.

  Mr Williams still had his arms crossed, but he was not frothing at the mouth, as Charlie had imagined.

  There was a moment of stillness as the arena seemed to hold its breath. Then he said, ‘Let’s give her a chance.’

  What? thought Charlie. How was he so calm? Polly said he’d hardly let her out of the front door. She had been sure he would be furious.

  ‘Interesting,’ Miss Cameron said calmly. ‘I will discuss this with you further at the end of the lesson, but we are on the clock.’ She pointed at her watch and turned back to the centre of the arena. ‘And I don’t want to waste their time or mine.’ She smiled at the girls.

  ‘Now go large, please, and let’s see what we can achieve. Trot on!’

  Charlie tried not to look at Polly’s parents, but it was too tempting. Every time she trotted past them she strained to hear their snippets of conversation.

  This was frustrating. Charlie wanted to know exactly what was going on, but every time she turned her head, Miss Cameron shouted an instruction at her.

  ‘Eyes ahead, Charlie. More leg, please!’

  Miss Cameron kept her focus entirely on her pupils. Charlie admired her ability to block out the argument that was still raging just outside the arena.

  Then she noticed that her mother had taken Mrs Williams away from the arena. They were heading towards the stables.

  ‘Well done, Polly,’ called Miss Cameron. ‘Now keep that leg on and bend him round it. That’s it. Keep him supple. We’re looking for elasticity – and use that Buttdar! Excellent.’

  Joe and Mr Williams stayed leaning on the fence, watching intently. Mr Williams looked relaxed and Charlie could see Joe smiling with pride.

  ‘Now let’s try for a little more impulsion. That’s power but not pace. That’s it. Well done, Polly. He’s really moving for you now. Now let’s try to lengthen his stride even more into extended trot.’

  Polly sat deep into the saddle and strengthened the contact with Noble Warrior’s mouth through her right rein.

  ‘Keep the leg strong! Don’t drop your contact on the rein. That’s it. Good effort. Ask him clearly, but don’t force him. We will never win a battle with a horse if we rely on force. Let’s try it again down the other long side.’

  Charlie tried to follow suit with Percy, but his little legs just went faster and faster, putting in more strides at a quicker rate, but not lengthening. She nearly got bounced out of the saddle.

  ‘We need a little more work there!’ Miss Cameron observed. ‘He needs to convert that body fat into muscle and it will be a different story. It won’t take long, believe me, but let’s keep trying. It’s good for him to have to make an effort.’

  The girls rode hard for half an hour in walk, trot and eventually canter. Charlie was concentrating so intensely that she hadn’t noticed her mother and Mrs Williams walking back from the stables to watch from a distance.

  After helping Noble Warrior and Polly master the transition from walk to canter, Miss Cameron glanced at her watch.

  ‘And let’s allow them to walk long and low, let your reins go nice and loose and ask them to stretch right out for the next few minutes. They’ve worked hard and the warm-down is always crucial. Well done, girls.’


  Miss Cameron kept an eye on them as she walked to the gate and on to the other side of the fence. She beckoned to Mr and Mrs Williams to stand next to her.

  ‘I promised you that we would continue our discussion. I understand you both have concerns.’

  Mrs Williams nodded vigorously and Mr Williams put a protective arm round her shoulder.

  ‘I’m impressed with what you’ve done with Polly, but it is dangerous,’ Mrs Williams said. ‘And it’s particularly dangerous on a racehorse.’

  ‘An ex-racehorse,’ Miss Cameron corrected. ‘And to be honest, I’ve barely done anything at all. It’s Polly who has done the work – and credit to Charlie for helping her find the confidence to try it.’

  Charlie saw a minibus arriving in the large tarmac area next to their horsebox and watched a group of children cascading out of it, the sound of laughter and excited shrieks carrying across on the air.

  ‘Once a racehorse, always a racehorse,’ Mr Williams said, taking his arm away from his wife’s shoulder and gesturing towards Noble Warrior. ‘In my experience they never lose their speed of reaction or their tendency to whip round on a sixpence. If they choose to gallop off into the distance, they won’t be doing it at a steady, sedate pace, they’ll be doing it at thirty miles an hour.’

  Mrs Williams shuddered as her husband spoke.

  Miss Cameron said nothing, just leaned forward on the fence, one arm resting on the top bar. She watched Noble Warrior and Polly walking round the arena. The sweat glistened on his neck and behind the saddle and his head was low. Polly kept patting him on the neck. Her smile was wide.

  ‘I had my own doubts about him, after everything he’s been through,’ Cecilia Cameron said finally. ‘And I appreciate your experience. I do know who you are and your line of work, and I realize that you have both seen far more racehorses in your time than I have … But, with respect, I have seen far more children and adults with a range of physical and learning needs.’

  She paused and gestured towards the stables.

  ‘I think you’ve seen the facilities here and I hope you’ll get a chance to talk to some of the other riders who come here for lessons. They will tell you that their lives have been transformed by this place and these amazing creatures.’

  Her hand moved down the front of her jacket, smoothing an imaginary crease.

  ‘Just as every human being is different,’ she continued, ‘I believe every horse is different, and I think they respond to us and our needs. I agree that racehorses are more sensitive – but I think we have on our hands here a particularly sensitive, perceptive and therefore receptive animal.’

  ‘You’re so right!’ Joe almost sang with enthusiasm. ‘Noddy’s always been special. He’s not like other racehorses and, believe me, I’ve ridden a few good ones this year. None of them are a patch on him for intelligence or kindness. He is different, I promise you, Mrs W.’

  ‘He didn’t look that different when he freaked out in the paddock at Ascot, Joe,’ said Mrs Williams. ‘He looked like a highly strung, rattled racehorse and he nearly knocked my daughter over.’

  ‘Ah, but he didn’t, did he?’ Joe responded. ‘He knew that she was the one he could trust. They’ve got a bond, believe me. He’s always responded to her and he will always look after her.’

  Miss Cameron opened the gate and beckoned to Joe, along with Mr and Mrs Williams, to follow her.

  ‘That’ll do, girls. Bring them into the centre here.’

  Polly turned Noble Warrior into the middle of the arena and brought him to a halt. Charlie and Percy followed suit. Miss Cameron ran her hand down Noble Warrior’s face, along his neck and down his shoulder. She addressed Polly’s parents.

  ‘What we have here is a remarkable horse and a remarkable human being. Yes, they could both have an accident, and yes, riding is a potentially dangerous activity, but every time you get in a car, you must be aware of the number of accidents on country roads. Does that stop you from using the car to get where you want to go?’

  Miss Cameron waited for an answer. Polly’s father shook his head gently in response and reached out for his wife’s hand.

  ‘It is impossible in life to protect ourselves from every potential danger,’ Miss Cameron continued. ‘If we did that, we would never get out of bed and the danger then would be bedsores, boredom and depression. Life is for living. It’s about taking chances, pushing on through difficulty, and ultimately about doing the things that make our hearts sing.’

  Mr Williams looked at his daughter. Her eyes pleaded with him. He squeezed his wife’s hand. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear.

  Polly dismounted from Noble Warrior and loosened his girths.

  ‘Your daughter is a wonderful rider and she has a very special connection with this horse,’ Miss Cameron said. ‘I think they understand each other and they are both young, talented and committed. Together they can achieve great things. But … they need something else too.’ She paused and looked from one parent to the other.

  ‘What’s that?’ Mr Williams asked.

  ‘They need support. I have seen plenty of children come here with a range of mobility and riding experiences, but they have won competitions, improved up through the grades, even gone to the Paralympics – because their parents have been willing to support them every step of the way.’

  Charlie could sense the crackle in the air. This was the moment when their plan could either move forward or be stopped in its tracks.

  She noted the way in which Miss Cameron had handled the situation. She was persuasive and passionate in her argument, but remained calm throughout. And at the end, at the crucial moment, she had handed the power back to Polly’s parents. She was not going to tell them what to do, rather leave them to make the decision for themselves. She now realized that Mr Williams had always suspected that Polly would try to start riding again. That was why he’d given her mother his binoculars – to keep an eye on them. Maybe he’d known from the very first day that she was riding Noble Warrior.

  ‘The National Championships take place next month at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire. I think you should come to watch, to see the different levels of competition and the huge variety of riders.’

  Miss Cameron made the suggestion as if it was nothing at all. No big deal, just an option for them to consider. Charlie started to make plans in her head. Why not take Noddy as well – just for the experience?

  Miss Cameron handed Polly her stick so that she could make her way steadily back to the horsebox. Noble Warrior walked slowly beside her and let her lead him with one hand barely touching the reins.

  ‘We make a great team together,’ Polly said, loudly enough for her father to hear. ‘I can’t tell you how happy it makes me, to be riding again. I feel like I can do anything, I can be anyone.’

  ‘Is that what it’s like?’ Mr Williams asked his daughter.

  Polly nodded enthusiastically. She looked at her mother and Mrs Williams blinked hard as if she had something stuck in her eye. Polly patted Noble Warrior on the neck and allowed Charlie to lead him up the ramp into the horsebox.

  ‘I thought I’d never be able to run or walk properly again and now I feel as if I can fly,’ Polly explained. ‘It’s not the same, but it’s blissfully, wonderfully, magically different!’

  Noble Warrior whickered gently in agreement.

  ‘OK, OK. I give in,’ Polly’s mother sighed.

  ‘Really?’ Polly asked.

  Her father put his arm round his wife’s shoulder and drew her close.

  ‘Your mother has always worried about you,’ Mr Williams said to Polly. ‘She doesn’t want you to get hurt and nor do I, but I’d rather you were doing these things with our knowledge than behind our backs. I thought you wouldn’t be able to resist riding so I made sure Caroline was watching you every minute, in case something went wrong.’

  ‘Did you?’ Mrs Williams looked surprised.

  ‘Yes, love. I didn’t want you to feel responsible if
she had a fall. I knew you’d never forgive yourself, but I also knew Polly would be miserable if she could never ride again.’

  Mrs Williams shook her head in mock outrage.

  ‘Mind you,’ said Mr Williams, ‘if Joe hadn’t let slip that he was coming to watch your lesson, I would never have known about it, and then what?’

  He looked at Polly and then at Miss Cameron and back.

  ‘I wouldn’t have been able to watch you progress or console you when things went wrong – because they will, believe me. I wouldn’t have felt part of it at all and that would have been sad for me and for you.’

  Charlie stood nervously by the passenger door of the horsebox. Noble Warrior and Percy were safely in the back sharing a hay net that one of them was pulling with force, making the back end of the lorry sway from side to side. Charlie could guess which one.

  ‘As for you, Charlotte Bass, it may take a while for me to forgive you.’ Mr Williams sounded stern, but Charlie noticed that his eyes were twinkling.

  ‘I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, Mr Williams. In my defence, I didn’t think dressage was your thing.’

  Alex Williams snorted. ‘Trust you to have a quick excuse. You’re right, I don’t know a passage from a piaffe, but I do know what makes my daughter happy and I’ll give you credit for that. I haven’t seen her smile so much since before her accident and that’s good enough for me to buy into this daft idea!’

  Polly climbed into the Range Rover to go home with her parents while Joe hopped into the front seat of the horsebox to travel back to Folly Farm.

  ‘Mum, I’m sorry we put you in such an awkward position. I know we should have told Polly’s parents,’ Charlie said as they drove steadily out of the riding centre.

  ‘I wouldn’t worry too much,’ her mum said. ‘Alex knows his own daughter and he was on to her before she’d even tried to ride properly. I think he’s fine. As for Jasmine, she’ll come round to it all. I showed her the stables and introduced her to a few of the volunteers and the women who were in the lesson when we arrived.’ She flicked the indicator on. ‘They were brilliant at explaining what a difference it had made to their lives and how their bodies were more supple. They also told her how much it had done for their confidence and I suspect that’s what really tipped the balance. She’s been worried about Polly’s self-esteem and her loss of ambition. To be honest, I think she’s been far worse at home than she is when she stays with us. Maybe that’s why her dad realized that taking away her riding was destroying her.’