by Leigh Hutton
Ebony loved the food also and found herself really enjoying the company, too. Winnie had always struggled with her self-confidence, after being called ‘Winnie the Pooh’ by Mantina and a few of the other princesses when she moved up from Cabo San Lucas to work for Cecile.
She seemed to be relaxing and enjoying herself as her and Clancy — who’d learned a lot of Spanish in his fifteen years working with Mexican grooms in the best barns across North America — took great delight in teasing Ebony in a language she couldn’t understand. She didn’t mind, though. Winnie deserved to be happy and Clancy was a gentleman and incredibly charismatic; they could go ahead and rib her all they liked.
The journey would take forty-two hours. First, they drove the flat prairie of Saskatchewan, before crossing the border into North Dakota, the stunning forested areas of Minnesota and through the sprawling city of Minneapolis, the beautiful state of Wisconsin, before stopping for the night at a huge, true American-style red and white barn owned by Colt Brennan, a top US rider and friend of Marcus’s. Next day they were up at dawn, and back on the road; straight down the centre of Illinois, past the Golden Guitar in Nashville, Tennessee, then some sprawling white mansions and cotton fields in Georgia, and through the city of Atlanta.
It was pitch black and both Ebony and Winnie were asleep on the bed behind the cab when the semi rolled into Florida. The sun was just rising as the highway finally brought them to the coast, and Palm Springs. The day dawned bright and clear and the trio decided to take a drive along the ocean, before heading to the show grounds.
At the sight of the surf, the girls couldn’t resist. Ebony hadn’t been to the beach since Cecile had taken her to the Nations’
Cup in Argentina and Winnie missed it so, after growing up with the ocean on her doorstep, in Cabo.
They finally found a break in the row of massive oceanfront mansions, and parked the truck on the verge of a sandy, vacant lot. Ebony was drawn by the fresh, salty smell of the sea, and only the highway now separated the Canadian and her honorary countrymen from the beach. Clancy volunteered to stand guard, as he hated the beach after his parents had dragged him there every weekend of his childhood, despite the fact he always got a sunburn. On the drive down, Clancy had explained how he was born near Beerwah, in Australia, ‘up in Steve Irwin country’. His neighbours had had horses and he’d jumped the fence to ride them, much to his parents’ disdain. His father never had a job and was physically and mentally abusive; Clancy’d run away when he was just fourteen and scored a job mucking out and feeding up the animals in the Oswald’s Travelling Circus. He first witnessed show jumping at the Sydney Royal Easter Show when he was sixteen, and charmed his way into one of the top barns as a stable hand.
‘And the rest is history,’ he’d said with a wink, sending Winnie scarlet.
The girls ran across the highway, kicked off their boots, and made for the waves.
Winnie stopped at the water’s edge, and would only dip her toes in. Ebony knew from Argentina that Winnie never swam in the sea. ‘In Mexico, we believe that when you enter the ocean, you enter the food chain,’ Winnie had explained. Ebony had found this to be a great joke, and she still did. She laughed and ran in, nearly to her waist, her jeans clinging to her thighs. She ripped off her T-shirt, exposing a black sports bra, and splashed Winnie with the break from a decent-sized wave. She could feel the pull of the surf, and noted that the coastline was deserted; just the mega mansions stared out at them and the odd flashy, expensive car like Marcus’s passed them on the highway. There was certainly no lifeguard on duty, as they weren’t at a swimming section of the beach.
Ebony waded back to shore, and plopped down on the sand, keeping her bare feet in the cool, foamy water, feeling the sand between her toes. She took in the skyline, and the calming freshness of the sea. The white waves were crashing in high and fast. Beyond, the ocean stretched out for infinity, blending with the crystal blue sky. A gust of sea breeze blew her hair about her face. The only thing that would make the view better, she decided, was Dallas coming out of the water, bare chested.
She smiled at the image in her mind, tasting the salt of the sea water on her lips, closing her eyes against the sun, letting it warm and comfort her. There was something so incredibly soothing about the sea. She really needed to get here more often.
Winnie was only able to get Ebony off the beach after reminding her that the horses had been on board for the better part of two days, with only a short break at the stable they’d stopped at for the night. They needed to get to the show grounds and get everyone settled.
While Mantina, Dougie and even Marcus and his grooms hardly took a second glance at the incredible entrance and world-class grounds that they had seen so many times before, The Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre always took Ebony’s breath away. The amount of money in Florida was incredible, and overwhelming to her. If ever there was a place where she felt self-conscious, like she didn’t fit in, this was it.
The twelve-week event here in Wellington always attracted many of the best riders on the planet, as well as many of the World’s richest and most famous people. Celebrities, film stars, politicians and billionaires were often spotted ringside, in the VIP tents or sipping cocktails at the beach resorts nearby. Many of them owned horses or had children that would be competing in the iconic event, which was the world’s largest and longest running equestrian competition. The show awarded over $6 million in prize money and hosted 5,000 horses and 2,800 riders from 50 states and 31 countries.
The facility was a veritable city, an equestrian oasis surrounded by lakes, canals and palm trees, with walkways and bridges connecting barns to rings, and top-notch restaurants, designer shops, cafes, vendor stalls, The Sanctuary centre for horse health and wellbeing, pony rides, the Saturday Night Kids Festival and more, all dispersed among the grounds with the heart of it all, the white-sand International Arena, set in the middle of the action, prepped and primed for another year of world-class competition. Ebony always enjoyed the sound of helicopters overhead, ferrying the rich and famous to and from their lush accommodation or homes abroad to the show facility, and the smell of the rich, superior coffee beans, as well as fine food, as she walked around the grounds, taking in the luxe atmosphere.
Today, she stopped at a new food stand, opposite a row of smaller sand rings, to grab a sandwich and a drink. Monster and Johnny had enjoyed a walk to stretch their legs, a quick hose down and a groom, and had settled easily into their large, airy box stalls, with their heads buried in buckets of chaff and their vitamins. She’d ducked out to get lunch for Winnie and Clancy as their food supplies were mostly depleted, with the exception of a few brown, soggy bananas.
A rack of show programs hanging off the side of the food stall snared Ebony’s attention, and she grabbed one, flipping through its glossy pages. She nearly dropped her glass bottle of orange juice when she spotted the names of the British Senior Team, and the horse Mantina would be riding, no doubt a last minute entry, as the list online had showed her on Crown Jewel and Downton Abbey.
She paid for the sandwiches, their juices and the program, before practically running back to the barn. She knew The princess would be there; she’d overheard Marcus telling Clancy upon their arrival that Mantina had requested a secret meeting to discuss the course for the Nations’ Cup. Ebony nearly ran smack into ‘her majesty’ as she left the bright light of day and entered their long, rectangular barn.
‘Watch it, Tackle Box,’ Mantina said, stepping dramatically out of Ebony’s way. Ebony grabbed her by the arm, but dropped it instantly, and started talking before the princess could scream ‘assault’. They were just opposite the main tack rooms, which had been set-aside for Marcus. She sensed by the quiet in this end of the barn that they were alone. At least for now.
‘Lorcan was riding Poseidon, was he not, Mantina?’ Ebony spat out her name with a level of contempt that made even her own blood run cold. Her heart was racing and she was raging. The princess had tu
rned up to the first major show of the season, and not just any season — the year in which the all important World Equestrian Games was to be held — with the Dutch Warmblood stallion, Poseidon, a stallion that belonged to someone else. Someone much more deserving.
Poseidon was a stunning blue roan who had been part of the Gold-winning team at the London Olympics. Two years on, and the twelve-year-old had been winning derbies from Hickstead to Hamburg. Last Ebony was aware, the horse was being ridden by her old friend, Lorcan O’Connor, after his usual rider, Devereaux Dufour (Lorcan’s trainer) had retired from competition to take the position as the French team’s Chef d’Equipe.
‘Poseidon’s owners didn’t take much convincing to sell him on,’ Mantina said, tightening her grip on her rare designer handbag and shifting in her equally as expensive, knee-high leather boots. Her orange-blonde hair was dead straight and her cold, grey eyes extra piercing in the relaxed light of the barn.
‘Yeah, right — I bet Daddy kept his check book in his back pocket.’
‘It’s not my fault my family has resources, Ebony,’ Mantina said. ‘Besides, Lorcan had him going too hot. Posie adores me already.’
Ebony’s stomach churned, and she thought she might spew. Baby talk about a horse as great as the God of the sea himself ? Surely this chick isn’t serious? Her body went hot and her eyes lit like a wild animal, sending all of their raw intensity straight at The princess. Any calmness she’d taken from her time at the sea was certainly gone now.
‘Lorcan just finished second in a major Grand Prix at the five-star in Zurich, Mantina,’ Ebony said. ‘I watched the round online and it was incredible. According to his interview, he’d just gotten the go ahead from his barn and Poseidon’s owners to ride him at the World’s, and hopefully the Olympics. You know how hard Lorcan’s always worked how could you do that to him?’
‘Wow! Creepin’ much?’
Ebony had to fight hard to keep from slapping Mantina in the face.
‘He’ll find something else to ride.’
‘It doesn’t work like that for people like us, Mantina! It takes years, a career even, to get a real crack and be on a mount like Poseidon!’
Mantina shrugged, then her face lit up when Dougie appeared from around the corner. ‘Oh! Finally, someone fun.’ She linked arms with a sweating Dougie, and dragged him off down the hallway. ‘Just wait ’til you see Posie jump!’ she said to him. ‘I ran into Chelsea and you should have seen her! She was like, ‘oh, my God, Teensie! I’m so freaking jealous of you’ …’
Ebony was biting at her nails and glaring at their backs as she watched the pair exit the barn and disappear from view. She knew how crushing it was to have a horse sold, stolen from you, after putting everything you had into getting them ready for the competition of your lifetime. It was gut wrenching, life ending. She was devastated for the quiet, gentle Lorcan. It just wasn’t fair.
Tears were stinging at her eyes when Winnie popped her head out of Marcus’s tack room.
Wait … She thought with surprise. What’s she doing in there?
‘Okay?’ Winnie asked, stepping into the hallway.
Ebony took a breath, and squeezed her eyes shut, wiping tears from the corners. She looked into her friend’s warm, brown eyes. ‘Have you seen who The Princess is riding?’
‘Si, Si! So happy to see heem een the flesh!’
‘Don’t you know that he belonged to Lorcan?’ Ebony rocked back at the sound of acid in her voice. She forced herself to soften. ‘Well, he was riding him, anyway. Now, I doubt that he’ll have a chance in hell of making the World’s, or the Olympics!’
Winnie nodded with understanding, then reached forward and took Ebony by the shoulders. She raised her eyebrows, to look Ebony intently in the eyes. ‘When you come from poor place like me, you see theengs, horrible theengs, and you learn. You learn life no make sense. Just, enjoy — si?’
Enjoy? Enjoy the fact that life totally isn’t fair — it totally sucks! And to top it all off, now one of my mortal enemies is going to kick my butt!
Winnie smiled, soothingly. ‘My grandmother once say to me, ‘Wee’nnie, vivir en el ahora’.’
‘Ingles!’ Ebony said, feeling even more annoyed.
‘Sorry,’ Winnie said. ‘Mean, leeve een the now. Enjoy all beautiful moment, trust een the Father Almighty, and forget thee rest.’ She shook Ebony gently, like she was trying to instil some sense in her.
‘There is no God,’ Ebony said. ‘If there is, why’s there so much pain in the world?’
‘He exist,’ Winnie smiled, ‘but he very busy, sometime, he ees too busy to listen. And Mant’eena and — Pose’idon you can no change what happened, eet ees their dest’iny and God’s path for them. What you can do ees best weeth what you ’ave been gee-ven. Enjoy eet, love eet. Eet what you lee-ve for.’
Ebony could see her point, she supposed. She took a deep breath and told her body to relax, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans and looking down at the scuffed toes of her worn Ariats.
‘Go learn your course,’ Winnie said. ‘’Ave fun.’
Ebony smiled, and nodded. She did understand what Winnie was saying about enjoying every moment; the best moments.
She made a mental note to really enjoy the next time she was in the ring. But it wouldn’t change the fact that with Poseidon, even a ten-year-old with pigtails would clean up.
If there was a God, he was too busy to do anything about Princess Mantina taking the majority of the prize money. She was well and truly in the honey-moon period with the great stallion and it didn’t matter what she threw at him — long strides, short strides, half strides — the powerful horse didn’t hesitate to leap his highest and leave every rail in its cups.
It was Mantina and Poseidon’s double clear that secured the Nations’ Cup win for the team from Great Britain, their first ever for the event in Florida, even though every other pair in it had beat their jump off time. The jump off requires the riders to come to the party with skilful navigation and the guts to make the tough decisions and push the horses for their top speed, but it’s an incredibly fine line between pushing too hard for the win and having that cup-losing rail. Four faults, eight faults, even thirteen faults were suffered by many of the other riders, including all of Mantina’s teammates. But such was Poseidon’s talent and courage, that The princess was able to enjoy being hailed the hero of the British senior team and awarded the greatest honour of the Winter Equestrian Festival, the win of the Nations’ Cup and her share of the $75,000 prize.
Ebony watched the class go down with a growing sense of gloom from the far corner of the bleachers, her collar pulled up and the brim of her baseball cap pulled down. If there was a God, or karma or any greater deity, for that matter, she thought, biting at her thumb nail furiously. They wouldn’t have let that wicked girl take that win. It was a good thing Winnie turned up with a fresh coffee, or Ebony could have started heckling.
Second place in the category went to the Germans, with the American team of CeCe Williams and her horse Gator, Colt Brennan and Film Star, Trixie Donahue and Fresh Prince and Dougie Chamfer and Octavia, coming third. France, despite a nasty tantrum from one of their star riders after his horse refused at the water, finished fourth. Ireland, with their gorgeous greys and strong, masculine lads in green coats with their nations’ flag on the arm, came fifth. Seeing them made Ebony wish she could see Lorcan, just to make sure he was alright after losing Poseidon.
Canada had a disastrous showing, with Marcus and Le Magnifique crashing in the jump off, Abia and Samurai having three fences down in the second round and Luther’s horse, Tex, refusing at the towering wall in round one, landing them in a pitiful eighth place.
As Ebony sipped her coffee and chatted with Winnie, she let herself look past Mantina, to enjoy the glorious horses in front of them. She always looked forward to the opportunity to watch such amazing horses doing what they loved best. They were beautiful, fit, free. Being around these animals made her feel
at one with herself. They were the most incredible beings on the planet, as far as she was concerned.
The competitors were now lined up to receive their ribbons, and Ebony was struck, as she always was in Florida, by the spectacle of the evening show under lights, with the stars of the Floridian sky twinkling overhead and the ruckus and grandeur of the richest horse people on earth splayed out all around her, in their VIP tents with their red carpets, French champagne and caviar, their golf carts and assistants and security parked waiting at the doors. Just as the British anthem struck up and Mantina and her crew went for their victory lap, Ebony could have sworn that she heard Annika’s shrill laugh from one of such tents. She assumed that was where she would be spending most of her time, as she’d yet to be sighted anywhere near the horses. She was staying at a luxurious beachfront establishment with Mr. Prince, while Ebony and Winnie were sharing a room at a nearby budget motel with the other grooms.
On the following evening at the same time, of 6pm, were the Nations’ Cup Junior and Young Rider competitions and Ebony’s first major class of the show.
The Juniors competed first. Jasmine and Odysseus blasted out courageously, careening around and leaping with colossal effort to clear the huge fences like they were a pony pair in a steeplechase. Odie only just made it through the combination, and ended up taking out two rails as he absolutely could not make the spreads in the fences and reach across the massive oxer at the end. They finished on eight faults, a great effort considering only two riders went clear. No matter what happened, seeing the smile on Jasmine’s face would be the highlight of her show, Ebony decided, as she watched on from the staging area.
Odie was so proud of his effort and the sound of the applause, he bounded around the ring and wouldn’t allow Jasmine to pull him up. When she finally was able to stop him and ride him out under the boom gate, Ebony ran up to Jasmine, to say her congratulations. Marcus stood at the rail, poker faced as he always was when observing his riders. Ebony let Jasmine and her tall, slender mother, Leslie, have a moment, before reaching up and giving Jasmine a hug.
