Starlight Stables: Saving Starlight

by Soraya Nicholas

  About the Book

  Poppy’s world is falling apart. Her aunt and uncle have had an ominous visit from the bank and her aunt has lost an important riding sponsor. It means they might have to sell Starlight Stables. Could Poppy be about to lose everything – her beloved Starlight Stables, her beautiful horse Crystal, her friends Milly and Katie, and even her aunt’s Olympic dreams? Poppy is determined to do everything she can to help. She just has to win the upcoming show jumping competition, so she can give them the prize money. But it means she will have to jump higher than she ever has before to save everything she loves.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE Jupiter

  CHAPTER TWO Caught Out

  CHAPTER THREE Brainstorming Time

  CHAPTER FOUR Jump Training

  CHAPTER FIVE Disaster

  CHAPTER SIX Best Friends Ever

  CHAPTER SEVEN Ready, Steady, Go!

  CHAPTER EIGHT Jump Time

  CHAPTER NINE The Jump Off

  CHAPTER TEN Saving Crystal

  CHAPTER ELEVEN Jupiter the Great

  About the Author

  Read all the books in the Starlight Stables series:

  Horse Terms

  Aunt Sophie’s Super Warmblood Dressage Horse, Jupiter, is A Huge 17.2 HH

  Pony Detectives

  Gymkhana Hijinks

  Bush Bolts

  Acknowledgements

  For Isabella, India & Emily, our beautiful, horse-

  crazy cover models! And for my goddaughter Amelia

  and friend Arabella, for being such great inspiration

  for my characters.

  ‘She’s amazing,’ Katie said, her voice barely a whisper.

  Poppy glanced across at her friend, smiling when she realised how in awe Katie was. She still found her Aunt Sophie incredible to watch and she’d been watching her for years, so she got why Katie and Milly couldn’t take their eyes off her. Aunt Sophie was riding her beautiful big Warmblood gelding, Jupiter, in the arena at Starlight Stables, practising one of her dressage tests. The chestnut horse seemed to glide around the arena, his thickly muscled neck perfectly arched, strong legs carrying him gracefully, his change from walk to canter and then back down to a forward-moving trot absolutely faultless.

  ‘Do you think she’ll win?’ Milly asked. ‘She has to, right? I mean, she’s crazy good.’

  Poppy bit down on her lip, gently chewing it. Aunt Sophie was good – Poppy personally thought she was the best – but then so was every other rider she’d be up against. ‘I hope so,’ she replied.

  ‘I was reading in HorseWyse the other day that she’s the one to beat at the Nationals,’ Katie told them, still completely mesmerised. ‘The article said that Jupiter is one of the oldest horses competing now, and that he has the most experience.’

  Poppy was so excited about The National Dressage Championships. They were being held in Melbourne, which meant they were going to be right there watching her aunt, and Sophie has asked Poppy to be her groom! Although Katie and Milly would be in the crowd watching, Poppy was the only one actually helping to prepare Jupiter. She’d been reading everything she could about being a groom – it was going to be awesome.

  It was less than four weeks until Sophie’s big weekend, and Poppy’s stomach was already flip-flopping like crazy about being involved. Most of the riders would have full-time grooms, but her aunt and uncle did everything without help, to keep costs down and to fund their young riders. This year the championships was in Melbourne, which was the only reason Poppy was able to go – her mum didn’t have to pay for flights. She was going to stay over at Starlight Stables the night before the event to help out, and then travel with Sophie in the horse truck for the hour’s drive into Melbourne.

  ‘Do you think we’ll ever be that good?’ Katie asked, jolting her out of her daydreams.

  Milly made a snorting noise that made Poppy giggle. ‘You sound like a piglet!’ she laughed.

  ‘I’ve got more chance of turning into a piglet than ever being that good!’ Milly said.

  Katie rolled her eyes at Poppy. Milly was always such a drama queen.

  ‘Are you excited about our show-jumping comp next weekend?’ Poppy asked.

  ‘Ohmygod, so excited!’ Milly jumped up, then quickly sat down when Poppy tugged on her arm.

  ‘Stay still,’ Poppy hissed, keeping hold of Milly’s arm. ‘Aunt Sophie said we could watch if we stayed quiet and didn’t distract her.’

  Milly made a face – a half smile, half grimace. ‘Sorry.’

  Milly could never sit still; she was always leaping around and coming up with crazy ideas. Poppy glanced at Katie, thinking how different her two friends were. Katie’s hair was as blonde as Milly’s was dark, as straight as Milly’s was curly. They were both completely horse crazy, but Katie was quieter and more serious.

  Poppy loved them both, and she still couldn’t believe they’d been friends for less than a year. Aunt Sophie and Uncle Mark had given Poppy her own pony, Crystal, when she’d come for the Christmas holidays. At the same time they’d told her they were giving two other deserving riders scholarships, and that was when she’d met Katie and Milly. They’d spent almost all of January together.

  There were only two months to go until the Christmas holidays started again, and Poppy couldn’t wait to have another long stay at Starlight Stables. She was lucky to visit every second weekend, and they had all just had a week of the last school holidays at the farm, but over summer Poppy had an entire month or more to spend every single day with Crystal and her friends, and she couldn’t wait!

  ‘Sophie!’ Poppy looked behind her when she heard Uncle Mark calling out. His frown told her something was wrong. She hardly ever saw him without a big smile on his face, so she knew something was up straightaway.

  Poppy exchanged glances with the other two and then turned to watch Sophie. She was still focused on her dressage, oblivious to Mark.

  ‘Sophie!’ His yell was louder this time and he strode to the edge of the arena, obviously agitated.

  Aunt Sophie looked annoyed as she halted Jupiter and walked him over to Mark. Poppy watched them discuss something and saw an expression of shock on Sophie’s face as Uncle Mark gestured back at the house. Her aunt quickly dismounted. She was pulling her gloves off, which was a sure sign that she was finished riding. But what would be so important that she’d stop riding before finishing the test she was practising? And why did Mark look so cross?

  ‘Poppy!’ Her aunt waved her over urgently.

  Poppy jumped up. They were sitting on a wooden bench seat on the far side of the arena, and she had to run to the entrance where Sophie was waiting.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Poppy asked the second she got there, breathing hard.

  Mark had already headed back to the house, the fast walk–run thing he was doing at odds with how relaxed he usually was. Poppy’s heart was thumping loud, waiting to hear the bad news.

  ‘Poppy, I . . .’

  ‘It’s not my mum, is it?’ she blurted out, wrapping her arms around herself. ‘Has something happened?’

  ‘No, sweetheart, nothing like that,’ Sophie said, passing her the reins and giving her a kind smile. ‘Something important has come up. We have a visitor that I need to meet with. Nothing for you to worry about.’

  ‘Oh, sure. Okay,’ Poppy muttered, feeling silly for jumping to conclusions.

  ‘Can you take Jupiter for me? Keep him walking for maybe ten minutes, then take him back to his stable and brush him down for me.’

  Poppy could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her take Jupiter? ‘Do you just want me to lead him?’

  �
��No, silly.’ Aunty Sophie smiled. ‘I want you to hop on and cool him down for me. Let him stretch out after all that collected work in the arena.’ She frowned at the look on Poppy’s face. ‘I thought you’d be excited about riding him?’

  ‘Excited?’ Poppy stammered. ‘I could do cart-wheels I’m so excited!’ She giggled and held the reins tight. ‘I just didn’t think you’d want me on his back.’

  Sophie put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. ‘Poppy, you’re a fantastic little rider. Enjoy it.’

  Her aunt turned and hurried after Mark, leaving Poppy standing with her jaw just about hitting the ground. She was about to ride Jupiter! Poppy ran a hand down his neck, admiring the massive 17.2-hand high gelding.

  ‘What was all that about?’ Milly asked, running up behind her with Katie hot on her heels.

  ‘Nothing really, they just have a visitor or something,’ Poppy said, still in awe of the horse she was holding.

  ‘Do you have to take him back?’ Katie asked.

  A grin spread slowly over Poppy’s face. ‘Nope. She wants me to ride him.’

  Milly shook her head. ‘No way!’

  ‘Yes way. Now, who’s giving me a leg up? There’s no way I can mount him from the ground.’

  Milly elbowed Katie out of the way and quickly bent down to take her leg. ‘Hope I can get you high enough.’

  Poppy threw the reins over Jupiter’s head. ‘Ready.’ She put her left leg in Milly’s hands.

  ‘One, two, three!’

  ‘Milly!’ cried Poppy as she swooshed through the air and landed with a thud on Jupiter’s back. Her bottom hit the saddle way harder than she’d wanted it to, but Milly had boosted her so high! Thankfully, Jupiter didn’t even flinch.

  ‘Sorry,’ Milly said with a giggle. ‘You look so little up there. He probably doesn’t even realise there’s anybody in the saddle!’

  Poppy poked out her tongue before settling into the amazingly comfy dressage saddle. The seat was a lot deeper than her general-purpose saddle, and it made her sit differently. She put the stirrups up as they were way too long for her, and gathered the reins up only a little – she was supposed to be cooling him down, which meant letting him stretch his neck out.

  ‘What’s it like up there?’ Katie asked.

  Poppy grinned and looked down. ‘A long way to fall!’ She laughed, amazed at how relaxed Jupiter was. Some competition horses were so highly strung, but he had always been so lovely. When he was at a competition he was in full show-off mode, but at home he was very chilled out.

  Poppy nudged him in the sides gently. She had to remember that he was a highly trained horse and was used to very subtle leg signals from her aunt. He obliged and walked forward straightaway, but it felt so different.

  ‘His stride is huge!’ she said to Milly and Katie who were walking alongside her. ‘It feels awesome.’

  Poppy sat as straight as she could, nudging him every few steps with the inside of her legs. She felt a million dollars sitting astride Sophie’s horse, and she still couldn’t believe she’d been trusted enough to ride him. There was a chance Sophie could qualify for the Olympic dressage team on Jupiter, which meant he was probably one of the most valuable dressage horses in Melbourne, or even Australia!

  She took a deep breath, calmed herself down. She always got crazy-excited thinking about her aunt making the Olympic team one day, because no matter how much Aunt Sophie tried to stay quiet about some things, Poppy knew it was her aunt’s dream and had heard her talking about it with Uncle Mark.

  ‘You should trot,’ Milly suggested. ‘See what it’s like.’

  ‘Uh-uh,’ Poppy said firmly, not about to let Milly convince her of some crazy idea. ‘She told me to walk him for ten minutes, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’

  Milly groaned. ‘You’re so boring.’

  ‘That’s why Mrs D asked Poppy to ride Jupiter and not you!’ Katie said.

  While her friends laughed and joked around, Poppy concentrated on Jupiter, feeling his stride, the way he stepped out and covered so much of the ground. Riding him was elegant, felt so different to her fun, zippy little pony. If she just shut her eyes . . .

  ‘Milly!’ she squealed, pulling Jupiter to a sudden halt. ‘I almost ran you over!’

  ‘Um, that’s what you get for riding with your eyes closed, stupid.’

  Poppy ignored her and nudged Jupiter back into a walk. She kept going for a while, happy that he was stretching out his neck and seemed as relaxed as he usually was for Sophie after a work-out. When she was certain they’d been going for at least ten minutes, Poppy rode him towards the arena exit, knowing her friends would follow. She could have dismounted and lead him, but she wanted to spend as much time on Jupiter as she could, and that meant riding him all the way back to the stables.

  ‘Wait up!’ Katie called.

  Poppy didn’t slow down – she was loving the feel of his long strides, and it was only a couple of minutes back to the barn anyway. When it was time to dismount she did it slowly, landing with a big thump on the ground from so high up.

  ‘Good boy,’ she praised, patting his neck and slipping the reins over his ears when he dipped his chestnut head for a cuddle. Poppy stroked his cheek and dropped a kiss to his nose just as the others joined her.

  ‘I’m so jealous,’ Milly said.

  ‘I know,’ Poppy replied smugly. It wasn’t often that Milly didn’t figure out a way to get what she wanted, and she knew how much it would be annoying her.

  She tied Jupiter outside his stall and removed his bridle then saddle. Milly appeared at her side with a brush and started on his body, and Poppy carefully picked out his hooves, making sure they were clean. Aunt Sophie was very particular about his care, making sure he was treated like a star. She was always telling Poppy that he was a top athlete, and that meant taking extra care of his grooming, feeding and exercise. He even had massages every week.

  ‘Want me to grab his rug?’ Katie called out.

  ‘Yep, thanks,’ Poppy replied, dropping the hoof pick and grabbing a soft brush to do his face. ‘I think he loves all this fuss.’

  ‘Yeah, I reckon,’ Milly said, still working on his gleaming coat. He’d been sweating but his summer coat was so fine that a brush was all he needed. If Aunt Sophie had done her full work-out on him, they’d have had to hose him down.

  Katie flung his rug on, and Poppy did the front up while Katie did the back. It was just a light cover to keep the sun and bugs off him, and once Jupiter was ready Poppy untied him and led him outside, letting him into the paddock alongside the barn. It wasn’t so big that he could gallop around and hurt himself, but it meant he could stretch his legs a little and pick at some grass.

  ‘Do you recognise that car?’ Katie asked suddenly.

  Poppy slung Jupiter’s lead rope over her shoulder and squinted at the white vehicle over in the Delaney’s driveway. It was parked close to the house, which made it hard for her to read the small black writing on the side, but it had her curious. ‘Can you take this back to the tack room?’ Poppy asked, holding the rope out to Katie. ‘I’m going to take a closer look.’

  Milly’s eyebrows popped up. ‘Can I come?’

  ‘If you want,’ Poppy replied, still staring at the car and knowing in her heart that something just wasn’t right. Nothing usually upset Mark, he was always so chilled out, which made Poppy all the more worried.

  ‘I’ll take this back then catch you up,’ Katie said.

  Poppy brushed her dirty hands on her jodhpurs as she and Milly walked across the grass, past the towering blue gums between the barn and the farmhouse. As they got closer she read the writing: ANZ Bank. She glanced at Milly.

  ‘Why would someone from a bank be here?’ Milly asked, frowning.

  Poppy shook her head. ‘I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.’

  Something was up, something big, and she needed to know what was going on.

  ‘Oooh, how? What are we going to do?’

&nbs
p; Poppy stopped and stared at her friend. She didn’t exactly have a plan, but . . .

  ‘I’m going to eavesdrop. You guys stay here just in case Aunt Sophie’s not in there and comes looking for us. I don’t want her to know that we’re trying to figure out what’s going on.’

  Milly looked impressed, responding with a wide smile. ‘That sounds like the perfect plan.’

  Poppy wasn’t so sure. It sounded more like a Milly plan. She dug her nails into her palms. ‘I’ll be back soon.’

  Poppy silently took her boots off and let herself in through the back door, tiptoeing across the carpet and pausing at the end of the hallway. She could hear voices coming from the kitchen. She pressed her back to the wall and listened, breathing as quietly as she could. The last thing she wanted was for her aunt or uncle to hear her.

  ‘I don’t think you appreciate how much trouble you’re in here.’

  The words were muffled, but she’d heard them. Or at least she was certain that’s what she’d heard. It was a man’s voice, deeper than her Uncle Mark’s, and she didn’t recognise it. Poppy had no idea what he meant, but it didn’t sound good.

  She padded silently towards the kitchen. The door was shut, which was weird – they never usually closed doors in the house – and she took a big gulp of air before pressing her ear to it. Poppy’s heart was thudding, the noise loud in her own ears. She hoped that it wasn’t actually that loud outside her body otherwise they’d know she was here for sure!

  ‘We can extend you one month, but if we don’t start seeing –’

  ‘I appreciate the offer, and we’ll make sure there are no missed payments,’ Uncle Mark interrupted in a loud, confident voice. ‘This is just a minor hiccup.’

  ‘I’d hardly call losing a big sponsor a minor hiccup,’ the man said. ‘Especially when you can’t give me the name of another company that might step in to assist you.’

  No sponsor? Poppy could hardly breathe, even her bones seemed to ache. How could Aunt Sophie have lost her sponsor? She was sponsored by one of the biggest horse-feed companies in Australia. Their name was splashed over everything Sophie owned – her horse truck, her show rugs, her riding clothes. Why would they drop her when she was doing so well, when she was so close to doing better than she’d ever done before? They’d backed her right from the start of her career!