“Alice, darling,” Josephine repeated in the same gentle tone. “This is Georgia. She’s riding for me while…” She glanced at Georgia. “While we try and sort something out.”
Alice continued staring, but Georgia noticed she was gazing beyond her and the dun Highland. Her eyes were fixated instead on Lily, who was watching quietly, ever sensitive to changes in the air.
Alice held up a quivering hand and pointed it at Lily, mouthing a word that Georgia couldn’t quite make out.
Josephine hurried over to her.
“H … H … Honey!”
Georgia heard Alice gasp before she burst into tears and sprinted back towards the house.
“I’m sorry, Georgia,” Josephine called over her shoulder. “I’ll explain everything later.” Then, quickly, she followed her daughter, leaving Georgia holding the gentle dun Highland, feeling awful about what had just happened.
Josephine didn’t appear for the rest of the day. With Shelley and the afternoon groom, Fergus, in charge of the chores, Georgia didn’t really know what to do with herself. Her offers of mucking out had been kindly brushed off so she decided to catch Lily instead and bring her in for a groom.
Secret barely glanced at Lily as she left the field. The confident roan colt was getting bigger and bolder every day. What will Melanie do with him? Georgia wondered to herself. Although Lily was hers on loan, Secret officially belonged to Redgrove and, as much as she longed to be able to keep him, she knew her mum would never be able to afford it. Melanie was very generous, and paid for some of Lily’s keep in return for Georgia’s help, and Georgia’s small allowance went towards the rest of Lily’s day-to-day care.
Once Georgia had led her in, Lily stood quietly, taking in the hustle and bustle of the yard. Shelley and Fergus were laughing and gossiping while they filled hay nets, topped up water buckets and straightened rugs.
Fergus patted Lily on the neck as he passed her. He was tall and slim with a strong Scottish accent. “Shelley, isn’t she the spitting image of—” He stopped suddenly, frowning, as Shelley shook her head.
“Honey?” Georgia said quietly.
Fergus looked sad. “Yeah,” he said hesitatingly. “Did you know her?”
Georgia shook her head.
“Honey was the best,” Fergus said quietly, stroking Lily as he spoke.
“Fergus,” Georgia asked, feeling brave. “Is Honey the pony in the photo with Alice, in the kitchen?”
Fergus glanced at Shelley, who shook her head, as if to tell him not to say anything. “Yes,” he said finally, hesitating again. “That’s Honey. There was a terrible accident, but there’s not much more to say.”
His mobile rang at that precise moment, and he looked relieved at the distraction, but a few seconds later he was frowning as he held the phone to his ear. “Hello? Hello?” His tone was worried. “Listen … who is this?”
“Another call?” Shelley raised her eyebrow at him. “I had one the other day.” They suddenly noticed Georgia looking at them curiously.
“It’s nothing,” said Fergus just a shade too quickly. “Just a wrong number.”
Later that night, Georgia was tucked up on the sofa with her little dog, Pip, lying across her and her laptop balanced on her knees. She was emailing Melanie in France, telling her all the news from Josephine’s yard.
I’m having a brilliant time. Lily, Secret, Wilson and Callie are fine and enjoying their holiday. I’m going to be riding Lily tomorrow and do some training with Josephine. I rode three of her ponies today. My favourite was a Highland – he went to the Horse of the Year Show last year. He was a bit big for me but such a gentleman. It’s good for me to ride other ponies but I still love riding Lily best of all! Everyone on the yard is really nice.
I hope you are OK in France.
Love Georgia xxx
She sat and thought for a moment, wondering whether to say anything to Melanie about Josephine’s daughter, in case she knew what had happened, but she decided not to pry. Closing the laptop, she sighed and rubbed her aching legs. She wasn’t used to riding so much! Checking her phone, she wondered if she should message Dan, but it was late, and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion. She’d already exchanged a series of texts with Emma, who’d wanted to know all the news.
I’ll text Dan tomorrow, she thought to herself. It wasn’t long before she was fast asleep with Pip curled up beside her and the TV remote dangling from her hand, dreaming of ponies, foals and galloping Lily in the spotlight at the Horse of the Year Show!
Josephine looked tired the next day as Georgia rode three more of her ponies – the Highland, Lachlan; a little Exmoor gelding called Jasper; and a black Shetland, whose name was Porridge.
“You have such lovely ponies,” she sighed as she untacked Porridge and sponged him down.
Josephine smiled. “Thank you, Georgia, but I can’t take the credit for them really. They’re Alice’s work. She was so good at schooling…” She paused and smiled the same sad smile Georgia had seen in the kitchen on her first day.
Georgia opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her new boss.
Josephine clapped her hands. “Right then, do you want to get Lily in? Let’s see how she goes.”
Quickly, they walked over to the paddock. Georgia caught Lily, then tacked her up, her hands shaking slightly. Melanie was the only person who had ever really seen her ride the little mare. Georgia still felt a little intimidated by Josephine. Lily, sensing Georgia’s nerves, gave a gentle whicker and snuffled her hands, as if to reassure her.
Josephine took her down to the arena, and once they got going Georgia started to relax. With Josephine’s guidance, Georgia was soon cantering perfect twenty-metre circles and leg-yielding across the long side, in perfect harmony with Lily.
“What a brilliant pony,” Josephine breathed, clearly captivated by the golden mare’s paces.
Josephine was a fantastic teacher – very instinctive, much like Melanie – and Georgia marvelled at how Lily responded to her tiniest aids. It was almost as though Josephine was one step ahead all the time, picking things up, and as Georgia followed her instructions she and Lily danced around the arena.
“Forget showing, you should try dressage with her. I bet that you two would go all the way to Grand Prix!” Josephine called, as Georgia brought her to a halt before walking on a loose rein, cooling her pony down. Once she had dismounted, they walked side by side back to the stables.
Georgia found herself chatting away to Josephine, much more at ease in her company now. She told her all about the dramas of the past nine months – from rescuing Lily, right through to the birth of Secret, when suddenly Josephine gave a sharp intake of breath and stopped in her tracks. “Alice,” her voice wavered.
Georgia looked ahead of her. There was the young blonde-haired girl, standing next to Secret’s box. She was gazing at the foal, who in turn was watching her with his liquid amber eyes. Alice was trembling, her hands clenched in fists by her sides, but she didn’t move. Her face was as pale as before when she’d stared at Georgia and Lily.
Giving Georgia a cautionary look, Josephine hurried towards her. Georgia stopped where she was and waited quietly, feeling awkward. Alice’s face dissolved into tears as she saw her.
“Honey!” she sobbed, pointing at Lily. Georgia’s heart went out to her.
Josephine put her arm round her daughter, her voice soft and kind. “Darling, we talked about this, didn’t we? This isn’t Honey, this is Lily.”
Hesitating, she gave a little nod to Georgia to walk on, before saying quietly, “Lily is Georgia’s pony.” She smoothed Alice’s hair. “But why don’t you go and say hello? I’ll come with you.”
But in that moment Alice’s face changed. She turned whiter than ever, and her eyes became huge and dark, flashing black. “Never,” she hissed angrily. “I’m never, ever going near a pony again!”
And with that, she spun on her heel and sprinted back tow
ards the house.
“Are you OK, Gee?” Dan looked concerned later that evening as Georgia sat on the hay bales watching him mend a piece of machinery. She had finally managed to get round to texting him, but it was too late to organise going anywhere so she had come to see him on the farm instead. He was wearing an old checked shirt and had caught a bit of early spring sunshine, which set off his freckles. He looked good. “You look tired,” he said. “Are they working you too hard?”
“It is hard work.” Georgia smiled wearily. “But it’s fun too, and I’m learning loads about riding,” she said. “I miss Redgrove though.”
“Yeah,” Dan agreed. “It’s weird not having you just down the road and being able to pop over and see you,” he grinned.
Georgia blushed, and couldn’t help a smile creeping over her lips. “I’m showing tomorrow,” she told him, a little hesitantly, which was strange, because she was never nervous talking to Dan. “Come with me if you can!”
“Sounds great,” Dan smiled, and gave her a wink. “I might be able to squeeze you into my busy schedule,” he said, grabbing a handful of straw and pretending to throw it at her.
Georgia laughed, feeling a million times better, like she always did when Dan was around. She was relieved that they’d settled back into their easy banter and the weird atmosphere of the other day had disappeared.
If Georgia had been expecting show mornings at the Smalley yard to be anything like those at Redgrove – where she, Dan and Melanie chatted and laughed while washing tails and singing along to the radio – she would have been disappointed! The Smalley yard worked with military precision. Shelley and Fergus had their routine down to a fine art, and quickly loaded the huge black lorry full of rugs and wicker baskets.
“Can you believe the lorry can take six ponies?” Georgia said to Dan, who was smiling at her amazement.
Josephine had been more than happy for Dan to come along and help out. Georgia wondered where Alice was. She guessed that she was probably with Josephine’s husband, a tall dark-haired man Georgia had only caught sight of a couple of times as he worked long hours away from the yard.
“OK, Fergus.” Josephine clapped her hands briskly. “Ponies ready?”
“Sure, Mrs Smalley.” Fergus led two of the ponies across the yard. He was going to show the ponies in-hand and was wearing a boiler suit over his smart clothes. Georgia was going to be doing all the riding.
Lily was coming too, and Georgia had taken extra care with her bath the night before, as she was going to be representing a professional yard and needed to look her very best! Lily seemed to revel in the luxury of having a bit of time away from her boisterous foal, and had fallen asleep under the warmth of the heat lamps, which Georgia had used to dry her coat. The palomino didn’t seem to want to go back to her stable! She looked great now, her cotton show-sheet setting off the golden hues of her coat, and her cream tail reflecting the early April sunshine.
It was an unusually warm morning, and hoodies and sweaters were already being discarded as they loaded the ponies. Four of them were going – Lily, Porridge, Lachlan and a three-year-old Welsh gelding called Jester, who was going to be shown in-hand. It was Georgia’s job to ride Porridge, Lachlan and Lily in their respective breed classes.
Georgia felt a tremble of nerves in her stomach as she considered the day ahead. She was determined to do her very best and not let Josephine down. Glancing back towards the house as she climbed into the vast horsebox, she could have sworn she saw a small figure appear in the doorway, watching forlornly. Putting a hand above her eyes Georgia squinted against the sunlight but when she looked again, there was nobody there.
As Josephine drove down the country roads that led to the showground, Shelley outlined the day ahead. Porridge’s class in the Small Breeds was to be the first for Georgia to compete in. Then she would ride Lachlan, and lastly Lily, who was in the Welsh Section B Class. Shelley would have each pony ready and waiting for Georgia to swap over and warm up before the classes. “It can get a little frantic,” she said, grinning. “But don’t worry, I know what I’m doing!”
“I feel bad you’re having to do it all on your own,” Georgia confessed. “I love the grooming side of things at a show.”
Josephine smiled as she turned on to the main road. “But you’re here to ride, Georgia,” she reminded her. She sounded firm but there was a kind look on her face. “That’s your job, and you’re representing my yard today, so the pressure will be on a bit.”
Georgia smiled at her nervously, the butterflies in her stomach returning. She secretly wished she were in Melanie’s lorry, singing along to the radio and having a laugh with her friends. Mentally giving herself a shake, she reminded herself what a good experience it would be. Dan, seeming to understand how she was feeling, put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed it, and she smiled gratefully, pleased he was there with her.
Porridge, first into the ring, jigged a little from side to side. He looked so cute in his smart double bridle, his huge eyes peeking out from under a mound of fluffy forelock. Georgia, smartly dressed in Sophie’s outgrown tweed jacket, was about to enter the ring when she suddenly became aware of a girl staring at her from the side of the entrance.
Looking around, Georgia wondered if she was mistaken. Perhaps the girl was looking at someone else? But no. She was definitely gazing at her and with such hatred and fury that for a horrible second Georgia thought it was Lily’s old owner, Jemma, coming to take the pony away from her again. An icy stab of fear swept through her before she realised this girl was dark haired and tall, nothing like Jemma, and Georgia had never seen her before in her life!
There wasn’t time to think about it now. The steward was calling the riders into the ring and when Georgia glanced back at the side of the arena, the girl had disappeared.
Porridge was pretty strong for his size and soon Georgia was concentrating solely on her riding, keeping him moving forward but soft in her hand. There were eleven other ponies in the class, and after a neat individual show Georgia was pulled in third and presented with a yellow rosette, which she proudly pinned to her jacket before cantering around on the lap of honour. Josephine, Dan and Shelley were waiting for her outside the ring, smiling and clapping.
Quickly, Georgia jumped off Porridge and got straight on to Lachlan, who was waiting patiently outside the ring, his generous face watching the proceedings with interest. After Porridge, Lachlan felt like a mountain! Georgia scanned the crowd again, but she couldn’t see the girl from earlier.
Georgia trotted Lachlan into the ring. In spite of his size, Lachlan was so light in Georgia’s hand that soon she was smiling in delight as she cantered round the arena, finding a space to really let him show off his paces, his silky black mane flying. The big dun was a seasoned pro and had qualified for most of the major championships. Georgia’s job was to try and qualify him again for the Royal International. She felt a twinge of envy for whoever would get to ride him there if he qualified.
To her delight, Georgia was pulled in first in the initial line-up. She just had to complete her individual show and try to maintain her standard. Waiting in line, she was suddenly aware of a hissing sound coming from the girl to her left, who had been pulled in second. The judge was chatting with the steward and had his back to the line.
Georgia turned. It was the same girl from earlier, only this time she was on a big dapple grey. “You’d better watch your back if you’re riding for Josephine,” the girl sneered, her face contorting in anger.
“Sorry?” Georgia was taken aback.
“You heard,” the girl hissed. “That yard is going to pay for what they did to my pony.”
And with that, she turned away from Georgia, who could only stare at her back in amazement. What on earth had that been about? Whatever could she mean? Whatever it was, Georgia didn’t like the sound of it. Not one bit.
There wasn’t time to think any more about what the girl had said. The judge was just turning back to the line-up, a
nd beckoning Georgia forward to begin her show.
Shaken, Georgia nudged Lachlan forwards to stand in front of the judge. Her legs were trembling slightly; she hated any sort of confrontation. Lachlan had clearly picked up on the tension and was fidgeting slightly as the judge examined him.
Georgia moved him forwards into a trot. Gritting her teeth, she thought about Melanie and Josephine. She had to do this – they were counting on her. The girl’s eyes were burning holes in her back, but Georgia tried to ignore this and nudged the Highland into a canter. He was a seasoned pro, and knew his show inside out. Georgia relaxed slightly as he struck off into a powerful canter and extended down the long side.
“That’s it, my beauty.” She grinned in spite of herself.
There was a long wait while the rest of the class did their shows and Georgia sat quietly, eyes forward, trying to ignore the girl on the grey, who was clearly doing her best to intimidate her.
The judge took a long time to reach his verdict. Finally, after much wandering up and down the line, stopping to look at the ponies again, Georgia’s number was called forwards. She had done it, she had qualified Lachlan!
Feeling quietly confident as she walked forward, she heard a cheer from the side of the arena. Shelley, Fergus, Dan and Josephine were clapping wildly. Dan was holding on to Lily, whose eyes were searching her out. As good as it felt to have won the class, it didn’t compare to riding her own pony, and Georgia couldn’t wait for the next class. She rode out of the arena on a loose rein, but her happiness soon evaporated as the dark-haired girl brushed past her.
“Remember what I said.” Her voice was low and menacing. “They may have got you in to replace me, but you have no idea what you’re involved with.”
Ah. Suddenly Georgia twigged. So this must be Lucy, the girl who had ridden for the Smalleys before her – the girl who had left the note on the whiteboard.
The Palomino Pony Wins Through Page 3
