The Thirteenth Horse

by Amanda Wills

  Ignoring him, Sofia continued, ‘It was Norah’s idea. It’s so I don’t forget anything. You know what I’m like.’

  Norah smiled proudly. William muttered something under his breath.

  ‘The first thing we need to decide is who’s going to be in charge of what. I’m talking routine, music, costumes, that kind of thing.’

  ‘I’ll be in charge of the routine. I’ve been researching quadrilles and have some ideas already,’ said Norah.

  ‘OK, we’ll take a vote on that,’ said Sofia. ‘Everyone in favour, raise your hands. Good. A unanimous decision. Who wants to look after the costumes?’

  ‘I don’t mind,’ said Kristy.

  ‘Don’t forget we need costumes for the horses too,’ said Norah. ‘It’s a lot of work. Are you sure you’ve got time?’

  ‘Yeah, it’ll be fine.’

  ‘I can help. I’m a dab hand with a needle,’ said Sofia. ‘All in favour? Great. Just the music to decide now.’

  ‘Looks like that’s down to me,’ said William.

  ‘Agreed?’ asked Sofia.

  ‘Agreed,’ they chorused back.

  ‘Awesome. We’ll meet again on Friday night. Bring along your initial ideas and we’ll start training sessions next week. That gives us just over a month until the show.’

  ‘It’s not long, is it?’ said Kristy. ‘Cassius isn’t as fit as your ponies, remember.’

  ‘It’ll be fine,’ said Sofia, flicking her notebook shut. ‘What can possibly go wrong?’

  9

  EARLY BIRD

  T he shrill sound of Kristy’s alarm dragged her from a dreamless sleep. She forced her eyes open and stared blearily at the luminous-green clock dial and groaned. It was six o’clock. Waking up at the crack of dawn to exercise Cassius before school had seemed like a good idea the previous day, although her parents had taken some convincing. Now an extra hour’s sleep seemed infinitely more inviting.

  Kristy flung her duvet off before she could change her mind. She needed to be at the stables by half past six if she was to be back in time for school. To her surprise her dad was dressed and sitting at the breakfast bar sipping a cup of coffee when she pushed open the kitchen door.

  ‘Your mum bet me you wouldn’t get up. I said you would. And I was right,’ he smiled. ‘Grab your coat. I’ll run you to the stables.’

  ‘Thanks Dad!’

  ‘My pleasure. I’ve been wanting to meet Cassius anyway. You know my grandfather used to have two Percherons on his farm?’

  ‘You never told me that.’

  Her dad’s eyes took on a faraway look. ‘I used to ride them while they were pulling the plough. One was grey and the other black. They were called Salt and Pepper.’

  When Kristy’s dad saw Cassius, he did a double take. ‘Incredible. He looks just like Pepper. You’re right, he’s beautiful, Kristy. And I love the way he tilts his head to watch us.’

  Kristy felt an unpleasant flutter in her stomach. When she’d told her parents about Cassius she had omitted to add that the Percheron had lost the sight in one eye. Her mum was a terrible worrier. If she even had an inkling that Kristy was riding a half-blind horse she’d put a stop to it, no question. She risked a look at her dad. He was running a hand down Cassius’s neck while the gelding nuzzled him.

  ‘You’re a natural with him,’ she said, surprised.

  ‘I told you, I virtually grew up with Grandpa’s horses.’ He looked closely at Cassius’s cloudy eye and then waved a hand back and forth in front of it. Cassius didn’t flinch. ‘That’s odd,’ he said to himself.

  ‘He’s blind in that eye,’ Kristy blurted. ‘I should have told you, I know, but I didn’t want Mum to fret. You know what she’s like.’

  ‘I do, but Kristy -’

  ‘He’s adapted really well,’ Kristy said, hopping from one foot to the other. ‘He can see perfectly out of his left eye and when we’re out I act as his eyes. He looks after me and I look after him.’

  Her dad nodded slowly, and looked Cassius in his good eye. ‘You’ll keep her safe, my old friend? I’ve grown quite fond of her over the years.’

  ‘Dad!’ Kristy rolled her eyes.

  ‘OK. Here’s the deal. I’ll stay to watch you ride. If I think he’s safe then fine, you can carry on as before and we won’t worry your mother. But if not, I’ll have to tell her, Kristy. And I know what she’ll say.’

  So did Kristy. As she slipped on the gelding’s bridle she whispered in his ear, ‘We need to be the best we can be, Cassius. Otherwise it’s game over. You, me, the team. Everything. And we can’t let that happen, OK?’

  As Kristy led Cassius over to the mounting block she could feel her heart beating twice as fast as normal. She tightened his girth and ran down the stirrups, trying to breathe steadily and slow her heart rate. The last thing she needed was for the Percheron to pick up on her butterflies. He stood as still as granite as she climbed the mounting block and sprang lightly into the saddle. She patted his neck, took a deep breath and inclined her head towards the indoor school. ‘It’s this way.’

  Kristy kept up her usual steady stream of chatter as Cassius walked around the ring on the left rein, flexing his powerful neck. When she asked him for a trot he obliged willingly, and she grinned as she settled into the rhythmic two-time beat. She kicked him into a canter and sat down to his rocking horse stride for half a length of the school until she could sense he was starting to tire.

  When her dad sneezed explosively Kristy felt Cassius’s muscles tense beneath her.

  ‘It’s alright,’ she soothed. ‘It just Dad’s dust allergy.’ The Percheron gave a tiny shake of his head and trotted on, his big hooves carving crescents in the sand surface of the indoor school.

  ‘Sorry,’ her dad said as they trotted past. ‘I’ll take an anti-histamine next time I come.’

  Kristy felt a smile creep onto her face. As Cassius loped around the ring she felt as though she was floating on air. They’d passed her dad’s test. There would be a next time.

  AS THEY DROVE home Kristy told her dad about the quadrille.

  ‘It sounds like a lot of fun,’ he said.

  ‘I’m responsible for costumes, but I’ve no idea what to do.’

  ‘It’s a winter show, so what about a winter theme?’

  ‘Are you saying we should all dress up as Christmas trees?’ Kristy giggled, imagining the scene of devastation if greedy Silver started nibbling their costumes.

  ‘Not Christmas trees necessarily. What about Christmas angels?’

  ‘William would have a meltdown. He’s already worried his friends at school will call him a sissy. And don’t forget that the horses have to have costumes, too.’

  ‘OK, so no angels or Christmas trees.’ Kristy’s dad ran a hand through his hair as he thought. ‘Icicles?’

  ‘Too pointy.’

  ‘Christmas elves?’

  Kristy pulled a face.

  He banged the palm of his hand on the steering wheel. ‘I’ve got it! You can dress as snowmen!’

  Kristy was about to pour scorn on the idea, but then an image of the four of them dressed as snowmen as they cantered into the ring popped into her head. They would look awesome.

  ‘We could wear white onesies with black pompoms sewn on for buttons and paint our faces white. I could easily make cardboard carrots for noses and turn our riding hats into top hats. We can wear scarves and the horses can wear white sheets. It’s a great idea, Dad.’

  He pulled in outside their apartment block and smiled. ‘My pleasure.’

  10

  WOODEN HORSES

  ‘W elcome to the second meeting of the Mill Farm Stables quadrille team,’ said Norah. She stood up and handed them each a plastic folder, pink for the girls, blue for William.

  ‘I thought Sofia was supposed to be team captain,’ grumbled William, peering at her over the top of his mobile phone.

  ‘No phones during quadrille meetings. You know the rules,’ Norah barked.

  ‘Rules
?’ he spluttered.

  Ignoring him, Norah opened her own folder. ‘Inside is our five-minute routine. I have tried to keep it simple, so although there are changes of rein, serpentines and two-way crossovers, it will all be done at a trot. I thought cantering and flying changes might be a bit ambitious for some of us.’

  Kristy didn’t like the way Norah looked at her as she said this, but decided to let it go.

  ‘I’ve been reading up on quadrilles. Marks are usually awarded for turnout, content of the programme and general artistic impression. It doesn’t matter if the horses and ponies aren’t the same size or colour, they just need to be in time with each other. Clear so far?’

  Kristy and Sofia nodded. William yawned loudly.

  ‘One member of the team needs to be the leader and dictate speed. That’ll be me, obviously, as you voted unanimously for me to take charge of the routine.’ Norah smiled benevolently at them all.

  ‘Obviously,’ said Kristy, noticing William’s mouth twitch.

  ‘We ride at the pace of the slowest pony -’

  ‘Silver,’ supplied William.

  Norah’s eyes flashed dangerously.

  Sofia glanced from one twin to the other. ‘It’s not a race, guys.’

  ‘You’re right,’ said Norah, narrowing her eyes at her brother. ‘It’s important the bigger horses, like Cassius, keep pace with the slower ones, whoever they may be. So, you might have to collect him at the trot, Kristy.’

  ‘No problem,’ Kristy shrugged nonchalantly, even though she knew as much about collection as she did about piaffes and pirouettes, which was not much.

  ‘In your folder you will find the routine, along with plans of some of the moves you might not have come across, such as threading the needle.’

  ‘Hey, I thought Kristy was doing the costumes,’ joked William.

  ‘Threading the needle is where horses coming from opposite sides of the arena cross over on the diagonal. You think they’re going to crash, but they pass between each other. If you look, I’ve drawn a diagram on appendix B.’

  Kristy shuffled her papers to find the page Norah was pointing at. It was a confusing mass of lines, arrows, boxes and numbers.

  ‘Each of us have a number. I’m one, Sofia is two, William is three and Kristy is four.’

  The more Kristy stared at the page the more bewildered she became.

  ‘You’re holding it upside down,’ said Norah helpfully.

  Kristy felt a flush creep up her neck. But when she glanced at Sofia, the older girl looked as baffled as she was.

  ‘So, for your homework -’

  ‘Homework?’ cried William, aghast.

  ‘For your homework, I want you all to memorise the routine and we’ll have a run-through after Kristy’s finished work tomorrow.’

  ‘With the horses?’ Kristy asked faintly, thinking, it’ll be carnage.

  ‘Of course not!’ Norah scoffed. ‘We need to nail it ourselves before we start riding it. We’ll just walk it through until I’m satisfied you know what you’re supposed to be doing.’

  Sofia stood up and smiled weakly. ‘Right, that’s the routine sorted. Next on the agenda is the music. William, have you made any headway?’

  William switched his attention from the game he was playing on his mobile. ‘Ah well,’ he said, ‘I thought I needed to see the routine before I chose the music, otherwise it might not fit.’

  ‘In other words he hasn’t done it yet,’ said Norah under her breath.

  ‘Good point, William,’ said Sofia. ‘Kristy, what about costumes?’

  Kristy reached in the carrier bag at her feet for her sketchpad. She’d spent the previous evening jotting down ideas and sketching outlines of how their snowmen costumes would look.

  She licked her lips and passed the sketchbook to Sofia. ‘I thought we could go as snowmen. It ties in nicely with the winter theme and although it’s pretty straightforward it should look really eye-catching. I’ve found some white onesies online. They’re not expensive. I’ll do the carrots and buttons and hats and stuff. We can buy matching scarves really cheaply. And everyone has a spare white sheet lurking at the back of the airing cupboard.’

  Sofia nodded and passed the sketchbook to the twins. ‘Excellent idea. It gets my vote.’

  ‘Abominable snowmen would have been way cooler. Yeti rock,’ said William, glancing at Kristy’s drawings. ‘But snowmen are fine with me.’

  All eyes turned to Norah. On paper she may have only been in charge of the routine, but everyone knew deep down that she was their leader. If she didn’t like Kristy’s costumes it would be back to the drawing board. And time was running out.

  She studied the sketches carefully, her eyebrows scrunched into question marks. Kristy realised she was holding her breath.

  ‘You don’t like them, do you?’ she said, resigned.

  ‘I don’t like them, no,’ Norah agreed. She handed the drawings back to Kristy and her face broke into a smile. ‘I love them!’

  NORAH TAPPED a riding crop against her thigh impatiently.

  ‘Come on, you lot. We’ve only got the indoor school for half an hour.’

  ‘Why are you holding a crop?’ said Sofia nervously.

  Norah looked at Sofia as if she was stupid. ‘So I can point out where you’re supposed to be going.’

  ‘I reckon it’s to beat us with if we don’t do as we’re told,’ William whispered to Kristy. She stifled a giggle.

  Norah narrowed her eyes at her brother. ‘Perhaps you’d like to share your joke with the rest of the team?’

  William stared at his boots. ‘Probably not.’

  ‘Don’t forget, I’m number one, Sofia’s number two, William’s number three and Kristy, you’re number four. Line up behind me in order and we’ll walk up the centre line and peel off at A, me and Sofia to the left and William and Kristy to the right.’

  Kristy shuffled self-consciously behind the others and at the far end followed William as he walked down the length of the school.

  ‘So, at the bottom turn towards the centre line again, but this time pair up with your opposite number. That’s me and William, and Sofia and Kristy,’ said Norah.

  ‘Having fun?’ asked Sofia as she drew level with Kristy.

  ‘I feel ridiculous,’ Kristy hissed out of the corner of her mouth. ‘Good job no-one’s watching.’

  ‘We’re going to ride a three-loop serpentine and drop back into single file at A,’ yelled Norah.

  ‘Which one’s A?’ cried Kristy in panic.

  Sofia pointed at the entrance. ‘Where we came in.’

  As they walked along the length of the school Norah waved her crop at them. ‘This is one of the more complex moves, so pay attention. When I hit M we all turn left together and walk across the school four abreast. Then, when we reach the other side, we turn right and fall back into single file on the right rein.’

  Kristy followed William, trying not to tread on his heels, and wondered if she would ever remember the routine. It seemed hideously complicated.

  ‘Now we trot around the school to E and do a twenty metre circle on the right rein leading into a figure of eight. Then at C we do another twenty metre circle on the left rein followed by another figure of eight back to A. All clear so far?’

  ‘As clear as mud,’ William muttered.

  Kristy could tell Norah was in her element, bossing them around. ‘Another tricky move coming up. At A we turn right up the centre line and when I reach H we all turn into 10 metre circles on the left rein, ride back up the centre line for a few strides and then do 10 metres circles on the right rein. Got it?’

  Sofia was biting her bottom lip in concentration. ‘Yes, I’ve got it! Clever,’ she nodded approvingly. Norah glowed.

  They walked back up the centre line. Kristy tried to imagine Cassius’s pricked ears in front of her. ‘It’s quite a long routine,’ she said.

  ‘We’re nearly finished,’ Norah panted. ‘And we’ll be doing it all at a trot, don’t forg
et. I haven’t timed it, but I reckon it’ll take five minutes. Now for the showpiece. Folks, we are about to thread the needle! William, you follow me onto the left rein again, and Kristy, follow Sofia onto the right. We cross over at X. Me first, then Sofia, then William and finally Kristy. That’s why I’ve put you last, Kristy - so you can stay out of trouble at the back. If Cassius collided with one of the other ponies we’d be in serious trouble!’ Norah gave a little tinkle of laughter. Kristy smiled through gritted teeth.

  ‘Then we ride in our pairs up the centre line and all line up in front of the judges, giving a salute like so.’ Norah demonstrated by holding imaginary reins in her left hand, dropping her right hand to her side and nodding. She glanced at her watch. ‘We’ve got time for one more run-through, but this time we’ll do it at a trot, I mean jog.’

  The others groaned. Norah fixed them all with a steely glare. ‘Practice makes perfect. You don’t want to make a spectacle of yourselves in front of the whole town, do you?’

  ‘I suppose not,’ Sofia conceded. ‘But isn’t there a way we can make it a bit more realistic? I feel stupid just walking around.’

  William chuckled to himself. ‘I have just the thing, ladies. Wait there, I’ll be right back.’

  ‘Brooms?’ cried Norah, when her brother reappeared minutes later dragging four of Emma’s yard brooms behind him.

  ‘That’s where you’re wrong, sister dear. These are not brooms, they are our wooden steeds, come to help us practice our routine until we’re safe enough to be let loose on the real thing.’

  Kristy made a beeline for her favourite yard broom and pretended to swing into the saddle. ‘Come on, Norah. It’ll be fun.’ She clicked her tongue and galloped the broom in a loop. ‘Look,’ she cried. ‘A perfect ten metre circle!’

  Sofia took a broom, sprung into the saddle and trotted serenely behind Kristy.

  When William jumped on a third broom and began careering down the side of the indoor like a rodeo rider, shouting yee-haw at regular intervals, Norah knew she was beaten.