The Palomino Pony Runs Free

by Olivia Tuffin

  The shop was quiet, with only half an hour to go until closing time, but it gave Georgia and Melanie a chance to pick up all the items they needed. While waiting at the counter to pay, Melanie looked over a small display in a glass counter, and smiled. “Here, Georgia,” she said, picking up a delicate silver tie pin with a sparkly silver horseshoe in the centre. “I think this would be the perfect thing to bring you luck. What do you think? My treat.”

  Georgia examined the pin, which was really beautiful. “No, please don’t worry, Melanie,” she said, feeling put on the spot.

  “I insist!” Melanie chuckled, handing the pin over to the man behind the till. “It’s not every day you get to ride at the Horse of the Year Show. Let’s make it really special!”

  As they left the shop with their small bag of items, Georgia clutched the little box containing the tie pin, her nerves rising once again. For the millionth time she wondered why she hadn’t taken the opportunity to tell Melanie how nervous she was. Perhaps the little pin would bring her luck. The way her practice sessions were going, she was going to need it!

  “You’re quiet. Are you OK, Georgia?” Melanie asked, glancing at her as they drove home.

  Georgia was still clutching the pin box in her hand, thinking about what the next few days would hold, and also thinking about Dan, and hoping things were OK between them. He was so easygoing and kind, which made her feel even worse about snapping at him. He had barely spoken to her at school, and had chosen to spend lunch with some of his friends from the rugby team.

  “Sorry, Melanie. I’m just tired.” Georgia tried to smile, but also stretched and yawned. She really was tired. She couldn’t sleep very well and her dreams were often punctuated by disasters happening at the Horse of the Year Show, like falling off, Lily refusing to enter the ring, or worse. If only she had admitted to Dan how nervous she was, she would have been able to text him when she couldn’t sleep, but she couldn’t – not after the way she had spoken to him. That would be admitting the truth and Georgia had made up her mind that she wasn’t going to let on to anyone about how she was really feeling.

  Melanie looked concerned. “I think a rest for both you and Lily after the championships will do you good, G. You’ve been working really hard,” she said. “We can turn her out for a month, let her have a breather, and bring her slowly back into work after Christmas. What do you think?”

  Georgia nodded. That sounded great actually. She could just go up and groom her little mare, take her on walks. In fact, it sounded like heaven!

  Melanie smiled, her eyes brightening as she continued cheerfully, “Isn’t it exciting? Off to the Horse of the Year Show in a few days!”

  The thought of after the Show had made Georgia feel a whole lot better, but Melanie’s enthusiasm for the big day brought her crashing back down to the ground with a bump.

  The 4×4 wended its way towards home. As they turned off the main road a couple of miles from Redgrove, Melanie suddenly pointed to a small house that lay back from the junction. Georgia didn’t go on this route much, as it wasn’t on the way to school, or the way the bus into town went, so she only vaguely recognised where she was.

  “That’s where Will and his brother used to live.” Melanie gestured towards the house. “A few years ago now. I can’t believe they still haven’t sold the place. Mind you, it’s a bit overgrown.”

  It was a pretty, if slightly worn-looking cottage with a small paddock adjoining it and some tumbledown farm buildings situated further back. A “For Sale” sign stood in the garden, but the house looked completely deserted.

  “Oh?” Georgia’s interest was roused. “Why did they move?” She thought the cottage looked really sweet, and had always longed for a paddock right next to her house. But it looked a million miles away from Will’s current world, with his brother’s fancy yard, horse walker and sponsored horsebox.

  “Well, it was a while ago now,” Melanie explained. “Jasper’s a lot older than you and Will, remember. Jasper was the star member of the Round Barrow Pony Club. He was Janey’s favourite, but then he got noticed by this sponsor and they moved, and he set up in his own yard, from what I gather. I guess Will just followed in his footsteps as well. He always hero-worshipped Jasper. His mum – I was never sure where his father lived – moved to London when they got their deal – something to do with her work. She was never horsey. It was all driven by Jasper.” Melanie slowed the car right down, allowing Georgia to gaze up a bumpy drive towards the cottage. “Jasper is Will’s guardian, but it can’t be easy for Will, having such a well-known older brother to live up to. He was always so good with the young ponies, I remember,” Melanie mused out loud.

  From what Georgia knew of Will, she couldn’t imagine him and Santa living here; it was so different from their big flashy yard, which he had shown her countless photos of on his mobile phone.

  Georgia realised that it would be a dream come true to live in a little cottage with her mum, with Lily in a paddock next door! Smiling sadly to herself, she thought that maybe she wasn’t cut out to be a big show rider with her own yard, after all!

  “So, tell me what he said again.” Emma was sitting cross-legged on her bed on Friday evening, painting her toenails, eating pizza and listening to Georgia’s account of the week’s events. With all the build-up to the Horse of the Year Show, Georgia realised that she and Emma had barely had a chance to hang out together for a while. Her mum had encouraged her to go round for the evening, telling her to forget about the Show for a few hours.

  Georgia knew her mum was right. She had neglected her friends a bit lately. Things were still strained with Dan, although Georgia had apologised for her snappiness at least twice. Being Dan, he had just waved it off with his usual easygoing style, but Georgia could tell he was hurt, and there was a real distance between them. Remembering Melanie’s suggestion to give Lily a break following the championships, Georgia decided she would be glad when the Show was over and she could concentrate on just enjoying her little palomino pony, and also hanging out with her friends!

  “I’ve told you, Em.” Georgia paused between mouthfuls, thinking again about her recent strange encounter with Will and the man watching him jump. “It wasn’t his brother, or any relation to him, I don’t think. Will said his name was Ryan. But whoever he was, he didn’t seem at all happy with Will!”

  “Hmm. I wonder what’s going on…” Emma loved mysteries and yard gossip. Pulling her laptop out from under the bed, she pressed the start button and tapped away for a few seconds, gazing at the screen.

  “What are you doing, Em?” Georgia reached across her friend for a slice of pizza.

  Emma turned the computer round and showed Georgia the screen. “Digging,” she said in a mysterious tone.

  Georgia, who didn’t spend much time on the Internet, gazed at the screen. There was a picture of the most beautiful dark-brown mare jumping over a rustic-looking gate. She looked familiar. Squinting, Georgia realised why. It was Santa! But that wasn’t Will riding her, she was sure about that. It looked like him – the same dark hair and arrogant expression – but this man was much older, probably in his mid-twenties.

  “Look here.” Emma turned the laptop back round and started reading the paragraph underneath the photo. “Jasper Bowen. Isn’t ‘Bowen’ Will’s surname?”

  Georgia nodded, remembering her conversation with Will when he had asked her if she had heard of his brother.

  Emma looked at the picture again. “He is good-looking, you know – a bit like Will.”

  “Emma!” Georgia giggled “I knew you liked Will!”

  Blushing and grinning, Emma carried on reading, but it wasn’t long before she frowned, and her laughter subsided.

  “What’s up, Em?” Georgia asked, curious at her best friend’s sudden change in tone.

  “I don’t know. It looks like Will’s brother is in trouble. I can’t really work it out. Here, Georgia, you read.”

  Passing over the laptop, she resumed her cross-legged
position as Georgia slowly read the page, her finger following each sentence. It was some sort of horsey gossip column, and there were a lot of pictures of Jasper and Santa, plus a few other gorgeous-looking ponies, all jumping. Georgia was used to the smart world of flat native showing, which tended to be more tweed and ribbons. This was altogether flashier. The ponies’ manes were all neatly plaited and their tack was polished to a high shine. Jasper was wearing a very expensive-looking jacket.

  “‘Darling of the working hunter jumping world falls out with sponsor’,” she read out loud. “‘Following his terrible accident in May, Jasper Bowen, former National Working Hunter Champion, has fallen out with the most enviable sponsor in showing – Ryan Cartwright of Diamond Horses. Who’s going to back Jasper’s yard and ponies now?’” The words screamed out to Georgia with all the brashness of a tabloid paper. “‘It falls to Jasper’s younger brother, William Bowen, to carry on the family name at this year’s Horse of the Year Show with the Bowens’ schoolmistress, nineteen-year-old Santa, or the Bowens may lose everything, including their ponies!’”

  Feeling a bit sick, Georgia closed the page. She couldn’t read any more. The man who was in the yard the other day must have been Ryan Cartwright. And Santa was a much older pony than she had thought, although Georgia would have never have guessed she was nineteen – a schoolmistress – and obviously well known, judging by the amount of web entries there were dedicated to her and Jasper. She had won countless rosettes and championships over the years. No wonder Will was so proud of her. But was she capable of jumping the same big tracks as before, Georgia wondered, remembering the mare’s refusals? She knew the jumps at the championships were always higher than at the qualifying shows. And what had Jasper done to fall out with his sponsor? And why was it up to Will to make things better? There were so many unanswered questions.

  Putting her slice of pizza down, Georgia suddenly didn’t feel hungry any more. Will was right – all she had to worry about were a few nerves. She remembered the little cottage with the paddock that Melanie had pointed out to her the other day. It seemed a world away from Will’s life now. Will was riding to win – and with so much counting on it.

  Lily’s creamy mane flew up and down in time with her strides, barely making a sound as she moved through the long grass of the bottom meadow. It was going to be one of those glorious autumn days when you could still almost pretend it was summer, were it not for the abundance of blackberries in the hedges and the yellowing of the leaves around the yard. Georgia breathed in and out in time with Lily’s canter strides as she powered up the long side of the meadow where Simon had cut a path with his mini tractor.

  It was a perfect, still morning, long before breakfast, and certainly earlier than most non-horsey people rose on a Sunday. It was also Georgia’s favourite time of the day. Everything about it was so far removed from the razzle-dazzle of the show ring and if Georgia just concentrated on her cantering, she could pretend she didn’t have to take part soon in the biggest Show of her life. Georgia always rode beautifully when she was just out hacking, with no one watching. Following her disastrous lesson with Janey a few nights ago, she had managed to bluff it out with Melanie, reassuring her that it had just been an off day. Melanie was so full of her own excitement over Sophie’s planned trip home for the championships that she had not needed much convincing. After all, Georgia had been so excited to qualify all those months ago, there was no reason to think otherwise.

  Georgia felt awful about lying to her. She had managed a better lesson the previous night with Melanie, although it was still nowhere near her normal standard of relaxed riding. Her Friday evening discovery at Emma’s house was still playing on her mind. She hadn’t seen Will all weekend – he must have ridden later than her, or just been at the yard when she wasn’t there. She probably wouldn’t see him today either because later that day she was going to go and help Dan at the farm for a while. It had been arranged ages ago, before their misunderstanding, and Georgia knew she needed to try and make it up to him. She had sent him a couple of texts, both of which had gone unanswered.

  Untacking Lily back at the yard, Georgia gazed at the sky and wondered what to do. Despite the chilly start to the morning, it was going to be warm, and she didn’t want to rug her little mare up to turn her out. Instead, she decided to turn her out just as she was so that Lily could get the chance to enjoy a roll, and have the autumn sun on her back for a few hours.

  After hacking out Wilson, giving Callie a good groom, and making sure all the stables were ready for the evening, Georgia picked up her bike and set off for Dan’s farm. Her tummy was grumbling – it was definitely time for breakfast now, and luckily Dan must have been thinking the same because there was an enticing smell of frying bacon drifting out of the farmhouse window.

  “Morning, Georgia.” Dan’s older brother Ben let her into the house, grinning as always.

  “Morning, Ben,” Georgia replied, blushing slightly. He would no doubt be teasing Dan later, convinced that he and Georgia were an item!

  “Hey, G.” Dan’s face was slightly flushed from cooking the breakfast. Passing Georgia a bacon sandwich wrapped in a piece of kitchen towel, he started to pull on his boots beside the back door, without making further conversation. Ben, noticing the awkwardness between the two of them, raised an eyebrow, but to Georgia’s relief he decided not to say anything. She followed Dan out of the back door in silence, glad he hadn’t told her to go away.

  For the rest of the morning, Georgia threw herself into her work, grateful for the distraction. She wasn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty and happily helped feed the calves and fork fresh straw into their pens. It meant Dan’s dad was free to serve in the farm shop, which was always busy on a Sunday with customers looking to buy the meat for their lunch or eggs for a late breakfast. Georgia was glad the shop was doing well. They had come so close to losing it all after a property developer tried to force them off their land a year earlier. It was brilliant to see how quickly the farm and family had turned itself around!

  As Georgia and Dan worked, they chatted about school, their classmates and even their dogs – anything really to avoid talking about the Horse of the Year Show. It seemed to Georgia that Dan was deliberately avoiding the subject of horses. However, she couldn’t help but tell Dan her worries about Will, and what she and Emma had found out on Friday evening.

  Dan looked genuinely puzzled when she finished, and, like Georgia, asked the most obvious question. “Why would the family be in trouble?” he said. “Perhaps it’s just gossip. Do you really think you should believe everything you read?” The way he said it was a bit harsh, but Georgia knew he didn’t mean it unkindly – he just knew Georgia’s tendency to walk into drama, and her concern for every pony she ever met!

  “I don’t know.” Georgia chewed on her thumbnail. “But I do know that something is wrong!”

  “But Melanie said she would keep an eye on Will, didn’t she?” Dan still looked confused.

  “Yes.” Georgia shrugged. “I guess she did, and I’m sure she will. Just as long as Santa’s OK – that’s what I’m worried about.”

  “And what about you?” Dan said, changing the subject, but Georgia knew what he meant. He could see straight through her, even if she had managed to convince Melanie, Mum and Emma that she was fine and not suffering from nerves. “What about that lesson the other day?”

  “Don’t, Dan!” Georgia said angrily. “I told you that was an off day. Why won’t you believe me?”

  Dan just raised an eyebrow and carried on fluffing up the calves’ straw beds.

  Georgia groaned inwardly. Having spent the morning together, she’d hoped that things would be OK between her and Dan, but now they were back to square one. She knew that he knew she was covering up her true feelings and she could tell that he was annoyed with her for not being more open with him. Again, she wondered why she was putting herself through all of this. But her course was set now and it was too late to pull out.

>   Perhaps the best thing was to stay out of Dan’s way – just until the Show was over.

  The sun had gone in by the time Georgia had finished helping Dan. There was a chill to the breeze, and a few drops of rain had started to fall. Georgia knew Dan probably needed more help, but he’d said she could head off just before he went in for his lunch. Things definitely weren’t right between them, Georgia thought with a sigh. Remembering Lily was out without a rug on, Georgia climbed on her bike and started to cycle back to Redgrove. Although Lily was a Welsh mountain pony, her Horse of the Year Show preparation included hours of extra grooming, and as a result her coat was fine and silky. So she was also a pony who felt the cold!

  Opening the yard gates, Georgia was surprised to see the dark-blue saloon from the other evening back again. There was no sign of Melanie’s car, though, and the yard was quiet. Hurrying to the tack room, Georgia grabbed Lily and Wilson’s medium-weight turnouts and carried them over to the paddock, where she quickly rugged up the two ponies. Lily seemed a little on edge and kept gazing towards the outdoor school, where her new friend Santa was being ridden.

  There was a definite atmosphere in the school. Ryan was leaning against the arena fence, watching Will jump a course. The jumps were lower than the grid Will had been jumping during the previous week and Santa looked a lot happier. Her eager face lit up as she soared the lower course, which was no higher than the jumps Georgia might have attempted in the past with Wilson.

  “I told you…” Will’s voice carried over to Georgia on the breeze. “She is capable, just give us one last chance.”

  Neither he nor Ryan seemed to have noticed she was there, or maybe they just didn’t care that she was watching. Ryan straightened up, looking angry. He appeared to be arguing with Will, but Georgia couldn’t make out the words. His stance was menacing though, and she looked around, suddenly feeling a little afraid.