The Racehorse Who Disappeared
Page 12
She didn’t have any time to consider the long-term implications because, right here and now, she needed to make sure he didn’t hurt anyone. In a split second, Noddy had reared again and shaken himself free of his lead ropes. He shot off at top speed with the wild look of old about him. His tail was up in the air, his nostrils were flared and the whites of his eyes betrayed his terror. The people in the middle of the paddock scattered, running for the area reserved for the prize-giving, where they knew they couldn’t be trampled or kicked. Cameras clicked as the photographers zoomed in for a shot of the crazy racehorse who suddenly wanted to gallop. The crowd gasped as he bucked and kicked and reared and snorted.
Bill and Caroline fanned out to try to catch him, Harry and Larry scampered round the edge of the paddock, while Joe came running out of the weighing room. If the paddock was a clock face, they tried to cover every hour.
But one person refused to seek cover. Unable to move fast enough to get out of danger, Polly leaned on her crutches and stood her ground.
‘Polly! Polly, get out of the way!’ Jasmine Williams screamed from behind the paddock rails. ‘Somebody, get my daughter out of there!’
Noble Warrior was like a dragon breathing fire. He whinnied and pranced in the centre of the paddock, suddenly breaking into a gallop and then skidding to a halt. He slid past Bill and Caroline, changed direction as he got near Harry, avoided Joe and Charlie and gave Larry the slip.
‘Steady, boy. Just steady up.’
Noble Warrior’s ears flickered backwards and forwards at the sound of the calm voice. He started to slow down. He looked warily to all sides. He was breathing heavily, but slowly his tail lowered and he looked towards the person who was speaking.
‘That’s it,’ said Polly. ‘Just calm down now.’
Noble Warrior started to walk forward, his head bowed.
‘That’s a good boy. Let’s just pretend this didn’t happen. There we are.’
‘No!’ Jasmine Williams whimpered. ‘He’ll knock her over! Somebody, please save her!’
Charlie looked towards Mrs Williams and caught her eye, trying to calm her too. She knew no one could interfere at this point. If anyone ran towards Noble Warrior, he might take off again. Charlie put her hands out to the others, warning them to stay back. This would have to play out slowly, without Noddy feeling threatened in any way.
Polly seemed to be the only person who wasn’t frightened. She smiled at Noble Warrior as he walked towards her, still snorting and flicking his ears. She kept speaking in an even tone, never raising or quickening her voice.
‘There’s a good fella, that’s it. Slowly does it. Good boy.’
She gently lowered one crutch to the ground to give her a free hand and, as Noble Warrior reached his head towards her, she lifted her hand to stroke his face, before very delicately taking hold of the lead rope that was dangling down from his headcollar. She leaned against him for support and he seemed to know that he must now behave.
‘That was amazing.’ Joe appeared by Polly’s side and retrieved her crutch from the ground. ‘I thought I had a knack with difficult horses and, to be honest, I thought I knew Noddy, but that was in a different league.’
Charlie walked slowly towards them on Percy, who whinnied. Noble Warrior nudged him with his nose. His sides were heaving and he seemed exhausted, all the fight in him gone.
‘We’d better get out of here before we cause any more trouble,’ Charlie said. ‘Joe, we can’t possibly run him now. I’m so sorry. I know how much you were looking forward to it.’
‘Oh, don’t worry about me,’ he said bravely. ‘I’ve only ever wanted to do what’s right for Noddy. If he doesn’t want to be a racehorse any more then I don’t want to be a jockey.’
‘Well, I think that would be a shame,’ said Polly, looking Joe full in the eye. She didn’t stammer or hesitate or blush. Still leaning on Noble Warrior’s shoulder for support, she had the confidence to say what she wanted to. ‘You were born to be a jockey. You should be in that winner’s enclosure, even if Noddy doesn’t want to be.’
This time, Joe was the one whose cheeks coloured.
‘Thanks, Polly. I appreciate that.’
‘She’s right, Joe,’ added Charlie. ‘You shouldn’t let us hold you back. Seamus O’Reilly has got two runners in this race, so why don’t you try to have a word with him afterwards?’
Joe took a deep breath and sighed.
‘You’re right. I will. I’ll see you in a bit.’ With a smile, he headed off towards the weighing room.
‘Come on, let’s get Noddy back to the stables.’ Charlie gave Percy a squeeze to lead the way. ‘Polly, you’d better find your mother. I don’t think she’s best pleased with me. We’ll catch up later.’
Harry and Larry led Noble Warrior away. He had calmed down now and was happy to follow Percy. It was almost as if nothing had happened, but Charlie knew that everything had changed. Noble Warrior couldn’t be a racehorse any more, not if he was going to be scared by huge crowds and loud noises. They would have to come up with something else for him to do.
But that was a problem for another day. Right now, Charlie just wanted to get him home.
Epilogue
The next day, Noddy and Percy were turned out into the field at Folly Farm to have a pick of grass. Charlie and Polly leaned on the fence and watched them grazing happily, while Boris barked at a magpie that had the cheek to perch nearby.
‘How can he be so different from one day to the next?’ Charlie mused out loud.
‘Like you said, he’s a horse not a machine,’ Polly replied. ‘He was already scared and the sight of that carriage finished him off. It must’ve brought back terrible memories and he thought he was going to be hurt again. I know what he feels like.’
‘But you stayed so calm. Weren’t you frightened he might knock you down?’ Charlie asked.
‘No, I wasn’t. Honestly, I know it sounds crazy, but it never crossed my mind. I sort of trust him not to hurt me. I’m not sure I know why, but I do.’
‘Well, I guess we’ll have to find something for him to do that doesn’t have any bad associations in his head,’ said Charlie. ‘I’ve been thinking about what you said about horses learning new skills, like polo or horseball. And I’ve been reading about an organization that helps with that called Retraining of Racehorses.’
‘Sounds good,’ said Polly. ‘There’s got to be something else that will suit him.’
‘Maybe it’ll be something that will suit you too,’ suggested Charlie. ‘He obviously loves you and someone has to ride him.’
Polly looked thoughtful.
‘Why don’t you want to ride him?’ she asked.
‘Oh, Percy would never get over it if I deserted him,’ Charlie laughed. ‘Besides, I think you and Noddy might be able to help each other. I quite like being the trainer, if I’m honest, so it might be the best solution for all of us.’
They looked again into the field. Noddy was rolling around, as he loved to do, scratching his back on the grass. He squealed as he got to his feet and trotted off to join Percy, who never lifted his head from the serious job of eating as much grass as he could.
‘Did Joe talk to Seamus O’Reilly?’ Polly asked.
‘Yes, I did.’ Joe appeared behind them. He was wearing jeans and a jacket and in his hand was a soft duffel bag. ‘He said he totally understood why I’d turned him down and he respected my loyalty to everyone here.’ Joe gestured to Noble Warrior in the field and to the whole farm.
‘In fact, he said that he admired my decision because it wasn’t what most people would have done. But I guess Noddy helped me change my mind. You did too, Polly.’
Polly smiled but didn’t look away.
‘It was what you said about being in that winner’s enclosure,’ Joe explained. ‘I suddenly understood that, if I played it safe, I’d never know if I could only ride one horse or whether I could really make it as a jockey. I don’t want to always wonder what might have been.’
‘So you’re going?’ asked Polly.
Joe lifted his bag on to his shoulder.
‘Yes. It’s not forever and Mr O’Reilly says I can come back whenever I need to. And I hope I’ll see you at the races occasionally.’
‘Of course you will!’ Charlie exclaimed. ‘Just you try to keep us away.’
‘I’m so excited for you,’ Polly said. ‘You’ll get the chance to ride in all the big races and everyone will see how good a jockey you are. You’ll be so famous that you won’t even bother talking to the likes of us.’
‘Oh, I don’t think that will happen,’ Joe countered. ‘I’ll always have time for you two.’
‘We’ll miss you, Joe,’ Charlie said. ‘But I promise that Polly and I will look after Noble Warrior for you.’
Joe smiled. ‘I don’t doubt it for a second. Now, let’s say goodbye properly because I’ve got a plane to catch.’
Joe put his arms round both girls and squeezed them tight. Boris jumped up to try to join in the family hug.
‘It’s a new beginning for all of us,’ Charlie said. ‘Good luck, Joe.’
‘And good luck to you two. Polly, I heard what Charlie suggested and she’s right – you should ride Noddy. He’d be good for you. And Charlie, you just keep being the person you are. You’ve got a gift, you know – a very special knack of knowing how to make other people tick. You’re one in a million, Charlie Bass.’
As the sun dipped in the sky, turning it a rosy shade of pink, Charlie thought Joe’s eyes looked a little watery and his bottom lip was quivering as he turned to walk away.
Boris barked, Noble Warrior whinnied and Percy, true to form, farted a farewell.
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First published 2017
Text copyright © Clare Balding, 2017
Illustrations copyright © Tony Ross, 2017
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.
ISBN: 978-0-141-37447-5
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