Brumby Rescue

by Soraya Nicholas

  ‘Hey, I forgot something. I’m just going to ride to the house super fast. I’ll be back in a few minutes.’

  ‘Wait up and we’ll come with you,’ Katie said.

  Poppy shook her head. ‘No, you guys keep getting ready. I’ll be back soon.’

  She quickly led Crystal out into the open and lifted her left leg, pushing her foot into the stirrup and swinging up to softly land in the saddle. She gathered up her reins and nudged Crystal straight into a walk, then a trot. She didn’t want Milly or Katie trying to catch up with her, so she needed a decent head start. She’d left Storm’s lead rope over the gate, and she rode quickly down to his paddock to see him again.

  He was in with a few other horses now, but she wasn’t worried about taking him away from them.

  ‘Storm!’ she called out as she neared him. He raised his head and she couldn’t help but grin at him. She loved that he knew her voice now, that he liked seeing her and everyone else on the farm instead of hating the sight of every human that tried to get near him.

  Once they reached the gate Poppy dismounted. ‘Don’t move,’ she ordered, giving Crystal a stern look. ‘No running away.’

  She let herself into the paddock and grabbed the lead rope, approaching Storm slowly. He was great now, but she still made sure not to do anything that might scare him.

  ‘Hey, boy,’ she said, holding out her hand for him to nuzzle. ‘We’re going on an adventure today.’

  He nickered softly and played with his lips across her palm. Poppy used her other hand to clip the rope to his halter.

  ‘Let’s go.’

  Poppy turned and led Storm, opening the gate and carefully manoeuvering him through, being careful to make him turn correctly so the gate didn’t catch him in the flank as they went through, then shutting it behind them.

  Storm stretched his nose out straightaway to greet Crystal, and Poppy drew a sharp breath, suddenly realising that her two ponies were meeting face to face for the first time. Crystal flicked her tail and did a half-hearted squeal and snort, which seemed to excite Storm. He pranced on the spot for a moment and shook his head. And then it was over.

  ‘You guys are so silly,’ Poppy grinned, transferring Storm’s rope to her left hand as she got Crystal’s reins sorted. Then she mounted, quickly sorting herself and asking Crystal to turn so that she ended up with Storm on her right side. Once she was organised, she nudged Crystal with her heels and clucked at them both to get moving.

  ‘Let’s go, ponies,’ she said, surprised at how well Storm led beside Crystal. She’d expected him to be more awkward, but instead he followed along like an old horse who’d been doing it his whole life.

  Aunt Sophie had told her that she’d taken him out a few times over the last week to exercise him and show him around, and that he’d learnt fast, but Poppy hadn’t expected him to be this good.

  She only walked, wanting to let Crystal stretch and Storm get used to being led beside her, so it took longer to get back to the stables, but soon she saw the big blue gum, its bleached white trunk looking almost ghostly, with the wooden stables set just behind it.

  Poppy sighed, looking over at Storm, then down at Crystal’s pricked grey ears. She loved it here. She loved being with her horses, she loved Starlight, and she loved spending weekends with her friends.

  ‘Poppy Brown!’

  Poppy burst out laughing the moment she heard Milly’s voice echoing down to her. She saw Milly emerging from the stables and flapping her hand so hard Poppy wondered if she was trying to fly. She was leading Joe, but the moment she was clear of the stables she swung into the saddle and burst into a canter.

  ‘You’ve got Storm!’ she said, pulling up in front of her.

  Poppy laughed. ‘Um, yeah.’

  ‘He’s coming with us?’ Milly called out. ‘Katie! Get out here!’

  When Poppy glanced over she saw that Katie was already mounted and trotting over to them.

  ‘Woo hoo, you’ve got Storm!’ she said.

  ‘How could you not tell us you were bringing him? Have you been planning this all week?’

  ‘Yes!’ Poppy admitted. ‘He’s coming with us for the day. You don’t mind, do you?’

  Milly rolled her eyes. ‘Course we don’t mind, doofus.’

  ‘Let’s get going then,’ Poppy said, so proud to be leading one horse and riding another.

  Katie gave her a thumbs-up and Poppy felt like she was going to burst she was so excited and proud and happy that she had Storm with her. Soon they were all walking together, fanned out in a line of four and heading out.

  ‘What do you think he’ll do when he sees water?’ Katie asked.

  Milly let out a snort-laugh that made them all giggle. ‘Have you two forgotten what Joe did to me that first time we were in the water?’

  Poppy roared with laughter. ‘You think we’d forget you shrieking in your soaking wet jods?’

  Milly glared at her, which only made Poppy laugh more. ‘Well, I reckon Storm will do that,’ she said. ‘Go all stupid and paw the water and then drop for a roll.’

  ‘No way,’ Poppy insisted. ‘You wouldn’t do that, would you, boy?’

  The sun was shining high in the sky, not too hot, but warm enough to make it feel like summer was on its way. The horses’ coats were starting to get more shiny and sleek as their winter hair slowly disappeared. She was still dying to tidy Storm’s mane up and get him all clean, but she knew that would have to wait. The last thing she needed to do was terrify him with combs, scissors and water blasting at him from a hose!

  ‘Can we trot with him?’ Milly asked as they all walked across the light green grass, heading to the paddocks rather than in their usual direction to the trail ride and bush.

  ‘I think so,’ Poppy replied. The truth was she had no idea, but she was happy to give it a go.

  ‘Worst that can happen is he’ll get away from you,’ Katie said matter-of-factly.

  ‘Yeah, true,’ Poppy agreed. ‘He can’t go far, so long as he doesn’t decide to jump fences!’

  ‘Let’s go then,’ Milly called out.

  Milly started to trot, which pushed her into the lead, and then Poppy nudged Crystal on. Her pony threw up her head and tried to go faster, which only excited Storm who tried to zip ahead.

  ‘Whoa! Both of you,’ Poppy ordered, pulling back with her one hand on the reins and giving Storm a yank to remind him that she was in charge and that he was attached to her. ‘Whoa now, just nice and steady.’

  ‘You okay, Pops?’ Katie asked, trotting slowly out to her right.

  ‘Yep,’ she replied, slowing her rising to make Crystal listen to her and go the speed she’d asked for.

  Finally both horses settled into a rhythm and Poppy was able to relax once Storm stopped pulling on her right arm.

  ‘Guess you’ll have to exercise them like this a bit,’ Katie called out. ‘It looks like fun.’

  Poppy glanced at Storm, so proud of how well he was doing. ‘Yeah, it kind of is.’

  ‘Canter?’ Milly yelled out.

  Poppy groaned. Typical Milly, always pushing the boundaries. But she wasn’t about to ruin her friends’ ride just because she’d decided to try leading Storm.

  ‘Okay, but stop if you hear me yell out!’

  Poppy braced herself for her two ponies to go ballistic, but surprisingly Crystal bounced straight into a lovely balanced canter.

  Storm wasn’t so balanced yet so he trotted super fast before cantering, almost yanking her arm off in the process, but it didn’t take long for him to match Crystal’s stride.

  Poppy laughed as she rode, feeling like she was in a dream. The sun was hot on her shoulders, the wind was warm as it whipped against her skin, and the sound of her horses’ hooves pounding into the dirt beneath them was like listening to her favourite song.

  ‘How you going?’ Katie called out, cantering at almost the same speed as her as they raced across the grass.

  ‘Awesome!’ Poppy yelled back. ‘This is awes
ome!’

  ‘Wa-hoo!’ Milly yelled, taking off at an even faster canter ahead of them.

  Poppy dug her heels in a little. Just because she had two horses to deal with, she wasn’t about to let Milly take the lead that easily.

  The horses were blowing hard, and Poppy slowed from a trot to a walk as the creek came into view. She wanted them to stretch out and slow their breathing before they stopped.

  ‘Slow down!’ she called out to Milly, who’d managed to stay ahead the entire way and was trotting still.

  Poppy sat deep and pulled back a little on her reins to halt Crystal. The creek was full of water, which meant they’d be able to give the horses a good splash. In summer it never had a lot in it, but they’d had a decent rainfall over winter, which kept it full of more water than Poppy had ever seen. She looked around, noticed how much greener everything looked than usual.

  ‘Here goes,’ Poppy said, urging Crystal to walk forward into the water.

  ‘You sure we shouldn’t take our saddles off?’ Katie asked.

  Milly snorted. ‘It’s hardly like we’re going swimming.’

  Poppy bit down on her lip, trying not to laugh. Milly obviously trusted Joe a lot more than she would.

  ‘They haven’t seen water for a while,’ Katie said. ‘I bet they’ll go stupid.’

  Poppy nudged Crystal on again but Storm planted his feet when Crystal splashed a little water up on him.

  ‘Come on,’ Poppy encouraged, ‘you can do it.’

  She was sure he’d have been in water before, at least low water like this. He must have walked through creeks with his mob.

  ‘Joe!’ Milly suddenly shrieked. ‘Stop!’

  Poppy looked up to see Joe lifting his front legs high in the air and then stamping at the water in excitement, like he was trying to crush something. Milly was getting soaked. Cody was being perfect as usual, lifting his legs high and placing them carefully as he walked.

  ‘Ha ha!’ Poppy laughed. ‘You should have listened to –’

  Splash!

  Storm leapt up, going high into the air as he did a half-rear, half-leap before landing with a gigantic splash in the water.

  ‘Storm!’ she scolded, trying to stop laughing. ‘That’s not what you’re supposed to do!’

  Water dripped off the end of her nose and her right arm and leg were drenched, but she didn’t want to yell or scold him too much in case she scared him.

  Milly was laughing so hard she almost fell off.

  The water was just past their knees now, and Storm had decided it was a whole lot of fun. He splashed with one front leg and then the other, sending cold water spiralling onto Poppy.

  ‘Oh no you don’t!’ she squealed at Crystal as the pony splattered water everywhere, soaking her other side. Crystal and Storm were now matching each other in the splashing stakes, both pawing high in the air before stomping their hooves down into the water. They were obviously loving every second of it.

  ‘So I guess he isn’t scared of water!’ Poppy yelled out, blinking as more water caught in her eyelashes.

  ‘Nope!’ Milly yelled back, trotting off through the water and stopping on the grass.

  Joe had his nostril’s flared, ears pricked, looking as naughty as ever.

  Katie was laughing as Cody made his own attempt to splash, but it was Crystal and Storm who were still trying to out-do each other in the water fight competition, and Poppy was having trouble holding on to Storm’s lead rope.

  ‘Out!’ she ordered Crystal, digging her heels in. ‘I’m soaked! Enough!’

  Crystal held her head high, snorting as she trotted through the water, lifting her legs so high it was like she was prancing.

  ‘You’re crazy,’ Poppy muttered to her, rising to the trot as her soggy wet jods stuck to the leather of her saddle. She was sure there was even water inside her boots, making her socks squelch just a little. ‘And you, you’re even crazier,’ she told Storm.

  His eyes were wide, his neck arched as he trotted out beside her like the happiest horse in the world.

  When they stopped on the bank, she looked down at her clothes, hating how sodden wet she was. It was worth it though, worth every single second.

  She stood with her friends, their ponies all looking very wet and very content.

  ‘Pops, I’m so happy you saved him,’ Katie said. ‘It was so brave what you did.’

  ‘Brave or stupid?’ she asked, knowing that it had probably been a whole lot more stupid than brave.

  ‘Brave,’ Milly said. ‘It’s the coolest thing ever, saving a wild horse like that. I’m sorry I ever told you it was dumb.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Poppy said. It had been worth it. Because Storm was already so much fun to hang out with.

  ‘Do you think he’ll be as awesome as Crystal, Cody and Joe one day?’ she asked her friends.

  ‘Yup, sure do,’ Milly said straightaway. ‘I was seriously thinking he was nuts for a while there, but I think he’s going to be great.’

  Katie nodded. ‘I know he will be.’

  At least it wasn’t just her who thought he was cool. ‘Looks like you’ve got a fan club,’ she whispered to Storm, leaning down to give Crystal a hug and stretching her right arm out to stroke Storm at the same time.

  He was awesome. And she couldn’t wait to ride him and teach him everything there was to know about trail riding and jumping, her two favourite things in the world to do.

  ‘Want to just ride them back on the buckle and take it slow?’ Katie asked.

  ‘Yup, perfect,’ Poppy agreed, giving Crystal one last hug before pushing herself back up and sliding her feet into her stirrups. ‘Let’s go.’

  Poppy’s heart was hammering and her mouth was drier than sand. She quickly wiped her palms on her jods to get rid of the sweat. This was it.

  She didn’t even glance back at her friends, but last time she’d looked they’d been perched on the wooden yard railings waiting for her to ride Storm.

  ‘Pops, you can do this,’ Aunt Sophie said, her voice low but firm. ‘If I didn’t think you were ready, I wouldn’t be letting you do this.’

  Poppy took a big breath. ‘I know.’

  ‘I’m going to stand back, but I’m right here if something goes wrong,’ she said, passing her the rope.

  Poppy took it, smiling and reaching out to stroke Storm. The feel of his silky soft coat beneath her fingers was enough to calm her. She’d already been walking with him and talking to him. Just pretend like this is no big deal, she told herself.

  ‘Talk to him, bounce up and down beside him like we’ve practised before, and when you feel ready, jump and glide onto his back.’

  Poppy knew the drill, they’d talked it through already, but talking had been easy. She’d ridden bareback hundred of times though, and she knew she could do it. Storm was no bigger than Crystal, and she had no problem jumping up onto her back.

  Poppy talked and bounced, her boots leaving the ground then softly landing again. And then she did it. She bounced, pushing down with hands onto Storm’s back and lifting her body up. She slipped on to him, her body covering his back, torso to his spine, waiting to feel a change in him, but when he didn’t tense she slid her leg over. Poppy carefully, slowly, sat up, her legs moved gently to his sides, one hand holding the rope attached to his halter.

  She heard clapping but she didn’t turn, staying completely focused on Storm. She felt the warmth of him through her jods, the strength of his muscled body, his breath as he inhaled then softly let it out. She understood why Sophie didn’t want him saddled up, how important it was to actually feel the horse beneath you. And it made it a whole lot less complicated for the horse, less to worry about or think about when he was coming to terms with a human on his back.

  ‘Good, Poppy,’ Aunt Sophie praised. ‘See if you can encourage him to walk forward a few steps.’

  Poppy clucked a little and pressed her legs to his side, holding the rope forward so there was no pressure on it.

  ‘Com
e on, boy,’ she encouraged. His body tensed beneath her and she slipped her other hand down his neck to calm him.

  ‘It’s okay, Storm. Walk on,’ she soothed.

  He took a tentative step and she felt a surge of excitement. He’d listened to her!

  ‘Good boy,’ she praised. ‘Good boy.’ She patted him and then encouraged again, and soon they were walking forward, slowly but surely. She was actually riding him!

  ‘Go, Storm,’ she whispered as they kept walking, his steps gaining confidence. She hadn’t thought they’d do more than sit, him getting used to her weight, which meant she had no idea what to do next.

  ‘What now?’ she asked, not looking away from her horse.

  ‘You can ask him to stop and then walk again,’ Sophie responded. ‘Then get off and give him heaps of praise. You’re best not to ask too much, so I would leave it at that.’

  Poppy agreed. She didn’t want to push him any more when he’d already achieved so much.

  ‘Whoa,’ she instructed, pulling back a bit on the rope. She also took her legs off his sides, enough so that there was no pressure. Storm halted and she patted him, before leaning down a little and slipping her hand around his neck. They stood like that, Poppy hugging him and him liking it, standing as patiently as an old horse who’d been loved and cuddled his entire life.

  ‘You’re so amazing,’ she told him, meaning every word.

  He moved, resting his hind leg and shifting his weight. It made her realise just how relaxed he was with her, even though he probably thought it was strange that she was on his back.

  Poppy reluctantly slipped down, landing softly and giving him another pat before turning triumphantly to face her little crowd of onlookers. Sophie was beaming at her, Milly was whistling out loudly, Katie was grinning and Uncle Mark was clapping.

  Poppy burst out laughing, her cheeks burning as she did a little bow and then introduced Storm with a flourish.

  ‘Congratulations, Pops,’ Aunt Sophie said. ‘I’m so, so proud of you.’

  ‘My meatballs tonight as a treat,’ Uncle Mark announced.