Destiny and Stardust

by Stacy Gregg

  At the bottom of the cove the riders dismounted and loosened their girths.

  “Once we’ve eaten, we’ll ride back along the Coast Road towards Blackthorn Manor,” Aidan said. “If we stick to the road we’ll have a good view. We might be able to see them from there—”

  “And if we don’t see them?” Dan interrupted him.

  Aidan shrugged. “Then we keep looking.”

  “It doesn’t sound like much of a plan,” Dan said.

  “Do you have a better one?” Aidan turned on him.

  “Hey, listen, you two,” Issie said.

  “It wasn’t me…” Dan began.

  “No. I mean it. Listen,” Issie said. “Shut up and listen!”

  The riders realised what she meant now. They stopped talking and sat there for a moment in silence.

  “Do you hear that?” Issie asked.

  “Yup,” Stella replied.

  “Hear what?” said Dan.

  “Hoofbeats,” the girls replied.

  They could all hear it now as the sound grew louder. They were coming closer.

  “It looks like we won’t have to find the Blackthorn Ponies,” Issie said. “They’ve found us.”

  As the sound of hoofbeats came closer the riders sprang into action.

  “They’re coming down into the cove.” Aidan leapt up again and began tightening Diablo’s girth, “We can corral them here and then drive them home.” He turned to Avery. “If you take the girls and ride up the hill, you can take cover in the trees up there and then circle around behind the herd and trap them in the cove. I’ll stay here with the boys and once they’re trapped we’ll try and herd them back up the hill again.”

  “Is there any other way out of the cove?” Avery asked.

  Aidan shook his head. “The Coast Road is the only way in or out. If they come down here then we should have them trapped.”

  Avery took the lead on Dolomite as the horses galloped up the hill. Issie marvelled at just how fast the big draught horse could move. With each giant stride the Clydesdale swallowed up the ground, leaving Issie and the others galloping furiously just to keep up. They were halfway to the top when Avery directed them towards a massive fallen tree that was blocking one side of the road. The instructor pulled the draught horse up to a halt.

  “This would be the best place to position ourselves. We can use this tree as a road block to help us pen the horses in,” Avery said. “Those trees there should provide enough cover. We’ll duck behind them, wait for the herd to go past and then we’ll come out and form a road block – we’ll have them trapped.”

  Unfortunately the clearing behind the trees wasn’t big enough to fit four horses – especially when one of those horses was an eighteen-hand Clydesdale.

  “Hey! I was going to go there! Move over – I don’t have any room!” Stella squawked.

  “I’m trying!” Issie snapped back.

  “Just get your horses out of sight as much as possible and keep quiet!” Avery muttered. He had backed Dolomite in behind the biggest tree but the horse was so huge his rump stuck out one side and his neck stuck out the other.

  “This is hopeless!” Stella groaned.

  “Don’t worry. Just stay still and keep quiet until the herd has gone past,” Avery hissed.

  The riders tried to hold their horses steady as the sound of hoofbeats thundered in their ears. Issie held her breath as she saw the first horse, the buckskin mare, enter the cove over the crest of the hill. She kept a tight grip on the reins, holding Blaze perfectly still as the mare galloped past without noticing the riders hidden behind the trees. Then the rest of the herd followed behind the buckskin down into the cove. Issie watched the blur of ponies pass by. There was the pretty grey mare with the black foal at her feet, and the chestnut skewbald mare with her matching foal, both tearing past at full gallop.

  “Ohmygod! Look at those foals! Aren’t they just the cutest things you’ve ever seen?” Stella whispered.

  “I like the little black one,” Kate said.

  “Really? I think the chestnut and white one is the prettiest. Look at his little face, with that cute white blaze and that fluffy white and chestnut mane…”

  “Girls! Get your heads back in the game. We’ve got a job to do,” Avery growled at them.

  “Is that the whole herd?” he asked Issie.

  “I think so.” Issie nodded.

  “Right then, let’s spread out and cover the road. We need to block their path out of the cove,” Avery instructed.

  The riders began to move back out from behind the trees with Avery directing them into position next to the fallen tree.

  “Issie! Can you see what’s going on down there?” Stella asked. “I can’t see from where I am.”

  Issie looked down the hill. “They’ve stopped,” she said. “They’re settling down and grazing by the trees. I think I can see Aidan on Diablo… he’s getting closer to them…”

  “I can’t stand it!” Stella said. She pushed Paris into a canter and left her position to join Issie so that she could see what was going on.

  “Ohmygod!” Stella shrieked. “They’ve seen Aidan. They’re off! They’re coming back this way!”

  Clouds of dust rose up from the dirt road as the herd headed back up the hill. The ponies were in full gallop, their eyes wild with fear. They were heading straight for Issie and the others.

  “Move back into position NOW, Stella!” Avery yelled at her.

  “It’s no good, Tom, they’re moving too fast. We’ll get trampled!” Kate shouted.

  Avery shook his head. “No. Just hold your ground. They’ll stop,” he said.

  Issie was trying to hold her ground but as the horses got closer Blaze became more and more crazed. She gripped the reins as tightly as she could and held the mare steady.

  “Easy, girl. Stand still. They’re going to stop in a minute. Any minute now… I promise,” Issie breathed.

  “Tom?” Stella’s voice was tense. “Tom? They’re not stopping…”

  “Trust me, Stella. Stay where you are,” Avery said. He had positioned himself on Dolomite in the very centre of the road just beside the fallen tree. Dolomite was turned sideways so that his great bulk almost spanned the right-hand side of the road, cutting it off completely. The fallen tree blocked the road off to the left – the roots of the tree were pressed up hard against the banks of the cliff. The only way for the horses to escape was to the right of Avery and Dolomite, where Stella, Kate and Issie were all trying very hard not to panic as they manoeuvred their horses into the gap to form a barricade.

  The Blackthorn Ponies were still in full gallop with the buckskin mare at the head of the herd, taking the lead.

  Then suddenly the buckskin slowed to a canter. She seemed to sense that she was penned in, that her path to freedom was blocked. Snorting and indignant, she swerved to the left towards Avery and Dolomite.

  “She’s going to turn around,” Avery shouted to the others. “She’s figured out that she’s trapped and she’ll lead the rest of the herd back down into the cove.”

  For a moment, it looked as if the little buckskin pony was going to do exactly that. Then, with a defiant shake of her head, she sped up again and gathered herself as she eyed up the fallen tree.

  “She’s going to jump the tree!” Stella yelled. “I don’t believe it!”

  The riders sat and watched, utterly gobsmacked, as the buckskin sized up the formidable tree trunk in front of her. Like all of the Blackthorn Ponies, the mare couldn’t have been any more than fourteen hands. The tree, meanwhile, was enormous. It reminded Issie of the cross-country fences in the Badminton Horse Trials – it was at least a metre and a half high and almost two metres wide.

  As the little mare approached the fence Issie winced in fright. The mare was so tiny in comparison to this tree, she was bound to injure herself. There was a sickening moment when the buckskin launched herself into the air. And then Issie and the others watched in total amazement as she soared over it
easily with nearly half a metre to spare, landing neatly on the other side without breaking her stride.

  “I do not believe what I have just seen.” Avery was stunned.

  “Watch out! Here comes the next one!” Stella shouted.

  The riders stood by helplessly as one pony after another took the enormous log in their stride, all of them leaping it with ease.

  “Incredible!” Avery said.

  “Can’t we stop them, Tom?” Issie said. “They’re all getting away.”

  “Maybe not all of them,” Avery said, gesturing towards the back of the herd. “The mares with the foals. We can still stop them.”

  He was right. The foals were far too young and too tiny to make such an enormous jump. And their mothers would never leave them.

  “Aidan!” Issie shouted. “The mares with the foals. Get the mares with the foals!”

  “Everyone close in!” Avery shouted. The last of the herd had just hurdled the fallen log and only the two mares and their foals were left behind now. “Does anyone have a halter handy?”

  “I do!” Stella said.

  “Focus on the skewbald mare,” Avery instructed her. “If you can catch the mother then her foal will stick with her.”

  “I’ll take the grey!” Aidan called out. “I’ve got my halter too.”

  “Everyone else, keep your horses tight together. Close up behind Stella and Aidan and form a barricade,” Avery instructed.

  The riders moved in slowly as Stella and Aidan rode on just ahead of them. Stella had her halter in her hand as she moved closer to the skewbald mare. When she was within an arm’s length she threw the rope of the halter over the pony’s neck. The skewbald flinched, but she didn’t fight back. She stood quivering as Stella held her firm with the rope, dismounted and quickly but gently eased the halter on to her. At the mare’s feet the chestnut and white foal stood nervously by its mother.

  “I’ve got her!” Stella sounded shocked. “I’ve got her!”

  As Stella moved out of the way, leading the skewbald and her foal, Aidan urged Diablo up close to the little grey and reached one hand out to grab a handful of mane near her ears. Then he leant over and quickly pulled the halter on.

  “Got this one too!” he shouted to the others. A cheer rose up from the riders.

  “I don’t believe it!” Stella said, positively beaming as she tied the rope from the skewbald’s halter to her own saddle. “Look, Issie! I caught a wild horse! Me! I caught her! Isn’t that so cool?”

  Issie beamed back at her. “Let’s get them home,” she said.

  As the riders led the Blackthorn mares back along the Coast Road towards the manor, they relived their adventure at Preacher’s Cove. The little foals both trotted along briskly at their side, determined not to be separated.

  While Stella and Kate continued to oohh and ahh over the foals, trying to decide which one was the absolute cutest, Issie fell back silently behind the rest of the ride.

  “Something wrong?” Avery asked, pulling Dolomite up so that he could join her.

  Issie nodded. “Oh, Tom. I know it’s great that we caught the mares and the foals – but, well, there are another twenty-five horses still out there and really, the whole plan didn’t work at all, did it?”

  Avery looked down at Issie – Dolomite was so huge that he towered over her. Issie could see that his face mirrored her own concerns.

  “No. You’re right. It didn’t work. And even if we had managed to corral those horses I still don’t think we would have been able to drive them all the way back to Hester’s. It’s a long way back to Blackthorn Manor. We could never muster and control all those horses over such a long distance…”

  Avery looked at the mares and their foals trotting alongside Aidan and Stella. “Still, at least we saved these ones, Issie. That must count for something.”

  They were almost at the manor now and as they trotted down the limestone driveway one of the Blackthorn mares, the little skewbald, let out a loud whinny. Her cry was immediately returned by an even louder call – the shrill, penetrating cry of a stallion calling for his mares.

  “That’s Destiny!” Issie said. “He must know that his mares are here.”

  When they heard the stallion’s cry both the mares whinnied back in return. Their paces quickened as they set off down the driveway towards the stallion.

  “Hey!” Stella yelped as the skewbald pulled hard on the lead rope, dragging her along. “Well, I guess it’s a family reunion!” she giggled when she saw the stallion snorting and pacing the fence-line with excitement at the mares’ arrival.

  “You’re back!” Hester grinned, emerging from the stables to greet them all. “I had got the stables ready for thirty, but four is a good start! Pop these mums and their little ones into the paddock next to Destiny, will you, Aidan?” she said. “Is this all you managed to bring home with you?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Stella said as she helped Aidan let the skewbald and her foal loose.

  “Those foals don’t look like Blackthorn ponies to me,” Hester said, running her eyes over the two young colts cantering about on wobbly limbs, following their mums. “Look at those long legs! They both seem to have Destiny’s lovely elevated paces too. Even that darling little skewbald lad seems to take after his dad…”

  “Do you think Destiny is their sire?” Issie asked her aunt.

  “I’d say so.” Hester smiled. “Avignon’s grandfoals. I’m quite sure of it.”

  As the riders watched, the pretty grey mare trotted up to the rails and poked her head over to greet Destiny. The stallion ran straight up to her and as their noses touched he gave a squeal, rearing up and racing impatiently up and down his side of the fence-line with the mare running alongside him on the other side.

  “He wants to be with them. You can’t keep a family apart,” Hester said as they watched the stallion snorting his way along the fence-line.

  “That’s it!” Avery said.

  “What? What’s it?” Issie looked at her instructor

  “That’s our answer,” Avery said.

  “Umm… what was our question again?” Issie was confused.

  “I think I’ve come up with a way to capture the rest of the wild ponies and bring them back to Blackthorn Manor.” He turned to Issie now. “Issie, quick as you can – put Blaze away, and then ask Stella to do us a favour and groom her and bed her down for you. You won’t have time for that now. I need you to meet me in the round pen. And bring your saddle and bridle and helmet. There’s a girl – off you go!”

  Issie stood rooted to the spot. “I don’t understand, Tom. Why do I need my gear if I’m putting Blaze away for the night. Who am I going to be riding?”

  Avery turned to her. “Isadora, I’m sorry, I’m not explaining myself clearly but time is of the essence so you’ll have to trust me. I’ve come up with a way for us to lead the wild ponies home. And you and Destiny are the key.”

  Issie was still confused. “I’m sorry, Tom, I still don’t understand…” she began.

  “You saw how the mares reacted when they saw Destiny,” Avery said. “Those ponies are a family. And we have the head of the family right here. They will follow him anywhere… you can lead them anywhere…”

  “You mean, you want me to ride Destiny?” Issie was shocked.

  Avery nodded. “He trusts you. I don’t think any other rider would stand a chance, but with you riding him, maybe we can be ready in time. We still have the rest of the afternoon. The cull isn’t until tomorrow…”

  “You mean you want me to break Destiny in? In just one day?”

  “Well, not so much a day as an afternoon,” Avery said, looking at his watch. “Anyway, if it could be done and it was our only chance, wouldn’t you say that we had to give it a go? Issie? What do you say?”

  Issie looked across at her Aunt. “Aunty Hess?”

  Hester nodded. “Tom is right, Issie. Destiny is our link to the wild herd. He trusts you. Plus you’ll be light on his back; Destiny has n
ever had a rider before.” Hester paused. “It has to be your choice. Your mother would kill me if she thought I was behind something like this. She’ll probably kill me anyway. But I’ve watched you ride and I think you can do it. The question is, do you think you can do it?”

  Issie looked at the big, black stallion. He was still pacing the fence-line and whinnying across the paddocks at his mares. The rest of his herd were still out there somewhere and tomorrow they would be killed in the cull.

  “I’ll ask Stella to put Blaze away for me,” Issie said. “I’ll get my gear and be right back!” And then she was off and running to the stables. Avery was right. There was no time to lose. Destiny was waiting for her.

  Issie’s tummy churned with nerves as she walked into the round pen. She put her saddle and bridle down on the sawdust and looked around her. The last time she had been here, Aidan had tried to teach her how to trick-jump with Blaze and she had lost her nerve. If she wasn’t brave enough to leap from Blaze’s back on to Paris that day, there was no way she would ever be brave enough to ride Destiny. Maybe she should just give up right now – tell Avery that she couldn’t do it. He would understand…

  “Feeling nervous?” Avery’s voice startled her.

  “Uh-huh,” Issie said.

  “I need you to get rid of your doubts right now, Isadora,” Avery said. “It’s very important that you are confident, that you believe you can do this. A horse will always sense your fear. And there is no room for mistakes in this arena. It’s vital that you feel strong and in control when Destiny comes in here.”

  “But, Tom, I’m not sure I can do this. He’s a wild stallion and we don’t have enough time…”

  “Isadora, we have plenty of time. And you,” he smiled at her, “you have more than enough courage.”

  “Now,” Avery continued, “I’m going to explain the ropes to you before Aidan brings Destiny in.”

  “But, Tom,” Issie interrupted him, “you’ll be in there with me… won’t you?”

  Avery shook his head. “I can’t come into the ring with you – this is something you need to do alone, Issie. You must make a bond with this horse.”