by Kate Lattey
She jibs and dances beneath me, sidling toward the now opened gate and aiming a kick at the skewbald pony coming through it.
“That’s twelve faults for Jay Evans and That’s Final. Next to jump, Rhiannon Cormack riding Te Atiawa Showtime.”
“Bummer,” commiserates Jane on the bay pony. “She’s a real handful isn’t she?”
I shrug, knowing if I try to reply I’ll start crying in disappointment, and I ride Finn on past. I overhear a nearby mother talking to her friend.
“It’s just dangerous. That girl has been completely over-horsed and she’s going to have a nasty accident one day if she doesn’t get that pony under control.”
I feel my face turn bright red, and my heart sinks into my boots as I ride Finn back towards the Harrisons’ truck. Alec comes trotting up behind me.
“Bit of a cricket score,” he laughs. I glare at him and he looks surprised. “Hey don’t worry about it. First time’s always hard. She’ll get better with practice.”
He raps me playfully on the head with his whip, and I respond by whacking him on the leg with my own. He yelps, Finn jumps backward and Dolly shoots forward as the steward calls for his pony. Laughing, Alec wheels her quickly and trots back to the ring.
“Good luck!” I yell after him, and he raises his whip in the air in acknowledgement.
I reach the truck and unsaddle Finn, sponge her down and toss a cotton sheet over her. I should go back to the ring and watch Alec jump, but Natalie and the twins will be there, and I can’t be bothered with them right now. I sit on the ramp and the disaster of my round swirls in my head, making me utterly despondent. I drop my head into my hands as I remember what Tabby told me about how Final Countdown’s progeny tend to be highly strung and difficult. What have I gotten myself in for? Charlotte always used to say that one of the worst sins in riding was over-horsing yourself.
“Bad for you and bad for the horse,” she’d said, and I realise now that she’d been right.
I’m so absorbed in own melancholy that I don’t even notice the people standing in front of me until one of them speaks. I look up and rub quickly at my tears, seeing two girls in expensive breeches and tailored riding shirts. They both look a few years older than me. One is petite and very pretty with straight blonde hair and dark blue eyes. The other girl is much taller, all long limbs and bony joints, with shorter hair and an easy, friendly smile.
“Was that you just jumping in ring two, on the chestnut pony?” I nod, embarrassed, as she continues. “Is the pony by Final Countdown?”
Surprised, I nod again. “Yeah, she is. Out of an Arab mare,” I tell her, not sure what that has to do with anything.
She grins at me. “I thought so. She’s the spitting image of my horse, he’s by the same stallion. She looks just like him, only smaller. Looks the same to ride too, a real handful.”
She’s still smiling, and doesn’t seem to be making fun of me. Her friend has gone over to Finn and is patting her, running an experienced eye over her conformation.
“You can see the Arab in her,” she comments. “She’s a lot prettier than Chuck. How long have you owned her?” she asks me.
“Not long, less than a month. This is our first proper show. It’s been a bit of a disaster so far,” I admit sadly.
The tall girl shrugs. “At least you didn’t fall off. The first time I jumped Chuck at a show he dumped me at the third fence and I fractured my collarbone.”
Her friend contradicts her. “I thought you broke your wrist that first time. The collarbone came later.”
“Could be, I can’t remember. I fall off pretty often.” She smiles at me. “Well, we have a class soon so we better go. Good luck with your pony. I’ll be interested to see how you get on with her!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
By the time Alec gets back after the jump-off with a second place ribbon and a pocketful of prize money, I’m feeling a bit better. I pat Dolly and congratulate Alec, and we have just settled his pony with a haynet when I get a text message from Tegan.
Where are you? Come meet me at the SH ring!
I ask Alec if he wants to join us, but he shakes his head.
“Go watch the slow munters? Hell no, that’s like watching paint dry. I’ll be over at Claudia’s truck.”
“Ooh,” I tease him. “Behave yourself then.”
He winks at me. “Always.”
I walk across the show grounds and find the show hunter ring. Tegan is perched on the wooden railing with her back to me, and I sneak up and tackle her from behind. She shrieks and pitches forward, tumbling off the fence and landing inside the ring – right as a large grey pony is cantering towards the nearest fence. The pony shies wildly and the rider struggles to regain control. Looking over at her, I realise that it’s Natalie on Spider. Oh great, that’s going to land me in it later.
Tegan is back on her feet and flapping her arms at me, trying to get in a good slap, but I fend her off in a fit of giggles. She scrambles back over the fence as Natalie canters up to the jump. Spider jumps it, but he’s rattled and knocks the top rail down. The woman next to us gives us a death glare.
“Can’t you kids bloody behave yourself? People are trying to ride!”
Tegan giggles, looking at Natalie. “Yeah, trying to is right!”
I crack up and we get the hell out of there before the woman can yell at us again. We wander around the grounds, passing the show ponies where I can see Lizzie at the head of a line-up, Tish standing quietly and perfectly square in front of the judges. I point out the giant floating rabbit over Ollie’s truck and tell Tegan all about my struggle to get Finn past it earlier. She teases me about describing Ollie as good-looking, and makes a mental note to keep Nugget well away from the scary rabbit in case he uses it as an excuse to bolt all the way home. After getting some hot chips and fat juicy burgers from the food caravans, we find seats in the grandstand in front of the main show jumping arena, where stewards are putting the jumps up.
“Wow, those are huge!” I tell Tegan. She looks them over with a practiced eye.
“About a metre-thirty, metre-thirty-five, I reckon.”
The last fence is up and the loudspeaker blares out. “We are now ready to start Class 23, the Open Horse A2, maximum fence height 1.35 metres.”
“Told you,” Tegan nudges me.
“Our first competitor into the ring will be Stephanie Marshall, riding Echo Dynamo.”
We watch as a blonde girl canters a bright bay horse into the ring. She’s perfectly turned-out and her horse is fit and muscled. She sits in the saddle almost effortlessly, and is clearly a seasoned campaigner. She jumps through the treble in copybook form, and as she canters past us, I recognise her.
“Hey, I know her,” I tell Tegan.
She scoffs. “Duh, everyone knows her. She’s world famous in New Zealand.”
“Yeah, but I mean I met her. Like an hour ago, at our truck. She and another girl came and admired Finn.”
Tegan snorts. “Yeah right. As if anyone would.”
I kick her ankle, making her yelp. “They were,” I insist. “The other girl has a horse that’s related to Finn. She said Finn looks just like him only smaller, but she said he’s really naughty as well.”
Tegan’s jaw drops. “Wait a minute. You talked to Steph Marshall and Abby Brooks?”
I shrug. “They didn’t say their names.”
“If she was with Steph, it must have been Abby. They’re like, joined at the hip or something. She’s tall and skinny and has really short hair.” Off my nod, Tegan punches me in the shoulder.
“Ow!” I rub my arm, glaring at her. “What the hell was that for?”
“I could kill you!” she complains bitterly. “My goal in life is to meet them, and they just walk up and talk to you. You realise they’re like the best riders ever. I can’t believe you…I hate you.”
I leave Tegan to her grumpy muttering as I watch Steph finish her round. She pats her horse’s neck as she trots back to the gate, and the n
ext rider comes through.
“That’s a clear round in a time of 55.63 seconds for Stephanie Marshall. Next to jump, Oliver Foxhall-James riding Prince of Wands.”
“That’s a stupid name,” Tegan comments as Ollie’s huge chestnut horse canters to the first jump, fighting hard for its head.
It takes two rails down and is followed by several more riders, none of whom manage to follow Steph’s fast clear.
Not long after that, Alec shows up with some of his friends, and holding the hand of a girl who I assume must be Claudia. She’s almost as short as Tegan, with dark hair and light brown eyes, sticking-out ears and a mole on her left cheek. They sit down next to each other and he puts his arm around her. I try not to gag and focus my attention on the riders in the ring. Finally a rider goes clear, then another rider follows suit and beats Stephanie’s time. I can’t believe how quickly riders are getting around the course without even looking as if they’re going fast. I soon realise that the riders who are trying to gallop into all of the jumps are the ones who are knocking them down – it’s the people who cut their corners and ride tight, economical distances between the jumps that are getting the fastest times. One of the boys sitting with us has a sister who is riding in the class, but she knocks down the first four fences trying to gallop around the course.
The next horse into the ring is a bright chestnut with a white star, and he trots confidently across the grass, moving with grace and power, his tail lifted in the air and neck arched. He reminds me instantly of Finn when she’s feeling excited, and the loudspeaker confirms my suspicions that this is indeed “Abby Brooks riding Final Chance.” Tegan nudges me, as though I wouldn’t have noticed, and we are all quiet as we watch her approach the first jump.
“Look at her control,” Claudia sighs as Abby steers the chestnut horse effortlessly around the course. “I wish I could get Pickles to jump like that. That horse is listening to her completely, she can ride every single stride out there.”
Abby twists Chuck through a tight turn and he jumps right off his hocks to clear the final fence, galloping through the flags to stop the clock in what seems to be a very fast time, and moments later the announcers confirm that she has taken the lead. She rides out of the ring beaming, and high-fives Steph, who is on her way back into the ring on a little flaxen chestnut mare with a white blaze and dancing feet.
“Last to jump in this class, Stephanie Marshall on Meadowlark.”
“She’s gonna win it,” Claudia says assuredly. “This horse is wicked fast.”
She’s right. Stephanie jumps an astonishingly fast round on the mare to finish almost a whole second clear of Abby’s time. Ollie is fourth on a black horse named Payday, which Alec says was imported from Australia and cost them an arm and a leg.
“It’s not even that good,” he reckons. “It’s fast but it doesn’t have the scope for the big Grand Prix classes, which is what he bought it for. Waste of money if you ask me, but they’ve got more money than sense.”
“Watch what you say around Jay,” Tegan warns him. “Ollie is her new boyfriend.”
Everyone looks at me and I go red and give Tegan a shove that she’s not expecting, sending her sprawling into a Pony Club family sitting in front of us.
“Stop pushing me!” she yells and lunges at me.
I jump up and run out of the grandstand, Tegan chasing me all the way back to the Harrisons’ truck. We collapse on the ramp in a fit of giggles, which is only made worse when Tabby comes down the ramp, still wearing those ridiculous bunny ears.
“What the heck?” Tegan shrieks.
Tabby strikes a pose and mock fluffs up her hair. “Do you love it?” she asks, being Paris Hilton and making Tegan roll around giggling on the ramp.
“You’re hot,” Tegan tells her sincerely, and Tabby hops down the ramp and wiggles her butt at us before heading off to visit with some other friends.
I lean back on the wooden ramp and close my eyes, enjoying the feel of the sun on my face.
Tegan nudges me. “Uh, Jay. Jay!”
I shove her away, but she’s insistent, and I reluctantly open my eyes and sit up. Natalie is storming up to the truck with Sarah right behind her. I glance at Tegan, who is trying not to grin, and then back at Natalie’s murderous expression.
“What the hell did you do that for?”
I play it innocent. “Do what?”
Sarah scoffs, and Natalie lets rip. “You wrecked my chances in the Open class. Spider would’ve been placed if you hadn’t scared him, but thanks to you he knocked a rail down.”
“Objection! Speculation,” Tegan retorts.
“The judge told me,” Natalie says. “She said that what had happened wasn’t my fault and she didn’t mark me down for it, but because it made Spider take a rail it meant that she couldn’t place me.” She looks directly at me. “I hate you.”
I’m starting to feel bad. I hadn’t meant to wreck her chances. But Tegan isn’t so gracious. “Oh, get over it. You won your first class, somehow, so you’ve qualified for the Championship tomorrow anyway.”
“That’s beside the point,” Natalie insists. “We need the points to qualify for Horse of the Year.”
Tegan rolls her eyes. “Uh, Natalie, the Horse of the Year show was last month.”
“For next year, stupid.”
Tegan is on her feet. “Don’t call me stupid, you spoilt cow.”
Natalie stares at her in fury and takes a step towards her, but both Sarah and I grab our respective friend’s arm at the same time and restrain them both.
“She’s not worth it Nat,” Sarah insists, dragging Natalie away as Tegan fumes.
“She’s got a whole freakin’ year to qualify that pony, though it’ll probably take her that long. But God! Some people.”
A couple of hours later I start warming Finn up for her next class. She’s fizzing over, full of excitement and nerves, and it’s all I can do to keep her under control. She keeps throwing her head up and trying to snatch the reins out of my hands. Natalie’s sister Brooke trots by me on her little palomino, and Finn lays her ears back and charges forward, furious that such a small pony would overtake her. I try to stop her, but as usual she’s not listening to me at all and aims a kick at Zeke as she passes him. Brooke scowls at me and I tug at the reins, trying to get Finn to pay the slightest bit of attention to me, but she’s too full of herself.
The steward calls me over but Finn won’t stand still at the gate, sidling around and aiming kicks at the other competitors’ ponies, making the woman glare at me over her clipboard.
“Take her out of the way if you can’t keep her still. You’re jumping after that black pony, keep an eye on it and be ready.”
I walk Finn in small circles until the girl on the chunky black comes out and I trot Finn quickly into the ring. She charges through the gate, barely restrained by my aching arms, and the steward quickly hooks the rope up behind me.
The loudspeaker crackles, startling my pony, then announces my name. I see Brooke sitting on Zeke at the gate, waiting her turn. Great. I’m competing against an eleven year old, and she’s probably going to kick my butt.
The judge rings the bell, and Finn half-rears, pulling hard at the reins. I turn her through the flags and she rushes towards the first jump and takes a huge leap over it, leaving me behind. I’m thrown backwards in the saddle, but grab at the reins in a desperate attempt to keep my balance. Somehow I’m still on her back when we land, although I lose a stirrup and have to grip tight with my knees to keep from pitching forward over her head. Finn is highly unimpressed and is shaking her head wildly.
“Sorry girl,” I say breathlessly as I struggle to get my stirrups back.
The next jump is only five strides away. I shove my foot back into the left side stirrup and canter into the jump. My reins are still too long and I gather them up as quick as I can. Finn is going fast, too fast, and she comes into the jump on a long spot. I lean forward, expecting her to jump, but she never leaves the ground
. Planting her front feet, she slides forward into the jump. Her chest connects with the poles and they clatter to the ground. The judge rings the bell as the stewards come out to rebuild and I walk Finn around, trying to keep calm. This is a disaster, and to make it even worse, I suddenly see Abby standing nearby with a couple of her friends. They don’t seem to be watching me, but it’s only a matter of time until they turn around and see me smashing the jumps into kindling. I wonder if I should give up and go home now.
But the fence is already rebuilt and the bell rings. I figure I’ll give it another shot, so I press Finn into a canter and approach the jump again. This time she jumps cleanly over, and a wave of relief rushes over me. Determined to put the refusal behind me, I turn to the third fence, trying to stay calm. Finn rushes towards it and gets in too close. Panicking that she’ll stop again, I kick her hard and she leaps off her hocks, hitting the top rail with her front feet and knocking it to the ground. Everything is going wrong today and I feel a surge of frustration at our incompetence. Finn flings up her head as she lands and I pull back on the reins to stop her racing off with me.
We approach number four, a wide oxer, and she backs off it a few strides away, clearly deciding that she’s finished with this course. I sit deep and push her on, urging her to change her mind, and she does, rushing forward at it and flinging herself over. I sit up and steady her for the turn, but she’s fighting me and I barely manage to steer her around to fence five. We come in on an angle but she eyes it up and canters on. She’s going too fast so I take a pull on the reins, trying to steady her. Clearly irritated at my interference, Finn changes her mind abruptly and runs off to the side of the jump. I circle her around, certain now that Abby must be thinking that I’m a terrible rider. I don’t want to give up, so I ride Finn at the jump for a second attempt, but she’s really had enough now and she slides to another stop, scattering the poles once more. The bell rings again, the gate opens, Brooke trots in on Zeke and I realise in horror that I’ve had three refusals, and I’m eliminated from the competition. I walk Finn out of the ring as Brooke trots past, nose in the air, as supercilious as her older sister.
