The Sad Pony

by Tina Nolan

  Rosie raised her head and neighed as if she was agreeing with him.

  Francesca smiled. “Now then, Rosie, you have to be on your best behaviour tomorrow morning when Tina gets here.”

  “She will,” Eva promised. Then she gave a nervous cough. “Erm, what’s Tina like?” she asked, thinking of the sleek, glamorous woman in bright, tailored suits who appeared on the TV screen.

  “Scary!” Francesca joked. “No, actually she’s really nice and friendly. So don’t be nervous. Perhaps you’d like to prepare a speech about Rosie – her history, what’s happened to her lately, what kind of home you’re looking for.”

  “A speech?” Eva stammered.

  “Yes. Something nice and short. You’ll be facing the camera with Rosie standing beside you. Our technical guys will set up lights and microphones here in the stable. After your introduction to Rosie, Tina will ask you a few questions.”

  “Questions?” Eva gasped. She was beginning to quake in her shoes.

  “Yes, just a friendly chat,” Francesca assured her. She stood to one side as one of the crew came in to check the lighting. “OK, that’s all for now,” she told Eva. “I’ll give you a call if there’s anything else I need to know.”

  At seven o’clock on Friday morning, Eva laid out her horse combs and brushes, her shampoo, sprays, buckets and hoof oil. “Rosie, this is your big day,” she said.

  Outside it was dark, damp and cold – the start of a typical January day. Inside the stables the electric light cast a yellow glow.

  Rosie sniffed the bucket filled with warm water and lavender shampoo, sighing as Eva gently sponged her back and withers.

  “I’ve got a special detangler for your mane to make it silky smooth,” Eva told her. “You’re going to smell gorgeous and look so-oo beautiful for the camera!”

  It was hard work to groom Rosie to the point where she shone and sparkled, but at last Eva stood back to admire her. Looking at her watch, she saw it was a quarter to nine.

  “Ready?” Karl asked, poking his head around the door. “The director and the camera and sound guys are already here. They’re in the kitchen having coffee with Jen and Joel.”

  “Is Tina here yet?” Eva asked. She realized she had less than fifteen minutes to get changed and spruced up.

  “She’s on her way with Francesca.” Karl stared at Eva’s splashed sweatshirt and bedraggled hair. “Better get a move on,” he warned.

  Eva was in her bedroom, dressed in fresh jeans and her favourite red sweatshirt, drying her hair when she looked out of the window and saw a silver car pull into the yard.

  She watched as a tall, slim woman with neatly cut blond hair stepped out of the car into the chilly air. She was wearing a dark blue jacket with matching trousers, and looked very smart.

  “Eva, Tina’s here!” Karl called from the foot of the stairs.

  So she dashed down, rehearsing her speech word for word and trembling from top to toe.

  Rosie is a five-year-old Shetland pony… She’s fully schooled and loves children… We’re looking for a home with other ponies…

  “Hello – you must be Eva,” Tina said, as Eva caught up with her and Francesca.

  Eva felt her face turn red. Tina O’Neill was everything a TV star should be – glossy and smiley, with perfect hair and make-up. She mumbled hello and shuffled along, panicking in case she forgot her speech and let Rosie down.

  “Everything’s set up,” Francesca told Tina as she guided her towards the stables.

  “You did a good job in your email.” Tina smiled at Eva. “I wish I’d been as smart when I was your age.”

  “Thanks,” Eva muttered.

  Tina went on chatting inside the stables as a make-up girl fussed and a sound man did a check. “So you love animals?” she asked Eva.

  Eva nodded. Rosie is a five-year-old Shetland pony… She’s fully schooled…

  “Now tell us, Eva, what’s special about Rosie?” Tina asked with a warm, encouraging smile.

  It happened so fast that Eva didn’t even know the camera was pointing at her.

  “Rosie’s clever,” she answered. “She knows exactly what you’re saying, especially if you’re talking about her.”

  At that second, Rosie appeared at her stall door. She pushed it open and poked her head between Eva and their famous guest.

  “See, she knows!” Eva smiled. “She can be quite cheeky, but she’s never really naughty. And she loves being made a fuss of.”

  “And how come Rosie needs a new home?” Tina asked.

  “Oh, that’s because she had a problem,” Eva explained in a rush.

  “A problem pony?” Tina interrupted. “I guess that makes it especially hard to rehome her?”

  “It could do, but we hope not. When she lived at her last place, she used to kick the stable door and try to run away.” Suddenly, Eva noticed that the camera light was on and pointing in her direction. Oh no! she thought. I’ve ruined it for Rosie. Now no one will want her. And she stopped dead.

  Tina O’Neill carried on smiling at the camera. “But luckily that’s not the end of Rosie’s story,” she told the viewers. “Here we are with a lovely little Shetland who had a couple of behavioural problems that seemed to rule her out for adoption. But, Eva, tell everyone what happened next.”

  Eva pulled herself together. Don’t be nervous, she told herself, concentrate on Rosie and do your best for her. “We found out what was wrong soon after she came back here,” she explained. “It turned out Rosie had a bad back – the horse osteopath said it was a trapped nerve which was hurting and making her act up.”

  “Really?” Tina interrupted. “That’s interesting. What looked like naughtiness turned out to be a physical problem after all.”

  That was it exactly! Eva nodded eagerly. “Simon cured it and now Rosie’s a perfect pony again!”

  “That’s wonderful, Eva – it really is.” As Rosie nudged the glamorous visitor with her nose, Tina rounded off the interview. “We’re looking for a real fairy-tale ending,” she explained to the camera. “Animal Magic is a fabulous rescue centre set up to match the perfect pet with the perfect owner. When Eva emailed us an emergency appeal for help, we decided it was time for the Tina O’Neill show to step in.”

  Rosie snuggled up to Tina and seemed to nod. Her bright eyes sparkled and her shiny mane shone like silk.

  Tina’s smile broadened. “So if anyone watching already has a pony who needs a friend and stable mate, we’d like you to contact Animal Magic directly. Details are on your screen right now.”

  At nine o’clock next morning Eva, Karl, Jen and Joel were glued to the TV screen.

  “Tina said we get the first slot on the Saturday show,” Karl reminded them.

  “I can’t bear to look!” Eva sighed, hugging Holly and hoping that she didn’t come across as a total idiot.

  “Ten – nine – eight – seven…” Joel counted down as the Tina O’Neill signature tune began.

  “Good morning, Britain!” Tina greeted her viewers warmly from the studio. “Today we’re starting with a feel-good story about Rosie the problem pony who turns out not to be such a problem after all!”

  Karl nudged Eva and grinned at her. Jen turned up the volume and listened intently.

  “Yesterday I spent the day at a wonderful rescue centre called Animal Magic,” Tina went on as the scene changed to their own yard.

  “It’s us – we’re on!” Karl cried. “Look, there’s our house!”

  “And the kennels and the cattery!” Eva watched as the camera panned round towards the stables. “We’re actually on TV – wow!”

  “Animal Magic is a very special place – and I’m here to meet a wonderful new friend,” Tina explained, speaking into the microphone.

  The camera swung away from her and captured Eva leading the way into the stables.

  “It’s you!” Karl yelled.

  “Sshh! I know it’s me.” Eva got ready to cringe with embarrassment.

  “And Rosie,�
� Jen added, as for the first time the little pony stuck her head over her stall door and posed for the camera.

  “Meet Rosie,” Tina said, “and her carer, Eva Harrison. Now tell us, Eva, what’s so special about Rosie?”

  “Rosie’s clever,” Eva explained to her guest. Her red sweatshirt made her look bright and cheerful. Her long hair was neatly tied back, with only a wisp or two escaping from her ponytail. “She knows exactly what you’re saying, especially if you’re talking about her…”

  “Amazing!” Joel grinned as Tina ended the slot and took the viewers back to the Saturday morning studio. “You’re a TV natural,” he told Eva.

  “That was cool,” Karl agreed. “I’d definitely want to adopt Rosie after watching that.”

  Eva sighed happily. “How cute did Rosie look!”

  “And now we all have to get over to Reception in double quick time,” Joel told them. “With luck, viewers will be ringing us already.”

  So they turned off the TV and hurried across the yard to find the Animal Magic phone red hot with callers.

  “I’m interested in your Shetland pony,” one viewer of Tina’s show explained to Jen. “Can you tell me again how old Rosie is?”

  Or, “Rosie is the ideal pony for my six-year-old daughter. She looks such fun!”

  Or, “I fell in love with the pony on the Tina O’Neill Show. Can I drive over with my mum to see her?”

  For a full hour the phone didn’t stop ringing.

  “We have to write down names and phone numbers.” From the start Jen was the organized one. “Karl, here’s the diary. Can you make a note of times when people want to come?”

  “How old is your daughter?” Joel asked one eager caller. “No, I’m afraid three’s a bit too young. Wait a year or two then have another look at our website. We’ll always have ponies who need new homes. Thank you for calling. Goodbye.”

  “How many people definitely want to come and see Rosie?” Eva asked Karl after another hour had passed.

  Together they checked the diary and counted eight definite appointments.

  “The first people say they can get here by eleven this morning,” Karl said.

  “Hello, I see you’re run off your feet, as expected.” Jimmy Harrison arrived in Reception with a broad smile. “Where’s my TV star granddaughter?”

  Eva grinned back. “Was it OK?”

  “Eva, I was so proud, I nearly burst!”

  “Hi, Jimmy,” Joel took a break between phone calls. “And hi, Annie. Did you see Eva on the telly?”

  Annie had just arrived in the doorway. “You were great,” she told Eva with a smile. “Have you had many phone calls?”

  “Hundreds,” Eva replied. “The TV idea worked really well.”

  “So Rosie won’t be here much longer?” Annie seemed to hover uneasily by the door. “Mum’s here with me. Do you mind if we go and see her one last time?”

  “I’ll come too.” Quickly Eva left the desk and ran to join Annie and Linda. Linda looked pale and leaned heavily on crutches to cross the yard.

  “This is the hard bit,” Linda sighed as they went into the stables. “I know that we’ve done the right thing, but I’m still so fond of little Rosie.”

  “I know. I hate saying goodbye to our animals,” Eva admitted. “I always wish they could stay.”

  “But we’ve still got Gwinnie and Merlin.” Linda tried to look on the bright side.

  “And you promise us you won’t let Rosie go to just any old person,” Annie pleaded, softly stroking Rosie’s nose.

  “I totally promise!” Eva replied. “She’ll go to the best place because she deserves it, don’t you, Rosie?”

  The bright little Shetland gave a short neigh, then went back to munching hay from her net. Don’t bother me while I’m eating, she seemed to say. Come back later when I’m ready for visitors!

  An hour later, Eva was back in the stables for the first appointment. “Come and meet Emma and her mum,” she told Rosie, leading her out into the yard.

  “Aah!” Emma Bridges squealed the moment Rosie trotted into view. “She’s beautiful. I want her, Mum – please, please, please!”

  Rosie snorted and tossed her head.

  I agree, Eva thought. Emma’s voice is too screechy, and she shouldn’t stamp her feet like that.

  Next on the appointment list came Jake Wade with his father, Julian. Jake was quiet and calm and Rosie seemed to like him. But he was too tall to ride her and so his dad said no thank you.

  Then there was nervous Carla Simpson with her big sister, Zara. Carla burst into tears when Rosie nudged her pocket, asking for a treat.

  Then came twin girls, Amy and Lucy, who wanted to share Rosie and argued straight away over who would have the first ride.

  By midday, Eva had trotted Rosie out into the yard half a dozen times without success.

  “Maybe the TV thing wasn’t such a good idea after all,” she sighed.

  Fed-up little Rosie seemed to agree, searching Eva’s pocket for a carrot.

  But then Karl brought over a couple called Mr and Mrs Baker and their daughter, Martha. “They live in the next dale, twenty miles away,” he said.

  “Sorry we couldn’t get here earlier,” Mrs Baker told Eva. “We had an appointment with our farrier. He came to shoe my husband’s horse, Dexter, and it was too late to change his time.”

  “What do you think of Rosie?” Mr Baker asked Martha. “Do you like her?”

  “She’s pretty,” Martha said. “She looks a bit like Daisy.”

  “Daisy was Martha’s last pony,” her mother explained. “Sadly, Daisy was very old and died last autumn. We’ve been looking around for another Shetland ever since.”

  All this time Rosie had stood quietly beside Eva, but now she took a step forward and began to nudge Martha’s arm in a let-me-be-your-friend way.

  “And friendly.” Martha smiled. “Look, Dad – she likes me!”

  “I think she does,” Mr Baker agreed. “And we all like her, don’t we?”

  Eva stood well back, letting Rosie do her stuff. So-oo smart! she thought.

  “So shall we give her a home?” Mrs Baker asked. “Shall we put her in the stable next to Dexter and let you two ride out together? What do you say?”

  Martha put her arm around Rosie’s neck. “Yes, please!” she sighed.

  And Rosie nodded so that her mane fell forward and she peeked at Eva with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

  “So this is Rosie’s last day in Okeham?” Mark led Heidi, Karl and Eva across the yard to the stables.

  It was Tuesday, and Mark and Heidi were back from their holiday looking tanned and relaxed. Their bulging suitcases were still in the car. Inside the house, Joel was saying goodbye to Jen, ready to head back to Russia.

  “It’s Rosie’s very last morning,” Eva said. “The Bakers are bringing their horsebox this afternoon and driving Rosie to their place.”

  “Which we went and checked out with Jen,” Karl explained. “They live in a massive house with loads of stables and a big paddock. It’s like a luxury hotel for horses!”

  “And they’re really nice people.” Now that the day had come, Eva was more excited than sad. “Martha loves ponies!”

  “As much as you?” her dad asked with a smile. He held the stable door open while Eva, Karl and Heidi went in.

  “No one loves ponies as much as Eva!” Karl cried. “That would be impossible.”

  “Hey, you hear that, Rosie?” Eva sighed, putting her arm around the pony’s neck. “They’re making fun of me and saying I’m crazy about you!”

  Rosie nudged Eva’s cheek with her nose.

  “Well, you definitely did a good job of rehoming this little girl,” Heidi told Eva. “I don’t think anyone could have tried harder or had a better idea than getting her on the Tina O’Neill Show!”

  Eva beamed at her mum and dad. “Even Annie and Linda are happy in the end. The Bakers are happy. Rosie’s happy. I’m happy!”

  “And it made wo
nderful publicity for Animal Magic,” Heidi added, smiling at Eva.

  “Which can’t be bad,” her dad added. He looked round the stables at three smiling faces. “I’m glad to be back,” he told them all. “Florida was great, but there’s honestly and truly no better place to come back to than Animal Magic Rescue Centre!”

  Copyright

  STRIPES PUBLISHING

  An imprint of the Little Tiger Group

  1 Coda Studios, 189 Munster Road,

  London SW6 6AW

  Text copyright © Jenny Oldfield, 2008, 2018

  Inside illustrations copyright © Artful Doodlers, 2018

  Cover illustration copyright © Anna Chernyshova, 2018

  Images courtesy of www.shutterstock.com

  First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2018

  eISBN: 978-1-84715-999-1

  The rights of Jenny Oldfield and Artful Doodlers to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved.

  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

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