Chloe and Cracker (2 page)

It
was
them!

The two girls I’m sharing with have gone downstairs to help on the yard – we are all still waiting for a couple of others to arrive, but the adults keep telling each other that there’s a hold-up on the M3 so we’re running a bit later than planned.

I’m going down in a minute but first I just wanted to do a quick profile of my room-mates for my diary.

Name: Isabella

Age: 12

Lives: Buckinghamshire, which is sort of near to London but still in the countryside.

Description: Quite tall for 12,
goes to a school for girls only, has amazing green eyes and long wavy brown hair and plays the cello and has packed three different swimsuits because she couldn’t decide which to bring (I’ve only
got
one!). She says her friends call her Bella, and we can too (how cool!).

Name: Georgia

Age: 12

Lives: Georgia comes all the way from Devon, which I suppose isn’t actually far from here, but it’s a long way from where I live (i.e. London).

Description: Short blondish hair. She seems very sensible and mature for 12, but she’s also really friendly so that’s okay. She has two younger brothers and one younger sister and says she has to help her mum and dad look after them quite a lot.

The best thing is that Isabella and Georgia are both really into jumping too and they also chose this week specially to come to Sunnyside, so they could spend lots of time focussing on it. Also, they’re both really nice and are not leaving me out just because I’m a weeny bit younger than them, which older girls can sometimes do.

Oh, I have to go – Bella’s calling me down to the yard. Maybe it’s time to find out which ponies we’re getting. I’m so excited just thinking about it! Fingers crossed mine’s a good jumper!

I am quickly writing this because I’ve got something exciting to put down that can’t wait till later. The girls who were delayed are here now and we’re just about to have our assessment lesson. But even though we haven’t been given our ponies yet I have already met the perfect one for me.

What happened was, when I got outside, Jody explained that while we were waiting for the last two girls to arrive, we could get on with some yard work. She gave me mucking-out duty with this really nice stable girl called Lydia. That’s when I met Charm, who is an amazingly gorgeous grey Connemara.

I fell in love with him straight away and Lydia said I could lead him out and tie him up in the yard while we did his stable. I gave him a big stroke and pat on the way and he whinnied and nuzzled into my T-shirt.

While we were working I asked Lydia about him and she told me what a great jumper he is. That just made me want him to be my pony even more!

When Lydia and I had put the new straw down on top of the clean bits of bedding and spread it all out, I got to lead Charm back in, and I whispered to him that I really hoped he’d be my pony for the week. After a while, the other girls arrived and Jody called us all back into the main yard and introduced us to each other and the Sunnyside Stables team.

As well as me and Bella and Georgia there is Millie, Jody’s daughter, who I read about in the welcome letter. The girls sharing her room are called Suki and Mai and they go to an international school in London. They are both eight and
three-quarters
and are actually from Japan.

Then there are the little ones, Olivia, Asha and Joelle (who is only just seven and the youngest of all), and they’re in a room together.

Me, Bella and Georgia are all really excited about the jumping and we’re crossing our fingers that we get put in the group to do it. Bella and Georgia have jumped a bit but neither of them have done a competition yet, so I’ve probably got the most experience, even though it’s not much.

I really, really hope I’ve got Charm. I’ve worked out I’ve got a 33.3333333333% chance of getting him – he’s a bit big for the younger girls and Millie has her own pony, of course, and so I reckon it will be between me, Georgia and Bella.

Well, it didn’t exactly go as I’d hoped, but I’m trying not to be too disappointed. We were all waiting in the yard with our hats and crops and everything, and Sally was reading from a list while Lydia brought the ponies out, one by one. They were already tacked up, because some of the girls had been helping do that while I was mucking out.

I was really excited and as Lydia led Charm out I had all my fingers crossed for luck, but then Sally said, “Isabella, you’re on Charm. I hope you two will hit it off. Charm’s a superb jumper, and he has lovely manners.” Well, my heart sank and I had to blink fast to stop tears coming into my eyes. Bella looked so excited and I forced myself to smile at her.

Bella thanked Sally and stroked Charm’s nose before leading him over to the mounting block. As he nudged her shoulder happily, I couldn’t help thinking that he should have been nudging
my
shoulder instead.

Then Sally said, “Chloe, you’ve got Cracker. He’s a really spirited, cheeky little thing so you’ll need all your experience!” She didn’t mention his great jumping or good manners, but he is quite sweet, I suppose – a grey Welsh Section B, with big eyes and a cute pink bit on his nose. Lydia says he’s 12.2hh and I feel a bit big for him – my heels are almost off his sides. Charm’s over a hand higher. I just wish … but there’s no point in wishing. I haven’t got Charm so I’ll just have to try and make the best of it. I don’t want to waste my holiday moping!

I’ll write about the assessment lesson in a minute, but first here’s my drawing of who got which pony:

We had the assessment lesson and it went okay. Millie didn’t ride with us – Jody said she had to get on with her holiday homework instead. Poor thing!

At first we just had to walk and trot and think about our position and making good transitions. Then we did some turns and circles and changes of rein, and at the end we all had a canter to the back of the ride, except Joelle ’cos she hasn’t done much riding and she only knows walk and trot at the moment. Instead, she turned Monsoon into the middle and Sally held on to her while we cantered on one rein and then the other.

Sally was right about Cracker, he is quite cheeky. I really had to keep my inside leg on all the way round or he’d fall in off the track, and when I just gently used my crop to get him listening (he wasn’t going into trot for anyone!) he did a couple of little bucks. I didn’t really
mind, but I tried not to look at Bella trotting round perfectly on Charm, or at their lovely effortless transitions, which didn’t involve any kicking or flailing arms like mine did.

Afterwards we put our ponies back in the stables (or in pens in the big barn for the ones who live out) and untacked. I gave Cracker a brush down and made sure he had enough water. Then we came back into the yard and gathered round Sally to hear the news.

Here are the groups we’re in:

Group A: Suki, Mai, Olivia, Joelle, Asha.
Group B: Me, Bella, Georgia, Millie.

Our group will be doing the jumping and entering the clear round comp at the end of the week! Group A is the less experienced group, and on Friday they’re going to do gymkhana games instead of jumping the course. Sally told them they’ll still get to have a go at jumping in their lessons so they won’t be missing out.

When we heard that we were doing the jumping comp, Bella grabbed me and Georgia and we all leaped up and down in a huggy group.

I was excited of course, but not as much as I pretended to be. I mean, I know it’s not Bella’s fault she got given Charm and I didn’t, but I really,
really
wish I had him.

I thought I would’ve forgotten about Charm by now – but I just can’t seem to. I’ll have to make sure I hide how I feel. I don’t want to fall out with my new friends when I’ve only just met them! Maybe things will be better after the first jumping lesson, when we’ve made a start and I’m on my way to getting that clear round. Now I’ve got a handle on Cracker’s bad habits I’ll be a whole lot stricter!