Chloe and Cracker (3 page)

We’re going swimming tonight for our evening activity, but Jody says we have to let our tea go down for half an hour first. We’re all squashed on to the top bunk, which is Georgia’s (Bella is below and I am in the single bed by the window), writing in our diaries. We were up here talking before but Bella kept going on and on about how amazing Charm is, and it was really getting on my nerves, so I suggested we did some writing instead.

This afternoon it was really scorching hot so Sally said we’d have our Pony Care lecture first and then have our riding lesson afterwards when it was cooler. She showed us how to tie
the ponies up correctly and where all the equipment goes so we don’t leave anything lying about that could be a danger, and what to wear and everything.

Then after the break we had our first jumping lesson. I was so excited! We had a warm-up for about twenty minutes, working in all the paces on each rein. When we stopped to put our stirrups up a couple of holes, Georgia got worried that Sally was going to start setting up the course right away. But Sally explained that we’ll be starting with trotting poles and singles and then building up gradually, so Georgia felt okay after that.

We did some basic pole work, then we practised trotting on and going into the jumping position down the long side, which was quite tricky. Cracker enjoyed it because I didn’t exactly have all my powers of steering in that position and so he got to cut the corner off and
wander across the manège!

Then Sally set up a simple cross pole. First we approached in trot (except Millie, because Tally just charged at it in canter!). After a couple of goes we came up in trot and then cantered away, and we had to keep the canter till we reached the back of the ride. Cracker cut the corner off the first time, but after that I got my inside leg on straight after the jump so he had to behave. There’s so much to think about with him on just one jump, I have no idea how I’m going to get round a whole course!

Then we cantered the whole thing and he cut the corner off again before I even had time to think. I got a bit annoyed with him and felt like giving up. It must have showed because Sally called out, “He’s perfectly capable, Chloe, he’s just seeing what he can get away with. Circle him round and go again.” Then when I went over the next time, she shouted “Leg, leg,
leg!” as soon as I hit the ground and at least I kept him on the track down the short side, although I bet I looked really clumsy and unseated.

I’ve just moved over a bit to make sure Bella can’t see what I’m writing. I feel really bad even putting this down, but I have to because it’s what happened. We finished off the lesson by working over a double, and Sally made the second pole into an upright. Cracker did okay, but he only just cleared it, whereas Charm sailed miles over and I felt really jealous again. I bet Bella will go clear in the comp without even trying and she’s probably not even that bothered whether she does or not! I bet her dad makes a big fuss of her whatever she does. It just doesn’t seem fair that I really
need Charm and she’s got him.

Oh, I feel awful and I wish I hadn’t put that now. It’s not Bella’s fault she got Charm. I hate feeling this way – it’s just not like me at all. Right, I’m going to climb down from here right this second and hide this diary somewhere in my stuff.

And then I’m going to try my hardest to forget all about Charm.

We’ve just had lunch and I’m sitting outside on the benches in the sun.

I was going to write in here when we went to bed last night (I’ve got a cool little torch on my key ring) but after two lots of riding, then swimming as well, I’d run out of energy. Still, even though we were all tired, we kept bursting into giggles after lights out because Bella was whispering this story to us about a boy down her road who keeps asking her out. Georgia and Bella are brilliant fun – I’m so glad I’m sharing a room with them!

This morning we had our Pony Care lecture on tack and tacking up. I knew some of it already, but it was really good to learn about all the different bits. Also, Lydia was doing the lecture and she demonstrated tacking up on
Suki’s lovely yellow dun Twinkle and then she undid it all and told us to bring Charm and Sugar out too. So we practised tacking up on them in threes, which was cool ’cos I got to spend time hanging round with Charm and making a fuss of him without it seeming strange.

In our lesson this morning we did flat work, and Sally explained that it will help us with our jumping. Apparently the three important things you need to jump well are balance, impulsion and rhythm. I wanted to call out, “And you need a good pony who listens to you and picks his feet up!” But I didn’t dare say that because Sally is quite strict most of the time and I thought she might get annoyed.

So we did all these turns and circles, and some riding straight down the centre and three-quarter lines, and we worked on making lots of transitions, which Sally says is good for impulsion. Then we started practising figures of
eight, dropping into trot and changing our canter lead in the middle – we’ll need to do that twice when we jump the course. At first Cracker just wanted to carry on up the track and not come through the middle at all. Then when I finally got him to trot through the diagonal he refused to go back into canter, so in frustration I tapped him with my crop.

“Get your leg on first, Chloe!” Sally called out. “You can’t just sit there and then blame Cracker when he doesn’t canter!”

I felt really red and flustered when she said that – I wasn’t just sitting there – to me it felt like I was kicking away like crazy! Bella always got her canter back as soon as she asked – and on the right leg too. Oh, it’s just so annoying! Sally probably thinks I’m completely rubbish – if I was on Charm she’d see that I really
can
ride, and that I
do
put
my outside leg back and everything – it’s not my fault that Cracker doesn’t listen to me!

I was so frustrated I made things a bit awkward in the yard after the lesson, although I didn’t mean to. Bella and I had tied up our ponies next to each other to untack and give them a brush down. The ponies have their own grooming kits and each bit of the kit has the pony’s name on. Well, somehow Charm’s body brush had gone missing and she asked me if she could borrow Cracker’s. I was about to say yes, but somehow a big “No!” came out of my mouth.

“But you’re not even using it,” said Georgia, looking confused.

I felt myself going all red and flushed again, like I did when Sally kept correcting me in the lesson. “But I’m just about to,” I mumbled.

I wished I hadn’t said no, but I didn’t know how to get out of it, so I picked up the brush, planning to use it quickly then give it straight to Bella. But by that time Georgia had stepped in and lent hers, and it looked like I’d started using mine just to be awkward. Urgh!

Luckily they forgot about it over lunch and everything was fine by the time we got our fruit and yoghurt, but I can’t let Bella find out how I feel about Charm – I’ll have to try even harder to get over my jealousy.

Tonight we're having a table tennis tournament in the games room, and we've only got twenty mins before it starts so I'm going to have to write really fast! I'm alone up here 'cos Bella and Georgia are on washing-up duty.

Before we got our ponies out to mount up for our jumping lesson, Sally called us into the manège. The course had been set up! There were four fences completely up and four trotting poles to mark where the other ones would be. We all walked round the route and Sally explained the best approach to take for each jump and where the tricky bits might be. This is what the whole course is going to look like:

This afternoon the only fences up were the single and spread at the start and then the bounce and brush in the middle. We had to practise going round the trotting pole (which was marking where the filler will be) to get a good approach to the bounce. I can see now why Sally was being so strict about me not letting Cracker cut the corner off in the flat work. It's a tricky turn and I'll need every inch I can get to line him up properly over these middle jumps. The thing is, you really have to hit the bounce properly because if you're too long you'll end up knocking the second bit of the fence down.

Sally said me and Millie were both still cutting the corner and she put a block there for us to go round. Tally got the message quickly, but Cracker went inside it twice and Sally made me keep doing it till I got it right. By then I had so much inside leg on I thought my calf might explode!

After ages of trying, me and Cracker finally got over the brush and back to trot in time to change canter lead (on to the correct leg at last!). We made it round the corner and over the centre of the trotting pole that marked where the gate would be.

“Honestly, Cracker,” I said, as we all walked round on a long rein to let our ponies cool down, “why couldn't you just get it right in the first place? We've got so much to do before the comp – and I've had to spend an hour teaching you not to cut a corner. You're such a pest!”

“Oh, Chloe, he's not,” I heard someone say. I looked up and was really embarrassed to find that Sally had heard me telling Cracker off. I went red and tried to explain. “It's just, my dad's coming on Friday and I've promised him I'll get a clear round, but Cracker won't listen to me round the corners and I'm sure he's going to knock the gate and I don't know how I'll get him
back into trot in time after the brush to change canter lead and…”

I trailed off. Sally looked annoyed. “Chloe, honestly!” she cried. “Poor Cracker's doing his best! You need to work on the communication between you, and to be firmer when you ask for something. If you looked up and ahead more round the tight corner he'd understand what you wanted better. It's true he's not a very experienced jumper, but he tries hard and he's getting there.”

“I know, but it doesn't seem fair that I have to work so hard when some of the other ponies just get it right first time and…” I began, but Sally cut me off.

We both knew who I meant by
some of the other ponies.

“But you're not on the other ponies,” she said firmly. “I gave Cracker to you because I thought you could bring out the best in him. I still think you can, Chloe, but you need to work together as a team and build up a partnership, like Bella has with Charm.”

That really stung me.

“Just be careful that you're not so desperate to achieve a clear round in the competition that you actually stop yourself from doing it,” Sally said then.

As she gave Cracker a pat and walked off I stared after her. Even thinking about it now, I still don't understand what she meant. How can I stop myself from getting something by really wanting it? That doesn't make sense.

Oh, Millie's just come up to say the table tennis tournament's about to start. I'd better go!