The Auditions (18 page)

“Can the riders all line up, please,” Tara called out.

Georgie had been planning to slot into line beside Alice and Cam, but Belle had other ideas. As the other riders urged their horses forward into line, the big bay mare tensed up and began to crab-step anxiously, moving sideways away from the rope.

“Come on, Belle,” Georgie was firm with the mare, trying to kick her forward, but the whites were showing in Belle’s eyes. She was starting to panic.

“Kenny!” Tara called out. “Can you lead her up?”

Kenny jogged over and clasped a leathery hand around the mare’s reins. “Easy there, girl,” he said gently to Belle. Reassured by the handler’s confidence and the gentle sound of his voice, Belle stopped resisting and let Kenny coax her forward.

The other riders were all lined up at the rope now and the only gap remaining was between Daisy and Nicholas. Kenny eased Belle in between Daisy’s big grey and Nicholas’s Selle Francais. He looked up at Georgie. “They’ll break pretty quick when that gun goes,” Kenny told her. “You might want to grab yourself a hunk of mane and hang on so you don’t get left behind.” He let go of Belle’s reins and gave Georgie a nod. “Good luck.”

Now that the horses were all in place Tara Kelly raised the starter’s gun and counted them down. “On your marks and three… two… one … !” The shot rang out, the rope fell and the twelve horses all lunged forward in unison. As Belle broke from behind the rope, Georgie was glad she’d taken Kenny’s last minute advice. She had buried her hands in the mare’s mane and stayed with the big bay as she hit her stride. Now, as the mare galloped forward, Georgie rose up on her knees in two-point position and tried to wrestle Belle back under control. She didn’t want to let her gallop too hard, too soon. They were in a good position, not at the front of the pack, but abouthalfway back as the first jump loomed ahead of them.

It was a spar that ran between fields, a low rustic rail. There wasn’t enough room for twelve horses to jump it at once and it became clear to Georgie as they bore down on the fence that some horses and riders would get pushed back in the crush.

As they came in to take the spar, Georgie sat back a little to let Belle know that the fence was coming. The mare sensed the change in her rider and gathered herself ready for the jump. They were only a couple of strides out when Georgie felt a heavy weight ramming against her leg, pushing Belle sideways beneath her and driving them out to the left.

Beside her, Daisy King was coming through fast on Village Voice and she had shoulder-charged into Belle to get the mare out of the way.

“Hey!” Georgie yelled as she was pushed off course.

Daisy didn’t even turn her head to see what the aftermath of her actions might be. She had her game face on and her eyes remained utterly focused on the jump ahead.

Georgie managed to straighten Belle up and still takethe jump, but she had lost her striding and was now much further back in the pack. Daisy, meanwhile, was barging to get ahead once more, this time pushing Nicholas out of the way. Georgie heard Nicholas mutter something in French and then take a swipe at Daisy with his riding crop.

Georgie watched Village Voice’s grey rump rising and falling as she galloped a few lengths in front of her. Daisy was riding to win and she was dangerous. Georgie needed to get past her and out of harm’s way if she didn’t want to get shoved around again.

Leaning low over Belle’s withers she let the reins loose a little. Belle jumped on a forward stride over the next fence and as they landed Georgie urged the mare on, manoeuvring to the right so that she was riding in between Daisy and Nicholas. In four massive strides Belle had pulled up on Village Voice so that they were racing neck and neck. Then, before Daisy had the chance to ram into them again, Georgie asked for even more speed from Belle and the mare surged forward. In a few strides they were out of Daisy’s reach.

They had got to the halfway point in the race now.

About a dozen lengths in front of her Georgie could see Matt leading the field on Tigerland. Breathing down his neck was Cam who was urging Paddy on for all he was worth. Emily was there too on Barclay. She was sitting steady and calm on the big black horse, riding like a professional jumps jockey, barely moving as they leapt the hedges and letting the horse maintain a steady stride. At the back of the four horses was Kennedy on Versace. The chestnut looked full of running as he flew the fences.

Belle was gaining on the leaders, her huge stride swallowed the ground and it didn’t take long to close up the space so that they were on Kennedy’s heels. Georgie could feel Belle flattening out and galloping even harder and as they approached the next jump they were almost neck and neck with Kennedy. Belle and Versace were matching each other, stride for stride. Georgie could feel the bay mare straining beneath her. Belle was looking Versace in the eye almost as if she was taunting the big chestnut. As they reached the next jump, a hedge, she was edging slowly but surely ahead. They would pass Kennedy and Versace in the next straight.

The body blow came out of nowhere. One minute Georgie was standing up balancing in the stirrups with the wind in her face and then suddenly she felt a thrust delivered sharply to her shoulder, and was knocked sideways out of the saddle. The next thing she knew she was falling. The grass on the other side of the hedge rushed up to meet her and she barely had time to prepare for the impact. She hit the dirt hard and the wind was knocked out of her. She gasped like a goldfish, trying desperately to get air back into her lungs.

“Georgie! Get down!” She heard Alice’s cries as her friend rode over the jump and breezed right past her, and then she realised that there were more horses to come after Alice. The thunder of hooves was growing louder, coming nearer. The other riders who had been behind her in the field were bearing down on the jump. Unless she got out of the way they would be jumping right over the top of her!

Georgie looked up. They were just a couple of strides away. There was no time. All she could do was fling herself closer to the hedge and huddle beneath it, curling into a foetal position and staying as low as she could. As the hooves flew overhead she shut her eyes and tucked her head to her knees. She could sense the horses above her and for a brief second she peeked up and saw the belly of an enormous brown horse soaring directly over her.

And then the thunder was gone and Georgie was left alone, curled up and shaking. She was in shock but had no doubt about what had just happened. As they had taken the hedge, Kennedy had reached out and deliberately pushed her off her horse in mid-air. It was a crazy thing to do. Georgie could easily have been killed–if not by the fall itself, then by the galloping horses that had ridden directly over her head just a few seconds afterwards.

She didn’t have time to dwell on what had happened. There was someone there now, standing over her on horseback. “Come on!” The voice was urgent and demanding. “Get up and give me your hand.”

It was Isabel Weiss. She was mounted up on Leo, her enormous brown Oldenburg gelding, and wasstretching her arm down towards the girl on the ground.

“Give me your hand!” Isabel commanded again. And this time, Georgie obeyed. Blonde and petite, Isabel was stronger than she looked. She yanked Georgie up off the ground as if she were a rag doll. “Stick your foot in my stirrup, quickly,” she instructed, “and get on behind me. I’ll double you.”

Georgie was confused. “You can’t double me all the way round the steeplechase!”

“I know that!” Isabel said. “I’m taking you to your horse! She’s over there!”

Belle was standing by the next jump, grazing. She must have spooked when Georgie had fallen but she wasn’t hurt.

“Come on,” Isabel was getting hysterical, “we need to catch them up then you can finish the race.” Isabel hauled Georgie up so that she was sitting behind her on the Oldenburg’s broad back. “Now put your arms around my waist and hang on!” Isabel growled.

“I don’t get it,” Georgie said as they cantered together across the field towards Belle, “why did youstop to help me? There’s no way you can win it now!”

“I am a dressage rider,” Isabel said. “Eventing, crosscountry, these things do not mean so much to me. But I know how much they mean to you. I know that you cannot afford to be eliminated.”

They had reached Belle’s side now and Isabel pulled her horse up so that Georgie could dismount. “Besides,” she smiled at Georgie, “I want to see Kennedy Kirkwood’s face when you cross the finish line ahead of her.”

Up in the distance, Georgie could see the stragglers at the back of the pack. If she rode fast enough then hopefully she could catch them, but the fall had cost her valuable time.

“Thanks,” she said to Isabel as she mounted up.

“It was nothing,” Isabel smiled.

“No,” Georgie grinned back, “it was really something.”

Back in the saddle, Georgie knew she couldn’t afford to slow down at the jumps. She urged Belle on into a gallop to take the next jump and then leant low over the mare’s neck and threw the reins at her.

“You want to gallop, don’t you?” she whispered to Belle. “Well, I’m not holding you back any more. This is your chance. Come on, go!”

Belle could see the pack up ahead of her and she was gaining on them quickly, her strides devouring the ground beneath her.

Directly ahead of them now was Arden, who’d had a refusal at the wire fence and was trailing the pack. Not far ahead of her was Matt, who had been in the lead most of the way, and had pushed Tigerland too hard and too soon. The big dun horse was now exhausted and falling back beside Arden. Georgie and Belle passed both of them at the next fence. Belle was fit and full of running.

By the time she came through the last steeplechase jump she had Alex and Alice in her sights. They were her friends but she had no choice. They were standing between her and Kennedy.

Alice gave her a wave as she sped past her, and she knew there were no hard feelings. Alex seemed shocked when he saw Georgie pull up alongside him, but he wasn’t one for dirty tricks. And besides, Georgiehadn’t actually beaten him yet. There were still the three jumps to come.

The first proper fence, the trakehner, now loomed a hundred metres ahead and Belle was still pulling. Georgie’s hands were rubbed raw through her gloves from holding on to the mare in the early stages of the race and she knew she didn’t have the strength to fight against her any longer. She let Belle have her head and they took the trakehner at a full gallop. All Georgie could do was hang on as Belle flew it easily and kept on galloping.

“Good girl!” She gave Belle a slappy pat on her sweaty neck and took hold of the reins again. The water complex was coming, but first Georgie would have to swerve to get past Kennedy who was right in their path.

This time, Kennedy couldn’t fight back. Versace’s stride was flagging. The horse was tired and Belle powered past him as if they were standing still.

Georgie wasn’t thinking about Kennedy any more. She was utterly focused on the water complex. As Georgie took a firm grip on the reins Belle fought her, sticking her head way up in the air. They couldn’t jump like this! Georgie was forced to give up the fight and let the mare do it her way. Belle flew the bank into the water and never broke out of a gallop as she churned through the pond and sprang up out the other side.

Only the coffin remained before the finish line. Belle was back in full gallop. Directly ahead of them Georgie could see the log at the top of the bank and immediately beyond it, that massive drop down the steep slope to the ditch below. Tara had made it perfectly clear. This jump needed to be taken at a canter. They had managed to make it through the water complex but there was no way they could bluff it through the coffin. If Belle came in at a gallop they would crash into the ditch.

Four strides out, Georgie knew she had two choices. She could turn the mare off now and incur a refusal and twenty faults. Or she could ride on, risking Belle’s safety and her own and gallop the log fence to plunge down the bank to the ditch below.

All the way around this course she had been pretending to herself that this moment would never come. But it was unavoidable and she had to face herfear. She was only too aware that her mother had once made the wrong decision and had paid the ultimate price.

She took a deep breath. The truth was, she would never know how her mum had managed to get the jump so wrong that day. But it didn’t matter. Whatever had happened, that was in the past. Georgie had to make her own choices and her own mistakes. And in that moment she knew what she had to do. She was going to jump.

G
eorgie was a brave rider, but not a foolish one. When she made up her mind to jump the coffin, she knew what she was doing.

The last time she had faced this fence she had panicked and pulled the mare off. Not this time. They were three strides out from the jump, which left her enough time to make things right. Georgie sat back heavy in the saddle and, with all her strength, gave a sharp jag on her left rein. Up until now, she had been trying to get Belle back under control by pulling on both reins. It hadn’t worked because the mare had leaned against Georgie’s hands and kept galloping. The sudden jerk on only one rein was enough to catch the mare in the teeth, so that she reeled back anddramatically slowed down. However, she also veered sharply to the left!

The next two strides were a blur. Georgie somehow managed to pull back on the other rein to correct Belle’s line then she urged the mare on so she was once more powering ahead. Belle took the log on a perfect forward canter stride and together they flew down the slope towards the ditch below. Georgie put her legs on firmly and Belle leapt. The mare had her ears pricked forward as she cleared the ditch, then cantered back up and out over the log at the top of the bank.

The smile on Georgie’s face said it all as she rode towards the finish line. She had beaten the coffin! The crowd gave her a huge cheer as she galloped on and she couldn’t resist punching the air as she crossed the finish line. She hadn’t won the race by any stretch–nearly half a dozen of her classmates had crossed the line well ahead of her. But she had beaten the one person that mattered. She had come home ahead of Kennedy Kirkwood.