The Palomino Pony Wins Through (3 page)

Ch
APTER
F
IVE

L
ater that afternoon, after meeting almost all of the yard’s ponies, Georgia and Dan stood waiting for Georgia’s mum to pick them up at the gates to the Smalley yard.

“See you tomorrow,” Shelley, the groom, called over as she filled hay nets for the evening feed. She was nineteen and was wearing smart yard boots and a light blouson jacket, her short dark
hair pinned to the side with a hot-pink grip. Georgia had liked her instantly after she had given all of the Redgrove ponies a hug and said that Lily was beautiful!

As Georgia and Dan waited, a school bus pulled up outside the yard, and a small blonde figure leapt out, rucksack in hand, before tearing through the yard and letting herself into the house.

“Hey, Alice!” Shelley called after her, but the girl was gone.

“Was that Josephine’s daughter?” Georgia asked, glancing at Shelley.

“Yeah.” Shelley nodded sadly. “She used to come and see the ponies the minute she jumped off the bus, until…” Her voice tailed off.

“Until what?” Dan asked curiously.

Shelley shook herself. “Until she had the accident. You must have heard about it? It was all anyone talked about for weeks.”

“No.” Georgia shook her head. “Josephine was going to tell us, but then we got interrupted. And I haven’t been showing for very long,” she explained. “I don’t know many people on the circuit, only Melanie really.”

Shelley looked sad. “It’s not really my place to explain,” she said. “But Alice doesn’t ride any more, not since Honey.”

“Who’s Honey?” Georgia asked, puzzled.

“Honey was Alice’s pony,” Shelley explained. “A palomino, just like Lily. She died in a terrible accident. We all miss her so much.”

Died!
The words hammered in Georgia’s head, but at that moment a car drew up and Georgia’s mum wound down her window. “Hop in,” she said.

Georgia nodded and, giving a small wave to Shelley, opened the passenger door. As they drove back through the country lanes, Georgia couldn’t
stop thinking about what Shelley had said.
A terrible accident?
She couldn’t imagine ever losing a pony. What could be more horrific than that?

Georgia was at the yard bright and early the next morning. When she arrived, Shelley was already there, feeding the stabled ponies, and nothing more was mentioned about their conversation the previous evening. Georgia was just happy to see the Redgrove ponies were relaxed and contented as she led them from their stables to the paddocks. They were used to living out so were going to be in the fields during the day. Secret was trotting behind Lily and kept pausing to investigate things along the path towards the little paddock. Once turned out, all four kicked up their heels and cantered about before settling down to graze.

“They’re such lovely animals.” Shelley was
turning another pony out in the paddock next to them and paused to admire the small herd.

“I know,” Georgia said proudly. “I’m so lucky to ride at Redgrove.”

“Lily’s a rescue, isn’t she?” Shelley asked as she tied up the head collars that she was holding.

“Yes,” nodded Georgia, before telling the story of Lily’s journey from the Carlamu Show Stud in Wales to Redgrove Farm. Shelley was frowning as she finished.

“Carlamu?” she said, sounding curious. “So that was where she came from?”

“Yes, it was where she was bred,” explained Georgia. She wondered, nervously, if she was going to ride any of Josephine’s ponies today and suddenly felt a little sick.

Shelley must have picked up on her nerves, because she smiled in a kind way. “Don’t worry, Georgia,” she said reassuringly. “All of Josephine’s
ponies are really nice and well schooled. You’ll be just fine.” She led her into the tack room.

Reaching for a bridle, Georgia took another look around her. It was immaculate and smelled like a high-end saddler’s. Josephine had told her that the whiteboard in the corner detailed the horses’ feeds and turn-out routines. Squinting slightly Georgia looked closely at it. A little note written at the bottom caught her eye; the writing was loopy and purple.

“Gone for a ride with A – see you later! Lucy X”
It was accompanied by a smiley face.

Without thinking, Georgia asked, “Is Lucy the girl who used to ride for Josephine?”

Instantly she regretted it as Shelley’s face changed and she stood very still, nearly dropping the pile of fleeces in her hand. “How do you know about her?” she asked, nervously glancing around.

“It’s there – up on the whiteboard,” Georgia mumbled.

Shelley looked over and quickly rubbed it out. “Oh. That must have been there for ages. Well, whatever you do, don’t mention that name – not on the yard, not around Josephine, and
never
near Alice.”

“Sure.” Georgia felt a bit embarrassed as Shelley left the tack room, trying to make sense of what had just happened. What had she done wrong exactly? She’d only asked a question. Shaking her head, she pulled on her boots and chaps and followed the groom back into the yard, totally confused.

C
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S
IX

F
or the rest of the day, Georgia tried to put the incident out of her head. It wasn’t that hard – not when she was around such amazing ponies. Shelley was right when she’d said that they were well schooled. Georgia was used to the floating paces of Wilson and Lily, but Josephine’s ponies were in another league entirely. Under Josephine’s watchful eye, Georgia got to school three of the
ponies that afternoon – a Dartmoor mare, a pretty black Fell and a dun Highland gelding that oozed charisma.

“I hope Lily doesn’t get jealous, watching me,” Georgia joked as she jumped off the dun and gave him a pat.

Josephine laughed. “I’m sure Lily will still know she’s your favourite,” she said as the palomino mare ambled over towards the fence to say hello. “But it’s always good to get experience, especially if you want to have your own yard one day.”

“Oh, I do,” replied Georgia.

At that moment, the conversation was brought to an abrupt halt as a small figure appeared round the corner of the stable yard.

“Alice?” Josephine’s voice was gentle and a little concerned. “Are you OK?”

Georgia couldn’t help but stare as the little girl she’d seen in the photos stepped out of the
shadows. She had an expression like a frightened deer with huge eyes, and an angry red scar that ran across one cheek.

“Alice, darling,” Josephine repeated in the same gentle tone. “This is Georgia. She’s riding for me while…” She glanced at Georgia. “While we try and sort something out.”

Alice continued staring, but Georgia noticed she was gazing beyond her and the dun Highland. Her eyes were fixated instead on Lily, who was watching quietly, ever sensitive to changes in the air.

Alice held up a quivering hand and pointed it at Lily, mouthing a word that Georgia couldn’t quite make out.

Josephine hurried over to her.

“H … H … Honey!”

Georgia heard Alice gasp before she burst into tears and sprinted back towards the house.

“I’m sorry, Georgia,” Josephine called over her shoulder. “I’ll explain everything later.” Then, quickly, she followed her daughter, leaving Georgia holding the gentle dun Highland, feeling awful about what had just happened.

Josephine didn’t appear for the rest of the day. With Shelley and the afternoon groom, Fergus, in charge of the chores, Georgia didn’t really know what to do with herself. Her offers of mucking out had been kindly brushed off so she decided to catch Lily instead and bring her in for a groom.

Secret barely glanced at Lily as she left the field. The confident roan colt was getting bigger and bolder every day.
What will Melanie do with him?
Georgia wondered to herself. Although Lily was hers on loan, Secret officially belonged to Redgrove and, as much as she longed to be able to keep
him, she knew her mum would never be able to afford it. Melanie was very generous, and paid for some of Lily’s keep in return for Georgia’s help, and Georgia’s small allowance went towards the rest of Lily’s day-to-day care.

Once Georgia had led her in, Lily stood quietly, taking in the hustle and bustle of the yard. Shelley and Fergus were laughing and gossiping while they filled hay nets, topped up water buckets and straightened rugs.

Fergus patted Lily on the neck as he passed her. He was tall and slim with a strong Scottish accent. “Shelley, isn’t she the spitting image of—” He stopped suddenly, frowning, as Shelley shook her head.

“Honey?” Georgia said quietly.

Fergus looked sad. “Yeah,” he said hesitatingly. “Did you know her?”

Georgia shook her head.

“Honey was the best,” Fergus said quietly, stroking Lily as he spoke.

“Fergus,” Georgia asked, feeling brave. “Is Honey the pony in the photo with Alice, in the kitchen?”

Fergus glanced at Shelley, who shook her head, as if to tell him not to say anything. “Yes,” he said finally, hesitating again. “That’s Honey. There was a terrible accident, but there’s not much more to say.”

His mobile rang at that precise moment, and he looked relieved at the distraction, but a few seconds later he was frowning as he held the phone to his ear. “Hello? Hello?” His tone was worried. “Listen … who is this?”

“Another call?” Shelley raised her eyebrow at him. “I had one the other day.” They suddenly noticed Georgia looking at them curiously.

“It’s nothing,” said Fergus just a shade too quickly. “Just a wrong number.”

Later that night, Georgia was tucked up on the sofa with her little dog, Pip, lying across her and her laptop balanced on her knees. She was emailing Melanie in France, telling her all the news from Josephine’s yard.

She sat and thought for a moment, wondering whether to say anything to Melanie about Josephine’s daughter, in case she knew what had happened, but she decided not to pry. Closing the laptop, she sighed and rubbed her aching legs. She wasn’t used to riding so much! Checking her phone, she wondered if she should message Dan, but it was late, and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion. She’d already exchanged a series of texts with Emma, who’d wanted to know all the news.

I’ll text Dan tomorrow
, she thought to herself. It wasn’t long before she was fast asleep with Pip curled up beside her and the TV remote dangling from her hand, dreaming of ponies, foals and galloping Lily in the spotlight at the Horse of the Year Show!