The Palomino Pony Wins Through (4 page)

C
HAPTER
S
EVEN

J
osephine looked tired the next day as Georgia rode three more of her ponies – the Highland, Lachlan; a little Exmoor gelding called Jasper; and a black Shetland, whose name was Porridge.

“You have such lovely ponies,” she sighed as she untacked Porridge and sponged him down.

Josephine smiled. “Thank you, Georgia, but I can’t take the credit for them really. They’re Alice’s
work. She was so good at schooling…” She paused and smiled the same sad smile Georgia had seen in the kitchen on her first day.

Georgia opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her new boss.

Josephine clapped her hands. “Right then, do you want to get Lily in? Let’s see how she goes.”

Quickly, they walked over to the paddock. Georgia caught Lily, then tacked her up, her hands shaking slightly. Melanie was the only person who had ever really seen her ride the little mare. Georgia still felt a little intimidated by Josephine. Lily, sensing Georgia’s nerves, gave a gentle whicker and snuffled her hands, as if to reassure her.

Josephine took her down to the arena, and once they got going Georgia started to relax. With Josephine’s guidance, Georgia was soon cantering
perfect twenty-metre circles and leg-yielding across the long side, in perfect harmony with Lily.

“What a brilliant pony,” Josephine breathed, clearly captivated by the golden mare’s paces.

Josephine was a fantastic teacher – very instinctive, much like Melanie – and Georgia marvelled at how Lily responded to her tiniest aids. It was almost as though Josephine was one step ahead all the time, picking things up, and as Georgia followed her instructions she and Lily danced around the arena.

“Forget showing, you should try dressage with her. I bet that you two would go all the way to Grand Prix!” Josephine called, as Georgia brought her to a halt before walking on a loose rein, cooling her pony down. Once she had dismounted, they walked side by side back to the stables.

Georgia found herself chatting away to Josephine, much more at ease in her company
now. She told her all about the dramas of the past nine months – from rescuing Lily, right through to the birth of Secret, when suddenly Josephine gave a sharp intake of breath and stopped in her tracks. “Alice,” her voice wavered.

Georgia looked ahead of her. There was the young blonde-haired girl, standing next to Secret’s box. She was gazing at the foal, who in turn was watching her with his liquid amber eyes. Alice was trembling, her hands clenched in fists by her sides, but she didn’t move. Her face was as pale as before when she’d stared at Georgia and Lily.

Giving Georgia a cautionary look, Josephine hurried towards her. Georgia stopped where she was and waited quietly, feeling awkward. Alice’s face dissolved into tears as she saw her.

“Honey!” she sobbed, pointing at Lily. Georgia’s heart went out to her.

Josephine put her arm round her daughter, her
voice soft and kind. “Darling, we talked about this, didn’t we? This isn’t Honey, this is Lily.”

Hesitating, she gave a little nod to Georgia to walk on, before saying quietly, “Lily is Georgia’s pony.” She smoothed Alice’s hair. “But why don’t you go and say hello? I’ll come with you.”

But in that moment Alice’s face changed. She turned whiter than ever, and her eyes became huge and dark, flashing black. “Never,” she hissed angrily. “I’m never, ever going near a pony again!”

And with that, she spun on her heel and sprinted back towards the house.

“Are you OK, Gee?” Dan looked concerned later that evening as Georgia sat on the hay bales watching him mend a piece of machinery. She had finally managed to get round to texting him, but it was too late to organise going anywhere so she had come to see him on the farm instead. He was
wearing an old checked shirt and had caught a bit of early spring sunshine, which set off his freckles. He looked good. “You look tired,” he said. “Are they working you too hard?”

“It
is
hard work.” Georgia smiled wearily. “But it’s fun too, and I’m learning loads about riding,” she said. “I miss Redgrove though.”

“Yeah,” Dan agreed. “It’s weird not having you just down the road and being able to pop over and see you,” he grinned.

Georgia blushed, and couldn’t help a smile creeping over her lips. “I’m showing tomorrow,” she told him, a little hesitantly, which was strange, because she was never nervous talking to Dan. “Come with me if you can!”

“Sounds great,” Dan smiled, and gave her a wink. “I
might
be able to squeeze you into my busy schedule,” he said, grabbing a handful of straw and pretending to throw it at her.

Georgia laughed, feeling a million times better, like she always did when Dan was around. She was relieved that they’d settled back into their easy banter and the weird atmosphere of the other day had disappeared.

C
HAPTER
E
IGHT

I
f Georgia had been expecting show mornings at the Smalley yard to be anything like those at Redgrove – where she, Dan and Melanie chatted and laughed while washing tails and singing along to the radio – she would have been disappointed! The Smalley yard worked with military precision. Shelley and Fergus had their routine down to a fine art, and quickly loaded the huge black lorry
full of rugs and wicker baskets.

“Can you believe the lorry can take
six
ponies?” Georgia said to Dan, who was smiling at her amazement.

Josephine had been more than happy for Dan to come along and help out. Georgia wondered where Alice was. She guessed that she was probably with Josephine’s husband, a tall dark-haired man Georgia had only caught sight of a couple of times as he worked long hours away from the yard.

“OK, Fergus.” Josephine clapped her hands briskly. “Ponies ready?”

“Sure, Mrs Smalley.” Fergus led two of the ponies across the yard. He was going to show the ponies in-hand and was wearing a boiler suit over his smart clothes. Georgia was going to be doing all the riding.

Lily was coming too, and Georgia had taken extra care with her bath the night before, as she was
going to be representing a professional yard and needed to look her very best! Lily seemed to revel in the luxury of having a bit of time away from her boisterous foal, and had fallen asleep under the warmth of the heat lamps, which Georgia had used to dry her coat. The palomino didn’t seem to want to go back to her stable! She looked great now, her cotton show-sheet setting off the golden hues of her coat, and her cream tail reflecting the early April sunshine.

It was an unusually warm morning, and hoodies and sweaters were already being discarded as they loaded the ponies. Four of them were going – Lily, Porridge, Lachlan and a three-year-old Welsh gelding called Jester, who was going to be shown in-hand. It was Georgia’s job to ride Porridge, Lachlan and Lily in their respective breed classes.

Georgia felt a tremble of nerves in her stomach as she considered the day ahead. She was determined
to do her very best and not let Josephine down. Glancing back towards the house as she climbed into the vast horsebox, she could have sworn she saw a small figure appear in the doorway, watching forlornly. Putting a hand above her eyes Georgia squinted against the sunlight but when she looked again, there was nobody there.

As Josephine drove down the country roads that led to the showground, Shelley outlined the day ahead. Porridge’s class in the Small Breeds was to be the first for Georgia to compete in. Then she would ride Lachlan, and lastly Lily, who was in the Welsh Section B Class. Shelley would have each pony ready and waiting for Georgia to swap over and warm up before the classes. “It can get a little frantic,” she said, grinning. “But don’t worry, I know what I’m doing!”

“I feel bad you’re having to do it all on your
own,” Georgia confessed. “I love the grooming side of things at a show.”

Josephine smiled as she turned on to the main road. “But you’re here to ride, Georgia,” she reminded her. She sounded firm but there was a kind look on her face. “That’s your job, and you’re representing my yard today, so the pressure will be on a bit.”

Georgia smiled at her nervously, the butterflies in her stomach returning. She secretly wished she were in Melanie’s lorry, singing along to the radio and having a laugh with her friends. Mentally giving herself a shake, she reminded herself what a good experience it would be. Dan, seeming to understand how she was feeling, put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed it, and she smiled gratefully, pleased he was there with her.

Porridge, first into the ring, jigged a little from side to side. He looked so cute in his smart double bridle, his huge eyes peeking out from under a mound of fluffy forelock. Georgia, smartly dressed in Sophie’s outgrown tweed jacket, was about to enter the ring when she suddenly became aware of a girl staring at her from the side of the entrance.

Looking around, Georgia wondered if she was mistaken. Perhaps the girl was looking at someone else? But no. She was definitely gazing at her and with such hatred and fury that for a horrible second Georgia thought it was Lily’s old owner, Jemma, coming to take the pony away from her again. An icy stab of fear swept through her before she realised this girl was dark haired and tall, nothing like Jemma, and Georgia had never seen her before in her life!

There wasn’t time to think about it now. The steward was calling the riders into the ring and
when Georgia glanced back at the side of the arena, the girl had disappeared.

Porridge was pretty strong for his size and soon Georgia was concentrating solely on her riding, keeping him moving forward but soft in her hand. There were eleven other ponies in the class, and after a neat individual show Georgia was pulled in third and presented with a yellow rosette, which she proudly pinned to her jacket before cantering around on the lap of honour. Josephine, Dan and Shelley were waiting for her outside the ring, smiling and clapping.

Quickly, Georgia jumped off Porridge and got straight on to Lachlan, who was waiting patiently outside the ring, his generous face watching the proceedings with interest. After Porridge, Lachlan felt like a mountain! Georgia scanned the crowd again, but she couldn’t see the girl from earlier.

Georgia trotted Lachlan into the ring. In spite
of his size, Lachlan was so light in Georgia’s hand that soon she was smiling in delight as she cantered round the arena, finding a space to really let him show off his paces, his silky black mane flying. The big dun was a seasoned pro and had qualified for most of the major championships. Georgia’s job was to try and qualify him again for the Royal International. She felt a twinge of envy for whoever would get to ride him there if he qualified.

To her delight, Georgia was pulled in first in the initial line-up. She just had to complete her individual show and try to maintain her standard. Waiting in line, she was suddenly aware of a hissing sound coming from the girl to her left, who had been pulled in second. The judge was chatting with the steward and had his back to the line.

Georgia turned. It was the same girl from earlier, only this time she was on a big dapple grey.
“You’d better watch your back if you’re riding for Josephine,” the girl sneered, her face contorting in anger.

“Sorry?” Georgia was taken aback.

“You heard,” the girl hissed. “That yard is going to pay for what they did to my pony.”

And with that, she turned away from Georgia, who could only stare at her back in amazement. What on earth had that been about? Whatever could she mean? Whatever it was, Georgia didn’t like the sound of it. Not one bit.