Dream Pony by Susannah Leigh

Author:Susannah Leigh [Leigh, Susannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781409555070
Publisher: Usborne Publishing

10

OLD FRIENDS, NEW FRIENDS

It was a Saturday afternoon. Jess adjusted Skylark’s saddle and did up the girth.

“Are you ready for a hack, Skylark?” she whispered into the pony’s ear. “Because I am.”

The last two weeks had been busy. There was school and homework and after school jobs around the house to fit in as well. Every evening, as soon as she was able, Jess would cycle the twenty minutes to Rychester to spend time with Skylark. At the end of the first week, she had ridden her pony at last.

“You’ve been wise to wait,” Amy told her encouragingly as she had watched Jess ride in the warmth of the indoor school. Skylark had been perfectly sound and to Jess’s delight, there seemed to be no lasting damage to the pony’s knees. One evening there was another publicity photo session with the Daily Advertiser, the Rychester Stables sign prominently displayed in the background.

“Let’s show them a fit and eager pony, and a healthy and happy rider,” Jasper had urged Jess, shoving a bottle of New Improved Mango Miracle Shampoo into her hand as she smiled broadly for the camera.

Camilla was often at the stables in the evening too. She would ride Apollo in the indoor school, training him for the Ash Hill show, and Jess watched them jump with admiration. Apollo cleared the jumps effortlessly, with a proud flick of his tail. Jess noticed that Camilla kept him on a very tight rein which caused the palomino pony to skip and toss his head. But the more Apollo pirouetted, the tighter Camilla sat to the saddle. She didn’t flinch or move a muscle.

After all the lessons in the indoor school during the week, Jess was looking forward to a relaxing hack in the open air. She swung herself up into Skylark’s saddle and gathered up the reins. Just as she was preparing to walk on, a voice at her shoulder stopped her.

“Give Skylark a good run now.” Jasper’s voice was brisk and efficient. “She needs the exercise.”

“Yes,” Jess replied eagerly, “But I’m not going to take any risks.”

“Absolutely,” Jasper said. “You need to save yourself and that pony for the Ash Hill Show. After all it’s not only Rychester you’ll be jumping for. The Daily Advertiser will be following your progress with interest too. So you’d better come back with a rosette. Now go on, enjoy the hack.”

He gave Skylark a smart slap on the rump and the little pony lurched forward. Jess, temporarily unseated, put a steadying hand on the front of the saddle and thought about what Jasper had said…you’d better come back with a rosette. Jess felt vaguely uneasy, bullied almost. But Jasper was relying on her and that made her feel important.

“We’ll have to train really hard Skylark,” she whispered to her pony. “But we can do it.”

“We can do it,” she repeated silently to herself and her heart began to beat faster as she thought about the competition. She was a part of this place now, and she would do well for Rychester.

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