Barmah Brumbies by Soraya Nicholas

Author:Soraya Nicholas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781760146795
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

She made a mental note to keep an eye out for those red ribbons as they neared some yards. A lady holding a clipboard was waiting at the entrance.

‘These are the temporary yards where the horses are to be kept,’ the woman said to Aunt Sophie.

‘You all right with both of them, Pops?’ Uncle Mark asked. ‘I’m going to get their water sorted and fetch some hay from the truck.’

Poppy nodded and took Storm’s lead rope. He’d calmed down a little, but he was still looking around, ears pricked as he surveyed the scene. She held both ropes tightly, one horse on each side of her, and waited for Aunt Sophie to finish talking to the lady.

It felt nice having both of them beside her. She was so proud of Storm and she loved him so much, but she wondered if he was confused when he saw her with Crystal all the time. She loved having two horses, but she hated sometimes having to choose between them.

‘Hi, girls!’ the woman said brightly as Sophie led Shadow into the yards. ‘We’re going to have a great few days here at Barmah.’

Poppy nodded and smiled as they passed. The forest smelt amazing, and she was so happy the rain had stopped. But everything felt fresh and vibrant because of it; droplets of water still twinkled on some of the leaves and the ground wasn’t too dusty.

‘Over here, girls,’ called Aunt Sophie. She’d put Shadow into his makeshift yard, and now she took Storm.

Poppy secured Crystal and unclipped her lead rope, watching as all the horses moved about and inspected their new surroundings. Uncle Mark came back lugging water and Poppy turned to him.

‘We’ll get the hay,’ she suggested.

He nodded and the three friends walked back toward the truck, chatting excitedly.

‘This is so cool. Check out all the horses that are here already,’ Katie hissed.

‘I know. Do you think a lot of them are brumbies?’ Poppy asked. There seemed to be all types of horses and ponies – big draft horses, finer-boned Thoroughbreds and then a whole lot of cross-breed types. She guessed some of them could have been brumbies, but she wasn’t sure.

A girl walked past them then and Poppy turned back to look at her. She looked familiar, but Poppy couldn’t work out where she’d seen her. Maybe it was at a competition?

‘Oh. My. God,’ Milly exclaimed.

‘What?’ Poppy asked.

‘That was Sienna Andrews,’ Milly gasped. ‘I can’t believe you didn’t recognise her!’

‘Do you think we’ll be riding with her?’ Katie asked, eyes wide as she met Poppy’s gaze.

Sienna Andrews. Poppy racked her brain and then it hit her. ‘Did she win the Australian Brumby Challenge?’

‘Duh.’ Milly laughed. ‘I could have told you that the second she walked past us!’

Poppy looked back, trying to see Sienna’s long, almost-black hair, but she’d disappeared. Now she remembered reading all about the riding star in a HorseWyse magazine that Katie had brought to the farm one weekend. She was the youngest ever trainer to win, only eighteen years old, and the fact that she was a girl made it even cooler.

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