Flame and the Rebel Riders by Stacy Gregg

Author:Stacy Gregg [Gregg, Stacy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-00-735826-7
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2010-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

When Issie arrived at the stables the next morning and saw that Flame was the first horse on her roster she felt sick at the prospect of trying to jump him again. She was hoping that maybe they’d be exercising the horses on a forest ride instead. But according to the roster they’d be working in the arena, where the jumps were set up at a substantial height ready for training.

Ginty hadn’t managed to get another rider to replace Verity yet, but she did have two of the groundskeepers from Dulmoth Park on hand that morning helping out with the jumps. The two boys knew next to nothing about horses, but they had been given a brief explanation of what to do and now they stood by in position ready to lift the poles as Issie, Natasha and Penny began to warm their horses up, trotting round the arena.

“OK,” Ginty called out to the riders. “Can I have you one at a time, please, over the jump where the boys are?”

Natasha went first. She was on Tokyo and the big bay mare picked her feet up neatly on the first try, but the boys had really yanked the pole up. They hit her hard, scraping the wood against her cannon bones and Issie saw Tokyo flinch as she tucked her legs up even higher.

Suddenly Issie knew that she couldn’t go through with it. It was her turn, but how could she ride Flame over the jump knowing that the boys were going to hit him no matter what? Instead, she rode straight up to Ginty.

“I think these guys are hitting the horses too hard,” she told her. “They’ve never done this before. They really bashed Tokyo with the rail just then.”

“That’s exactly what they’re supposed to do,” Ginty said flatly. “It was Tokyo’s fault. She didn’t lift her legs enough.”

“But she did lift them.”

Ginty ignored her. “It’s your turn,” she told Issie. “Take Flame in at a canter.”

Issie didn’t move.

“Is there a problem, Isadora?”

Issie nodded. “It’s just that I’ve been talking to someone and this person told me that rapping is really cruel.”

Ginty sighed. “This ‘person’ wouldn’t be Tom Avery, would it?”

“Ummmm…” Issie hesitated.

“It’s all right,” Ginty said, “I’m not expecting you to compromise your loyalty to him. I know that Avery is your friend. And I have nothing against him and his methods — but he seems to be obsessed with me!”

Ginty’s expression looked sorrowful, as if she were deeply hurt by Avery’s accusations. “What can I say? Avery’s a pony-club instructor and I’m a professional. He probably can’t stand the fact that I’ve had more champion showjumpers than he’s had hot dinners. For some reason he seems to think that must mean that I’m doing something naughty.”

Ginty held Flame’s reins and reached out and stroked the chestnut’s glossy neck. “Isadora, I am the best in the business. And that isn’t just because of my methods, it’s also about instincts. I have an eye for a good horse.” Then Ginty reached her bony hand out and grasped Issie’s hand in her own.

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