Top Ten: (Pony Jumpers #10) by Kate Lattey

Author:Kate Lattey [Lattey, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2018-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

The rain didn’t let up all morning, but the horses still had to be worked, so Dan and I braved the horrible weather and went for a hack. Keeley declined to join us, optimistically declaring that it would rain itself out in an hour or two, while she stayed in and tried to catch up on overdue assignments.

But it didn’t rain itself out. On the contrary, it only got heavier as the morning went on, and even riding a horse as lovely as Tara wasn’t much fun with the rain battering down on my helmet and running down my neck. She tucked her head in against the onslaught, dark ears flattened against her head as we trotted through the woods. Ahead of me, Dan was rising easily to Tadhg’s long strides, his reins held easily in one hand while he led Tull, a leggy grey four-year-old, alongside him. Tull wasn’t particularly happy about being expected to leave his stable in these conditions, and Dan was grumbling at him as the spooky youngster repeatedly jumped sideways into the taller grey.

“Would you get off me, you eejit?” Dan grumbled, then looked over his shoulder and called something back at me.

“What?” I asked, nudging Tara in the ribs to encourage her to close the gap between us.

Inspired, she bounded into canter, and Dan grinned at me and clucked to his own horses, which both eagerly leapt forward into a canter as well. Tara’s canter was rhythmic and steady, although slightly unbalanced due to her greenness. She was incredibly polite though, barely even flinching when a bushy-tailed squirrel shot across the path in front of us, and splashing willingly through the mud puddles that had gathered underfoot, always with her ears pricked forward and a joy in her step that made me smile, despite the rain.

Too soon, we were approaching the narrow country lane that would lead us back to Caherdubh, and we eased the horses back to a trot. As we emerged from the woods, Dan glanced skyward at the dark clouds, shook his head in disgust and carried on trotting, only slowing to a walk when we met a tractor puttering along the road towards us.

Tull slammed on the brakes in moral objection to passing such a horrifying object, and the farmer came to a stop, but left the noisy engine running. Tull had his feet well and truly planted on the side of the road, so Dan nodded me on ahead of him. I clicked my tongue to ask Tara to take the lead, and she didn’t hesitate. Blinking through the rain at the rumbling mechanical beast, she jogged past on springy hooves, and Dan was soon able to convince his more reluctant horses to follow. I reached forward and rubbed Tara’s slick neck, wishing more than anything I could take her home with me, knowing I would soon have no choice but to leave her behind.

Even darker clouds were rolling in over the sea towards us as Dan trotted up alongside me, water dripping off the brim of his helmet.

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