“I really like your bag,” I said, nodding at the leather case she wore strapped across her chest.
“It’s a quiver, to carry my arrows in.”
“Where do you buy a quiver?” I asked curiously.
“I don’t know. I made it myself,” she said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “I also made my own arrows, and my own bow.”
“Are you a rider?” I asked, trying to sound just as casual, even though secretly I felt exhilarated. I had never met an actual archer before!
“Not yet,” she said. She signed her name in the register, gave me a mysterious smile and strode off as though she had somewhere important to be.
“Phew. I think that went well,” said Shannon, reappearing at my elbow just as Storm leaving. “Oliver said he’s prepared to let the girls try it, anyway.”
“That means we have eleven people!” I said, jumping on from behind my table to throw my arms into the air and sending papers and pens flying everywhere.
“Eleven people!” breathed Shannon. “And five people have talked to me about boarding their horses at Pocket of Dreams.” While I jumped around with delight she stood stock still, staring at me. “We’re going to make it, Frankie, and this is all thanks to you and your brilliant idea.”
“Well, actually, there were three of them,” I modestly said.
“Even more importantly, I’m going to be able to help Paris.”
I nodded, silently promising I would do everything I could to make it work well with Violet.
“How can I thank you, Frankie?”
“I was just wondering how I could thank you …” As we stood looking at each other, Shannon’s eyes seemed especially sparkly, I thought.
“But of course,” I added, “it’s really all thanks to Zen.”
While Shannon and I folded up the chair and table and packed the flyers away I looked around for Mum to share my amazing news. I scanned the crowds carefully, and then climbed up onto a bleacher to give me a better view, but I still couldn’t see her anywhere. Zen was standing next to the trailer, munching on hay. Dad stood beside him, stroking his neck with a distant look on his face. Once we’d finished packing up I headed towards them, steeling myself. Seeing Mum and Viv must have been hard for Dad. I took a deep breath, preparing to cheer him up.
Zen raised his head and nickered as I approached, and I threw my arms around his neck. “I’m so proud of you,” I told him.
“I’m so proud of you both.” Dad smiled at me. It wasn’t a pretend smile, it was a big, wide, real smile. “I reckon we should celebrate,” he said.
I grinned back at him. “Sure. Where?”
“Your Mum and Viv have invited us back to their place for carrot cake and coffee, and hot chocolate,” he added. “I told them we’d bring her car and drop Zen off at Shannon’s on the way, and then we can be back here in time for Shannon’s demonstration with Spirit this afternoon.”
“But …” I stared at Dad. Something really was different. “You don’t know how to drive a horse trailer.”
He shrugged. “Time I learned. Your mum gave me some pointers. Let’s get this pony loaded.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my father?” I demanded.
Dad laughed. It was a sound I hadn’t heard for a long time.
Together we led Zen into the trailer and made him comfortable. Dad got into the driver’s seat and I stood outside and directed while he squeezed the car and trailer onto the narrow track and out of the showground. “Let’s go,” he said.
We pulled out onto the road and started driving towards The Pocket. I looked over at Dad once more to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. He had a little smile on his face. I turned and looked out the window.
This wasn’t just a dream. It was all really happening. Next weekend eleven new riders would arrive at Pocket of Dreams for the first ever meeting of our new club. Violet was going to be challenging, for sure, but I liked Ash and Lesley, and I was looking forward to getting to know Storm. I had the feeling Kai wouldn’t be able to keep away, either.
The Dream Riders Club was about to get real.
Acknowledgements
We would especially like to thank Louise Kropach – horse whisperer and human facilitator extraordinaire – who inspired the Dream Riders series with her approach to horses and natural horsemanship, as well as her approach to humans, especially young girls.
Louise also played a key role in the creation of the series, from our first conversations years ago, through hours of lessons and endless cups of tea at her beautiful property in Northern NSW, to the final read-throughs of the manuscript.
While the world of the Dream Riders is completely fictional, it wouldn’t exist without Louise. If you’d like to find out more about her and the work she does, please go to her website at www.louisekropach.com
We’d also like to thank, in no particular order, the following people, who have all contributed in their own unique ways to making the dream of this series a reality:
Linsay Knight, whose enthusiasm and guidance has made this series a joy to work on from the beginning, as well as Janine Quast, Nicola Santilli, Amanda Tarlau and all the team at Walker Books Australia;
Zoe Davis, Vanessa McTyre and Ernie, a special thanks for assisting with the cover image;
Benython Oldfield and Thomasin Chinnery, at Zeitgeist Media Group, for their wise and generous representation and advice;
Adelaide Smilovic Powter, Violet Smilovic Powter, Melita Smilovic, Stephen Powter, Fu-He Viani, Lisa Brockwell, Maurizio Viani, Kyla Slaven, Lou Johnson, Geoff Bloom and Leo Bloom.
About Laura Bloom
Laura Bloom grew up in Sydney, reading constantly and dreaming of becoming a writer. Now she lives in a small country town with her family and lots of animals, writing novels for children and adults. Her books have been short-listed for awards and sold in many countries. Her next novel for young readers, Mika and Max – about a girl who meets a boy, who makes her see everything differently – is also published by Walker.
About Jesse Blackadder
Jesse Blackadder was a horse-mad city kid who wanted to be a vet. She was that girl who postered her bedroom with horses and crowded her dressing table with prancing plastic ponies. She finally became a horse owner when she moved to the country as an adult. Jesse is the winner of several literary awards and has published novels for adults and children, including Paruku The Desert Brumby, based on the true story of a group of wild Australian brumbies that became endurance racehorses in Dubai.
How They Write
Laura and Jesse work together creating the storylines and the world of the Dream Riders. Then they each write a book on their own, unfolding the story, character by character, horse by horse.
About the Dream Riders series
In a small country town where everyone comes to be different, four young teens who don’t fit in – Frankie, Storm, Kai and Violet – break away from the rules of Pony Club to learn about natural horsemanship at the magical equestrian centre, Pocket of Dreams.
Lead by the magnetic horse-whisperer Shannon Falkiner, the young people learn how to guide their horses, without saddles or bridles – using only respect, rapport and an understanding of the way horses relate to each other in the wild.
It’s a skill the young people must draw on in every aspect of their lives, as they face their own challenges and share adventures beyond their imagining.
For Adelaide
First published in 2019
by Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd
Locked Bag 22, Newtown
NSW 2042 Australia
www.walkerbooks.com.au
This ebook edition published in 2019
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted.
Text © 2019 Laura Bloom, Jesse Blackadder
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recordi
ng or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.
A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from the
National Library of Australia catalogue.
ISBN: 9781760650681 (ePub/mobi)
ISBN: 9781760650674 (ePDF)
Cover photograph © 2019 Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd.
Photograph by Amanda Tarlau
Living in a remote reach of The Pocket, twelve-year-old Storm is a hippy home-schooler Medievalist who knows almost nothing about the modern world. After taking out the archery prize at the local show, Storm spots the horse of her dreams, Morning Mist, on the jousting field. Inspired by Frankie’s demonstration of natural horsemanship, the headstrong Storm immediately decides to join the Dream Riders and buy Morning Mist with her prize money. But she’s told to forget it in no uncertain terms by the owner, Margery, a crotchety widower and champion marmalade-maker who has no time for hippies. As Storm begins learning natural horsemanship with the Dream Riders her extraordinary talent becomes clear. She could ride just about any horse – but she’s not prepared to give up on Morning Mist.
Dream Riders Page 13