“They must have taken our posters down!” yelled Kenny. “They’re going to pay for this!”
You know what Kenny’s like. She wanted to run after the M&Ms and sort them out right there and then. But the rest of us had more important things on our mind – like saving the riding school. We all felt we’d let Mrs McAllister down.
We began to pack everything away.
“What are we going to do now?” asked Frankie.
“What can we do?” asked Rosie glumly.
“If it hadn’t been for those stupid M&Ms tearing down our posters, we’d probably have sold everything and have loads of dosh for the stables by now,” shouted Kenny. She was red in the face and she looked MAD.
The sound of raised voices had brought our parents out of the kitchen. I still felt miffed they hadn’t bought anything. I know we normally don’t like the oldies interfering in our schemes, but this was different. They knew that the whole point of the sale was to raise money.
“That’s right! Come out now when we’ve packed everything away!” Frankie snapped at her mum. It wasn’t like her to have a go at her parents. I knew that she must be feeling as bad as me.
“Look, Frankie, I’m sorry that your sale hasn’t gone well. We all are,” said Mrs Thomas calmly. “But we didn’t think that buying your junk was the best way for us to support you. You can have this though.” She handed Frankie a tin containing loads of 50p pieces and some £1 coins.
“What’s this?” asked Frankie.
“I charged everyone for coffee and biscuits,” laughed her mum. “I’m not stupid!”
“Thanks, Mum,” said Frankie. “It’s a start, but we need some SERIOUS money now. Any ideas?”
Everyone shook their heads. We were all idea-d out after the disappointment of the sale. Adam was getting very agitated.
“He says that you’ve got to think of a way to save the horses,” interpreted his mother. “Look, why don’t you all sleep on it and meet again at our house tomorrow afternoon. Maybe one of you will have come up with a plan by then.”
“Fliss won’t be home late, will she?” asked her mum anxiously. “I like her to be in bed early on a Sunday night.”
Fliss blushed a shade of beetroot, but at least it made the rest of us laugh.
“Is four till six OK?” asked Rosie’s mum.
Everyone agreed that it was.
As we collected all our stuff together, it felt like the end of any other sleepover. It was only when Mum was driving me and Spike home that I began to feel really miserable. What had seemed like such a great plan had gone utterly and horribly wrong.
As soon as I got home I ran up to my room and decided that I wouldn’t go down again until I’d thought of a way to save the stables. The trouble was that when I got up there, it seemed an age since breakfast – we hadn’t really felt like pigging out when the sale finished after all. My stomach started to rumble and I couldn’t think straight because I was so hungry. My brain was as empty as my tummy.
There was a knock at my door. It was Mum to tell me that lunch was ready. When I told her that I was going to stay there until I’d thought of a plan, she came in and sat down on my bed.
“That’s an awful lot of responsibility you’re putting on those shoulders, Lyndsey,” she said to me. “You can’t do this by yourself.”
“I know, Mum,” I told her. “But I’ve got to try.”
“Well what about doing something that involves the horses?” she suggested. “If people could see how much pleasure they give, maybe they would dig deeper in their pockets. If I were you I’d go and visit Mrs McAllister tomorrow morning and see if you can think of something together.”
Mum’s a genius sometimes. I gave her a hug and went down for my lunch.
When I arrived at Mr Brocklehurst’s farm the next day, I was really excited because I’d been thinking about what Mum had said and I’d had an idea. But I was kind of nervous too because I didn’t want to have to tell Mrs McAllister what a disaster the sale had been. I needn’t have worried about it though, because when I arrived Adam and Rosie were already there with their mum.
“Hi, Lyndz!” said Rosie when she saw me. “Adam was really miserable so we came to see the horses. We’ve told Mrs McAllister about the sale and everything and she’s been pretty cool about it. Why are you here?”
“I’ve had this idea about organising a big Stable Fun Day with everybody getting involved with the horses. You know, with gymkhana games and things to do for children,” I squealed. The more I thought about it, the better the idea became.
“Cool!” laughed Rosie.
We both danced and hugged each other. And when I told her about it, Mrs McAllister also thought it was a great idea.
We wandered across to the field to look at Bramble for a bit and then went back to the stable block where Mrs McAllister was grooming Alfie. Adam was there too and we all chatted about ideas for the Fun Day.
“I think Adam and his friends should show everybody what they can do,” said Mrs McAllister, as she picked out Alfie’s hoofs. “A lot of people don’t know what Riding for the Disabled is all about. Would you like to show them, Adam?”
Adam nodded and smiled and pointed to Marvel.
“Yes, you can ride Marvel!” laughed Mrs McAllister.
“What can Lyndz do?” asked Rosie.
“Oh, I’m sure there’s lots of events she can enter, don’t worry!” laughed Mrs McAllister, smiling at me.
“What about my friends?” I asked. “They’ve got to be involved too!”
“There’ll be lots for everyone to do, Lyndsey,” Mrs McAllister reassured me. “The main thing is to prove that the riding school is worth saving.”
It was lovely being there, thinking that we were actually going to do something to help. I felt really happy and Adam got really excited. He had some brilliant ideas too, like writing to the local newspaper asking them to come and report on the Fun Day.
When it was time to leave, Rosie’s mum gave me a lift back home.
“Won’t it be cool if we get this planned without the others knowing?” laughed Rosie as I got out of the car. “I can’t wait to see their faces when we tell them about it.”
And it was cool. That afternoon I arrived at Rosie’s house early and helped Adam design the new posters. He’d already written the letter he was going to send to The Leicester Mercury. You could tell he was really fired up about the idea.
When the others turned up they all had faces like a wet weekend. You just knew that they hadn’t had any more money-making ideas. It was really difficult for me and Rosie to keep straight faces. We wanted to burst out and tell them about the Fun Day straight away. But we’d agreed that we should make them sweat a bit first. Cruel or what!
“It’s no good!” moaned Fliss. “We’ve tried our best. Maybe we’re just too young for all this.”
“Don’t be so wet, Fliss,” yelled Kenny. “Our ideas are as good as anyone else’s.”
“It’s just that we don’t have any,” said Frankie sadly.
Rosie and I couldn’t stand it any more. Rosie nudged Adam, who was doubled up with laughter himself.
“I don’t see what’s so funny!” snapped Fliss.
Adam handed them a copy of the new poster:
It was wicked watching their faces as they read the poster.
“This is brilliant!” gasped Frankie. “Who thought of it?”
“Lyndz,” beamed Rosie.
I blushed when she said that. I couldn’t believe that the Fun Day had been my idea.
“Where are we going to put the posters so the Gruesome Twosome can’t sabotage this idea as well?” asked Kenny.
“The M&Ms needn’t know we’re involved,” I said. “Frankie’s address was on the other poster, which sort of gave the game away. If the M&Ms ask, we’ll just pretend we don’t know anything about it. AND we’ll keep an eye on the posters we do put up.”
“How exactly are we going to be involved?” asked Fliss. “I won’
t have to ride anything will I?”
“Nobody has to get on a horse if they don’t want to,” Rosie reassured her. “There’ll be lots of ways for us to help. We thought we could take photographs of children sitting on the horses and charge for them.”
“But we’re hopeless with cameras!” said Frankie.
“Yes, I know!” admitted Rosie. “Mum said she’d take the photographs if we wanted, but I don’t know whether we should let the oldies get involved. You know how they take over.”
We all nodded.
“I suppose if people are paying money though, they’ll want a decent photo and not one of our pathetic efforts,” reasoned Frankie. “Besides, we weren’t very successful with the sale we organised by ourselves were we?”
We all had to admit that this was true.
“Well, maybe we could let them get involved, just a little,” Rosie said. “And one of us could collect the money for the photographs, so we’d still have some control over things.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon planning all the things we could do at the Fun Day. Apart from Fliss, who spent most of her time planning what she was going to wear!
We took some posters away with us. But this time we told each other exactly where we were going to put them up. That way we could keep an eye on them.
We were all pretty excited about the Stable Fun Day because it felt as though we were involved in something really big and important. Even Fliss was excited, but I think that was because Adam had told her that a photographer from The Leicester Mercury might be there. I think she thought she might be spotted and given a modelling contract or something. Well she certainly got to be on the front page, but not in quite the way she had in mind!
The next two weeks were just one mega-blur of activity. It’s a wonder we found time to go to school! We put up posters all around Cuddington. AND checked them every day to make sure they were still there. The M&Ms caught us checking one, but we pretended that we were only reading it.
“Bet you’re too chicken to get on a horse aren’t you, Hughesy?” Kenny called out. We all started to make clucking noises and pretended to flap our wings.
“Is that Stable Fun Day something to do with you?” asked Emma Hughes, looking down her nose at us.
“Nope!” said Frankie coolly. “We were just reading the poster. We might give it a go though.”
“Really?” laughed Emily Berryman in her gruff voice. “Then maybe we should go too, Em, what do you say?” She looked at her friend and they both ran away, giggling.
“What did you say that for?” asked Fliss, going very pink in the face. “We don’t want any trouble with them at the Fun Day. They’ll spoil everything.”
“Not if I have anything to do with it!” shouted Kenny with a nasty gleam in her eye.
But to be honest, we just didn’t have time to start worrying about the M&Ms – we had far too much to worry about already!
Adam had got a reply from The Leicester Mercury saying that they would be sending a reporter and photographer to cover the Fun Day. And there’d been a couple of mentions of it in the paper already, which was cool. We jumped up and down like monkeys when we read those. But then we started to panic because we’d feel pretty stupid if no one turned up.
As we were trying to show everybody what a great place the riding school was, we had to think of lots of fun things to do. So, as well as gymkhana games, there had to be lots of activities for people who couldn’t ride.
We’d agreed that Rosie’s mum could take the photographs, then Frankie’s parents said they would sell refreshments. That was OK because we thought we’d get bored making tea all day, but when my mum wanted to get involved too it looked as though our parents were going to hijack the day. But Mum is quite laid-back about stuff and said she’d just help where she could, so we agreed that she could have a go at face-painting. Kenny’s mum helped us out by persuading local shops to donate prizes for some of the competitions and for a raffle, so that was cool.
I am sure you are wondering what we were going to do. Well, Rosie was going to help her mum, Frankie was going to face-paint with mine, and Fliss said that she’d organise the raffle. Kenny thought all those things sounded a bit girlie, so Mrs McAllister said she could help with the gymkhana games. And me? Well, I was actually going to enter a couple of the games on Bramble.
I hadn’t done anything like that before but fortunately Bramble was an old hand. She’s always being entered in gymkhanas so she knew all about stopping and starting and taking corners really tightly. I had to learn everything – including flying dismounts, where you have to leap off while the pony’s still moving. Crazy! I wasn’t too good at vaulting back on again, though. After a few tumbles, Mrs McAllister suggested that I should enter the sack race and the egg-and-spoon race. Once I’d dismounted in those events, I didn’t have to get back on again!
I spent ages riding Bramble across the field so I knew exactly where I would have to turn her and dismount. Then I was like a loony, practising jumping about in a sack and running with an egg balanced on a spoon. And if you’ve ever done that on sports day, you’ll know it’s not so easy. Imagine doing it whilst you’re leading a pony as well! Mega-crazy!
I had been looking forward to the Fun Day like anything, but when it arrived I was really nervous. I got to the farm early to get Bramble ready. It looked really cool, with flags and garlands everywhere – Mrs McAllister must have put them up the night before. The gymkhana games were being held in one of Mr Brocklehurst’s fields and a few stalls had been set up in the practice ring. One of the stables at the riding school, which hadn’t been damaged by the fire, was going to be used for refreshments. It had electricity so Mr and Mrs Thomas could boil up lots of water for hot drinks.
When I arrived Bramble was still in the field, so I went to catch her and then took her back to the stable block and gave her a good grooming. It was hard work, but after a while her coat was gleaming! I tacked her up, and then waited for Mrs McAllister to check her over.
“Now remember, Lyndsey, it’s not about winning, it’s about having fun!” she said, as she tightened Bramble’s girth.
I smiled at her, but my stomach was doing somersaults.
“You might as well ride over to the field now,” said Mrs McAllister. “Adam and his friends are about to perform in the opening demonstration, then it’s your races!”
Once I’d mounted Bramble, I felt a lot calmer. Until, that was, Kenny, Frankie and Rosie came flying towards us.
“Hiya, Lyndz!” they yelled. “Isn’t this cool?”
“Are you ready for your races?” asked Frankie.
“I think so,” I mumbled.
“Don’t worry, you’ll thrash them!” Rosie reassured me.
“And I can always help out, if you know what I mean!” laughed Kenny.
“WHOA!” I brought Bramble to a halt. “If I win I want it to be because I was the best, not because you cheated for me, Kenny!”
“All right, all right!” shouted Kenny. “Don’t get your frillies in a flap! I won’t help you at all. Promise!”
“Walk on!” I urged Bramble forward again. “Sorry,” I told the others. “I’m just a bit nervous!”
As we got close to the field, we saw hundreds of people milling about.
“Wow!” exclaimed Rosie. “Look at those crowds!”
Suddenly there was a blast on a trumpet and a crashing of cymbals and we could see Adam and his friends being led into the field on their horses. Adam and Marvel were at the front. Everybody whooped and cheered and Adam had just the biggest grin on his face.
Looking round at the faces in the crowd, you could tell that everyone was amazed how well someone with cerebral palsy could cope with riding. But, better than that, they could see how much Adam and his friends were enjoying it. Frankie had rushed to grab a tin for collecting donations, and as she worked through the crowd everybody emptied their pockets of change. It was brilliant – and the day had only just started!
�
��Hey, Lyndz! Over here!” It was Fliss. She was done up like Marge Simpson.
“Oh… hi!” I spluttered. I was almost speechless.
“Isn’t it brilliant that so many people have turned up!” she shouted up to me. “Have you seen the photographer from The Mercury anywhere? I thought he might want to take a picture of me.”
“What, for their Horror Corner?” asked Kenny, who had sneaked up behind her.
“Ha, ha, ha!” snapped Fliss. “I wanted to look my best, that’s all!”
Rosie came rushing up. “Does anyone want their photograph taken on Alfie?” she asked. “Mum wants to have a few practice shots before she starts charging anyone!”
“There you go, Fliss, the camera beckons!” I laughed.
“But I don’t want to go on a horse!” she yelled.
“Alfie’s as gentle as a baby!” I laughed. “Besides, if the photographer from The Mercury sees you, he might come and take a few pictures too!”
“Do you think so?” Fliss asked.
“We know so,” said Kenny, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, Lyndz, I came to tell you that it’s time to go into the field. The sack race is starting in two minutes.”
I trotted towards the field on Bramble with Kenny running beside me. Fliss and Rosie went to the corner of the other field, where Mrs Cartwright was standing with Alfie and her Polaroid camera.
The sack race was only a fun event and I knew the other three girls who were competing. They were all friendly, so we laughed and pulled faces at each other as Mrs McAllister explained the rules to us.
As I rode over to the starting line, I could hear Kenny and Frankie shouting, “Come on, Lyndz! You can do it!”
I tried to blank everything out of my mind and concentrated on keeping Bramble totally still as we waited behind the line.
When Mrs McAllister lowered her flag, I yelled, “Come on, Bramble! Go, girl!” And we flew to the other end of the field.
I couldn’t really see what anyone else was doing, but I knew that we had to do a really tight turn to get back to the centre line. I felt like I was flying. It was wicked! When I could see the centre line approaching, I prepared myself and did the most perfect flying dismount you’ve ever seen. I was way in front of the others.
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