The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance

by Clare Balding

  Charlie took the container of talc and tapped it lightly, showering the window ledge with a very thin layer of white powder.

  ‘We’ll see if this is disturbed when we come back.’ She noticed Polly’s confused expression and grinned. ‘Trust me!’

  CHAPTER 8

  The girls headed out to the stables to groom Noble Warrior and take him for his lunging session.

  ‘How long this week?’ Charlie asked.

  Polly consulted her notebook. ‘We did forty minutes last weekend so I think forty-five should be fine. I’ve got a memo here that he’s stiffer when he’s going right-handed so we need to work on that, and try to improve his flexibility.’

  Charlie led Noddy out to the middle of the arena where weeks of hoofprints had left clear tracks marking a circle round the central area. She glanced up at the farmhouse and saw the now-familiar twinkle from her bedroom as the sunlight reflected off something shiny. She wondered if her theory was right.

  When they had finished their session in the dressage arena, Charlie noticed a wooden block that had appeared by the side of the arena. It was exactly the right height for Polly to stand on and mount Noble Warrior. Charlie glanced back at the farmhouse and saw a shape move across her bedroom window, just as it had on the first day Polly had ridden Noddy.

  ‘Shall we take the long way home?’ she asked.

  ‘Sure.’

  They walked along the side of the field, up to the top of the hill and under the trees. Percy realized something was happening without him so he trotted to catch up. Charlie kept a light contact on the leading rein so that she was there in case of emergency, but in fact it meant that Polly had control of steering Noddy.

  ‘I wish I could ride properly again,’ Polly said.

  ‘Oh, I think Miss Cameron will help us with that,’ Charlie assured her. ‘Roll on Wednesday!’

  When they got back to the farmhouse, Charlie and Polly went straight upstairs. Charlie rushed over to the window ledge. She saw two rings, clearly marked in the talcum powder. ‘Ha!’

  ‘What do you think it is?’ Polly asked.

  ‘Come with me.’ Charlie led her friend carefully down the stairs to the bottom of the house. But instead of going to the kitchen, she turned them right towards the library. Her mother had an impressive collection of books that she had once kept stacked in piles in this spare room. But after Noble Warrior won the Derby, Charlie had insisted that her mother spend some of the money on bookshelves, and the library had been born.

  ‘This is so impressive,’ Polly said. Charlie knew she loved this room. ‘I bet you can find a book here on any subject you want.’

  Charlie pointed out the different sections.

  ‘Fiction’s on this side of the room and non-fiction is over there – but then they’re also subdivided into sections like sport or politics or religion. There’s a really good one about coaching you might like to read.’

  Polly moved towards the sports section and started pulling out books.

  ‘Are we looking for clues?’

  ‘Not there, we’re not.’

  Charlie moved towards the desk where another book lay open. It was the latest proof copy her mother was reading to check for factual mistakes, typos and grammatical errors. Next to the book was a pair of black binoculars. Charlie picked them up and inspected the lenses on the bottom. She traced her finger around the rim of the lens and smelled it. She tasted it as well, just to make sure.

  ‘I thought so,’ she said triumphantly.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Lavender talcum powder tastes horrible!’

  She handed them to Polly for inspection.

  ‘I’ve seen these before,’ Polly said, taking the heavy black binoculars and turning them to see the thin layer of talcum powder on the bottom rim. ‘My dad had a pair just like these that he used to take to the races. He uses a smaller, lighter pair now, but these always used to be over his shoulder.’

  She pointed to a metal badge hanging off the leather strap.

  ‘See that? It’s his trainer’s badge from 2014. These are Dad’s binoculars!’

  Charlie frowned. She wasn’t surprised to discover that her mother was watching her, but this was a puzzle. What was she doing with Alex Williams’s binoculars?

  That night Charlie and Polly had the full and frank conversation that her mother had suggested.

  ‘I know we haven’t been honest with you,’ Charlie explained. ‘But that’s because we didn’t really know that it would become a regular thing.’

  ‘It started by accident,’ Polly added. ‘It was almost as if Noddy wanted me to ride him and he’s been so sweet and understanding.’

  ‘Apart from that time you fell off him,’ said Mrs Bass matter-of-factly.

  ‘You saw that?’ Charlie was surprised.

  ‘Of course I did. How do you think I got there so quickly? Now don’t worry, I’m not going to spill your secret. I’m just glad you decided to tell someone what was going on!’

  Charlie felt better once they had included her mum in the plan to help Polly ride again. It was a relief not to be inventing stories and she had been worried about involving Mrs Wheeler unwittingly in their scheme to deceive. She finally plucked up the courage to ask the big question.

  ‘Mum, would you be able to take us to Miss Cameron’s lesson on Wednesday?’

  Mrs Bass raised an eyebrow as she looked at her daughter and then smiled.

  ‘I thought you’d never ask,’ she said.

  CHAPTER 9

  Cecilia Cameron was whippet-thin. She had a long, straight back and hair scraped into a bun behind her head. She wore dark blue jodhpurs with suede dividing the legs in half and forming an upside-down U shape on her bottom, a pale blue shirt with the top button done up and a tie tucked underneath a blue tank top. She stood in the middle of an outdoor arena and barked instructions at a group of ten riders, all of whom were being led by adults in green sweatshirts with WILMINGTON RDA on the front of them.

  ‘Sit up! Use your legs! Come on, I want more from you. William, concentrate. That’s a good boy. Use your Buttdar!’

  Miss Cameron paced in a circle, following the riders and their ponies with her stare. Charlie and Polly watched from a distance.

  ‘What on earth is a Butt-dar?’ Polly asked with a nervous laugh.

  ‘I haven’t a clue.’ Charlie was starting to feel anxious herself. Maybe this was a bad idea.

  ‘Use the mirrors, Jessica, and you will see that your lower leg is moving all over the place. Hold it still! That’s better. Excellent. Head up and upper body steady! Good girl.’

  Round the outside of the arena, halfway down the long side and at each of the short sides, were enormous mirrors, positioned so that the riders could see their own reflections and make adjustments accordingly.

  ‘Right, trot on! Now sit tight, all of you. William, don’t hang on to the reins like that. Come on, leaders, run fast enough for your ponies to actually trot. Mrs Scott, I’m afraid that’s not good enough. Yes, I know you’re not a runner, but honestly, a little jog round the arena won’t kill you, and Thomas needs a challenge.’

  Mrs Bass came to stand behind the girls.

  ‘Well, at least you’re finally going to ride with proper guidance, Polly.’

  Charlie winced in mock horror. ‘I hope you’re not insulting my riding instruction, Mum?’

  ‘Of course not, Charlie. I’m just relieved that Polly can ride in slightly more controlled circumstances at last. I just spoke to one of the parents whose daughter has cerebral palsy. She said she was terrified the first time she brought her to the class and thought she’d never cope, but says she loves it now. And little Jessica –’ she pointed at a round-faced girl on a cob with huge feathered feet at the back of the group – ‘hasn’t stopped smiling since the minute she got here. Her dad told me she loves that pony more than anything in the world. She always asks to ride him and she stays behind for an hour to muck out and groom. I guess we already know that the connec
tion with the pony is as important as the riding.’

  Charlie nodded vigorously in agreement. ‘Yes, and Polly’s relationship with Noble Warrior is so special.’

  They watched in silence as the adults leading the ponies got redder in the face and starting puffing loudly.

  ‘OK! That’ll do. And walk. Well done, leaders, and well done, riders. Pat your ponies now and say thank you. I’ll be coming round to see how well you’ve groomed them. I expect those stables to be spick and span as well! Spick and span, I say.’

  Jessica, the girl on the cob, leaned forward and put both her arms round her pony. Her face turned towards her father and she grinned so broadly that all her teeth showed.

  ‘I love Sparky!’ she shouted. The woman leading her patted her leg.

  ‘I know you do, Jessica. He loves you too. Now let’s brush him off, clean your tack and muck out his stable.’

  Jessica beamed.

  Charlie watched the line of ten ponies make their way back to the stables.

  ‘Polly Williams, I presume?’

  The voice they had heard from a distance was suddenly right beside them. Polly jumped in surprise.

  ‘Which one of you is Polly?’

  ‘Uh, um, I am.’

  Miss Cameron stretched out her hand.

  ‘Well, I am delighted to make your acquaintance. We will agree a deal. I will give you my maximum effort if you give me yours? Are you up for it?’

  Polly nodded, looking a little stunned.

  ‘And you must be her mother?’ Miss Cameron turned to Mrs Bass.

  ‘No. No, I’m not, actually. I’m … I’m, ooh, what am I?’

  ‘Her kidnapper?’ It was hard to tell if Miss Cameron was joking or not.

  ‘Gosh, no! No, certainly not. I, uh, I just, uh …’

  Charlie spoke up. ‘Miss Cameron, this is my mother and Polly is my best friend. We booked the lesson because we’d read about Wilmington RDA on the internet and we thought you might be the best person to help us.’

  ‘And what is your name?’

  ‘Charlie, miss. Charlie Bass.’

  Miss Cameron furrowed her brow as if trying to remember something.

  ‘Charlie Bass? Haven’t I heard that name somewhere before?’

  Polly opened her mouth to speak, but Charlie got there first. ‘Oh, it’s a common enough name. I’m always getting people who think they’ve met or seen a Charlie Bass before.’

  Charlie didn’t want too many questions about Noble Warrior. She was worried that if Miss Cameron realized that he was the same horse who had won the Derby and then been kidnapped, she might not let Polly take her lessons on him.

  Miss Cameron put her head on one side and looked Polly up and down.

  ‘She had an accident,’ Mrs Bass started to explain. ‘She has nerve damage –’

  Miss Cameron put up her hand. ‘I’ve already got all the information I need,’ she said firmly. ‘This is all about what she can do, not about what you might think she can no longer do.’

  Charlie was confused. She hadn’t sent Miss Cameron any medical documents. Where had she got them from?

  ‘I’ll be able to tell as soon as I see you on a horse how much you will be able to achieve, and I suspect it will be far more than you think.’

  She ran her hand across her slicked-back hair and Charlie noticed her knobbly fingers. One seemed to be crooked, as if it had once been broken and never properly reset.

  Miss Cameron looked at her watch. ‘I need to make an inspection. I will meet you in ten minutes in the arena.’

  No-nonsense. That’s how Charlie mentally described Cecilia Cameron. She watched the instructor stride purposefully towards the stables and wondered again if she had made the right decision.

  ‘We’d better not hang about,’ she said to Polly, and the two of them took extra care to brush out every trace of straw from Noble Warrior’s tail and every speck of dust from his coat. Percy was a more difficult case. He had deposited a spectacularly runny poo down the insides of his back legs, which had turned his white socks brown.

  Charlie tried as best she could to wash off the offending smudges, but with little effect. She had decided it would be safer all round if she rode Percy alongside Noble Warrior so that he didn’t panic. She could also guide him with a leading rein.

  Noble Warrior followed Percy and his poo-smudged hind legs into the outdoor arena. Charlie had found an old towel to fling over his back so that Polly could grip a little better. She figured it would be safer and more comfortable than riding completely bareback.

  The horses’ hooves sank into the oiled sand-and-rubber surface, which was softer and more forgiving than the sun-baked ground they had been using at home. Brightly coloured bits of rubber, recycled from electrical wires, gave the mixture a bit of elasticity – it was the equine equivalent of a sprung floor for ballet or dance classes. Charlie had threaded the orange plaited string through Noble Warrior’s bridle so that she could lead him from her position atop Percy.

  ‘OK, Pol?’ she asked.

  Polly nodded silently.

  Percy paused to admire himself in the mirror. How could anyone fail to appreciate the singular beauty of a chubby Palomino pony with four white socks (even if they were a little splashed), a white-blond mane, one blue eye, one brown and a sun-reddened nose?

  Noble Warrior had never seen himself in a mirror before and his reaction was rather different. He snorted and backed away from the dark horse he saw looking back at him. His tail lifted and he pranced on the spot. Polly’s eyes widened in fear, but she tried to keep her voice steady.

  ‘It’s OK, Noddy. It’s only you. Whoa, boy, steady now.’

  She gripped as hard as she could with her right leg, but her other side would not react. Noble Warrior retreated from his reflection and pulled back on the lead rein. Charlie tried to hang on to him, but the rope pulling through her hands burned the insides of her palm and she had to let go as Noble Warrior reared.

  ‘Sit tight, Polly!’ Mrs Bass called from the outside of the arena. She began to climb through the rails to try to help.

  Charlie tried to position Percy in between the terrified horse and his reflection. She was desperate for Polly and Noble Warrior to pass the assessment. But it wasn’t enough.

  It all happened in a split second. Noble Warrior saw his own hooves flailing in the air and panicked. He reared again. Polly had no chance. She landed heavily on the grey sand. Noble Warrior’s eyes were out on stalks and his ears flicked backwards and forwards.

  Caroline ran towards Polly to help her up when a stern voice called out, ‘Stay right where you are!’

  Miss Cameron walked briskly towards them, carrying a large black saddle on her arm. Mrs Bass froze and then backed away to the fence. Noble Warrior looked at Polly, wincing on the ground, and then back at his own reflection.

  ‘Let him work it out,’ Miss Cameron said calmly as she put the saddle over the top of the gate.

  Noble Warrior walked gingerly towards the mirror and stuck his nose out. The horse he saw stuck its nose towards him. He turned his head to the left. The other horse turned its head to the right. He lowered his head. The other horse did the same.

  ‘Up you get.’ Miss Cameron put out an arm to help Polly to her feet, but offered no comfort or words of concern. Once Polly was standing, Miss Cameron walked towards Noble Warrior, approaching him slowly from behind, murmuring under her breath. She gently took the reins and let him reach out with his nose and actually touch the mirrored glass.

  ‘See, it’s only a mirror.’ She patted his neck firmly. ‘Silly boy.’

  ‘He’s been through a lot in the last year,’ Charlie tried to explain.

  ‘I’m sure he has,’ Miss Cameron said in a clipped tone. ‘But we will not tolerate behaviour like that, now, will we?’ She started to lead him back towards the gate.

  ‘Now, let’s get a saddle on you and see if we can give young Polly a chance to show me what she can do.’

  Charlie
looked at her friend with concern and mouthed, ‘Are you OK?’

  Polly nodded.

  The saddle had raised knee rolls and a high cantle. Miss Cameron adjusted the stirrups to a length that would allow Polly’s legs to hang straight with her heels below the saddle flaps.

  ‘Come on, Polly, no time to shilly-shally.’

  To the side of the arena was a bright green block of plastic. It was a portable step, so light that Miss Cameron could scoop it up in one hand and drop it on the left side of Noble Warrior’s shoulder.

  ‘Let’s get you straight back on.’

  She directed Polly to the top of the step, which brought her navel level with Noble Warrior’s withers.

  ‘Left foot into the stirrup and then over you swing.’

  ‘But I can’t –’

  ‘Yes, you can. Come on. Left leg in my hand, into the stirrup and one-two-hup!’

  Standing on her right leg and with her left foot tentatively placed in the stirrup, Polly took advantage of a gentle push from behind and swung her leg over Noble Warrior’s back. Charlie saw her grimace as she landed inelegantly in the saddle.

  ‘You’ll get better at that,’ Miss Cameron said. ‘Now just make sure those stirrups feel all right. Do you see that loop on the left side of the saddle? That’s there for support if you need it, but let’s try to use it only in an emergency.’

  Charlie moved towards Noble Warrior, but Miss Cameron raised her hand.

  ‘No need for that. I think we’ll see what Polly can do on her own, and if she needs leading, I have plenty of people who can help. You can follow her on the pony and do exactly what I tell her to do.’

  Polly looked terrified. Charlie wanted to protect her and look after her, but she also remembered what Polly had said to her at school on the first day of term. Some things she needed to do on her own.

  Miss Cameron took her position in the middle of the arena and followed Polly with her eyes. Noble Warrior looked round for Percy and reluctantly moved forward, looking behind again to check his companion was following. Charlie gave Percy a kick in his ample belly to keep him a length behind.