Charlie saw a magpie flying into the hedgerow ahead. She saluted with her right hand.
‘I still thought she might say no,’ her mum continued. ‘But when she saw how different Noble Warrior looked and how much Polly was enjoying trying to turn him into a dressage horse … I think she figured it was doing both of them good.’
‘Thanks for taking her round the stables, Mum,’ Charlie said. ‘That gave us time to get Noddy going in the arena. Once he warms up he can hold a really good outline. Wait till he gets to perform to music and I think he will really start dancing!’
CHAPTER 14
They spent the rest of the journey discussing the various elements of freestyle dressage and how important it was to find a beat and a rhythm that suited the horse. Some music was just too slow and some too irregular.
‘It needs to be strong and upbeat,’ Charlie said.
‘I think it needs to mean something too,’ Joe added. ‘You’ll know when you find it because it’ll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.’
They reached the farm after dark and Mrs Bass beeped the horn to let the boys know they were back. They came running out of the farmhouse to help them unload.
‘We’ve had fun and games today!’ Charlie told them. ‘Looks like we’ve got a big championship to get ready for.’
‘I thought we were just going to watch?’ her mother interjected.
Charlie looked at her and tried to raise her eyebrow.
Mrs Bass laughed. ‘You’ll get it one day, my love!’
Harry pulled the ramp down and started to open the first partition.
‘That’ll keep us on our toes!’ he said. ‘On our toes! Get it? Like a ballet dancer … ha ha!’ He made himself laugh so hard that he couldn’t stop Percy barging past him and charging down the ramp.
Joe had time for a very brief supper before he had to head back to the airport. He willingly accepted a slice of brie and marmalade flan.
‘This is such an original mix. Very … interesting,’ he said as he tentatively moved the flan round his mouth. ‘I’ve really missed this. The food at Powerscourt is pretty tame by comparison. It’s nice, but it’s never … surprising.’ He took another mouthful and gave an impressed nod. ‘Really, it’s better than it looks!’
As Joe got ready to leave, Charlie was still thinking about the dressage routine for the National Championships when he asked, ‘Have you seen the film The Greatest Showman?’
‘Yes! It’s brilliant. Polly and I have seen it four times so far. I think it’s the best film I have ever seen.’
‘What about the music?’ Joe asked as he opened the car door. ‘Don’t you think it would be perfect for Noddy?’
Charlie felt that surge of electricity that happened when she was really excited about a brilliant idea.
‘OMG, you’re a genius, Joe Butler! Of course that’s the answer. I can just see him trotting down the centre line to “This Is Me”! I can’t wait to see what Polly thinks!’
She kissed him on the cheek and shut the front door as he revved up the engine and spun the car round to head down the drive. Charlie waved him goodbye and ran back into the farmhouse, full of creative energy.
As soon as she got the green light from Polly, planning became Charlie’s major assignment. She loved making lists, and with her mother’s help she devised a timetable for Polly and Noble Warrior that would prepare them for a dressage test to music at the National Championships. What Polly was doing for her and the netball team, Charlie would repay by doing the same.
Charlie rang the organizers and tried to enter Polly and Noble Warrior. It was long past the deadline so she had to make their entry hors concours, which meant they weren’t allowed to win any prizes, but they could still be judged and their score compared to everyone else’s.
Charlie had read in her Horse & Hound that the Paralympic selectors always went to the National Championships to see if there was any new talent. She was certain that Noble Warrior and Polly would put on a performance that they couldn’t ignore.
Harry and Larry got to work on the computer to create a medley of songs from The Greatest Showman that they could play from the portable speakers so that Polly could get used to the changes in rhythm and plan her moves accordingly. Finally they had found an outlet for their shared interest in choreography. They had no idea how relieved the chickens would be to be released from their dance lessons.
The test needed to show the best of Polly and Noble Warrior so they made sure it included two sections of extended trot across the diagonal line of the arena, plus a walk-to-canter transition that could really flaunt his fluency. Charlie was genuinely impressed with the effort her brothers were putting in. She couldn’t believe they cared so much.
They were watching with her as Polly went through the test in the arena they had built.
‘Um, Charlie?’ Harry said tentatively.
They were standing to the side of the arena, watching Polly practise the walk-to-canter transition.
‘Try that again, Pol!’ Charlie shouted. ‘He’s just starting to anticipate it a bit. Do it on the other corner so he doesn’t know it’s coming.’
She kept her eyes on Polly, but cocked her head towards her brother. ‘Yeah?’
‘Well, it’s about One Market …’ Harry said.
‘One Market?’
‘The supermarket – the one that’s opening in Andover. They’ve been back in touch with another offer since we kind of let the conversation slide.’
Larry was taking photos of Noble Warrior on his phone to upload to the blog later on. He looked on his screen and zoomed in on the picture, lightened it and added a sparkle effect.
‘That looks much better!’ Charlie shouted at Polly. She glanced back at Harry.
‘They’ve kept our fee the same, but they’ve also offered to make a significant donation to Wilmington RDA,’ he said with a grin.
Charlie stopped looking at Noble Warrior and turned to face him fully. ‘What?’
‘Well, they want Polly to come as well, you see. They are changing the way their supermarkets look and feel. They want to make it fully accessible and they don’t just mean parking and electric doors. They’ve got buttons to press to lower things from shelves that are too high to reach.’
‘Wow!’ said Charlie. ‘I’d never even thought about that.’
‘And they’re putting audio guides on every aisle,’ Harry added. ‘So you can get an app on your phone or they give you this special scanner that reacts to voice command so when you point it at something, it can explain what it is and how much it costs. They’ve also got Braille labels on everything.’
Polly finished her practice test by trotting down the centre line and halting. As she saluted to an imaginary judge, Larry snapped another photo while Harry and Charlie started clapping.
‘That’s beginning to look really polished,’ Charlie said as Polly walked towards them, patting Noble Warrior on the neck.
‘He can do it, he really can,’ said Polly. ‘And he loves that music. He reacts to it as if it was written just for him.’
‘Keeeep dancing!’ the boys said together.
Charlie smiled. Trust them to bring it all back to Strictly.
‘The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance is the new title of Harry’s blog,’ Larry explained. ‘The latest post had more hits than anything we’ve written before. People love it and I think that’s why One Market came back with a better offer. I’ve told Polly about it and she’s keen, aren’t you?’
Polly nodded.
Charlie was thinking. Maybe she’d been a bit of a snob about the supermarket idea. She hadn’t liked the thought of Noddy being exploited, but this … sounded like a really positive idea. And if they were going to give a large donation to Wilmington RDA, there was even more reason to say yes. They had a waiting list as long as her arm of children and adults who wanted lessons. With a good chunk of money, she knew Miss Cameron could buy another pony, build more stables or take on another mem
ber of staff so that they could help more people.
‘When do they want to do the grand opening?’ Charlie asked.
Harry looked at Larry, who looked at Polly, who looked back at Charlie. They waited. Eventually Harry asked, ‘Does that mean you’re saying yes?’
‘Well, I’m not saying no …’
Larry clapped his hands together. ‘It’s next month, just a couple of days after the National Championships.’
Charlie grimaced. It was a lot to expect of Noble Warrior: two public appearances within days of each other when he’d hardly been out of the field for a year.
‘I think it could work really well,’ Polly said. ‘We do the Nationals and then he gets a day off to relax and then it’s only a couple of hours in Andover to stand there and get patted by everyone. He’ll enjoy the attention.’
‘They know Percy has to come too?’ Charlie asked her brothers.
‘Yup,’ said Larry. ‘I told them he’s the food expert in the family!’
CHAPTER 15
Charlie was selected as wing defence for the first netball match of the season against their local rivals, St Mary’s. They were the best team in the area and hadn’t lost a match for two years.
Nadia played goal defence. Polly gave the team a warm-up routine that made them concentrate on changing direction and anticipating the next pass. At the end of their warm-up, the team huddled together in a giant circle, their arms round each other. Charlie found she was next to Nadia, and Polly and Mrs Kennedy were also in the cluster.
‘I know it’s only the first match of term,’ said Mrs Kennedy, ‘but I’ve seen an improvement in training that is really exciting – so go out there and enjoy yourselves. Nadia, you and Charlie are bringing out the best in each other so keep that up.’
Charlie felt Nadia pat her on the back.
‘And there was me thinking you were going to steal my place,’ Nadia said softly. ‘And instead we are making each other better than we would be on our own.’
Ah, thought Charlie. There it was.
‘Polly, would you like to say a few words?’ Mrs Kennedy asked.
Polly coughed and looked around the huddle, searching their faces.
‘I need you to start reading each other’s minds and we can only do that by getting to know every team mate really well,’ she said. ‘Don’t be afraid to try things, and if they don’t work, that’s fine. I’d rather we aimed to be inventive and made the odd mistake than stayed safe and got beaten anyway.’
Polly put one hand into the centre of the circle, holding on to her crutch with the other. Everyone else put their hand on top of hers. They pushed down and up, shouting together, ‘One team, one dream!’
Polly made her way back to the bench and picked up her notebook. The whistle blew and the game started. Trainers squeaked and team mates shouted as the ball flew around from hand to hand. It was a tight match and, going into the final quarter, there were two points in it.
‘We can do this!’ Flora Walsh implored her team mates. ‘We’re only just behind.’
‘Remember the Roses!’ said Polly. ‘Play right to the whistle. Don’t stop for anything or anyone until that final whistle has finished blowing. Keep taking risks and keep moving into the spaces. Feet, focus, fitness!’
‘That’s good,’ said Nadia to Charlie. ‘Where does she get this stuff?’
‘I have no idea,’ replied Charlie. ‘But I swear she sees things that no one else sees. She can make the difference, as long as you listen to what she’s saying.’
‘Oh, don’t worry, I’m listening,’ said Nadia as she ran back towards her court position.
With twenty seconds on the clock, St Mary’s were one point ahead and on the attack. Nadia blocked the final pass and parried the ball to her left. Charlie was there to collect the rebound and quickly passed on to Flora Walsh at centre. Flora took a step forward and, without looking, passed the ball into the space to the left of the shooting circle. Helen Danson, goal attack, stretched an arm out and with her fingertips clawed the ball into her grasp. St Mary’s massive goalkeeper tried to block her path, but Helen faked a shot and, in the same move, passed sideways to the goal shooter, a tall girl called Daisy Bushell. Daisy took a step closer to the net and calmly slotted the ball away.
The scores were level. Flora shouted for the ball, which was swiftly returned to her to start again. The clock was ticking down as she flicked the ball forward out of the centre circle. Charlie moved up to help in the central zone and looped a high pass towards the net. Helen Danson plucked it out of the air and, with two seconds left on the clock, took a shot. The ball bobbled round the top of the ring, trying to make up its mind whether to drop. The umpire put the whistle to her lips and started to blow as the ball fell through and into the net. Goal!
Polly grabbed her stick as she leaped up in celebration. The subs and Mrs Kennedy rose as one and the team rushed over to join in the melee. Nadia’s arms reached round Polly and lifted her on to her shoulders.
‘Hold tight!’ she shouted.
Charlie felt the rush of pride, adrenalin and elation that she had last experienced when Noble Warrior won the Derby. This time it was herself and Polly she was thrilled for, rather than Joe and Noddy. She grinned up at her friend, high on Nadia’s shoulders, and joined in the dancing with Flora, Helen, Daisy and Mrs Kennedy.
An hour later, Polly and Charlie were still buzzing. And a week later, they were still talking about it – and the whole school knew that Polly Williams was the secret of their success.
CHAPTER 16
On the evening before the National Championships, Charlie and Polly cleaned all the tack for Noble Warrior and Percy. They prepared a hay net, washed out the horsebox and folded all their riding clothes neatly into a bag so that there was no danger of their cream jodhpurs getting dirty on the way to Hartpury College. They woke up an hour before they needed to and crept downstairs with all their kit.
‘We can give the horses an early feed and I’ll plait Noddy’s mane while he’s eating,’ suggested Charlie. ‘You can do his tail in a French plait. That’ll look smart.’
By the time Mrs Bass came out with two cups of tea, Noble Warrior looked like he’d been to an equine beauty salon.
‘All set?’ she asked.
‘All set,’ replied the girls in unison.
‘Dad’s going to bring the boys later and, Polly, your parents will meet us there. We ought to arrive early, I think – give Noddy time to get his bearings and settle in.’
Boris barked.
‘Of course you can come, Boris. It wouldn’t be a proper outing if you weren’t with us!’
Boris chased his tail, spinning round in a circle in celebration. He rushed ahead to the horsebox and was sitting proudly in the passenger seat by the time Charlie led Percy up the ramp. Polly waited with Noble Warrior. They had worked out a good routine and Charlie scampered back to grab him before Percy got too restless on his own.
They set off to Gloucestershire full of nervous excitement. They didn’t stop talking the whole way and it was only when they drove into the car park at Hartpury College that Charlie appreciated how big an event it was. There were hundreds of horseboxes and trailers and, all around them, adults and children were riding horses and ponies. By the side of nearly all the vehicles, Charlie noticed wheelchairs, crutches and walking sticks.
Polly’s eyes widened.
‘There are so many competitors,’ she gasped. ‘I don’t think I can do this.’
Some ponies were being led by people in sweatshirts with the names of different RDA groups. Charlie watched a girl of about ten riding with an adult on each side.
‘Come on. You can,’ said Charlie softly. ‘Remember how you got the best out of the netball team? We didn’t think we could beat St Mary’s and you convinced us that we could. I’m here, and Mum’s here, and we’re your team.’
Mrs Bass parked the horsebox and the girls tumbled out, followed closely by Boris.
A woman’s voice c
ame over the tannoy. ‘Arena Four for the Class Two dressage, starting at nine thirty. Arena Four, please.’
‘I think our class is the one after that.’ Mrs Bass had checked the website for information. ‘There are quite a lot of riders in Class Two so I would think we’ve got a little while, but we need to go to the secretary to confirm our entry. I can do that while you girls get ready. How does that sound?’
‘Thanks, Mum, that would be great.’ Charlie swallowed, but her mouth was dry. She felt like she had on the morning of the Derby, and even if today’s dressage test wasn’t worth a million pounds, she knew it was just as important, if not more so. She was nervous for her friend, but she couldn’t afford to show it.
Boris jumped up at her legs.
‘What is it? What have you seen?’
Boris barked and looked towards the horsebox next door. There was a golden retriever sitting calmly by the side of the ramp. The dog had a harness and a bib saying, GUIDE DOGS. A girl in dark glasses patted the dog on the head. She was wearing jodhpurs and a tweed hacking jacket. She adjusted her riding hat and did up the chinstrap.
‘She must be blind.’ Charlie pointed her out to Polly.
‘What adjustments do you think she uses for riding?’ Polly asked.
‘I reckon we’re about to find out.’
The girl took the harness of her dog and walked behind it to the other side of the horsebox. A moment later she appeared again, this time on the back of a beautiful bay horse.
The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance Page 11