She’d done it. It was taking a while to sink in – her heart was still racing like crazy and her whole body felt all hot and weird. The jump-off was over. She could stop thinking about it, stop worrying about it, stop staying awake at night. It was finally over.
‘You’re the best horse in the world,’ she told Crystal as she dropped forward to sling both arms around her neck.
Things were looking up. She was going to be able to give Aunt Sophie the money to pay Crystal off, and there was a pretty good chance that her aunt was going to have a sponsor soon. But it didn’t mean Joe and Cody were safe yet, or the farm. She glanced over at her friends, who were shrieking and jumping up and down in excitement.
Tonight they would be going home before Poppy, and no matter how excited she was, she didn’t want them to know about her paying for Crystal before Aunt Sophie had a new sponsorship deal. Because what if the farm wasn’t saved? What if . . . she gulped, pushed the thoughts away. She’d wait until they were gone, then she would tell Aunt Sophie and Uncle Mark.
Right now, she just wanted to enjoy the big ribbon around her pony’s neck.
‘You look like you’re up to something.’
Poppy sat down at the kitchen table across from her aunt and uncle. The other girls had just gone, and she was absolutely bursting with excitement. She sat on her hands, had them planted under her bottom to try to stop herself from wriggling. Poppy hadn’t wanted to do this while Katie and Milly were around, and now it was finally time.
‘I need to tell you something,’ she said, suddenly as nervous about what she had to say as she’d been before the jump-off!
‘Spit it out, Pops,’ Uncle Mark said, frowning. He sipped his coffee but his eyes never left hers.
‘I . . .’ She took a big huff of breath. ‘I want to give you the five hundred dollars I won to help pay for Crystal.’ Her aunt opened her mouth to say something and Poppy quickly spoke before she could be interrupted. ‘I know it’s not enough on its own, but I also have other money saved up, plus some money that Mum has given me to help. It makes almost one thousand five hundred dollars all up, and I want to pay the loan off for you.’
Poppy blinked away tears and bit hard on her bottom lip, annoyed that she was about to cry.
Aunt Sophie rose and sat beside her, taking her hand. Her eyes were full of tears too. ‘Sweetheart, you don’t need to do that.’
Poppy nodded. ‘Yes, I do. I love her and I know you’ve done so much for me and I want to give you the money. So I don’t have to ever worry about her being sold.’
Uncle Mark cleared his throat and she looked up. ‘Poppy, I don’t want to take your money, but you’re right. That would completely cover the loan on her.’
‘But you need to understand that selling Crystal was never something we were going to do,’ said her aunt. ‘Not unless we absolutely had to, and I would have fought so hard before I ever let that happen.’
Poppy hugged her aunt. ‘I know. But I want to do this. I want to help you because you’ve always helped me when I needed it.’
Aunt Sophie returned the hug, holding her tight. ‘We love you so much, Poppy. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you, and it’s supposed to be the adults doing the looking after!’
Poppy grinned. ‘I’m not just a hopeless kid, you know.’
‘Oh, we know that!’ Uncle Mark said, grinning.
Aunt Sophie stared at Poppy, long and hard. ‘You were so determined to win that competition, Pops. I’ve never seen you so full of fire, so desperate to win.’
‘All I could think about was saving Crystal,’ Poppy replied with a shrug. ‘I had to win.’
She hadn’t been one hundred per cent confident all the time, but in the end she hadn’t let her nerves get the better of her.
Uncle Mark reached over and took her empty glass of Milo.
‘She was always your pony, kid, with no strings attached. But what you’ve done means she’ll never ever risk being sold.’
Poppy laughed. ‘Good.’ It was exactly what she’d wanted to hear.
‘But you are giving us that year’s worth of feed, too, right?’
Aunt Sophie gave Mark a shove. He grabbed her in return and planted a kiss on her cheek with a big smacking sound that made Poppy laugh harder. She knew the farm wasn’t safe yet, but Crystal was hers and she planned on keeping her fingers and toes crossed until the big dressage day.
‘Do I still get to be your groom at the dressage champs?’ Poppy asked, following Aunt Sophie into the kitchen.
‘Of course. I’m counting on you.’
‘And,’ Poppy started, struggling to say the words, ‘will you have any other options if this sponsor doesn’t come through?’ She was feeling so great about Crystal, but if there was no Starlight Stables . . . it wasn’t even worth thinking about.
‘Don’t worry, Pops,’ Aunt Sophie said as she loaded the dishwasher. ‘It will all work out, just you wait and see.’
Poppy hated waiting. But she didn’t really have a choice.
The horses were all incredible. Poppy stood in awe, watching as they trotted and cantered and practised a million dressage moves that made her jaw drop. Chestnuts, bays, greys, palominos . . . they were all gleaming with perfect tails and immaculate plaits and massive movements.
Just staying an extra night at Starlight and travelling in the early hours to the show in the horse truck with her aunt and uncle had been exciting, but this was crazy incredible! Ever since hearing about last year’s champs held in Sydney she’d been desperate to see what it was like, and already she was in awe of all the riders.
‘Earth to Poppy.’
Poppy spun around. Oops. So much for being Aunt Sophie’s super-attentive groom.
‘How do I look?’
She looked Aunt Sophie up and down. ‘Um, amazing.’
Her jods were white, her jacket was black with shiny gold buttons, and her hair was tucked up in a hairnet, only the back bit showing beneath her hat.
‘Have you seen him yet?’ Poppy asked. She’d been frantically trying to spot the man from the showjumping day but everyone was starting to look the same to her.
‘No,’ Aunt Sophie said firmly. ‘And I don’t want to. I need to focus on my first test and not think about anything else.’
Poppy got it. This wasn’t just about the sponsorship for her aunt. It was about doing well enough to retain her ranking, to give her a serious shot at being selected in the next Olympic team.
‘Can you finish getting Jupiter ready for me, please?’
Aunt Sophie disappeared and Poppy took off Jupiter’s halter, which she’d had secured over his bridle. She took hold of the reins and reached up to stroke the big chestnut’s silky coat, running her hand down it over and over again. He was so beautiful, easily as stunning as any of the other big Warmbloods going through their paces in the warm-up area.
‘You can do this,’ Poppy whispered, leaning in and pressing her cheek against him. ‘You’re the best horse here, okay? Don’t you forget that.’
‘What are you whispering over there?’
Poppy gave Jupiter a final hug before checking his girth and putting the reins over his neck for her aunt, thankful that he’d ducked his head to make it easier for her. ‘I’m just telling him how amazing he is. Just to make sure he knows what’s expected today.’ The night before, when she’d been helping to prepare Jupiter while Aunt Sophie sewed in his plaits, Poppy had whispered the same thing to him.
‘Ha ha, believe me, he knows!’ Aunt Sophie said with a laugh. ‘I’ve talked to him non-stop ever since this all happened.’ Poppy watched as her aunt approached Jupiter, her touch always light and her manner with him so kind. ‘The poor horse probably just wants some peace and quiet instead of the ear bashing he’s been receiving.’
Poppy passed Aunt Sophie her whip after she’d mounted, smiling up at her. ‘Good luck, Aunt Sophie.’
‘Thanks, Pops.’
She stayed standing beside the truck, her eyes never l
eaving Jupiter’s muscled rump as he walked off to join the other horses. Poppy knew the drill –they’d warm up for about twenty minutes, then there would be the first test, and then the freestyle to music. That was the one that always made Poppy excited, seeing the beautiful big horses ‘dancing’ to the music as they trotted and pirouetted and cantered around the arena. She’d watched as her aunt had run through the test the morning before.
‘Hey!’
Poppy spun around to find Milly and Katie behind her, their faces flushed from wherever they’d run from.
‘Want to go find a good spot to watch from?’ Milly asked. ‘There are, like, so many people here.’
‘No, you go on without me,’ Poppy said. ‘I need to stay near Aunt Sophie until she rides in, just in case she needs something.’
She had to remember that she was Sophie’s go-to girl for whatever she needed, since she was actually her groom for the day. Even though she’d already picked up horse poo, filled the haynet for when Jupiter returned, and done all the errands Aunt Sophie had needed her to do before she started riding, Poppy still needed to stay near. If anything happened, she was the one Aunt Sophie would call on.
‘Okay, see you soon,’ Katie said. ‘I don’t want to miss a second.’
Poppy walked off on her own so she’d be near where her aunt was training, glancing back at the truck and imagining new signage across it. Aunt Sophie was going to win, she had to, and then everything would be okay.
‘Do you think she’ll win?’ Katie asked, sounding breathless as they whispered and watched the last part of Aunt Sophie’s test.
Poppy sucked in her bottom lip and chewed on it. As soon as her aunt had entered the ring, she’d sprinted off to sit with her friends. ‘I don’t know. So long as she makes top three she’ll be happy, I reckon.’
Jupiter’s canter was magical, the way he moved jaw-dropping as he did a series of flying changes across the diagonal of the arena. Then he was cantering down the centre line and finishing with a perfect halt.
Aunt Sophie took off her hat and saluted, which sent the crowd into mad applause. She was local for Melbourne and she was obviously one of the crowd favourites.
‘Far out,’ Poppy muttered. That was amazing. She’d seen Sophie ride so many times, but seeing her actually compete had been incredible.
She jumped up and left her friends, running towards the arena. A big bay trotting towards her made her stop, and then she fast-walked so she didn’t spook any of the horses. Sophie was just dismounting by Mark when she reached them.
‘That was amazing,’ Poppy told her.
‘Thanks,’ Aunt Sophie said. ‘That was definitely the ride of my lifetime. Jupe was such a good boy!’
Poppy took the reins from her aunt’s hand. ‘Do you want me to walk him?’
‘Please,’ Aunt Sophie said. But Poppy noticed she wasn’t looking at her while she was talking, that her aunt’s gaze was going straight past her. Then she reached for Mark.
‘He’s there and he’s coming our way.’
‘I’ll start walking, cool him down,’ Poppy told them, knowing exactly who they were talking about. She didn’t want to be in the way. ‘You did great out there. Best ever.’
Her aunt’s smile was huge. ‘Thanks. I thought so too.’
Poppy had tied Jupiter up and rugged him up, as well as offering him water and giving him a small feed. He looked content standing there, and she flopped down inside the truck with Katie and Milly. Being groom was fun, but it had also been a lot of hard work. All they could do now was wait.
‘I don’t ever want this to end,’ Katie said, her voice sounding dejected.
‘Me neither,’ Milly grumbled.
Poppy didn’t say anything. She just wanted to know. She knew that Sophie and Mark would fight hard to keep the farm and the riding school, not to mention all the horses, but still, it wasn’t going to be easy. She’d heard them talking enough to understand that.
‘Girls!’
Poppy jumped up. It was Uncle Mark calling them. ‘In here,’ she called back. She poked her head out the door and beckoned for her friends to join her.
‘We have good news,’ Mark said, beaming at them.
Poppy quickly exchanged glances with the other two. ‘Did we miss the announcements?’
‘No, but we’ve reached a deal with FrostBreaker. They’re going to sponsor Sophie based on the ride they’ve seen today. They love her.’
‘Where is she?’ Poppy asked, not wanting to get too excited yet, even though her heart was hammering away like crazy.
‘Chatting to the rest of the FrostBreaker team who came to watch her, sipping champagne and waiting for the winners to be called,’ Mark said. ‘They want to come and meet Jupiter afterwards, so Poppy you might have to get him gleaming again. Sorry, kid.’
‘I don’t mind!’ Poppy would happily groom him all day if it meant keeping the farm.
‘Sophie and I have made the difficult decision to sell a half share in Prince, which means we won’t be able to retain full control over him or his future, but it’s a small price to pay. As soon as this deal is signed on the dotted line, we’ll be okay. I promise. In fact, we’ll be in a better position than we were before.’
Poppy squealed and grabbed her friends’ hands. ‘Really?’
‘Really,’ Mark said firmly. ‘I wish you girls had never found out in the first place, it wasn’t fair to worry you, but everything’s going to stay the same. Your ponies will always have a home at Starlight Stables, and I hope you’ll be staying with us for years to come. Okay?’ Mark frowned. ‘But no boyfriends, just horses, you hear me?’
Poppy nodded and laughed when Milly giggled.
‘Come on, let’s go find Sophie. She was desperate for you three to know the good news.’
Poppy dropped her friends’ hands and threw her arms around Mark. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
‘For what?’ Mark asked.
‘Just everything. I don’t know what I’d do without you and Sophie.’
‘And Crystal,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘I know we come second to her.’
He was right, she loved Crystal more than anything in the world, but Uncle Mark and Aunt Sophie were pretty awesome, too.
‘Let’s go!’ Milly cried.
Poppy raced off after her, trying not to run. She laughed, knowing how stupid she must look doing her fast walk, but she didn’t care. Starlight Stables was safe. Crystal was safe. All the other horses still had a home. That was all that mattered.
About the Author
As a horse-crazy girl, Soraya dreamed of owning her own pony and riding every day. For years, pony books like The Saddle Club had to suffice, until the day she finally convinced her parents to buy her a horse. There were plenty of adventures on horseback throughout her childhood, and lots of stories scribbled in notebooks, which eventually became inspiration for Soraya’s very own pony series. Soraya now lives with her husband and children on a small farm in her native New Zealand, surrounded by four-legged friends and still vividly recalling what it felt like to be 12 years old and head over heels in love with horses.
READ ALL THE BOOKS IN THE
Starlight Stables series:
PONY DETECTIVES
GYMKHANA HIJINKS
BUSH BOLTS
SAVING STARLIGHT
Acknowledgements
Penguin Random House would like to give special thanks to Isabella Carter, Emily Mitchell and India James Timms – the faces of Poppy, Milly and Katie on the book covers.
Special thanks must also go to Trish, Caroline, Ben and the team at Valley Park Riding School, Templestowe, Victoria, for their tremendous help in hosting the photoshoot for the covers at Valley Park, and, of course, to the four-legged stars: Alfie and Joe from Valley Park Riding School, and Carinda Park Vegas and his owner Annette Vellios.
Thank you, too, to Caitlin Maloney from Ragamuffin Pet Photography for taking the perfect shots that are the covers.
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First published by Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, 2016.
Text copyright © Soraya Nicholas, 2016.
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Design by Marina Messiha © Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Cover photograph © Caitlin Maloney, Ragamuffin Pet Photography
Author photograph by Carys Monteath
penguin.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-76014-304-6
THE BEGINNING
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Starlight Stables: Saving Starlight Page 9