Barmah Brumbies

by Soraya Nicholas

  Aunt Sophie sighed. ‘Unfortunately, yes,’ she said, giving them a stern look. ‘Honestly, girls, sometimes I wonder why I offer to look after you so often.’

  Milly looked guilty and Katie was staring at her feet. Poppy realised how awful it must have been for Sophie, thinking that they were lost out there in the forest with night approaching.

  ‘Seems I found them on a brumby hunt,’ Jack said with a deep chuckle. ‘With all the crashing and banging through the forest though, I’m not sure how they thought they’d find any wild animals.’

  Aunt Sophie rolled her eyes. ‘Well, you’d better come back for a drink and something to eat, Jack. I’m sorry you had to bring them all this way.’

  ‘It’s not a problem. Besides, I was going to drop past to speak to Penny about a brumby problem she’s been helping me with.’

  Aunt Sophie nodded and Jack fell into step beside her. She called out to Mark and Poppy held her breath, hoping they weren’t in too much trouble. Maybe Jack being there had been a good distraction. Maybe they weren’t going to be punished after all. The camp emerged through the trees and Poppy quickened her step.

  ‘Girls,’ Aunt Sophie said. She had stopped walking and was staring at them. The girls stopped as one. ‘Don’t think this means you’re not in trouble,’ Aunt Sophie said firmly. ‘Once I figure out your punishment, I’ll let you know.’

  Poppy gulped and she heard Milly’s low moan.

  ‘It won’t be too bad, will it?’ Katie whispered.

  Poppy sighed. ‘I hope not. But we’d better make ourselves useful and help out with the horses anyway.’

  She figured that anything they did to get back in Aunt Sophie’s good books was worth it.

  ‘Go find your uncle,’ Sophie called. ‘And if you get lost looking for him, you’ll have to find your own way back!’

  ‘Great,’ Milly muttered. ‘She’s definitely going to kill us – she’s just waiting until Jack’s gone.’

  Katie shuddered beside her and Poppy stomped off to look for Uncle Mark.

  ‘I just don’t know what you were thinking,’ Aunt Sophie scolded in a low voice. ‘If the organisers knew how badly you’d behaved today, they’d probably tell us to go home.’

  Poppy’s eyes widened. Home?!

  ‘We didn’t mean to be gone for so long.’ Her words sounded pathetic and she knew it.

  ‘We just wanted to see some brumbies up close and we thought it would be a little adventure,’ Milly said. ‘It was my idea. I should get the blame.’

  ‘No,’ Poppy argued. ‘We all went and we all agreed on the plan. It’s not just Milly’s fault.’

  She elbowed Katie in the side.

  ‘Ow!’ Katie muttered.

  Poppy stared at her.

  ‘Um, yeah, it’s not just Milly’s fault,’ mumbled Katie. But her glare told Poppy that she definitely thought Milly should be taking all the blame.

  ‘Girls, this isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this, and I need to know that I can trust you,’ Sophie continued. ‘Quite frankly, I don’t care whose fault it is. I just want you to stop disappearing on me. Enough’s enough.’

  Poppy didn’t have to pretend to look guilty. Aunt Sophie had done so much for her, for all of them.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Poppy said. ‘I really mean it, too. We shouldn’t have wandered off so far and for so long.’

  ‘You could have ended up lost out there for the night, and then we’d have had to get volunteers to help search for you.’ Aunt Sophie shook her head. ‘It’s time to start acting your age, girls. Twelve is old enough to be sensible, and I should be able to trust you.’

  ‘You can trust us,’ Katie said. ‘It won’t happen again.’

  ‘The thing is I do trust you, but I’m starting to doubt my own judgement,’ Sophie said, opening the esky and passing them all bottles of water. ‘But this is the last time, girls. Next time you tell me what you’re planning. Heavens, I would have loved to come searching for brumbies with you! And we could have let some others know where we were going, and none of this would have happened. You’re just lucky that Jack found you.’

  They sat in silence for a moment, drinking their water. But Poppy couldn’t sit on her question for long.

  ‘What’s going to happen to the injured brumbies?’ she said, the words bursting from her.

  ‘It looks like this will be the first time in years that some brumbies will be mustered from the forest,’ Aunt Sophie told them. ‘Penny is hopeful that if this goes well, they’ll be able to establish a precedent for mustering a small number of brumbies out each year or two, for re-homing, rather than for slaughter. There’s been a lot of talk of these brumbies being culled, and in other states the poor things are either shot from helicopters or mustered in and then killed. It might be a way to manage numbers, which is similar to what they do in New Zealand with their wild Kaimanawas.’

  Poppy’s heart leapt. That was great news!

  ‘Are we going to be allowed to ride again?’ she asked. ‘I mean . . .’

  ‘Yes, Poppy, you’re allowed to go on the trail ride in the morning. In fact,’ Aunt Sophie said as she screwed the top back on her water bottle, ‘if you hadn’t disappeared, you would have been off riding this afternoon, too. I hear the brumby spotting on the ride today was excellent.’

  Poppy balled her fists. Why did they keep doing stupid stuff? Although . . . they had seen that amazing mob and it had kind of been worth it.

  ‘First thing tomorrow we’ll ride out with the group. We didn’t come all this way to ground you, and I want you to have fun and enjoy being here.’

  ‘But?’ Milly asked. ‘There’s always a but.’

  ‘But I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll let you be part of the muster of the injured brumbies. Penny requested you three by name. Seems she’s been impressed with your riding and your interest in the brumbies. She likes fostering interest in the new generation of brumby lovers.’

  Poppy dug her nails into her palms, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

  ‘Please, Mrs D,’ Milly begged. ‘I’ll do anything!’

  Poppy stared at her aunt. Surely she’d let them. ‘Please, Aunt Soph,’ she murmured, clearing her throat. ‘I’m truly sorry for what we did, but helping to round up those young brumbies would be so incredible. I can’t stop thinking about how that could have been Storm a few years ago. And how many more might end up at an auction, but this time no one will be there to save them.’

  Sophie looked at Poppy, then gave the same long, considering look to her friends.

  ‘Okay,’ she finally said.

  ‘Okay?’ Poppy squealed.

  ‘Okay. But only because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.’

  Poppy leaped to her feet and jumped up and down. Milly was right beside her, hand clamped over her mouth, and Katie’s face said it all.

  ‘Thank you,’ Poppy said to her aunt, bending to give her a big hug.

  ‘Just don’t let me down again, girls. I mean it.’

  Poppy nodded. ‘Promise.’

  ‘So when do we do this?’ Katie asked, sounding breathless.

  ‘On the final day when everyone has packed up and most of the horses and riders have gone,’ Sophie replied. ‘There’ll be a small group remaining so it’s as stress-free as possible for the brumbies, and we’ll do our best to muster them in.’

  Poppy thought she would burst with excitement. She was going to be part of a real brumby muster!

  Poppy was exhausted. After four days at Barmah National Park, her bottom and legs were aching from so many hours in the saddle, and the rest of her was stiff from sleeping rough in the tent. She yawned and opened her eyes, stretching and listening to the murmur outside. The last couple of days had been amazing, and it had been so cool sleeping close to her horses and riding so much, but she was dying to go in search of the brumby mob again. Yesterday they’d seen them in the distance, but soon she might be able to see the colts up close and she couldn’t wait.
/>
  Today is the last day!

  She sat bolt upright and unzipped her sleeping bag so she could wriggle out, not wanting to miss a second of their last hours at Barmah.

  ‘Poppy?’ Katie’s voice was husky, like she’d just woken up too.

  ‘Is anyone else up?’ Milly asked with a loud yawn.

  ‘I can hear some people talking out there, but I’m not sure who’s up yet.’

  Poppy unzipped the tent and poked her head out, taking a quick look around. The sun had only just started to rise so it was still pretty dark, but the pinkish sky was casting enough light around the muster yards for her to see. A pang of sadness echoed through her as she stared at the tents, listening to the whinny and shuffle of horses nearby. Tomorrow, everything would be gone, and it would be like no one had ever been here. She hoped that Aunt Sophie would bring them again next year, but after disappearing on their own to go brumby spotting, she wasn’t so sure.

  ‘Just a few people starting to get up,’ Poppy said in a low voice to her friends. ‘The first ride was heading out early, wasn’t it?’

  ‘I think so,’ Katie replied. ‘Let’s get up and we can help pack everything away.’

  Poppy quickly agreed. She was happy to do anything that put her back in her aunt and uncle’s good books. They got dressed and rolled up their sleeping-bags, pulled the tent down, then went off to feed the horses.

  ‘Morning, Crystal!’ she called out as she gave her hay. ‘Morning, Stormy,’ she said, giving him the same amount and a quick pat on the neck. She smiled as he lifted his head to nuzzle her. ‘It’s your last day here,’ Poppy whispered to him. ‘I hope you’ve called out your goodbyes.’

  It had been so special being with him every day, even though she hadn’t been riding him. If they came next year, would she have to choose between him and Crystal? As much as she wanted to ride Storm and have fun on him, she hated the thought of leaving Crystal behind. Maybe if they came again, she and Aunt Sophie could take turns on Storm and Crystal! That would be the perfect plan – if they were lucky enough to come back.

  Poppy glanced back over at Storm, wondering how he felt, if he really knew where he was or if she was just imagining it. She still wasn’t sure.

  ‘Do you think he really knows where he is?’ Milly asked, joining her and speaking her thoughts out loud.

  Poppy sighed. ‘Maybe. I don’t know. It’d be cool if he knew we’d brought him back.’

  ‘I had this dream about him, that he jumped out of the yards and joined his mob again and we had to gallop off and try to find him.’

  Poppy smiled as the image of the three friends, bareback and galloping after Storm, entered her mind.

  ‘You know what?’

  ‘What?’ Milly asked.

  ‘If he did that, I’d just leave him,’ Poppy said. She blinked away the familiar prickle of tears as she watched Storm eating, wondering if he was happy with her or not. She loved him, and he had a great life at Starlight Stables, but she often wondered if he wished he were still wild. ‘I’d hate to steal him away from his family if he found them again.’

  ‘Pops, if he still lived here, maybe he wouldn’t be happy?’ Katie said, joining them. ‘He’s always warm and safe at Starlight, and he has enough water and plenty to eat. Don’t go feeling bad about it. Maybe there’s a reason brumbies make such awesome horses to ride? They’re probably happy when they find a human who loves them, so long as they’re still surrounded by other horses.’

  ‘Yeah, him being happy is the most important thing, and I think he probably loves being with you,’ Milly said, slinging her arm around Poppy. ‘He gets so much attention and lots of love!’

  Poppy hoped they were right, but suddenly it was her mum she was thinking about, not Storm. She had hardly thought about her all week, but now that it was almost home time, it all rushed back into her head. As much as she hated the idea of her mum dating another man, her friends had been right. She did have so much – Starlight Stables, her friends and her horses – and she was so happy. Her mum deserved that, too, and even though Poppy didn’t want to meet her mum’s boyfriend yet, she was going to help tell Tom and also let her mum know that she wanted her to be happy. Her dad would be proud of her for saying it, and it was the right thing to do.

  ‘So girls, are you ready to help me today?’

  Poppy spun around at the same time her friends did. Penny was standing there, her smile broad, already dressed in her jods and boots, a coffee mug in her hand. But it was the person beside her that made Poppy stare.

  ‘Um, yes,’ Poppy managed to say. ‘We’re ready.’

  ‘This is Sienna,’ Penny introduced the older girl beside her. ‘She’s one of the rider’s who’ll be staying behind to help today. She’s very experienced with brumbies and I thought you might like to hear about some of her brumby work while we’re riding out.’

  Poppy looked at Milly and Katie, wide-eyed. This was amazing!

  ‘That’d be so cool,’ Milly said, the first of them to speak. Poppy watched as she stuck out her hand. ‘I’m Milly and I know everything about you.’

  Sienna laughed and shook it and then held her hand to Poppy. They all introduced themselves and Penny wandered off, leaving them standing with Sienna. It was amazing to think she was only six years older than them.

  ‘So, I heard that one of you has a brumby,’ Sienna said, her smile warm.

  ‘That’s Poppy,’ Katie said, hooking her thumb in Poppy’s direction.

  ‘Can I see him?’ Sienna asked.

  Poppy sucked back a breath and then told herself to stop being so stupid. Sienna was just another girl. Sure, she was a crazy-amazing rider, but there was no reason to go all star-struck and silly.

  ‘He’s over here,’ she said, clearing her throat. ‘I’d love you to meet him.’

  They walked and Sienna chatted to them about riding and their horses, until they reached the yards.

  ‘That’s him?’ Sienna asked, pointing.

  Poppy ducked under the fence and slipped an arm around Storm’s neck. ‘This is him. He actually came from this forest.’

  Sienna held out her hand for him to sniff then stroked his neck, before walking around him and looking him over. ‘He’s beautiful. I love his white markings and how muscular he is. Do you ride him?’

  ‘I have, but he’s still a bit of a handful in the arena at home,’ she admitted. ‘I was the first to get on him bareback though.’

  Sienna grinned.

  ‘You know what? You should think about entering the next brumby challenge. I’ve heard they’re going to open up a new category for youth trainers.’

  Poppy’s heart started to race. Her? She wasn’t nearly good enough to enter anything like that! ‘Um, I don’t know. I probably don’t know enough.’

  ‘Bet you do,’ Sienna said. ‘And if you need some help, I’d be happy to train you. It’d be nice to have a young rider to work with, and you already have a brumby, so you’d be perfect.’

  Poppy knew she had a stupid big grin on her face but she couldn’t help it. ‘Thanks, that’d be really cool,’ she managed to mumble.

  ‘See you girls soon. I’m just going to pack up and get ready.’

  She ducked back under the fence and Poppy stared after her, trying to stop her jaw from hanging open.

  ‘What was she saying to you?’ Milly asked.

  Poppy shook her head, not sure whether to tell her friends or not. ‘We were talking about Storm,’ she said. ‘She liked the fact that I had a brumby.’

  Milly and Katie started to talk excitedly about Sienna and going riding with her, but Poppy was only half-listening. All she could think about was one day being good enough to break in a wild brumby on her own, and working with Sienna to learn the ropes.

  ‘Listen up, everyone,’ Penny said. ‘I want you to keep your eyes and ears on me at all times when we get near the brumbies.’

  Jack had joined them, although he was on foot, and he spoke after her in a loud voice. ‘The succ
ess of this muster will determine the future of what we do here with the brumbies, so I want everything to go as smoothly as possible,’ he said. ‘If we take a few head of horses out of here every year, and pledge to keep the numbers low, we might avoid a mass cull of horses in years to come, and it may keep everybody involved happy.’

  Poppy listened, running one hand down Crystal’s smooth neck. Her pony was relaxed, but her ears were still pricked and Poppy knew it would only take one nudge of her heels to get her pony to leap into action.

  ‘So, here’s how this will work,’ Penny said.

  Poppy looked around at the handful of riders with them. Some were staying behind on foot to assist if they managed to bring the brumbies close, and there were ten mounted riders. Penny, Sienna, Poppy and her friends, as well as her aunt and uncle and two other riders from the brumby association. They were all listening to Penny speak.

  ‘We’re trying something different today, and it may or may not work,’ she said. ‘We have a limited window of opportunity, which means that we can’t use passive trapping for these horses.’

  ‘What’s passive trapping?’ Milly asked quietly.

  ‘That’s where they set up a trap with yards and try to lure the horses in slowly. The gate shuts behind the horses once they’re in,’ Poppy told her.

  ‘We also don’t believe that roping wild horses is humane, so that’s out of the question,’ Penny continued. ‘Instead we’re going to try to muster these young colts in, and see how we go. That means being fast and careful on horseback, and not rushing them in. The timing is perfect because at the last sighting this morning by Jack, they were isolated from other mobs.’

  ‘There’s every chance we won’t manage to muster them in, but if we can do this, it would be an amazing opportunity to re-home them,’ Jack said.

  ‘Who’s taking them if we catch them?’ Katie asked.

  ‘I am,’ Sienna spoke up. ‘I’ll do anything I can to promote brumbies as fun, versatile horses, and we might get some good publicity from it, too.’