Showtym Adventures 1
Page 2
Vicki sighed and her shoulders drooped. She turned to the kitchen to make her breakfast.
As she sat at the table she glanced outside, where Kelly and Amanda were feeding Twinkle and Charlie. She felt a pang of envy that her sisters still had ponies to look after. Vicki felt sure her mum wanted to ride again, and although she had her heart set on the chestnut stallion, she felt bad that her mum had to miss out.
“Mum, what if you spend the money on one of the wild ponies for yourself? I can wait until we save up again, or maybe a lease pony will become available,” she said.
“Honey, I’ve had a whole lifetime with horses. I’m not going to let you miss out on having your own pony. If it’s a wild stallion you want, we’ll make it happen. I want you to grow up having all your dreams come true.”
Glancing at her mother hopefully, Vicki whispered, “The chestnut one?”
“Let me talk to your dad,” her mum replied. “In the meantime, go round up Kelly and get ready for school. Education is even more important than riding, and there’s no way you’re going to be late!”
That afternoon, when her mum picked them up from school, Vicki had a smile a mile wide. She’d spent the whole day brainstorming the pony problem, and she hadn’t focused on anything her teacher had been saying.
“I have the perfect plan, Mum,” she said excitedly. “Like I said, we should get two wild horses — one for you and one for me — then we can train them together!”
Her mum shook her head. “We already talked about this — there’s no grass in the yards and the cost of hay is too high. We can’t afford to feed two ponies, and it’s not fair for them to lose even more condition. You saw how thin the grey mare was.”
“But what if they don’t need hay?” said Vicki. “What if we cut grass from the roadsides and fill up wheelbarrows to feed them with? I already asked Kelly and she said she’d be happy to help.” She looked back at her two little sisters sitting in the back seat of the car. “You’ll help too, right, Amanda?” Amanda grinned and nodded.
Vicki’s mum was speechless, but then she had to admit it was a great idea.
“You’re a clever one, Vicki. I’ll talk to your dad and see if he thinks it could work.”
With a grin, Vicki settled into her seat and did up her seatbelt. She couldn’t wait to get home and ask Dad.
Chapter 4
Not One, But Four
AS SOON AS THE CAR was parked, all three sisters jumped out and hurried to find their father. He was in their bird aviary, fixing a hole a rabbit had dug under the fence. Vicki opened the door, careful not to let any birds escape like she’d accidentally done in the past.
The aviary was almost as big as their house, with an arch of huge volcanic boulders in the centre. Underneath the rocks their pet rabbits had made tunnels to play in, and on hot days the guinea pigs lazed in the shade. Overhead, birds of every size and colour squawked: doves, finches, canaries, rosellas and budgies.
While she watched her dad work, Vicki told him about the plan she’d come up with. Her dad put down his tools. “Your mum will be so pleased — she’s often talked about getting another horse, without knowing how to make it happen. This is a great idea!”
“Since I’m so clever, can I pretty please get the chestnut, Dad? I just know he’ll be a champion one day,” Vicki said, cheekily.
She watched her dad’s face grow thoughtful, then break into a grin. “The chestnut it is,” he said. “No daughter of mine is going to be stopped from living her dreams.”
“Really, Dad?” said Vicki, clasping her hand over her mouth in delight.
“Yes. I’ll ring and we’ll arrange a time to round them up.”
Unable to contain her excitement, Vicki grabbed her dad’s hand and dragged him back to the house. As soon as she burst through the door she shouted, “He said yes!”
She watched as her mum’s eyes grew wide. Kelly and Amanda rushed into the house and started jumping up and down, asking their mum which of the wild horses she would choose.
“It’ll have to be the grey,” she said. “She’s one of the few big enough for me to ride, and I’ll rest better at night knowing she’ll have good grass this winter.”
Dad glanced around at his girls, then said very seriously, “I really liked the palomino stallion. Do you think you can pick enough grass for three wild horses?”
With a screech Kelly ran to him, holding out her arms. “You’re not serious, Dad?” she shrieked. “He’s my favourite!”
With a laugh, he tossed her in the air and caught her again. “I happen to know a thing or two about horses. You can help me tame him, Kelly, but he won’t be with us forever. We’ll sell him to help pay the the extra costs of having two new ponies to care for.”
Nodding her head frantically, Kelly grinned in agreement. “That’s OK, Dad. I love Twinkle too much to want another pony, and besides, I’d be too scared to ride a wild stallion.”
Setting her back down on the ground, her dad smiled. “You never know, Kelly — one day you’ll be big and brave enough to tame one.”
Stamping her foot in agitation, Amanda tugged on her mum’s arm.
“What about me? I want to help tame a wild horse too!” she cried. Glancing down at the four-year-old, who was on the verge of throwing a tantrum, her mum fought to stop a smile from escaping. “I think you need to grow up a little before you get a wild pony.”
“Yeah,” said Vicki. “You’re too small. The horses might trample you by mistake.”
Furious, Amanda turned on her sister. “I am not small!”
“Amanda, I’m sure you can help all of us,” Dad said, with a warning glance at Vicki.
Reaching for the phone, he dialled the number of the lady who owned the ponies. There was a sudden hush as they listened to him talk. At one point his face took on a worried expression and he left the room. The rest of the family waited nervously for him to return.
“Apparently the grey mare’s foal is too young to wean,” he said as he stepped back into the room which was the parents’ bedroom, dining room and kitchen all rolled into one.
With a sigh, the girls’ mother put on a brave face. “Maybe it’s just not meant to be,” she said.
Shaking his head, their father grinned as if he was struggling to keep a secret. “We are the proud owners of four wild ponies!” he announced. Looking at Amanda, he added, “How do you feel about helping us tame that golden filly? Think you’re up to it?”
Looking overwhelmed, Amanda glanced around the room. “Maybe I’d be too scared,” she whispered.
Mum tugged her onto her lap. “Don’t you worry, Amanda — foals are too little to do much training. Mostly they just eat and grow. Dad and I can help get her haltered and you just have to feed her grass and talk to her lots until she’s your best friend.” Turning to her husband, she drew her daughters closer. “How are we going to afford this?” she asked in a worried tone.
“The owner agreed to $175 including the foal, so it’ll use up most of our savings,” he said. “I guess it’ll come down to how well we train them, because we’ll have to sell both the palominos at some point. Hopefully they bring in enough money to cover the costs of having extra ponies on the property.”
Chapter 5
The Round-Up
THE NEXT WEEK WAS SPENT preparing for the arrival of the wild ponies. While Vicki and Kelly were at school and Amanda was at kindy, their parents would drive to the mountain to repair the yards there, to make sure they were sturdy enough to hold the wild horses. In the evenings Vicki and her sisters would help by getting the neighbours’ stockyards ready.
“Vicki, come over here and hold this rail level so I can nail it in,” her dad called.
In the next yard over, Kelly helped her mum fill up water troughs — old blue drums sawed in half especially for the wild horses to drink from. And it was Amanda’s job to collect any large rocks and toss them under the fence. They didn’t want the wild ponies to get stone bruises on their hooves.
After giving the question some serious thought, Mum answered. “The lady desperately needs them gone, and if we don’t take them, someone else will. At least if they come home with us we know they’ll get lots of love.”
Nodding her head in agreement, Kelly giggled. “Lots of love — and lots of hand-picked grass.”
Soon everything was ready, and the Saturday of the big round-up finally arrived. Piling into their little green and red horse truck, the family headed up to the mountain.
At the old yards, which were off to one side of the crater, some friends of the family were already waiting to help with the muster. Dad quickly took charge and outlined his plan.
“Vicki, you stay under the trees over there and look after your sisters while we round up the horses.”
Vicki was annoyed at being left behind. “I’m happy to help. Why can’t I join in on the action?”
Distracted, her dad pointed to the tree-line. “Trees. Now.”
Slinking off, Vicki grabbed her sisters’ hands. “Come on, we’ll make our own fun.”
As soon as all the adults had set off to round up the wild ponies, Vicki challenged her sisters to a tree-climbing competition.
“We’ll have a much better view from up high,” she said. Grabbing a branch, she swung herself up into a tree and waited for her sisters to join her. Kelly quickly followed, but Amanda was too little to reach the lowest branch.
“Hang on a second,” said Vicki as she jumped out of the tree and got down onto her hands and knees. “Climb on my back.”
Soon all three sisters were in the tree. Amanda carefully settled herself on the lowest branch while Vicki and Kelly climbed higher.
“The ponies are coming!” cried Amanda.
Unable to see through the leaves, Vicki quickly scurried back down. “Can you see my chestnut?”
“I can’t tell, there’s heaps of chestnuts!”
Settling on the branch beside Amanda, Vicki and Kelly watched the first herd of horses canter into the yards. Among them were the palomino stallion and his grey mare and foal. Behind them, Vicki watched as her mum rushed forward to shut the gate. The chestnut was nowhere to be seen.
Jumping out of the tree, she hurried over to her parents, distraught.
“What if the chestnut’s hiding in the trees again and you can’t find him?”
“We’ll find him eventually, I’m sure,” her dad replied. He moved off to herd the ponies into the back yard, and reopened the main gate for more horses to come through.
Vicki watched as they set off in search of the chestnut, the only pony they still needed to find. Returning to the tree to wait with her sisters, she snapped small twigs off the branches blocking her view.
“Stop fiddling,” Kelly snapped.
“I’ve made so many plans about how to win the chestnut’s trust and all the shows we’re going to do together, but what happens if he can’t be caught?”
“Killing the tree is not going to help.”
Yawning, Amanda stretched her arms. “Why don’t we think of names for our ponies? Otherwise I might fall asleep.”
“Great idea,” Kelly said. “What about Lava for the chestnut? He’s the right colour and he lives on a volcano.”
“What’s lava?” Amanda asked.
“Something I learnt about at school. You know, it’s the hot rock that comes out when a volcano erupts.”
“That’s a stupid name for a stallion,” Vicki grumbled. “Besides, I can’t choose a name until I get to know his personality. Or if he’s even going to be mine.”
Over half an hour passed, and Vicki became more and more despondent. Below her, Amanda and Kelly chased each other through the trees, playing hide and seek. Then a movement caught her eye, and in the distance she saw another group of ponies approaching.
“Amanda, Kelly!” she called. “Keep still so you don’t scare the ponies.”
Watching urgently, she kept an eye out for the chestnut. She froze when she saw his unmistakable white blaze.
Soon more than twenty horses paced frantically around the yards, and the sorting process began. Vicki watched anxiously as her pony was sorted into a yard by himself. Next the palomino stallion and the grey mare and her foal were drafted out into another yard, and then the main gate was opened and the rest of the horses were set free. Leaping through the gate, they galloped across the crater, desperate to put distance between themselves and the people who had kept them captive.
Stressed, the chestnut stallion whinnied, his loud, piercing cry filling the air as he called out to the fleeing horses. Sweat broke out on his coat and his eyes gleamed fire. A deep feeling of pity filled Vicki as she watched the stallion pace within the confinement of the fences. She could never have dreamed a horse could have so much spirit, and she desperately hoped she would be able to tame him.
In the next yard over, the palomino stallion stood alert but calm. Vicki turned to Kelly.
“Maybe I chose the wrong pony,” she whispered.
Patting her on the leg, Kelly shook her head.
“You’re the bravest rider of us all. Ever since you were little you rode Twinkle and Charlie when they were being naughty, and before that, Samson and Bella,” she said, rattling off the names of all the horses they’d owned. “Even Cardiff misbehaved when you got him, and you trained him into the perfect pony. You’ll be fine.”
Unable to shake her doubts, Vicki watched the ponies get herded onto the waiting horse truck. It would be the chestnut’s last time roaming on the volcanic mountain. Taming him was going to be a big challenge.
Chapter 6
The Hard Yards
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, the horse truck pulled into the driveway of their neighbours’ farm. Vicki watched as the wild ponies hesitantly stepped down the ramp and into the waiting yards. The mare and foal were kept together, but both stallions were yarded separately.
As the chestnut stallion snorted and plunged down the raceway into his yard, he seemed to catch Vicki’s eye. If ever she’d seen hate expressed by a horse, she saw it then. Filled with guilt, she stepped down from the fence and turned away. She felt terrible for taking a stallion that was used to living free and imprisoning him in a small yard.
“He hates it here,” she said quietly to her mum.
“He’s just confused and scared from leaving the only home he’s ever known. Give him time to settle. And no matter what — don’t enter his yard, it’s not safe.” Glancing over at Amanda and Kelly, Mum added, “That goes for all of you. I don’t want to see anyone going into the yards. It’s OK to watch the ponies or hold out handfuls of grass through the fence, but don’t you dare mistake them for quiet kids’ ponies,” she said, holding up a stern finger.
Hoping her mum was right, Vicki returned to the yard. She sat on the top rail and watched the chestnut stallion as he paced.
“You’ll be OK, boy,” she whispered. “Everything will be just fine and dandy, you wait and see.”
“I think that’s a great name for him,” her dad said. Startled, Vicki swung her head around.
“What name?” Vicki asked, confused.
“Just Fine ’n’ Dandy,” he replied. “It’ll be good for him to hear you tell him everything is going to be OK whenever you call his name.”
Looking back at her pony, Vicki tried it out.
“Is that what you want to be called?” she asked. “Just Fine ’n’ Dandy?” To her shock, the stallion pricked an ear and raised his striking head, looking directly at her. “He likes it,” said Vicki, smiling.
“Yes, he does,” her dad agreed. “I’m sure he’ll settle in just fine.”
“What are you going to call your stallion, Dad?” Vicki asked.
“Exquisite. Kelly came up with it,” he replied. “But I think we’ll call him Squizzy for short.”
“It suits him,” smiled Vicki. “He looks muc
h more relaxed than Dandy.”
“And your Mum has named the grey mare Jude — but she hasn’t named the foal yet.”
Impatient, Amanda suddenly called out, “Hurry up, Vicki! I’m hungry and Mum said we can’t go home for dinner until the horses have been fed.”
Vicki jumped down from the fence and followed the rest of her family down the long, winding driveway and out to the road, where the grass grew the longest.
“How much will the horses eat?” Vicki asked, as she snipped handful after handful of grass.
“We’ll start with a wheelbarrow for each horse twice a day, but if it’s all gone in the morning we might have to do more.”
“It’s much slower than I thought it would be,” complained Amanda.
“No complaints,” growled Dad. “We made a commitment to feed four horses, and we always knew it was going to be a lot of work. Complaining about it won’t make the time pass any faster.”
With a yawn, Amanda returned to tugging at the grass, her movements sluggish with exhaustion. Finally the first wheelbarrow was full, and Dad raced it up the driveway and emptied it into Dandy’s yard. They filled up the wheelbarrow again and again for the other horses, not finishing until after the sun had set.
“Good job, girls,” their mum said. “It’s been a long day, but worth it, don’t you think?”
Looking over at Dandy happily munching on the grass, Vicki had to agree.
“You always taught us that dreams could come true if we worked hard enough. I have a feeling Dandy is going to be worth it.”
“Remember that when we’re out here picking grass in the rain next week!” Dad said.
Vicki and her sisters slept in the next morning.
“The ponies are waiting for their breakfast,” their mum called, as she banged on the wall to wake them.
With a groan, Kelly looked at the clock beside her bed. She pulled a pillow over her head and grumbled, ‘But it’s still night-time!”