The Thirteenth Horse

by Amanda Wills

  When Kristy said as much, Norah rolled her eyes. ‘Well, it would, wouldn’t it? There are four times as many people. Do you need some help with your maths, too?’

  Instead of taking offence, as she would normally do, Kristy teased, ‘Come to mention it, I have got a maths worksheet that needs finishing if you’re offering?’

  Norah forked the last of Silver’s wet bedding into the wheelbarrow. ‘Very funny. Now go and empty that barrow, please, or I might change my mind about helping.’

  By five past five the three ponies were tucked up in their stables. Kristy had even had ten minutes to groom Cassius. And, if the quadrille practice went well, she should be home before six.

  She found the others in the tack room. William was fiddling with his mobile phone. ‘I’ve chosen the music. We wanted something with a good beat, something the horses could trot in time to, right?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Norah impatiently.

  ‘Here we go.’ William touched the screen and sat back, his arms linked behind his head and a roguish look in his eye. Kristy jumped out of her skin when the sound of a distorted electric guitar tore through the quiet tack room like the amplified and unearthly shriek of a barn owl. A loud drum and base beat morphed into an aggressive guitar solo. It was so loud Kristy covered her ears.

  Norah sprang to her feet, snatched her brother’s phone and, much to Kristy’s relief, turned the volume down.

  ‘Have you gone totally mad?’ she squawked.

  ‘Why not? Don’t you like heavy metal?’ he asked innocently.

  ‘We can’t do dressage to that kind of music, you idiot! It’ll frighten the horses out of their wits. I can’t trust you with anything, can I? What were you thinking?’

  But William had collapsed into fits of giggles. ‘It was a joke,’ he spluttered. ‘Of course that’s not the music. I had you all going for a while, though, didn’t I?’

  Norah lunged for her brother but he held up his hands in mock surrender. ’OK, I’m sorry. If you give me back my phone I’ll play the real music.’

  She slammed it into the palm of his hand and hissed, ‘It had better be good.’

  This time the mellow sound of a cello was the cue for a classical piece of music Kristy recognised but couldn’t name. She was pretty sure it had been used in a film. Far from being stuffy, it was uplifting and fun, and she was soon tapping her toes in time to its beat. She glanced at the others. Norah was sitting with her eyes closed, her head nodding imperceptibly. Sofia was drumming her hands on her thighs, a wide smile on her face. William was looking smug.

  When the music ended, William switched his mobile off. ‘Well?’ he said.

  ‘Much better,’ said Norah.

  ‘I loved it,’ said Kristy.

  ‘Me too,’ added Sofia.

  ‘That’s good, because we’ll be sick of hearing it by New Year’s,’ William said.

  ‘Oh, I nearly forgot!’ cried Sofia. She fished around in a carrier bag at her feet and produced four large balls of black wool and a number of small cardboard discs, each with a round hole in the middle.

  ‘To help Kristy out with the costumes, we’ve each got to make our own pom poms for our buttons,’ she said, handing out the discs and wool.

  ‘I don’t know how to make a pom pom,’ said William. ‘Isn’t it enough that I found us some awesome music?’

  ‘No,’ said Sofia firmly. ‘We all need to do our share. Norah’ll show you. They’re ever so easy.’

  Kristy looked at Sofia gratefully. ‘How did you manage to find all that wool so quickly?’

  ‘Mum’s always knitting and she’s got stacks of the stuff at home. I’ll help you sew them on and make the hats and carrots.’

  Kristy held the wool to her cheek. It was silky soft and reminded her of Cassius’s thick winter coat. She sat cross-legged on the sofa watching the twins play-fighting and Sofia humming along to William’s music.

  For the first time since she’d moved, Kristy felt as though she belonged somewhere. She knew she was probably being fanciful, but she could picture roots as strong as an oak tree’s binding her to Mill Farm Stables, Cassius and her three new friends. And it felt good.

  13

  BLIND SPOT

  A fter a week practising the routine on their brooms, Norah felt they were ready to run through some of the moves on the horses. Even though Kristy’s lessons with Emma had been going well, and her serpentines and figures of eight were actually beginning to resemble the movements they were supposed to be and not the random scribbles of a hyperactive toddler, she still felt unaccountably nervous.

  She was at the stables early, having decided that if she was going to make a show of herself, it might as well be on a beautifully turned-out horse.

  Cassius heard the gate click open and tilted his head to watch her. It was a trait of his that melted her heart, making her feel fierce, sad and proud all at the same time. She called him softly and he ambled over and gave her a friendly nudge.

  Kristy spent the next hour grooming the Percheron until this thick winter coat shone. She oiled his hooves and sponged his face. She even gave his saddle and bridle a quick polish before she tacked him up and followed William and Copper into the school.

  The chestnut gelding had a long, loping gait and matched the big Percheron stride for stride. At the top end of the school William followed his sister and Kristy peeled off behind Sofia and Jazz. Jazz was hopelessly over-excited and Kristy checked Cassius, trying to keep him as far as possible from her skittering hooves.

  Sofia turned around. ‘It’s OK, she doesn’t kick.’

  Kristy nodded but still kept a healthy distance. If Jazz did lash out on Cassius’s blind side who knew how much damage she would cause. They paired up at the bottom of the school, Norah with Sofia, William with Kristy.

  ‘Serpentine!’ Norah barked, leading them through a passable serpentine before they filed in behind each other again. Norah eased Silver into a walk at M and the others followed suit, changing rein and picking up a trot.

  Kristy was beginning to enjoy herself. Despite the fact that Cassius was far less fit than the ponies, he was maintaining a good working trot without getting too puffed out. Jazz seemed to have finally settled and they completed their two ten metre circles without incident.

  ‘Looking good, team!’ Norah cried. ‘Let’s thread the needle!’

  Norah crossed the centre line first, then Sofia, closely followed by William. Aware they were lagging behind, Kristy sat deep in the saddle and urged Cassius on. He sprang forwards into a beautiful extended trot and crossed the centre line whiskers from Copper’s tail. Kristy felt as if she was floating on air.

  ‘Not bad at all!’ called Norah. ‘Pair up at A and then ride down to C for the salute.’

  Kristy was so busy congratulating herself on a half-decent performance that she didn’t realise she had covered far more ground than Copper. When she turned up the centre line the chestnut gelding was still a few strides behind.

  ‘Hey, wait up! William shouted crossly.

  Cassius plunged forward as if he had been stung by a bee, pulling the reins straight through Kristy’s fingers. He whirled around, as fast as a spinning top, throwing her out of the saddle. Feeling her balance slipping, she grabbed hold of his mane and clamped her legs to his sides. The Percheron flung his head up, bashing her in the face.

  Kristy’s head snapped back and she clutched her nose in agony, fighting waves of dizziness that threatened to topple her from the saddle as efficiently as a chainsaw felling a fir tree. Her eyes were streaming and she touched her face gingerly. It felt warm and sticky. She checked her glove. It was covered in blood.

  Cassius had finally stopped plunging but was trembling violently as he looked around, his nostrils flared. Kristy threw her arms around his neck, not caring that her nose was still throbbing painfully.

  ‘It’s alright, Cassius, you’re safe with me,’ she crooned. ‘It was only William and Copper, coming up on your blind side.’

 
Gradually Cassius stopped trembling but Kristy kept stroking his neck and talking to him softly until she was sure he was calm.

  ‘What on earth was all that about?’ said William.

  Norah was approaching, her face like thunder, and Kristy sighed inwardly. No doubt she was about to get a dressing down for not being able to control her horse. But to her surprise, Norah’s anger was aimed firmly at her brother.

  ‘What were you playing at, yelling on Cassius’s blind side?’ she hissed furiously. ‘Do you ever engage your brain before you open your big mouth? He could have thrown Kristy off. As it is, she’s probably broken her nose and won’t be able to ride in the quadrille.’

  Kristy touched her nose automatically. It felt tender, but that was all. ‘I don’t think it’s broken,’ she said thickly. To her embarrassment her voice sounded feeble and quavery.

  ‘Are you alright?’ said Norah, looking hard at her.

  Kristy nodded. ‘I might just walk Cassius around the school for a bit to make sure he’s settled.’

  ‘Come and find us in the tack room when you’re finished. And take this,’ she said, handing Kristy a blue handkerchief. ‘Your face is a mess.’

  Norah beckoned the others to follow her so Kristy had the indoor school to herself. She dabbed her nose with the handkerchief until it had stopped bleeding and walked Cassius around on a long rein until her heart rate had returned to normal and his breathing was slow and steady.

  She looked down at her blood-splattered jacket and groaned. If her parents even had an inkling that Cassius had had a minor meltdown while she was riding they would ban her from Mill Farm Stables in a heartbeat. They wouldn’t understand that the big Percheron didn’t have a malicious bone in his body, and he’d only acted like that because he’d been frightened.

  ‘Oh Cassius, what are we going to do with you?’ she said, jumping off and holding his broad face in her hands. She gazed into his blind eye. Apart from the slight cloudiness, you’d never know it didn’t work. Cassius dropped his head and rested it in her arms.

  ‘I’d never put you in any danger, Cassius,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘You need to trust me.’

  THEY WERE in the tack room, waiting for her. William took Cassius’s saddle and bridle from Kristy. Sofia handed her a mug of hot chocolate. Norah patted the sofa beside her. Kristy sat down obediently.

  ‘How’s your nose?’ Norah asked.

  ‘Fine,’ said Kristy. ‘I’m sorry I messed up.’

  William shook his head. ‘It was my fault. Norah’s right. For once.’

  Norah sprang to her feet. ‘You always have to have the last word, don’t you? If you must know -’

  Kristy felt her patience snap. It had been a long and emotional morning. ‘For pity’s sake, will you two please stop arguing?’ she cried. ‘It’s driving me mad.’

  ‘And me,’ said Sofia. ‘You should hear yourselves. You sound like stroppy toddlers. I’ve a good mind to pull out of the team.’

  ‘You can’t do that!’ said Norah, horrified.

  ‘I can and I will. This is supposed to be fun, remember. Listening to you two constantly bickering is NOT fun.’

  The twins looked at each other sheepishly.

  ‘No more arguing, we promise,’ said William.

  Norah nodded. ‘The team comes first.’

  ‘Thank goodness for that, eh Kristy?’ Sofia exclaimed. ‘Hey, are you OK?’

  Kristy was sitting slumped on the sofa with her head in her hands. Norah sat back down and put her arm around her shoulder. ‘What’s the matter?’

  Kristy lifted her head and looked at them blankly. ‘Isn’t it all immaterial? If Cassius is going to go to pieces every time he hears a noise on his blind side then we don’t have a chance. End of story.’

  14

  THE THIRTEENTH HORSE

  N orah gave Kristy a gentle shake. ‘Don’t be so defeatist. For every problem there is a solution. We just need to work out what it is.’

  Kristy wished she shared Norah’s can-do attitude, but she was clean out of ideas. ‘He doesn’t trust me, that’s the problem,’ she said sadly.

  ‘Yes, he does,’ said Sofia. ‘Emma told me the other day that he goes much better for you than he did for his old owner. She said he’s a different horse.’

  ‘He’s the thirteenth horse,’ said Kristy quietly. ‘Everyone knows that’s unlucky. I’m not normally superstitious, but -’

  Norah cut in. ‘Now you’re being ridiculous.’

  They didn’t notice the door swing open until Emma walked in, bringing a whoosh of cold air with her.

  ‘Who’s being ridiculous?’ she said, heading for the kettle.

  ‘Kristy,’ said Sofia. ‘Cassius had a meltdown during our practice. We need to find a way we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.’

  Emma made herself a coffee and perched on the arm of the sofa. ‘Something must have happened to set him off.’

  ‘I rode up on his blind side and accidentally frightened him,’ said William.

  ‘How was he otherwise?’

  ‘Every other time someone passed us it was on his good side and he was absolutely fine.’ Kristy pictured the Percheron’s pricked ears and floaty extended trot. ‘He was enjoying himself.’

  Emma took a sip of her coffee. ‘The way I see it you have two options. You redesign the routine so Cassius is never passed on his blind side. Or you try to desensitise him.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ asked Norah.

  ‘Put literally, it means to make him less sensitive to whatever is frightening him. You expose him over and over to whatever is causing the problem until he is so used to it that he no longer gets spooked.’

  ‘You mean I need to keep riding up on his blind side and shouting?’ said William with raised eyebrows.

  ‘I think you should all join Kristy and Cassius for their schooling sessions until Cassius is completely used to other horses passing him in all directions.’

  ‘But Kristy rides at half past six in the morning!’ said William.

  Norah eyed him beadily. ‘What’s more important - your beauty sleep or the team?’

  He sighed. ‘The team. Is that the right answer?’

  Kristy could feel a flutter of something in her ribcage. She realised it was a tiny flicker of hope. She leaned forward and said, ‘You think it’ll work?’

  Emma drained her coffee, stood up and smiled. ‘You won’t know until you try, will you?’

  WHEN KRISTY’S dad dropped her off at the stables at half past six the following morning the others were already grooming their ponies, bleary-eyed but cheerful.

  ‘I brought Cassius up for you. He’s in the spare stable at the end,’ said Sofia.

  Touched by her kindness, Kristy fetched Cassius’s tack and made a beeline for the stable. The Percheron was watching the activity in the yard with interest as the children darted back and forth, carrying tack and riding hats.

  Kristy rubbed his poll. ‘They’re doing all this for us, you know.’ He flicked an ear back at the sound of her voice and then whickered as Norah led Silver over to the mounting block. He seemed to have a soft spot for the plump grey gelding. ‘You love being part of the gang, don’t you?’ she said fondly. Norah swung into the saddle and then looked at Kristy and pointed at her watch. Kristy found she was smiling as she reached for his bridle. ‘So do I,’ she told him fervently. ‘So do I.’

  THEY WALKED around the school on the left rein, Cassius first, then Jazz and Copper with Silver bringing up the rear.

  Kristy looked over her shoulder at the others. ‘OK, so what do we do?’

  Norah kicked Silver into a trot until they were level with Kristy and Cassius. ‘You stick to a walk today and we’ll take it in turns to trot past you in both directions. We’ll start on this rein so Cassius can see us and if that goes well we’ll change reins and do the same on his blind side.’

  ‘I think it’s important everyone keeps talking so he can hear where we are,’ said Sofia.

&nbs
p; ‘Good idea,’ said Norah. ‘Hopefully by the time we introduce the music he’ll be totally used to us passing him.’

  On the left rein Cassius didn’t bat an eyelid when the others overtook him and his stride was long and easy. They changed reins and Kristy automatically tightened her reins.

  ‘You’ve tensed up,’ said Norah, eyeing her critically.

  Kristy realised Norah was right. Her back and arms were rigid. She made a conscious effort to relax them and sit easily in the saddle.

  ‘That’s better. We’re going to trot up behind you and we’ll keep talking the whole time so Cassius knows we’re here. I’ll go first.’

  As he heard Norah’s voice behind him Cassius’s muscles tautened and he swung his quarters around so he could see Silver. Kristy braced herself in case he threw his head up again, but to her relief he just had a good look and when she clicked her tongue and asked him to walk on, he did.

  He stopped and swung around when Sofia and William rode past, too. Kristy tried not to stiffen up. Instead she concentrated on tuning into his rhythm by keeping her spine soft and straight and moving her hips in time with his stride. All the while she talked to him, keeping her voice low and steady. Gradually he stopped swinging his quarters around. When Norah checked her watch and told them it was twenty past seven and time to stop he was stiffening but not flinching as the others passed.

  ‘He’s cured!’ cried Sofia.

  ‘Not quite,’ said Kristy. Positive energy was zinging though her body like electricity and she felt optimistic and buoyant. ‘But I think we’re getting there.’

  BY THE FOLLOWING Sunday Cassius was so totally unfazed by Silver, Copper and Jazz trotting past him from all different directions that Kristy couldn’t believe he had ever flipped out.

  ‘Of course, Percherons are famous for being placid and good-natured,’ said Emma, who had taken a five-minute break from mucking out to come and watch the children as they worked in the school together.