“You’re quiet.” Melanie turned to Georgia as the dark-green lorry pulled out of a service station and back on to the motorway. Sophie was asleep beside them, her blonde and pink hair tucked into her grey hood. Lily had been happily eating her hay when Georgia had gone to check on her, but Georgia would be glad to get her home and into her own stable.
“Just tired,” Georgia said truthfully. It had been the most emotional, amazing day and she felt totally drained. After coming to say goodbye, and some awkward small talk, Dan had left to catch his train home, and Joss had skipped off beside him. Georgia was trying to put Dan out of her mind completely.
“You did brilliantly today, Georgia, you know,” Melanie continued, looking thoughtful. “We always knew Lily was a great pony, but it’s all been down to you – you put the work in. It’s hard to know what she can do next from here really.”
Georgia felt herself blush at the compliment. Melanie was right – eleven-year-old Lily came from a superior line of Welsh ponies, but she had needed to learn to trust people again after her treatment at the hands of her former rider. Georgia wondered what next year would hold for them. Perhaps she could concentrate on something entirely different – dressage, maybe.
As they passed the sign welcoming them into Redgrove, Georgia stretched and unfolded her stiff, aching legs. The roads were silent and a heavy frost was already clinging to the fields, swathing them in silver, eerie in the moonlight. Suddenly Melanie cursed under her breath as a lorry coming in the other direction forced the horsebox into the side of the road, jolting Sophie awake. Bringing the lorry to a stop as smoothly as she could manage, Melanie held up her hand to the driver, as if to ask him what he was thinking. The driver of the other lorry, a ramshackle silver vehicle, drove straight past without even acknowledging Melanie, who frowned.
“Didn’t look like any of the farmers from around here,” she muttered, but it was soon forgotten as they drove up the Redgrove Farm drive where Wilson, Callie and Santa whinnied with pleasure at seeing Lily again. To Georgia’s delight, her mum was waiting in the yard. Unable to travel up to Olympia because of a work deadline, she had instead pinned a congratulations banner to Lily’s stable door, and hugged her daughter over and over as she led an equally tired Lily off the horsebox. After all the excitement of the last twenty-four hours, Georgia was just grateful to see her mum and a bit of normality. It had been a whirlwind December with the arrival of Joss, and the filming, and Olympia. All Georgia wanted to do now was to curl up in her pyjamas and show her mum the photos from the show … to relive her winning performance over and over again!
“Here’s the Christmas hero!” Will grinned at Georgia as she opened the gates to the yard the next morning. It was a perfect winter’s day, crisp and cold, with a sun so bright that Georgia had considered wearing sunglasses. She reflected on the fact that when she had first met Will she would have assumed he was being sarcastic or patronising, but there was only warmth in his voice now. She smiled, patting Lily, who eagerly thrust her nose into her palm. Despite Georgia’s own exhaustion, she had barely slept last night, and had just replayed the winning moment in her head a hundred times. Adrenalin had been surging through her body until the early hours and she had flicked endlessly through the photos that Sophie had taken on her phone. It still felt surreal. But there was a niggling thorn in the back of her mind, no matter how much she tried to block it out… Dan.
It was obvious that Dan fancied Joss, and vice versa. Miserably, Georgia recounted all the times that Dan had told her why he preferred her to other girls – she was hard-working, and loved animals and the outdoors. But now Joss had come along, and not only did she like ponies as well, but she was a super-glossy version of a normal girl, and there was no way Georgia could compete. She realised that for the last year and a half, she and Dan had never really spoken about their relationship, preferring the easy friendship that came so naturally to them. But now someone else was in the picture and Georgia couldn’t do anything about it. She may be the best show pony rider in the country at that present moment, but this was one competition she couldn’t win!
“Earth to Georgia.” Will waved a hand in front of her face, jolting her back to reality. Shaking her head, she smiled weakly, trying to erase the image of Dan and Joss leaving Olympia from her mind.
“Sorry, Will,” she said, collecting up Lily’s head collar, ready to turn the little mare out for a well-deserved rest.
“I was just saying about the mock hunt,” Will explained. “How many people are coming… Georgia, are you all right?”
Will was really looking at her now, clearly noticing her sad expression and the dark circles under her eyes.
Georgia nodded her head. If she tried to explain about Dan, she was afraid she might cry. “I’m just really tired,” she mumbled. “It’s been a busy month.”
Seemingly satisfied with her reply, Will patted her on the shoulder and then carried on his enthusiastic chatter about the mock hunt.
Nodding and smiling in the right places, Georgia tried to concentrate on what he was saying but inside she felt as though her heart was breaking in two.
Still, at least the ponies were a distraction. Long after Will had gone home for the morning, Georgia stayed around the yard, finding little jobs to do or just spending time with the four ponies, particularly Lily, who didn’t seem to mind eating her hay with Georgia’s arm draped over her neck. Melanie was out Christmas shopping with Sophie and Simon, and the yard was peaceful and quiet.
Georgia decided to keep herself busy; she would make a start on mucking out the fields, which was usually a joint effort between her, Will and Melanie. But without Dan’s farm to go and hang out at, and wanting to avoid twenty questions from Emma, Georgia decided it was the better alternative.
Pushing a wheelbarrow towards the top meadow, which overlooked the valley, she tried not to look at the frosty fields that sloped down towards Dan’s farm. Concentrating instead on the job in hand, she slowly pushed the wheelbarrow back and forth as she cleared the field. Stopping by the bare hawthorn hedge overlooking the whole valley, she paused, catching her breath. No wonder she was always hungry – horses were hard work!
Picking up the wheelbarrow handles, she was just about to set off down the hill back towards the yard when an excited yap caught her attention. Turning eastwards, she saw a collie dog crouching low in the meadow below. There was a public footpath that snaked along the fields towards Dan’s farm but the dog was way off-path. Georgia looked harder at the little dog, who seemed familiar. She knew she had seen the dog before – Georgia always remembered animals. Then she realised – it was the same little collie that had been grinning at her from the back of the old Land Rover, the day she had walked home from Redgrove after Lily’s filming.
There was a long, low whistle and the dog launched forward into a long, graceful stride, catching up with a figure skirting the edge of the woods. He bent forward to pat the collie before continuing on his way. For just one second, as the man stood back up, he looked straight up at Georgia. She couldn’t explain it, but a chill ran through her. Hurriedly dragging the full wheelbarrow behind her, she tripped her way back down the hill and into the safe warmth of the tack room. Thinking about it later that afternoon, when she had finished tidying the yard, she supposed she ought to let Dan know there had been a walker and dog straying off the footpath. It wasn’t ideal with the lambs around.
Hesitating, she thought about going to visit Dan as she often did when she had finished at Redgrove. She decided there was no reason why she shouldn’t. Dan was still her friend. It was her fault that she had read more into it! And Georgia knew she should notify him if she ever noticed anything suspicious surrounding the farm.
Setting off for home back across the top field she was soon heading up the drive to the farm, greeting Hattie and the tame chickens on the way. Rounding the corner to the bungalow, she stopped in her tracks as a handsome palomino head popped out of the little stable next to the sheep barn. Secret
’s stable.
It was Joss’s new pony, but what was he doing here? Looking around, Georgia felt her blood freeze as she caught sight of Joss exiting the farm shop with Dan, throwing back her head and laughing as Ben, his older brother, joined them. She smiled when she caught sight of Georgia: a cool, smug smile.
“Oh hi, Georgia!” she waved, fastening her riding hat back on her head.
“Hi,” Georgia muttered in reply, glancing at Dan.
“Joss got a bit lost getting back to her yard,” Dan explained. “She stopped here so I could give her directions.”
Georgia raised an eyebrow. Seven Birches was less than a mile away, and on a straight road. She doubted very much that Joss had managed to get lost!
“And I was so cold, Dan invited me to the shop for a hot chocolate!” Joss beamed, leading Topper back out of his stable and looking very pleased with herself.
It was the final straw for Georgia. That was her and Dan’s special thing, not his and Joss’s. She felt like stamping her feet like a toddler but instead she stared coolly at Joss.
Joss was still smiling as she tried to remount the big Section D. He was obviously wound up from stopping in the strange stable and wouldn’t stand still as she hopped around, trying to get her foot in the stirrup.
Georgia knew she should step forward to get hold of the pony’s bridle and calm him, and to hold the other stirrup down, but she was so upset that she stood aside, while Dan and Ben attempted to hold the pony still. Georgia thought how Topper was far too powerful for an inexperienced rider like Joss, and what a stupid idea it was trying to ride him the day after he arrived at a new yard, but she kept her mouth shut. It wasn’t her problem, and she didn’t exactly feel like advising Joss. Once they had clattered down the drive, the pony making a beeline for Seven Birches, Dan turned to Georgia.
“Sorry, G,” he said, his face reddening. “She just turned up.”
“I bet,” Georgia said sharply. Making an excuse, not wanting to hang around a minute later, she strode back down the drive, all thoughts of the wandering dog walker forgotten.
As Georgia lay in bed early on Christmas Eve morning, one arm around Pip, who wriggled and squirmed in her sleep, she reflected on how much she had achieved over the past year. Her time on a showing yard in the spring, and her decision to gift Lily’s foal, Secret, to Alice had been a huge part of it. Then qualifying Lily for both the Horse of the Year Show and Olympia had been a total dream come true, topped only by actually winning at Olympia. She should have been feeling on top of the world, but instead she wanted to scream out loud. Why hadn’t she told Dan how she felt about him when she had the chance?
Sighing and flinging off her duvet cover, she stood in her bare feet and surveyed the garden in the half-light. There were still patches of snow lying in the shade, but the sun was just starting to rise in the east, casting a pink glow over the trees. It looked bitterly cold though, and Georgia decided to put her thermal leggings on under her jodhpurs. At least her tweed coat was warm, as well as smart. Her mum, still in her dressing gown, was already in the kitchen, adding honey to a bowl of porridge.
“Thought you would need something warm before riding.” She smiled at her daughter and Georgia ate it gratefully, as her mum sat next to her and stroked Ralphy, their tabby cat, who lay lazily across the table. “Are all your friends going to the mock hunt today?” Mrs Black asked, and Georgia paused between mouthfuls, nodding.
“Yes. Sophie, and Will, and Harry…” Well, he sort of counted as a friend now. Her mum raised an eyebrow. “Dan not going?” she said as casually as possible, noticing Georgia reddening.
“Think so,” she mumbled. “When he’s finished doing the farm.”
Seeing Georgia’s downcast face, her mum clearly decided not to question further, but instead busied herself packing a flask of hot tea, as she was coming to watch the mock hunt.
When Georgia got to Redgrove, Sophie was waiting in the yard for her. Sophie couldn’t decide if she was more excited about riding Wilson in the mock hunt or the Pony Club party she was also going to later, but, either way, she was bubbling with enthusiasm as she and Georgia mucked out the ponies. Georgia smiled, thinking that Sophie felt like the big sister she’d never had! Callie, the only pony not going to the meet, watched with interest as the girls, who were soon joined by Will, set to work preparing the ponies.
Lily, a pure Section B, didn’t need to be plaited but was turned out as a true native instead, so Georgia took her time combing out her creamy mane and body-brushing her until she shone. A lick of hoof oil set off her dainty feet.
When all three ponies were finally ready, Santa’s and Wilson’s dark-brown manes neatly plaited and all three ponies gleaming, the trio tacked up and mounted. They made a breathtaking sight as they clattered three abreast down the Redgrove drive. Melanie and Simon came round to the front of the house to wave them off and take pictures.
“Have fun!” Melanie called out proudly. “Have you all got your mobiles, in case I need to collect you?”
“Yes,” chorused all three as the ponies jigged about, sensing they were off somewhere exciting, rather than just a normal hack.
They made a fantastic sight trotting through the village of Redgrove, saying good morning to dog walkers and thanking cars as they passed. For the first time in a few days, Georgia began to feel a little better. Lily was full of beans, pinging down the road beside the two bigger ponies. Melanie had been right, a change from showing would do Lily the world of good, and taking her mind off Dan had made Georgia feel better already.
The mock hunt meet was being held at an old manor house on the outskirts of Redgrove, owned by the former District Commissioner of the Round Barrow Pony Club.
“She’s even scarier than Janey!” Sophie had giggled.
Jasper, relishing his new role as Pony Club instructor, had managed to charm the elderly couple into holding the mock hunt on their land. From the number of horseboxes and trailers in the field, he had done a brilliant job in encouraging all the young riders in the area to attend, including some from rival pony clubs, all full of chattering excitement about the canter ahead and the party afterwards.
Georgia had tried to convince Emma to come along as well and ride the cob pony from the riding school she borrowed from time to time, but she had cheerfully declined, preferring to sit and watch Christmas films by the fire instead. Not even the prospect of Will riding alongside her could tempt her out today, although she had promised Georgia she would come to the party afterwards.
Georgia glanced at the low purple-tinged sky that threatened snow, knowing that she would still rather be out on Lily than by a warm fire, even if her feet were already frozen inside her riding boots! Lily danced a little from side to side, tossing her head as she took in the crowd of ponies and riders in front of her. The atmosphere was affecting all of the Redgrove ponies, even steady old Wilson, who flared his nostrils in excitement, particularly when the huntsman, mounted on a beautiful bay cob, rode past flanked by a pack of baying tan and black hounds who cavorted and skipped, rolling joyfully on the wet grass.
Jasper was now talking to one of the senior Pony Clubbers who was one of the fastest cross-country runners in the county. Georgia watched with interest as he stretched before setting off at a fast pace across the open parkland surrounding the manor house and disappearing into the woods beyond. She knew they were going to be following his trail, after giving him a head start.
Lily, now famous among the Pony Club members after her Olympia win, was receiving lots of pats from the gathered crowd. Scanning the hordes of people, Georgia caught sight of her mum, waving proudly, and smiled. Mrs Black was completely unhorsey but supported Georgia all the way and adored Lily.
“Uh-oh, look to your left,” Will suddenly hissed in her ear, and Georgia turned, her jaw dropping at the sight of Joss clattering up the drive on Topper, who looked thoroughly overexcited and whose big neck was already lathered in white foam. Joss was clinging on to a neck strap, but
still somehow managed to look serene and elegant.
Trailing behind on foot was Dan. He waved at the group and walked over to join them.
“Honestly,” Will scoffed while they were still out of earshot. “That girl hasn’t got the message yet, has she?”
“What message?” Georgia looked straight at Will, and he laughed.
“Oh come off it, Georgia, she’s mad about Dan, but—” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Joss and Topper were suddenly in the middle of the group, the big pony causing an almighty commotion among the Redgrove ponies as he danced from side to side, banging into them and tossing his big, golden handsome head in the air.
“Top-per!” Joss sounded slightly breathless and nervous as she struggled to control the Welsh cob. Her inexperience was showing on her new pony.
“I didn’t think you’d be here today,” Georgia frowned, sounding more hostile than she had intended. Joss laughed and then turned pale as Topper plunged forward.
“I’m not going back to my family in London until tonight,” she explained. “Dan told me about this mock hunt and I thought it would be fun!” She smiled down at Dan, who had now caught up with the group. “He’s been so kind to me during my stay here.”
Georgia noticed that Dan reddened slightly at this remark and turned to look at Georgia. But just then the huntsman signalled for the young riders to follow him through the gate and out into the parkland beyond the manor house. The ponies, ears pricked and adrenalin pumping through their veins, surged forward eagerly. The Pony Club Christmas Eve Mock Hunt was underway!
Palomino Pony On Parade Page 6