Mark helped Hannah tie me up and now they’re in the Nosebag waiting for Hannah’s gran to pick her up. She’s turning into such a good little rider, especially with Kate’s encouragement, and it’s really boosted her confidence. I’m glad about that, because sometimes I can sense that she feels quite sad that her mum never comes to watch her ride. I know she’d love her mum to see how well she does her rising trot now.
Tonto’s trying to break away to reach some loose hay lying on the other side of the yard. He just never seems to stop eating!
‘Stop it, Tonto!’ I neigh, because I know he’ll just get himself into trouble. Last night after the final ride he took himself down the fields to stuff his face with grass, and poor Kate had to run after him and tempt him back with some carrots. Honestly, he can be a menace sometimes.
‘You’ll be fed after the last ride,’ I tell him. ‘For goodness’ sake, be patient.’ He just snorts as if he’s telling me to mind my own business.
A car pulls up at the yard and Hannah’s gran gets out. She walks very slowly up the little hill to the Nosebag and seems to be panting a lot.
Hannah runs out excitedly and tells her all about the ride.
‘Hello Mrs Palmer,’ Kate says, walking over to them. ‘Would you like a quick cup of tea or something?’
Kate has noticed what I’ve noticed: Mrs Palmer looks like she needs a sit down.
‘Thank you, Kate. I’m not getting any younger and looking after a seven-year-old is a bit of a challenge at my age,’ she laughs. But then she looks at Hannah so warmly that I can’t imagine she minds at all.
‘Hannah’s mum works so hard to make sure this little one has everything she needs, but Hannah does miss spending time with her. Instead she gets stuck with me.’
‘Well, she’s lucky to have you, Mrs Palmer,’ Kate says, leading her towards the café.
‘Gran, can I just run over and give Daisy another hug while you’re having your tea?’ Hannah asks.
‘Of course you can, lovey,’ her gran replies.
Hannah wraps her arms around me and tells me all about a school trip she’s going on soon. She says her class will be going to visit something called a horse sanctuary.
‘The horses there have been neglected by their previous owners,’ she says sadly. ‘But they were rescued and now they’re all being well looked after at the sanctuary. Some ponies just aren’t as lucky as you guys here at the Pony Palace.’
I think about what she says for a minute. I’ve heard stories about horses not being taken care of properly and it makes me so angry. At least there are good people in the world who take them in and look after them.
‘I wish I could save all the horses in the world. I’d make sure that none of them went hungry or got sick. In fact, that’s what I want to do when I grow up,’ she says, her face full of determination.
My lovely little Hannah – she really does have a heart of gold!
Chapter Six
I didn’t mean to make Kate chase me last night – I just couldn’t resist the sight of all that lovely, long grass. Kate was really cross with me afterwards, though, and now Daisy’s been telling me off too. The cheek of it! She’s four years younger than me and yet she’s bossing me around!
I look up and Oskar is heading in my direction with some yummy carrots. I thought he’d already gone home.
‘Here,’ he says, holding them out. ‘For you.’
‘Well, I don’t mind if I do,’ I neigh back. He feeds me four big, juicy carrots and I’m beginning to think that this boy might be all right. He rode me quite well in this evening’s lesson and he was definitely keeping a tighter grip on my reins. Then I see Gizmo’s rider, Claire, coming towards us.
‘Hello,’ Oskar says to her. ‘Want to give some carrots to your pony?’
Oskar shares them with her and I’m not pleased. ‘I thought those were for me!’ I whinny.
‘You rode really well today,’ Claire is saying to him. ‘You’re always so calm. I seem to be in a permanent fluster.’
‘I just like to take my time,’ Oskar says to her. ‘My grandmother always tells me not to wish my life away. I can’t help wishing that I could have a proper birthday party this year, though. My friends are all in Poland, so I don’t really know who to invite.’
‘Haven’t you made friends at school?’ Claire asks. Oskar blushes a bit and looks away.
‘Not really … I don’t like to talk in class. Sometimes I forget words, and I am afraid no one will understand me.’
‘I think your English is very good,’ Claire says and, for the first time, Oskar gives a big, cheerful smile.
‘I am very happy that I have found the Pony Palace,’ he says. ‘I have wanted to ride since I was a little boy. It is so good here.’
‘I know, it’s so much fun,’ Claire says. ‘Mind you, I still wish our lessons were more exciting, and that we could jump bounce fences or something.’
‘I just want to get the basics right first,’ Oskar answers. ‘My father always says it’s important to learn the basic skills before you try more challenging things.’
Claire is nodding and looking at him as if he’s got a point, but then Mark arrives to get us ponies ready for the last ride of the day and Claire turns her attention to him. Oskar looks a little disappointed, so I rub my head into his chest to make him feel a bit better.
‘It’s okay,’ he says. ‘I am used to being left out. I know people in Northern Ireland find me hard to understand sometimes, but I am trying really hard, Tonto. I hope I will make some friends here soon.’
‘I’ll be your friend,’ I neigh, and I nuzzle him a little bit more to prove it.
‘Hey, what’s going on, Tonto? You are being so nice to me today! Maybe you aren’t such a naughty pony after all.’
Naughty? Me? Well, maybe a little – when there’s yummy food around. I let Oskar stroke my nose and hope that he will start to feel like he fits in here. So what if his voice sounds a little different? So what if he comes from a different country? As a wise horse once neighed, ‘Why fit in when you were born to stand out?’
Chapter Seven
The kids are mucking out our stables today as part of their lesson. Kate says it’s important for them to learn about all aspects of looking after ponies, including cleaning out our stalls.
Claire was actually here on time for a change and she seems to be having good fun poo-picking in my stable. There’s no accounting for taste, is there?
Oskar is helping her, and those two look like they’re becoming proper friends.
‘Oy!’ I snort, as a heap of straw goes flying over my head. I know I wanted Claire to try and chillax a bit, but I didn’t expect her to play hay fights with me as piggy-in-the-middle! She’s supposed to be putting my old bedding into a wheelbarrow, not throwing it at Oskar.
When they’re finished monkeying around Claire sweeps the stable floor clean before shaking down some clean straw. Oh, it’s going to be so comfy in there tonight. Hours of lovely dreaming ahead!
‘Now, Gizmo, let’s get you cleaned up,’ she says. For some reason the kids just love grooming us, and I must say, there are worse things in life than being gently brushed and beautified.
Claire picks my hooves and gets rid of all my loose hair with a currycomb. My thick winter coat is dropping off bit by bit, and my new glossy, grey coat is beginning to shine through. I imagine myself with flowers in my mane and green grass under my hooves, glistening in the American sunshine …
‘Hi Claire,’ Hannah says, walking towards us. ‘I need the hose to wash Daisy, but I’m not sure where it is.’
‘Come on, I’ll help you look,’ Claire replies. They find the hose and start to spray Daisy, while Olivia, one of the volunteers, gives them instructions.
‘Don’t spray the pony’s face or get water in her ears,’ she tells them. ‘When you’re finished hosing, sponge her down gently.’
The girls do exactly as they are told and then it’s my turn for a lovely cool shower.
The water trickles down my shoulders and onto my back and it’s as refreshing as a spring breeze.
‘Don’t you just love Saturdays at the Pony Palace?’ Claire asks as she sponges my back.
‘Defo,’ says Hannah. ‘And I love seeing Daisy. She’s my PFF.’
I’m wondering what Claire will say, because I know I am definitely not her PFF, but to my surprise she says, ‘I know exactly what you mean. Gizmo used to kind of get on my nerves because he can be a bit slow, but he’s a cutie really. And he can go into a good trot when you ask him nicely. I think I’m finally getting the hang of him,’ she says.
‘I’m getting the hang of you too, Claire,’ I whinny. She’s so much more fun when she’s not in a rush all the time. Maybe she’s finally learning how to take it easy and go with the flow.
‘I wonder who that is?’ Claire says suddenly, looking up. A very tall, thin lady is walking towards the stables.
Hannah looks puzzled. ‘It’s my mum,’ she says. ‘I wonder why she’s here?’
Hannah runs towards her and I can’t hear what the lady is saying, but Hannah starts to cry. I hate to see any of the kids upset, and Claire must be sad about it too, because she runs over and gives Hannah the biggest, warmest hug. I wonder what on earth is wrong?
Chapter Eight
My poor Hannah. She cried floods of tears this afternoon when her mum arrived and told her that her gran was sick. Mrs Palmer had a pain in her heart and had to go to hospital in an ambulance.
It must be a scary thing, because hearing about it really upset Hannah. I stood in the yard trying to make sense of it all, but it was hard to understand with Hannah sobbing so much.
‘You’ll have to leave your lesson early and come with me, pet,’ Hannah’s mum said. ‘We’ll go check on Gran and then I’ll take you home.’
‘Is Gran going to be okay, Mum?’
‘I’m sure she will, love. But in the meantime you’ll have to give up your lessons. We need to spend time with Gran in the hospital.’
Poor Hannah looked as miserable as I felt. Her gran is ill, and on top of that she won’t even get to see me! It just isn’t fair. Gizmo’s rider Claire was trying to cheer Hannah up with cuddles and kind words, and Kate was doing her best, as always, to make things better.
‘Your gran is in the best possible place at the minute, Hannah,’ Kate said. ‘The doctors will do all they can to make her well, and she’ll be back with you in no time. And don’t worry about Daisy – we’ll look after her until you’re ready to come back.’
I watched Hannah go off with her mum and my heart felt like it was breaking. She’s the nicest rider I’ve ever had and I hate to see her so upset. Now I’m out here in the field grazing and I miss her already.
It’s a beautiful April evening and even though the countryside looks lovely I just can’t lift my spirits. There are grassy, green hills rolling into one another all the way to Saintfield, the sky is pale blue and the Mourne Mountains look like a purplish ridged roof in the distance, but all I can see are the weeks without Hannah.
Suddenly, I feel someone nuzzling me. Gizmo is nudging my face and making soft, low sounds. He tells me not to worry – which isn’t so easy – and that everything will be all right. Then we stand and gaze out over the fields around us as the sun sets, and just having him there beside me makes me feel a little bit better. I know how lucky I am to be here, at home with my family of horses and humans, and I just wish Hannah could have her gran at home with her right now.
Humans don’t think we ponies remember our mothers, but we do. When I had to leave my family to come and live at the Pony Palace I sniffed around after her for days. I was so sad at first, but I got used to it, because that’s what it’s like in the horse world.
It’s different for humans, though; they don’t leave their families until they’re all grown up, so poor Hannah must be devastated to be without her gran right now. I can’t wait to see her again and give her the biggest, sloppiest nuzzle in the whole world. I just don’t know when that will be.
Chapter Nine
We spent the night out in one of the fields last night because the weather’s starting to get warmer, and I was in heaven munching on all that grass.
Daisy seemed a bit quiet, though. She must really be missing her favourite rider, because she didn’t even poke her nose in to tell me to stop eating so much. Gizmo was keeping a close eye on her, which is not like him. He’s normally in cloud cuckoo land!
Oskar is coming to the Pony Palace again today. I was thinking what a good idea it would be for him to have his birthday party here, but of course I have no way of telling him that. The parties here always look like great fun. The kids get lots of delicious food in the Nosebag after their rides, and Kate gives out special rosettes to the birthday groups.
I wish I could squeeze my way into the Nosebag and sniff out some of those lovely sandwiches. Yum, yum – I can almost taste them!
Oskar arrives then and walks over to me, looking a bit down in the dumps.
‘Hi Tonto,’ he says quietly. I give him a nuzzle and hope that there are some carrots hiding in his pockets, but he just sighs and stares off into the distance.
‘What’s wrong?’ I neigh, and he answers as if he understands me.
‘My mum and dad say there is no point in me having a party this year. They say I should wait until next year when I know more people,’ he says sadly.
He sighs again and strokes my shoulder. ‘They’re probably right,’ he adds. ‘I still haven’t made any friends at school. Who would want to come to my party?’
I feel really sorry for him, and suddenly I understand why Daisy’s so upset about her rider. We spend so much time with these humans – I guess we get kind of close to them.
Oskar tacks me up with Kate’s help, but it doesn’t feel like he even wants to ride today. I do my best to spur him on and give him a fun morning that will take his mind off things.
Kate gets us to trot around poles and ride in and out of the serpentine. Some of the other riders look like blobs of jelly bouncing up and down, but Oskar has the hang of the rising trot now and gets into a nice, steady rhythm. I can sense that he’s cheering up a bit and I do my best not to spook or put my head down suddenly or do anything that would make him lose his balance. His dad is watching from the viewing gallery and giving him a thumbs up.
‘Well done, Oskar!’ his dad shouts.
Afterwards, when Oskar goes to the Nosebag to get a cold drink, I overhear his dad speaking to Kate. He’s telling her how worried he was about Oskar learning to speak English and settling into a new school when they moved to Northern Ireland.
‘It can’t have been easy,’ Kate says. ‘But he’s a good lad and he always tries his best. His English is improving, and he seems to have really taken to riding here.’
‘Yes, he fits in here,’ Oskar’s dad says. ‘He doesn’t say much about school, though, and I have a feeling that he hasn’t made many friends there yet. It’s his birthday soon and he wants to have a party, but what if he invites people and they say no? Then Oskar would be really upset.’
Kate goes quiet for a minute or two, and I can tell that she has her thinking cap on.
‘Why doesn’t he have his party here?’ she asks. ‘After all, he’s really settled in well. He’s made friends with some of the other riders, and a party is a great way to get to know people. It could be a surprise for him. Just leave the inviting to me.’ Kate seems determined to put her plan in place.
Oskar’s dad looks really grateful. He thanks Kate for helping his son to feel like a part of the Pony Palace.
I think about this as they head off. When I first arrived at the Pony Palace I didn’t know anyone and I felt a bit nervous – I suppose everyone does when they’re new. The other horses and ponies soon made me feel at home and became my friends, even if they did think I was a teeny bit greedy. Maybe I should give some of that friendship back now and go talk to Daisy. She’s obviously upset, and I’ve been too busy munc
hing to bother helping her. I think it’s time I showed some team spirit – after all, that’s what PFFs do.
Chapter Ten
Daisy’s been so upset about Hannah. I tried to cheer her up, and I think it helped a bit, but I couldn’t believe it when even Tearaway Tonto started being really nice to her last Sunday morning. He actually stopped thinking about eating long enough to consider someone’s feelings! At first I thought pigs might fly, but there’s no chance of the resident pig here ever getting up from that soft pile of straw he sleeps on.
Claire arrived in plenty of time this morning to get me tacked up and ready for business. Her dad drops her off earlier now and it makes such a difference. She’s less flustered and much more easy-going. We’re starting to make quite a team! Kate’s always telling the kids how important it is to build a relationship with their horses, so I’m glad that Claire works with me now, not against me.
‘Ready, Gizmo? We’re out in the sand school today,’ Claire says, leading me towards the outdoor arena. I love riding there because you can see right down the hills and across the fields. We trot over poles and do a few low jumps and I can tell that Claire is really enjoying herself.
Kate decides to let her try something more challenging and go for an even higher jump. Claire seems really excited as she turns me around and angles me towards the jump. Off we go in sitting trot and then into a canter. Up, up, up and over! Yes, we manage it! But wait, what’s Claire doing on the ground? She’s lying in the sand, covered in dust and muck, and I think my heart actually stops beating for a second. Then I hear Claire’s voice and let out a big sigh of relief.
Pony Party Page 2