CONTENTS
Chapter One Starlight Stables
Chapter Two Crystal
Chapter Three New Friends
Chapter Four Trail Riding
Chapter Five Let the Fun Begin
Chapter Six Learning the Ropes
Chapter Seven Trail Ride Trouble
Chapter Eight Old Man Smithy’s
Chapter Nine Overnight Adventure
Chapter Ten Uncle Mark to the Rescue
Chapter Eleven Pony Detectives
Chapter Twelve Making a Splash
Chapter Thirteen No Turning Back
Chapter Fourteen Trouble
Chapter Fifteen Help!
Chapter Sixteen Punishment
Chapter Seventeen Back in the Saddle
About the Author
Read All the Books in the Starlight Stables series
Handy Horse Tips
Acknowledgements
Poppy sucked in a breath and looked around the farm. She watched the mares in the paddock with their foals at foot, kicking up their hooves as they played in the midday sun. Tears sprang into her eyes but she bit down hard on her lip, clutching her bag tighter to her chest.
‘Poppy?’
She smiled and turned, searching for her aunt.
‘Pop! I’m so happy you’re here!’ Aunt Sophie ran across the yard from the stables, arms open, her crazy-happy dog Casper bouncing at her side. Her long blonde hair was braided in a plait and slung over her shoulder, and she was dressed in her usual cream jodhpurs and a shirt.
Poppy dropped her bag so her aunt could hug her, trying hard not to cry. She let her cheek be kissed, and held on tight. Coming here was supposed to be fun, the best holiday ever, but she couldn’t stop thinking about home.
‘Let me look at you.’ Aunt Sophie stood back, hands on her hips.
Poppy couldn’t help it. She did burst into tears then. They rolled like big raindrops down her cheeks, and she dropped to her knees to give Casper a cuddle. The Australian shepherd was soft and snuggly, and she could have held on to him all day, even if he was trying to lick her face.
‘Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay. Come here.’ Aunt Sophie pulled her back up, and Poppy tucked into her side as she hugged her again.
‘You missing your dad?’ Aunt Sophie asked.
Poppy nodded, even though that wasn’t quite right. She didn’t want to talk about it, not to anyone. She wasn’t lying, she did still miss her dad, all the time, but it was her mum she was worried about. She knew she shouldn’t have left her, but she hadn’t been to Starlight Stables for so long, and she missed all the horses so bad.
‘I’m sorry we had to get one of the helpers to pick you up from the train station,’ Aunt Sophie said.
Poppy was grateful for the change of subject and smiled at her aunt, blinking away the last of her tears. Aunt Sophie picked up Poppy’s bag and steered her toward the stables.
‘But we had a good reason, Pop. Come on, we’ve got something to show you.’
Something to show her? ‘Do you have a new riding school horse?’ Poppy asked.
Aunt Sophie grinned and gave Poppy’s shoulders a squeeze. ‘Something better.’
What could be better than a new horse? Poppy walked faster alongside her aunt, eager to reach the stables. She hadn’t seen the horses in ages, and she couldn’t wait to be around them again, to forget everything and just enjoy her four-legged friends.
‘Hey, Popster!’
‘Hi, Uncle Mark.’ Poppy couldn’t help feeling shy when he ran out of the stables and gave her a smacking kiss on the top of her head. Bending low, he scooped her up in a big bear hug so that her feet left the ground. She always loved the horsey smell of him and the way she disappeared into his arms as he held her tight.
‘Has Sophie let you in on the secret?’ he asked as he lowered her to the floor, dark brown eyes locked on hers.
Poppy shook her head. ‘No.’
She watched as her aunt and uncle looked at one another. Something was definitely up. Poppy followed them into the stables as they walked down the aisle between the stalls, but she couldn’t keep up with them. She had to stop and reach out a hand to each nose, stroke the soft skin of each horse’s muzzle as she passed them. She knew every single one of them, and she loved them all equally.
‘Hey, Jupiter.’ Poppy paused slightly longer at his stall – maybe she loved Jupiter a teensy bit more than the others, she admitted to herself. She pressed a kiss to his massive chestnut cheek as he hung over the stable door, munching his hay. His muzzle smelt sweet – a combination of his hard feed and just that great horse smell that she loved so much. She’d missed it.
‘Pop?’ Aunt Sophie prompted from outside another stable.
She’d almost forgotten about the surprise while she was giving Jupiter a scratch. ‘I’m coming,’ she said as she pulled away from Jupiter and ran past the rest of the stalls, sending out silent apologies to the other horses, and promising that she’d come see them soon.
She reached her aunt and uncle and skidded on some hay because she stopped so fast. ‘Who’s this?’ she asked. A pretty grey face was peeking over the last stall, its big brown eyes watching her, like she was trying to figure out what was going on, too. The ponies weren’t usually down here – this part of the stable block was for the bigger horses.
Aunt Sophie laughed and gave Poppy a nudge forward. ‘This is Crystal.’
‘She’s beautiful.’ Poppy stroked her face and giggled as Crystal blew on her cheek and nuzzled her hair.
‘I think she likes you,’ Uncle Mark said, leaning over to pat the pony. Poppy loved how gentle he was with animals. He was the local big-animal vet, and she liked nothing more than going out with him on call-outs when she was staying at the farm, seeing him in action.
Poppy looked over her shoulder. ‘Is she boarding here?’ she asked.
Aunt Sophie shook her head. ‘Crystal just arrived, Poppy. She’s your surprise.’
Poppy’s stomach flip-flopped. What did her aunt mean, her surprise?
Uncle Mark took a step closer and slung an arm around Poppy’s shoulder. ‘You’ve had a hard time this year, Poppy, and we wanted to do something for you.’
Poppy didn’t want to think about the last year. All she did want was to think about horses and only horses. ‘So I can ride her while I’m here?’
‘Well, she’s your pony, so I guess that means you can ride her whenever you like.’
Poppy spun around and looked from her uncle to her aunt. ‘What?’
They were both laughing.
‘The polite thing to say would be “thank you”.’ Aunt Sophie was smiling but her face was serious.
‘My new pony?’ Poppy asked, just in case she’d misheard. This was crazy! She’d been dreaming of her own pony for years.
‘Get in there and meet her properly, kiddo,’ said Mark. ‘Unless you don’t like her?’
Poppy didn’t need telling twice. She swiped the latch to Crystal’s stall and stepped inside. ‘Crystal.’ She breathed out her name as if it were magical.
It couldn’t be real. She couldn’t be hers, could she? Her own pony? Poppy looked from her uncle to her aunt and back to Crystal again. Crystal, quite possibly the most beautiful, gorgeous, cutest pony Poppy had ever seen.
Crystal stepped closer to Poppy and blew on her hand, the pony’s whiskers tickling Poppy’s skin. Poppy threw herself at her aunt and uncle, squealing.
‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’
Whinnies and snorts echoed around the stables.
‘Whoa, girl, you’re scaring the horses!’ Uncle Mark warned, but with a grin on his face.
‘So, let’s have a look at this pony, shall we?’ Aunt Sophie said as she pulled a new pink lead ro
pe from the door and handed it to Poppy.
Poppy took the pink rope and gently pulled it over Crystal’s head. She was smiling from ear to ear. She just couldn’t believe it. She’d been dreaming of owning her own horse since she could say the word, saving every cent to put toward her horse fund. But when her dad had died and they’d had to move, she’d given up. There was no way her mum was ever going to be able to afford a horse, or even help care for one.
But now Uncle Mark and Aunt Sophie had given her her very own pony.
If she hadn’t been feeling so worried about her mum back home, it would have been the best day of her life.
Poppy led Crystal out to the arena. The pony walked obediently beside her, even though Poppy was feeling jumpy. It felt like ages since she’d last ridden, and she hoped she hadn’t forgotten anything.
‘Let’s just take it easy today, okay?’ said her aunt, opening the gate for them to pass through.
Poppy nodded. She would do whatever she was told, so long as it didn’t mean leaving Crystal’s side.
Crystal stood patiently, her head turned in to Poppy.
‘Hey, miss,’ Poppy murmured, stroking Crystal softly on the neck. ‘Be kind to me today, huh? I haven’t ridden in a while.’
She used to come here all the time, every school holiday and long weekend, but it had been months since her last ride.
‘You ready?’ Aunt Sophie stood behind her, her face turned from nice aunt to serious instructor.
‘Yup.’
Poppy pushed her left foot firmly into the stirrup and swung up, landing smoothly in the saddle. She was pleased Crystal had stayed still. Nothing beat good manners when it came to ponies. Next, she gathered up the reins and squeezed her lower legs against Crystal’s side, asking her to walk on.
‘We don’t need to push it, but I want to check that you work well as a team. Technically, we’ve got her on trial for two weeks, so if she’s not right, we can always take her back.’
Poppy almost swallowed her tongue. Take her back? There was no way she was going to give back her horse! She loved her too much already.
‘Has she jumped before?’ Poppy asked. Poppy loved jumping. Her dream had always been to make the Australian Young Rider Eventing squad by the time she was seventeen. She could just imagine them travelling around the country, competing at all the top competitions.
‘Are you kidding? Crystal is famous around here.’
Poppy pulled back lightly on the reins, sitting deeper in the saddle at the same time, and Crystal came to a halt. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
‘Poppy, we’ve had our eye on Crystal for a year now,’ Sophie explained. ‘The only reason we managed to get her for you is because her rider is leaving for university. She’s been too tall for Crystal for a while, but she didn’t want to sell her until now.’
Poppy felt her brow knit together as she thought about what her aunt had said. She could understand why someone wouldn’t want to sell Crystal – she was a special pony, Poppy could tell that already. She’d be heartbroken if she ever had to sell a horse she loved. She asked Crystal to walk on and wondered, had they really been planning on getting her a pony all this time? She was so excited, her hands were all shaky.
‘How come I’ve never seen her before?’ Poppy asked. She didn’t recognise Crystal, and she never forgot a horse she liked.
‘Her owner would have been past low-level games and eventing when you started riding here,’ Aunt Sophie said.
‘Do you think I’ll be able to event her?’
‘The past two years running, Crystal has taken out the eventing and show jumping local champs. She’s a one-in-a-million pony, and we think you’ll be out competing soon. If that’s still what you want?’
Was Sophie truly talking about her new pony? Crystal was already a champion?
Poppy bit her lip. She was doing that a lot lately. Of course she still wanted to compete, but she couldn’t leave her mum for long. If she did, who would look after her little brother? Tom had gone away with his best friend’s family for the two weeks Poppy was at Starlight, so she knew he was okay for now. But if she stayed longer . . .?
‘Okay, enough chitter chatter. Let’s see how she goes for you,’ Aunt Sophie called out. ‘Now, I know you haven’t been in the saddle for a while, so just push her slowly through her paces.’
Poppy tried to blank out everything from her mind and focus on Crystal. The pony had one ear flicked back, listening out for her, and Poppy whispered to her, comforting her.
‘We can do this. Just take it nice and steady.’
Crystal snorted but moved forward as soon as Poppy asked her to. Poppy squeezed her legs against Crystal’s side to make her trot. Crystal responded, moving perfectly around the all-weather arena. It was like Crystal was reading her mind!
‘Great, you two look fantastic!’ Sophie said.
Poppy knew she had a stupid grin planted on her face and lost focus for a second, but Crystal never put a hoof wrong.
‘Canter on now, Poppy,’ Sophie instructed.
Poppy sat deep in the saddle, her heels planted down and her outside leg sliding back to ask for a canter. It happened like magic. Crystal gracefully balanced into a rolling canter with her inside leg leading, just like it was supposed to. They really were a team.
‘Okay, bring her back to a walk and then in to the middle.’
Poppy did as she was told. Once they had stopped she took her feet out of the stirrups and bent forward, wrapping her arms around Crystal’s neck.
‘So, what do you think?’ Sophie asked.
‘I love her, Aunt Sophie,’ Poppy gushed. ‘She’s the best pony in the world.’
‘How are things going at home, Poppy?’ Aunt Sophie asked over dinner.
Poppy pushed some spaghetti around her plate with her fork. She didn’t want to talk about home, not even with Aunt Sophie. Her and Uncle Mark were pretty cool, for adults, but it didn’t mean she wanted to tell them what it was really like.
‘Um, good. You know.’ Her words came out as a mumble.
‘Good, or just okay?’ Uncle Mark asked.
Poppy stuffed the spaghetti in her mouth to avoid having to answer. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone about what it was like at home. This holiday was the only thing she wanted to talk about, otherwise she’d get all sad and need to phone her mum again.
‘Your brother’s off on holiday with a friend from school?’ Aunt Sophie prompted.
Poppy nodded and swallowed the spaghetti. ‘Uh-huh. He’s at a friend’s holiday home for a bit.’
‘So how about Crystal, huh? You really like her?’
Poppy looked up and Uncle Mark winked at her from across the table, like he was trying to say it was okay to avoid the subject of home. Her shoulders went from being all tight and bunched to relaxed. She didn’t mind talking about Crystal at all.
‘She’s amazing. Cantering on her was like being on a giant rocking horse.’ That made them all laugh, and suddenly Poppy felt comfortable again.
‘Well, you deserve her, Pop. I know how long you’ve been dreaming of a horse of your own.’
Poppy beamed. ‘So can I ride her every day, or do you need me to do riding school stuff?’ Poppy wanted to know exactly how much time she was going to be able to spend with her pony. She loved all the horses, but Crystal already felt more special somehow.
‘We know you’ve had a whole lot of excitement today already, but Mark and I have something else we want to talk to you about,’ Aunt Sophie said.
Hmmm. This didn’t sound good. When adults wanted to ‘talk’, it usually ended in something bad. Poppy had firsthand experience of that. She looked down again at her spaghetti and waited for whatever was coming.
‘We have two weeks booked for the riding camp as usual, and we’re counting on your help again.’
Poppy nodded, tucking a loose strand of long hair behind one ear. She loved helping out with the riding school camp. Now that she was twelve, she was allowed to instruct th
e little ones and be second in charge to Sophie on trail rides. At least, that’s what her aunt had said on the phone.
‘But . . .’
Here it comes, Poppy thought.
‘We’ve been wanting to do something special for some young riders the last couple of years, and buying Crystal for you sort of spurred us on. We know what it’s like to want your own horse more than anything else in the world, and we’re also looking to expand the riding school.’
Poppy looked from Uncle Mark to Aunt Sophie. She had no idea what they were talking about or where this conversation was going, which was making her nervous.
‘We’ve purchased two other ponies. Well, taken them on trial first, actually, just like Crystal.’
‘You’re not going to send her back, are you?’ Poppy felt like she might be sick. Not having a horse was bad enough, but getting one and then having her taken away would be her worst nightmare.
‘No! Of course not,’ Sophie said. ‘It’s completely up to you to decide if Crystal is the right pony for you. No one can take her away if you want her, but, if you don’t like her, we’ll find another.’
Phew! ‘I’ve already decided that she’s perfect.’ Poppy had said it before, but she wanted to make herself one hundred per cent clear, to be on the safe side.
Uncle Mark grinned and took over from Sophie.
‘We have two young riders who we’ve chosen to receive a scholarship. We want to give them the same opportunity we’ve given you, to further their riding and have their own pony. Of course, you will be the only one actually to own a pony, but they will have to care for and ride theirs as if they are their own. Neither of their mounts will be ridden by anyone else at the riding school, and if it works out, then we hope you’ll all be spending a lot more time here. Maybe even this entire school holiday.’
Poppy bit her lip. She’d do anything to spend more time at the farm, but that meant leaving her mum for longer, and she wasn’t sure if she could. How would Tom cope without her? And a little part of her was . . . jealous. She told herself not to be silly. She was going to have friends to ride with, and it was great that her aunt and uncle were giving other kids the chance to have a horse they could call their own. Poppy had Crystal – it wasn’t like they were threatening to let someone else ride her. But she couldn’t help it. She did feel jealous. She’d wanted a horse for so long, and now two other riders were just going to get one, too?
Pony Detectives Page 1