Katie laughed, smiling at her like she understood Poppy was trying to change the subject. ‘Yeah. Hey, so, where are we sleeping tonight?’ asked Katie. ‘I’m so tired after all that riding.’
Poppy looked about. There was a clean stall with fresh straw laid out, and it looked pretty inviting. She was pleased Katie had realised she didn’t want to talk any more, too.
‘How about in there?’ she pointed.
Poppy grabbed the packet of biscuits and trudged off with the others, exhausted. Casper followed and made a bed in the straw beside them. Horse thief or not, they were all too tired to stay awake.
Poppy fought to keep her eyes open. Everything seemed a blur, and she couldn’t remember ever feeling this exhausted before. Every time she lifted the shovel it seemed to weigh double what it had the day before. Crystal’s stall was clean, but she still had two more to go.
She glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of their makeshift hay bed from last night. It had felt like they’d only just fallen asleep when the kookaburras started laughing loudly in the trees around the stables, waking the three girls and announcing it was time to head back to the house to have breakfast and get dressed. Poppy yawned, remembering how she’d just wanted to pull her sleeping-bag over her head and go back to sleep. In fact, she still wanted to do that!
Taking a rest, pressed up against the wall, Katie looked just as tired as Poppy felt, her arms limp at her sides. Annoyingly, Milly was still perky. She seemed to need no sleep, had endless amounts of energy and dreamed up a million ideas to get them in trouble every spare minute she had.
‘Yoo-hoo. You girls in there?’ Aunt Sophie’s voice echoed through the stables, and Poppy straightened her shoulders, blinking fiercely. If her aunt saw how exhausted they were, she would probably call an end to their nights in the stables. And then who would protect their ponies? Although Poppy actually had no idea what they’d do if someone did try to steal them.
‘Hi, Mrs D,’ called Milly.
Katie managed a smile, and Poppy dropped the shovel onto the wheelbarrow.
‘Morning,’ Poppy replied.
Sophie stopped for a second and then walked down to Jupiter’s stall. The big gelding hung his head over the half-door and nuzzled Sophie’s hair.
‘This morning, I’d like you all to saddle up and come watch me work Jupiter in the arena. I’m going to teach you a new dressage move, then we’ll go for a ride to the other side of the farm.’
Poppy stole a look at Milly. Milly would be annoyed, but there was nothing they could do.
‘Do you mean we’re having a lesson today instead of tomorrow?’ asked Katie.
Today was supposed to be the day they went back to Old Smithy’s farm. Could they even wait until the next day? What if Mr Creepy came looking for them before they’d had a chance to prove he’s the horse thief? Surely it wouldn’t be that hard for him to figure out that they were from Starlight Stables. It was pretty much the only place around here where there were young girls on ponies!
‘Exactly,’ said Sophie, letting herself into Jupiter’s stall. ‘I have the farrier coming tomorrow, so we’re having a change around.’
Poppy started to push the barrow. That set the other two back to task, leaving Sophie to lead her horse out and cross tie him outside his stall.
‘Meet me out front in fifteen minutes.’
‘Come on, guys,’ whispered Poppy.
Once they were all out of earshot she stopped pushing. ‘It’s no big deal. Another day isn’t going to change anything.’
‘What about the farrier? Doesn’t that mean Mrs D will be hanging around the stables instead of spending all day with the camp kids?’
Poppy shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter. We can just tell her we’re off on a trail ride.’
She knew it was kind of weird that, up until yesterday, she’d been dead scared of riding back to Smithy’s place whereas now she was excited. But there was just something about knowing those stolen horses could be locked inside that big barn that was nagging at her. She wanted to get to the bottom of it and, for the first time ever, she didn’t mind if it meant getting in trouble. Horses were the most important thing in her life, and she bet her aunt would have done anything to save a horse when she was a pony-mad kid, too!
‘If you watch where Jupiter’s head is, you’ll see that he is perfectly on the bit.’
Poppy nodded. It didn’t matter how many times she watched the huge horse perform dressage, she was always mesmerised by how he and Aunt Sophie looked like they were floating. Jupiter’s strong legs lifted and fell gracefully, his whole body arched, and Aunt Sophie seemed to move in perfect harmony with him, even at the sitting trot. Poppy knew from experience that sitting still at the trot was easy to watch but incredibly hard to master.
‘She is awesome!’ said Katie, like she’d never been so impressed with anything in her life.
Even Milly, who usually goofed off after sitting still for too long, was watching.
‘Jupiter is a pro at this now, but it wasn’t always this simple,’ explained Aunt Sophie as she slowed him to a walk. ‘What I want you girls to do is get in a habit of asking your pony to be on the bit whenever he’s in the arena. When you’re out trail riding or having fun, just enjoy yourself, but when you’re in here, make them take riding seriously.’
‘What if they won’t stay on the bit?’ asked Katie.
Poppy nodded her head. It wasn’t exactly easy.
‘That’s what we’re going to practise. You don’t need to do it all the time, it takes a lot of effort to accomplish, but I want you to try your best.’
She pushed Jupiter back into a working trot, and they watched as his head stayed down, still arched, even when she asked him to canter. Then he came to a dead halt. Miraculously, his head was still lowered perfectly.
‘Okay, girls. Check your girths, and then enter the arena. Start a 20-metre circle at the walk.’
They did as they were told.
‘I need you all to shorten your reins slightly. Maintain a firm but gentle contact with the bit.’
Aunt Sophie was watching them closely. Poppy could feel eyes on her. She sat as straight as she could, pushing her heels down firmly. She loved that they were doing dressage practice, even if it was hard.
‘Now, I want you to keep an elastic contact with your outside hand. Hold the rein on the outside steady, with no movement. Once you have done this, I want you to move your inside rein away from your pony, toward me. You will need to squeeze with this hand, and then give, repeatedly, for your pony to accept the bit. I want those hands as soft as marshmallow when your ponies respond, and lucky for you girls, they do know what you’re asking, so it’s not like we’re teaching them something they haven’t done before.’
Poppy was struggling to remember everything to do. It didn’t sound like much, but keeping heels down, back straight and doing something different with each hand wasn’t exactly easy.
‘As soon as your pony responds, you are to make the softest contact possible with that inside hand. Soft hands are your reward to your pony for listening. It also encourages them to bend in toward the centre slightly. Whenever they’re on the bit and behaving, you’re to keep the contact very gentle.’
‘Like this?’ called Katie.
‘Excellent!’ Sophie replied. ‘The trick is to respond instantly. Horses appreciate soft hands from their rider, so as soon as they learn that head down equals gentle, it will all become easier. And because your ponies know what’s expected of them, it’s simply a matter of you girls catching up to them, showing them that you understand, too.’
‘Joe’s not listening,’ complained an impatient Milly.
‘Stay calm, Milly, and listen to your pony. Joe’s trying to respond, but you’re giving him mixed signals. When he so much as puts his head down slightly, reward him by softening. Be firm when you ask and immediately soft when he accepts.’
Poppy could hear what was being said but she was focused on her own riding. Crystal w
as trying hard, and she was responding as quickly as possible. She did have a slight advantage, though, having watched Aunt Sophie train for so many years, seeing every dressage move she tried. Poppy was also desperate to be the best rider, to impress her aunt. Receiving praise from Aunt Sophie was one of the best feelings in the world.
‘Great work, Poppy!’ Aunt Sophie’s voice boomed out, and Poppy felt exhilarated. ‘Milly, Katie, pull up beside me in the centre. Poppy, keep riding. I want you to do exactly what you are doing now, but push Crystal into a trot. Remember also to keep your inside leg on if she tries to make the circle smaller. She’s listening to your hands and your legs.’
Poppy squeezed her legs and Crystal responded by trotting, but her head popped up as soon as they were going faster. Poppy remembered Sophie’s words and stayed calm, asking with her inside hand, slowing her movements as she rose to the trot. Like clockwork, Crystal’s head went down, her neck rounded, and Poppy rewarded her by softening contact.
A clapping noise made Poppy’s head rise, and she came back to reality. It was her aunt.
‘Well done, Poppy. Bring her in.’
Poppy felt her cheeks flush, but she was proud. Milly’s and Katie’s enthusiastic clapping told her they were proud of her, too.
Crystal truly was a star.
The field stretched out in front of them. Long, yellowy green grass, as far as the eye could see. Crystal trotted forward, fast enough to make a breeze blow across Poppy’s face. Poppy was nervous, though, as they rode along beside Sophie. There was a tiny possibility that they might see the scary neighbour once they reached the blue gums in the distance. But that was being silly. They were still on her aunt and uncle’s farm, which meant she should feel safe.
Grazing near the boundary, a herd of dairy cows caught Poppy’s attention. It struck her that they looked awfully like coloured horses.
‘I thought we’d go for a canter down the west side of the farm, and then let the horses have a splash in the creek.’ Sophie’s suggestion interrupted Poppy’s train of thought, but she smiled as Milly and Katie whooped at the idea.
‘Ever been swimming with a horse before?’ Sophie asked.
Milly and Katie both shook their heads, and Sophie winked at Poppy.
‘Well then, let’s teach these two how to swim!’
Going to the creek meant heading toward the opposite boundary, so swimming sounded good to Poppy, too. She almost forgot about the trouble they were set to make tomorrow in her excitement to get to the water.
‘Okay, no faster than a nice canter. Just call out if you want to stop,’ instructed Sophie.
Jupiter went first, his long stride eating up the ground. Poppy and the other two spread out to her left, forming a straight line, but they had to go fast to keep up.
‘All okay?’ called Sophie.
Standing up on their stirrups, they all grinned, poised like jockeys going around a racetrack.
Crystal was strong beneath Poppy. It was the most exhilarating feeling, being in control of such a big animal, feeling as one as they rocketed along. Looking down for a second, Poppy watched Crystal’s hooves pounding on the ground. She let her hands fall to rest on her pony’s neck. This was the feeling she lived for, the reason she was so excited about learning to ride cross-country. She wanted to fly, soar over jumps and gallop across fields. Because when she was riding like this, she didn’t think about anything else but her horse.
Poppy glanced at Milly riding beside her, and received a smile in return. Poppy beamed back and enjoyed a secret chuckle at Joe’s neck, which was flattened out, as if he was trying to keep his nose ahead of the other two ponies. Poppy had a theory that Joe secretly wished he was a Thoroughbred racehorse. Joe always wanted to be first, jumped higher than the rest and was generally a mischief-maker. Just like his rider, thought Poppy with a smirk.
Poppy looked over at Katie, who was riding on her other side. She seemed completely at ease in the saddle. She was still seated, leaning forward, her hands steady above Cody’s neck. Despite being head over heels in love with Crystal, Poppy had to admit that Cody was the most handsome of the three ponies. His golden coat gleamed in the sunlight, and his white tail flowed out behind him. Even the excited canter he was doing now was balanced and graceful, as if he could be in the show jumping ring rather than racing across a field, flanked by his stable mates. A true Barbie horse, Poppy thought.
Aunt Sophie pulled back to a trot, and Poppy reined Crystal in slightly. She noticed that Joe took longer to slow down, ending up in front of them all.
‘The creek’s over there,’ said Sophie, pointing ahead. ‘We’ll just trot over so the horses aren’t blowing when we stop.’
Poppy followed her aunt’s lead, turning her head to watch two large kangaroos lying in the sun nearby. There were probably more close by, hiding from the sun and sight in the bush. The kangaroos wouldn’t do them any harm, she knew, so long as they kept their distance. Although, Uncle Mark’s story played out in her head; he had told her about a big roo that had stolen his lunch one day, and how he’d almost had a boxing match with it before deciding to walk away from both his lunch and the roo – it was twice his size, after all!
Aunt Sophie waved them on as a smaller kangaroo moved through the nearby trees and came out into a clearing. Poppy couldn’t help thinking how lucky she was to be there, but then felt the worry come back again. If they were caught looking for the stolen horses on private property, where Poppy knew they weren’t allowed, could this all end? She knew Crystal was still on trial for another week, so it wouldn’t exactly be hard for her aunt and uncle to give the pony back. But they wouldn’t do that, would they? She couldn’t stand it if they did.
She knew, too, that if they were caught, then she’d be sent home as punishment. That was not something she wanted. Not yet. Not while Tom was safely away from it all with his friend on holiday. Because Poppy needed to be away, too. She needed a break from having to cook and clean and look after her brother. She needed a break from seeing her mum like that.
The air was warm, the sun was beating down, and Poppy was hot. She watched as Jupiter neared the water first, balking to start with and then taking a step in. Poppy noticed that the land around the creek was still pretty green, with grasses overhanging the creek and the low-hanging branches of the blue gum trees creating a dappled shade. She bet the kangaroos were sticking close to here because they had a good water supply; it was getting pretty dry in lots of places already, and summer had only just started. The creek was shaded and so hidden from sight, the dirt making way for sand as they neared.
‘Come on, bring them in,’ Aunt Sophie said.
It wasn’t often Poppy had the chance just to hang out with her aunt like this. Back when she was really young, on her first few holidays to the farm, they’d ridden together almost every day. But that was before Sophie was running a riding school, training for the World Champs dressage squad and helping Mark with his new vet practice. Poppy struggled to remember the last time they’d been on horseback at the same time, and realised that it was before Milly and Katie had first arrived – more than a week ago.
Poppy urged Crystal on with her legs, but the pony would only go a few steps. Instead of walking into the water, Crystal stopped and snorted, her nostrils flaring out as she pawed the sandy ground. Milly was kicking Joe, laughing at the same time. He ended up taking a big lunging jump at the water, and Milly was shrieking the whole time.
‘Encourage them,’ called Sophie. ‘Make it fun!’
‘Come on, Crystal, go, go, go,’ chanted Poppy. Her pony was nervous, she could feel it, and it was her job to give her confidence. ‘Come on, you can do it,’ she said, this time in a quieter voice.
Crystal’s snorting became louder, but she lifted one front leg gingerly.
‘Good girl!’
The forward leg movement turned into a pawing motion, and Crystal started to splash at the water, sending it everywhere.
‘Crystal!’ Poppy squealed, pus
hing harder with her legs. ‘No splashing, get in!’
Crystal did move forward, all fear suddenly gone, but it had fast turned into a game. Crystal alternated with each foot, pawing and splashing. Poppy’s face was sprinkled with droplets, her arms were wet, and her jodhpurs were soaking.
Katie had coaxed Cody in eventually, and now stood next to a patient Jupiter, who was regarding the ponies as if he was the old grandfather – happy to watch but certainly not impressed about getting wet.
‘Arrgghhh!’
The loud scream made Poppy jump. Even the birds in the trees took flight, cockatoos squawking as they beat their wings and left the creek in a big mob. Poppy saw her aunt spring from the saddle and land knee-deep in the water. Milly had taken a tumble into the water because Joe had dropped at the knees. He was submerged in the creek, saddle and all, with the naughtiest look on his face that Poppy had ever seen.
‘Milly!’ Sophie waded over to a disorientated Milly, hefting her up from the water and supporting her. ‘Are you okay?’
‘What happened?’ asked Poppy.
Milly looked around, her cheeks burning a bright red. It was the first time Poppy had ever seen her look so embarrassed about anything. Milly coughed up water and sneezed loudly.
‘I, ah, don’t know.’ She looked confused. ‘All I know is that one minute I was sitting up on Joe, laughing, and the next he just dropped. I thought he was having a heart attack or something!’
Aunt Sophie gave her a tug toward the bank, keeping an arm around her. ‘The little rascal,’ she laughed. ‘I haven’t seen a horse do that in years.’
Remaining in Crystal’s saddle, Poppy grappled for Joe’s reins and led the dripping horse from the water, making him follow her. She passed the reins back to her friend, who still looked stunned.
‘I can’t believe he did that!’ Milly squeaked.
‘It’s going to be a wet ride home, that’s for sure,’ said Aunt Sophie, looking down at her own soaked-through jodhpurs and giggling at Milly. ‘But worth it, right?’
Pony Detectives Page 7