by Amy Brown
‘Well, cheer up, then. Tani will think you don’t love him if you keep moping.’
As they drove further from the beach and closer to Flaxton, the landscape became familiar and it began to be easier to think about the year to come, rather than just remembering leaving Pip behind. There were pages and pages of training regimes in Jade’s backpack, printed out by Flora, along with dates for the upcoming events on the endurance calendar.
Back at Mr White’s, before Jade could look at the empty diet paddock and think of Pip, Flora asked again whether Jade had any questions about training.
‘I’m serious, Jade. I think you’ve got a really good chance with Tani. You’ll need to start training straight away, though. And you don’t need that heavy Pelham any more. Get yourself a simple snaffle. Honestly, I think this is the discipline for you two.’
‘Enough already, she understands,’ Andy cut in.
‘Oh, you do all right, too, Andy. Don’t get shirty.’
‘I’m not getting shirty. I just think Jade has heard that speech a hundred times before.’
‘I’m just trying to be encouraging.’
‘Thanks, Flora. For everything,’ Jade said, giving her a hug before the older woman jumped back up into the driver’s seat.
‘No, thank you, Jade. Without your help — both of you — I could have lost my home and livelihood. Seriously, you’ve both been incredibly helpful. Now, shall we deliver you back to your mother, young Andrea?’
Not wanting any more fuss, Flora drove out of the Whites’ front gate, leaving Jade alone in the yard with Tani. Other than the Whites’ old bays, Brandy and Hamlet, who were grazing along the back fence line, no one was to be seen.
‘It’s just us now, Tani,’ Jade said, blowing a raspberry at his reddish-brown nose. ‘But that’s enough, isn’t it?’
How to Mount and Hold the Reins
The best way to mount, without hurting your pony’s back or damaging the saddle, is to use a mounting block. If there is someone nearby who knows how to give you a leg-up, then that would work just as well.
Lead your pony up to the mounting block (an upturned feed bin does the job) until it is near his left foreleg. With the reins in one hand behind your back, use your other hand to pick up your pony’s forelegs, one at a time, as if you were going to pick them out. Pull the leg gently out to the front. This stretches the skin under the girth and ensures it isn’t wrinkled or pinched.
When both legs have been stretched, slide each stirrup down the stirrup leathers so they are ready for your feet when you are in the saddle. A quick way of checking that the stirrup leathers are the correct length for your legs is to make a fist, hold your knuckles against where the stirrup leather buckle sits against the saddle, and pull the stirrup iron towards your armpit. If the stirrup leather reaches all the way from your knuckle to your armpit, it is the right length.
The next piece of tack to consider is the reins. Throw them over your pony’s head (careful of his eyes and ears!), and make sure they are not twisted. Hold the reins about a hand’s width away from the buckle.
Now you are ready to stand on the mounting block. Again, face your pony’s tail — this will help stop you from twisting your left stirrup leather. When you are ready, put your left foot in the stirrup. Hold the stirrup steady with your right hand if need be, but keep a hold of the reins in your left hand. Move your left hand, with the reins, up to the pommel (the rounded area at the front of the saddle). Hold the cantle (the back) of the saddle, with your right hand, just to steady yourself as you swing your right leg over the saddle.
Put your weight on your left foot, which is already in the left stirrup, step off the mounting block, sit gently in the seat of the saddle, and find the other stirrup with your right foot.
If your pony is skittish, ask someone to stand at his head to discourage him from walking away before you are securely in the saddle.
With your feet in the stirrups and your legs comfortably against your pony’s sides, you are almost ready to ride. But there is one more thing to consider: how to hold your reins. For a start, loosely — most ponies dislike having their mouth pulled at as soon as their rider is in the saddle. So, without tugging on the bit, hold each rein in your fists. Turn your hands so that your wrists are facing outwards (as if you were going to give the thumbs-up), move your thumbs over the top of the reins, and, lastly, slip your little fingers under the reins. This ends up giving you more control and feels more comfortable.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
From age five to sixteen, Amy Brown belonged to Flaxmere Pony Club and competed in regional and national show jumping events. An avid reader of pony fiction, when she left home Amy gave up riding and took up writing. Amy now lives in Melbourne, where she spends her time writing, tutoring a poetry class at the University of Melbourne, and fostering stray animals for Victorian Dog Rescue. As often as she can, Amy returns to Hawke’s Bay to visit her parents and their elderly horses, Ginny and Toby.
Other Books by Amy Brown
The Pony Tales series
Jade and the Stray
Jade at the Champs
Jade and the Hunters
Copyright
HarperCollinsPublishers
First published 2012
This edition published in 2013
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1, Auckland 1140
Copyright © Amy Brown 2012
Amy Brown asserts the moral right to be identifi ed as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
HarperCollinsPublishers
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National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Brown, Amy, 1984-
Jade’s summer of horses / Amy Brown.
(Pony tales ; 4)
ISBN 978-1-86950-922-4
1. Horses — Juvenile fiction. [1. Horses — Fiction. 2. Riding schools — Fiction. 3. Endurance riding (Horsemanship) — Fiction. 4. Real estate development — Fiction.]
I. Title. II. Series: Brown, Amy, 1984- Pony tales ; 4. NZ823.3 — dc 22
ISBN 978 1 86950 922 4 (pbk)
ISBN 978 1 77549 045 6 (epub)
Cover design by Ingrid Kwong
Cover photography by Steve Bacon
Special thanks to Malabar Riding School