by Kate Lattey
“Monster stud weather,” Susannah agreed, helping herself to more pizza. She’d taken to hanging out in Katy’s truck in the evenings at shows, preferring our company to her parents’, which I couldn’t blame her for. “Lucky I just bought a second set of big ones. Remember Hawera last season, when it rained for the whole show?”
“Yeah, it was awesome. Everyone went home early and Lucas won the Grand Prix,” Katy said, flicking a last remnant of mushroom back into the pizza box.
“Not awesome for me,” Susannah contradicted. “I had three ponies jumping and only one set of studs big enough to give any kind of traction in those conditions, so we were constantly swapping them in and out. I thought Dad was going to lose his mind.”
She shuddered at the memory, then cringed as the rain got even heavier, thundering against the thin truck roof. Critter whimpered and burrowed into Katy’s lap, and she stroked him absently, leaving a trail of oily cheese across the little terrier’s back.
“Aw Critter, it’s okay. I’m not going to make you go out and race in this weather, don’t worry,” Katy assured the little dog. She’d brought him along to compete in the Terrier Race which was supposed to be part of the Friday evening entertainment, but after a very bedraggled Santa had turned up soaked to his skin, most people had opted out of the torrential rain and gone back to the comforts of their trucks. A few intrepid pony riders had stayed to contest the six bar competition, but after two rounds in which the ponies could hardly even see the line of jumps, the organisers had decided to abandon it.
“I really hope it eases off overnight,” I muttered, eyeing the last slice of pizza and wondering if anyone else wanted it. “Squib hates being ridden in the rain!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
It didn’t ease off. If anything it got worse, and by morning the entire showgrounds were a quagmire. The organisers were running around trying to move the big classes off the grass so the professionals didn’t head home in disgust, but the Mini Prix event that I had Squib entered in didn’t qualify as important enough to be shifted, so I resigned myself to having to jump off the slippery ground. Unfortunately it was scheduled for the very end of the day, when the ring would be completely trashed by all the earlier classes, but there was nothing I could do about that either.
We got up early and ran to the yards to check on the ponies, who thankfully were under cover, and gave them the morning feeds they were demanding. I mucked out Squib’s yard, then leaned against his warm shoulder as he pulled at his refilled haynet and stared out at the heavy rain, which was coming down on the corrugated iron roof with a deafening roar.
“We have to jump in this today Squiblet,” I told him.
He rolled an eye back at me as if to say Yeah, right and went back to eating, and I scratched behind his ears and tried to convince myself that it would still be a good idea to compete him today. I didn’t want to do anything to hurt him or put him in jeopardy, but I also really wanted to jump in my first Mini Prix. The fences would max out at 1.20m today and after yesterday’s success, I was desperate to keep moving up the heights towards my lofty goal of Pony Grand Prix. The squally rain eased slightly, giving my ears a moment of respite, and Squib snorted in relief.
“Earth to AJ! Hello!”
I turned around to see Katy leaning over the divider between our yards. “What?”
“I said isn’t it supposed-” she started, but another heavy downpour overhead drowned out her words
“I can’t hear you!” I yelled back at her, then gazed out at the weather and shook my head. The rain eased off momentarily, and other sounds came back as horses shifted restlessly in their confinement and whinnied to their friends. “Isn’t it supposed to be summer?”
Katy rolled her eyes. “Exactly what I was just trying to say. Honestly, this weather is appalling. The only good thing about it is all the people packing up and heading home. Thinning out the competition a little.”
She wasn’t wrong about that. Already this morning a couple of trucks had been towed out of their parks, quickly getting bogged down in the rising mud, so anyone who wasn’t having a good show or didn’t want to risk their horses were cutting their losses and heading home.
“This weather is beyond ridiculous!”
We both turned to see Susannah leading Skip up the aisle towards us, and I ducked under Squib’s railing to greet her. As usual she looked like she’d just stepped out of an equestrian catalogue, and today was wearing the most gorgeous dark blue and red Ariat raincoat I’d ever seen, which made me feel even shabbier than usual in my faded windbreaker which was barely even waterproof anymore.
“Where did you get your jacket?” I demanded as I reached her side. It was so new that it still had that crisp edge to it, and was immaculately clean.
Susannah shrugged. “Mum bought it for me, I don’t know where from.” She looked a little embarrassed and turned to rub Skip’s broad white blaze. “Are you guys still going to ride today?”
Katy shrugged. “I’ll do Molly in the Grand Prix, because they’ve moved us onto the surface, but I don’t know about the boys. I might drop Gully down to the metre-five and scratch Puppet.”
“I’ve already scratched Forbes out of the Mini Prix,” Susannah replied. “It’s going to be vile out there and he’s not experienced enough yet at the height to ask that much of him. Plus he’ll probably toss his toys and throw me under the first jump.”
They both looked at me then, putting me on the spot to make a decision. “Um, I’m gonna to give it a go. Probably. We’ll see.” I avoided looking at Katy, not wanting to see her expression.
“Good for you,” Susannah said. “I hope it does let up before the Grand Prix. Buck hates getting the rain in his eyes.”
“Buck would jump clear if you blindfolded him,” Katy said with a laugh. “I’m sure a little bit of rain isn’t going to…” Her voice trailed off as she looked past Susannah and her face lit up. “Hey, look who’s here!”
We all turned to see Tess walking towards us, leading her sister’s light grey pony Misty, who was straining at the end of his leadrope as he tried to make friends with every horse they passed.
“Are you a sucker for punishment or what?” Katy asked Tess good-naturedly as she came within earshot. “You here for the Grand Prix?”
Tess nodded, tugging Misty to a halt as she reached us. “I need the qualifying points. Misty, be nice,” she warned her pony, who had reached over to sniff Skip with a mischievous glint in his eye.
Susannah quickly backed her pony out of the way, knowing Misty’s propensity for biting other ponies.
“It’s so good to see you!” I dove under the rail and gave Tess a warm hug, which she returned gently. I looked back the way she’d come, wondering if Hayley had come with her. I still didn’t know how her sister was doing, because Tess hadn’t responded to any of the messages I’d sent her in the past couple of weeks. I wanted to ask, but there were people all around us and I didn’t want to put her on the spot when clearly if she’d wanted to talk about it, she would’ve.
“You staying for the Derby tomorrow?” Katy asked her.
Tess shrugged. “Not sure yet. Depends how he goes in the Prix, I guess. Mum says if we finish in the top three we can head home tonight, otherwise she wants me to stay and do the Derby.” She pulled a face and looked out at the rain, which was getting heavier again. “It’s going to be horrible out there by tomorrow. Luckily Misty likes mud.”
“Lucky you. Squib hates it,” I volunteered, and Tess shot me a small smile in commiseration.
I was about to ask if Hayley was here when we were interrupted by Tess’s friend Jonty walking up the aisle towards us, his arms full of rugs, buckets and grooming gear.
“Three yards up on the left,” he called to Tess, then smiled at the rest of us. “Hey, how’s it going? Beautiful day, eh?”
“Yeah, if you’re a duck,” Katy replied, and Jonty laughed as he walked past, leading the way towards Misty’s yard with Tess following behind.
Our heads turned in unison to watch them go, and Susannah shook her head. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that. I didn’t think she was ever going to ride Misty again, let alone jump him in a three-star Grand Prix.”
“Hayley must’ve bullied her into it,” Katy shrugged. “It’s kind of a shame. I mean, I like Tess. But Hayley pretty much promised I could ride Misty if Tess refused to, and I was hoping she’d come good on that promise.”
“Well I’m happy for her,” I said firmly. “And I hope she beats you both!”
With all of the scratchings in earlier classes, the Pony Grand Prix started ahead of schedule, and it was all hands on deck to get the ponies ready. Since Susannah had two ponies in it, I gave her a hand, saddling Buck for her. He was a sweet pony, if a little lacking in personality, and he nuzzled me in a friendly way as I threw a rain sheet over him and led him out into the aisle.
Susannah was already up on Skip, her gorgeous burgundy show jacket hidden under that stunning raincoat. I patted Buck’s silky neck as I watched my friend swung her lower leg forward over her Pessoa saddle to tighten her Hinterland stud girth, then pick up the reins of her Stubben bridle. A few months ago I wouldn’t have known or recognised any of those brands, but spending time on the circuit had rubbed off on me more than I cared to admit. I rarely coveted anyone else’s ponies, knowing that Squib was the best pony I could’ve asked for and I was incredibly lucky to have him, but I wanted so badly to deck him out in the flash gear that everyone else seemed to have.
Even Katy, who didn’t have a whole lot of money, had more tack than she knew what to do with, and a range of quality saddles. My own saddle was a shabby Wintec that my parents had bought second-hand along with Squib, and I wasn’t even convinced that it fit him very well. Having outgrown my own show clothes, I was currently squeezing myself into Katy’s cast-offs, which were rapidly becoming too small as well because I wouldn’t seem to stop growing. I glanced down at my thickening legs, wondering if I should take a leaf out of Katy’s book and start eating like a sparrow on Jenny Craig, but I knew I wouldn’t last ten seconds on the scraps that she ate.
Before I could dig myself too deeply into that hole of self-absorption, Susannah rode up next to me and smiled down at Buck as he nuzzled Skip affectionately.
“Thanks for getting him ready, it means a lot.”
“No problem. Want me to walk him over for you?”
“Would you? That’d be great. Dad’s gone to check the order of go, and I don’t know where Mum’s gone.” Susannah looked around for a moment, a frown marring her features. “Probably back to the truck to hide. She hates getting wet even more than Buck does.”
It was an unspoken rule of horse shows that umbrellas were more or less forbidden. A few people were running around carrying them, but the horrified reaction they elicited from most of the horses – and the abuse they got from several riders – meant that most people just shoved a baseball cap on their heads, draped themselves in heavy oilskins, and put up with the rain trickling down the back of their necks all day.
The course was open to walk so I held Buck while Susannah’s dad took over with Skip. Tess, Katy and Susannah went into the ring together and walked the course as a threesome, and I watched as they strode out distances and pointed out fences, discussing the angles and striding. I wished I was out there with them. The jumps looked big, but I knew Squib could do them. Soon, I told myself. Very soon.
“Your pony jumping well?”
I turned my head to see Jonty standing next to me, holding Misty.
“Yeah, awesome. He won the metre-fifteen Accumulator yesterday, which was only our third start at that height, so I’m stoked with him.”
“Nice work,” he grinned, then nodded his head towards the arena. “You’ll be out there in no time.”
“That’s the plan.” I looked over at him, wondering if I could ask about Hayley. I opted for a slightly safer topic as a lead-in. “We weren’t expecting to see Tess here. Last I heard she wasn’t planning on competing Misty at this height.”
Jonty looked suddenly guarded. “Things change, I guess.”
So it would seem. “Is he still for sale?”
Jonty shook his head. “Nah. She’s gonna try and do Pony of the Year on him,” he said with a note of pride in his voice and a hardened glint in his eye that warned me against saying anything negative about that ambition.
“Good for her!” I was impressed, although surprised. Tess was a good rider, but she’d always given me the impression that she was terrified of Misty, and only rode him because she was forced to. I’d seen her fall off him, have refusals on him, and once she’d even dismounted in the warm-up area and stormed off, refusing to ride him because her sister was yelling at her so much.
“Is Hayley here?” I asked Jonty, trying to keep my voice casual. “I haven’t seen her.”
He shook his head slowly. “No, she’s not.”
He didn’t say anything else, so I decided to quit beating around the bush. “Is everything okay with her?”
He looked at me sideways, that guarded expression returning to his face, then shook his head slightly. “Not really.”
My heart sank, and he sighed.
“Look, it’s not really my place to talk about it, you know? But the short answer is no, she’s not okay. Which is why Tess is here today and about to jump that monster course,” he explained, motioning out towards her, and I followed the movement of his arm to see Tess in the middle of the arena, pacing out the distance between fences in the treble combination. All of the jumps came up past her shoulder, and you could’ve fit three of her standing side-by-side between the front and back rails of the last fence.
As I watched, Tess said something to Katy, who mimed sitting up tall and checking her pony. Tess mimicked her, committing the need to half-halt to muscle memory, then nodded.
“Does she want to do it?” I asked.
Jonty shrugged. “If she doesn’t, she’s not admitting it.” Misty swung his head around and rested his chin on Jonty’s shoulder, huffing out an impatient breath. “Hayley wants her to, and she’d do anything to make her sister happy right now, so…here we are.”
He sounded sad about it, and a shiver ran down my back that had nothing to do with the wet weather. It seemed that whatever was up with Hayley was really serious, and I felt horribly guilty for some of the more uncharitable thoughts I’d had about her, figuring her illness was karma coming to bite her for being horrible to other people. I wondered what was so terribly wrong, but Jonty had turned his back on me and I didn’t like to pry any further. Tess would tell us in her own time, I was sure.
She came walking back over to us with the other two right behind, still chatting about the course, and they reclaimed their ponies and rode off to warm up. Jonty went to help Tess, Deb went to watch Katy, and Susannah’s father went to bark commands at her every time she rode past him. I was left with Buck, so I took him for a walk to prevent him from stiffening up from too much standing around.
“I hope Squib’s still jumping in the PGP when he’s eighteen like you,” I told Buck as we walked. “Feel free to pass along some pointers to him any time you like.”
My boots squelched across the sodden grass outside the ring, and I wondered how my pony would cope this afternoon. He’d jumped in the rain before, and had jumped off slippery, muddy ground that one time we’d gone to cross-country training. Sure, those jumps were little and I’d been half out of control most of the time, but he was a lot better schooled now. We’ll be fine, I told myself. I’m overthinking it, that’s all.
Buck and I returned to ringside in time to watch Tess ride in. As a late entry, she was the trailblazer on the course. In conditions like this, an early draw was better than late, because by the time it got towards the end of the class the ground was likely to be all churned up. But going first didn’t give Tess any opportunity to see how the course would ride, and I crossed my fingers tightly as I leaned on the fence and watched her, Buck dozing pl
acidly at my shoulder.
Tess walked Misty across the arena, casting one final look across the course as Misty high-stepped across the boggy surface, which was defying its supposed all-weather capabilities and quickly turning to mush. Misty’s light grey legs and belly were already splattered in mud, and he held his thick white tail kinked in the air as he strode through a puddle in the middle of the ring. The buzzer sounded and Misty jogged a few steps, but Tess kept him at a walk for a moment longer, then touched him into his leaping canter.
Misty didn’t really canter like a normal pony – he held his head high and braced his muscular neck against his rider, and despite all the flourishing action of his forelegs, he didn’t actually cover a whole lot of ground. He also liked to canter around the corners sideways when he got excited on course, and Tess really had to work hard to keep him straight and get him over all the fences. Her expression was determined yet strangely blank as she cantered down to the first fence, leaning forward only slightly as Misty flew over it, his head still in the air and his knees snapped up to his broad chest.
Tess found a couple of awkward distances, and had a near miss at the planks when Misty insisted on goggling at the spectators and she didn’t get him straight and focusing on the jump until the last second. He was forced to twist in mid-air to avoid crashing into the stand, but somehow he cleared it. In fact, much to everyone’s amazement – and not least of all her own - Tess finished with a clear round.
She came trotting out of the ring with an incredulous smile that only widened as she reached Jonty’s side, where she promptly slid out of the saddle and threw her arms around him. The rest of us shared a smile of our own – the last time we’d seen Tess she’d admitted to there being something between them, but she’d assured us they weren’t dating. It seemed like that had changed, and I was pleased for her.
Her mother appeared, looking equally amazed, and quickly took over Misty and lavished praise onto the pony with barely a glance at her daughter. Tess pulled her raincoat back over her bright blue show jumping jacket and, hand-in-hand with Jonty, followed her mother as she walked the pony to cool him off.