by Paula Boer
The horse must have sensed the beast coming. She leaped in the air to make a dash. Jacinta grabbed her reins. The bull came on, head lowered and looking mad. The mare spun as the animal grunted, turning so quickly that she lost her footing. A loud thud accompanied the impact as the bull hit the horse in the rump.
Louise sat stunned as she watched, not knowing what to do. As Jacinta struggled to rebalance the mare, the horse fell. The bull sped past and slowed as it neared the yards. Jacinta lay in the dust, not moving as the mare struggled to her feet and trotted off. The bull turned and pawed the ground. It charged toward the fallen girl.
Images of Cooky"s scar across his belly and chest flashed through Louise"s mind. Without thinking about what she was doing, she drove Splash at the wooden rails that separated her from Jacinta. The pony shot forward and collected himself just in time as they reached the rails. He leaped high into the air, tucking his hooves beneath him. Louise felt herself suspended above the saddle for what felt like ages, and then they were galloping towards Jacinta.
The bull came on. Louise veered Splash between the animal and Jacinta, shouting and hollering as loud as she could. She didn"t have a whip and doubted she could turn the animal anyway. She thought perhaps she could distract it enough for Jacinta to get up and seek safety.
Bang! A rifle shot sounded from the vehicles. As Splash dashed in front of the bull, it tumbled to the ground and slid along on its nose. By the time Louise turned Splash around and rode back to where Jacinta had fallen, the bull lay dead next to her, with a cloud of dust settling over them both.
Not giving the beast another look, Louise leapt off the pony and squatted next to Ben"s cousin. Jacinta pushed herself up with one arm and blinked. "What happened?"
Ben joined the girls. "That was that rogue bull that almost got me and Brandy yesterday. It must have been challenging the one we brought in."
Jacinta held onto Ben"s arm as she stood. "Where"s my mare?"
Graeme ran over, the rifle still in his arms. "She"s been caught and is fine. Never mind the horse. Are you alright?"
"A bit groggy, but nothing broken."
Her father dusted off her shoulders and back. "Let"s have a coffee. The men can cut up that micky for dog food."
Louise untacked Splash and gave him a rub down. She thought back to jumping the wooden rails. She had never imagined she would be able to do that! No wonder Jacinta won heaps of prizes on the tiny skewbald. Louise rummaged in the lunch bags and found a muesli bar, which she crumbled up and fed to the pony. "You earned that."
Having tied Splash in the shade of the horse truck, Louise joined the others where Graeme had the billy simmering. The small fire smouldered amongst a few rocks. In the heat of the day, it didn"t need to be big to boil the water.
Jacinta sat with a mug in her hands, looking much chirpier than she had a short while ago. "Ben"s been telling me how you cleared the rails. I told you Splash could jump!"
Ben squatted next to the girls. "Yeh, and the way you rushed that bull. That took guts."
Graeme stirred two heaped spoons of sugar into a tin mug of tea and handed it to Louise. "Here, get some energy back. The men are bringing in a small herd that Simon"s found. That"ll fill the truck and we can load up. We"ve decided it"s too dangerous to just keep going after bulls."
By the time they had drunk their tea and rinsed the mugs, Louise could hear the small plane helping drive the cattle. The mob appeared through the scrub; a motley group of cows, heifers and bullocks. They ranged in size and colour—reds, creams, blacks and brindles. Most had horns. Some had ribs and hips protruding, others were as fat as grain-fed steers in a feedlot.
Coming in together, the wild cattle stayed together as they were herded between the rails. At the last minute, Graeme opened the gates to the portable yards where the micky bulls had been pushed to the back. The new arrivals ran in to join them, bellowing and kicking up dust.
Graeme came over to where Louise sat out of the way with Ben and Jacinta. "Should I saddle up Splash again to help load?"
"We can"t walk this lot onto the truck without a proper loading ramp. You didn"t see how it was done yesterday as you"d taken the horses back. You"ll enjoy watching this."
Louise frowned. She couldn"t imagine how the cattle went from the yard to the truck without a ramp.
Ben chuckled. "Didn"t you see the rig on the front of Dan"s vehicle? It"s a winch."
None the wiser, Louise waited to see what would happen next. As if on queue, Dan pulled up at the yards in his cattle truck. She realised Simon must have radioed him that they were ready.
The truck pulled up close to the rails of the yard. Dan swung the crane-like contraption over the barrier. A large sling hung from two metal hooks on thick chains. Two of Simon"s men rode their horses in amongst the feral cattle, cutting out a small bull. When they had it cornered, the sling lowered in front of the beast and over it"s head. As it panicked and leapt forward, the sling slid beneath its belly. The next moment, the bull hung in the air, legs dangling, as the winch lifted it high over the back of the truck. Once the animal"s hooves touched the wooden slats of the floor, one hook released the sling.
Louise gaped. "That"s really cool!"
The truck soon filled with the odd assortment of cows and bulls. They jostled each other and crashed the sides of their cage. Ben nudged Louise. "They"re not much different to the brumbies that had to be culled, are they?"
Louise looked at the cattle butting each other, their varied coats and heights, the differences in their nature—some timid, some bullying. "I suppose not. Except these will go for beef, won"t they?"
Ben shook his head. "I doubt it. Too old and tough. I expect they"ll end up in the same tins as the brumbies."
"Don"t say it like that! That"s awful." Louise shuddered at the memory of the old and skinny wild horses trucked away earlier in the week.
Jacinta sighed. "The brumbies that Simon released will have a better chance of survival now. Surely you wouldn"t want them to starve from overstocking? The country can"t support a lot of grazers."
Deep inside her, Louise knew Simon was doing the right thing. She said no more.
Dan called to them without coming over. "I"ll get moving before these beasts hurt each other. See you at the campdraft on Saturday!"
As the truck pulled away, Louise tapped Ben"s shoulder. "Saturday"s your birthday. What"s happening then?"
Graeme answered for him. "I was leaving it as a surprise for you, but I guess you"d better know. We"re heading to the local campdraft. Originally I thought you"d like to come along and watch Simon and I compete, but I reckon you all should enter."
Jacinta clapped her hands. "Great! Ben can show Brandy off."
Louise kept quiet. She doubted she"d be entering anything. She didn"t even know what happened at a campdraft.
Ben must have understood her silence. "You have to cut out a steer and hold it away from the mob. Don"t worry; we"ve got the next three days to practice. Except we haven"t got any steers."
Graeme grinned. "Dan"s going to drop the weaners off on his way past. They"ll be wilder than anything you get on the day. I think that"s another reason Simon wanted us to come out and get mickies this week. He likes to practice on feral cattle."
Louise was even more certain she wouldn"t be up to campdrafting. "I think I"ll just watch."
Ben ignored her comment and continued to explain the rules. "The judges give you marks for how well you and your horse perform. When you"re ready, you signal for the gates to be opened. Then you drive the beast in a figure of eight around two poles and out between two posts at the other end of the arena."
"I don"t know. It"s not something I"ve even seen before." Louise didn"t mind not competing. It would be different if she had Honey here and had trained her, but she didn"t want to make a fool of herself in front of a crowd.
Jacinta gave her a gentl
e nudge. "Rubbish. Splash is really good at it. You"ll probably win with the way you ride."
Thrilled at the compliment, Louise finally agreed to see how she went over the next few days. "Thanks, Jacinta. Are you sure you don"t want to ride Splash?"
Jacinta beamed. "I"ll see if Simon will let me compete that brumby mare I"ve been riding. And call me Jacie. You saved my life today. I reckon that makes you my new best friend."
Chapter 16
The bullock shot through the open gate and headed for the end of the arena. Brandy burst into a gallop and chased the beast, his head low and legs pumping. Ben leant forward over his horse"s neck, willing the stallion faster.
"Turn him, turn him!" Shouts from Louise and Jacinta on the other side of the rails didn"t help.
Simon cracked his stock whip from where he sat on one of the brumbies he caught last year. "Bad luck, Ben. Give someone else a go."
Trotting back to the spectators, Ben shook his head. "It"s much harder than it looks. Those wild cattle can really run. I"m glad this is only practice, not the real thing."
Brandy puffed and snorted as Ben jumped off. After tying the horse to the rails, Ben opened the gates for his Uncle Graeme and Simon to drive the beast back into the holding pen. The bullock trotted back to its mates where they huddled in a corner.
Ben watched Louise as she readied Splash. She selected a different bullock to the one Ben had chased. The skewbald pony slid, spun and ducked to cut out the beast and hold it away from the others. Louise sat as still as she could, letting her horse do the work. After nodding to Jacinta to open the gate, she hung on as Splash spurted through the opening alongside the bullock. Before it had a chance to run, the pony shouldered it around the first post and drove it across the arena to the next one.
"Go, Louise!" Ben stood on the rails and cheered as Louise turned Splash and the bullock around the next post. Impressed with their teamwork, he clapped as she drove the beast through the final gate.
Simon rode up to her as she returned. "You"ve got the hang of it now. Why don"t you try this mare? Splash knows what to do and it"ll give him a break while you practice some more."
Ben felt proud of his friend. He had agreed with Simon originally that Louise didn"t have the experience to ride his green horses, but she had proven her skills over and over during the last two weeks. He could see from her grin that she was keen to give one of the desert brumbies a go.
While Louise swapped horses, Ben watched Jacinta"s round. She also rode one of Simon"s brumbies caught last year. The mare had more trouble than Splash understanding what was required of her, tossing her head each time Jacinta tried to spin her on the spot. Simon"s whip cracked to signal that she would be eliminated if this was a real competition.
"Try again, Jacie. You almost had it round that first post." Ben wanted to give Brandy a bit more of a breather before he had another go himself.
Graeme had a turn after his daughter, effortlessly turning the wild cattle around the posts. Ben barely saw him instruct his horse at all. Laughing, he praised his uncle as he rode back from a successful round. "I reckon those cattle are getting tired."
"They may be, too. Why don"t you practice around the barrels for a while instead?"
Ben hadn"t been serious about the cattle tiring, but he agreed it would be a good idea not to stress them too much. He helped roll three barrels into the arena and set them up in a triangle. The idea was to spin the horses around each one in as fast a time as possible.
Everyone took turns at riding the young horses. Ben had a few more runs on Brandy. The stallion went much better around the drums than working the cattle, but he still didn"t pull up in sliding stops. "What"s the trick, Simon?"
"You"ve got to set your back rigid and drop your weight down through your boots. Don"t rely on your hands. The brakes are in the back."
Ben urged his stallion into a gallop down the centre of the arena. This time he sat deep and locked his hips, pushing his feet forward as he had seen Simon do. Brandy reined in and came to a halt, almost falling on his haunches. "Hey! I did it!"
Pleased with the result, Ben walked Brandy back on a loose rein. The horse was slower than usual. He wondered if the strain of turning and stopping had inflamed his leg wound. He leapt off and ran his hands down the stallion"s legs. There was no heat or swelling.
Simon rode up alongside. "What"s the matter?"
"I thought he might have hurt himself. He didn"t walk out like normal." Ben straightened up and patted the horse on the neck.
Simon grunted. "He"s just responding to you. I think you"ve finally learnt to relax. When you let go, he does too. I think we"ve all done enough for the morning. I want to work those colts this afternoon."
"Cool! They"ve certainly settled since they first came in." Ben unsaddled Brandy and led him across to the hose bay. The horse grabbed the hose and turned it on Ben, soaking them both. Ben didn"t care; he was hot too, and proud of his horse. At last he felt confident that the stallion"s serious injury six months ago wasn"t going to be a problem.
Louise came over to wash Splash. "He doesn"t rear any more when you pull up, Ben."
Ben realised she was right. "I guess it"s from having those wolf teeth removed. He"s certainly a different horse from when I first broke him in."
Louise turned off the hose and started scraping Splash down. "This holiday has been really good for him."
Ben thought back to the last two weeks and all that had happened. "I"m sorry I haven"t been so good to you, I know it must have been difficult. Are you going to ride one of Simon"s horses at the campdraft? You should, you"re great."
Without hesitating, Louise shook her head. "No. I want to ride Splash."
The day of the campdraft started cool with no wind. Ben brushed down Brandy, aware of a squirming in his belly he hadn"t expected. He had competed in a lot of horse events at home, but never with a brumby he had caught and broken in himself. He really wanted the bush people to admire his stallion.
"Happy birthday, Ben!" Louise and Jacinta came across to the yards together, giggling and exchanging sly looks. The girls pounced on him and gave him a big hug.
Pleased that his cousin and best friend had finally come to like each other, Ben grinned. He"d never understood their animosity in the first place. "You"d better get your horses ready. Simon has been up for hours. He wanted us to get there early."
After preparing the horses, everyone had a quick breakfast. Louise gave Ben a long parcel wrapped in brown paper. "Sorry it"s not better wrapped. The pretty paper got damaged with all the travelling around hidden in the horse truck."
Ben tore open his present. "Awesome! A hand-plaited stockwhip."
Jacinta brought her hands from behind her back. "Dad and I bought you these between us."
Ben didn"t usually get presents at home. Normally his mum baked him a special dinner, and his dad might let him drive the truck or something. Emotion caught in his throat as he peeled the paper off a pair of sparkling spurs with tooled leather straps. "Wow! These are cool. I haven"t used spurs on Brandy before. I wonder what he"ll think."
Graeme clapped Ben on the shoulders. "You don"t have to touch him with them. Better not wear them the first time in the ring today."
The journey to the campdraft didn"t take long. Horses and people milled everywhere. A roping demonstration had already started in the arena. Lines of trucks and utes filled the paddocks both sides of the grounds. Bunting fluttered on official tents and the smell of sausages with onions and beer already mingled with sweaty horses and manure.
Brandy came off the truck in a rush, ears pricked and head high. He whinnied as a man led a pair of mares nearby. "Calm down. Save your energy for the ring."
Being in the junior competition, Louise was the first of their group to enter. Ben thought she looked calm and relaxed. Splash cut out a steer in quick time and held it against the gates. Louis
e waited too long before asking for them to be opened, but when she did, Splash dashed out and turned the steer before Ben had time to shout encouragement.
Spinning around the first pole, Splash leant over with Louise forward over his withers. The steer zoomed across the arena but Splash anticipated it, cutting to the left and shouldered the beast around the next pole.
"Go, Louise! You"re almost home!" Ben jumped up and whooped with excitement as Splash chased the steer through the end gates for a successful round.
Jacinta was as excited as Ben. "That was great! She"s bound to get in the finals with that."
Sure enough, Splash"s time qualified. Unfortunately the next steer was much craftier. Although Louise managed to complete without being cracked off, her time was much slower.
When Ben"s turn came, he mounted Brandy and walked him into the small yard where the cattle milled. The stallion had worked himself into a lather of sweat. He pranced sideways as Ben tried to cut out a steer. After several attempts, he managed to hold a beast away from the others. Not wanting to risk it escaping, Ben nodded to the gate handlers to let him through. The steer shot ahead before Ben had Brandy"s full attention. By the time the horse went through, the steer had overshot the pole and headed for the end of the arena.
Brandy galloped flat out but couldn"t catch the beast. Ben heard the whip crack as he was eliminated. Disappointed, but not really surprised, he rode out of the ring and joined the girls. "He"s overexcited. At least it"s another experience for him. And this proves he"s fully recovered from his accident."
The day flew by as each of them took their turn in the ring. Simon did the best, coming second in the open competition. Graeme qualified for the finals, but failed to complete in the second round. Jacinta rode the brumby mare well but at the final gates her steer shot to one side and missed them.
Ben sat next to Jacinta on the ramp of the horse truck, sipping on a cold drink. He ruffled Snifter"s ears as the dog squirmed next to him. "This has been really fun. I wonder if there are any campdraft competitions near home?"