Jade and the Stray

by Amy Brown

  Jade’s number was called next. As she cantered in a circle, waiting for the starting bell, she saw Michaela, Mr White and Becca’s mum standing at the fence line.

  ‘I don’t care if we don’t win a ribbon,’ Jade whispered to Pip. ‘But if we get more than four faults, it’ll be really embarrassing.’

  Focusing like she never had before, Jade took all the advice she’d ever been given from Mr White, Becca’s mum and Michaela and put it into practice. Approaching the first oxer calmly and on the right leg, Pip flew over and was ready for the turn on the brick wall. Slowing her pony down and collecting up her stride, Jade navigated Pip through the double without mishap and was ready with a click of the tongue to urge Pip over the picket fence. It was hardly necessary: by the tenth jump, Pip was in her element and leapt over perfectly to complete a clear round.

  ‘Nice work,’ Michaela said, as Jade rode out. ‘You deserved that clear round. Really sensibly ridden.’

  Inspired by Ryan and Jade, Becca was determined to join them in the jump-off.

  ‘Is that Olivia McAlpine’s pony?’ Michaela asked Becca’s mum, as Becca cleared the first jump elegantly.

  ‘Yes, we bought Dusty from the McAlpines in April. He’s been a bit of a handful as a first pony, but Becca’s worked hard and it seems to have paid off.’

  As if to prove her mum right, Becca expertly guided Dusty through the double.

  ‘He’s a neat wee jumper,’ Kristen said, approvingly. ‘1.10 metres is child’s play for him. How old is he?’

  ‘Only nine. So long as Becca doesn’t outgrow him too soon, I think she could do quite well with him.’

  ‘We’re all in the jump-off!’ Jade said excitedly, watching Becca canter through the finishing flags with a flourish.

  ‘You might have your work cut out to get first place now, Ryan,’ Becca’s mum said, laughing.

  ‘Hmm,’ Ryan replied, looking serious.

  The jump-off included the brick wall, the picket fence, the first oxer, the double, and the final straight-bar. It was a tight course, particularly the turn on to the double, but this didn’t seem to discourage Ryan from trying to do it at a hundred miles an hour.

  ‘He’s going to come to grief if he carries on at that pace,’ Mr White said, shaking his head.

  ‘I can’t watch,’ Becca’s mum said, turning away.

  Just as they’d all predicted, the turn on to the double was Ryan’s downfall. Although he’d tried to sit back and balance his pony, they were still going far too fast and ended up smashing straight through the fence.

  The clock was stopped as the fence was rebuilt, but Ryan’s pony was holding his foreleg pathetically.

  ‘Ryan!’ Becca’s mum shouted. ‘Shady’s cut his leg.’

  Walking over to the fence, Ryan noticed that Shady was, indeed, very lame. He scratched him from the event and led his pony out of the ring, shamefaced.

  ‘Well, that’s that over,’ he said quietly.

  ‘What possessed you to go that fast?’ Mr White said. ‘I know it was a jump-off, but you’re not stupid. Surely you knew he was bound to crash eventually?’

  ‘I just wanted to win,’ Ryan said, irritably.

  ‘Now that’s the way to win,’ Michaela said, changing the subject as Jade and Pip began their jump-off.

  Well aware that she was riding an old pony, and a little shaken after watching Ryan’s crash, Jade decided to play it safe. By keeping Pip at a collected canter, Jade was able to keep her turns on to each jump very tight. This method meant that she not only did a clear round, but she had a good time too.

  ‘Super round,’ Mr White said, patting Pip’s neck. ‘You’re in with a great chance.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Jade said. ‘It felt really slow.’

  ‘For a big pony, you had her moving around that course very tightly,’ Michaela said. ‘I think you’ve got a good chance, too.’

  Other than Ryan, Jade and Becca, there were four riders in the jump-off. Two of them dropped rails, and one was eliminated after three refusals at the brick wall.

  ‘Well, we’ll definitely get at least fourth,’ Becca said, grinning, as she entered the ring. ‘Third is fine with me.’

  More relaxed now with this in mind, Becca’s only care was to have fun with Dusty.

  ‘She’s motoring around!’ Kristen said, impressed.

  ‘But sensibly,’ Mr White added. ‘If only Ryan were here to see this.’

  Ryan had gone back to the truck to clean Shady’s leg and give him a feed. He returned just in time to hear the results called over the loudspeaker. Fourth place went to one of the girls who’d dropped a rail. Third place went to the other rider who went clear but did a very slow round.

  ‘Second place, number twelve: Jade Lennox riding Onyx.’ Jade grinned as she trotted back into the ring and over to the judge’s truck. She was soon joined by Becca and Dusty.

  ‘You’ve actually won the 1.10-metre class at Flaxton Sports!’ Jade whispered to Becca as the ribbons were tied around their ponies’ necks.

  ‘And you got second!’ Becca said. ‘It’s been a perfect day.’

  As the winners cantered around the ring in a lap of honour, Jade was completely distracted from the prospect of having to leave her friends and her beautiful pony.

  14

  Where is home?

  The week leading up to Christmas was blissful. No school, perfect weather, and long lazy rides with Becca, Laura, Andy and Abby White, who was home from university.

  ‘What do you study at university, Abby?’ Laura asked, as they ambled along in the heavy sunshine.

  ‘French, art history and philosophy,’ Abby replied.

  ‘What do you want to do when you’ve finished?’ Laura asked. ‘Do you want to be a teacher?’

  Abby laughed. ‘I haven’t a clue yet, really. What do you want to be?’

  ‘A vet,’ Laura said decisively. ‘I’ve known since I was four.’

  ‘What about you guys?’ Abby asked Jade and Becca.

  ‘Maybe a wildlife photographer? Like for National Geographic,’ Becca said quietly.

  ‘Since when?’ Laura cut in. ‘I thought you wanted to be a vet too?’

  Sensing the beginnings of an argument, Jade said, ‘I’d like to work with horses, but not as a vet.’

  ‘That’s what I wanted to do when I was your age,’ Abby said, sounding old. ‘You’d probably have a way better chance of that than me, though, Jade—I hear you guys cleaned up at Flaxton. Come on, Brandy, get a move on.’ Abby was riding Hamlet and leading her own horse which she’d lent to Laura.

  There was only one dark cloud hanging over Jade, and that was the possibility of moving back to Auckland. It wasn’t just the thought of the pain of abandoning Pip and leaving her friends that upset Jade, it was the worry of returning to her old school and Rose. Even just a week with Rose during the holidays had shown that they had both changed. Less than a year in Flaxton and Jade had become a country girl.

  ‘Wake up, Jade!’ Becca said, waving her hand in front of Jade’s eyes.

  ‘Sorry, I was miles away,’ Jade said. ‘What were you talking about?’

  ‘Abby was telling us about the Pony Club Show-jumping Champs, and suggesting that we try out for the team next February.’

  ‘Oh,’ Jade said.

  ‘You don’t want to?’ Becca asked, aghast.

  ‘I do, but…’ Jade paused, ‘I may not be here in February.’ Jade wasn’t usually very good at keeping secrets, but somehow she hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell Becca and Andy and Laura the bad news until now.

  ‘What?’ Laura said. ‘Why?’

  ‘Dad’s not sure that he can get a job in Flaxton. And we’ve still got our old house in Auckland.’

  ‘What will happen to Pip?’ Becca asked, concerned.

  ‘I don’t know. I don’t want to leave her, but I might have to. It’s awful! Especially after all the help Mr White’s given us. It’s such a waste.’ Jade couldn’t help getting angry.
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  ‘I’ll take her,’ Becca said, seriously.

  ‘Would you really?’ Jade asked, relieved.

  ‘We’ve got plenty of room on the farm, and she’d be no trouble.’

  It seemed too easy to just give away her pony. Although Becca’s offer took a weight off Jade’s mind, it also made the move to Auckland seem more real.

  ‘I don’t want you to go,’ Laura said tearfully, as the girls untacked the horses back at the Whites’.

  ‘Believe me, I don’t want to go either,’ Jade said. ‘I guess we just have to cross our fingers and hope Dad gets a job here.’

  It was the day before Christmas Eve and, since his first night in Flaxton, Jade’s dad hadn’t mentioned the move back to Auckland again, and Jade was too scared to ask. She did her best to forget about it and tried to just enjoy having him around for Christmas.

  ‘Are you going for a ride today?’ her dad asked, as they ate breakfast together at the table.

  ‘I was thinking of doing some Christmas shopping,’ Jade said. ‘It’s going to be too hot for riding.’ It was only eight-thirty and already there was a heat haze out on the road and the cicadas were whirring.

  ‘Can I come with you? I need to do some shopping, too,’ he said.

  ‘Of course you can!’ Jade said, hoping her dad might be able to give her some money. She loved buying presents, but hated asking for money from her granddad.

  Her shopping list included horse mints for Pip, a calendar for Laura, a book and some chocolates for Mr and Mrs White, something horsey for Andy and Becca—and something, she didn’t know what, for her dad and granddad.

  It was a slow shopping trip, as her dad still wasn’t allowed to drive. After walking to the shops, they were both hot and thirsty, so they stopped for a milkshake before attempting to find the items on Jade’s list.

  Their last stop was the saddlery, which was another half an hour’s walk over the other side of town. There Jade found the mints for Pip, and, seeing that colourful, woven lead ropes were on special, she got one each for Becca and Andy. Walking up to the counter, she saw something else—the most beautiful black leather bridle. Pip’s bridle, a hand-me-down from one of Abby’s old ponies, was a touch too small. This one looked as though it would fit perfectly. Unfortunately, it was way beyond Jade’s meagre budget.

  ‘That’s a good one, is it?’ her dad asked, seeing Jade coveting the bridle. ‘I’m so ignorant about all this equestrian stuff.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Jade said wistfully. ‘It’s a good one.’

  ‘I still don’t know what to get Granddad,’ Jade said, sadly, as they walked home with the presents.

  ‘To be honest, I’m struggling to think of anything, too,’ her dad said. ‘Terrible, aren’t we?’

  This conundrum was solved that evening when Jade hopped on her bike and delivered the gifts, now wrapped in Christmas paper, to all of her friends. The last house she went to, Laura’s, was looking very festive, with a big tree, lots of tinsel and a lovely smell of Christmas cake.

  ‘Your house is so cosy,’ Jade said, handing Laura the puppy calendar.

  ‘Come through to the laundry,’ Laura said. ‘It’s even cosier in here.’

  Surprised, Jade followed. She soon saw what Laura meant, for in a corner of the laundry, next to the drier, lay Bubble, on a sheepskin rug in a basket, curled up with five perfect little black-and-white puppies.

  ‘They’re adorable!’ Jade said, falling down to her knees to stroke the sleeping bundles.

  ‘Would you like one?’ Laura asked. ‘Mum said that I wasn’t allowed to give them to my friends as Christmas presents unless I asked first.’

  ‘I shouldn’t get one,’ Jade said, thinking about Auckland. ‘But I reckon my granddad would like one.’

  ‘Yay!’ Laura said. ‘I love the puppies, but we have to get rid of them. Bubble just keeps having them, don’t you, dear?’

  That night, Jade told her dad about the puppies. To her delight, he thought a puppy would make an excellent present and agreed to go to the pet shop the next day to buy the necessary accessories.

  Coming home laden with a basket, a bag of puppy food, a chewy toy, a collar and a voucher for the puppy’s shots, Jade’s dad decided that a puppy was quite a lavish gift.

  ‘Still, he’s looked after you so well this year,’ Jade’s dad said, ‘the old man deserves an impressive present.’

  On Christmas morning, Jade got up at seven-thirty and walked to Laura’s to collect the puppy. She chose a friendly little bitch with a speckled stomach and deep brown eyes.

  Laura’s mum had put the puppy in a cardboard box, but on the way home Jade abandoned the box and cuddled the puppy to her chest. The puppy kept licking Jade’s hands and nipping with sharp little milk-teeth.

  When Jade got home, her dad distracted her granddad in the kitchen with the ham while she arranged the puppy sweetly in the basket, under their Christmas tree. The secret didn’t last long, though. As soon as Jade left the puppy in the living room and went to the kitchen, the puppy started whining and yapping.

  ‘What the devil?’ her granddad said. ‘Is there a dog under the tree?’

  Jade and her father laughed. ‘Merry Christmas!’ Jade said to her granddad. ‘You’d better come through and see your present before it wets the basket.’

  ‘Too late,’ Granddad said, kneeling slowly and picking up the slightly damp puppy.

  ‘Well, hello, missy,’ he said, trying not to sound too enchanted. ‘Are you for me?’

  When Jade came back with an old towel to put in the puppy’s basket, she found her granddad sitting on the couch, cuddling his present.

  ‘What are you going to call her?’ Jade said, scratching the pup behind its ears.

  ‘It’s a bit unoriginal,’ Granddad said, ‘but how about Holly? It being Christmas and all.’

  ‘Holly’s a lovely name!’ Jade said.

  When Jade’s dad returned from the kitchen, convinced that the ham was at the right temperature, they opened the rest of the presents.

  ‘I’m sorry it’s so boring,’ Jade said, passing her dad a book-shaped parcel. ‘It’s more for me really, too.’

  Her dad laughed. ‘You didn’t need to get me anything. I’m just happy that we’re back together, and that you’ve done so well this year. I’m proud of you.’ He tore the paper off the book and laughed again. It was Showjumping by Michaela Lewis.

  ‘This is good,’ her dad said slowly, opening the cover and examining the Contents page. ‘It’ll give me some inside knowledge. When I’m next at a horse show, I’ll know what to say.’

  Jade thought sadly that her dad might never have to go to a horse show again.

  ‘This one’s for you, Jade,’ her granddad said. ‘From me and your father.’

  It was a strange, lumpy gift. Jade tore off the paper quickly and found the beautiful black bridle that she’d seen at the saddlery. She gasped. ‘Thank you! This is absolutely perfect! But, if we’re leaving, when will I get to use it?’

  ‘That’s the second half of the present,’ her dad said. ‘I probably shouldn’t have kept it as a surprise until now, but I wanted to be sure I had the job before I told you.’

  ‘Are we staying?’ Jade asked, with shining eyes.

  ‘Looks like it. I start my job at the Flaxton Times in the New Year. A reporter who can’t drive isn’t much use, but luckily they were in need of an editor.’

  Jade threw herself across the room and gave her dad an enormous bear hug. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!’ she said, kissing his cheek.

  ‘It’s going to be quite a change of scene from the Herald,’ her dad said. ‘But that’s what I need, I think: a change of scene. Flaxton seems to have done wonders for you, young lady. Perhaps I should get a horse, too?’ They all laughed.

  ‘Yes, and Mr White can teach you to ride,’ Jade said, giggling hysterically.

  The last present under the tree was the little bag of mints for Pip.

  ‘The ham’s still got a coupl
e of hours until it’s ready,’ Granddad said. ‘Why don’t we take Holly for a ride in the car and give Pip her present?’

  ‘Yes, let’s!’ Jade said, over the moon. Now that she knew they’d be staying in Flaxton, the day was perfect.

  ‘This isn’t the way to the Whites’,’ Jade told her granddad from the back seat of the Falcon. ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘Just a little tiki tour,’ Granddad said.

  ‘Dad, do you know where we’re going?’ Jade asked. ‘What about you, Holly?’ she said, addressing the warm, squirmy bundle in her lap. ‘Are you behind this?’

  ‘It was supposed to be another surprise, but if you’re going to ask questions all the way then I may as well tell you,’ Jade’s dad said in mock frustration. ‘I’ve bought us a house.’

  ‘What?’ Jade squealed. ‘Already?’ Her granddad parked outside an old strawberry-pink bungalow. ‘Is this it?’

  ‘I’m afraid so. Shocking colour, eh?’

  ‘Terrible,’ Jade agreed, leaping out of the car.

  However, the colour turned out to be the house’s only real fault. There was a good-sized back yard, with a lawn and fruit trees—two lemons, a walnut and a saggy old Granny Smith. Inside there was a big room at the front for her dad, a smaller room overlooking the garden for Jade, and a spare room for visitors.

  ‘Thank you, Dad. I love it,’ Jade said, hugging her father.

  ‘Sorry there isn’t a paddock for Pip,’ he said. ‘Hopefully Mr White won’t mind her staying a bit longer. Now that I’ve got some cash from selling our old house, we can at least pay for grazing.’

  While Granddad, Holly and Jade wished the horses a Merry Christmas, Jade’s dad went to find Mr White. Predictably, Mr White was reluctant to accept the cheque that Jade’s dad gave him.

  ‘This really isn’t necessary,’ Mr White protested weakly.

  ‘Please, I insist. I’d like to buy Pip from you, for Jade.’

  ‘But this is much more than I paid for her.’

  ‘It’s only a fraction of what I owe you for being so generous and caring to Jade over the past year. I’m not hearing another word about it. And expect regular payments for grazing from now on. I don’t want Jade to feel like a charity case.’