by Paula Boer
Louise agreed. “Jake’s tugging my arms out. The sooner we can give them a run the better.”
When they reached the open country, Ben let Brandy canter. The powerful horse surged underneath him, feeling as if he could go twice as fast. Not wanting to get out of control, Ben kept the pace steady. Even so, they soon reached the road to the park’s Information Centre.
Slowing to a trot, Ben wiped sweat from his face. “How’s Jake going?”
Louise rode up alongside Brandy. “He’s settled more now. Brandy looked good.”
“Yeh, but I’d love to know how fast he can really go.”
The friends chatted as they trotted alongside each other until they came to the locked gate on the fire trail. Slowing to a walk, Ben navigated through the trees to get around the obstacle. “You can hear the river from here.”
A dull rumble echoed through the sparse trees. The noise grew louder as they resumed trotting along the track.
Well before they reached the ford, the road was covered by swirling, chocolate-brown murk. No sign of the depth markers could be seen. The Dalrymple River stretched before them like a lake, except the surface roiled with broken branches and islands of grass.
“No way anyone’s driving across this ford for a long time.” Ben turned Brandy along the waterline and rode upstream.
Louise kept up with Jake who paid no attention to the changed conditions. “Some of those branches are huge.”
Ben gazed along the length of the river. “Yeh, I wouldn’t want to get caught up in that. This is going to mean serious trouble for the hydro.”
“Dad said they were concerned about Jackstown flooding. I thought he was making it up last night, but now I can see it’s possible.” Louise kept well away from the encroaching waters.
“Let’s get back. Dad’ll probably have worked out where he wants to move the stock to by now.”
Turning back in the direction they had come, the horses picked up speed. When they passed the Information Centre and headed across the open plains, Ben turned to look at Louise. She rode Jake easily.
He remembered how she had galloped the stockhorse near here in the winter, after she had come across the body of the black colt that had been shot because of a broken leg. He knew she could handle the horse. “Want to let them go?”
“Sure!”
Without waiting for any further response, Ben gave Brandy his head. He had never let the stallion gallop before, but he couldn’t wait to see how fast he could go. The brumby needed no encouragement. He stretched out his neck as his legs pounded the ground. The rain had made the going soft but not boggy.
At first Ben could hear Jake’s thundering hooves behind them. Gradually the sound diminished as Brandy surged ahead. With sweat pouring down the stallion’s neck, they galloped on. Ben leant over the steaming neck, taking in the smell of his horse and the power beneath him. He didn’t ever want the run to stop, but too soon they reached the end of the clearing.
He pulled Brandy to a halt and the stallion reared, pawing the air with his front hooves. Ben laughed and hung on to his mane with one hand. With the other, he spun Brandy around on his hindquarters to bring him down. “Hey, fella, that was great, wasn’t it?”
Louise cantered up and brought Jake to a halt. “Brandy is so fast, even Jake couldn’t keep up. How did he feel?”
Ben beamed. “I reckon he could beat any mountain horse around.” He hadn’t shared with Louise his dream to ride in the high country race one day. Now he knew that Brandy had the speed to do it, he was even more determined to compete in the challenge that many men said was too dangerous.
Walking the horses to cool them off, they rode back to Tumbleford Farm. They didn’t speak much. Ben was lost in dreams of becoming the next ‘Man from Snowy River’.
When they reached the farmyard, Mr Naylor had the working dogs on the back of his ute. “I thought you were going to help me move stock. Get those horses washed down and come and give me a hand.”
Ben apologised to his father. After dismounting and untacking Brandy, he led the stallion over to the wash bay and hosed him off. Brandy tried to catch the water in his mouth by grabbing the end of the hose. A fountain squirted over Ben. “Stop that. I’m supposed to be washing you.”
Louise laughed where she waited with Jake. “He’s trying to be helpful. Do you want me to stay and help with the stock?”
Ben turned off the water and scraped Brandy down. “No, it looks like Dad is in a mood. The dogs’ll do most of it anyway. I’ll see you at school in the week and we can plan what we want to do next weekend.”
When Ben moved Brandy out of the way, Louise walked Jake into the wash bay and started cleaning off the sweat and mud.
Ben picked out Brandy’s feet. Straightening up, he called to Louise. “I’ll leave you to it. Put Jake in a stable when you’re done and give him a feed. I’ll turn him out later.”
After climbing into the front of his father’s ute, Ben explained how the Dalrymple River had risen beyond the height markers. “It’s like one of those rivers you see in documentaries about the Amazon.”
Mr Naylor changed gear with a lurch and drove along the old road to the back of the property. “I reckon we’ll need the horses’ paddocks for the cattle. Your ma is calling her friend Patti over in Goldriver to see if she’s got any land we can use. But she won’t be able to take that stallion of yours. He’s a nuisance. We should get the vet to him this week.”
Ben felt his heart plummet. “No! Dad! You promised. You said we’d wait and see what Shadow’s foal is like. He hasn’t even served her yet.”
“I didn’t know then about these floods, did I? Things change.”
Ben thought back to the gallop earlier that day. No way did he want Brandy gelded. Not only did he want to use him as the foundation stallion for his herd, but he doubted a gelding would have what it took to win the high country race. He didn’t want to cut the spirit out of his magnificent horse.
Chapter 3
Mrs Hardy sat at the kitchen table having coffee when Louise came in from her bedroom. “I’ve finished my homework, Mum. Can I go over to Ben’s?”
“If you’re sure you’ve done everything. Are you riding in the park? Do you want to take anything to eat?” Mrs Hardy rinsed her mug under the tap and offered Louise her home-made chocolate chip cookies.
Louise accepted a couple of her favourite biscuits and added them to her lunch box. Tying her hair into a pony tail, she looked in the pantry. “I’ll take a couple of muesli bars, too. We’re moving some of the horses to Goldriver so I expect Mrs Naylor will have lunch ready.”
Mrs Hardy donned her floppy straw hat as she headed for the garden. “Are you taking Honey? Will Mrs McGrath want agistment money?”
The thought of paying for Honey’s keep had not occurred to Louise. Although she contributed for the brumby’s food in winter, Ben’s father let the mare run with the farm horses for nothing. Taking her to a horse training establishment was a different matter. “I don’t know. I’ll find out later today I guess. Is that okay?”
With a long sigh, Louise’s mother shook her head. “You know we don’t have a lot of spare cash. When we agreed you could keep Honey, we didn’t think she’d cost more than your riding lessons used to. Instead, it seems to be one expense after another.”
Louise hung her head. She knew her mother was right. The cost of keeping a horse had come as a surprise to her, what with worming, winter feed and gear. There was so much she still wanted, too, like a saddle of her own instead of borrowing one of Ben’s all the time. She had saved enough money for a second-hand one at the produce store, but it hadn’t fitted Honey. Instead, she’d purchased a grooming kit, a headcollar and lead rope, and a flashy bridle, all in purple.
“At least we don’t have to pay a farrier. It’s good of Ben to do Honey’s hooves and he’s teaching me.” Louise reali
sed that if she was to do her own trimming, she would need a lot of tools. More expense. She decided not to say anything further.
Mrs Hardy nodded. “You’re lucky the Naylors help you so much, but we don’t want them to be out of pocket for us. Make sure you ask this woman about any fees for having Honey.”
Louise agreed. Keen to get over to Tumbleford Farm, she skipped outside to her bike. She hated having to do school work at the weekends, and she’d told Ben she’d try and be early today.
When she cycled into the farmyard, a mob of horses circled the round yard. Despite the recent rains, dust billowed amongst their legs. The summer sun soon dried the ground out where it was well drained.
Ben came out of Brandy’s stable and greeted her. “We’re only taking mares to Goldriver. The geldings are going into the paddock across the old road, and Brandy will have to go in the reserve next to them. It’s not ideal, but Dad needs his paddock for the heifers.”
Louise looked around her. “Will Honey be going too?”
“Yeh, we can’t have any mares with only a single wire between the horses that remain and Brandy. Sorry. But Lady is going, so we’ll be able to ride together on the other side of the park.” Ben shrugged his shoulders and strode across to the yards.
Hurrying to catch up, Louise couldn’t help express her disappointment. “But Lady hates Honey. We never have a good ride when we take them out together.”
“Yeh, but there’s no choice. Dad is looking for any excuse to geld Brandy, so I’m not arguing.” The look that Ben gave Louise told her she’d better not say any more.
The roar of an engine carried to them from the machinery shed. Mr Naylor reversed the cattle truck out and lined it up with the loading ramp at the yards. Climbing down from the driver’s seat, he called across to them, “Ben, show Louise how to use the drafting gate. You drive ’em up. I’ll be back in a minute.”
They hurried to do as asked. Louise had seen Ben separate out the horses he wanted by opening and shutting the gate from the race in the yards. She stood on the bottom rail and grabbed the long metal handle. “I’m ready.”
Ben walked behind the horses in the yard and cut the mares out one by one. As each horse trotted in to the race, Louise held the gate open for them to climb the ramp into the truck. If a gelding snuck past Ben, she shut the gate to prevent it going further.
Honey came last. She surged past Louise into the race, stopping suddenly when she saw the ramp into the truck. Lady stood at the top, snaking her head with her ears flat back on her neck. The brumby wouldn’t move.
“Ben, she’ll get kicked if she goes on next to Lady. What should I do?” Louise approached her mare and calmed her with a stroke to her neck. The brumby nuzzled against her shoulder.
Ben climbed into the back of the truck and shuffled the horses around. “Lady’s at the front now. Push her up.”
“But what if Lady attacks her on the journey? Can’t we tie them away from each other?” Louise worried that Honey would be badly injured on her first journey in a vehicle which might put her off travelling forever.
Ben jumped off the side of the truck and joined Louise. “We normally truck them loose, but I suppose you’re right.”
Mr Naylor stomped up to the rails. “What’s the hold up? Won’t she go on?”
Ben explained the situation. “I’ll go and grab a couple of halters.”
“You can’t tie two up and not them all. They’ll have to sort themselves out. Push that mare up there, Louise. I haven’t got all day.” He climbed into the truck and slammed the door.
Louise didn’t want to make trouble. Grabbing a handful of Honey’s mane, she led the mare up the ramp. With Lady tucked behind Shadow, the brumby went willingly.
An open pair of wrought iron gates announced the entry to Gold River Run. The property’s initials scrolled in a golden arch above the driveway. Neat split rail fences lined small square paddocks, each with its own field shelter. Louise noticed that any horse droppings had been picked up; not a blade of grass seemed out of place.
Mr Naylor rumbled the truck up the drive to a huge stable complex. All the buildings had red rooves over cream walls, with potted conifers next to each doorway. An immaculate woman in white jodhpurs and black top boots came out to greet them.
Louise’s stomach gurgled with butterflies. She couldn’t imagine how her parents would be able to afford for her to keep Honey at such a posh establishment. She didn’t know how to tell Ben that Honey couldn’t stay here. Perhaps his father could drop her brumby off in Crowhurst and she could ask Mr Hazelburger, their next door neighbour, if she could use his paddock.
“Patti! You’re looking flash today.” Mr Naylor slid down from the driver’s seat and hugged the smart woman.
“I’ve just returned from a dressage competition. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in my jeans in two shakes of a donkey’s tail.” She turned to Ben and Louise and said hello.
Ben squirmed from one foot to another. “We’ve brought a bunch of mares. Where do you want them?”
Patti McGrath waved her hand towards the back of the property. “There’s plenty of feed in River Paddock. The water hasn’t risen too badly there, not like on your side of the mountains. They can all go in together.”
Mr Naylor climbed back into the truck in order to move the mares. “Which way do I go?”
Patti pointed out a track behind the stable block. Ben walked over to the laneway and opened the gate to let his father through.
Louise followed. She knew she had to say something before they let the mares off the truck. “I don’t think I can afford for Honey to stay here, Ben. I’ll catch her and hold her on board.”
Ben looked at Louise with surprise. “Don’t worry, Patti’s not charging us anything. Dad helped her out in winter with a load of hay when she ran out, so this is her way of paying him back.”
“Cool! It’s an awesome place.” Relieved at not having to find Honey a new home, Louise paid more attention to her surroundings. A corner of one paddock had been roped off and had brightly painted striped poles, fake brick walls, a hedge and even a water jump laid out in a course.
Mr Naylor left the truck’s engine running while he undid the back gates and let down the ramp. While the other mares stood looking from the top, Lady made a rush. The other horses followed, cantering off around their new enclosure.
“I didn’t get a chance to check Honey from the trip, but she looks great.” Louise watched her buckskin mare hoon around the field with the rest of the herd, all of them bucking and kicking in play as they explored their new territory.
Ben closed the back of the truck. “Yeh, they love a new place. Look at old Shadow, you wouldn’t think she was retired.”
The old stockhorse raced Lady with her neck stretched low, ducking and weaving. Like a flock of birds, the horses swooped around the paddock, changing direction together as one and zooming back the other way.
Mr Naylor slammed the truck door and leant out of the window. “Don’t just stand there, do the gate for me, Ben. We’ll have a coffee with Patti before we go back.”
When they reached the main house, Louise kicked off her boots before going into the spotless kitchen. She couldn’t help but compare it to the Naylor homestead. Rather than animals lazing on over-stuffed furniture and pots and pans everywhere, Patti’s house shone. Trophies and ribbons covered one wall, and Louise could see framed photographs of horses at shows all along the hallway.
Patti had changed out of her smart clothes and clattered together cups and saucers. She waved her hand in the direction of a long polished pine table in the centre of the room. “Take a seat, be comfy. Who wants what? I’ve got freshly-made lemonade, or would you prefer coffee?”
Having organised the drinks, Patti sat down to join her visitors. “Did they settle in okay?”
Ben nodded. “Yeh, they’re enjoying being somewhere new.
Will it be okay if Louise and I come and ride here sometime?”
“You’re welcome to use the indoor arena, or you can get through to the park across the road. You’ll have to go around Willowlea, though. I don’t think Robert will want you riding across his place.” Patti sipped on her steaming cup.
Louise had been distracted by her surroundings until she heard mention of Willowlea. “Do you know the Smythe-Waters then?”
Patti gave Louise a friendly smile. “They’re my neighbours across the road. Not that I have much to do with Robert, but Marilyn is a good friend. She helped me settle in when I first moved here ten years ago.”
Ben nudged Louise under the table with his knee, as if to tell Louise to shut up. She decided to change the subject. “Do you give riding lessons?”
Pouring herself another cup of coffee from the china pot, Patti wrinkled her face with revulsion. “I couldn’t bear to have a string of school horses for beginners and snotty-nosed kids. I mainly train performance horses for competition or to sell, though I do give private tuition and occasionally I run natural horsemanship clinics.”
Louise thought that would be a great life. “You obviously compete a lot. You’ve won heaps of ribbons.”
Mr Naylor slurped the last of his coffee. “Some of those trophies would be your dad’s, eh? Come on, you two, drink up. We still need to move the stock around at home.”
They thanked Patti for her hospitality and promised to come and check on the mares the following day. Louise couldn’t wait to come back and find out more about Patti and her horses. She’d love to have private lessons, but knew she’d never afford them as well as keeping Honey.
Chapter 4
The geldings had all been yarded and Brandy locked in his stable before Ben and Louise moved the last of the stock from the flooded fields. Ben signalled the kelpies to herd the last few ewes through the gate into the horse paddock. “I’ll tie up these dogs and get Snifter if you grab Snip and Ned’s bridles and a couple of halters.”