The jumps in the ring were raised for the final round of the Open Jumping and the Sandy Lane riders stood by watching. There were eight riders through to the jump-off and this time the fastest clear round would win. Of the Sandy Lane riders, just Kate, Rosie and Alex had got through.
“Good luck you two,” Alex muttered as they went off to collect their mounts.
One by one the riders took their turn at going into the ring and riding the course. When Rosie was called in fourth Alex went over to watch. Calmly, she turned into the ring for the second time and cantered forward for the brush. Clear of that, they rode to the gate. Hector’s tail swished as she nudged him forward and they turned the corner for the staircase. Over that and onto the sharks’ teeth. Hector flew over the jump and Rosie checked him, just in time for the triple bar. The jump took a bit of a rap and a hollow sound echoed around the ring, but it stayed up and now there was only the parallel and then the treble. The crowd held their breath as Rosie cleared the first jump and rode to the treble. One...two...three...touchdown. They were clear and a ripple of applause rang through the crowd.
“Great stuff, Rosie!” Alex called across as she cantered past him. It had been a safe round, putting her in third place. “It looks like it’s me next.” Alex gritted his teeth. Kate was still left to go after him. She and Feather had been training pretty hard. Could Puzzle really beat them? He’d have to go like the clappers to be in with a chance.
“Good luck,” Jess and Kate called from behind the rails.
The crowd hushed as Alex circled his pony.
And then they were off...racing to the first as the clock began ticking its countdown. They sailed over the brush, and rode towards the gate. Soaring over that, they cantered towards the staircase. Puzzle’s ears were pricked as she raced forward. All Alex could see were the fences ahead of him; all he could hear was the sound of pounding hooves as he rode to the triple bars. Alex put her at the middle of the jump, propelling Puzzle forward with his legs. She tucked her feet up under her as if the poles were hot pokers, and flew through the air.
Alex didn’t even have time to think as he turned her for the parallel. He steadied her in the approach and again they jumped clear. The moment they touched the ground, Alex turned her, so that there was hardly enough time for them to gather momentum. But he had judged it just right and Puzzle was clear, surging forward for the treble. One...two...three. Alex leaned forward in the saddle and the horse found her natural take-off. What a speed!
Alex could hardly contain himself. As he cantered through the finish, the voice from the speaker announced that he had taken the lead with a time of 55 seconds. Alex clapped his hand to Puzzle’s neck in excitement.
“You were brilliant, Alex.” Tom looked surprised as he called from the sidelines.
Alex shrugged. “I’ve still got Kate to beat.” He frowned. It seemed mean to hope that his sister would do badly, but he couldn’t help wishing she wouldn’t be quite on top form.
“That was a pretty fast time, Alex. Well done,” Nick said, coming over.
“Thanks,” Alex turned a bit red and walked Puzzle towards the trees to cool down for the result.
It seemed to take forever as the loudspeaker called out the times and announced that Alex held the lead. Kate was in now. Alex didn’t want to watch. He held his breath as the gasps echoed from the crowd. He could hardly bear to listen, and it was only when Kate rode out of the ring that he realized she hadn’t gone as fast as him.
“Well done, Alex,” Kate said graciously. “You’re still holding the lead.”
“But there’s still one more left to go in,” he muttered.
Alex walked Puzzle a little way away. He couldn’t bear to watch. It seemed to take forever for the last rider to complete the course but then he heard his name being called. His time hadn’t been matched. He’d won!
The next thing Alex knew, he was cantering around the ring again, this time with a red rosette pinned to Puzzle’s bridle and a huge silver cup in his hands. Beams of light sprang off it as it glinted in the sunlight and they galloped their lap of honour. As he rode out of the ring, he felt really proud. His friends were already standing by the entrance to the ring, ahead of him. Kate and Izzy raced over.
“Alex...Alex, you’re not going to believe it,” Kate cried. “Wow it’s lovely,” she said, stopping to look at the cup he was holding. “You’ve got to come over.”
“What is it?” Alex asked.
“It’s Puzzle,” Kate said. “You’re going to be really pleased. There are some people here who want to buy her, and guess what – they’re offering £1,000! It’s brilliant news, isn’t it?”
Before Alex could say anything, Kate was rushing off. It was brilliant news, wasn’t it? he thought, following on after her, Puzzle’s reins hanging slackly by her neck. Alex was nearly at the oak tree now and he could see the Sandy Lane group ahead of him. There were a number of Sandy Lane riders talking to Nick and a man and a woman. They must be the people Kate had been talking about. Alex jumped to the ground and handed Puzzle’s reins over to Kate.
“Alex. Well done!” Nick called. “Come over here. I’ve got some people I want you to meet. This is Mr. and Mrs. Norman – they’ve come down from the Midlands to check out the ponies at the show.”
“We love your pony,” the woman started, before Alex had even said hello. “She’d be perfect for our daughter.”
“We didn’t think she’d be for sale,” the man joined in. “But Mr. Brooks explained you’d bought her as an investment. We’d be prepared to offer you £1,000.”
Alex went red and before anyone could say anything more, he spoke out. “Look, I’m sorry, there’s been a mistake. I’ve changed my mind. I’m afraid she’s not for sale.” And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away.
12
THE TRUTH IS OUT
No one was more taken aback than Alex by his reaction to the offer to buy Puzzle. After all, it was what he’d wanted – what he’d intended all along. Alex knew the others were pretty surprised, but no one said anything. Maybe it was the excitement after the show, or maybe they were embarrassed, but whatever the reason, Alex certainly wasn’t going to bring the subject up.
As Alex groomed Puzzle on Monday morning, he thought about everything that had happened since Puzzle had arrived. He was miles away when Sarah’s voice disturbed his thoughts.
“Puzzle did pretty well on Saturday, didn’t she?” She leaned over Puzzle’s stable door.
“Yes, yes she did,” Alex answered.
“I’m going to come straight to the point,” Sarah said. “I asked Nick to talk to you, but I know he’s been putting it off. We were under the impression that you were just stabling Puzzle here for the summer – not forever. I know you go back to school soon, so we need to know what your plans are. You’re not likely to get a better offer than £1,000, you know.”
“I know.” Alex shrugged. “And I thought all along that I would sell her.”
“And now?” Sarah questioned him.
“Well now I don’t know that I want to. I think I want to keep her.” It was the first time that Alex had admitted this to anyone and he was embarrassed.
“I can understand that,” Sarah said gently. “You’ve worked so hard with her and she’s come on such a lot. I didn’t really believe that anyone would be able to get her properly well. If you’ve decided you do want to keep her, then you know we’d offer you first refusal on one of the boxes, only you would have to pay for it.”
Alex looked despondent. “Yes, I know. I’ve been thinking about all of that and I don’t know that I can afford a livery fee. I was wondering... I mean, would you be able to use her for lessons in return for her keep?”
“I don’t want to sound mean,” Sarah said. “But it won’t be long now before our ponies are back in action, so we don’t really need a spare pony.”
Alex felt choked. “No, I guess not.”
“If you want to keep her, why don’t you talk to y
our parents and see what they say? They might help you out.”
Alex opened his mouth. He was about to tell Sarah that his parents didn’t even know about Puzzle, but then he thought better of it. Alex didn’t say anything more. Sarah shrugged her shoulders and made her way across the yard to the cottage.
“Let me know what you decide, Alex,” she called back.
“OK,” Alex replied.
Talking to Sarah had set Alex thinking. Maybe it was about time he told his parents about Puzzle. After all, they’d certainly be pretty impressed when they heard what she was worth. But what would they say when he told them he wanted to keep her? Would they help him with a livery fee?
The long summer’s day was drawing to a close as Alex cycled home. He’d been preparing what he was going to say to his parents, over and over in his head, but somehow the words didn’t sound quite right.
As Alex propped his bike up against the wall of the mill, he walked into the kitchen, trying to look cheery in front of his mother.
“Where’s Kate?”
“In the TV room,” his mother answered him.
Quickly, Alex made his way down the corridor to find his sister.
“Ssh.” She motioned towards the television as Alex shut the door behind him.
“I’ve decided to tell Mum and Dad about Puzzle tonight.” Alex blurted the words out.
Kate looked surprised as Alex went on to tell her how Sarah had offered him first refusal on a box and how he’d decided he was going to keep the pony. At the end of it, he looked up, expecting to see surprise on Kate’s face, but her face looked pretty blank.
“Aren’t you shocked?” Alex asked.
“Not really,” Kate said. “Everyone’s known for ages that you were really attached to Puzzle. We were just waiting for you to admit it.”
“Oh...” Alex looked taken aback. “So what do you think Mum and Dad will say, do you think they’ll help me out?”
“I don’t know.” Kate looked uncertain. “I guess they’ll be pleased about the money she’s worth, but as for asking them to pay a livery fee...”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” Alex looked thoughtful. “Now is as good a time as any to ask. Will you go and get Mum?”
Alex walked down the hallway towards the sitting room where his father was reading the paper.
“Dad, can I talk to you?” Alex started.
“Sure.” Mr. Hardy looked up. “What’s up? You look as though you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
At that point, Kate arrived with her mother in tow.
“What’s going on?” Mrs. Hardy asked. Now that everyone was in the room, Mr. Hardy looked concerned. “What it it, Alex?”
Alex took a deep breath. “I’ve got something to tell you,” he said, looking at his parents. “It’s nothing to worry about. I guess it’s good news in a way.”
And before either of his parents could respond, Alex launched in.
“You know I’ve been trying to get the rest of the money for this cricket tour?” he started.
“Well yes,” his father looked puzzled. “I know we said ages ago you could put your premium bond towards it, but we thought you’d gone off the idea. You haven’t seemed so interested in the sport since you got dropped from the squad. We certainly haven’t seen you doing anything about getting the extra £350.”
“Well, I have in a way,” Alex said. “You see, I had this great idea about how I could make the rest of the money – OK, so it’s not quite the same sort of thing as Will or Jim are doing, but I thought it was pretty foolproof. You see, I thought that if I invested my £500 then I might be able to make the extra £350.”
Mrs. Hardy groaned. “Oh Alex, we’re not letting you invest your £500 in some mad scheme.”
“No Mum, you’re not getting me,” Alex said quickly. “You see, I’ve already spent the £500. I’ve doubled my money. I bought a pony and now it’s worth £1,000.”
“WHAT?” his father exclaimed.
Alex looked at his parents’ faces and saw their shocked expressions. Weren’t they pleased that his investment had paid off?
“You see, they needed some more rideable ponies at Sandy Lane,” Alex went on. “So I thought that if I bought one and lent it to them, they could use it, and I’d sell it on at the end of the summer.”
“And the owners of the stables put you up to this, did they?” Mr. Hardy raised his eyebrows.
“No, no of course they didn’t.” Alex felt frustrated. “They didn’t know anything about it till I turned up with the pony. Actually they weren’t very pleased. She was a bit of a dud when I got her...but I nursed her back to health and Nick helped me train her and now she’s brilliant...absolutely brilliant.”
“You should see them together,” Kate joined in. “They won the Open Jumping at Benbridge on Saturday.”
“Let me get this straight,” Mr. Hardy interrupted. “You’ve bought a pony, trained it up and didn’t even think to tell us what you were doing?”
“Well, yes, I thought it would be better to tell you when it was all sorted,” Alex explained, looking at their disappointed faces. “I guess I should have told you before,” he hesitated. “Only I wanted to surprise you. But the situation’s changed now...you see, I just want to keep her, and I was hoping you might help me out with a livery fee.”
“A livery fee? So that’s what this is all about,” Mr. Hardy said. “You need money. What would you have done if you didn’t need the money? Kept the secret from us forever?”
“No, no of course not,” Alex said.
“And now you reckon this pony is worth £1,000, do you?” said Mr. Hardy, looking doubtful.
“Yes. That was the offer someone made at the Benbridge Show,” Alex said.
“And you’d rather keep this pony than sell her and go on the cricket tour?”
Alex hesitated. “Well yes, yes I would. I don’t want to have to give the pony up.”
“So is this why you haven’t been making the cricket squad?” Mr. Hardy said.
“Oh, don’t worry about that, I’ll get my place back,” Alex said confidently.
“Alex, I don’t think you understand the seriousness of what you’ve just admitted,” Mr. Hardy said calmly. “You went ahead and spent all your money on a pony. Now you say the gamble has paid off, which may or may not be the case, but you don’t want to sell her. Well that’s not an investment is it? It’s irresponsible and what is worse, you did it all behind our backs. I’m disappointed in you, Alex.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Alex broke in gruffly. “I didn’t mean...”
Mr. Hardy held up his hand. “No Alex. No more excuses. You know you can’t afford to keep a pony, and we really can’t take this on at the moment. Ponies are a lot of work. I know what you’re like. You’ll get bored of it in no time at all and either Kate or your mother and I will be left to sort out your mess.”
“But it’s not like that, Dad,” Alex cried.
“Isn’t it?” Mr. Hardy frowned. “I think the best thing you can do is stick to your original plan. You bought this pony as an investment. Now you must sell it and put the money back where it came from.”
“But Dad...” Alex looked as white as a sheet. He knew that when his father had made his mind up about something, there would be no changing it. And that, it seemed, was the end of the discussion. Alex’s father turned back to his newspaper and Alex was left standing there.
Alex left the room and closed the door behind him. It was only once he was alone in his bedroom that he stood with his back to the door, and let out a sigh. It was hopeless. He didn’t have a choice. He would have to sell Puzzle.
13
A BRAVE FACE
As Alex cycled to Sandy Lane Stables the next morning, he felt terrible. Now that the business with Puzzle was all out in the open at home, he realized what a mess he’d made of everything. He needed to get everything off his chest and tell Nick and Sarah the whole truth too.
It was a
perfect summer’s day as Alex cycled down the dusty roads, but inside he felt less than perfect. He tried to look on the bright side of things – after all, wasn’t this what he’d intended all along? Maybe he’d be able to get his place back in the cricket squad if he didn’t have a pony to look after. It seemed ironic to think that the money he’d been offered for Puzzle would be more than enough to go on the tour. But somehow cricket didn’t hold the same fascination now he was faced with the prospect of losing Puzzle forever. Cycling up the drive, Alex felt a cool breeze rustle through the trees.
“Hi Alex,” Izzy called across as Alex drew to a halt. “I’m going to ride out to the beach. Do you fancy coming?”
“Um, I’ve got to talk to Nick first,” Alex said, feeling unsettled. “But yeah, well that would be great.”
“You’ll catch him in the cottage,” Izzy said breezily. “Sarah’s taking a lesson in the outdoor school.”
“Thanks,” Alex muttered. He crossed the yard and made his way to the cottage. He knocked on the door and went inside.
“Oh, it’s you, Alex.” Nick looked up from a pile of papers. “I hear Sarah spoke to you yesterday about Puzzle’s stabling.”
“Yes, I don’t know how to tell you this,” Alex started. “And I know you’re going to be pretty annoyed, but you see I never actually told my parents I’d bought a pony. You see, I’d bought her hoping to make a profit, and when she was a dead loss, I just didn’t feel I could tell them.”
Alex wasn’t surprised when he looked up and saw how shocked Nick looked.
“I’ve told them everything now,” Alex went on. “I had to if I was going to get any help with a livery fee. They were pretty cross that I had kept it from them. Anyway, Dad won’t help me with a livery fee. He says I’ve got to sell Puzzle as soon as possible.”
“I see,” Nick started slowly. “I suppose I should be pretty cross with you too, but I reckon you’ve been through enough already.”
“You could say that,” Alex said gratefully. “I’ve never seen my father look so disappointed since I got thrown out of the cubs.” He tried to make a joke out of an awkward situation.
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