by Kelly Wilson
“Luckily I’m good at riding without a saddle,” she whispered to Casper one cold, clear Saturday morning. “If you’re not going to let me ride you with gear on, then I guess we’ll just do everything bareback. First, let’s see if you can jump.”
She led him down to the jumping paddock, where she had set up two small crossbars. Her sisters were ready and waiting with Charlie and Cameo all saddled and bridled, and as soon as Vicki was astride Casper they began to warm up their ponies.
After several minutes, Vicki gave the signal. Amanda and Kelly turned their mounts to canter into the jumps, with Vicki following close behind.
Just as Vicki had hoped, Casper cleared them effortlessly and kept a smooth rhythm that made riding bareback bearable. Elated, she patted his neck before dismounting and raising the fences higher.
“You really are remarkable,” she told her pony once they cleared a jump set at 70 centimetres. “I’m pretty sure you’ve been taught to jump before.”
Every day, Vicki spent time with each of her ponies, training them over the jumps. Within a few weeks, she could jump Casper to the same height as Dandy. The first show of the season was only a month away, and Dandy was training well. Vicki was looking forward to competing on her beautiful chestnut, and the only disappointment was that, because Casper wouldn’t wear a saddle or bridle, he wouldn’t be able to join her and Dandy at events.
But Vicki was not about to let her beautiful Arabian go unappreciated and she started thinking of ways to show him off to her friends.
Chapter 11
Sleepover Shenanigans
“I THINK WE SHOULD INVITE a couple of friends who have ponies to a sleepover this weekend,” Vicki said to her sisters one evening in late September, as she put Casper away. Their training had gone particularly well that day — they’d jumped over a 1-metre oxer effortlessly. “Then the next day we can hold a jumping day and Casper can compete.”
“Good thinking,” Kelly said. “We should invite Annabelle, since she lives just up the hill.”
“The more the merrier,” Vicki smiled. “I’m sure Stella will come, too. She’s always asking at school how Casper is going, plus we can all meet her new pony, Diego.”
After months of searching, Stella had finally fallen in love with a pretty bay gelding who’d had lots of success in Pony Club competitions. She’d bought him just a couple of weeks earlier.
But Mum wasn’t so sure when they told her their plan. “Where will everyone sleep?” she asked.
Vicki glanced at her sisters, all of a sudden unsure. Their house was very small — the three sisters all shared a bedroom as it was. “What about in the truck or tack shed? Or if the weather’s good we could even sleep under the stars.”
“With a camp fire and everything!” Amanda said, catching on to the idea.
“Camping out will be a real adventure,” Kelly grinned.
“And what are you going to do for meals while camping?” Mum asked.
Again, the girls looked at each other. They hadn’t thought that far ahead. Feeding two extra kids and their ponies for a weekend would also be extra work for their parents.
“Everyone could bring a little bit of money,” Vicki said, thinking fast. “And on the first day we’ll ride down to the supermarket on our ponies and buy food to cook over the camp fire.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything,” Mum said, giving in with a smile. “Send out the invites.”
“Everyone ready?” Vicki asked as she mounted Dandy. Around her, a chorus of “yes” filled the air. It was a beautiful but cold spring morning, without a cloud in the sky.
Vicki zipped up her jacket to keep warm, and checked her pocket for her five-dollar note before riding to the front of the group. Their first mission was to buy food, just like they’d promised Mum.
Over in the paddock, Casper watched Vicki forlornly. He looked as if he was wondering why he was being left behind.
“We’re off to the supermarket,” Vicki called out to him as they rode away. “There’s no way I’d feel safe riding you down the main roads, since you still spook at everything.”
Leading the way, Vicki glanced back at the trail of riders behind her. Their friends had leapt at the chance to stay for the weekend, especially as it involved camping out together. Annabelle had her pony, Blackie, and Stella looked very happy on Diego.
In single file they made their way up a small side street, before turning their ponies onto the main road towards town. They had been riding for about ten minutes when Amanda spoke up from the back of the group.
“Do you think Charlie suits his new look?”
Turning, Vicki looked over her shoulder at Amanda and couldn’t help but laugh. She had flowers of every colour poking out from her helmet, and Charlie had even more twisted into his bridle and mane.
“You look ridiculous!” she laughed.
“Ridiculously awesome!” Amanda grinned, plucking another flower from a tree as she passed.
The girls dismounted in the car park by the store. Gathering five dollars from each person, Vicki then divided the money in half and split the girls into two groups.
“We’ll go in turns,” Vicki explained. “My group will stay and hold the ponies while the others buy food for breakfast and lunch for tomorrow, then we’ll swap. We’ll be in charge of buying dinner tonight.”
Vicki, Annabelle and Amanda stayed with the ponies first, while the others shopped. Within seconds, two kids approached with their parents.
“Do you mind if we pat your ponies?” one asked.
“Not at all,” Amanda said, leading Charlie and Cameo forward for the kids to pat. “These two are the friendliest.”
Soon there was a line of people wanting to meet the horses, and one by one they stepped forward to say hello.
When the others rejoined them, armed with only a single bag of food, Vicki glanced at her watch, amazed to see that more than ten minutes had passed.
“Fifteen dollars is nowhere near enough money to buy food for five people,” Kelly declared, as she showed the others the contents of the shopping bag.
Amanda leaned over to have a peek. “Yum!” she said in delight.
Vicki looked inside and gasped in shock. The girls had bought only apples, chocolate-chip cookies and marshmallows to cook over the camp fire. “This is snack food! What are we going to eat for lunch?”
“We couldn’t afford anything else,” Stella said, with a shamefaced shrug.
“I guess it’s our turn,” Vicki said, passing over the ponies’ reins. “Hopefully we can do a little better!”
Dashing through the store, with the flowers on Amanda’s helmet bobbing, Vicki took charge. “Let’s buy food we can actually make over a camp fire.”
“What about spaghetti for breakfast?” Annabelle suggested. “When we camp out at our farm we put the cans in the embers of the fire to warm up.”
“Great idea,” Vicki said, as they filled their shopping basket. “We can also cook potatoes wrapped in tinfoil for dinner tonight.”
That evening, with the ponies safely in their paddocks, Vicki sat with her sisters and their friends around the camp fire, eating a charred potato out of her grubby hands. Food had never tasted so good.
“We’re going to freeze tonight,” Stella groaned, as she pulled on an extra layer of clothing. “Maybe we should be staying in the tack shed, or the horse truck.”
“You’re such a city girl,” Vicki teased. “It’s time you learnt to rough it like the rest of us country kids.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault I grew up in town!”
“No, it’s not,” Annabelle laughed. “But if you wimp out on us and sleep somewhere else we’re going to give you grief!”
“Oh, all right,” Stella said, throwing her hands in the air. “I’ll sleep under the stars. It will be a once in a lifetime experience, that’s for sure.”
They had all decided that sleeping outdoors was a great idea a few hours earlier, in the bright afternoon sunshi
ne. Before darkness closed in, they set up their beds.
First the girls spread out an old tarpaulin so their bedding wouldn’t get wet from the damp grass, then they piled on their blankets, and laid old horse covers on top for extra warmth. Once it was dark, they snuggled under the covers, telling stories and laughing. Gradually their voices became more muted as tiredness took over.
As she listened to the others talking, Vicki gazed up into the starry night sky, searching for shooting stars.
She jolted upright, suddenly wide awake. “Anyone keen for a moonlit farm ride?”
“Me!” Amanda said, sitting up. “Charlie will love it, even if it is way past my bed-time.”
“Is it safe?” Stella asked uncertainly. “Can horses even see in the dark?”
“Of course they can,” Kelly said, with a roll of her eyes. “Do we need to let Mum and Dad know?”
“They’ll be asleep by now,” Vicki said. “I think we’ll be okay if we don’t go too far.”
“I’ve never ridden in the dark before,” Annabelle said, as she quickly pulled on her riding boots. “But I bet it’ll be lots of fun!”
Chapter 12
Moonlight Madness
AT THE TACK SHED, EVERYONE grabbed their helmets and bridles, deciding it would be too complicated to saddle up in the dark. Vicki was the last one to leave, her hand hovering first over Dandy’s bridle and then Casper’s halter. Finally, she stretched forward and snatched the halter off the wall, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake by riding the less-experienced pony on their midnight adventure.
Running up the hill, she headed for Casper’s paddock, slowing when she saw Kelly and Amanda had already caught their ponies and were leading them down the driveway towards her.
“You’re riding Casper?” Kelly gasped when she saw her sister emerge out of the darkness. “I figured you’d take Dandy.”
“I’ve already ridden him today,” Vicki said with a shrug. Behind them, she saw that Casper was waiting for her at the gate. “Besides, I think Casper would wonder why he was being left behind for the second time in one day.”
“Good luck catching him in the dark,” Amanda yawned, as she ambled down the hill with Charlie. “Don’t keep us waiting too long.”
Vicki approached Casper, talking softly.
“Everyone else is ready to go, so here’s the deal. If you’ll let me catch you in under two minutes I’ll ride you. Otherwise I’ll take Dandy instead.”
Slipping through the gate, Vicki reached out a hand towards Casper. Tossing his head, he sidestepped and turned back in the direction in which the other ponies had disappeared, letting out a shrill neigh.
“You’re OK, boy,” Vicki reassured him as she laid a hand on his trembling shoulder. “I know it’s scary in the dark, but I promise I’m still the same person that I am in the daylight. We trust each other, right?”
Slowly she felt him relax, and when the tremors stopped she reached up and haltered him. Opening the gate, she hurried to join the others.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Vicki apologised as she swung up onto Casper’s back. “He only took a little convincing before he remembered we were friends.”
“That’s OK,” Stella’s voice rang through the gloom. “I’ve been waiting months to watch you ride him, and now I can hardly see him in the dark. He’s just a blur of white, like a ghost in the night.”
“I’ll ride him again tomorrow,” Vicki said. “He’s changed a lot since you tried him!”
“He must have, if you trust him enough to ride him bareback in the dark,” Stella replied, edging Diego closer to get a better look.
“You ride him in a halter?” asked Annabelle, who had ridden up on Vicki’s other side. “How quiet is he?”
“He goes better like this,” Vicki explained, as they started walking side by side on their ponies. “For some reason he hates the bridle — every time I put any contact on the bit he rears or bucks.”
“Weird. If he behaved like that, I’d probably be too scared to ever ride him again, yet here you are with almost no gear on to control him. You’re too brave for your own good.”
“Without gear on to upset him, he’s perfectly behaved,” Vicki said, her voice filled with affection for her troublesome pony. “He’s the most sensitive pony I’ve ever met.”
“He sounds high-maintenance to me,” Stella groaned. They picked up a trot as they reached the first hill on the farm. “I am so glad I didn’t buy him!”
Vicki gripped her legs around Casper’s sides to avoid the bouncing of his gait, but even then it was difficult to sit comfortably with his high-stepping Arabian trot. Squeezing her legs, Vicki urged Casper faster, letting out a sigh of relief when his rough gait evened out to a smooth canter.
With only moonlight to guide them, the rest of Vicki’s senses were enhanced as they flew up the hill. Her ears were filled with the rhythmic pounding of hooves, and against her legs she could feel Casper’s steady heartbeat. His mane whipped her face as she leaned forward over his wither, and with another burst of speed she drew ahead of the other ponies. Closing her eyes, Vicki dropped the reins and spread her arms wide, caught up in the thrilling feeling of flying.
Drawing Casper to a halt at the top of the hill, Vicki waited for the others to catch up, her eyes struggling to make out who the shapes were in the dark.
“We better head back — our ponies are getting hot,” Vicki said, laying her hand against Casper’s steaming neck, her own breath freezing in the cool night air. “We’re going to have to walk the entire way, so they have plenty of time to cool off.”
“Can’t we keep going?” Amanda asked, as she came to a halt on Charlie. “This is one of my favourite rides ever! In the dark I can pretend Charlie’s as big as everyone else’s pony!”
“Just one more hill,” Annabelle pleaded. “Please!”
Vicki chewed on her lip. “I guess one more won’t hurt,” she finally conceded. “Why don’t you guys walk to the bottom of this hill and canter up again? But I’ll wait here — Casper’s not as fit as your ponies.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Kelly offered. “I think Cameo has had enough for tonight.”
While the others headed back down the hill, Vicki and Kelly walked their ponies in circles to cool them off, planning out the jumping course for the following day.
“We’ll need about ten jumps, but we only have two sets of jump standards and poles,” Kelly worried.
“When’s that ever stopped us?” Vicki laughed. “I’m sure we can make some jumps out of odds and ends.”
Beneath her, Vicki felt Casper tense. Falling silent, she heard the sound of hooves approaching. Although they couldn’t see the ponies yet, Casper had obviously heard them.
“That was the best feeling ever!” Annabelle cried out as she and Blackie emerged from the darkness, along with Stella and Diego.
Several seconds passed before Charlie also appeared, his little legs straining to catch up. Even in the semi-darkness it was impossible to miss the steam rising from his coat as he struggled to get his breath.
“Charlie’s exhausted,” Amanda said ruefully. “He could barely keep up.”
“Casper’s the same,” Vicki said. “I think it’s from the cold — there might be a frost in the morning. Let’s get these ponies back home for some rest. I’m ready to sleep now, too!”
Chapter 13
Colic Crisis
VICKI WOKE AT DAWN. SITTING upright, she gazed in wonder at the icy world around her. A heavy frost coated the ground. Glancing up the hill, her eyes searched the paddocks to check on the ponies, and a soft smile lit her face as she saw Dandy, then Casper. She sighted Cameo and Jude, then Charlie — but as she watched the little grey, dread filled her.
He was swinging his head around and nipping at his stomach. Vicki knew it could only mean one thing: colic.
Fear filled her as memories of her earliest pony, Bella, flashed to mind. Vicki remembered her feeling of hopelessness when Bella had fallen ill and t
he vets could do nothing to ease her pain, then the eventual heartbreak when the pony had been put to sleep.
Shaking everyone awake, she said urgently, “Kelly and Amanda, I need you to get Mum and Dad, then meet us at Charlie’s paddock.”
Vicki grabbed a halter and sprinted towards the paddock, not even taking the time to pull on her boots. Her friends followed closely behind. By the time they reached Charlie, Vicki’s feet were numb, but she was so distracted by the sick pony she barely noticed.
“It’s alright, Charlie Brown, we’re here to help you,” Vicki said, as she caught Charlie. She tried to sound firm, but her voice broke a little as she spoke.
Behind her she heard more voices as her parents ran across the paddock, Kelly and Amanda not far behind.
“Has he rolled?” Mum asked breathlessly.
“I don’t know,” Vicki said. “We took them for a moonlit ride on the farm last night—”
“You did what?”
“He was fine when I let him go,” Amanda said, her eyes round and rapidly filling with tears. “He headed straight to the trough for a big drink.”
“Cold water after a big ride isn’t good,” Annabelle murmured in concern. “My stepdad’s a vet. We could call him since he’s just up the road. He won’t mind being woken.”
“Is he going to be OK?” Amanda whispered as she hugged her pony’s neck tightly.
“I hope so,” Mum said, “but I can’t make any promises.” Placing a hand on Vicki’s shoulder, she said, “I don’t need to tell you how serious this is. Just make sure he doesn’t roll while we go back to the house to get hold of Annabelle’s dad.”
Amanda’s lip quivered. “Why can’t he roll?”
“He might twist his intestines, which could cause a blockage,” Vicki said, deliberately not mentioning how serious — or even fatal — that could be.