A Dream Come True

by Olivia Tuffin

  “Fantastic, Josie!”

  A familiar voice made both Alice and her mum turn and smile, and Ella whicker in recognition. It was Angus, Finn’s dad. He was the resident pony club instructor and was often at Hilltops giving lessons.

  “I always knew she was something special,” Angus continued admiringly. “Her movement is incredible. She could go really far!”

  “I’ll aim her for a novice test,” Alice’s mum smiled. “But in all honesty, I’ve no real ambitions, other than to enjoy her. Anyway, it’s all about Alice and Secret for now!”

  “Of course,” Angus chuckled. “Still on for our lesson tomorrow?”

  “You bet!” Alice grinned. Then she hesitated, feeling a little shy. “How was Finn when you dropped him and Horatio back in London?”

  “Oh, so excited,” Angus said. “Doubt I’ll hear a peep from him, unless I nag him!”

  Alice smiled, realising she hadn’t even checked her phone to see if Finn had been in contact. She was so busy thinking about Olympia and helping her mum, she hadn’t had time to worry about anything else. She was once again struck by the different paths their lives were taking, and suddenly she realised that was OK. She’d see him soon enough.

  Finn might not have been great at contacting his dad, but he did text Alice the very next morning to find out how Ella had got on. Alice was in the middle of filling hay nets and scrabbled for her phone as she heard the ping, unable to stop the smile as she opened the message.

  Hey, she read. How did Ella get on? Hope Secret is good today in your lesson. Really busy here, but fun. We went on the London Eye after training last night! Amazing X

  Alice tried to imagine Finn in London, in the bustling crowds, on the London Eye, and failed. She only really ever imagined him in the meadows at Rookham, riding bareback on Horatio. She smiled. There he was doing amazing things and she was here, covered in hay and mud from where she’d had to wrestle Secret’s filthy New Zealand rug off earlier.

  Ella did brilliantly, she replied. Saw your dad, he was really pleased. Looking forward to later, I’ll let you know how Secret goes. What was the London Eye like? Was it scary? X

  Finn didn’t reply until later when Alice was filling the last of the water buckets for sweet, bossy Porridge, her mum’s black Shetland.

  No, it was ace. You’d have loved it! X

  And Alice smiled to think of her friend having such an amazing time in London.

  “OK, Alice!”

  Angus pulled his collar up a little tighter, keeping off the frigid chill of the indoor arena at Hilltops. Alice barely noticed the cold once she started to warm Secret up. The adrenalin of jumping him, coupled with how hard she had to concentrate on not letting him bound over the poles, meant her cheeks were quickly flushed and layers were discarded on the arena fence. She turned Secret to face her instructor.

  “So,” Angus reached up to give Secret a stroke, “are you happy with everything?”

  Alice nodded. “Jump today, and once more next week and then just hack.” She repeated what she and Angus had discussed a few times. “And then jump in the warm-up at Olympia, but don’t overdo it.”

  “Exactly.” Angus nodded. “So let’s have a good session today.” He gestured to the short course he’d set up. “Time to jump!”

  And it was as though Secret understood what Angus had asked. He surged forward, his power far beyond his relatively small stature, and Alice only had to touch him with her heels to put him into a canter. Keeping her hands featherlight, sitting up straight, Alice couldn’t help but grin as Secret bounded towards the coloured fences, taking off perfectly, knowing Alice wouldn’t hold him back as he soared over the green and white poles, at one with his rider as they seemed to turn in the air and on to the next jump. Alice thought that there really was no better feeling, as each fence disappeared under Secret’s neat pale hooves. She might be jumping against the likes of Leah Edwards and their sponsored ponies, but she knew there was no pony she’d rather have than Secret. Every tear shed, every moment she’d felt like giving up, it had all been worth it, for this.

  Time passed quickly by; short, cold days that meant Alice didn’t really see Secret in daylight. Fitness with Secret had been stepped up, and Josephine had been leading him around the lanes and up the steep hill overlooking the downs while she rode Ella and Alice went to school. And now there were merely days left until end of term, when they’d leave for London.

  Alice’s classmates chatted incessantly about Christmas shopping and who was going to the most Christmas parties. But as the bell rang for the final time that year, Alice had practically sprinted down the steps and on to the bus, giving her classmates a quick wave goodbye as they continued their plans for the holidays. For Alice, it was all about Olympia and Secret now.

  Alice’s mobile rang the next morning as she was mucking out. Peeling gloves off frozen fingers to answer, she frowned as she missed the call. Almost immediately a text followed.

  Alice, it’s Celia, the message read, and Alice frowned again. Give me a call when you have a chance X

  Alice’s brain went into overdrive as she tried to imagine why Celia, leader of the Rebel Riders, wanted her to call. An icy hand gripped her spine: what if Finn had fallen, had some sort of terrible accident? Sitting down on a hay bale, she dialled the number Celia had left with a shaking hand.

  “Alice!” Celia’s voice, with its strong Spanish accent that evoked a rich image of the warmth of her home country, answered straight away. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” Alice stammered. “Is everything OK? Is it about Finn? Has something happened?”

  “No.” Celia chuckled. “He’s fine! I wanted to let you know that I have a spare backstage pass for the next few days,” she explained. “Full access, everything. You can watch the shows right from the warm-up with all the top riders. Fancy it?”

  There was nothing Alice would have liked more. She’d never really got to experience Olympia fully, having always had a pony of her mum’s or her mum’s clients to ride, and they were there and back in a day. She’d watched the Grand Prix dressage and the puissance on TV, and had always longed to see it in real life. But she couldn’t take Celia up on her offer.

  “That sounds amazing,” she said longingly. “But I can’t. I have to carry on my work with Secret, and Mum needs me here.” Although Fergus was coming back from his trip home the following evening, there were still so many chores to be done.

  “I understand,” Celia said. “But if you wanted, you could have one of our stables in this yard we’re currently at when we move our horses to Olympia. I checked with the stable manager – you could bring Secret here and have a couple of days enjoying the show before you moved him to his Olympia stable.” She paused. “There’s some other riders here doing the same. I think they are about your age. No idea who they are but I think they might be showjumpers. It’s in Hyde Park, amazing hacking.”

  Alice imagined her and Secret in London. It sounded pretty tempting – maybe it wouldn’t hurt just to mention it to her mum? Even if she somehow managed just one day, it would still be amazing.

  “Well, think about it,” Celia said, sensing her thoughts. “We’d all love to see you. Especially Finn!” And Alice blushed happily.

  “Well, I actually think it’s a wonderful idea.”

  Josephine caught Alice totally by surprise later as they cleared up after dinner. Alice had just mentioned her conversation with Celia, not expecting her mum to say she could go!

  “Secret is happy wherever he goes,” Alice’s mum continued. “And I think you really deserve it. You’ve been a huge help these past few weeks while Fergus has been away, and I know it hasn’t been easy juggling your school work with your jump training.” She smiled at Alice as she filled the kettle. “Let me make a couple of phone calls. You remember my godmother Emily, my old instructor? She lives just round the corner from those stables. In fact, I’m sure she used to teach there. She’s always said we would be welcome to go and stay.�
��

  And as her mum chattered away to Emily on the phone, leaving Alice in no doubt that her mum’s godmother had agreed, the week she’d been looking forward to ever since that hot August day moved even closer!

  True to her word, Alice’s mum had it sorted by the following morning. Alice could stay with Emily, who lived a five-minute walk from the stables at Hyde Park. And the stable manager, who it turned out knew Josephine from years ago, was happy for Secret to occupy one of the stables vacated by the Rebel Riders. Olympia was due to start the next day and the Rebel Riders were in the process of moving their team ponies and Horatio over to the Olympia stables for the week so that they could perform their daily show. Alice had looked up the yard in Hyde Park on the Internet, admiring the enormous stables and sand track around the famous park.

  “And you’ll never guess what,” Alice’s mum had smiled as she finished the final phone call. “That young showjumper who was in Pony mag recently, the sponsored one, is at the same yard! Leah Edwards?”

  “Yes, that’s right!” Alice said, feeling a jolt of excitement. She imagined her and Leah hacking together through the park … making friends. She couldn’t wait! “Thanks so much, Mum,” she added. “I really appreciate it.”

  “It’s fine.” Alice’s mum gave her a hug. “As I said yesterday, you’ve worked so hard. And these sorts of opportunities don’t come along very often!” Then she grinned. “We’d better get packing!”

  Josephine’s lorry pulled away from Park Farm the very next afternoon, at the same time as Finn and the Rebel Riders were making their debut in the big arena prior to the evening Grand Prix dressage. Alice had texted Finn to wish him luck but not heard anything back, figuring he was probably busy with the preparations.

  Alice had hurriedly packed a suitcase and Secret’s trunk and all the bits she needed for the big class. Secret had practically skipped up the ramp, nudging Alice as she tied him up and giving her the expression that never failed to bring a lump to her throat, his big brown eyes soft and trusting as he seemed to ask her where are we heading this time?

  “On another big adventure, boy!” She hugged him in reply.

  It wasn’t long before the brown landscape of ploughed fields and bare hedges gave way to towns and main roads, and then the motorway stretched ahead, leading them to London. Alice and her mum chatted away in the cab, discussing Alice’s feelings about the upcoming class, working out strategies for keeping Secret as calm and focused as possible.

  It seemed no time at all before the big horse lorry was crawling through stop–start traffic as they reached central London, standing out against an endless sea of black cabs, double-decker buses, and the blur of police and ambulance lights. Craning her neck, Alice stared out of the window as her mum pointed out Hyde Park. The enormous expanse of land stretched out, punctuated by huge trees and ringed by a wide path where joggers wearing earphones ran alongside dog walkers and children on bikes. And there were some horses! Walking calmly along the sand track that lay parallel to the path were a big grey and an enormous dark bay, their riders in the fluorescent uniform of the mounted police. Alice admired the way they walked quietly past a yapping dog and several joggers. She wondered how Secret was going to react to it all!

  “Oh, look, Emily’s come to meet us!” Alice’s mum smiled as she indicated down a side street and eased the lorry through some big gates into the smartest-looking yard Alice had seen. A wiry lady in her sixties, wearing breeches and a smart duffel jacket, gave them a wave. Alice hadn’t seen her mum’s godmother for a few years, but she hadn’t changed and always looked as though she was just about to hack out with the queen. She was kind too, even lending Finn and Sasha a side saddle when theirs had been destroyed in the fire at Rookham Manor.

  “Hi, Emily.” Josephine hugged her godmother. “Thanks so much for this.”

  Alice gave Emily a hug, feeling a little shy and suddenly aware her mum was going to leave her soon and she’d be on her own, but Emily’s smile was warm and welcoming.

  “Oh, it’s lovely to have you here!” Emily laughed. “But I’m afraid I’m not going to be much of a host as I’ve a busy few days. I’ll leave you with a key and a well-stocked fridge, but your mum tells me you’ll either be here at the yard or at Olympia, is that right?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Alice said, feeling relieved. As nice as Emily was, she didn’t want to be sitting in her house for hours making polite conversation. Horsey and no-nonsense, Emily seemed the type who would largely leave her to it, and that suited Alice just fine!

  Alice felt extra proud as she led Secret down the ramp. He looked amazing. His green rug perfectly set off the red of his coat, and his silken mane lifted in the cold breeze as he surveyed his new surroundings. Bright eyed, he followed Alice eagerly into the yard.

  The yard manager, a woman about Alice’s mum’s age, strode forward, warmly greeting them and quickly reminiscing with Josephine about their old showjumping days. Then she turned to Alice with a smile.

  “I’m Clare,” she said in a friendly voice. “It’s fantastic you’re following in your mum’s showjumping footsteps!”

  Alice glanced briefly at her mum, who had a wistful look on her face, and just for a second Alice wondered if it brought back some painful memories. Josephine had stopped riding altogether after her star pony, Blue, was injured and had to retire early.

  “It’s wonderful,” Josephine said. “And I think Alice and Secret are going to go much, much further than I did too!”

  Clare showed Alice to her stable, a brick-built corner stable with the original cobbled floor. It was just like the yard at Rookham Manor, and Alice imagined all the decades of horses that had come and gone before Secret. His hooves made a satisfying clip-clop on the cobbles and an immaculate shavings bed had been made up in preparation. Secret immediately rolled, coating his rug with shavings, before tucking into the sweetest-smelling hay net.

  Alice smiled and then looked up as a girl approached the stable next to hers, leading the most gorgeous skewbald pony whose dark-brown patches shone like conkers. The pony had his head held high, trembling as he gazed all around him, spooking slightly at unknown objects as he let out a startled whinny. The girl leading him placed a hand on his neck as if to reassure him, and the pony relaxed slightly.

  A scarlet saddlecloth emblazoned Hadley Feeds left Alice in no doubt that this had to be Leah Edwards and her sponsored pony, Red Kite B, affectionately known as Kite, according to the article in Pony magazine. Alice waved in greeting. Leah had looked so friendly in the magazine photos. But the girl just removed her hat and shook out her mane of auburn hair, which almost perfectly matched the conker brown of Kite’s skewbald patches, and gave the briefest nod in response.

  “Leah, this is Alice, from the Hilltops branch,” Clare said. “Alice, Leah is from the Clere Forest branch. She’s been down here for a couple of weeks with an instructor.”

  Wow, Alice thought. Leah must be amazing. To have sponsorship and a private instructor was some investment, and despite looking quite highly strung, Kite was even more gorgeous in real life.

  “I’ve not heard of your branch,” she said in a friendly voice.

  Leah fixed her with a cold stare. “Well, no,” she replied. “You probably haven’t because it’s a pony club centre, part of a riding school. Not like Hilltops.”

  Alice realised her mistake. Leah must think she was part of some really snobby, cliquey pony crowd.

  “Oh no, it’s not that,” she said hurriedly. “I’m totally new to pony club. I actually just joined at the start of the year. I don’t know any of the branches, really. I’m still working it all out.”

  “Oh,” Leah said, looking at Secret, who was hanging his head over the stable door with interest, snow-white shavings tangled in his red forelock. “You’ve climbed up the ranks quickly then.” And with that Leah turned back to her pony.

  Unsure if this was a compliment or not, and feeling slightly intimidated, Alice just gave a small smile and nodde
d. Perhaps they weren’t going to be friends after all.

  Once Secret was settled, Josephine helped Alice carry her bags to Emily’s beautiful white house on the corner of Hyde Park. And then it was time to say goodbye. Alice gave her mum a huge hug, wishing she could stay with her, but knowing Josephine had to get back to the ponies at home. As her mum eased the lorry out of the gates of the yard, waving goodbye, Alice realised with a jolt that the next time she would see her, she’d be loading Secret up to take him across London to his Olympia stable!

  By the evening, Alice was starting to get her bearings. Emily had sat down with her and gone through the journey to Olympia several times, and Alice had written down the bus and tube routes. She’d been back and forth to check on Secret. The light had already been fading by the time they’d arrived so she’d not been able to ride, but Alice had made sure she’d given the little gelding a really good groom, enjoying the shine the brushes brought to his red coat.

  Emily had made her cheese on toast for dinner and then Alice had gone back to the yard for a final evening visit before the big gates were locked. The area Emily lived in was very pretty, but it was slightly disconcerting navigating the short walk down the pavement towards the yard. It seemed as though the traffic never stopped, the orange glow of headlights almost blinding Alice as she pulled her scarf up around her nose. The yard was a little sanctuary among the hustle and bustle of the city. The park was still busy, street lights illuminating the wide path as joggers continued to run up and down, and couples strolled by arm in arm with tiny dogs on leads.