The Palomino Pony Comes Home (2 page)

C
HAPTER
T
HREE

“G
eorgia!” came her mum’s voice the next morning. “Are you ready for school?”

Groaning, Georgia opened one eye and reached out to grab her alarm clock. What time was it? Eight o’clock! There wasn’t going to be any time for revision. At this rate, she was going to be late for school!

Gently, Pip licked her cheek as Georgia rolled
over, trying to focus on the day ahead. She only had five minutes to get dressed and grab some breakfast.

Georgia pulled on her navy school uniform, brushed her teeth and tied her hair back before rushing down the stairs.

A smell of sizzling bacon filled the air. Her mum was in the kitchen when Georgia pushed open the door. She looked tired and drawn, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

“You didn’t work through the night, did you, Mum?”

“Morning, sweetheart.” Georgia’s mother grinned, not answering the question, which definitely meant that she had. “All set?”

“As set as I’ll ever be,” said Georgia, stroking Ralphy, their large tabby cat, and then grabbing a piece of toast. She took a slug of her mum’s tea and kissed her on the cheek. “Bye, Mum.”

“Take another piece of toast at least!” Lucy Black said. “You need to keep your strength up—”

But Georgia was out of the door. Quickly she ran down the little lane that led to the main road, not stopping until she reached the end. The school bus was already rattling round the corner, with Georgia’s best friend, Emma, inside.

“Over here, G.” She grinned as Georgia made her way down the aisle. The two of them had been friends since their first day at primary, although they couldn’t be more different if they tried – Emma was well-dressed with neat brown hair whereas Georgia was scruffy and her long blonde hair hung down her back in a tangle most of the time.

“I’m so nervous, G,” Emma said once Georgia had sat down, her smooth forehead creasing with worry.

“You’ll be just fine, Em,” said Georgia, giving
her friend a little hug. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

As the bus rattled along its route, Georgia starting madly flicking through pages of notes, desperate to cram in some last-minute facts before they arrived at school.

When the bus came to a standstill, Georgia and Emma jumped down and walked up the steps of a red-bricked, modern building. Pupils were jostling for space in the corridors and nervous chatter filled the air.

“See you later, Em,” Georgia called over her shoulder as they filed into the exam hall. Quickly, she found her place and sat down. Twiddling her pen anxiously, she stared at her bitten fingernails and then glanced across at Emma.

“Good luck,” she whispered before the teacher in charge told them to turn their papers over.

The exam was a disaster. Georgia knew that the minute she saw the questions. As she came out of the room to excited chatter, Georgia felt sick. How had she thought she would be all right? And the exams were only going to get worse with every day that passed.

It was true. As Wednesday became Thursday, and Thursday spilled into Friday, the exams all started to blur for Georgia. She was just relieved when finally they were over. On Friday afternoon, as they emerged from the school building into bright sunshine, relief swept over her.

“Phew! Thank goodness that’s over!” Georgia turned to Emma with one thought and one thought only – she had to see the ponies! She hadn’t been up to the stables all week and it had nearly killed her!

“Come with me to Redgrove, Em,” Georgia begged.

Emma rolled her eyes. “I don’t know … I want to get home and put together an outfit for the midsummer dance.”

“The midsummer dance!” cried Georgia. “But that’s ages away. Not till way into the holidays. Can’t you think about anything else?”

“It’s better than thinking about horses all the time!” Emma teased.

“I don’t know if it is,” Georgia replied truthfully. “Look, if I come shopping with you on Sunday, will you come up to the yard with me now?”

Emma pretended to look thoughtful for a moment. Then she gave her friend a massive grin. “Done,” she said.

The two girls laughed as they ran for the bus.

“Redgrove – here we come!” cried Georgia.

C
HAPTER
F
OUR

T
he yard was quiet that afternoon so it didn’t take Georgia and Emma long to race through the jobs that hadn’t been done all week. It had been lovely to see the horses, but Georgia was exhausted by the time she got home – and grateful when, finally, she could get into bed. It had been a tiring week.

When Georgia woke the next day, the first thing
that popped into her head was the exams. And then she remembered. They were over! All done! Not only that, but it was Saturday and what with the sun peeking through the curtains, it looked like it would be the perfect day for riding!

Georgia got out of bed and flung back the curtains before throwing on pink shorts and a stripy T-shirt. Next, she packed her navy jodhpurs, brown jodhpur boots and half chaps, and finally put her riding hat in at the top before zipping up her bulging rucksack.

Her mum wasn’t awake yet so she tiptoed quietly around downstairs, getting herself breakfast. “Morning, Pip!” she whispered, patting the little spaniel as she stepped out into the sunshine after scribbling her mum a note.

Quickly, she cycled the short journey down the bumpy lane, along the main road and over to the farm.

Melanie was already busy watering her hanging baskets when Georgia propped up her bike by the fence. She waved at her.

“You’re here bright and early,” she laughed. “Would you mind bringing Wilson in? I was just about to but wanted to get my plants watered before it gets too hot. Sophie’s got a lesson over at Janey Meadon’s at nine.”

“Sure,” said Georgia. She liked Sophie’s riding instructor. Janey was putting together a showjumping team for the Round Barrow Pony Club and Sophie was one of the four riders who’d been selected. Georgia loved going along to the team practices, hoping she might pick up any snippet of advice. “So where’s Sophie?” she asked.

“Still in bed.” Melanie rolled her eyes and turned the hose off. “Some party she went to last night … didn’t get in till twelve.”

“Sounds like fun!” Georgia giggled, fetching
Wilson’s smart leather head collar and lead rope, though, in all truthfulness, she couldn’t think of anything worse. She’d much rather be up early with the horses than out late. She grinned at Melanie and then headed off to the fields to collect the bay.

Once she’d brought Wilson back to the yard, leaving Callie quietly grazing in the fields, Georgia set to work. He was really dusty from rolling on the dry earth, so she brushed him vigorously with the body brush before damping down his shiny black mane with water. Once he was shining all over and she had picked out his hooves and painted them with hoof oil, she stood back to admire her handiwork. “There you go, boy,” she murmured contentedly. “All done.”

Wilson stood quietly, his eyes half closed, his bottom lip drooping with contentment.

Georgia was just about to put on his bandages
for the short ride in the lorry when Sophie appeared. “Hi,” she said unenthusiastically.

She looked tired, with last night’s mascara still round her eyes and her hair in a messy bun on top of her head. Her friend, Tory, was with her and she was staring at Georgia with disdain.

Georgia frowned. She didn’t like Tory. Sophie and Tory had been friends for years, but Georgia had no idea why – she thought Tory was stuck up and rude. The only good thing about her was her pony, Nightingale!

“Oh, look, Sophie, your little groom is here,” Tory said unkindly.

Georgia sighed inwardly.
Here we go again!

“Tory…” Sophie giggled nervously, looking embarrassed, but that didn’t seem to stop the other girl.

“We could have stayed inside a bit longer,” Tory went on. “Georgia’s in her element out here
doing the dirty work.”

“Don’t be so mean, Tor,” Sophie said, eventually, flushing.

Georgia also went red and turned away. She was well aware that she didn’t fit in with Sophie’s posh school friends, but was there really any need to be so rude?

Tory smirked. “We should get going, Sophie,” she said. “Mum’s going to meet us at Janey’s with Nightingale. Harry’s going to be there too.” She gave Sophie a knowing little smile and raised an eyebrow.

“Harry?” said Sophie. “Harry Blake?”

“Is there any other Harry?” said Tory, at which point Sophie blushed and giggled.

Honestly! Georgia rolled her eyes. Those two were boy crazy. Georgia couldn’t see what all the fuss was about Harry Blake. In fact, she thought he was pretty boring. Still, he did have a lovely
horse – a big skewbald gelding called Hector.

“So what do you think Harry will say when…”

The two older girls started gossiping and Georgia busied herself with loading Wilson into the lorry. Once he was secure, she went to look for Melanie.

“Wilson’s all done,” she said, popping her head round the kitchen door.

“Thanks, Georgia.” Melanie gave her a warm smile. “Shall we get going then?”

“Sure.” Georgia nodded gratefully, happy to be included on the outing. “I’m ready.”

Janey Meadon was already waiting for them at her stables when the horse lorry drew up into the yard. Harry was there too, along with another girl whom Georgia recognised as Lottie Fisher. They were the other two members of the Round Barrow showjumping team.

Once they were all mounted and their practice was underway, Georgia watched eagerly as the students trotted and cantered effortlessly around the arena, before neatly jumping the coloured poles and grids that Janey had put up.

“That’s it, try and ease him into the double, Sophie,” Janey was calling. “In and out.”

Georgia was in her element. She loved watching Wilson jump, his kind honest face lighting up at the sight of the fences as he flew over them with ease, never refusing or running out.

“One day I hope I’ll be able to do that,” she murmured to herself.

When the session came to an end, Janey gestured across to the riders. “Meet me in the tack room. Team talk,” she told them.

Georgia went forward to take Wilson’s reins from Sophie as she dismounted and began walking him around to cool him off. Wilson barely looked tired
but still she concentrated on making sure he was cooled properly before sponging him off and then throwing on his sweat rug. Then she tied him up securely outside the lorry.

The team talk had obviously been brief, as Sophie and Tory were hanging round outside the tack room, chatting with Harry, who was leaning against his horsebox and trying to look all laid back and mature.

Georgia laughed to herself and patted Wilson. “I’d much rather have a pony over a stupid boyfriend any day,” she told the horse, who paused from tearing at his hay net to rub his head on her T-shirt, as if in agreement. She felt a bit disappointed at not having had the chance to ride all day, but consoled herself with the thought of the summer holidays just around the corner – and that first week when she’d have the horses all to herself. She couldn’t wait. Just one more week of
school to get through and that would be it. The whole of the summer holidays lay ahead of her with weeks and weeks of hanging out with ponies to look forward to!