The Palomino Pony Wins Through (5 page)

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here wasn’t time to think any more about what the girl had said. The judge was just turning back to the line-up, and beckoning Georgia forward to begin her show.

Shaken, Georgia nudged Lachlan forwards to stand in front of the judge. Her legs were trembling slightly; she hated any sort of confrontation. Lachlan had clearly picked up on the tension
and was fidgeting slightly as the judge examined him.

Georgia moved him forwards into a trot. Gritting her teeth, she thought about Melanie and Josephine. She had to do this – they were counting on her. The girl’s eyes were burning holes in her back, but Georgia tried to ignore this and nudged the Highland into a canter. He was a seasoned pro, and knew his show inside out. Georgia relaxed slightly as he struck off into a powerful canter and extended down the long side.

“That’s it, my beauty.” She grinned in spite of herself.

There was a long wait while the rest of the class did their shows and Georgia sat quietly, eyes forward, trying to ignore the girl on the grey, who was clearly doing her best to intimidate her.

The judge took a long time to reach his verdict. Finally, after much wandering up and down the
line, stopping to look at the ponies again, Georgia’s number was called forwards. She had done it, she had qualified Lachlan!

Feeling quietly confident as she walked forward, she heard a cheer from the side of the arena. Shelley, Fergus, Dan and Josephine were clapping wildly. Dan was holding on to Lily, whose eyes were searching her out. As good as it felt to have won the class, it didn’t compare to riding her own pony, and Georgia couldn’t wait for the next class. She rode out of the arena on a loose rein, but her happiness soon evaporated as the dark-haired girl brushed past her.

“Remember what I said.” Her voice was low and menacing. “They may have got you in to replace me, but you have no idea what you’re involved with.”

Ah
. Suddenly Georgia twigged. So this must be Lucy, the girl who had ridden for the Smalleys
before her – the girl who had left the note on the whiteboard.

Georgia saw Josephine pale as she strode over to her.

“I don’t think this is the time or the place, do you, Lucy?” Josephine said in a wavering voice.

Lucy laughed – a hollow, bitter sound. The atmosphere was tense, even with the hustle and bustle of the showground all around them. Then Lucy said something under her breath before wheeling her dapple-grey pony round and cantering back to the horseboxes, leaving Josephine looking shaken.

Enough
, thought Georgia, dismounting Lachlan. The girl had basically threatened her in the ring, and whatever her problem was it was obviously with the Smalley yard, and not with her. Feeling brave, she took a deep breath.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “I think I have
a right to know!”

Shelley had come up behind them and looked startled as she busied herself with Lachlan’s bridle.

Josephine was silent for a minute. “Lucy used to be my rider, alongside Alice,” she explained. She gave Georgia a pleading look. “I promise I’ll tell you about it later. Just please don’t let it get to you. Concentrate on your riding.”

There wasn’t time to say anything more. As Georgia swung her leg over Lily and settled into the saddle, the stewards started to call the riders forward for the Welsh pony class. She would have to hurry if she was going to make it in time.

Lily was as calm as ever as she trotted into the ring. Looking around, Georgia winced as she noticed a couple of the ponies with their heads pulled in, fighting against the bits. They reminded her of the girl who used to own Lily, and she shuddered to
think about the little palomino being ridden like that. Lily was still petrified of a whip, so Georgia didn’t carry one. She remembered what Melanie had taught her. She shouldn’t need to force Lily into an outline at all. All she had to do was sit quietly and Lily would go forwards naturally, her lovely pace unhampered.

Taking care not to clench her reins, Georgia gave Lily her head and nudged her into a canter. “Easy, girl,” she breathed gently.

Phew, right leg strike-off.
Georgia grinned in relief.

Just like Melanie had shown her, Lily’s impulsion meant she cantered forwards in a perfect outline, girl and rider in complete harmony. Melanie had taught Georgia well and she rode with light hands, never interfering with the pony beneath her.

Unlike Lachlan’s class, Lily’s class was for novice ponies that hadn’t been in the show ring much –
meant to give them experience. Georgia mentally crossed her fingers as she brought Lily back down to walk, and lined her up with the rest of the class. Some of the individual shows were amazing, the riders obviously professional – Georgia could tell just by their manners and fitted tweed jackets. Then it was Georgia’s turn.

Giving Lily a little scratch on her withers, she took a deep breath.
Walk away from the judge, trot back, canter a figure of eight…
Melanie’s words swam round and round in her head.

Lily felt slightly hesitant at first, a little overwhelmed at being on show, but her confidence soon picked up and she was flying around the corners, her champagne tail streaming out behind her.

“That’s it, my lovely!” Georgia breathed appreciatively.

A hush had descended over the arena. The
spectators seemed captivated by Lily.

The judge smiled and tipped his cap at Georgia as she walked back into line, patting the palomino over and over.

“Well done, Lily, well done!” she whispered, and the little mare flicked an ear back in response.

Georgia was so busy praising Lily that she didn’t hear her number being called and Josephine and Shelley’s whoops of delight.

“I think you’ve won.” A curly-haired girl on a chestnut grinned at Georgia.

Suddenly Georgia realised what was happening. She had won the novice class! Her second win of the day! Only this rosette felt a hundred times better than the class she had won on Lachlan because Lily was hers and getting her to this stage was down to her own hard work.

Thanking the judge and pinning the rosette to Lily’s bridle, she grinned in delight. As she led a
lap of honour around the ring, she caught sight of Dan clapping wildly. It was the best feeling in the world to have him there to share her victory on the pony that they had rescued together!

Due to the excitement of the day, it was only as Georgia and Dan bedded down the ponies for the night that she remembered the dark-haired girl Lucy, and her threats.
What had that all been about?
Josephine had been quiet on the way home, even after a successful day with two wins, Porridge’s third and a second in Fergus’s in-hand class. Just then, Georgia heard her phone beep and pulled it out from her jacket pocket. As she read the message, she felt her blood run cold.

“Dan!” she called in a panicked voice, and instantly he was beside her. The message was short, but the words felt like a punch in the stomach.
Trembling, Georgia handed him the phone.

Dan frowned as he read the text.

The words were all in capitals, making it all the more threatening.

Revenge. That awful word. How had the girl got her number? Enough was enough. It was time for Josephine to explain what was going on.

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itting round the kitchen table, Georgia showed Josephine the phone message.

“It’s from Lucy – it has to be.” Josephine held her head in her hands. “I’ll understand if you want to leave, Georgia,” she said, plucking at her sleeve anxiously.

“But why?” Georgia was surprised. “I’m enjoying the riding, and the Redgrove ponies are
happy here. Besides, Melanie’s not back for two more weeks.” Georgia took a deep breath. “All I want is an explanation.”

“I do owe you that.” Josephine sighed. “And I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this.”

She got up and walked across the room, reaching for the photo that Georgia had commented on that first day. Josephine laid it down in front of her. Once again, Georgia marvelled at how alike Honey and Lily were, right down to the small neat head and bright eyes.

“This is Honey,” Josephine said, her voice barely a whisper. “She was Lucy’s pony before she outgrew her. Lucy used to ride for me so it made perfect sense for us to buy Honey for Alice, and then Lucy would still get to see her. Lucy and Alice schooled the ponies together. They were best friends, even though Lucy is older. Alice worshipped her. Anyway, together, Honey and
Alice went to the top – to all of the big shows. They even won at the Horse of the Year Show.” Josephine paused, and looked at the photograph for a long time. “That was the last time Alice rode at a show, before … the accident.” The words seemed to stick in her throat.

Georgia exchanged glances with Dan. Whatever had happened, it was obviously still pretty raw. But Georgia
had
been dragged into it today in the ring, and if she was going to be riding for Josephine for another fortnight, she needed to know what was going on. Josephine clearly seemed to realise this too, and continued in the same quiet voice.

“It was Christmas Eve,” she said. “Alice and Lucy wanted to go jumping. I wouldn’t normally have let them go out by themselves but I was so busy with Christmas stuff – presents to wrap, family over, you know how it is. So the girls hacked to the local cross-country course. The ground was
fine – no frost or ice – and all of the jumps there are on a sand surface. It couldn’t have been safer.” Josephine looked at Georgia, her face unreadable. “The girls had been laughing and joking around – Alice was always a bit of a daredevil, but so in tune with the ponies – and as Honey had been jumping everything so well, she wanted to try the bigger course. I had told them to only jump the lower fences, but apparently Alice thought there would be no harm if they just popped over a couple of the bigger ones. So Lucy agreed. They always stuck together.”

Georgia listened, horrified, her hand clutched over her mouth, as Josephine went on to explain that Honey had fallen at the fence, and had crashed on to her side, crushing Alice.

Josephine’s face was expressionless now. “There was nothing the vet could have done,” she said quietly. “Honey suffered a huge heart attack
and broke her neck when she fell. It took thirty seconds, and that was that, she was gone forever. Alice was trapped underneath. She broke her leg and her face was cut to pieces.”

That would explain the scar on her cheek
, Georgia thought. It was far worse than she had imagined. Poor, poor Honey, and poor Alice and Lucy.

“The next few days were a blur,” Josephine said. “Alice spent Christmas in hospital. Shelley and Fergus kept the yard running while Alice’s dad and I stayed by her bedside. When she got out of hospital, she didn’t want to see the ponies. She cut up every photo of Honey apart from this one and didn’t come out of her room for days on end.” She glanced down at her hands. “Lucy took it particularly badly. She went off the rails. She blames us for Honey’s death, you see. She left in a hurry, and no one’s heard from her for ages. Apparently she’s lost the plot
a bit, skipping school and hanging out with a bad crowd. I’ve written to her, tried to visit her, but she doesn’t want to know. She must be riding for another yard now. Today’s the first time we’ve seen her.”

Later that night, as Georgia and Dan sat next to each other in the back of Georgia’s mum’s car, they were still talking about the shocking story. Georgia felt so awful for everyone involved. What a terrible accident. She couldn’t imagine losing a beloved pony in such a tragic way. In the few days that she had been at the Smalleys’ yard, she could tell that they loved their ponies. It was just so sad that Alice felt unable to ride any more. And what’s more, there didn’t seem to be anything anyone could do about it.

It had been a few days since Georgia had seen Emma and she’d really missed her best friend, so
she asked her mum to drop her there on the way home.

“Night, Dan,” Georgia said as she jumped out of the car.

“Night, Georgia.” Dan gave her a quick hug, and Georgia felt a little buzz of electricity flood through her.

“Just half an hour, Georgia,” said her mum. “It’s been a long day.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

“Gee!” Emma cried as she saw her friend on the front step.

Georgia hugged her best friend, who laughed and plucked a piece of hay out of her hair. “Come on in,” she said, leading her into the sitting room and plonking herself down on the sofa, patting the spot next to her.

“Tell me everything. What’s going on?” asked Emma.

“Well…” Georgia didn’t know where to start! “Some strange stuff, Em,” she said with a frown.

“But Lily’s fine, isn’t she?” said Emma.

Georgia nodded.

“And the gorgeous Secret?”

“He’s fine too,” replied Georgia.

“Well, that’s great!” Emma said. “Isn’t it?”

Georgia realised she must sound distracted. “Yes,” she said, smiling. “It’s just there’s other stuff going on at the Smalleys’.” And she quickly told her friend everything.

Sitting beside Emma, fingers wrapped round a mug of hot chocolate, it felt easy to open up. Em listened patiently – to the threats that Lucy had made at the show, right through to Georgia finding out the tragic story of Honey’s death.

“After riding Alice’s ponies, you can tell how much she must have loved them,” Georgia concluded. “I just wish I could help in some way!”

Emma looked thoughtful. “Georgia,” she said carefully. “I know how much you want things to turn out for the best.” She looked at her best friend. “But really, I don’t know what you can do. In less than two weeks’ time you’ll be back at Redgrove. This is something for Josephine to sort out on her own.”

Georgia looked thoughtful. Perhaps Em was right. But for some reason, Georgia felt sure there must be something she could do to help. She just wasn’t sure what that was yet!