Dream Pony Read online

  Breathless and red-faced, Jess pedalled up the drive. A rather grand, gabled house stood a little way back from the road and beside it a wide, gravel drive swept through the gates and into the stable yard. Nervously Jess stopped her bike and looked around her. She hovered uncertainly at the end of the drive. She had arrived just as a hack was about to leave. Swinging confidently into the saddles of their beautifully turned out mounts, girls clad in immaculate riding clothes called cheerfully to one another. Jess’s heart beat faster as she watched them prepare to set off.

  “Dido’s really lively today. I’ll keep her well back,” cried a girl on a delicate roan.

  “Apollo’s raring to go. I vote for lots of galloping!” Jess looked up with interest as the blonde-haired girl from the cliff tops called out from the saddle of her palomino pony.

  “You always vote for lots of galloping, Camilla!” someone else cried. “Just keep him away from Opal.”

  As the ride swept past her and smartly out of the yard, Jess was horribly aware of her own dishevelled appearance. Quickly she turned her gaze to the yard.

  The stable yard was lined by twelve loose boxes. Beams of bright sunlight bounced blindingly off the gleaming white walls and an Arab pony hung its head from a door and gazed at Jess. Two smart looking horse boxes in racing green were parked to the left of the stable yard, and behind them, Jess could just make out the red tiled roof of a large indoor school.

  “Can I help you?” A friendly-looking girl, a few years older than Jess herself, strode towards her. Jess liked this girl’s warm smile and welcoming manner immediately and at once forgot about looking smart.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” The girl smiled as she saw Jess admiring the yard. “I’m Amy Watkins, the head stable girl. Did you want to know about riding lessons?”

  “Oh no. That is–” Jess paused for a second and then rushed on. “My name’s Jess Adams. I’ve won a pony and I was asked to come and look around the stables, only I don’t know if–”

  But before Jess had had a chance to tell the girl that she wasn’t sure if she would be keeping the pony here, the girl had started speaking. “So you’re the lucky girl who’s won,” she smiled. “You must be so excited – it’s every girl’s dream to win a pony – at least it was mine. Well, feel free to look around. Your pony’s arriving next week isn’t she? She’s going to be stabled in the loose box in the far corner.”

  Jess was stuck for words. Suddenly it all seemed so real. Amy knew about her pony and there was a stable already picked out for her! Jess felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine.

  “Did you say ‘she’?” she quizzed Amy eagerly. “Can you tell me more about my pony? Do you know what colour she is? Do you know what her name is?”

  “Whoa, slow down,” Amy laughed. “I’m sorry Jess, I don’t know any more. They don’t tell me much around here. Look, come into the office for a moment. There might be some details about your pony lying about.”

  She led Jess into a smart carpeted room. Charts and timetables hung from the walls, red filing cabinets lined the walls and several high-backed chairs were grouped around a big desk. Its tidyness was a far cry from Sandy Lane’s muddled little tack room which doubled as an office. Amy indicated a chair and told Jess to sit down. Then she rummaged around in drawers and glanced through the papers on the walls. After a few minutes she shook her head. “Nothing here,” she said.

  Jess gave a little shrug.

  “Poor you,” Amy said, screwing up her nose in sympathy. “You must be dying to meet your pony. I’m afraid Jasper Carlisle, Rychester’s owner, isn’t around at the moment. He’d know more about it.”

  At that moment the phone on the desk rang. Amy answered brightly and then her voice changed. “Hello, Barry. Can you hang on a minute?” she said. She gave Jess a glance. “Look, I have to take this call,” she said quickly. “Why don’t you go and check out that loose box while you’re here? See if it’s to your liking.” Amy gave a hurried wave and Jess slipped out of the office.

  As Jess walked over to the corner box, she looked around her again. The sun shone brightly on the whitewashed walls, the boxes lining the yard looked smart and bright. Amy seemed really nice and friendly. Perhaps Rychester wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. Jess felt her stomach turn somersaults of excitement as she made her way to the loose box Amy had indicated.

  She pulled back the well-oiled bolt on the stable door and stepped inside. The box was large and airy with white-washed walls and fresh straw scattered over the flagstone floor. A large, clean water trough was well-placed in one corner and opposite the door hung a net of good quality hay. Jess pulled the bottom door closed and leaned over it. As the sweet scent of hay rose up to meet her, a horse whinnied in the distance. Jess gazed out across the smart stable yard and suddenly Sandy Lane was forgotten. She would keep her pony here. She liked it. Even more than that, she was sure her pony would like it here too.

  “Anyway, it had all been sorted out already…they’ve got a box for my pony and they’re expecting us and everything. Of course it’s not as nice as Sandy Lane, but there wasn’t a lot I could do about it.” Jess gabbled on, staring resolutely down at Nick’s black riding boots. Hastily she pushed back the hair from her face and absent-mindedly fiddled with Minstrel’s stirrup leather. “So I guess it would probably be better to stick with Rychester…as it’s all organized,” she finished lamely. She looked up now and caught Nick’s eye for the first time.

  “It’s all right, Jess, you don’t need to explain,” Nick smiled kindly. “It’s a good job you came back to tell me straight away – I’d have looked a bit silly if I’d called the competition organizers and arranged something and you had changed your mind. Of course we’ll miss seeing you about Sandy Lane.”

  “Oh, but I’ll be back all the time,” Jess cried quickly. “I’ll be bringing my pony to ride here, that’s for sure.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Nick smiled. “I hope Minstrel doesn’t get too jealous.” He gave the little skewbald’s mane a ruffle and turned to walk back to the cottage.

  When he was out of sight, Jess heaved a sigh and rested her head on Minstrel’s neck. The pony shifted his weight and carried on slurping noisily from the water trough.

  The sunshine, which had lasted all day, lit up this Sunday evening and left it feeling unseasonably warm. But Jess still shivered inside her jacket as she thought of her visit to Rychester. She had been so sure it was the perfect place for her pony, and yet now she did feel a little pang of guilt that she hadn’t waited until Monday for Nick to phone the competition organizers. Still, it wasn’t as if she was leaving Sandy Lane for good. She wouldn’t have to hang out with the Rychester riders. All this she argued to herself, and to Rosie, the next day at school.

  “But the way those girls rode those poor ponies on the clifftops that day,” Rosie had groaned. “How could you want to get involved with them, Jess?”

  “I’m sure they’re not all like that, Rosie,” Jess said, trying to convince herself as much as reassure her friend. “Amy, the stable girl, is really nice and friendly.”

  “Well if you think Rychester is OK, then I’m sure it must be,” Rosie sighed. “The main thing is that your pony’s happy there.”

  Jess smiled at her friend. “It’s not as if I’m leaving Sandy Lane for good anyway,” she said. “I’m still going to come and ride with you and Pepper.”

  “Oh I doubt we’ll be seeing you at all Jess,” Rosie grinned. “Once you get sucked into smart Rychester, you’ll soon forget about your old mates!”

  Rosie ducked just in time to avoid Jess’s flying exercise book.

  6

  DREAM PONY

  Jess could hardly believe it – her pony was being delivered today!

  “The Daily Advertiser will be sending a photographer along to take a picture of you and the pony for the newspaper,” the lady from Browne’s Department Store had said on the phone. “You need to be at Rychester for eleven.”

  And no
w it was 10 o’clock, and Jess hopped impatiently from one foot to the other as she waited for her mum to finish the ironing.

  “Come on Mum!” she cried.

  “Calm down, Jess,” her mother laughed. “There’s a whole hour to go yet.”

  “But by the time you’ve started the car and we’ve driven there and parked and…and…oh hurry up Mum, we can’t be late!”

  “All right, I’m coming,” her mother said at last, hanging up the last shirt.

  Jess told herself not to get her hopes up about her pony on the car journey to Rychester Stables.

  “It’ll probably be an old nag,” she said to herself. “It won’t be beautiful. Don’t dare to dream it will be beautiful – not now, when it’s so close.”

  As the car pulled into the driveway of Rychester stables, Jess’s stomach lurched with nervous anticipation and her heartbeat thudded loudly in her chest.

  “I’ll go and see if I can find someone,” her mother said as they got out of the car. “Coming, Jess?”

  “No, I think I’ll just stay here,” Jess squeaked as she looked anxiously back down the drive. “I don’t want to miss the horse box.”

  “All right,” her mother smiled. “Now, it’s Jasper Carlisle I’m looking for, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, or Amy Watkins,” Jess said.

  Her mother walked towards the office. Jess stood in the stable yard, wishing she’d asked Rosie to come with her. But Rosie was riding at Sandy Lane this afternoon. They all would be. Alex, Kate, Charlie, Tom and Izzy would all be going out on the 11 o’clock hack. Nick would probably be taking it. On any normal Saturday Jess would have been there too. But then, this wasn’t any normal Saturday.

  “Hi, I’m Camilla. Do you need any help?” a strident voice rang in Jess’s ears.

  Jess looked up and found herself face to face with the blonde-haired girl she’d seen on the palomino pony that day on the cliff tops. She looked as self assured as she had then, but she didn’t give any sign of having recognized Jess. She was closely followed by a gaggle of three girls.

  “I’m waiting for my pony, actually,” Jess replied quickly. “I’m going to stable it here.”

  “Oh another pony. Brilliant. What’s it like?” Camilla asked quickly. “Is it fast? How long have you had it?”

  “Um…” Jess paused. She looked hopelessly at Camilla’s beautifully polished riding kit, her perfect hair, her prettily arrogant face and took a deep breath.

  “I don’t know yet. You see I won it in a competition.”

  “Oh, so you’re the competition winner,” Camilla said, laughing. “Is it your first pony?”

  “Well yes,” Jess admitted.

  “Really?” Camilla crowed and turned to her friends. “Did you hear that everyone? This girl’s won our competition pony.”

  Jess squirmed in her shoes and reddened.

  “Well, if you need any advice on riding, you’re more than welcome to come to me,” Camilla offered now. “I’ve had my own pony for ages. He’s called Apollo.”

  “Um, well…” Jess didn’t quite know what to say. The last person in the world she felt like going to for any advice was this girl. Still, if she was going to be spending a lot of time here, she ought to try and make friends.

  Jess gritted her teeth and swallowed hard. “Thanks,” she said as graciously as she could bear.

  But, before Jess could say any more, her mother had hurried across the yard and was talking to her. “I’ve had a chat to Amy,” she said. “And I met a few other girls. They all seem very nice. Oh–” She caught sight of Camilla. “Have you made a new friend already, Jess? Hello, I’m Jess’s mum.”

  Camilla smiled sweetly. “Pleased to meet you,” she said rather grandly. “Well, if there’s anything Jess needs to know about Rychester, she can always ask me. I can’t wait to see her pony.”

  “Well that’s very kind of you,” Jess’s mum said.

  “OK Jess? Feeling excited?” Amy called as she joined Jess and her mother in the stable yard.

  “Hello Amy,” Jess smiled. “I’m kind of nervous I suppose–” She stopped abruptly as the roar of a motor cut through the cold morning air and a horse box pulled into Rychester’s drive. At last!

  The driver jumped down from the cab.

  “One pony care of Browne’s?” he said. But Jess didn’t say anything, for already the box driver was sliding back the bolts and lowering the ramp. Jess walked around to the back of the box, hardly daring to breathe. Everyone clamoured forward to get a glimpse of the pony. What would it be like? Before Jess even had a chance to look into the box, a red car had crunched into the yard.

  “Which one’s Jess then?” a woman asked, jumping out.

  “I am,” Jess said, suddenly shy.

  “Jess, I’m Penny Webster from the Daily Advertiser and this is our photographer, Bob,” she said, indicating a man by her side. “Is this your mother? Hello Mrs. Adams…nice to meet you.”

  But now everyone had turned back to the box. Before she could say any more, Amy’s voice interrupted her. “Stand back you lot,” she said. “The pony’s coming down the ramp.”

  For a moment, Jess didn’t know what to do. She closed her eyes tightly and wished and wished. “Please let it be all right,” she said to herself.

  She heard the driver talking. “Whoa there little pony,” he said, and then she opened her eyes and saw him grab a lead rein. Walking out of the box he pulled gently.

  “Come on, easy does it,” he muttered and Jess gave a gasp.

  There at last was her pony, stepping lightly from the box. She was small, about 13 hands. A beautiful grey mare. Her eyes were large and dark and her step was light and dainty. She sniffed the air with quivering nostrils and looked around the yard inquisitively. She seemed to take everything in. Then she stood stock still at the bottom of the ramp and gave a gentle whinny. Immediately, Jess approached her. She held out her hand and placed it firmly on the pony’s velvety nose. “Hello,” she said. “Hello there, pony.”

  The pony sniffed cautiously at Jess and nuzzled into her, pushing softly into her shoulder and nibbling gently at her jacket.

  “Like her?” Penny Webster smiled across at Jess.

  “Yes, oh yes,” Jess breathed.

  “Hmm, not bad.” Camilla’s voice rang loud and clear. “Not a bad little pony at all. I bet she’s an excellent jumper too. I’ll have a closer look at her later. I’m off on a hack now. I presume our ponies are tacked up, Amy?”

  And then she left, followed closely by her gaggle of friends.

  “She’s a brilliant pony, Jess,” Amy said brightly, as if to make up for the other girls’ abrupt departure. “We’ll get her settled down in her new home in no time.”

  “She does look lovely,” Jess’s mother agreed, smiling at the pony. “And what are you going to call her, Jess?”

  “I expect she’s already got a name,” Amy said, leafing through the pony’s documents that the driver had handed to her. “I’m sure you could change it if you wanted to though. Ah, here we go, it’s Skylark.”

  “Skylark,” Jess said softly and the pony tossed her head. “It’s perfect.”

  “Well here’s to Skylark and Jess,” Penny cried, breaking the spell. “Now, we need some photos. Jasper Carlisle really ought to be here – after all, it is his stables and his cosmetics company is the competition sponsor.”

  Jasper Carlisle owned Vrai Vert Cosmetics as well as Rychester? It was the first Jess had heard of it. Suddenly everything made sense – why she couldn’t keep the pony at Sandy Lane, why the competition organizers had been so adamant she had to keep the pony at Rychester. But now Amy was talking again.

  “I really don’t know where Jasper’s got to.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  “Well, we’ll take a couple of photos of Jess and the pony first anyway,” Penny decided.

  Jess nestled in close to her new pony and beamed as Bob began to snap away. “That’s great,” he said. “You look very happy Jess.”

/>   “I am happy,” Jess replied. “Happier than I’ve ever been before.”

  “How about a shot with Mum too?” Penny suggested.

  Jess’s mother came to stand next to Jess and the new pony. She lifted a tentative hand to Skylark’s neck and smiled at her daughter. Bob raised his camera for the picture.

  At that moment, a smart green Range Rover came roaring up the drive. Skylark started, but Jess kept a steadying hand on the lead rein. Everyone turned to stare as the car door swung open and a man in a suit climbed out. He was tall and his blond hair was slicked neatly back. Stretching out his hand, he strode towards them.

  “Hi there everyone,” he cried. “Apologies for being late. My meeting over-ran. No rest for the wicked, eh? Even on a Saturday. I hope I haven’t missed all the excitement. Now, where’s our lucky winner?”

  Amy beckoned Jess towards her and put her hand on her shoulder. “Jess,” she said, “I’d like you to meet Jasper Carlisle, owner of Rychester Stables and boss of Vrai Vert Cosmetics, sponsors of the competition. Jasper, this is Jess Adams, lucky owner of the new pony.”

  Jasper turned to Jess and beamed. “Excellent,” he said. “I hope the pony is to your liking.” And then, before Jess had time to reply, Jasper had turned to Penny again. “Are we going to get some photos here? Excellent. If you turn this way, you’ll get the Rychester sign in the background you know.”

  He turned to smile at Jess again. “She’s a real dream, your pony. Welcome to Rychester Jess. The finest stables in the county!”