Pony Passion (11 page)

“Thank goodness I spotted her,” said Sandra, giving Bramble’s neck an affectionate pat.

“And Lyndsey…” Mrs McAllister turned to me. “I must congratulate you on your quick thinking. And on your riding skills, young lady!”

Do you know what? I looked at Mrs McAllister… I looked at Trojan. And it was only then that it hit me what I’d done. I’d been sitting in that saddle. I’d got all the way from the stables to Milton Hamlet on a pony, and I’d even had to jump fences to do it!

“You’ve found your confidence again, I suspect?” said Mrs McAllister with a smile.

I grinned back. “Bramble found it for me.”

We both looked at my favourite pony. “We should get you home,” said Mrs McA, stroking Bramble’s nose.

Mrs McAllister went to the Land Rover and got out a headcollar and a lead rope. With Sandra’s help, she fastened the collar in place and attached the lead rope’s clip.

“Now, Lyndsey,” she said, turning to me. “Do you think you might be able to ride Trojan back to the stables, leading Bramble? If you’re at all unsure, I could drive back and fetch Lisa.”

“No, I’ll be fine,” I said firmly.

Riding on a road and leading another pony is not the easiest thing in the world but luckily I didn’t meet many cars – and those that did come along slowed right down as they passed. Bramble was as good as gold, and Trojan was on his best behaviour too.

When we turned into the lane that leads to the stables, a massive whoop went up, and I saw Rosie, Kenny, Frankie and Fliss bouncing up and down and waving frantically.

“You did it!” they squealed when I reached the yard.

I handed Bramble’s lead rope to Miranda, then dismounted and gave Lisa Trojan’s reins. “I’m sorry I borrowed him,” I said.

“That’s quite all right,” Lisa grinned. “I’m glad he made himself useful!”

Then my friends fell on me for a major group hug.

“Hey – Bramble had to resort to pretty desperate measures to get you riding again, didn’t she?” said Frankie.

“It’s a total mystery how it happened,” said Rosie. “I definitely saw you put the latch down as you came out of the field – I remember it really clearly, because I was worried about how upset you were.”

There’s a metal latch on the field gate that raises and lowers. Intelligent ponies like Bramble soon learn how to nudge it up with their noses, though. That’s why you need a padlock too.

“I must’ve forgotten to put the padlock on,” I said. “How stupid!”

“So it was you!”

I spun round. I hadn’t realised Mrs McAllister had got out of her Land Rover and was standing just behind me.

“Stupid is just the start of it,” she snapped, slamming the door shut. “How about reckless,
irresponsible…” Suddenly she stopped, and let out a big sigh. “You know what could’ve happened. You must’ve been just as worried as me, Lyndsey, or you wouldn’t have shot off on Trojan like that. And I expect whatever you went through was punishment enough, eh?”

I nodded, biting my lip.

“Remind me, though,” said Mrs McAllister, “I must have a word with Mr Brocklehurst. He’ll need to be assured my pupils aren’t going to make a habit of careering across his fields with no warning.”

I undid the strap on my riding hat and pulled it off. “I’d come today to return this,” I said to Mrs McAllister, “and to tell you that I was giving up riding.”

“Oh, Lyndsey—”

“Don’t worry,” I broke in quickly. “I reckon I may have changed my mind.”

“Well, I won’t say it was all worthwhile, because putting Bramble’s life in danger was unforgivable,” said Mrs McA. “But at least
something good has come out of it, hey?” She tapped my hat. “You’d like to hang on to this for a bit longer, I hope?”

“If that’s OK,” I said, and grinned.

When Mrs McAllister had gone back into her office, Rosie, Kenny, Frankie and Fliss clustered round me again.

“How did it feel?” asked Rosie. “I couldn’t believe it when you just jumped on Trojan right there and then and whizzed off. It was like something in a film!”

“You know what? It felt like the most natural thing in the world.” I shook my head, still hardly able to believe it. “Whatever the problem was before, it seems to have broken the jinx. I think everything’s going to be OK from here on.”

“As long as you remember to shut the gate!” laughed Kenny.

Can you imagine how much I’ve been teased about that since? I’ll never live it down, I reckon! It’s great to be able to laugh about something so scary, though – I think it stops me having nightmares about it.

Oh, blimey, look at us – still sitting here yakking, when Rosie’s brother must’ve finished his riding lesson ages ago. See – there’s Rosie’s mum’s car turning into the yard now. She’s come to pick him up.

“Rosie! Tell your mum we don’t need a lift! We can walk!”

Did she hear me, d’you reckon? Oh yes, she’s waving. There’s a sleepover tonight, you see – hosted by yours truly. That’s why we’ve all been hanging out at the stables this afternoon. We’re heading back to mine in a minute – Dad’s done one of his major cake raids on the supermarket again (sometimes he is way cool!). So I’d better dash or my brothers’ll scoff the lot before we get there. Catch you later!

The Sleepover Club Best Friends

The Sleepover Club TV Stars

The Sleepover Club Dance-off!

The Sleepover Club Hit the Beach!

The Sleepover Club Pet Detectives

The Sleepover Club Hey Baby!

The Sleepover Club Pony Passion

The Sleepover Club Trick or Treat

Coming soon…

The Sleepover Club Be My Valentine

The Sleepover Club Star Girls

1. Sleeping bag
   
2. Pillow
   
3. Pyjamas or a nightdress
   
4. Slippers
   
5. Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap etc
   
6. Towel
   
7. Teddy
   
8. Your favourite pony magazine or story
   
9. Food for a midnight feast: chocolate, crisps, sweets, biscuits. In fact anything you like to eat!
   
10. Torch
    
11. Hairbrush
    
12. Hair things like a bobble or hairband, if you need them
    
13. Clean knickers and socks
    
14. A change of clothes for the next day
    
15. Sleepover diary and membership card
    

Want to hold your own pony sleepover? Saddle up and try these cool games…

Get into pairs.

One person is the horse and the other is the jockey.

The jockey jumps on the back of the horse in a piggyback.

On the word “go” each pair races against the other pairs to the end of the garden.

Swap over (the jockey becomes the horse and the horse becomes the jockey).

Race back.