The Wild One
I awoke with a smile on my face; today was the start of the summer holidays, now I had time to lead out the treks every day… at least three times a day! GREAT!
I had been waiting for this day for weeks, I had loads planned! That day I was going to ride out with my best friend Alice for a great picnic ride, we would set of at eleven for Pantysais…have the picnic on the beach, ride there for about ten minutes, then set off home after a small break. It was going to be perfect! I had other things planned for the holiday too.
But the best was last. Alice’s birthday was at the end of the summer and I was going to give her the horse she always rode when we went out for rides…Buttons.
My horse, Tootes, was going to be dressed up all posh, and then I would ride over there, with Buttons all tacked up on the lead rain. Alice would be so surprised! And the best thing about that was that no one knew that was what I was doing! It would be a massive surprise. Alice could keep Buttons at Pine Oaks Riding School, where he had lived all his life (Pine Oaks is the name of the stables my mum owns). I couldn’t wait to get started. I knew I was going to enjoy the summer.
That day, the plans for the picnic ride had to be put off. Mum said there was a horse sale in the middle of town, and she said it was only a one-day event! I decided I could invite Alice to that instead so I phoned her to let her know. It would be fun! Alice and I loved looking at the horses…and, even though Mum had insisted every time that we wouldn’t buy anything, we had always came home with a horse of some sort. I was certain there would be a beautiful horse there that I would fall in love with…and Mum would give in.
As we got ready to go, the phone rang. I ran to pick it up and heard Alice’s voice on the other end,
“Lucy, are the plans for the day out still going ahead?”
she asked in a hurried voice.
“Yes, we’re getting ready to go now, there’s mum calling me”
I replied.
“Oh…Ok…shall I come down there then?”
“No, we’ll pick you up”
(it sounded as if we were both in a hurry).
“Ok, thank-you…bye.” As I said “tara” she hung up. Mum had come behind me as I was speaking to Alice. “Mum! We’ve got to pick up Alice, ok?” “Ok” she replied.
We got into the car and set off for Alice’s house. We were both pretty eager to get to the show, but we knew it would be a while before we got into our seats. The road was always busy in the holidays, so we knew we were going to be late.
We arrived twenty minutes later. Alice and I had been talking the whole time about what type of horse we would fall in love with this time. Palomino, Appaloosa, Strawberry Roan, who knows! But one thing was for certain…I was going to have another horse to add to my collection.
As we arrived at the huge, domed building where the horses were to be shown, I looked immediately in the ring. There was a horse in there that very moment…a big horse at least 16.3hh. It was beautiful! It was a pretty Appaloosa, it had a wild spirit. The speaker announced ‘No name, referred to as THE WILD ONE.’
That was when I fell in love with her.
“Mum”
I said slowly. She seemed to know what was coming next, because she said,
“yes dear, whatever you say dear.”
I was so happy! A beautiful Appaloosa all of my own!
I had never owned an Appaloosa in my life! And this one was stunning! She pulled at her lead rope, as she was lead around the ring and she was rearing in places. The tall man beside her was obviously struggling to control her, then, he couldn’t control her. She reared up on her hind legs and neighed, loud and high. Now, for me, she really earned her name, The Wild One. The tall man who had been leading her was on the floor, shaking. Two big men came in and dragged him out, and then they returned and tied the beautiful animal to the nearest fence, now she was right next to me!
So many people walked up in an attempt to stroke her, but she neighed, or tossed her head, no one would buy her. I knew that no one in town was brave enough to take on such a ‘beast’. But I would, I loved challenges and for once I felt better than the rest of the town. I would take on the beautiful horse so well known by her name, The Wild One.
I felt my pocket…YES Polos! I took one out and walked towards the beautiful animal. I held out the polo on the flat part of my hand and talked to the Appaloosa softly. She looked at me, and I looked back. I was still talking to her softly. Suddenly everyone was quiet and they moved out of my way as the horse snatched the polo from my hand. I slowly put my hand out again with no polo and placed it on her trembling neck, I could feel that she had been badly treated in the past, and for those thirty seconds, she forgot about that and loosened up. The silence was broken by the sound of a camera taking a picture, and she tensed and tossed her head again.
For the rest of the day all I thought about was her, I had been the only one to succeed in touching her. She had tossed her head when people had put a hand on her neck, and one time she even did so when one boy touched the lead rope that was keeping her tied up to the fence. There had been other horses that day that were just as beautiful, but not nearly a wild, not wild enough for me anyway, they had walked and trotted around the arena like they were tamed long ago.
The next day I lead out the first bunch of the holidays, it was wet but the horses were still ready to go, we were to go across the mountain and eat out there. I was to ride George.
We had just reached the picnic spot when a bush shook, and out barged a black dog. Brandy spooked suddenly and her rider was immediately sent flying through the air.
