Greener Pastures - Alyssa Brugman [15]
A few of the school ponies were quiet so long as they knew what to expect, but if something unforeseen happened, like a car backfiring, or a plastic bag caught in the wind, they could spook. Cracker was that type. Lindsey always put more experienced riders on him.
Blue wasn't like any of those horses. He seemed to take pride in the fact that he was responsible for a beginner. He was like a grandfather to them – listening to what they asked for, and only doing it if he thought they were ready.
Soon the girls arrived. The birthday girl's face was flushed with excitement.
'I love horses so much,' she said, breathlessly, as Shelby boosted her onto Cracker's back.
'Me too,' Shelby said, smiling.
The dad lifted the scared girl onto Blue's back, and she gripped on to the front of the saddle with both hands. As the pony took a step forward she screamed. Blue looked at Shelby over his shoulder, wondering if he was in trouble. 'You're all right,' she said to him.
The dad must have thought she was speaking to the girl, because he added. 'Yes, you're OK, but you can wait here if you want.'
The little girl shook her head. 'I just don't want to go fast, that's all.'
Shelby pointed to Hiccup. 'That's your pony's best friend, so you two can ride together. You'll be fine.'
While the girls got acquainted with their mounts in the yard, and Lindsey went over the basics, Shelby saddled a roan horse of about fifteen hands that she hadn't ridden before. His name was Siete, which means seven in Spanish.
The group set off towards the farthest paddock. Lindsey and Shelby had devised a number of routes through it, including a figure eight and a serpentine, both of which they could do in reverse. Mixing it up stopped the horses from getting bored, and the girls too.
Shelby kept Siete at the rear of the group while Lindsey rode Lyrical at the front. Usually by the time they reached the back boundary fence of the property, even the most frightened riders had relaxed a bit, but the scared girl was still rigid, and her knuckles were white.
The poor thing is not having a good time, Shelby thought. She was enjoying Siete. He was a smart, easygoing horse who responded promptly to leg aids. He wasn't the best-looking horse, but she would use him again.
They rode past the herd of broodmares. Several of them had foals. The group stopped to watch them play for a while. One of the colts bounced around with his short tail in the air like Pepé Le Pew, and the girls were delighted.
Soon they reached a gently sloping straight. Lindsey took the two more confident girls and the father for a canter, and Shelby stayed back with the other two. She was pleased to see that Blue and Hiccup behaved perfectly, even when the others raced out of sight.
Shelby knew Lindsey would be taking them in a long loop around, and she expected them to be cantering up behind them any time, but after a few minutes there was no sign of them.
Siete was getting restless. He tried to reef the reins from Shelby so he could eat. Hiccup had already done so and was grazing at the edge of the track. Blue knew better. He stood at the edge of the trail with his eyes closed, content to doze.
The scared girl unclamped her hand from the pommel for a moment to stroke his neck.
After five more minutes Shelby turned Siete around. She didn't want to alarm her two companions. 'OK. We'll meet up with them back at the corner,' she said, as if that had been her plan all along.
As she rounded the bend she saw Lindsey kneeling on the ground next to the birthday girl, who was crying. The dad was squatting on the ground too, and one of the other girls stood nearby holding Lyrical, Cracker and Scooter. Blockhead was standing in the middle of the track with his reins dangling on the ground in front of him.