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Then Hotty's eyes flashed open and she reared straight up. Erin leaned forward and wrapped her hands around the horse's neck. Next the pony kicked out with her back legs – leaping forward at the same time.

'Did you see that?' Lindsey shouted. 'Airs above the ground!'

'Hold on, Erin!' Shelby called out.

Hotty surged forward, tucking her head between her front legs, pigrooting and bucking as she bounded around the yard.

'That's so hard to do!' Lindsey said.

'Yeah! She's hanging on way longer than I would have!' Shelby said, backing towards the fence.

'No, I mean airs above the ground. Horses take years to learn that kind of balance.'

'I don't think she's going to stop!' Erin yelled.

Hotty jumped in the air, her head down and all four hooves off the ground. She twisted and landed hard. Erin's leg started to swing. She was beginning to lose her grip, flopping like a rag doll.

Shelby rushed forward. Hotty bared her teeth, ears flat to her head. She reared up again, striking out with her front hooves.

'Let go, Erin,' Lindsey shouted. 'Jump off now – before she goes crazy again.'

Erin started to slide off to one side. When she flicked her right leg over, the stirrup came with her. Her boot looked as though it was stuck inside the metal arch.

Shelby reached forward, trying to grab the rein. She had to catch Hotty now, and hold her still. If Erin's foot was stuck the pony could drag her around the arena, which could cause all sorts of serious injuries.

Hotty came down on all fours, and then reared up again, staggering backwards on her hind legs.

With her hands raised, Shelby stood in front of the little horse. 'Whoa!' she said, trying to sound as soothing as possible.

As she reached for the rein again she could see the pony's hoof stretching towards her face, as though it was in slow motion. There was dirt and grit stuck to the bottom of it. For a millisecond she thought about what a different shape it was on the underside compared to Blue's, and then she felt the horn-like texture as it glanced off her cheek.

It feels like a brick inside a rubber boot, she thought.

Her neck jerked back and her face went numb. She was falling backwards, arms outstretched. This is going to hurt, she decided.

Shelby could see the clouds, blurred, wheeling, as if she was on sideshow ride, and then everything went black.

21 Hotty's Personal Best

Shelby heard the voice first. It sounded urgent and wavering on the edge of tears.

'Is she dead? Is she? She's dead, isn't she?'

Then the faces swam into view – Erin and Lindsey, afraid and concerned. She could see bright white spots in front of her eyes, like midges over a bowl of ripe fruit.

She heard another voice and realised it was her own – groaning. Shelby sat up. Her head felt heavy, and too big. She put her hand to her cheek and could feel that it was hot. The skin was welted in the arc of a hoof. She hoped it didn't look as bad as it felt.

'What happened?'

'Bess knocked you out,' Lindsey answered.

'You toppled down like a bag of spuds!' Erin added.

'How long was I out for?' Shelby asked.

'What do you reckon? Maybe thirty or forty?' Lindsey asked Erin.

Erin nodded.

'Minutes?' gasped Shelby.

'Seconds,' Lindsey corrected. 'If you'd been out for longer we would have called an ambulance.'

'I think we should anyway,' said Erin.

Shelby shook her head. Her neck hurt and she put her hand to it. 'No ambulance. I'll be fine. We're going to have enough trouble trying to explain this.' She pointed to her cheek. 'Does it look bad?'

When they didn't say anything for a moment Shelby wondered if she was being a wuss. Maybe there was no mark at all?

'You know those Bratz dolls? Kind of crossed with a . . .' Erin tilted her head to the side as she searched for a comparison. 'No, that's not it. I know! You look like that old detective man! Columbo!'

'Who?' Lindsey asked.

Erin rolled her eyes. 'You don't watch nearly enough television.'

'I don't have time to watch television!'

Shelby frowned, confused. 'So is it noticeable?'