Chapter 1:
I lay in the dirty pasture waiting for noon when all the boys and girls come for their riding lessons. In the spring, camps and riding lesson's bloom just like the flowers. Yesterday was a busy day for me. I had to get new shoes then I had three riding lessons. I almost dozed off in my third and last lesson doing a shuffle that agitated my rider.
I slept until the breaking dawn this morning. My polished black coat was now starting to crust with mud after laying in the same spot for a while. This was Silver Meadows farm. A pretty big one at that. They had miles of property and many horses. Maybe about 43 acres and almost 23 horses including me.
Dazzle stood out into the corner of the pasture with her lip hanging loose: a clear sign she was asleep. I stood up onto my sleepy legs. The sun was most at full height.
Almost immediately a trainer recalled as Isabelle or I've heard some people call her "Izzy" in camp, unlocked my pasture. Dazzle awoke slowly to sound of the metal unlocking.
"Dazzle!" Izzy called out. Dazzle looked at Izzy sleepily and backed up away from the corner. Enough to lower her head to get some grass before she lef t.
Izzy wore a tattered pink and white shirt with a horse jump in the middle, black jodhpurs, and expensive leather paddock boots. She held a purple halter with a silver plaque spelling DAZZLE on it. Izzy walked through the field to Dazzle. It was a smaller field then the others. It was a good place for a foaling pasture although they usually kept two horses in this pasture.
Izzy showed Dazzle the halter so she would not be frightened. "get away with that!" Dazzle snickered although the human's didn't understand. Izzy pushed the halter put further in attempt to slip her head threw it.
"Come on Dazzle! We go through this every day! We'll have to start setting you out with your halter on!" Isabelle growled back. Dazzle lifted her head and backed up further.
I switched my resting hind foot from my left to my right and hung my head down to graze a bit. The grass was a bit tough since the winter had just pasted a month ago. I recall it being April.
I looked up to see Dazzle defeated with the purple halter on her head. Now it was my turn. I wasn't as difficult as Dazzle but I could be difficult. I wanted to go to the stables so I would not be like dazzle today. "Two-socks!" Izzy cooed to me now pulling on Dazzle's lead.
Next thing I know, Izzy was by my side slipping my blue halter over my face. "See that Dazzle? Two socks is good horse!" Izzy tugged out leads and lead us out of the pasture onto the musty road that lead us to riding stables in the back of farm where our pasture was. The main stables were the opposite of where we were being lead.
My name was no "Two Socks". That was my nick name. I had both back of my legs that had white socks. My real name is Twilight though. I preferred Twilight more than Two Socks.
Dazzle stopped in the front of the barn. "No, no, no!" She whinnied. Reba ran out from the barn. She had her curl red hair back in a sloppy pony-tail. Reba's favorite horse was Dazzle the flea-bitten warm blood. Dazzle always responded to her.
"You take in this pain Reba!" Isabelle dropped Dazzle lead into the dust angrily. "C'mon Two Socks!"
I followed Izzy obediently. I could feel her anger threw the rope. All of us horses knew that Izzy had always disliked Dazzle. Even Dazzle knew it, but she hated Izzy the same. Izzy continued grumbling angrily to herself and shoves me in the first stall of the barn.
I looked around my stall. The hay was soft under my hooves. The back of my stall, there was an open window. I turned around and stuck my head out. Cricket, one of the two shire's here pulled up at the training barn as usual.
Everyday, girls and boys would walk to the main barn and check in. Then one of the two shire's carriage was outside. While Cricket was dropping off the students at the training barn to get ready and ride, Victory was picking up students at the main barn.
Izzy had come back with a grooming kit. "Camp Sunshine is here girl." Izzy had clearly calmed down she unlocked my stall and lead me to the first of the cross-ties. The blue ropes hooked onto my green halter easly.
Crown, a dark bay quarter horse gelding behind me, then Dazzle, then a fine dapple grey stallion named Reese.
On cue, Camp Sunshine rushed in. Two girls I recall Abby and Samantha tied their arm together and skipped in. Jack and Maya walked in, and last, Debby. Debby almost every day. She was a great rider Crown had told me.
"Ok ladies and jets! Let's settle down or you'll scare the horses! I will read the horses you will ride today."Izzy stood right next to my shoulder with a clip board in her hands. Camp Sunshine was now quiet and calm.
"Debby, groom and tack Crown." "As always. I know his tack by heart!" Debby ran into the tack room. "That's because their tack is marked…" Izzy sighed to herself. "Jack you will be riding Reese, Maya your riding Twilight, Abby your riding Narnia, he's in his stall by the way…" Izzy pointed to the 3ed stall on the right. "And Samantha you're taking on Dazzle. Remember, you have to check her bit. Someone may had taking off her KK correction bit." Samantha nodded then followed the others to the tack room.
Maya was by my side with a pink grooming kit. I had never been ridden by Maya before although I have heard that she is bad rider. She had long strait brown hard down to her elbows, a cheap black riding helmet, tan jodhpurs and an shirt with an Indian riding a horse with feather in its mane and a blue circle around its eye.
She took out the curry comb and rubbed it around my body with a circular motion. I closed my eyes and loosened my lower lip. I could feel her untangle my tail and mane, and lift up one hoof carefully at a time to clean them, and I could hear the razor trim my fur. I knew Maya was to young to clip me so it must have been Isabelle.
I opened my eyes to see the other's. I looked over my shoulder at Crown who had already been tacked with a green saddle pad, black leather saddle, and black bridle. Dazzle was almost fully tacked except for the bridle. Izzy and Samatha were franticly trying to get it into her mouth. Dazzle hated the KK correction bit. It was one of the harshest bits made but Dazzle needed it.
I didn't have a official color, they just took what was around for my color. Since I was a black Australian pony, any color fit me well. Maya fitted a pink saddle pad on my back. I could feel that it was backwards. I turned my head around and nudged her chest. Then sniffed my saddle blanket. Maya didn't understand.
:Silly pony!" She just giggled. Then it was Izzy to the rescue. "Maya her saddle pad is backwards!" Izzy turned back the right way. "do you see where this "dent" is? That is front and its placed right here." Izzy placed right up my shoulders. Maya nodded then fastened the saddle and bridle with Isabelle's help.
"Ok folks! Grab the reins and lets head on down to the outdoor ring!" Izzy shouted. Reba waited at the entrance Cricket had dropped them off. Maya led me with a gentle touch just about a pony length away from Reba. I could hear the others following behind me like a train. Victory had just pulled up dropping off two brothers for regular lessons.
Once we were at the indoor ring, Maya mounted me with the mounting black and Reba had fixed her stirrups to the right size. Reba had instructed us to walk around the ring at a walk. Crown and Reese were right; Maya was a bad rider! She had the reins tightened to much, she sloped to her left side, and her heels were always facing the sky not the ground!
Her sloping made it uncomfortable for me and so did her tightened reins. I hope she wasn't my permanent rider! "Okay Camp Sunshine! Let's take it to a trot!" Reba called stepping into the center of the indoor ring. Trotting, walking, and those poles on the ground are probably all we are to get to today. This was a level C class. I always enjoyed Cantering which is a level B class.
Maya pressed her heels into my side for a trot and I gave her one. In the trot, she missed beats. She wasn't very strong either when she did post. I hope this ride ends soon!
Chapter 2:
When the ride was over and I was un-tacked and cleaned up nicely, I was returned out to the pasture. I didn't see the main barn pasture's often because up there are for the bordered, owned, sick, foaling or having foals sometime soon.
We only have pleasure pastures' for the schools horses and a breeding pasture.
My pasture was up by the road for once. We sometimes get the privilege. This pasture was a bit bigger than the one that I was at last with Dazzle. I stood with my head hanging over the white fence toward the road. A small silver car purred on past into our drive-way. The farm was on dirt road so we often took trail-rides down it.
Another horse who was also a school horse, but was still in training was a frisky gelding named Armor. He is about four years old is getting used to a saddle on his back. I was eight years old so I helped him out when I had a chance. We considered each other cousins.
I turned from the gate to face him. Armor was nibbling on the grass with pleasure. His tail flicked side to side. I nuzzled his barrel then walked over to the bordering fence. I could hear Armor following me.
"Where are we going Twilight?" he asked eagerly. "To see Dazzle next door." I snorted back. "Why?" He asked again. "Because I want to. You don't have to come!" I responded getting tired of his chattiness already. He always did this day and night!
"Why do you like Dazzle? She mean to me!" He complained throwing his head back dramatically but still following me. "Now I was really tired of him. I stopped in my tracked and swung my head over to face him with my ears flat and teeth bared. "Would you stop making fun of her?!" I snarled. He flinched and lowed his head. "I…I'm sorry Twilight…" I pricked my ears and pulled my lips over my teeth. "Sorry I did that Armor…" I turned around and trotted to her fence.
I hovered my neck over the gate and stared at her who was glaring at Isabelle who had just put her in the pen.
"That stupid girl!" Dazzle spat. "Where is my Reba! Isabelle has some nerve trying to catch me!" Dazzle turned to me now. Her gaze gentled and she walked over to me.
Izzy wasn'y lying when she said she would have to leave Dazzle head collar on. Dazzle's green halter clung to face. The silver car stopped at my pen. I looked over my shoulder. Dazzle looked to. Maya stuck her head out of the car and call my name. I trotted over unwillingly. Maya rubbed my forehead by stepping out of the car.
"here you go gal." She whispered. She held her hand out to me through the fence. I sniffed it. It was banner nut bread! I had smelt this from the lounge room! I swallowed the bread gratefully. It was so good! It made my tongue dance and my teeth crunch! I nuzzled her hand wanting more bread. Maya smiled then rolled up the window and drove away. "Who was that?" Armor asked lifting his head from his grass patch and eyeing me.
"Just…no one…" I backed back to Dazzles fence still glaring at Izzy trying to avoid her and bring Vinnie in Dazzle's pasture. Vinnie hated all the horses here. She was an evil horse. Vinnie always had a plan and a back-up for defeating us….