Liberty and the Dream Ride. Stacy Gregg
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didn’t need reminding. She knew how much was riding on her success at Lexington. This was the culmination of everything she had worked so hard for over the past two years, ever since she had returned from Spain with Nightstorm to Chevalier Point.
When Issie had brought Nightstorm home to New Zealand she had immediately set about schooling him as an eventer, with Avery as her trainer. The big bay stallion had been a quick learner and by the end of the first season she was riding both Comet and Nightstorm on the eventing circuit, attending horse trials around the country, and getting as many One and Two-Star competitions under her belt as she possibly could.
Then, at the end of last year, just as Issie was about to sit her GCSE exams, Avery had come to her with a momentous offer. “The past year has gone really well,” he told her, “but if you really want to turn professional then we need to base ourselves where the action is.” Avery looked serious. “I think we should move to England.”
Even though she hated the idea of leaving Chevalier Point behind, Issie knew that it made sense. Most of the top-flight Three-Star events were held in the UK and Europe and she needed to gain international experience riding the big cross-country courses if she wanted to progress.
So, in the final weeks of the school year, while Issie was sitting her exams, Avery began the complex process of moving the team to the UK. He handed over the management of Dulmoth Park and Winterflood Farm to his head groom, Verity. Dulmoth Park’s owner Cassandra Steele had been sorry to lose Avery and Issie, but when it was explained to her that Verity would train up the young eventers in New Zealand and then send them on to England for Issie to ride on the international circuit, Cassandra gave the team her wholehearted support.
Avery’s departure also caused a stir at the Chevalier Point Pony Club as it meant that the coveted position of head instructor now became vacant. There were lots of applicants, but in the end it was one of Issie’s best friends, Kate Knight, who was appointed as his successor. Kate had always been brilliant at teaching young riders and her new role would fit in perfectly with her studies at the vet school she would soon be attending.
Issie had wanted to move to the UK with Avery immediately, but her mum insisted that she sit her GCSEs before she went. And so Avery and his wife, the famed dressage trainer Francoise D’Arth, had gone on ahead to England without her. Issie was thrilled when they emailed back to say that they had found the perfect place to set up their new UK base – a small stables called Laurel Farm, deep in the heart of rural Wiltshire.
With a dozen loose boxes, a manege and twenty acres of meadowland bordered by forest that was ideal for hacking, Laurel Farm was one of the prettiest stables in England. Francoise D’Arth was responsible for the day-to-day running of this new venture, exercising the horses as well as continuing to provide tuition as Issie’s dressage trainer. Nightstorm and Comet made the flight from New Zealand to England before Issie. They would now live at Laurel Farm, along with half a dozen other young up-and-coming eventers that Francoise was schooling up for the future.
Staying back at school proved worthwhile when Issie aced her exams, and just a week after getting her results she was boarding a plane to England, along with Stella Tarrant, her best friend, who had gladly agreed to come with her to be Laurel Farm’s head groom.
Avery wasted no time and as soon as they arrived, the two girls were thrust into the demanding life of the European eventing circuit. Over the next year they were on the road with Avery, driving their horse lorry all around Europe to competitions on such a constant basis that Issie never bothered to unpack her suitcase. It was like being a pop star on tour – always in a different city, losing track of the time zones and the language that she was supposed to be speaking!
Being on the road was exhausting, but it paid off. By the end of the season Issie had risen up the professional rankings and was in the top ten of the prestigious international young rider table. The pinnacle of her achievement was an astonishing win against some legendary competition at the famous Bramham Park Three-Star where she took out first place with a double clear on the cross-country and the showjumping phases.
Winning was great – but the prize money at Bramham had barely covered their running costs. Eventing was a very expensive sport and all the really big superstars like Piggy French and William Fox-Pitt survived on sponsorship money to support their stables.
For an up-and-coming rider like Issie there was no chance of getting a sponsor to pay the bills. Laurel Farm was beginning to build up a string of promising horses, but they had absolutely zero cash. As Avery put it, they were “on the boniest, bony bones of their bottoms”.
One night around the kitchen table, Avery, Francoise, Issie and Stella made the sad decision to sell Amaretto, one of Laurel Farm’s most promising young eventing horses, to raise enough funds for Issie, Avery, Stella and Comet to travel to the Kentucky Four-Star.
Issie had felt awful about parting with one of their best horses, but they had no choice. She knew that this was the hard truth all competitive riders faced – selling off their best horses just to stay in the game. And if Issie couldn’t finish in the top ten rankings in Kentucky and claim some of the prize money, then things would only get worse. Next time she would be forced to choose one of her advanced eventers, and either Comet or Nightstorm could be up for sale when she got home.
Issie didn’t even want to think about it! Instead she was pinning her hopes on recouping prize money in Kentucky. The winner of the three-day event would receive an amazing $100,000! The fate of Issie’s horses, and the future of Laurel Farm, was riding on her success in Kentucky. Avery was right – things had changed. This was the big league – they weren’t kids any more. And this was no trip to Disneyland.
Chapter 2
Issie stood anxiously waiting at the front desk while the quarantine agent worked his way slowly and meticulously through the pages of Comet’s paperwork.
“Has he been behaving himself?” she asked the quarantine agent nervously. “I’m sorry if he’s been any trouble. Comet’s not naughty exactly, but he doesn’t like loose boxes, and he gets bored. One time he tried to roll in his box and then he got his head stuck in a feed bucket and couldn’t get it off!”
Issie grinned, but the quarantine agent appeared unmoved. He looked up briefly from his paperwork, frowned and then typed something else into the computer on his desk before returning to the stack of papers. Issie looked at her watch. How much longer was this going to take? She’d been at the desk for nearly an hour! Finally, the official reached for the large rubber stamp on his desk and brought it down with a thump on top of Comet’s forms.
“OK. You’ve been approved. It’s all in order,” he told Issie gruffly, pushing the papers back across the desk towards her. “Take these with you and present them at the front gate. They’ll let you enter the compound and pick up your horse.”
The guard at the stable block was no friendlier. “What’s the name of the horse that you’re collecting?” he asked without looking up as he flicked through the papers.
“Comet,” Issie said.
As Issie’s voice echoed down the corridor of the stables, there was a sudden sound of hooves stamping on the straw from inside one of the loose boxes. A moment later a skewbald face appeared over one of the Dutch doors and Comet began whinnying and flicking his head up and down.
“Your horse?” the guard asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Uh-huh.” Issie beamed.
“You can go and collect him out of the loose box if you want,” the guard said.
Issie didn’t need to be told twice – she raced down the corridor to greet her pony.
“Hey, boy.” She patted Comet’s broad white stripe. “How are you? Have they been treating you OK in here? Have you made friends with the other horses?”
Comet was nickering vigorously, telling Issie all about his epic plane journey and the days of boredom in quarantine.
Issie listened and nodded sympathetically.