Sophie and Shine (7 page)

I've only just got home, I haven't even unpacked, but I'm writing this straight away so I don't forget anything.

When my family got here, I was surprised at how pleased I was to see them. Yes, even Albie! All the other girls loved him and it was really cool when they wanted him to grip their fingers and asked me loads of questions about him. I showed Mum, Dad and Albie round the yard and introduced them to Shine. She was in her stable, all tacked up and ready to go, and Mum and Dad made a big fuss of her. They were really proud when I told them I got moved up a group.

When everyone's parents had arrived it was time for the gymkhana. I had butterflies in my stomach but I couldn't stop smiling. The first thing we did was lead our ponies out of the stables and into the manège for the tack and turnout competition. We had to stand next to them, very straight and tall, and try not to laugh when Johnny and Lydia came round to judge. That was quite hard because Lydia looked under Shine's tail to make sure I'd cleaned her bottom properly (which I had – yucky but important!). And when they were inspecting Cracker he did a wee and Lydia said, “Well, that's not very gentlemanly, is it?” and we all burst out giggling.

Of course, I had my fingers crossed for me and Shine, but I was really pleased for Daisy when she won. We all gave her a clap and she took a big bow, and then it was time to mount up for the games.

What happened was, the Group A people went against each other while we cheered them on and then we had our go while they cheered for us. These are some of the races we did:

Walk, trot, canter
– You go up the manège in walk, back in trot and up again in canter. It was so funny in our heat because Tally didn't understand the concept of trying to go slowly, and he kept breaking into trot during the walking bit so he and Millie got sent back to the beginning three times.

Stepping Stones
–We had to canter up, then get off and step from straw bale to straw bale while leading our ponies. That was such a fun game!

Ball and racket
–We had to balance a ball on a tennis racket and ride steadily enough to keep it there all the way across the manège. Izzy and Millie had no chance with their boisterous ponies tearing off in canter, but I was doing really well.

Then, Shine spooked at Millie's flying ball and skittered sideways, oh well! Aneela ended up winning on Charm, who's about the best behaved pony you can possibly get. Shanice won the Group A comp on Prince, and I was so pleased for her and clapped extra hard when she got her rosette.

Bending
– Guess what? I actually won this one! Shine was brilliant and really listened to my legs.

I was so proud when I got my rosette for the bending, and everyone clapped (and Dad took loads of pix!). It felt amazing! And then I was even more amazed to get an extra-special prize. Jody said, “We've decided to give a special award to someone who has shown the most improvement this week. So much, in fact, that she moved up a group. Sophie!”

Everyone clapped again, and when I looked over at Mum and Dad they were beaming the biggest smiles you could imagine.

When we came off the yard, I looked for
Beth and realized that while everyone was chatting to their families, she was leading Monsoon to the barn with Lydia. That's when I realized Jody was probably having a private word with her dad. I felt really sorry for Beth, but it was nice of Jody to wait till after the gymkhana, in case he was really angry.

I gave Shine a good brush down and took out her plaits, then got her some more fresh water even though she didn't really need any. I was just trying to delay saying goodbye for as long as possible! But in the end, I heard Mum calling me so I put my brushes away and flung my arms round Shine's neck. “Oh, Shine, thanks for being my wonderful pony for the week,” I told her. “Even if I can't come back next year, and even if I'm ever lucky enough to get my own pony, I'll never forget you.”

Shine whinnied and tossed her head, so I think that, somehow, she understood.

Just as I was bolting the stable door, Beth came over to me. “Dad wasn't furious after all,” she said. “Just really worried about me.”

I said, “That's good, but you will still tell him how you feel about things, won't you?”

Beth nodded, and we had a big goodbye hug. She's going to write to me and tell me what happens when they have the talk about his girlfriend moving in. Of course, nothing's ever perfect, but I think everything will work out okay for her.

I think things are going to work out okay for me too, actually. When we'd all said goodbye and I'd taken loads of pix and checked I'd got everything (and had a bit of a cry saying goodbye to Shine!) we finally got me and my stuff and Albie loaded into the car.

After we'd waved and waved to everyone and turned out into the road, Mum said, “I'm glad you had such a great time, but we really
did miss you, Sophie. I don't know how I've coped without you this week. You're so helpful with the baby, I really do appreciate it. I'll take you riding more often from now on. We won't let all this improvement go to waste, I promise.”

“Thanks, Mum,” I said. “And I don't mind helping with Albie. He's okay, I suppose.” I was amazed to hear myself say that, but I really meant it. It's taken a week away from my baby bro to make me realize I'm glad we've got him after all (even if he does cry a lot!). I don't feel like I want it to just be the three of us any more. “In fact, I think we should make our family even bigger,” I said then.

“Oh, no way, I'm not having another one!” cried Mum.

“I wasn't talking about a baby,” I giggled. “I'm thinking of a pony!”

Mum laughed then and Dad said, “We'll have
to see about that. Perhaps if you keep on improving as much as you have we could think about looking for a share. Maybe.”

Wow! I couldn't believe he said they'd half-think about it – even for one second! I squealed so loudly it made Albie laugh. I know I'll have to prove I really deserve a pony, and show them how dedicated I am to my riding, but at least he didn't say absolutely no way!

I'm going to print out my pix now, well, after I've taken my dirty clothes downstairs and helped get Albie ready for bed. See, I've started being the perfect daughter already – that ought to help persuade them on the pony front! Tomorrow I'm planning to make a collage of my pictures from Sunnyside and put my rosettes on it too! And in the middle there'll be a big picture of me with Shine, my wonderful pony for the week!