Sophie and the Spooky Pony Read online

  Gorse stopped dead and snorted, and the hairs on the back of Sophie’s neck stood up. It was as though every other pony in the yard was looking in the same direction. Holding on to Gorse’s thick mane, Sophie peered into the darkness…

  FOR OUR OWN SUPER SOPHIE

  CHAPTER 1

  Sophie wiggled her nose a bit, feeling the tickle and prickle of the soft hay. At least it smelt good, she thought, breathing in – like summer and fresh air and ponies. Crouching lower still, she grinned, trying to stop herself from giggling out loud and giving the game away. She could hear Gracie now, chatting away to Willow and Poppy. They were coming into the barn, the door was opening with a creak, the voices getting louder. Now they were walking up to where the sweet meadow hay was neatly stacked, so they could fill their hay nets. It was perfect and she was ready.

  Three, two, one. “BOO!”

  Leaping up from behind the bales, hay stuck in her dark curls, Sophie laughed as her friends jumped, dropping their nets.

  “Got you!” she said with a chuckle, ignoring their glares. “Again!”

  Gracie rolled her eyes and tutted. “Every time!” She said. But she was sort of laughing now and threw a handful of hay at Sophie in response. Not that it would make any difference – it was already all over Sophie’s camp T-shirt and jodhs, as well as tangled in her hair.

  “Ha!” Sophie said as she joined her friends. “You should know by now.”

  Willow was busy filling her hay net, her glossy brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing jodhs and a running top that had her name in red letters across the back. Willow ran cross-country races with the town running club and was often in the local paper for her achievements.

  “Sophie,” she said once the giggles had died down, “have you not finished your stable? We’ve got to be in the arena in ten minutes! It’ll take you that long to get all that hay off you!”

  “Of course I’ve finished!” Sophie said airily. She’d quickly swept up the shavings, and got Jack, who lived on-site at Vale Farm, to help her with the rest.

  “You know Lainey might get cross if you haven’t finished the stable, though,” Willow replied slightly doubtfully. “You remember what she said at the start of camp? How things had to be done properly?”

  “I know, I know!” Sophie said cheerfully. “And it is done. Gorse is back in, all happy. Don’t worry, I remember the camp rules!”

  Sophie had been looking forward to pony camp at Vale Farm, the local riding stables, for ever. Lainey was Jack’s mum and owned the stables. She had run the camps for a couple of years and they were very popular, especially with children like Sophie who didn’t own their own pony but longed to. There were lessons, and a beach ride, and even a camp cookout in one of the fields to look forward to. It was pony heaven! Sophie smiled, remembering the moment her mum had agreed to book her a place at the camp, and she’d leapt about crazily.

  “Oh, Sophie.” Her dad had smiled once she’d finally calmed down. “Your grandmother would be so happy. It’s a shame she’s so far away.”

  Sophie sighed every time her dad reminded her of this. Her grandmother still lived in Nigeria, where her dad had been born and raised. He’d met her mum when he came over to England to study. Her grandmother loved horses and had even kept some in her younger days. She and Sophie spoke regularly – it was always so good to wave to each other on screen. Sophie thought back to their last conversation, when she’d told her grandmother all about the upcoming camp.

  “I’ll take loads of photos,” she had said. “Then you can see how much I’ve improved.”

  “Oh, I know you will have,” her grandmother replied. “Ponies were always in your blood, Sophie. Your brothers still showing no interest?”

  And Sophie had sighed dramatically.

  “No,” she said. “Still into football, and boring old cricket like Dad. I mean, why stand in a field catching a ball when you could be galloping around it?”

  Her grandmother laughed heartily at that. “Maybe they’ll come round.”

  “I doubt it,” Sophie replied. “No one cares about horses, apart from you.”

  When her mum had dropped her off at camp, her older brothers, Samuel and Joseph, had been in the car as well, dressed in their team tracksuits ready for a cricket match, their kit bags jostling for space with Sophie’s pony things.

  “Is this it?” Samuel had asked, looking up at the stables with a wrinkle of his nose. “Just looks like a farm.”

  “It’s a riding school,” Sophie had explained. “The owner competed at Badminton Horse Trials. That’s really famous – you have to be super skilled to do that. It’s dressage, showjumping and cross-country – a three-day event. Why don’t you come and look?”

  “Nah, we’re good here,” Joseph said, flicking through his phone as he read the latest football results. He and Samuel were obsessed with knowing which team was winning at what. “I don’t want to be late for cricket. And, anyway, riding’s not actually a real sport, is it?”

  “Of course it is!” Sophie cried. “If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be at the Olympics, would it?”

  “But how much skill do you need to just sit there?” Samuel grinned.

  Sophie had rolled her eyes, letting herself out of the car. There was no point trying to explain. No one really listened, or got her love of horses, like her grandmother.

  But it was her mum who’d found Vale Farm, and Lainey, about a year before. Her grandmother had insisted on paying for the lessons. Sophie had thrown herself into learning, and had been on the waiting list for camp for what had felt like for ever. She’d asked her mum to sign her up as soon as she’d heard about it, after a lesson one day. And, now she was here, she was going to enjoy every minute!

  Even better, after learning to ride on Henry, a sweet but steady cob, she had been paired with Gorse, who she’d loved from the first moment she set foot in the yard. Gorse was a beautiful Exmoor pony. He was bay with rich dapples running over his strong shoulders and a lustrous black mane and tail. His eyes were ringed with a lighter brown, which Lainey had explained was known as “toad eye”.

  Sophie had laughed, wrinkling her nose. She’d come to see Gorse after her lesson a few weeks earlier. “It doesn’t sound very nice for such a beautiful pony.”

  “No,” Lainey had agreed with a chuckle. “But he’s a fantastic example of an Exmoor.” She had given Gorse a friendly pat. “Did you know, he was champion at the Exmoor Breed Show? It was a wild, windy day on top of the moor and by the end of it he had so many sashes on you could barely see him. He loved to strut his stuff in the ring.”

  “Do you think he misses those days?” Sophie had asked, and Lainey had smiled.

  “No,” she said. “I think he prefers his life now, keeping busy with the camps, loads of people admiring him, and mischief to be made!”

  Sophie had a feeling she would get on with him very well! Luckily, it was as though Lainey had read her thoughts, and the handsome Exmoor pony was hers for the week.

  Quickly stuffing her hay net, Sophie skipped happily back out to the yard. The warm sunshine spilled over the cobbles, and Mini, Lainey’s tame pet sheep, was sunning herself next to an old stone trough. Mini was an escape artist with real character, and Lainey had told the children it was easier to let her roam around, rather than trying to shut her in. Sophie’s family had a cat and a dog, but there was no way they’d fit a sheep in the garden! She loved spending time at Vale Farm with all the animals.

  “Uh…” Gracie, next to her, interrupted her thoughts. “Wasn’t Gorse supposed to be in his stable? You said you’d put him back…”

  Sophie looked, and blinked twice. Gorse was standing outside the door of a pretty grey mare a few stabl
es down, his ears pricked as they nuzzled their soft noses. Giving a little snort, he then headed straight towards the open door of the feed room. Immediately, Sophie could see what had happened.

  “Whoops!” she said. “I forgot to put his kick bolt on. Isn’t he clever?” she added fondly. “He knows how to undo his top latch.”

  “He sure is,” Poppy said. “But you’d better get him before Lainey sees!”

  “Too late,” Willow muttered. “She’s over there…”

  Sophie bit her lip. At camp, each girl and boy was responsible for looking after their own pony.

  “Sophie?” Lainey called, coming towards the girls with a little frown. “Did you forget Gorse’s kick bolt? You know what I said about him – he doesn’t miss a trick. You’ve got to be careful.”

  Sophie’s face fell. It was quite funny that Gorse was clever enough to escape, but it wouldn’t do to have him get into the feed room, where he’d undoubtedly break into all the bins.

  “Sorry, Lainey.”

  Grabbing Gorse’s dark green head collar from the hook outside his stable, Sophie caught the pony. She gave him a huge hug and he gave her a whicker in return.

  “Well done,” Lainey nodded. “But, Sophie, you need to concentrate. I can’t have any accidents happening because of you being careless. We might have to have a serious think about your lessons. It might do you good to miss one or two so that you can practise some stable management instead.”

  Sophie nodded and led Gorse back to his stable. Lainey very rarely told anyone off so she knew it was serious, and the threat hung in the air. Sophie bit her lip, thinking about what her grandmother would say. The thought of any riding time being lost was enough to snap her out of her joking mood, for a few minutes at least!

  CHAPTER 2

  “Right, everyone!”

  Lainey had gathered all the camp members in the stable yard, each holding on to their ponies. They were heading out on a hack, a ride across the countryside surrounding the farm. There was Gracie and her piebald pony Bobby, who was grumpily surveying his surroundings. He is such a crosspatch, Sophie thought, glad she wasn’t Gracie. Gorse was far more cheerful! Then Poppy and Henry, one of Vale Farm’s long-standing resident ponies, who’d taught hundreds of children to ride. Jess had a lovely grey called Merlin, and Amina rode little Nutmeg, who was an amazing jumper. Willow rode Luna, who was fast and suited her perfectly.

  “Make sure you all check your girths,” Lainey continued, fastening her riding hat. “I’ll be coming on Bertie,” she said. Lainey’s retired event horse, Major Green, was a famous Badminton winner who was known as Bertie at home, “and Jade will join us with Sox.”

  As if on cue, Jade, the assistant instructor at Vale Farm, led Sox out of his stable. He was a big dapple grey with wise eyes. But today there was something different about him.

  “Come on, Sox,” Jade frowned, giving the horse a pat as she led him forward. Sox’s head was held high, and he gave a loud whinny. One or two of the camp ponies shuffled in interest as Sox high-stepped past, giving a snort. He was normally so calm and quiet.

  “Sox,” Lainey said curiously as she hopped up into Bertie’s saddle, “what’s got into you?”

  “I don’t know.” Jade shook her head. “He’s been in a funny old mood all morning. Hopefully a hack out will settle him down.”

  “Oh,” said Lainey. “Perhaps it’s the grass. We’ve had a warm spell and some rain recently, so the grass will be growing again,” she explained to the camp members. “It can send them a bit crazy.”

  Jade nodded. “Hopefully just the grass,” she said, deftly swinging herself up into Sox’s nut-brown saddle and gathering up his reins as he spooked at an imaginary object.

  “Come on, silly sausage,” she said fondly, nudging him on. “Let’s be sensible now. Look, the ponies are ignoring you.”

  But Sox seemed to be looking at something, something that wasn’t there.

  “Ooh,” Sophie said with a grin to her friends. “Maybe he can see ghosts!”

  “Well,” Lainey said, overhearing. “They do say horses have a sixth sense. They can sense and see things that we can’t.”

  “Oh, don’t,” Poppy said with a groan. “I’ll never sleep if I think about that. It’s hard enough dealing with normal things that spook ponies, like flappy plastic bags and birds flying out of hedges, let alone ghosts.” She reached over to pat sweet Henry. “Not that I have to worry about that with you, boy.”

  “I’m sure it’s just the grass.” Lainey smiled, but Sophie wondered if she could detect the tiniest note of something in her voice. Doubt? She wasn’t sure.

  It was soon forgotten, though. The riders headed out of the big gates, turned right and down the lane. There were endless bridleways and fields to explore.

  “It sounds boring,” her brother Samuel had said the last time she had tried to explain it to him. “Just plodding around on a horse.”

  “It’s not,” Sophie had retorted. “I bet if you gave it a chance, you’d see!”

  “Ugh,” he had laughed, pretending to waft away an imaginary bad stench. “And smell like poo? No thanks.”

  And Sophie had stuck out her tongue and left him to it. She loved her brothers, but it upset her when they teased her, not that she ever showed it. How could it be boring? she thought, looking at the open countryside from between Gorse’s pricked ears.

  Sophie and her family lived in one of the new builds on the edge of town. They were friendly with all their neighbours and her mum and dad often had people around, her brothers’ friends trailing in after school, muddy sports kits dumped in the hall. But Sophie liked to escape to her bedroom, plastered with posters from Pony magazine, where she had the best views out across the houses and towards Vale Farm and the fields where she was now riding. She’d dreamed of this!

  “Oh, Gorse!” She leant forward and gave the little Exmoor a pat, quickly checking no one could hear her. She was Sophie the joker and it wouldn’t do for the others to see her being serious! “I wish my brothers understood how horses make me feel. Like you, you see the real me.”

  Gorse gave a snort and Sophie smiled. At home she had to be louder, funnier, wilder than her brothers to get noticed above the constant chatter about matches, and goals, and cricket runs. But she didn’t have to be loud with Gorse. She felt as though he understood her, without her even having to say a single word.

  CHAPTER 3

  The camp members enjoyed the most wonderful canter up through a big grass field. Gorse was surprisingly speedy, considering he was a stockily built pony. His thick black mane flew out behind him, and Sophie grinned as he put his head lower and thundered on. He was a bit cheeky sometimes, but Sophie felt really safe riding him. Ahead of them, Lainey slowed Bertie down to a bouncy trot.

  Gracie caught up with Sophie and sighed. “That was amazing. You’ve bonded with Gorse so well.”

  Sophie gave her friend a sympathetic smile. She knew Gracie was finding her pony, Bobby, tricky.

  “He’s great,” Sophie said. “He’s funny.”

  Looking around, Sophie noted that Sox seemed calmer now. He’d obviously needed a good canter up the hill. Thinking back to what Lainey had said in the yard, Sophie found herself wondering what horses could see that they couldn’t. She would have to talk about it with her grandmother next time she rang. She knew her grandmother would have some tales. She giggled to herself, imagining Gorse chatting to a ghost. It certainly didn’t scare her like it did Poppy.

  It felt like hardly any time had passed when they arrived back at the stable yard of Vale Farm. Kicking her feet out of her stirrups, Sophie wiggled her toes. Jumping down, she quickly untacked, placing the head collar over Gorse’s nose and tying him up in the warm sunshine so she could wash him down.

  Filling a bucket with water, she got a sponge and set to work, placing the bucket down in front of the little Exmoor. That, she realised, had been a mistake. Grabbing the bucket in between his strong teeth, Gorse picked it up and promptly
flung water everywhere, soaking Sophie in the process.

  “Oh, Gorse!” Sophie found she didn’t mind one bit. After a long hack, it was nice and refreshing! “Now I’ll have to go and fill it up again.”

  Wiping the droplets from her eyes and shaking out her curly hair, Sophie headed back over to the tap. It was next to a little paddock where Mini and the other sheep lived, and where the chicken coop was. There was a lovely old pony in there today – Fable, who belonged to Lainey’s daughter, Emily.

  Fable was an elderly Welsh Mountain Pony, with the sweetest dished face and a pink snip between her nostrils. Her back was bowed with age and she was almost pure white now, but she still had her cheeky moments. Lainey said they let her get away with loads because of how old she was and how special she was to the family. She was the one pony who wasn’t used for lessons or camp.

  Placing her bucket down, Sophie turned the tap on, and humming to herself, began to think about what prank she could play next. Looking over at the chickens scratching about in the earth, and at Fable munching on the hedgerow, something caught her eye. She frowned and looked closer. That was weird! Moving nearer, the chickens clucking as though they were mildly annoyed at having to get out of the way for her, Sophie crouched down to investigate.

  There were some strange marks in the soil, sort of like dog paw prints, as though something had been scratching at the ground. And there was an even stranger mark next to the prints, like something had been dragged along there. Despite the warm sunshine and the cloudless sky, Sophie felt a little shiver run through her. Then she grinned, the thrill of what she had found overriding any slightly spooky feeling. She had to tell her friends!

  “The water!” she heard someone shout, and looking up she saw her bucket was overflowing, the water cascading over the cobbles towards her.