Free Blaze and the Dark Rider by Stacy Gregg

mares don’t look anything like your scruffy mutt of a pony. There’s no way she’s a purebred Anglo-Arab.A horse like that costs a fortune, just like Goldrush here. She has impeccable English riding-pony bloodlines. I won’t even tell you how much she cost, but it was more than Mum’s Mercedes.”
    Natasha eyed Issie up and down. “Your charity pony isn’t a purebred. You don’t get given horses like that, Isadora. And,” she added, “in your case you most certainly could never afford one.”

    “How did it go?” Stella was bright-eyed with excitement as Issie came back over the paddock towards her.
    “Great, Stella. Just great,” Issie replied. “Thanks to your brilliant plan I had to ask Natasha Tucker to come to El Caballo Danza with us!”
    The news that Natasha was going to be joining them tomorrow didn’t go down too well with Kate either. “Couldn’t you think of any other excuse?” Kate sighed.
    Issie shook her head. “I know; it was a bit dim of me. But anyway, it probably won’t be that bad.”
    Kate and Stella looked at her as if to say that in factit would probably be even worse than bad, but no one said anything—it was clear that Issie felt bad enough about the whole thing.
    Apart from the Natasha Tucker incident, the training session went well that day Issie and the gang were on the look out for anything suspicious, but nothing strange happened at all. The riders all swooped gracefully between the bending poles, practising their relays and their baton passes, and Avery kept checking his stopwatch and nodding with a look of quiet satisfaction on his face.
    In the afternoon they did practice sessions for rider on the flat. Avery stood in the middle of the arena as judge, and all the riders walked, trotted and cantered around him in a twenty-metre circle, concentrating on keeping in the very best possible position to impress the judge.
    “Heels down, hands still, eyes up!” Issie chanted to herself in her head as she trotted.
    “Canter on!” Avery called to the riders, and he watched them now as they rode, calling out advice to each of them in turn. “Stella, you’re gripping up with your knees. Relax your knee and keep your heelsdown…Ben, you’re dropping your shoulder in…Morgan, keep Jack on the bit, don’t let go of the contact…Good, Issie, very good. A bit more impulsion at the canter, yes, that’s it…lovely stuff”
    Issie focused hard on keeping her position perfect and keeping Blaze at a balanced, steady canter. The mare was going so beautifully and Issie was thrilled that the rearing incident didn’t seem to have affected her. Blaze was her old self again.

    “Excellent effort today!” Avery said as he walked down the row in front of them all at the end of the practice session. “I know that some of you have been to visit Annabel in hospital.” Avery smiled at Stella, Kate and Issie. “And the news is good—she will be fine. But there’s no way that leg of hers will heal in time for her to ride at the Interclub.”
    He turned now to his two reserves. “Natasha, I’ve decided that with Annabel out for the competition, you will be our new team member. Morgan will remain as our reserve. Right? Excellent!”
    And with that, Avery strode off towards the horsefloats. The team, including a rather smug Natasha, turned and began to head in the same direction to unsaddle and go home.
    Issie was about to ride after the others when she noticed Morgan hadn’t moved. She was sitting quite still on Jack and she was trying desperately not to look upset, but failing utterly.
    “Are you OK?” Issie asked her.
    “Uh-huh,” Morgan nodded, although she was clearly trying not to cry. “I just thought…I thought that with Annabel gone Avery would put me in the team. I never thought that it would be Natasha.”
    Morgan sighed, “Mum will kill me when she finds out.”
    “Why?” Issie was puzzled.
    A single tear trickled down Morgan’s left cheek. “Oh, you know, she