Free Moonlight: Star of the Show by Belinda Rapley Page A

double before taking it in turns to jump round. Pirate went first and flew each fence, rattling them but somehow leaving them all standing.
    Next up was Dancer, who approached each fence at a snail’s pace, eyeing them suspiciously even though she’d seen them a hundred times before. Nothing Rosie did could make her go any faster. She slowed on the way to the first fence, then launched herself over. Rosie collapsed on her neck, giggling and heading vaguely for the next jump.
    Despite Charlie and Alice yelling “Legs!” at the top of their voices, Rosie was still gigglingtoo much to use them effectively. Dancer cat-leaped the next fence then ground to a halt in front of the third. Rosie sank in the saddle dramatically. While Alice and Charlie groaned, Rosie just shook her head.
    “It’s not my fault – Dancer just isn’t built to jump.” She shrugged good-humouredly, joining Mia and letting her reins go to the buckle end. Dancer dropped her head immediately with a snort before ravenously starting to crop the patchy grass in the dusty field.
    As Mia rolled up her short sleeves to get a better tan, Alice set off around the course. Scout bounded into canter from walk and bounced forward over the dry summer grass, picking up neatly at each fence and jumping carefully, his ears pricked as he kept looking for the next one. Maybe all their hacking had freshened him up, Alice thought happily as they soared clean over the small triple bar.
    “And the winner of the Blackberry Farm Cupis Alice Hathaway riding Scout!” Rosie joked through coned hands.
    Alice laughed as Scout put in a series of high-spirited bucks. If only, she wished for the hundredth time, she could feel as relaxed in the show ring as she did in the field.
    “Then, Scout,” she whispered as her pony’s grey ear flickered back and forward at the sound of her voice, “we might have a chance in the real thing, I’m sure of it!”

    Over the next couple of days they concentrated on getting ready for the show. Mia spent hours on Wish’s appearance and practising her show-ring routine. Wish walked, trotted and cantered neatly in figures of eight with her neck arched gracefully. Her extended trot was a show-stopper and Mia practised that most of all, although she knew that Wish saved her best for when she hadan audience. The sound of the crowd ‘ooh’-ing in awe as the palomino mare flashed across the centre of the ring with a combination of power and elegance, her hoofs flicking out magnificently, elevated her to another level. Mia leaned down and hugged Wish. She’d worked hard to get her spot on, but she knew how lucky she was to have found a pony as talented as Wish, one that loved showing off to the crowd and the judge as much as she did. Charlie did nothing different from normal, just sat quietly and effortlessly as Pirate spun and bucked and charged about the schooling ring, while Rosie tried and failed to persuade Dancer to leave the ground from any pace other than a virtual standstill.
    Alice schooled Scout on the flat and over some show jumps, and he was accurate, fast and responsive. Alice felt completely in tune with him and she was enjoying every second. She knew that jumping was his favourite thing, and since she’d got him it had become hers too.
    “It’s just your nerves that stop you, Alice,” Charlie announced after they’d turned out their ponies in the warm, late afternoon sun, “I reckon it must be all those millions of eyes on you once you get in the ring that does it.”
    “Thanks for the reminder,” Alice groaned.
    As they wandered back to the yard they talked half about the classes they were entering and half about Moonlight. There was only one more day before the show, which was being held on the Sunday, and they still hadn’t come up with a plan of action over how to confront Mark. Panic was starting to set in.
    “We’ve got so much preparation to get through tomorrow with the ponies and the tack that we’re not going to