Free Comet and the Champion's Cup by Stacy Gregg

“Follow me to the tack room.” She led the eight riders into the tack room. Hung neatly on the walls on named pegs were rows of halters and bridles. “Now who can tell me which one is a halter and which one is a bridle?” Kate asked.
    Trisha and Tina’s hands shot up. “The one with a bit and reins is the bridle. The halter doesn’t have a bit. You use the halter to catch them and tie them up while you’re grooming and stuff,” Trisha said.
    â€œVery good!” said Kate. “Now can you all please pick up the halter of the horse that you’ll be riding, grab a carrot each out of the feed bins and let’s go catch our ponies.” This proved to be easier said than done.
    â€œWe didn’t have to catch our own ponies at our last riding school,” Lucy said. “They had them all ready for us to ride when we arrived.”
    â€œI can’t undo the strap!” Sophie groaned, strugglingto pull the stiff leather through the buckle.
    Meanwhile, Stella was busy with George, who had managed to put a halter on Diablo, but had somehow got it upside down and couldn’t figure out what he had done wrong.
    â€œIs anyone else having problems?” Kate asked. She looked over at Kelly-Anne, who had managed to get her halter done up but had the lead rope wrapped tightly around her hand. “Always hold the lead rope at the shank and don’t wrap it around your hand like that!” Kate called out to her. “What you’re doing is dangerous. If Julian bolts on you and the rope tightens, you could end up getting dragged along by your pony or with a broken finger.”
    â€œI know what I’m doing!” Kelly-Anne snapped back. “Stop being so bossy.” Still, she unwrapped the rope that was twirled around her hand and held it correctly the way Kate had shown her.
    â€œHas everyone got their halters on?” Kate called out. “Right. Let’s lead them back to the loose boxes.”
    Once they were inside, the riders were all shown how to tie a slip knot to tether the ponies and then Kate led them to the tack room.
    â€œYour gear should be stacked next to the nameplate of your horse,” Kate explained. “You’ve each got a bucketwith your own grooming kit. You should have a hoof pick, a curry comb, a sweat scraper, a sponge, a dandy brush, body brush and a mane comb each. Can you all check your kits?” The riders all dug about in their buckets and tried to identify the various bits of their grooming kit.
    â€œYour saddles and bridles always go in the same place in the tack room and your racks are name-tagged with your pony’s name,” Kate continued. “There will be a prize each week for the person who keeps their tack and kit the tidiest and cleanest…”
    There was a groan from Kelly-Anne at the idea of cleaning gear. “Are we actually going to do any riding today? You want us to clean the ponies and stuff? It’s like we’re doing your work for you!”
    â€œGrooming your horse is an important skill you need to learn,” Kate said. “Can anyone tell me why we bother to groom before we ride?”
    â€œTo make our horses look pretty?” Lucy offered.
    â€œYes, but what else?” There was silence. “Grooming a horse isn’t just about making them look nice,” Kate said. “It also gives you a chance to check for injuries, to see if your horse has a saddle sore or if there’s a stone stuck in a shoe. Even if you are in a screaming hurry, you shouldalways give your horse a quick groom all over to check that it is OK.”
    â€œNow,” Kate said, “when I call your name, can you come up please and grab your bucket of brushes and your tack. And remember to carry the saddles with your arms through the gullet the way we showed you.”
    Lucy and Sophie were both struggling to carry their own saddles, so Issie helped them to lug their gear back to