Free Comet and the Champion's Cup by Stacy Gregg Page B

Five Commandments
    â€œUmm, Stella? Aren’t there supposed to be ten commandments?” Kate asked.
    â€œThey’ll never remember ten!” Stella said. “Five is enough to start with.”
    â€œOK,” Issie said to the riders. “Can anyone tell me the first rule? What is the most important thing when you are riding?”
    â€œUmmm, being nice to your pony?” Sophie said.
    â€œExcellent!” Issie said. “What else?”
    A hand shot up from one of the other riders. “Ummm, don’t kick?” Tina said.
    Pretty soon everyone had their hands up (except for Kelly-Anne, who was still in a sulk about being told off)and in no time at all Stella had written up her list.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â The Blackthorn Farm Riding School’s Five Commandments
Always treat your pony with kindness. A good rider makes their pony happy.
Never kick your pony to make him go. A squeeze is enough.
Never yank on the reins to make him stop. A squeeze is enough too!
Do not flap your arms and legs. You are a rider, not a chicken.
A good rider is quiet in the saddle. Keep your heels down, your eyes up and your hands steady.
    The lesson was short and simple that morning. The girls made their pupils clamber around in the saddle doing round-the-world, before swinging their legs to the front and the back to do heel clicks. Then they played the Mounting Game. Stella popped a series of yellow, red and blue feed bins on the ground. The riders had to dismount and pick up an object out of their groomingkits before remounting, trotting up to the bin and throwing the items in one by one. They had to dismount again to get the next piece until their grooming kits were empty and the bins were full. They finished the morning session by making all the riders show them the perfect position in the saddle.
    â€œYou need to think of a straight line from your ear to your elbow to your heel,” Issie said as she adjusted Lucy’s leg so that it was back against the girth. “You must maintain that vertical line at all times.”
    â€œCan anyone tell me what other straight line you must keep at all times?” Stella asked.
    â€œUmm, is it the elbow to the bit?” asked Tina.
    â€œThat’s right! Imagine a line straight from the horse’s bit to your elbow–that means your hands are in the right position.”
    â€œThat’s easy,” Kelly-Anne snorted.
    â€œYes, but you haven’t actually tried moving yet, have you?” said Stella. “It’s easy to maintain the perfect position when you’re just sitting there, but wait until you start trotting–or cantering!”
    â€œYeah, you had the perfect position until you fell off on your bum!” George grinned at Kelly-Anne.
    â€œGeorge!” Issie cautioned him. “Everyone falls off.Horsey people have a saying: you have to fall off seven times before you are a real rider.”
    â€œAnyway,” Kate looked at her watch, “I think we’ve all had enough for the morning. It’s lunchtime. Let’s get these ponies untacked.”
    It took almost as long for Lucy and Sophie to unsaddle the horses as it had taken for them to tack up. As Issie helped them, she drilled the girls on their general knowledge.
    â€œWe’ll play Pony Questions,” Issie told them. “Let’s see who can be the first one to give me the right answer. Are you ready?” The girls nodded.
    â€œWhat colour is a piebald?”
    â€œOhh!” Sophie’s hand shot up. “Black and white!”
    â€œExcellent! And what is another name for a piebald? The name the Americans use? We should really use it for Diablo because he’s a Quarter Horse…”
    â€œA paint?” Sophie guessed.
    â€œThat’s right!” said Issie. “Next question then. Who can point to their horse’s fetlock?” Lucy pointed to the bottom of her pony’s leg.
    â€œVery good, Lucy!”
    The