Authors: Judy Andrekson
Gunner (9 page)
“I’m glad you’re still here,” he whispered.
It was a sweet and moving moment, but Brent and Heather exchanged looks of dismay when Gunner raised his head again. Chocolate smudges marred the perfect white face that they had labored so hard to make gleaming. A year ago, this would have been a disaster and sent Heather into a tailspin. Now, she looked from Brent’s shocked expression to her son’s broad smile to Gunner’s chocolate muzzle, and she burst out laughing. With minutes to spare, they cleaned the chocolate off as best they could, and Heather and Gunner hurried into the ring to join the rest of the competitors.
Gunner conducted himself like a pro, responding to the tiniest cues, moving with the crisp energy and subtle flare that had earned him top honors the year before. He was underweight and still bore the scars of his hurricane ordeal, and his eye was dark and sightless now, but Brent, watching from the sidelines, saw them dance. It was enough to advance them to the finals in the class, despite all that was against them. He would not be named champion that year, but in Heather’s, Wesley’s,
and Brent’s eyes, and to everyone who knew him, he was a champion beyond all measure.
P
BJ Decks Smokin Gun still lives with Buttermilk at the little farm in Picayune, Mississippi. Gunner’s hardships were not over. The young horse survived a tragic trailer wreck a year after his return to the Worlds – a wreck which took the life of six-year-old Wesley and a young girl who had been traveling home from a show with them. Gunner has been one of the reasons that Heather has been able to find a way forward. He is still sassy and full of life, despite the incredible challenges he has faced, and he remains one of her most beloved friends.
This story is written in memory of
Wesley William Goodwin,
August 2000 – June 2007.
True HORSE Stories by Judy Andrekson:
Little Squire: The Jumping Pony
Miskeen: The Dancing Horse
JB Andrew: Mustang Magic
Fosta: Marathon Master
Brigadier: Gentle Hero
Gunner: Hurricane Horse
Text copyright © 2010 by Judy Andrekson
Illustrations copyright © 2010 by David Parkins
Published in Canada by Tundra Books,
75 Sherbourne Street, Toronto, Ontario M5A 2P9
Published in the United States by Tundra Books of Northern New York,
P.O. Box 1030, Plattsburgh, New York 12901
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009938092
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher – or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency – is an infringement of the copyright law.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Andrekson, Judy
Gunner : hurricane horse / Judy Andrekson ; illustrated by David Parkins.
(True horse stories)
eISBN: 978-1-77049-227-1
1. Gunner (Horse)–Juvenile literature. 2. Show horses–United States–Biography–Juvenile literature. 3. American paint horse–United States–Biography–Juvenile literature. 4. Hurricane Katrina, 2005–Anecdotes–Juvenile literature.
I. Parkins, David II. Title. III. Series: True horse stories
SF295.187.G85A54 2010 j798.2′40929 C2009-905855-3
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) and that of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative. We further acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program.
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