“No!” Issie said firmly as they tried to grab at her. “Please! Let me do it myself!” She had been watching the quick-changes for every single rider and she was certain now that it would be faster to dress herself. She tore off her jacket and whipped the jersey out of Laura's hands. Then she grabbed the back protector off Emily and shoved it over the top, restrapping her helmet.
With trembling fingers she pulled on her gloves and grabbed her whip, then Laura was legging her up and Kate was shouting at her that she was ahead of the clock and she needed to
GO-GO-GO
!
Issie had completed the pit stop with the fastest time of the dayâthirty-six seconds. Ahead of her was the first fence, the hayfeeder with the golden marigolds. She pressed Victory on and he flew it at a flat gallop. Suddenly one metre-twenty was no longer an obstacle. Issie and Victory were going to take Delaney Swift's enormous course and ride it into the ground!
Over the next four fences Victory barely even slowed out of a gallop at any stage. Issie had one eye on her stopwatch and the other on the course ahead. At this rate they might even make it inside the time! Ahead of her on the course she could actually see Morgan and Arista not far in front. They were clear, but their time was going to be very slow.
Morgan had lost her nerve at the water jump and taken the long but safe route. It had cost her ten seconds. She had been slow over the other complexes too. Her time faults, plus the twelve faults she'd racked up in the showjumping ring, would push her over the edge and out of the contest. There was no hope of Morgan and Arista winning it for the All-Stars now.
Issie, meanwhile, was riding like a total speed demon. She had slowed down only once to a canterâand that was to take the corner combination at fence number six, neatly without error. With her time already strong, she was now approaching the water jump where so many riders before her had come unstuck. The longer route was safer, but it would cost her precious seconds. The shorter route might mean elimination if she got it wrong.
On the sidelines Tara Kelly watched as Issie approached the water. She knew how hard she had pushed Issie over the past two weeks. Had she been wrong?
There's a lot riding on this moment
, Tara thought to herself. In fact, there was far more riding on it than just the result of today's contest. For Tara Kelly, the decision that Issie was about to make would change everything.
As Victory approached the water, Issie gathered up the reins.
“She's going to turn and take the long way,” Dee Dee said to Tara.
“No,” Tara Kelly responded, smiling to herself. “No, she's not. She's going to do it.”
Issie had never even considered the long option. She was committed to the fast route as she approached the water complex, gathering the brown gelding up between her legs and hands, collecting him into a bouncy canter and driving him forward.
They took the brush with a perfect stride, Victory flying the fence and plunging into the water with a solid splash. There was a moment when the water slowed him down, but Issie had been anticipating this
and she leant back in the saddle, almost lying on the horse's rump to balance him as his back legs followed through.
Then, as Victory cantered forward, she sat up again, hastily picked up the reins and adjusted the brown horse's stride, preparing him neatly for the second element, asking him to jump at just the right moment. Victory took the second brush in the middle of the water complex as if it were a piece of cake. Then he cantered on through the water and popped out tidily over the retaining wall that completed the complex. The crowd went wild with applause and Issie gave the gelding a huge slappy pat on his damp, sweat-soaked neck. They had done it! The only horse and rider to make it smoothly through the short route in the water that day!
“Well done,” she murmured to the horse. “Good lad, good lad.”
They were back on course now and already over the next fence, the rabbit hutch. Issie was buzzing with the raw thrill of making the water jump. And then suddenly the thrill was gone and her blood ran cold.
She looked about the arena at the maze of jumps spread out in front of her. She had been so busy concentrating on getting the water jump right, she hadn't thought beyond that. And now here she wasâ¦where exactly?
In a panic Issie wheeled Victory around. How could she have been so stupid? She had heard Tara say that the course was complicated! Why hadn't she focused more on keeping her course to the next jump? This was ridiculous! She looked about wildly. Where was she? More importantly, where was fence number nine? Which one was fence NINE?!
It was no use. Her mind was blank. Issie was in the middle of the cross-country, the clock was ticking, everything was riding on herâ¦and she was hopelessly and utterly lost.
A sudden thunder of hoofbeats shook her out of her numb panic. She looked up and saw a grey horse galloping towards her.
The grey horse was familiar to her, but she couldn't make him out against the glare of the sunlight. Issie blinked and looked again. And then she realised who it was.
A few moments ago Issie had been bewildered and alone in the middle of the arena, watching the seconds ticking by on her stopwatch as she lost all that valuable time she had saved by taking the short path at the water jump! Soon she would be running up time faultsâbut what else could she do? Her
teammates tried to yell out where to go, but they were all too far away and she couldn't hear what they were saying.
She was on her own and they couldn't help her. The cross-country spread out around her like a maze. She had no idea which fence to jump after the rabbit hutch. If she guessed wrong, she would be eliminated for a course error. But if she stayed like this, she would lose anyway!
Then she heard the hoofbeats and saw the grey horse heading towards her. Suddenly Issie caught sight of a girl on the horse's back, and heard a voice shouting at her. It was Morgan and Arista!
“The birch rails!” Morgan was yelling. “Issie! Fence nine is the birch rails! To your right! Go nowâyou can still finish within the time!”
Without hesitation, Issie picked Victory up into a gallop again and veered hard right. Of course! The birch rails were straight ahead of her now, and she remembered that she should have turned back to take them after the rabbit hutch.
Victory pricked his ears forward at the sight of the birch rails and took the fence cleanly. As Issie and her
horse landed on the other side, she heard Morgan's voice calling after her. “Keep going! You're on the right track! The wood pile is next! Good luck!”
Issie rounded the outside of the water jump and lined up the wood pile in her sights. She didn't need directions any more. She knew the rest of the course off by heart. How could she have panicked and got so lost? She looked at her watch. She had squandered maybe twenty seconds back there. Now she would have to ride like a lunatic if she wanted to make the time up again.
The next fence was a straightforward brush and then Issie was back at the bank-and-corner combination, taking it in reverse this time as fence twelve. There was a moment's hesitation on the bank as Victory jumped down and almost shied at the upcoming corner jump. Issie had to pull hard on the right rein to keep him on track inside the flags, and then they were over it and racing for fence thirteen, the rustic dog kennel. Victory popped over that one as if it weren't even there. They were seven jumps from home now and still clear.
The brown gelding had been maintaining a strong,
steady gallop, but now that they were three-quarters of the way around the course, he was flagging a little. Could they keep up the pace all the way home? Victory was already drenched with sweat, and white foam was beginning to show where the reins rubbed against his neck. He was galloping like a true Thoroughbred, giving his all as they rode each and every fence.
Issie was urging him to keep his gallop steady between the jumps, but she knew it was up to her to maintain the fine line between making it home within the time and pushing her horse too hard. If she asked the horse for too much then Victory might get too exhausted. And exhausted horses made mistakesâsometimes fatal ones.
As she approached fence fifteen, the country-style gates, Issie could feel Victory's stride flagging just a little beneath her, but when she asked him to push on for the jump, he didn't hesitate. Together their timing was perfect as Victory put in two strides between the fences and leapt the gates like a kangarooâwith a neat bounce stride between them.
“Good lad!” Issie cried out with relief as they
landed safely. Then she pushed him on again back into a relentless gallop. They took the next three jumps without her even bothering to slow his stride. They weren't big questions and she was right when she estimated that the brown gelding could take them with ease. As they landed after the third fence, Issie glanced down at the seconds ticking by on her watch. It was going to be closeâshe would have to ride like crazy all the way to the finish line.
Victory's tiredness was apparent now. “Two more jumps, boy, that's all it is, just two more,” Issie murmured to her horse. Fence nineteen was huge. It was a wooden bridge and riders could choose either to go across it and then jump a small rail at the end or they could take the fast route and jump the bridge itself. Despite Victory's exhaustion, Issie trusted her horse to take the fast route. She checked him back to a canter and then urged him on so hard at the jump, it almost felt like she was picking him up and lifting him over it!
Victory flew the bridge with a grunt. “Only one more to go, boy,” Issie told him as she leant low over the gelding's neck. “One more and we're home.”
SHe knew Victory couldn't possibly understand what she was saying, but somehow the horse sensed that his rider's urgings meant that they were near the end. He summoned up his last reserves of energy and galloped on even harder, taking the flower-bed jump with ears pricked forward and his head held high. Then they were racing across the finish line and Issie was vaulting off his back and into the arms of her teammates, who were cheering and screaming in disbelief and total joy.
Victory had made it within the time and with no jumping faults. Their score brought the total of the All-Stars' team to a brilliant 251 versus the Super-Roos' total of 262. Issie and Victory had put the All-Stars a whole eleven points in the lead! They had done it. They had won.
As the rest of her teammates gathered around her, there was one member of the All-Stars Issie was desperate to see.
“Where's Morgan?” she asked Kate and Stella.
It was Morgan who had won the competition for the All-Stars. Issie had been so focused on riding the course and getting home with a clear round, that it wasn't until now, back home again and on the ground, that she could fully comprehend the sacrifice that Morgan had made for her team out there in the arena.
Morgan was still riding the cross-country course just ahead of Issie when she heard the shouts from the crowd. Knowing how complicated the course layout was, Morgan had twigged straight away and realised that Issie must be lost. After that, it took her less than a split-second to decide what she had to do.
In that moment Morgan gave up her own chances of finishing the course. She had abandoned her own cross-country round and come back to help her teammate. It was because of this selfless act, and Morgan's lightning-fast thinking, that Issie had won.
As the girl with the long dark hair rode back across the fields to join them, Issie and the others ran up meet her.
“Ohmygod! You totally saved me out there,” Issie said.
Morgan smiled a huge grin. “It was no big deal.”
“No big deal? You gave up your own chances of getting a clear round to come back and help me.”
“It made sense,” Morgan shrugged. “I knew I couldn't win. I already had twelve faults from the showjumping, plus the time faults from the water jump. I had figured out that there was no way I could win it for the All-Stars, but I knew you could still do it.”
Issie was stunned. “But what if I hadn't gone clear?”
“It was worth the risk,” Morgan said. “Besides, I was pretty sure you could ace it⦔
“Morgan!”
The girls looked up to see Araminta Chatswood-Smith running towards them.
“Ohmygod,” Morgan muttered under her breath. “Mum is so gonna kill me for running out in the middle of a competition.”
“It's OK,” Stella said. “We'll all stand up for you. We'll explain it to her. You did this for the team.”
But as it turned out, no explanations were required. Araminta had a huge smile on her face as she gave Morgan a tight, squeezy hug. “Genius!” she said. “I'm so proud of you!”
“For what?” Morgan said. “Giving up halfway through my round?”
“No, for thinking like a team player,” smiled Araminta. “That's the smartest piece of riding that I've ever seen from you, Morgan. You saw the best way to help your team to win, and you took control and went for it. You were thinking like a real competitive rider. You put the good of the team ahead of yourself and it paid off. Great job!”
After Araminta had dished out more congratulations to Issie, Charlotte, Dee Dee and Kate for their winning rounds, there was the small matter of a very large trophy to receive. The All-Stars mounted up to receive the silver cup, and each of the eight riders also received a gold-trimmed sash, which flapped gaily around their horses' necks as they cantered around the ring, taking their lap of honour.
Avery and Tara were the first to meet them as they left the arena.
“The All-Stars live up to their name!” Avery was
grinning from ear to ear as the eight girls rode past. “Brilliant work, girls, just brilliant, all of you!”
Tara reached up and took the silver cup from Issie's hands. “Well done, Isadora,” was all she saidâand then the riders were unsaddling and preparing their horses once more, ready for the trucks and the two-hour drive back home to Havenfields.
The celebration dinner that night was pizza cooked in the outdoor pizza ovenâwith cake and ice cream for dessert. After that, the girls had a disco in Issie and Dee Dee's bedroom, taking it in turns to pick songs on Dee Dee's iPod.
“Just don't play any Abba!” Dee Dee begged them. “I've been listening to it non-stop to practise for my dressage test and I think if I ever hear âDancing Queen' again, I will scream!”
Despite being thrilled with the win, Issie wasn't much in the mood for partying. She had left the others in her bedroom and found herself in the kitchen helping Avery with the dishes instead.
“Are you OK?” he asked her. “For someone who's just won the Young Rider Challenge you seem a little flat.”
“I'm fine,” Issie insisted.
“Well, you should be more than fine. You should be over the moon,” Avery said. “That was a truly spectacular piece of riding on the cross-country today.” He grinned at her. “OK, it was touch and go for a moment when you lost your track, but the way you handled Victory, taking the straight line through the water jump and bringing him home without time faults, well, I've never seen you ride quite that brilliantly before.”
“At least someone noticed,” Issie sighed.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean Tara didn't seem so impressed,” said Issie darkly.
“Didn't she say anything to you after the event?”
“She said âwell done'.”
“I see,” Avery said. “And you were hoping for something a bit moreâ¦fulsomeâ¦in terms of praise?”
“I'd be thrilled if she said one nice thing to me!” Issie groaned. “She never, ever seems happy with me. It's like I can't please her.”
“Tara is a perfectionist,” Avery said. “She didn't win Lexington four times by being soft. She's been asking you to step up your game. And to be honest, I think it shows. Your riding has made huge strides in the past two weeks under her tuition. I think that sometimes I'm too soft on you. Tara doesn't have that problemâshe'll push you to the limit.”
“How does she know she hasn't pushed me past my limit?” Issie frowned.
“She knows exactly how much you are capable of. She'd heard a lot about you before she came here and she had high expectations of you,” Avery said.
“What do you mean she'd heard about me?”
“I told Tara about you.”
“What did you say?”
“That you're the most gifted pupil I've ever taughtâa natural rider with great instincts and the will to go all the way.”
Issie had never heard Avery talk about her like this before. It made her face flush with embarrassment.
“Why didn't you tell me all this?”
“Because,” Avery sighed, “I thought if you knew that Tara had her eye on you, it would make you nervous.”
Issie was stunned. “So instead you left me in the dark, with her on my case for the past two weeks?”
“Tara's an amazing teacher. And she's a nice person tooâonce you get to know her.”
“How do you know Tara anyway?”
“Oh, I've known her for a very long time,” Avery said. “We used to compete against each other back in the day. We were rivals, I supposeâbut in a good way.”
Issie went quiet for a moment and all that could be heard in the kitchen was the clanking of the pots and pans in the sink. This was her chance to ask Avery about Blainford. “Tara said that she wanted you to move to Kentucky and work at the Academy with her, but you said no.”
Avery focused on washing a particularly stubborn pot lid. “It's true,” he said without looking up. “She offered me a job and I didn't take it.”
“When was this?”
“About three years ago. I'd just moved back to New Zealand and bought Winterflood Farm. I had already started as the head instructor at Chevalier Point, and was doing my work for the International League for
the Protection of Horses. I thought my old life on the eventing circuit was long goneâ¦then Tara got in touch.”
“She wanted you to work for her?”
“With her. As associate coach of the eventing department.”
“So why didn't you do it?”
“I had my reasons,” Avery said, “which I explained to Tara at the time. She accepted my decision, but I don't think she entirely understood it. Nobody had turned down a position at Blainford before. It's a very prestigious institution. The teachers there are the best in the world at what they do. It was a great honour to be asked.”
“So is she still angry with you?”
Avery smiled at her. “Tara isn't like that. She's one of the most supportive, generous people you'll ever meet.”