Charlie and Charm (6 page)

Johnny called Sally away straight after the lesson because someone was on the phone, so I don’t know if I can do the cross country yet. The lesson went quite well, but me and Charm didn’t get everything right, so I’m not sure if Sally will say yes. Argh! I’m so nervous, waiting to hear! I know – I’ll write in here about the rest of the morning to try and take my mind off the suspense.

Me and Charm are even friendlier now. He’s definitely beginning to like me (and he loves me ruffling his mane up!). I like him, too – he’s got lovely dark eyes, which make it look like he’s thinking important thoughts.

Things are going a bit better with the other girls, too. When we were grooming and tacking up I helped Molly to pick out Sugar’s
feet, because she was a bit nervous of him standing on her toes. But instead of taking over, I showed her how to lean into him a bit and run her hand down his leg until he picked his hoof up. She was so proud when she did it all by herself. I’m not sure if Jemima saw. I really hope she did. Then she might stop thinking I’m a spoilt brat, and Ricosha and Tameka might be friendly to me again, too, because they tend to do what Jemima does and right now they are kind of half not talking to me.

In our Pony Care lecture we had to go round the yard in twos writing down the different markings on the ponies and guessing which breeds they might have in them. Millie wasn’t there because she’s done all this before, and as soon as Lydia said get into pairs Jemima grabbed Skye’s hand. I tried not to mind and made myself keep smiling, and I was surprised
when Molly said she wanted to go with me (and v. happy). When it was her turn with the clipboard I spelled out some words for her, but only when she asked me to.

In the lesson (my big test!) we warmed up in walk and trot on each rein and did lots of turns and circles to get our ponies listening. We worked on getting a collected, controlled canter with lots of impulsion for the cross country. It’s not as if me and Charm were doing everything perfectly, but we were definitely more of a team. Sally set up three jumps, and we worked over them, trying to look ahead at the next one as we landed.

Sally kept calling out, “Look ahead and think ahead!” to everyone, which is her motto. (She’s also always saying that we have to make sure we give our ponies the freedom of their head and necks as we go over the jumps.) I tried not to wonder what Sally was thinking of my riding. Instead, I just focused on working with Charm. Jemima got Mischief over the jumps after a couple of run outs and everyone said well done. I said it the loudest and she smiled at me and my stomach flipped over and I started thinking that maybe everything will turn out OK after all. Oh, Sally’s…

Yes, I can do the cross country! Yesssssssss!!! Sally said I had really tried and shown a good improvement, although I’ve still got things to work on. Gotta go to lunch now. But I just want to quickly write again that I AM DOING THE CROSS COUNTRY – HOORAY!

I’m going to put down everything I did, but first I need to go back to where I left off and write about this afternoon so I don’t miss anything out.

After lunch, instead of having a Pony Care lecture, our group went out with Sally and walked the cross-country course! Most of us had never done proper cross country before. We didn’t have to decide our own route in and out of each jump, thank goodness! Instead, Sally showed us the best lines of approach. She also helped us line up the jumps with objects in the distance so we could make sure we were on the right track.

We were all really excited, but also a bit scared because the jumps look so solid we were worried they’d hurt our ponies’ legs if
we didn’t get over cleanly. Sally explained that fixed jumps are actually
less
scary to ponies because they can see them more easily. That means they tend to judge the take-off better and do a bigger jump (as I soon found out on Charm!). Luckily, the ground’s pretty much flat so we don’t have to worry about going up or downhill either –
phew!

Skye walked the course with us, but she still wasn’t sure about having a go. In the end she decided to try a few of the jumps with us today, and then think about whether to do the whole course and the competition after that.

Here is my pic of the course. I’ve written some of the helpful hints Sally gave us on it, so I can remember what she said.

We were all buzzing with excitement as we went back to the yard to tack up our ponies ready for the cross-country practice. I was telling Charm all about the course while I did up his throatlash and made sure his numnah was straight underneath his saddle. Of course, I know he couldn’t understand
exactly
what I was saying, but he could tell we were in for some
His ears pricked up and he started wandering out of the barn before I’d even got the reins over his head to lead him!

We all mounted in the yard, then rode into the manège to warm up. Charm’s trot was bouncier than usual and his canter was quicker off the leg. I think it was because I was listening to him more, so I knew when he needed a nudge, plus I had a much more relaxed contact so he wanted to work with me in the first place. I was surprised at how much better
things were – I think I’m starting to see why Charm is called Charm. Sally gave me a wink and a smile – she’d noticed the improvement, too! When she led us out of the manège and up to the field my heart was thumping with excitement.

To start with, we all had a turn of going over the log, past the double and back over the log again, just to get used to jumping out in the open. Skye was a bit nervous at first, and Fisher lost confidence and ran out on their first try. When she got over on the second go, we all cheered, and Sally said, “See? It’s as easy as jumping over a log – ha ha!”

Next we had a go at the log
and
the double! Sally warned us that we had to keep collected over the two brush fences as the strides in between are quite short. Mischief rushed it and only put in one stride, and then he had to take a giant leap to get over the
second half of the fence. We all gasped and squeezed our eyes shut but they made it over – just! Sally told Jemima to circle him a couple of times to get a more collected canter and then bring him round again, and this time Jemima had more control and he got the two strides in.

When it was my go I was thinking about what strides Charm was doing and when I should go into the jumping position, and I bobbed up too early. I had to grab on to his mane so I didn’t go flying over his head! Sally told me to let the pony do the jumping and to “look ahead and think ahead”. We were all smiling at each other when she said it. I tried again but I still got my timing wrong.

Then we all jumped the hedge into the next field (which was really fun because it was so
soft we weren’t panicking about our ponies’ hooves brushing it!). Charm loved it, and so did I. We flew over and as we came to a halt I gave him a big pat to say well done.

In the next field we jumped the gate and the spread fence, but we didn’t add the ditch on. Sally said we’d tackle that on Friday morning as she didn’t want us to do too much all at once. Even Skye enjoyed herself in the end and she couldn’t stop grinning when we were riding back to the yard. I really think she might do the competition after all!

When we got back to the barn I grabbed a quick drink from the fountain and took my very hot hat off! Then I untacked Charm and spent loads of time fussing him and telling him how well he’d done. He seemed really proud of himself, and as he nuzzled my arm with his
soft muzzle I thought he was trying to let me know that he was proud of
me
, too – not just for the cross country, but for cheering up and trying hard.

I wish we could have another practice on the course tomorrow, but we’ve got our day trip out to the beach instead. That will be loads of fun, though, and I’m totally looking forward to cantering on the sand with Charm. I just wish we had more time to work on our cross-country skills as well!

And we certainly need it – back in the yard, Sally gave us all helpful comments on our weak areas. I can’t remember everything, but Jemima’s was to keep control of Mischief’s pace with half halts and by changing down into trot when he’s getting too strong in canter.

Ricosha’s was to ride Flame more positively towards the jump so that she has less chance of refusing, and to give a little tap with her crop in the last couple of strides if necessary.

It was so funny when Sally turned to Millie because Millie knew exactly what she was going to say – i.e. “Keep Tally on course.” He needs to stay focused after each jump because he likes to tear off randomly across the field!

Then it was my turn. Sally said that I wasn’t quite trusting Charm to clear the jump, how I was looking down instead of ahead sometimes and also going into the jumping position too early. She called it getting in front of the pony, which she says is a bad idea because it’s very easy to come flying off that way! I’ve really got some catching up to do, but I’m glad I’m not the only one with things to work on.

She also said I need to concentrate on leading Charm instead of trying to do the jump for him. I knew what she meant, but it still made me giggle, imagining this!

When she’d given us all our comments, she said, “And one final thing for
all
of you to remember…” and we chanted, “Look ahead and think ahead!” and then burst into giggles! Sally grinned and said, “You’re a cheeky bunch, but at least you’re listening, I suppose!”

I couldn’t help grinning, too. It’s so great to be one of the cheeky bunch again!