Comet and the Champion’s Cup. Stacy Gregg

There was something about his grand attitude and silly antics that just made her want to giggle. Comet strutted about as if he was a superstar instead of just a little skewbald gelding in the paddock at Hester’s house. Besides, Issie was beginning to realise that Comet didn’t respond well to authority. He was a stroppy pony and if she wanted to bond with him, she was going to have to do things his way.

      “Steady, Comet!” Issie gave up on using the mounting block as the pony kept dancing around her. As Comet circled she moved swiftly with him, slipping her foot into the stirrup and, before the pony even knew what was happening, she was bouncing up into the saddle and had landed lightly on his back. “Good boy!”

      There is that moment when you sit on a horse for the very first time and you ask yourself, How does it feel up here? Are we right for each other? Do we click? You can never really know for sure straightaway. It takes a long time to get to know a horse. But in those first minutes in the saddle, as you ask them to walk, trot and canter for the first time, you get an inkling, almost like a sixth sense that tells you whether you really belong together.

      Right now, Issie didn’t realise it but she was unconsciously, instinctively, feeling this new horse out. She adjusted her position and felt the sturdiness of Comet’s stocky frame, compact and solid underneath her. He was only fourteen-two, which meant that officially he qualified as a pony, not a hack, and yet Issie could sense that he had the attitude of a much larger horse.

      As she gathered Comet up and asked him to step forward into a walk and then a trot, Issie felt almost instantly that he was exactly the sort of horse she liked–responsive and peppy. Issie only had to give him the lightest touch with her legs to get him moving.

      “Take him on a lap or two around the arena to get used to his paces,” Hester advised her. Issie nodded and asked Comet to trot. He did so immediately, his stride covering the ground in a floating trot with his hocks coming underneath him nicely. His canter too was bouncy and active. Issie felt a thrill of excitement tingle up her spine.

      “He’s got lovely paces, Aunty Hess!”

      Hester smiled. “He’s still green, but he has loads of potential. I think you’ll get on famously.”

      As if to confirm this, Comet raised his head and let out another loud whinny, calling out to the other horses as if to say, “Look at me!” Issie laughed and gave Comet a slappy pat on his glossy neck.

      “Well, Comet already thinks he’s famous–I guess that’s a good start.”