Storm and the Silver Bridle. Stacy Gregg

the blue and silver horse truck and Mrs Tucker appeared on the ramp, looking flustered. “Natasha! What’s going on? Are you going to unload your horse or do I have to do everything?”

      Natasha groaned out loud at her mother’s command, but she did as she was asked and walked back over to her truck, following Mrs Tucker back inside. A few moments later she emerged again leading a horse. Issie had been expecting to see Natasha’s elegant rose-grey, Fabergé. Instead, the horse that appeared was a striking chestnut, about sixteen hands high, with a glossy coat, perfectly pulled mane, flowing tail and two white hind socks.

      “His name is Romeo and he’s a purebred Selle Francaise—a French sport-horse!” Natasha said proudly as she led him past Issie and tied him up.

      Issie was stunned. “What happened to Fabergé?”

      “Fabby’s gone,” Natasha shrugged. “He was never talented enough for me. Ginty was supposed to find me a new horse at Horse of the Year, but really there was nothing there that measured up to my needs.” Natasha said this last part with a nasty sneer and Issie knew this was a dig at Comet. “Anyway, that’s when Mummy suggested that Ginty fly over to Australia and look for a new horse to bring back. That’s where she found Romeo. She insists that Romeo is the perfect horse to take me to the national pony club champs, and—”

      “Got a new horse then?” Stella interrupted as she rode up to join them. “Is that because Fabergé kept bucking you off?”

      Natasha gave Stella a filthy look. “That wasn’t my fault! Fabergé is too highly strung. Ginty says that’s why we weren’t clicking.”

      “Natasha, I don’t know how you can expect to ‘click’ with a horse if you just keep getting new ones every time something goes wrong!” Stella shot back.

      “It’s called upgrading,” Natasha sniffed. She cast her eyes over Coco. “You know, you should really think about upgrading too, Stella. You’re so huge your legs are almost dragging on the ground on that pony. What’s the matter? Can’t your parents afford to buy you a new one?”

      Stella seemed genuinely hurt by this and Natasha, pleased with the success of her put-down, decided that was the end of the conversation. “I’m glad this is the last rally of the year,” she added icily as she turned to lead Romeo away to the washing bays. “That means I won’t have to put up with you two again for the next few months.”

      “God, she is such a cow!” Stella said, pulling a face behind Natasha’s back as she watched her walk away. Then she vaulted out of the saddle to stand beside her horse. “Never mind what Stuck-up Tucker says, Coco, I still love you!” Stella threw her arms around Coco’s neck, giving the mare a snuggle. Coco, who didn’t particularly like snuggles, put her ears back a bit.

      “You are getting a bit big for her though, aren’t you?” Issie said gently.

      It was true. The girls were fourteen now and Stella had really grown this year. Coco was only thirteen-two hands high and Stella looked enormous on her. Her legs were so long they almost wrapped right around the mare’s tubby brown belly.

      “I know…” Stella said. She cast a sneaky sideways glance at Coco, as if she was checking to see if the pony was listening, and then whispered dramatically to Issie with her hand over her face. “I don’t really want to talk about this in front of Coco, but I’ve been looking in the ‘ponies for sale’ pages in PONY magazine. Mum and Dad said that I can sell Coco and get a new pony in time for summer and they’re taking me to look at this fourteen-two roan next week…”

      “Stella,” Issie whispered back, “you do know that you don’t have to whisper, don’t you? Coco can’t understand English.”

      “Coco understands every word I say, don’t you, Coco?” Stella giggled, stroking her mare’s forelock.

      While the girls were talking, Storm had been standing obediently tied up beside them, his head held high, watching everything that was going on around him with bright, wide eyes. Mostly though, he was looking intently at Coco. He gave a high-pitched whinny and stretched to the end of his lead rope, craning his neck to get closer to her.

      “Hey, Storm!” Stella said. “Do you want to say hello to Coco?”

      Issie nodded. “That’s why we’re here. Tom says it will be good for Storm to socialise with other horses.”

      At first, Storm stepped back nervously when Stella led Coco over. After a few moments, though, his curiosity got the better of him and he came closer, stretching his neck out so that he and Coco were touching noses. Coco responded with a stroppy squeal and put her ears flat back, trying to nip at the colt. Nightstorm skittered back to get out of her way.

      “Coco! Be nice! He’s just a baby,” Stella scolded. She stood Coco still and waited for Nightstorm to try again. This time the mare reluctantly seemed to accept the colt’s presence. They nickered to each other softly, as if they were making horsey conversation, and within a few minutes they were standing quite happily together.

      “Where’s Kate?” Issie wondered.

      “She’s waiting for the farrier,” Stella said. “Toby threw a shoe.”

      “We have to get her to introduce Toby to Nightstorm too,” Issie said. “Maybe the three of them will be best friends—just like us.”

      Issie, Stella and Kate had been inseparable from the moment they met. Issie’s mum always said that the girls were so alike they must be sisters. This was kind of a joke, because the three of them didn’t actually look anything like each other. Issie had olive skin and long, dark straight hair just like her mum. Stella was a redhead with curls and freckles and Kate was tall and lanky with short-bobbed blonde hair and pale blue eyes. “Never mind looks. On the inside, where it matters, you three girls are cut from the same cloth,” Mrs Brown would say, smiling and shaking her head. “Utterly horse-mad!”

      Issie looked at her watch. Quarter to nine. The rally was about to start and she was absolutely dying of thirst. She had just enough coins in her pocket to use the drinks machine in the clubroom.

      “Stella,” she said, “can you do me a favour? Can you watch Storm for a couple of minutes? I want to get a drink.”

      “I want one too. I’ll come with you,” Stella said.

      Issie shook her head. “Tom said I shouldn’t leave Storm alone by himself.”

      Stella looked at Storm, who was happily nibbling at his hay net. “He’s not alone. He’s with Coco,” she said. “He’ll be fine. We’ll only be a minute.”

      “I know, but…” Issie wasn’t sure about this, but she didn’t want to be a drama queen. After all, they were only going to the clubroom.

      “OK, OK!” she caved. “But we have to be quick, all right?”

      The two girls raced across the paddock to the clubroom and bounded up the steps. Issie dug into her pockets and hastily fed the change into the drinks machine. She listened for the clunk-clunk, and then stuck her hand into the hole to retrieve her can of Coke.

      “Ohhh, I might get some crisps too!” Stella said. “I love crisps for breakfast.” She grinned at Issie as she put her money in the vending machine.

      “Come on. We better get back,” Issie said nervously. She was beginning to regret leaving Storm. Avery had been quite firm when he told her not to leave the colt tied up by himself. If anything happened she wouldn’t forgive herself.

      Issie stepped out of the clubroom and looked back towards the horse float where Storm was tethered. “Ohmygod!” she said.

      “What’s wrong?” Stella said. But Issie didn’t answer her. She had already leapt off the clubroom steps and was sprinting back across the paddock.

      Issie could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she ran towards the horse float. Storm was standing where she had left him—but there was a dark figure next to the colt,