Nightstorm and the Grand Slam. Stacy Gregg

      

      Nightstorm and the Grand Slam

      Stacy Gregg

      Copyright

      First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2011

       HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,

      1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

      PONY CLUB SECRETS. Text Copyright © Stacy Gregg 2011. Illustrations © Fiona Land 2011. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

      ISBN 9780007299324

      Stacy Gregg asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of the work.

      Ebook Edition © MAY 2011 ISBN: 9780007435883

      Version 2017-03-29

      Contents

       Copyright

      Map

      Nightstorm and the Grand Slam

      Chapter 1

      It was day one of the Badminton Horse Trials. The…

      Chapter 2

      With the dressage behind them, the Laurels team were now…

      Chapter 3

      Mystic stamped a hoof impatiently against the gravel and looked…

      Chapter 4

      Issie felt like she had only just fallen asleep when…

      Chapter 5

      Issie and Avery arrived back at the horse truck that…

      Chapter 6

      There was a stunned silence in the horse truck and…

      Chapter 7

      After Nightstorm’s bout of colic, Issie was worried sick that…

      Chapter 8

      The last person in the world Issie had expected to…

      Chapter 9

      Oliver Tucker surveyed his surroundings, running a property developer’s eye…

      Chapter 10

      In the final week of the lead-up to Burghley, preparations…

      Chapter 11

      Issie’s hands were trembling at her throat as she tried…

      Chapter 12

      On the sidelines, the crowd who had seen Victory fall…

      Chapter 13

      Oliver Tucker unbuckled the sling and took hold of Victory’s…

      Chapter 14

      It was a moment of madness, but it was too…

      Chapter 15

      Back at the ‘hold box’, Avery did his best to…

      Chapter 16

      The prize-giving was preceded by a display by the Belvoir…

      Epilogue

      Spring weather in New Zealand is unpredictable. When Issie Brown…

      Acknowledgments

      Other Books in The Pony Club Secrets Series

       About the Publisher

      Map

      Nightstorm and the Grand Slam

      In the glamorous and dangerous world of three-day eventing there are three super-elite competitions that together are regarded above all the rest as the very greatest test of a rider’s skill and courage.

      These three events are: The Kentucky Four-Star, The Badminton Horse Trials and The Burghley Horse Trials.

      Winning any one of these famous equestrian contests is considered a remarkable feat. Even more incredible, however, is the rider who can win all of them in a clean sweep. This three-in-a-row victory is, without a doubt, the most coveted title in the world of eventing: a phenomenon known simply as the Grand Slam.

      Chapter 1

      It was day one of the Badminton Horse Trials. The first crucial phase of the three-day event was underway and throughout the morning, one after another, elite combinations of horse and rider had performed their dressage tests with precision and elegance as the crowds in the grandstand looked on.

      The sun was high in the sky by the time the final competitor rode into the main stadium. Like the other riders before her, she was dressed in a long black tailcoat and a silk topper. Underneath the top hat, her startlingly youthful face was fixed in a serious expression as she took her last warm-up lap, cantering her magnificent bay horse around the perimeter of the arena.

      “Ladies and gentlemen,” commentator Mike Partridge began his introduction, “our last rider of the day is only seventeen years old and this is her first time here at the Badminton Horse Trials. However, do not dismiss this young equestrienne just because of her age. Two weeks ago this talented girl rode at the prestigious international Kentucky Four-Star in Lexington, USA and took home the winner’s medal in an astonishing performance on a horse that she had ridden for the first time just two days before!”

      Mike Partridge’s voice shrank to a whisper as he watched the rider on the bay stallion line up ready to begin her test.

      “We have already seen her in the arena this morning, putting in a very good performance on Victory, the Australian-bred gelding owned by Mrs Tulia Disbrowe. This is her second ride of the day, on her own horse this time…” Mike Partridge paused for dramatic effect, “…ladies and gentlemen, this is Isadora Brown riding Nightstorm!”

      As she cantered down the centre line, Issie tried to keep her composure. To the crowds in the stands she might have looked calm and collected, but beneath the heavy tailcoat her shirt was soaked with sweat. She was exhausted and shaken, having just spent the past hour in a heated battle of wills in the warm-up arena with Nightstorm – a fight that had ended emphatically when the stallion finally threw a massive hissy fit and bucked her off!

      “Easy boy,” she murmured as they halted. “Please don’t lose it again, not now…”

      Storm was the most talented horse she’d ever ridden – but the counterbalance to his genius was a hot temper which surfaced at moments like this one. She’d been trying to practise their flying changes when Storm had decided he’d had enough of this dressage stuff. Putting in a swift and violent buck, he’d taken Issie totally