Carriad: New Beginnings

8/12/2019 Carriad: New Beginnings

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Chloe sighed as she waited for the last of her classmates to trundle onto the

school bus. The past hour seemed to have ticked by so slowly and as they

gossiped about their day and plans to go shopping this weekend, she couldnt

help but wish theyd hurry up and sit down.

Julia, one of the older girls who kept her pony at Chloes parents farm, had

been giving Chloe riding lessons and today she was going to be jumping. Chloe

had grown up with horses and loved riding; she thought back to the day Julia

had asked her if she wanted to ride her horse Phoebe. She remembered Julias

surprise when shed explained how shed always wanted to learn but her

parents couldnt afford to send her to lessons at the local riding centre anddidntthink she was old enough to have her own; her parents really werent

big horsey people.

The bus finally coughed and spluttered to life and as it pulled away from the

school Chloe couldnt wait to spend the whole weekend helping out the

liveries and spending time with Phoebe. She still longed for a horse of her own,

but at least having people rent the stables was better than no horses at all.


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Chloe waved to the driver and

hopped off onto the dirt track that lead towards the farm house. The

unmistakeable sound of hooves thundering over the fields filled her with

excitement as she ambled home. She soon noticed that there was a large horse

box she didnt recognise, parked near the outdoor school, and an unfamiliar

whinny filled her ears. By the time shed made it to the bottom of the track she

was almost overcome with excitement, it was then Julia walked into view with

the biggest horse Chloe had ever seen.

Julia waved once she caught sight of Chloe, Meet my new boy, King! What do

you think? Yourejust in time to help me settle him in if youdlike,she smiled

proudly. Chloe looked up at his enormous form and guessed him to be around

17hh.


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He sure is big, Ive just got to dump my school stuff in the house and Ill be

right out,she replied and hurried off towards the front door.

She quickly set about getting changed into her riding clothes and grabbed a

few carrots on her way back out. The door closed with a click behind her and

she bounded off back to the stables. By the time shed got there Julia had

settled King into his new stable and had begun grooming him.

Still up for our jumping lesson today?Julia queered, you best go grab

Phoebe in from the field.

DefinitelyChloe beamed and turned towards the Tack Room.

Pheebes!Chloe called from the gate, the pretty appaloosa mare pricked her

ears. Come onshe called again. Phoebe tore herself away from grazing and

trotted over. Hello girl shewhispered and slipped the head collar over her

nose and fastened it over her ears. Phoebe nuzzled her pocket and Chloecouldnthelp but laugh as Phoebe waited expectantly for her afternoon carrot.

Mothers back, Chloe noted, as she noticed the car parked outside the house.


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After a few figure eights and trotting poles, Chloe noticed that Julia had

arranged a small cross pole on the long side of the mnage.

She exhaled deeply, shortened her reins and headed towards the jump.

She felt Phoebe tense slightly beneath her and counted her strides, 1 2

and over they went.

Chloe couldnthelp but let out a huge sigh of relief and beamed from ear to

ear, that was the biggest theyd jumped yet. She noticed her parents watching

her from the window and hoped theyd seen her make the jump. After a few

more tries they called it a day and let Phoebe stretch out on a loose rein before

heading back to the stable.


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As they were un-tacking Phoebe, Julia let out a sigh, Chloe, Im really sorry but

I wanted to tell you before you saw her advertised somewhere, Ivegot to sell

Phoebe.

Chloe gasped, what?she whispered.

Im just too big for her now.She explained.

A tear escaped from Chloes eyes, just as she had started really making

progress Phoebe was going to leave, just like that.

Ill still give you lessons and you can ride king, I know its not the same but

Im sorry.Julia sighed.

Chloe couldnttake it anymore, she kissed Phoebes muzzle, mumbled a hurried

thank you and goodbye to Julia and ran out of the stable.

As she dived into the house she could hear muffled talking coming from the

living room, it was her parents, she crept closer.


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But shes been here for as long as she can remember

Selling,

How are we going to hide it from her,

Shell be devastated when she finds out

The farm, I suppose things do change

Chloe tore herself away, now not even trying to disguise the tears. First

Phoebe being sold and now her parents selling the farm too, she ran into her

room, locked the door and collapsed onto the bed. After what seemed like

hours of sobbing, she pulled herself together and left for the stables, hoping to

raise her spirits. Phoebe was still in the stable when Chloe arrived and she

found herself drifting towards her. She fed her the last carrot over the stable

door. In that moment she made a split second decision and raced towards the

tack room, grabbing Phoebes bridle. Within a few minutes Chloe managed to

put Phoebes bridle on, lead her towards the mounting block, jump on and walk

onto the dirt track leading away from the house. She hoped and prayed that

her parents wouldntnotice her, but she couldntstay here knowing that

everything she loved was being torn away from her. She hadnt had muchpractice riding bareback but as she trotted up the lane she almost forgot about

everything else that was going on and headed out towards the woods and

away from the farmhouse.


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As they hacked up the lane Chloe realised shed forgotten about the small wall

blocking the way into the woods. Chloe decided that the wall couldntbe any

bigger than the cross poles that Phoebe had cleared easily earlier. Knowing

that they couldnt go back now, she trotted back up the lane, turned Phoebe

towards the wall, grabbed a handful of mane and attempted the jump. Phoebe

refused and without the saddle Chloe became unbalanced, lost her grip andfell to the floor with a thud.

..


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Chloe and Julia headed back towards the farm and Chloe tired to explain to

Julia how she felt about everything and how it had all been too much. She was

surprised at how calm Julia was about it all and Chloe found herself apologising

again and again for taking Phoebe, after all she was still Julias horse.

Once they arrived back at the farm and had settled the horses back into their

stables, Chloes parents appeared from the house.

Chloe, we need to talk to you.Chloe looked up at Julia in panic, Julia must

have told them about her taking Phoebe.


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How was the ride Julia?Chloes father asked. Thanks again for taking Chloe

out.

Great thanks Colin,Julia replied.

Chloe looked up at her in confusion and Julia winked back at her.

Chloe, your father and I have been thinking and after talking to Julia, weve

decided, on the condition of her being your responsibility Phoebe is yours.

Chloes mother smiled down at her.

Chloe gasped, she looked between her parents, Julia and Phoebe and threw

herself into her mothers arms.

Do you really mean it?Chloe welled up again but this time for a totally

different reason.

Her Mother nodded, we thought youd overheard us talking earlier, we hope

it didnt ruin the surprise,her father handed her a new leather head collar.

Chloe slipped on Phoebes new head collar I cant believe itshe whispered

into Phoebesear and threw her arms around her neck.


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Youre really mine forever.

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Carriad: New Beginnings