Unbridled Beginnings

Chapter 18: Friends

"Hazel," I say, jogging to catch up with her.

"Hey Hayley! Are you taking the bus home too?" She questions as we walk through crowds of chattering teens towards the bus stop.

"Yeah of course," I reply. "I wanted to ask if you were free after school to come and meet my horse Sharki?"

"Yes! I would love to meet him!" Hazel replies enthusiastically.

......

Once again I step onto the driveway of Mayfield Ranch, but this time I have Hazel with me. As we walk down towards the stable I point at the different facilities and describe what we use them for.

Surprisingly when we enter the stable Janet and Damien are no where in sight. But I continue to show Hazel around before going to meet the horses. As I show her the different parts of Mayfield Ranch and explain what they are used for, she responds with eager nods and understanding smiles.

Soon after we have finished a quick tour of the Ranch, I introduce her to Sharki who is grazing happily in a paddock with the small pinto shetland pony.

He sniffs Hazel's hand that is rested on the fence and then suddenly starts to nibble at her fingers, wondering where his treats are. She pulls her hand away, misunderstanding his cheeky personality.

"He's beautiful," she says.

"Thanks," I reply awkwardly. "I'll just be a second."

I run back to the stable and grab two green apples from a bag and then return to Hazel and Sharki.

"Here," I say, handing her the crisp apple.

She immediately puts the fruit to her teeth and crunches down.

"Hazel! It's for Sharki not you!" I laugh.

She laughs back but soon holds out the apple to Sharki, making a pleased look spread across his face.

"Do you want to meet Nova the pony I'm training?" I ask.

"Definitely!" Hazel replies.

We walk a few hundred meters over to where Janet has placed Nova in paddock by herself. Nova doesn't spot us as she is grazing at the back end of the paddock so I call to her.

"Nova!" I shout, cupping my hands around my mouth.

She quickly looks up, perks her ears towards us and then casually trots up to the gate that we are leaning against. I hand Nova the apple and she crunches it between her teeth,making juice drip onto my hand.

"Nova's stunning as well," Hazel states.

"Yeah I'm meant to get her looking amazing for the competition I'm training her for," I reply.

"You're entering a competition? That will be awesome! Can I come with you to watch?" She asks eagerly, her chestnut brown eyes glinting in the afternoon sun.

"I'm sure you could but I'll have to ask Janet if you can come with us in the morning."

"Cool!" She replies. "So at this competition what do you need to do?"

"Well first of all it's open to anyone who has been training and unbroken or wild horse. All you have to do is show off to the judges what you and your horse are capable of doing. The judges then decide who is the best pair and who has put the most effort into training their horse. At the end the judges announce your scores and add up who the winner is." I explain.

"And is there a prize if you come first?" She questions, her eyebrows raising.

"I almost forgot about that! The prize for first place is $100,000!" I squeak.

"Hayley you have to win!" She squeaks back.

"Hopefully," I say, my mind drifting to the low income of the ranch.

......

As I walk home the sky turns into a beautiful array of orange and pink sunset colours. Sadness soon overcomes me as I realise that I will possibly be staying at home alone tonight if Alison and Jack haven't arrived back from the hospital. I think about how Jack could be doing after he had a possible heart attack and if Alison is coping with seeing Jack in such a horrible state.

They had their bad moments, but lately I was starting to grow more fond of my foster parents.