Samson the Miracle Horse

Eight

15 minutes later Dad pulled up in front of Hayden's house. I jumped out and waved him goodbye before he could embarrass me in front of my new friend.

I ran off towards the tall, two story brick house. It was surrounded by tall ferns and I could just see a glance of the paddocks behind it.

"Teagan!" Hayden shouted, running out from the side of the house.

She had taken her hair out of her high ponytail since school and it flowed around behind her. She still had her school uniform on but she had changed into her short black farm boots.

"Hayden!" I called, happily running over to her.

"Come on, she's over this way." Hayden said, waving me towards a paddock to the side of the house.

My stomach whirled with excitement as I followed Hayden behind the towering ferns. We made our way around the house and I saw a beautiful black and white paint horse, that was the only breed I knew. She was waiting against the fence near a metal gate.

The mare nickered for Hayden as soon as she saw her and stretched her neck over the gate until we arrived.

"She gorgeous!" I told her, giving the mare a run on the cheek.

"Her name's Oreo but I just call her Ree." Hayden said proudly.

She leant over and opened the gate, gesturing me inside. I stepped in and closed the gate behind me. Hayden grabbed a stripy blue and green leadrope off the fence and clipped it onto Ree's light blue rope halter.

"She's so soft!" I exclaimed, rubbing my hand over the mare's side.

"Yeah, she's a real beauty. Good bloodlines too!" Hayden told me.

I gave her a smile and walked over to Oreo's face, giving her a rub on the head. She was almost falling asleep at my touch.

"Do you want to ride her?" Hayden asked, giving me a beaming smile. "I've got a helmet inside if you want it."

"Oh, no, it fine. I...I don't know how." I said ashamed, looking down at Oreo's shining hooves.

Hayden's face dropped before lighting back up again. "I can teach you!" She cried.

My eyes widened with excitement.

"Really?! You'll do that?!" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah, definitely! I'll be back in one sec!" She said, throwing me Oreo's lead rope and hurrying back off inside.

I held the coloured rope loose in my hands and played with the horse's mane. She stood perfectly still for me, waiting patiently for Hayden to get back.

"You're such a good girl!" I told her, rubbing the side of her neck.

Oreo let out a large sigh and i watched as the back door bust open. Hayden ran over to me with a helmet in one hand and some pants draped over the other.

"Here," she said, dropping them in my arms and taking back Oreo's lead rope.

"What's this?" I asked her.

"Helmet and jodhpurs. You can go get changed over there." She pointed to a she's not that far away.

"Oh, cool!" I smiled and headed off the get changed.

As I opened the door I was bombarded with horse things. Saddles, whips, blankets and brightly colour saddle pads surrounded me. I briskly changed, not wanted to waste a single second. I still can't believe that Hayden is actually teaching me to ride! I told myself, totally gobsmacked.

I took off my skirt and pulled on Hayden's jodhpurs. They fitted perfectly which was probably because we were the around the same height.

I smiled at myself and bounded out of the shed. Hayden had tied Oreo's lead rope together to make reins and she pulled a wooden stump over by the mare's side.

"Ready?" She asked me, raisin her eyebrows.

"Yeah but don't we need a saddle?" I asked, confused.

Hayden let out a small giggle. "No, I normally ride Oreo bareback, the saddles in the shed are mostly for Dad's horses."

"Oh, that's really cool!" I said intrigued.

I've never seen anyone ride that that before! I told myself, smiling.

I was just about to get on when my phone rang in my pocket. I got off the wood stump and pulled it out of my pocket.

"Anya!" I shouted a little too loudly.

I pressed answer and her face popped up on the screen.

"Anya! Hi! Guess what? I've got a friend, her name is Hayden!" I said all at once and then flicked my phone to face Hayden.

"Hi!" Hayden called.

"I'm Anya," She said.

"And guess what? Hayden's teaching me to ride! Look!" I switched the camera around to show Oreo standing there all ready to go.

"Wow, Teagan, you are so lucky! I'll leave you to it but call me back as soon as you get home and tell me how it went!" She told me.

"Ok, I will!"

I ended the call and put my phone on the fence so it was out of the way. I apologised to Hayden and went over, mounting Oreo.

"Is that your friend from your old town?" Hayden asked, handing me the reins.

"Yeah, that's Anya. I miss her so much." I said taking them from her and waiting for a command.

"Hopefully you get to catch up soon then," Hayden told me. "Now hold the reins at hips width with your thumb on top.

I adjusted the rope in my hands then looked back up at her.

"Good. Now sit up and make yourself as light as possible with you shoulders back, chin up and keep your eyes looking through Ree's ears."

I took a breath in and held it to keep my weight light, dropped my shoulders back and stared at the back of the house in front of me.

"Now squeeze your legs against her sides and cluck. Now tap her with the opposite leg to where you want to go, holding a loose rein out to the side, got it?"

"Got it." I nodded and squeezed my legs against Oreo's sides.

I turned her to the left and Hayden hurried over to walk beside me.

"To stop, roll on your back pockets, apply light pressure on the reins and breathe out to make yourself heavy."

I tried it and Oreo pulled to a nice stop. I smiled to myself.

"I'm doing it!" I cried.