Stacy Gregg - The Auditions

HarperCollins Children’s Books A division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2010

Text copyright © Stacy Gregg 2010

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

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.

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 ebook 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 ebooks

HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content or written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

Source ISBN: 9780007333431

Ebook edition © OCTOBER 2010 ISBN: 9780007351985

Version: 2018-11-08

Title Page PONYCLUB RIVALS The Auditions STACY GREGG

Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Keep Reading

About the Author

Also by Stacy Gregg

About the Publisher

T he black gelding snorted and fretted, moving anxiously from side to side in the start box. Holding him back, the girl tightened her grip on the reins as she waited for the steward to check his clipboard.

“Number forty-two… forty-two … let me see …” the steward ran his eyes down the list, “forty-two … here you are! Georgina Parker, yes?” He cast a glance at the pony dancing and crab-stepping. “And this must be Tyro.”

As the steward said his name, the black pony went straight up on his hind legs in a half-rear and then lunged forward, trying to bolt. The sudden movement threw his rider back in the saddle, but she regained her seat with lightning speed. Before the pony could getaway, she had pulled hard to the left, turning him in a tight circle so that he was back in the same position as moments before, in the start box facing out over the hill that led down to the first jump of the cross-country course.

“Nearly lost you!” the steward joked. “You don’t want to fall off before you even get started, do you?”

“Falling off is most definitely not part of the plan,” Georgie agreed. She was trying to stay calm, but as the steward fussed over his clipboard she could feel the adrenalin surging through her. She was ready to go and so was Tyro. Hurry up , she thought, I can’t keep holding him! My arms already feel as feeble as worn-out knicker elastic from hanging on so long!

The steward seemed to understand her silent plea. “Right then, bring him up to the start line,” he told her. “Are you ready? On your marks … and … three … two… one… GO!”

Tyro broke from the start box and this time Georgie didn’t try to hold him back. She stood up in her stirrups like a jockey and put her reins in her left hand, freeing up her right hand to press the button on her stopwatch.

She was battling the clock today. She had to make it round the course with a clear round and no time faults if she wanted to retain her first place ranking.

This morning in the dressage arena, Georgie and Tyro had done their best-ever test and totally aced the first phase of the one-day event. Right now, they were just ahead of Georgie’s closest rival, Daisy King, at the top of the leader board. But the scores were tight. There were only two points between Georgie and Daisy, and there were several other riders hot on her heels just a few points behind. Georgie would need to bring her A-game and get a perfect round in both the cross-country and showjumping phases to maintain her lead.

From the moment that morning when horse lorries and trailers had begun arriving at the Great Brampton grounds, Georgie had sensed the tension in the air. So much was riding on this competition, not just for her, but for hundreds of young eventing riders from across the UK gathered here today. All of them had just one aim: to make it into the top three and survive this gruelling semi-final audition and progress to the grand finals in Birmingham. There, they would battle it out against riders from every discipline to become the chosen ones. In the end, only five finalists would be selected. Their prize: admission to the famed Blainford Academy in Lexington, USA.

Blainford Academy had been Georgie’s dream ever since she could remember. The exclusive equestrian boarding school was the place to go if you were serious about becoming a professional horse rider. No other college could rival Blainford’s record. It was known as the ‘All-Stars Academy’ since its graduates were the world champions in every kind of equestrian sport.

Blainford’s recruitment process was international. The academy’s talent scouts travelled the world, holding auditions for the very best riders from around the globe. Thousands of riders applied, but only a few could be chosen–and Georgie was determined that she was going to be one of them.

A win at Great Brampton would send Georgie straight through to the Birmingham grand finals in two weeks’ time. As they flew out of the start box she could feel success within her grasp. The cross-country course was the biggest Georgie had ever tackled but she had faith in Tyro’s abilities. The pony was fit and keen and as they approached the first jump he was galloping on strongly, his ears pricked forward with excitement, ready to face whatever lay ahead.

Fence one was a low hedge, no more than half a metre high. Tyro had jumped twice this height in the paddock at home, but Georgie wasn’t taking any chances. She rode at it with such fierce determination you’d have sworn she was attacking the huntsman’s close at the Badminton Horse Trials.

Tyro flew the hedge and Georgie gave the gelding a slappy pat on his jet-black neck, “Good boy!” She picked up the pace again and galloped him on towards a fallen log positioned at the top of a steep bank.

Georgie had to steady Tyro as he was galloping a little too fast. Then, as he took the jump, she leaned back to keep her balance, keeping her weight over his rump as he flew the log with a big stride that took him halfway down the bank. In two quick downhill strides he was at the bottom and Georgie straightened back up again. She stood up in her stirrups in two-point position and rode him hard towards the next fence already looming ahead of them; a narrow rustic gate. Tyro popped it as if it weren’t even there, and Georgie leant down low and murmured words of encouragement as she pressed him to go faster. Tyro seemed to understand and extended his stride, galloping beautifully as they neared the water complex.