Stacy Gregg - The Prize

The last fence the horses had to tackle was a downhill staircase, a series of three low steps cut into a bank, each with a stride between them. Tara encouraged the riders to walk their horses down the tiers on a loose rein. When Matt Garrett’s horse, a handsome dun called Tigerland, managed to lose his footing and trip down a step, Tara praised Matt for staying still in the saddle and letting the horse find his feet again.

“That’s right!” Tara said, “Give him a pat. Making mistakes like that is natural – that’s how they learn.”

Georgie had thought that walking Belle over obstacles would be a bit dull, but this was a trust-building exercise and the mare seemed to blossom as she tackled the jumps with Georgie’s gentle support. Belle took it all in her stride, negotiating the ditch with a graceful leap. The mare splashed about happily in the water jump, pawing at the water so keenly that Georgie worried for a moment that she might actually try to drop down to her knees and roll for the sheer fun of it. At the staircase, the riders had only had one chance to tackle the jump when Tara called it a day.

“We’ll have to leave it at that I’m afraid,” Tara told the class. “There’s an assembly for first-year pupils this afternoon. Can you all take your horses back to the stables and then meet me at the indoor arena in fifteen minutes, please?”

“What’s this about?” Daisy demanded as the girls headed for the indoor arena. “We’re missing a whole hour of class.”

“I don’t get why we’re going to the indoor arena,” Emily said. “If it’s school notices or something Tara could have just told us out on the cross-country course.”

As they entered the arena the girls noticed other first years also arriving. Georgie spotted dressage riders Mitty Janssen and Isabel Weiss already seated with their classmates in the tiered seats facing the sawdust arena.

“The Westerns are here too,” Alice noted as she spied Tyler McGuane and Bunny Redpath making their way up the stairs to sit with Jenner Philips and Blair Danner.

The eventers were nearly the last ones in so they sat in the front two rows. Georgie, Alice, Daisy and Emily crammed into the end seats of the second row right behind Alex and Cam.

Cam was looking worried. “What if they’re going to spring a test on us?” he fretted. “I haven’t studied!”

Alice sighed. “It’s our first day back, Cam. None of us have studied.”

The last students to arrive were Kennedy and Arden. They made a pointed display of sitting as far away as possible from Georgie and the Badminton girls.

Suddenly the overhead lights in the rig above the arena popped and crackled into life, casting a white glare over the sand. Voices could be heard in the wings of the main entrance and a moment later Tara Kelly strode in accompanied by three other members of the Blainford teaching staff – dressage teacher Bettina Schmidt, showjumping master Trent Chase, and Hank ‘Shep’ Shepard, the head of the Western faculty.

Walking alongside them wearing stiff brown tweed was Mrs Dickins-Thomson, Blainford’s headmistress.

If she were a horse, Mrs Dickins-Thomson would have been a rangy Thoroughbred. Her long face was dominated by a Roman nose and a mane of chestnut hair. Formidable and stern, the headmistress possessed a commanding presence – and the first-year students fell respectfully silent as she cleared her throat to speak.

“For many years now Blainford Academy has built a reputation as the premier equestrian institute in the world. Our pupils go on to become world champions in every field. But to maintain that status we must move with the times and adapt. We have to ensure that the skills that you are learning at the school are directly applicable to the workforce.”

Mrs Dickins-Thomson paused. “And that is why, for the first time, we are introducing the new first-year apprentice programme.”

The bewildered faces of the young riders stared back at her.

“Hey, does she mean like that TV show with Alan Sugar?” Cameron whispered.

Alice kicked his seat to make him shut up.

“The Blainford apprenticeship programme utilises the resource of former pupils, alumni of the Academy, who have kindly agreed to take a current pupil under their wing,” Mrs Dickens-Thomson explained. “You will spend one term as their apprentice and your performance will be assessed as your final exam for the year.”

Alice boldly raised her hand. “Do you mean that they’re going to be, like, our private instructors?”

Mrs Dickins-Thomson shook her head. “No, Alice, not your instructors. They are your employers. This is not a classroom situation we’re putting you into – this is real life. You’ll be working as professional grooms. They will treat you exactly as they would their own employees. They have the power to hire or fire you and, since this is the real world, there will be no makeup test and no reprieves…”

Georgie felt as if Mrs Dickins-Thomson was referring specifically to her.

The headmistress clapped her hands briskly together. “Starting from next week you are apprenticed to your new masters. We haven’t been able to place all of you within your unique disciplines. However, your apprenticeships will provide you with valuable experience and skills. So no complaints please because there will be no transfers. It goes without saying that I expect all of you to represent your school in the appropriate manner and show our former pupils that Blainford remains the best equestrian academy in the United States.”

“For most of you the routine of normal morning classes here at the school will not alter,” the headmistress told them. “All afternoon classes will be cancelled so that you can attend your apprenticeships from next week onward. Also, when required, you may be given additional weekend leave to perform your duties as many of these riders will require you on weekends for competitions.”

The first-years began chattering excitedly and Mrs Dickins-Thomson raised her hand to demand silence before she spoke again.

“It gives me great pleasure now to introduce you to your new employers.” The headmistress turned to face the entrance to the arena. “Former pupils of the Academy, would you please come out into the arena and join us?”

Through the doorway a group of men and women appeared, some of them dressed in jodhpurs, others in jeans, T-shirts and baseball caps, walking in unison towards the headmistress across the sand.

“That woman at the front looks really familiar,” Alice frowned as she stared at the woman in the beige jods and yellow jersey.

“Ohmygod!” Emily clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. “It’s Tina Dixon! I just saw a photo of her in Horsing Around Magazine .”

Blonde and tanned, Tina Dixon was engrossed in conversation with a hard-faced woman with short cropped brown hair.

“That’s Allegra Hickman talking to her,” Alex Chang said. “She’s the only American to ever be ranked in the top ten dressage riders in the world.”

Beside Allegra, a tall man with honey-coloured hair and a matching tan cast a supercilious glance across the arena.

“Dominic Blackwell,” Alice hissed in Georgie’s ear. “Cherry has a poster of him on her wall at home. He’s a showjumper – he’s in the national team.”

It was strange, to see these famous riders right here in front of them, talking and laughing with each other. It was becoming clear that every one of the men and women in the arena was an equestrian superstar.

“Right!” Mrs Dickins-Thomson continued. “We’re going to do this class by class, beginning with Tara Kelly’s eventing pupils.”

Tara stepped forward and opened the manila folder in her hands.

“I’m going to call you out one by one to come down to the arena to be introduced to your new employer.”