Chapter 7

Baby Steps

OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS Vicki, Kelly and Amanda fell into a routine. They would wake up at 7 a.m. and head down to the stockyards to cut grass for the wild horses, then head home for breakfast. It was always a rush for Vicki and Kelly to get dressed and ready for school in time, and they were often late.

Arriving after the bell for the third day in a row, Vicki hurried into class, pulling grass from her hair.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said as she passed her teacher a note.

“Please excuse Vicki for being late, it couldn’t be helped,” she read. “You’ve used the same excuse three days in a row and it certainly doesn’t offer much information. What exactly is causing you to be late?”

“I’m taming a wild stallion, and I have to pick grass for him each morning.”

With a frown, the teacher locked eyes with Vicki. “As amusing as that sounds, you are required to tell me the truth.”

“It’s true, I promise. Last weekend we caught four wild ponies in the mountains. They’re staying at the neighbours’ until they’re tame enough to bring home,” Vicki said.

“Next time you’re late I want to talk to your parents,” the teacher said sternly. “Now go to your seat.”

The 3 p.m. bell never came quickly enough. As soon as it rang, Vicki sprinted to the school entrance, closely followed by Kelly. Their parents always came prepared with a change of clothes and a snack, so they could go straight to the ponies.

Once they got to the yards, they had only an hour to spend with the horses. The rest of the time was spent cutting grass, mucking out or topping up the ponies’ water, so they could get home before dark. Dandy was still too wild to work with, so each day Vicki would just sit on the rails, quietly chatting to him.

“One day we’re going to be best friends,” she told the wild stallion. “I know you think I’m scary right now, but soon you’ll realise how much fun we can have. We’ll go on farm rides and learn to jump logs and ditches, then how to jump over walls and show-jumps. If you’re really good, you can even come to Pony Club camp and swim at the beach — you’ll love that.”

Each day, Vicki talked non-stop for the full hour, sharing her hopes and dreams with Dandy. Mostly he just ignored her and stood tense. But on Thursday, five days after he’d been mustered from the mountain, Vicki finally noticed a change come over him.

“Am I boring you?” she asked in surprise, when she noticed the pony yawn. “It’s good you’re finally relaxed enough to sleep when I’m around. You rest while I go check on the other ponies.”

Climbing down, Vicki was surprised to see her dad in the yard with the palomino stallion, while Kelly watched intently from the fence. He stood about a metre away from him, holding out a handful of grass. Although the horse wasn’t brave enough to step forward, he had his beautiful head outstretched.

“That’s a good boy, Squizzy,” Dad murmured. “You’re a brave one, aren’t you?” Dropping his hand, he slowly backed away from the horse until he stood near Kelly and Vicki. “If you think that’s good, you should watch your mum working with Jude. She’s already eating out of your mum’s hand!”

Vicki’s jaw dropped. She moved over to the next yard, careful to walk slowly so she didn’t spook the ponies. Her dad was right: the mare stood in the yard beside Mum, greedily eating grass out of her mum’s hands. The foal still hid behind her, unsure if humans were friends or not.

To Vicki’s surprise, she could see heaps of cut grass still lying nearby in a blue drum. That meant Jude wasn’t eating from her mum’s hands because she was hungry and had no other choice, but because the horse trusted her. How she wished Dandy was already at that stage.

The next day Vicki watched enviously as her mum stroked Jude’s neck for the first time. The mare was shocked by the contact and jumped backwards, but soon stepped forward and let herself be touched again. Even Squizzy was making good progress and was now stepping forward to eat out of her dad’s hands.

The only horse that hadn’t improved was Dandy, and Vicki was getting more and more worried that he was too wild to tame. Disheartened, she sat overlooking his yard, watching him.

“What am I supposed to do with you?” she said. “Don’t you want to be my friend? The sooner you’re tamed, the sooner you can come home. You’ll love it at home. There’s a big paddock to roam in and you’ll get to know Charlie and Twinkle — they are heaps of fun, and I’m sure they’ll teach you lots of good habits. Charlie used to be so naughty! He tried every dirty trick in the book to make me fall off when I first got him, but now he’s perfect to ride. Even Amanda is safe on him, and she’s only little.”

Vicki was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice that Dandy had stepped closer until she heard him snort. Looking up in shock, she watched as the spirited stallion halted in the centre of the yard, facing her, no longer hiding in the furthest corner. Barely able to breathe, Vicki was careful to keep still.

“See, I’m not as scary as you think,” she whispered. Unsettled, Dandy tossed his head, his long mane flying as he spun around and retreated to the corner again.

Jumping down from the rails, Vicki darted over to where the others stood.

“Mum, Dad, did you see that?” she gushed. “It’s the first time he’s taken a step towards me!”

“That’s the way, Vicki,” her mum said proudly. “Patience is key. We’ll make a wild-horse tamer out of you yet!”

That night Vicki dreamed she and Dandy were galloping over the hills on the farm, outrunning lava as it spilled from the angry volcano above. Rocks were tossed out of the sky, thudding to earth in front of them. If they were too big to jump, Dandy would weave around them. On and on they galloped, his swiftness more than a match for the liquid fire that chased them.