WHEN MUM REACHED Twinkletoes’ stable, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The plucky little pony was standing up and Poppy was gently leading him round with Mrs Meadowsweet looking on.
“It’s amazing, Mum!” exclaimed Poppy. “Ever since David brought him that other medicine, he’s been getting a bit better every hour.”
“It’s true, Lavender,” agreed Mrs Meadowsweet. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it! I’m sure Poppy’s healing flower wand has helped too!”
Poppy didn’t want to relax just yet, but she felt sure that the signs were good. Just then, David Sage arrived.
“Wow, he’s up!” he said, surprised but delighted at this development. “I’ll give him another shot and we’ll see how he is mid-afternoon. You’re doing a great job, Poppy! I’ve never seen a recovery like it. It’s practically a miracle!”
Poppy cuddled Twinkletoes and willed him to get even stronger. Now that he was out of serious danger at last, she desperately wanted him to be well enough for the competition the next day. She was sure he would recover in time, and when Mum told her that, according to Pony Club rules, she could only compete on Twinkletoes, Poppy became even more determined that he should recover.
Daisy came to help out and Poppy went home for a lovely bubble bath, feeling so much better about her pony, but quickly made her way back to the stables.
That evening, David came to check on Twinkletoes and to give him another dose of medicine. He was quietly confident that the brave little pony would be well enough to compete, but he didn’t want to get Poppy’s hopes up just in case he had a relapse.
He told Poppy that Twinkletoes was well enough for a gentle ride around the practice paddock. She tried him out and was absolutely delighted when he jumped perfectly.
Poppy went back to Honeysuckle Cottage that night and had a lovely deep sleep on her fluffy princess bed, keeping her fingers crossed that everything would be OK.
The next morning was the BIG day! Poppy had been so busy looking after Twinkletoes that she had hardly had a chance to think about it. She dressed carefully in pale-cream jodhpurs, a velvet-collared navy-blue jacket and riding boots. She pinned a red poppy from the garden onto the lapel of her jacket for luck and headed down to Riverside Stables to meet Daisy.
When she arrived at the stables, she quickly checked on her pony, who was looking eagerly out of his stall, then raced over to Mrs Meadowsweet to find out whether there was any news from David.
“Has David been today?” she asked breathlessly, without even pausing to say hello to the farmer’s wife.
“Yes, Poppy,” smiled Mrs Meadowsweet. “He’s already examined Twinks.”
“Well, what did he say?” asked Poppy impatiently. “Can we compete in the show?”
“If you’d just let me get a word in, Poppy, I’ll tell you what he said!” laughed Mrs Meadowsweet.
