Koolio, the Problem Pony, page 1
THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME … TRAINING A DREAM PONY INTO A CHAMPION!
With precious Cameo sold to upgrade the family’s horse truck, 11-year-old Kelly has to find a new pony for just a fraction of the cost. Her troubled search ends when she meets Koolio. She is convinced that the gorgeous grey is a champion in the making.
But Koolio also comes with some big problems. Within weeks poor Kelly is battered, bruised and ready to give up on him. That is, until her big sister Vicki comes up with a plan that could change everything. Will Koolio get past his bad behaviour to become the winner Kelly and her sisters believe he can be?
This story of generosity and confidence restored is inspired by the Wilson Sisters’ early years.
The Wilson Sisters are leading figures on the equestrian scene, show jumping to Grand Prix and World Cup level. They have become widely known for their work with wild horses, making Kaimanawas a household name in New Zealand and raising awareness of the plight of the American Mustangs and Australian Brumbies.
Contents
1. Truck Troubles
2. Up For Sale
3. The Saddest Goodbye
4. In Search of a Pony
5. Dream Pony
6. Spooked
7. Professional Help
8. A Deal is Done
9. Changeover
10. Show Time
11. Unwanted Advice
12. A Close Call
13. Practice Makes Perfect
14. Almost a Champion
15. Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way
16. Dressed to Kill
17. Tricks of the Trade
18. Saddle Hunter Champion
Characters
How-tos
Glossary
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This book is dedicated to everyone who has helped us along on our equestrian journey. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the wisdom you shared with us over the years. Thank you.
Also in this series:
Growing up, we Wilson sisters — Vicki, Amanda and me (I’m Kelly) — were three ordinary girls with a love of horses and dreams of Grand Prix show jumping, taming wild horses and becoming world champions.
In Showtym Adventures, we want to share stories based on our early years with ponies, to inspire you to have big dreams, too! I hope you enjoy reading about the special ponies that started us on our journey …
Love,
Kelly
Chapter 1
Truck Troubles
“WE HAVE TOO MANY PONIES,” Dad announced. The Wilson family was gathered around the kitchen table, reading over the calendar of events for the upcoming season and highlighting all the horse shows they wanted to attend. They all looked up at him with surprise.
“We only have five ponies at the moment,” eleven-year-old Kelly laughed.
“Lucky we found homes for all the wild Welsh ponies,” her little sister Amanda added. “Only a couple of months ago we had nine on the property!”
“What I should have said is that our horse truck is too small,” Dad clarified. “Last season we had to make two trips to get all of the ponies to the local shows, but we can’t keep doing that forever. With Cameo, Dandy, Casper and Magic all performing so well, it seems a shame one has to be left behind every weekend.”
“You’re right, three spaces isn’t enough,” Mum said thoughtfully. “And there have been plenty of times when I’ve wished I could join you girls for a beach ride, but we couldn’t fit Jude in. You’re lucky I don’t compete, otherwise we’d really be fighting for spots in the truck.”
Kelly looked over at her older sister. While Kelly always rode her mare, Cameo, Vicki had two ponies, which meant that one often had to be left behind. But both were very special, and Kelly didn’t envy Vicki having to choose between them. Dandy, a chestnut who’d been with their family for four years, had run wild in the mountains before coming to their family, and Casper the grey Arabian had been aggressive and badly misunderstood when they’d saved him a year earlier. Now both were well trained, and thirteen-year-old Vicki had won many Champions with them.
“So I guess we need a bigger truck, then.” Vicki’s eyes sparkled as she said this, and Kelly guessed that she was imagining all the ribbons she could win if both Casper and Dandy were able to go to all the shows.
Dad nodded in agreement, though his expression was grave. “I’ve been thinking about that for a while, but there’s no way we would have enough money selling our current truck to upgrade to a bigger one. Even with some money saved up from selling Charlie and the Welsh ponies, we just can’t afford it.”
“Can we earn the extra money?” Kelly asked. Over the past few years they’d often given pony rides, sold horse manure or made show browbands and rope halters to raise funds for new ponies or gear, when money was short. “You know we’re not afraid of hard work.”
Eight-year-old Amanda shuffled forward in her seat, eager to help, too. “We could sell some of our baby rabbits, and the canaries and finches that just hatched.”
“We wouldn’t just need a couple of hundred dollars, though.” Dad sighed. “It’d be thousands and thousands of dollars, and the sooner the better, so we could use the new truck this season.”
“Can’t you just have one pony, Vicki?” Amanda said. The youngest in the family, and always full of energy, she was already tired of this conversation. “Every one would fit if you sold either Casper or Dandy.”
Vicki glanced at her sister in horror. “They’re my best friends! I’d rather stop competing than sell them!”
“It’s important that all of you can compete, as much as our finances allow,” Mum said soothingly. “We know you girls love the horses, and we want to help support your dreams. We just have to find a way to afford a bigger truck.”
Around the table everyone fell silent, thinking through options.
“I should sell Jude,” Mum said finally, in a resolute voice. “I’m so busy helping you girls with your ponies, I barely have time to work mine anymore. I’m lucky if I ride once a week at the moment.”
“It’d be a good start, but I still don’t know if it would bring in enough money,” Dad said. “Jude has only done trekking, so she wouldn’t be worth as much as the girls’ competition ponies.”
“So we sell two?” Kelly suggested quietly.
“Magic’s only on lease, so it can’t be Amanda’s pony,” Mum said as she stood up to help set the table. “Which only leaves Cameo, Casper and Dandy. I can’t imagine either of you wanting to part with any one of those three!”
Kelly’s eyes widened at the thought of her beautiful steel-grey mare being sold. She hurriedly shook her head. “I guess I didn’t think that through very well. There’s no way I’d ever sell Cameo!”
Dad turned to his eldest daughter and raised an eyebrow. “Vicki?”
Vicki shook her head adamantly. “There’s no point having a five-horse truck if we have no ponies to put in it. It’d break my heart to part with either of my ponies.”
“But if we don’t upgrade the truck, you girls will always be limited to competing one pony each at the shows. That will stifle how much experience you can gain,” Dad said, eyeing first Vicki, then Kelly and Amanda. “If you are all serious about riding, then the more you can ride and compete the better.”
“So what’s the answer?” Kelly asked, getting up to check on the lasagne she had prepared. She’d made a deal with her parents a few months earlier that she could skip her turn washing the dishes each week if she cooked instead. “Maybe we should just alternate ponies for each show like we did last year?”
But all the same she couldn’t help but agree with her father. Horse riding was like any skill — the more hours you spent practising something, the faster you improved. For Vicki especially, who had dreams of competing against the best riders in the world, having two horses at each show would double her time in the saddle.
“I think I have a solution,” Mum said later that evening, long after they had finished Kelly’s tasty lasagne. “I’ll sell Jude, that’s a given. Then we’ll also advertise the other three ponies we own. The first one to find a buyer will go, and we’ll keep the other two. I think it’s the fairest way, without having to choose between them.”
Kelly gasped and almost dropped the book she was reading. “But what if it’s Cameo? That wouldn’t be fair! I’ll have no pony to ride, and Vicki will still have two.”
“I’ll be just as devastated if either Casper or Dandy are sold,” Vicki said, her eyes wide. “Surely we can come up with another plan?”
“I’d understand if Magic had to be sold. I’d be sad, for sure, but I’d be OK with it,” Amanda whispered, feeling the tension between her sisters.
“But you’ve only been leasing her for a few months,” Vicki said dismissively. “And for half the time you didn’t even like her. It’s different for Kelly and me — Cameo, Casper and Dandy are part of the family.”
“In the past we’ve always banded together when we’ve needed something new, and both Dad and I think this is important,” Mum said. “We lived in tents for almost a year when we first moved north, because we didn’t have enough money left over after buying land to build a house.”
“And remember when Vicki had to ride bareback on Bella for months, because we couldn’t afford a new saddle?” Dad said. His expression was serious as he looked at the girls. “Sometimes it’s not about what we want to do, but about what we need to do. This family doesn’t back away from sacri fices and struggles if we have our goal in sight.”
“But it’s taken so long to train up our ponies to be capable of winning at a high level.” Vicki frowned. “It’ll put us back years if we have to start from scratch with a green pony.”
“You are all better riders now,” Mum said. “And we’ll be able to pay a little extra for a more experienced pony. Whoever’s pony sells can have a thousand dollars to spend on a new one, and the rest will go towards a new truck.”
“A thousand dollars!” Kelly gasped. She was unable to comprehend spending that much. “But all our ponies cost no more than three hundred.”
Mum smiled. “That was before you girls did such a good job of training them. Now they are worth a lot more. So, after we’ve sold two ponies, we’ll be able to find a nice young one without too many issues, so it won’t take so long to get it ready to compete.”
As Kelly prepared for bed that night, she was filled with dread. She found training ponies scary — it had taken a long time for her to trust Cameo, and she couldn’t imagine having to begin all over again with another inexperienced pony. She could only hope that someone would buy one of Vicki’s ponies first, but even that thought made her heart hurt.
“No matter which pony gets sold, there’s not going to be a happy ending,” Kelly sighed when her parents came to tuck them into bed.
“Not straight away,” her mum agreed. “It’s always hard saying goodbye, but eventually there will come a time when we’ll all be thankful for a bigger truck.”
Chapter 2
Up For Sale
BY LATE SEPTEMBER, Jude had been sold for $2500 to a local family who wanted a pony for trekking. Although Mum was sad to see her go, she was very happy with Jude’s new home. The hardest part for Kelly and Vicki, though, was knowing they might have to part with one of their own ponies soon.
Because Cameo, Casper and Dandy were worth twice as much as Jude, rather than being advertised locally they were listed in the Horse Trader magazine, so people all around the country could look at them. From the moment the magazine hit the shelves on the first of the month, the phone didn’t stop ringing. Dandy, with all of his successes, was a firm favourite with riders wanting a versatile competition pony, while Cameo was popular with parents whose kids needed a safe and dependable all-rounder. Soon they had people from all over New Zealand and some from overseas lined up to visit them.
“I’m glad there’s not as much interest in Casper,” Vicki said after they’d taken yet another phone call about Dandy. “He had so many issues when he first arrived, I’d feel so guilty if he ended up confused and misunderstood again.”
Kelly bit her lip. “Cameo and Dandy would be OK with a new owner though, right?”
Uncertainty clouded Vicki’s expression. “I think Cameo would be fine — she is so calm she would be perfect for anyone. But I’m worried about Dandy. I’m the only one who’s really handled or ridden him since he got mustered from the mountains. I’m not sure how he’d cope suddenly having to adapt to a new home, with total strangers.”
“Isn’t someone coming to look at him next weekend?” Kelly asked. She felt for Vicki, but was also glad that it wasn’t Cameo who was being tried first.
Vicki nodded, clearly trying to keep a brave face. “The family from Tahiti want to try him on Saturday. Then another girl is coming to view Cameo on Sunday.”
Saturday came and went, and although the young Tahitian girl loved Dandy, her family wanted time to try other ponies and consider all their options. Vicki’s relief was obvious as she led her beloved pony back to his paddock, but she gave Kelly a sympathetic look as she passed.
The night before Cameo’s potential buyers arrived, Kelly lay awake. She’d always thought that she and Cameo were the most perfectly matched pair in the whole world. But what if this girl also thought Cameo was perfect for her?
Giving up on sleep, she slipped out of bed. Pausing to check that her sisters were still fast asleep, she crept out of the room and down the hallway, and let herself outside. Then, knowing the way by heart, she ran through the darkness to Cameo’s paddock.
“Come on, girl,” Kelly called softly to her.
The steel-grey mare wandered over, the white highlights on her coat glowing in the moonlight. Just as she always did, she pushed her head into Kelly’s arms for a hug.
“She’s going to love you,” Kelly whispered.
She threaded her hands through Cameo’s mane and jumped onto her pony’s bare back. For more than an hour she sat quietly on her pony, watching the sky for shooting stars. Finally, when she had become so tired that her eyes would barely stay open, she slid to the ground, patted Cameo, who blinked sleepily in reply, and made her way back to bed.
The next morning, Kelly woke late and stumbled into the kitchen. No one else was around. She glanced at the clock and gasped — it was almost 11 o’clock! The family looking at Cameo were due any minute.
“Good to see you’ve joined the land of the living,” Dad joked as Kelly came running out to the yards. Vicki already had Cameo caught and groomed. “We were beginning to think we’d have to meet these people without you.”
“They’re not here yet, are they?”
Vicki shook her head. “They’ve called to say they’re running a little late. Would you like me to ride Cameo for them today?”
Kelly shot her a grateful smile. “Maybe you should, and then I can get to know the girl who’s trying her. She has to be good enough for Cameo. Besides, I’ll probably cry the whole time if I’m the one who has to show her off.”
At that moment, a car pulled up. As her parents spoke with the family, Kelly looked hard for any faults, but they seemed friendly and genuine. Their daughter was ten years old and they were looking for a safe all-rounder for her. If they bought Cameo, she would stay in the family for years, passing to their younger daughter, who was already trading jokes and giggling with Amanda.
Once Vicki had put Cameo through her paces, the ten-year-old wanted to try riding her. Kelly watched in misery as her pony behaved impeccably. The girl brought Cameo to a halt with a radiant smile, and it was clear to everyone that she was smitten.
Kelly clung to Cameo’s neck as the girl’s parents again talked with her mum and dad. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks. In an effort to hide her heartbreak, she led Cameo back to her paddock, where she stayed for a while, sitting with her back leaning against the trunk of a tree.
Back at the house she was greeted with sympathetic looks.
“They’ve bought her, haven’t they?”
Mum nodded and put an arm around Kelly’s shoulder. “It’ll be a good home for her; they’ll treat her well.”
“When does she go?”
“Next weekend. They live near Granny, so we’ll drive Cameo there ourselves and stay with Granny for the weekend …” Mum’s voice faded out as the news sank in for Kelly.
Just one week left with Cameo.
Blinking rapidly, Kelly rushed to her room and flung herself on the bed.
The week passed far too quickly and Kelly walked around in a daze. Every morning she woke early to spend time with Cameo, then she’d yawn her way through school before hurrying home and riding in the evenings. To make the most of her final days with Cameo, Kelly and her sisters revisited some of their favourite rides. On Monday they rode to the dairy and got lollies, on Tuesday they cantered around the neighbours’ farm, on Wednesday they jumped in the front paddock, and on Thursday they rode to the reserve and played tag on horseback.
A few times, Mum and Vicki tried to raise Kelly’s spirits by pointing out ponies for sale in the local newspaper and magazines. But Kelly was unable to bear the thought of replacing Cameo.
“It wouldn’t be fair,” she said. “None of them would measure up.”
“You’ll have to start trying ponies at some point,” Mum encouraged her. “Getting over Cameo will be easier if you have a new pony to focus on.”
Kelly turned away. “I will,” she muttered as she headed outside to feed the animals. “Eventually.”
Chapter 3
