Wonder Horse

2

"Clara Lewis is looking for 1st place, and it's now she's looking for it! Play The Drums is giving all he's got, it looks like these two aren't going down without a fight. And it looks like there winning."

Drummer legs widened over the long, last stretch. Clara was not asking him for any more, because she knew the horse was giving his all. They crossed the finish line in a good time, but was it good enough?

"An amazing round from Clara and Drummer there, we're just getting the scores in now," All Clara could hear was Drummers breathing as everyone waited for the results, the results that would change her life, for a totally different reason. But she didn't know that yet.

"And they've only went and done it! Clara Lewis everyone!"

The crowd erupt into cheers and whoops, and perhaps it was the fact that she was so proud of Drummer, or the fact that she was having an emotional day that made her burst into tears of happiness, and she wrapped herself around the tired horses long neck and sobbed out in raw pride.

"Great ride!" Her mother beamed proudly up at her daughter, she was making a name for herself and her fame in the equestrian world was spreading like wildfire. She was the proudest mother alive.

Clara took Drummer back home like they always did, the exact same thing she did last time. And every other time before that. She brushed him down, put his rug on and gave him a carrot and a pat. That night Clara and her parents talked about Olympia, and how the qualifiers were at the show and watched Clara. She was so thrilled, and was excited to potentially be going to a international competition with Drummer.

At least that's what she thought.

~~~

I silently made my way over the Drummers stable to give him his tea, the sky began to darken and silence creeped around me. As soon as I walked into his stable block I knew something was wrong. None of the horses were chatting amongst each other, and they all stood quietly at the back of there stables.

All apart from Drummer.

I ran to his stable in a startled mess, and that's when I saw Drummer. His eyes were bloodshot and they rolled back and forth in his skull, and his legs pawed at the ground in pain. He grunted and groaned for help, so I sprung into his stable and took his head in my hands. I cried into his fur and hugged him tight, trying to take all the pain away from him. I screamed and shouted for help, but no one came and I didn't want to leave him, not even for a second. "Shh, there now." I whispered to him through my sobs. After a few minutes Drummer stopped pawing at the ground, and his cries of help came to a deathly quiet stop. His eyes faced forward and still. I eased my hand down his face, and I knew that he was dying. I didn't know how, or why, but I could see the pure terror on his face. Slowly his eyes began to shut, and his breathing became slower and slower.

Until it eventually stopped.

Drummer was dead, and I couldn't find it in myself to stand up, so I just lay there with his still head in my arms, and cradled him slowly. I let out a silent sob and cried until I could not cry no more. The hot tears rolled and swirled down my face like ballroom dancers, when my head sunk into reality. Drummer was dead.

"Clara?" I could hear my mother shout, she was worried as I had been outside for a lot longer than expected.

She didn't expect to see her horse and daughter lying on the ground, one lifeless.

She let out a cry of shock, before bursting into tears. She lay down next to me, and we both cried the night away.

The vet said it was a heart attack. He had something wrong with his heart all this time and we never even knew. It sickened me to the core even thinking about the pain he went through that night. My hopes died along with Drummer, and my chance to go to Olympia was long gone.

I was finished. And I wasn't even sure if I'd want to ride another horse anymore, my heart was just to broken to love anymore.

At least that's what I thought at the time.

~~~

It was a week later, on a cold murky day that Comet arrived. My parents had agreed that I needed to pursue on with my dreams, even if Drummer wasn't there to complete them with me. So they found me my first, own horse. Nothing like the ponies I had endured throughout my life.

I remember when my parents first called me outside, the first thing that caught my attention like a slap to the face was his eyes.

This big, chestnut horse stood tall and proud, but his eyes were velvet and a deep, dark brown. But that's not what I saw in them. I saw love and calmness. I saw years of wisdom in those chocolate pools, and he pulled me in like a magnet.

I fell in love with him with a love I'd never felt before.

And I liked it.