Liberty and the Dream Ride by Stacy Gregg Read Free Book Online Page B

straw bedding, and water troughs fill automatically.”
    As Blaire listed the features of his new stall, Comet was already snuffling about in the feed bin that was hanging on the wall in the hope that there might be some tidbits in there.
    They left the skewbald in his stall while they continued the tour. Issie wanted to give her pony a hug goodbye, but with Blaire standing by watching her, she decided it would look unprofessional – Four-Star eventing riders didn’t do that sort of thing, did they? And so she settled for a slappy pat on Comet’s neck before leaving him in his new temporary home.
    The stable blocks each had their own hose-down areas, tack rooms and electronic horse-walking machines. There was a horse swimming pool to the rear of the complex for all the horses to use, and a feed bin room where grains and chaff were kept and the special dietary needs for each horse were catalogued on wall charts for the grooms to follow.
    After touring the stables, Blaire walked them through blocks, D, E, F, G and H until they had come out the other side of the stables and were in the riders’ village.
    â€œYou’ve got cabins two-four-one and three-two-three.” Blaire gave one cabin key to Avery and one to Issie and Stella.
    The cabins were small, self-contained units with twin beds and a bathroom. Issie was dying to collapse on her bed as the dreaded jetlag had struck yet again, but she knew there wasn’t time. They had to unpack their bags right away and get changed for the meet-and-greet.
    It was nearly 6 p.m. when Avery came to meet them at their cabin and they walked together back through the stables, checking in on Comet, using their new passcards to visit his stall before continuing on towards the main buildings of the Horsepark.
    There was a Stars and Stripes flag flying in front of the entrance to the museum and over the doorway a gold banner read: Welcome Competitors to The Kentucky Four-Star Three-Day Event .
    In the foyer there was a table with name tags arranged on it for the guests. Not that most of the riders needed to wear them – Issie recognised their famous faces by sight. New Zealand riders Andrew Nicholson and Mark Todd were helping themselves to a tray of club sandwiches while British equestriennes Daisy Berkeley and Mary King stood nearby chatting.
    â€œOhmygod!” Stella suddenly took in a sharp gasp of breath and grabbed at Issie’s arm as if she’d just seen Justin Bieber. “Is that Oliver Townend over there? He’s so cool! And look, there’s Pippa Funnell!”
    Issie couldn’t believe it. She had ridden against a few of these riders at Three-Star circuits in Europe, but she’d never seen so many equestrian super-celebrities together in one room before. “Look!” Issie hissed in Stella’s ear. “Over there! It’s Paul Tapner!”
    The dashing, dark-haired winner of the Badminton Horse Trials was chatting away to a fellow Australian, Clayton Fredericks and his wife, Lucinda.
    There was a fourth rider standing with the Australians. He had his back to Issie and Stella and at first they couldn’t see who he was, but a moment later he turned round and when he caught sight of the girls his smile lit up the room.
    â€œHey!” he said. “Fancy seeing you guys here!”
    Stella’s jaw dropped open. “Ohmygod!”
    It was Shane Campbell, former captain of the Australian junior team and Stella’s one-time boyfriend!
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” Issie asked. “I never saw your name on the list for Kentucky!”
    â€œBruce McDonald’s horse pulled a ligament so I replaced him on the Australian team,” Shane said. “I’m going to be riding against you in the Four-Star! Cool, huh?”
    â€œTotally!” Issie said. She was pleased to see Shane – but at the same time her competitive streak made her assess him as a real danger. Shane was a really good rider