6 riding and shooting
Mr smith’s police friend Mr potter called at hawkwood and asked for miss Deirdre Mctavish the captain of the hawkwood tetrathlon team. And so to his great surprise Sam Sylvester learned that there was still a Hawkwood team. Mr potter had brought guns and targets with him and was ready to start the first lesson. Everybody in the school wanted to try the shooting when they saw the guns. Get lost cried nutty. None of you wanted to do the other things so get lose before I shoot you.
The first lesson went well and Mr potter agreed to come down two or three times a week to teach them. They fixed two nights when they weren’t swimming and that left two nights for riding lesson and Sunday off. Running was all the time and so was taking out the horses . after all this hard work nutty was now much thinner and hoomey’s thin arms and legs were really strong. They all looked strong and healthy and jazz most of all. But although jazz was so good at running and swimming he was still worried about his riding.
We’re all better at some things than other nutty said to him. In fact she thought that she was probably the worst of all of them at most things. True she was good at riding but that was only a quarter of the competition.
The competition would be at Swallow Hall a big country house with its own lake and swimming pool. First there was the shooting then the four-minute swim the two-mile run and the riding. In each part only the best three scores in the team were counted. But nutty suddenly realized that they had never tried all four parts of the competition on the same day.
They continued to work hard and in the summer Uncle Bean found some farms where they could try some real cross-country riding. Hoomey’s horse Bones loved it. He seemed to remember his past as a racehorse and went over the jumps like an express train nearly frightening Hoomey to death.
You were wonderful Hoomey the others told him afterwards. Hoomey’s face went bright red and he forgot that he was afraid.
Poor jazz had problems. When spot came to a jump he stopped- but jazz went on over his head. Then nutty remembered something. Spot was in a circus. Perhaps he’ll do not it to music.
So they brought some music and played it and spot stood up on his back legs and jazz fell off again but in the end spot jumped better to music.
Nails had no problems with Firelight. She did anything that he wanted and when he was in the factory with her on a warm summer evening he was really happy. He liked being with her and he was now a much nicer person. But he could not understand why he felt this way about an animal.
Firelight usually lay down and slept next to Nails but one night she did not do this. Instead she moved around her box all the time. Nails began to think that she was ill. He was very worried and thought of going to ask Nutty what to do about it but then Firelight grew quieter and Nails fell asleep.
He woke suddenly. Something was wrong. Firelight was ill again. Oh please don’t die he cried silently. Then suddenly Nails understood what was happening. Firelight was have a baby when nails saw the foal’s little face appear he laughed and cried at the same time. You lovely baby he said softly. This was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him. He had to go and tell Nutty.
Nutty’s father was a little surprised to see Nails standing outside his door with a great big smile on his face at a quarter to five in the morning a sleepy Nutty appeared and Nails told her his wonderful news. To his surprise Nutty was not as happy about the foal as he was. She knew that Nails could not ride Firelight in the competition now.
And when Nails learnt that Firelight and her foal would have to leave the factory because they needed grass he too was unhappy. Then Uncle Bean remembered that he had the use of a field not far away. Firelight and her foal could go there. Nails discovered that there was a shed there too where he could sleep and he felt better about it. But he had lost interest in the competition and didn’t care that he had no horse to ride.
But you have to care Biddy told him almost angrily. It isn’t just for you. You’re part of a team. Everyone’s worked really hard so you have to ride for them.
Biddy in her own way was as hard a person as Nails. The next night she came on her motor-bike to fetch him took him to her place and began to teach him to ride Switchback one of her horses. It was a young horse big fast-and very frightening. But nobody argued with Biddy so Nails hid his fear and rode Switchback over the jumps. It felt like flying and Nails began to realize that he had never enjoyed anything in his life as much as this. He rode every evening and spent all his free time with Firelight and her foal Bonfire.
There were now only three weeks to the competition. Gloria told Nutty that Seb and his team had starred work hard too.
They’re really worried Gloria went on. They’d hate to lose to the Hawkwood team and they’re going to cheat if they think you’re winning. Seb told me.
Nutty was very angry. That’s terrible she said.
Well if they cheat why don’t you cheat too?
I don’t know how said Nutty but you find out their plans. I’ll kill you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.