Liberty and the Dream Ride by Stacy Gregg Page A

“Last time I saw him he was stuck talking to that awful blabbermouth Tiggy Brocklebent from Horsing Around magazine. I’ll go and save him from her clutches and bring him over. I’ll be back in a moment…”
    Tara sashayed off through the crowd and a few seconds later she returned with her young protégé in tow.
    â€œNow,” Tara said brightly, “allow me to do the introductions…”
    Issie shook her head. “Ummm, Tara, actually you don’t need to introduce us.”
    Tara frowned. “What do you mean?”
    The young rider standing next to Tara spoke up. “She means we’ve already met.”
    â€œYou’ve met?”
    â€œUh-huh,” the young man said with a grin.
    Tara Kelly’s young protégé was none other than Marcus Pearce.

Chapter 6
    With the Four-Star event just a few days from getting underway, all the competitors had arrived. By 6 a.m. on Monday morning the stables were frantic with activity as the grooms began their daily routine: feeding and watering the horses, mucking out the stalls and preparing for the day ahead.
    Issie and Stella were among those making an early start. They had no trouble getting out of bed after their super-early night – but Stella wasn’t happy about turning down Shane’s offer.
    â€œShane will go off me completely,” she grumbled. “He’s probably already met another rider who doesn’t have a curfew – someone fabulous and gorgeous!”
    â€œShane isn’t interested in anyone fabulous and gorgeous,” Issie said. “He likes you.”
    â€œThanks!” Stella said sarcastically.
    â€œOh, you know what I mean!” Issie said. She’d been dying to stay at the party too. Her conversation with Marcus and Tara had been all too brief – she would have loved to stay and hear more about life at Blainford Academy. Marcus had just left the school last year. He’d been Tara’s star pupil, earning himself top honours in the eventing senior class.
    â€œThe Valmont stables are always waiting to snap up my best graduates,” Tara said.
    â€œI was lucky,” Marcus said modestly.
    â€œNo, they were fortunate to get you,” Tara insisted. “And I’ll be telling Mr Valmont that in person when he arrives.”
    â€œHe’s coming here to watch you ride?” Issie asked.
    Marcus groaned. “As if I needed more pressure!”
    â€œThe Valmont stables have great hopes for the mare that Marcus is riding,” Tara said. “Liberty is a real athlete with magnificent bloodlines, superb breeding and schooling.” She smiled at Issie. “Anyway, tell me about your mount for Lexington.”
    â€œI’m riding Comet,” Issie said. “A fourteen-two hand high hill country pony from my Aunty Hester’s farm in Gisborne.”
    Tara frowned. “No, seriously. What are you riding?”
    Comet might not have sounded like much of a prospect to Tara. He lacked breeding and class, but he made up for it with strength of character and raw talent – or at least that was what Issie thought. Her only concern about Comet was the dressage phase. He’d never been the most enthusiastic dressage pony, often getting bored with trotting around in circles when he could be jumping. However, during the past year at Laurel Farm the skewbald had been given extensive dressage schooling by Francoise D’Arth. Francoise had ridden as one of the members of the famed Cadre Noir de Saumur riding school, and had also been the head dressage instructor at El Caballo Danza Magnifico Stables in Andalusia. For three long months Francoise despaired of ever making progress, and had pronounced that Comet was unteachable. But then, one morning after a schooling session, she came into the kitchen at Laurel Farm smiling cheerfully. “We’ve made a breakthrough!” she told Issie. “All those months he acts like a buffoon and