the cupboard with all the brooms in. As Sasha burst out laughing, Rosie turned on her heel and marched back out, bumping straight into Alice and setting Sasha off into a fresh wave of snorting and giggling. Rosie huffed, then stomped to the other door. The right door, held open for her by Mia. The other Pony Detectives closely followed their friend back onto the yard, without a backward glance at Sasha.
“Can you believe her?” Rosie ranted, as she climbed back into Dancer’s saddle and they trotted the ponies down the drive, away from Compton Manor.
“So because of a prank, a valuable, hot-bloodedhorse is wandering about the countryside in the worst weather!” Charlie said, amazed that even someone as mean as Sasha could act so thoughtlessly.
“Although I still think it’s a bit strange,” Mia mused. “It might be one thing to let a horse out of its stable, but why would that horse leave the yard it’s been stabled in for six months and just disappear out of the gate?”
“Maybe he’s still on the grounds here somewhere,” Charlie suggested, looking round. It was certainly a big enough place.
“No, Sasha’s reaction when she heard he hadn’t turned up anywhere was honest enough,” Alice said. “I think she would have smiled horribly or something if she’d seen him around here somewhere.”
“It still doesn’t add up, though,” Mia frowned. “Pixie may not like this yard but there’d be no reason for Phantom to stray, even if he was let loose. He’s fed here.”
“And even if he did stray,” Charlie added, “where’s he strayed to? We’ve checked all the yards around. It’s like he’s vanished into thin air.”
Alice fished something out of her pocket. “I nearly forgot,” she said, wiping the dust off the picture with her arm and passing it to Charlie. “While Sasha was distracted by Rosie’s antics with the doors, I managed to get this from the wall.”
“See?” Rosie cried triumphantly, still fired up. “Once again my intuition has helped us further a case!”
“Right, Rosie, you walked into the broom cupboard on purpose,” Charlie laughed, passing the photo to Mia. “We believe you.”
“Hang on a second,” Mia said, staring at the photo of a striking, fine black horse with a star and a distinctive white blaze which started halfway down his face. “I thought I recognised this horse when Pixie brought that first picture in but I couldn’t see his face properly, so I couldn’t be sure. Now I know it’s definitely the horse thatwas kept at the same competition yard as Wish. They were the top two ponies of the yard at the time and were totally best friends. They were stabled next to each other and always grazed alongside each other in the paddock.”
“But Sasha said this one’s useless,” Charlie said, looking confused as she tapped the photo. “Are you sure it’s the same pony?”
“Definitely,” Mia said, thinking hard. “I mean, I only saw him briefly when I went to try Wish, but it’s definitely him – he was the kind of horse that leaves an impression. I didn’t ride him because I wanted a show pony and he was one hundred per cent a jumper. He had huge scope over fences. I saw him being ridden, and he looked really difficult. I could imagine him being a handful unless you were totally confident and experienced.”
“Which Pixie isn’t,” Alice added. “And that’s kind of what Sasha was saying, although she put it in a much meaner way.”
“Pixie doesn’t strike me as the competitive type.” Rosie frowned. “So I don’t get why she bought Phantom in the first place.”
“We may find the answer to that question at Clover Hill,” Mia suggested, pulling out the map from her pocket. “It’s a bit of a trek, but I reckon it’ll be worth it, just in case.”
Chapter Eight
“I RECOGNISE that pony!” Mrs Millar, the owner of Clover Hill Stables, boomed as she walked bow-legged towards the gate with a huge smile, her grey hair pulled
“Can you believe her?” Rosie ranted, as she climbed back into Dancer’s saddle and they trotted the ponies down the drive, away from Compton Manor.
“So because of a prank, a valuable, hot-bloodedhorse is wandering about the countryside in the worst weather!” Charlie said, amazed that even someone as mean as Sasha could act so thoughtlessly.
“Although I still think it’s a bit strange,” Mia mused. “It might be one thing to let a horse out of its stable, but why would that horse leave the yard it’s been stabled in for six months and just disappear out of the gate?”
“Maybe he’s still on the grounds here somewhere,” Charlie suggested, looking round. It was certainly a big enough place.
“No, Sasha’s reaction when she heard he hadn’t turned up anywhere was honest enough,” Alice said. “I think she would have smiled horribly or something if she’d seen him around here somewhere.”
“It still doesn’t add up, though,” Mia frowned. “Pixie may not like this yard but there’d be no reason for Phantom to stray, even if he was let loose. He’s fed here.”
“And even if he did stray,” Charlie added, “where’s he strayed to? We’ve checked all the yards around. It’s like he’s vanished into thin air.”
Alice fished something out of her pocket. “I nearly forgot,” she said, wiping the dust off the picture with her arm and passing it to Charlie. “While Sasha was distracted by Rosie’s antics with the doors, I managed to get this from the wall.”
“See?” Rosie cried triumphantly, still fired up. “Once again my intuition has helped us further a case!”
“Right, Rosie, you walked into the broom cupboard on purpose,” Charlie laughed, passing the photo to Mia. “We believe you.”
“Hang on a second,” Mia said, staring at the photo of a striking, fine black horse with a star and a distinctive white blaze which started halfway down his face. “I thought I recognised this horse when Pixie brought that first picture in but I couldn’t see his face properly, so I couldn’t be sure. Now I know it’s definitely the horse thatwas kept at the same competition yard as Wish. They were the top two ponies of the yard at the time and were totally best friends. They were stabled next to each other and always grazed alongside each other in the paddock.”
“But Sasha said this one’s useless,” Charlie said, looking confused as she tapped the photo. “Are you sure it’s the same pony?”
“Definitely,” Mia said, thinking hard. “I mean, I only saw him briefly when I went to try Wish, but it’s definitely him – he was the kind of horse that leaves an impression. I didn’t ride him because I wanted a show pony and he was one hundred per cent a jumper. He had huge scope over fences. I saw him being ridden, and he looked really difficult. I could imagine him being a handful unless you were totally confident and experienced.”
“Which Pixie isn’t,” Alice added. “And that’s kind of what Sasha was saying, although she put it in a much meaner way.”
“Pixie doesn’t strike me as the competitive type.” Rosie frowned. “So I don’t get why she bought Phantom in the first place.”
“We may find the answer to that question at Clover Hill,” Mia suggested, pulling out the map from her pocket. “It’s a bit of a trek, but I reckon it’ll be worth it, just in case.”
Chapter Eight
“I RECOGNISE that pony!” Mrs Millar, the owner of Clover Hill Stables, boomed as she walked bow-legged towards the gate with a huge smile, her grey hair pulled
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