The Christmas Horse

By Lisa Morgan

Kate Patrick holds onto the belief that Christmastime is magical,and that miracles just might exist.

She has sadly outgrown her beloved pony. He's the only horse she's ever ridden, so she can't imagine selling him. When he turns up lame, she doesn't have a choice but to sell him. She needs a horse to ride, especially if she wants to compete at the higher level. But selling her pony is harder than she thought. Can the Horse Club find a way for her to keep him, and to buy a new horse?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lisa Morgan
• Release date: Dec 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301087938

Lisa Morgan

Lisa Morgan is a Hobart-based artist and illustrator who specialises in whimsical, finely detailed watercolours and drawings. She sells her original artwork and a range of printed cards from Quoll Artists' Gallery in Salamanca Place. Lisa also works part-time as a gallery attendant at MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) in Hobart where she finds endless inspiration for her own artwork.

Book preview

The Christmas Horse

Lisa Morgan

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 Lisa Morgan

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All rights reserved. Published by Seaquine Publishing at Smashwords.

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Acknowledgements

To my loving nine-year-old daughter, Hannah, who read this book in two nights. Thank you for sharing my passion; your enthusiasm has been fun. Love, Mom

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

About the Author

Chapter One

Kate Patrick cantered toward the line of jumps, pretending she was competing in a fancy horseshow.

Come on, Spirit. Move it, Kate mumbled under her breath, so only her pony could hear her words.

The pony sped up a bit but was still too slow to jump effortlessly. He added a stride at the last minute to get a closer take-off spot. The jumps were awkward at best.

Kate, you won’t be ready for the A circuit if you add strides like that, Layne Richards, her riding instructor, said.

I can’t get him to move up to the fence. Kate couldn’t hide her frustration. She wanted to compete at the higher level more than anything else, but she didn’t want to push her horse if he wasn’t capable.

This lesson is about seeing if your pony has what it takes. I know you do, but I think you’ve outgrown Spirit. Not only are you too big for him, he’s physically limited in what he can do. Layne looked at Kate’s mom. We’ve pushed him this lesson and my educated opinion is that Kate needs a new horse if she wants to compete at the bigger horseshows.

Kate rode to the bleachers, where her mother sat watching and Layne stood waiting to discuss the horse situation further.

I don’t want another horse. I want Spirit, Kate pleaded. She patted her pony’s sleek neck for a job well done. So what if he couldn’t jump anymore? Maybe she should let go of her dream of winning at the bigger shows.

Jamie Patrick, Kate’s mom, shrugged her shoulders. You have a choice to make. Your pony is getting older and you’re outgrowing him. Why don’t we sell Spirit and buy you a bigger horse.

Kate started to shake. She slid off Spirit and ran up her stirrups. I don’t want to sell my pony.

Let’s talk about it later, in private, her mom said. I suggest you walk Spirit back to the barn to cool him down. I’ll meet you there.

In other words, her mom wanted to talk to Layne alone.

Mrs. Patrick, I know of a horse for sale, Layne said. He’s too big for Kate right now, but she’ll grow into him. It will delay her jumping progress for a while, but she’ll get a different education in the meantime, until she can handle jumping a larger horse with a bigger stride. Learning to ride other horses is part of riding.

Kate’s mom actually looked interested in what Layne had to say. Unbelievable. Like Kate could just sell her horse and buy another.

You could lease him at first, Layne said. That way you can keep Spirit. Then if Kate falls in love with the other, the transition would be easier.

Kate looked up with interest at the two adults. Leasing was an interesting idea.

Let me know what you think, Layne continued to say. I can show you the horse and let Kate try him out.

Kate’s mom flashed a questioning look at Kate to ask her opinion. Kate shook her head no. All this was moving way too fast; she needed to think about it.

Go ahead to the barn, Kate. I’ll meet you down there, her mom repeated.

Kate had had enough of the conversation anyway. She led Spirit through the arena to another gate. She pushed it open and headed down the hill toward the barn. She loved the horse community they lived in. She kept Spirit at the neighborhood barn, but that meant she had to do most of the work. Two times a day she cleaned Spirit’s stall, once before school, and once at dinnertime. She also had to feed her pony twice a day and give him water, but Kate didn’t mind. She’d do anything to keep Spirit.

By the time she walked her pony down the steep hill and across the parking lot, Spirit was no longer warm from their ride. She led her pony into the barn.

How was your ride? Taylor Gibbons asked.

Kate’s best friend was grooming her horse, Frankie, a small chestnut horse with a wide blaze running down the center of his face.

It was okay, I guess. Kate may