Ride a Bright Horse in the Twilight

By Jennifer Dovey

Ride A Bright Horse In The Twilight is the third book in the Ride A Bright Horse trilogy, continuing the story of Jenny and her very special bond with her horse Daisy. 

Moving to France has been a great success for Jenny. She and her husband have not only restored their ancient farmhouse but built a new and very different life as well. When quite unexpectedly Jenny’s best friend comes to stay, her happiness is complete.

Against the lovely backdrop of the rolling hills and big blue skies of sunny South West France, Jenny and Daisy learn new skills, develop new ways to communicate, and build upon the relationship they already have, both in and out of the saddle.

Daisy’s loyalty and affection for Jenny is always apparent. Their instinctive understanding of each other is complimented by Daisy’s intelligence, common sense and above all, her desire to help and support Jenny to keep them both safe.   

New friends and new animals enrich their lives as well so they are able to help others, both human and equine, with great success - until the unthinkable happens.

Through a quirk of fate, Jenny’s worst nightmare becomes a reality as her world threatens to fall apart. This time, it is her own beloved Daisy who desperately needs Jenny’s help…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Nov 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781800466999

Jennifer Dovey

Jennifer Dovey was raised in a sleepy village in Wiltshire. She has now retired and lives on a hilltop in deeply rural South West France with her husband. Her love of the countryside and fond memories of the irresistible charm of her mischievous horse Daisy have inspired her first novel.

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Copyright © 2021 Jennifer Dovey

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This novel is a work of fiction inspired by the author’s memories of the actions and character of her own horse and the experiences which they shared. The people and places within the story are either from the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to any real person, either living or dead, or to any actual event is purely coincidental.

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ISBN 9781800466999

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Matador® is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

For those whom we have loved and lost.

Contents

Preface

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

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Glossary of Equine Terms

Glossary of French Words

Acknowledgements

I am sincerely grateful to my wonderful husband Trevor for his lovely illustrations, support, encouragement and enthusiasm.

My thanks to the staff at Troubador for their cheerful advice and assistance and for helping me to achieve my dream of publishing a trilogy about my life with Daisy.

Preface

When I look back at my life, I realise that the decisions and the choices which I have personally made have played a large part in bringing me to where I am today. However, even if we make the right decisions at the right time, few of us can achieve our goals without the right kind of support, be it financial, practical or emotional, no matter how talented, brave or determined we are.

One of the great things about Daisy was her ability to be a team player, and our partnership was greatly enhanced because of it. Her innate common sense was a really valuable asset, and I suppose you could say that she often played a supportive role. Once we had developed our respective skills, it was rare for her to encounter anything that evoked her natural equine flight response. I am certain that I would never have learned to ride without her, and the pleasure that she has given me over the years is priceless.

I have thoroughly enjoyed recalling the fun that I shared with my very own Bright Horse and using those treasured memories as a basis for my trilogy about the adventures of Jenny and Daisy. It has proved to be a truly wonderful journey, made even more special by the involvement of my husband, who loves horses and riding as much as I do.

Above all else, though, in addition to the encouragement of family and friends, I have benefitted greatly from the support of my very own Heathcliff, whose belief in me has given me wings.

That, however, is another story…

Throughout this book * refers to an incident in the first book about Daisy and Jenny

Ride A Bright Horse

Published in 2020 by Troubador Publishing Ltd

Throughout this book ** refers to an incident in the second book about Daisy and Jenny

Ride A Bright Horse Abroad

Published in 2021 by Troubador Publishing Ltd

Chapter One

The Storm

The oppressive leaden sky threatened overhead and the distant ominous rumble of an approaching storm echoed all around the paddock. It was not quite dusk, but already the darkness of the sullen sky obscured the evening light and Daisy could hardly see the shape of the French farmhouse a few hundred metres away. A furious wind roared through the trees behind her and chilled her even more as it scattered leaves and branches around her hooves. Daisy shivered. She was really frightened. She moved closer to Duke, who was standing with her underneath the trees. His ears were pricked and his eyes were wide. Daisy knew instinctively that he was as terrified as she was; this was no ordinary storm. As a general rule, neither of the horses was frightened by bad weather; they were used to living out in the paddock during summer months when severe storms occasionally blew into this part of South West France, but the storms usually blew out again just as quickly. The farmhouse stood on a hilltop, so invariably there was a breeze and during the intense heat of summer, it was most welcome. Today, however, the atmosphere was charged with foreboding and the ferocity of the wind was rapidly increasing.

To make matters worse, this had been no ordinary day for Daisy and Duke and it had unsettled them a little. Before sunrise, they had been given an early breakfast, Jenny had hugged them both tearfully and then she and Heathcliff had driven away; now the farmhouse across the paddock from them was in darkness. It was almost as if Jenny’s absence had allowed this monster storm to creep up on Daisy during the afternoon. If Jenny were here, things would surely be OK. On an ordinary day, Daisy and Duke would have been safely in the barn before dusk, with their heads hanging inquisitively over their stable doors as Jenny bustled around them, humming to herself as she finished her chores.

An explosion of jagged lightning ripped through the clouds and illuminated the paddock in a brilliant flash of blue-white light as deep, rolling thunder boomed overhead. There was a thunderous cracking sound above Daisy’s head and an enormous bough crashed to the ground next to them; it bounced wildly on and off the grass several times before finally settling with a shudder. The clouds above them suddenly burst and a torrent of water poured from the sky, reducing visibility to almost zero. As another blinding zigzag of brilliant blue light flashed before her eyes, Daisy reeled away from Duke and took off across the paddock at a gallop.

*

Jenny opened her eyes sleepily and turned her head to look out of the window nearest to her hospital bed. She could both see and hear the violent storm raging outside and in spite of her drowsiness, her thoughts instantly turned to home, Heathcliff and the horses. The operation upon her spine had been delayed by three hours because of an emergency which the surgeon had had to deal with first, and consequently, Heathcliff’s departure from the hospital had been much later than he had planned. Jenny bit her lip; she hoped with all her heart that back at the farmhouse, the storm had not been so severe and that the horses were by now rugged up and dozing in their cozy stables, warm, dry and content. She closed her eyes, imagining the scene, and as drowsiness once again overwhelmed her, she drifted off to sleep.

*

Heathcliff drummed his fingers on the dashboard of the truck. Come on! Come on! he muttered under his breath impatiently. The torrential rain hammered upon his windscreen and even with the windscreen wipers switched on fully, he could barely make out the yellow flashing lights of the service trucks in the road in front of him. Men in luminous waterproof jackets and hard hats were moving around in the darkness, clearing the remaining branches from a huge tree that had fallen across the road in the storm. The only other sounds, apart from the drumming of the rain on the roof of the truck, were the piercing wail of an ambulance in the distance and the ominous, heavy rumble of thunder.

One by one, the men returned to their vehicles and one by one, drove away. Heathcliff selected first gear and edged forward slowly, followed by a long train of cars. The rain was coming down very hard and visibility was so poor that it was both difficult and dangerous to try and pick up any speed. He had hoped to be back home during the afternoon, long before darkness fell and in good time to follow the normal routine of putting Daisy and Duke back into their stables for the night. After a tortuous hour at a snail’s pace, while all the time worrying about the horses being out in the storm, Heathcliff eventually turned the truck into the lane that led to their French farmhouse.

The whole site was in darkness and his spirits sank as his headlights illuminated the paddock. There, Daisy and Duke were frantically galloping around in circles at top speed, out of control on the waterlogged ground. Mud and water flew up from their hooves as they skidded around the paddock corners. Adjacent to the paddock was the barn where the horses were usually stabled. A massive oak tree had fallen in the storm and crashed through the barn roof; its mighty trunk and huge branches sprawled across what remained of one end of the building. The debris of stones, splintered beams, wood and broken tiles was everywhere.

On one corner of the farmhouse, near to the roof, there was an antique heavy bronze bell, rather like a ship’s bell. A long chain with a handle hung from it so that visitors could ring the bell to announce their arrival. The wind was so strong that the bell was clanging, ponderously, over and over again as if the farmhouse was a ship adrift on a stormy sea. Two of the large wooden window shutters that had not been closed had broken free from their retainers and were banging repeatedly against the stone wall of the house.

At that moment, the security lights on the garage and the stables went out. A power cut. Heathcliff surveyed the scene in horror as the rain continued to pound upon the roof of the truck, and a shiver of shock ran down his spine. What on earth, he wondered to himself, am I going to do now?

Chapter Two

A Bed for the Night

Heathcliff slowly drove the truck alongside the paddock, keeping his headlights on full and racking his brains as to where he could put the horses for the night. Clearly, they could not stay where they were; hot, wet, frightened, and at the mercy of imminent injury from either another falling tree or physical injury to themselves from a fall, or possibly even colic. The headlight beams illuminated his friend’s large horsebox, parked beyond the barn at the edge of the property. Heathcliff’s friend Guy was having a long holiday in Australia and had asked Heathcliff if he might leave the horsebox there for safekeeping in his absence. A warm feeling of relief flooded through Heathcliff’s veins. Guy used the horsebox to take his own horses to events and it would accommodate four horses with ease. That’s it! Heathcliff thought to himself. Daisy and Duke can spend the night in the horsebox. At least it will be dry and I can leave them there knowing that they will be safe.

Carefully opening the truck door slowly, in case it was taken by the wind and ripped off its hinges, Heathcliff got out of the truck, leaving the engine running and the lights on, and fumbled in his pockets for the house keys. The strength of the wind nearly knocked him off his feet as he made his way around the side of the barn, keeping close to the wall of the farmhouse. He edged his way to the kitchen door using the torch on his mobile phone and once inside, located the keys to the horsebox which were hanging on his key rack. He was already drenched and icy cold but realised that he did not have time either to change or to find different protective weatherproof clothing. Pausing only to pick up a large torch and slip his feet into his wellington boots that always stood by the radiator, he made his way to the back door of the farmhouse, which was the nearest access to where the horsebox was parked.

The vehicle groaned sluggishly at his first attempt to start the engine. It was a very old horsebox and had seen better days. Heathcliff closed his eyes and offered a silent prayer as he fiddled with the choke. Too much fuel and he would flood the engine and have to wait ages before trying again; too many tries with the ignition key could drain the battery. He counted to ten and tried the key again and was rewarded with a deep cough and a splutter and then silence. He held his breath, counted to ten again and grinned broadly as the old engine coughed and spluttered for a little longer this time, before roaring into life.

Good girl! he exclaimed, patting the dashboard fondly as he drove towards the paddock. So far, so good! he muttered under his breath as he climbed down from the cab.

Daisy and Duke were still in a frenzy and circling at speed but not quite as fast as they had been earlier; at a canter now rather than a gallop. As Daisy neared him, she glanced in his direction and checked her stride.

Daisy! he shouted quickly before she disappeared from view. Daisy! Good girl! Come to me! Come on! Come on! Daisy slowed immediately, turned and approached at a trot and stopped in front of him, with Duke close behind. Her sides were heaving and the turnout rug that she was wearing hung haphazardly over her back in a lopsided manner, exposing one flank to the driving rain and biting wind. She shook violently, trying to shake off the rain, but it had the effect of tipping the rug still further over to one side and exposing the other. Duke was shivering, probably more with fear than cold, although being a thoroughbred, he was not as thick-skinned and hardy as Daisy.

The violent storm continued to rage and the ice-cold torrential rain chilled Heathcliff to the bone and stung his face and hands. The horses’ head collars were hanging over the paddock gate as usual and Daisy and Duke were happy to co-operate, so it was not difficult to hold onto them both while he opened the gate, even though the wind fought against him. Within a few minutes, Daisy and Duke were safely in the back of the horsebox and Heathcliff sighed with relief.

Heathcliff felt drained by a combination of cold, worry and effort and suddenly realised how hungry he was. He had not eaten since a very early breakfast at around 4 a.m. and it was now past 10:00 p.m. He started up the engine of the horsebox once more and cautiously drove it to the most sheltered spot at the other side of the barn, taking care to ensure that it was not in the path of any trees that might yet fall during the storm. He parked the horsebox next to the feed store, where in addition to sacks of hard feed, bales of hay and straw were covered by large pieces of tarpaulin. Heathcliff opened the door cautiously and was horrified to see the extent of the damage caused by the fallen tree at the other end of the building. Clearly, there was a risk of further collapse, and as the rain poured in and the wind whipped through every available aperture, the roof timbers creaked and groaned and swayed slightly as if they would fall in at any minute. He quickly laid a few slices of hay and as much straw as he could carry at the same time onto a piece of tarpaulin, bundled it together and left the feed store as quickly as he could. After pushing the bundle into the cab of the horsebox and using the connecting door at the back of the cab, he found and filled two hay nets and scattered as much straw as he could around the horses’ feet. Once both Daisy and Duke were happily tugging at their hay nets, he removed their sodden rugs. Having nowhere else to put the rugs, he piled them in a soggy heap at the end of the horsebox near to the door, grateful that at least Daisy and Duke both had something else to wear. They were both hot and sweaty after their exertions and he rubbed the worst of the wet off their legs and tummies with straw before returning to the farmhouse, where he found a container for water and clean, dry stable rugs that were hanging up in the laundry room.

Within an hour, he was satisfied that Daisy and Duke were both