The Mayfield Horse: Connemara Horse Adventures, #3

By Elaine Heney

12 year old Clodagh and her pony Ozzie fear they may lose the place they call home, after a huge fire burns through the manor. Unsure if Mrs. Fitz has the money to fix it up, Clodagh is desperate to find a way to save the old house. When Mike tells her about a blockbuster film that is looking for locations to film at, Clodagh decides to offer the manor as a film set. But when the film company decides it's perfect for the film, she has to tell Ma and Dad what she's done, without them knowing. 

 

Can the film rescue the manor house from ruin? And when a serious accident occurs on set, can Clodagh and Ozzie find a way to save the movie? Join Clodagh and Ozzie on their next exciting adventure to find out. This wholesome and beautifully told horse story is perfect for horse-crazy kids aged over 8.

 

Written by international horsewoman and award-winning documentary director, Elaine Heney, this tender and touching story explores the depth of the relationship that can be created between girl and horse - that can last a lifetime. This is the perfect children's equestrian book for young readers, girls, boys, tweens and teens to curl up with and enjoy. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elaine Heney
• Release date: May 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201403607

Book preview

The Mayfield Horse

The Connemara Adventure Series

The Forgotten Horse

The Show Horse

The Mayfield Horse

The Stolen Horse

The Adventure Horse

The Lost Horse

The Coral Cove Series

The Riding School Connemara Pony

The Storm and the Connemara Pony

The Surprise Puppy and the Connemara Pony

The Castle Charity Ride and the Connemara Pony

Horse Books for Kids

P is for Pony – ABC Alphabet Book for Kids 2+

Listenology for Kids age 7-14

Horse Care, Riding and Training for kids 6-11

Horse Puzzles, Games & Brain Teasers for kids 7-14

Horse Books for Adults

Equine Listenology Guide

Dressage Training for Beginners

The Listenology Guide to Bitless Bridles

Ozzie, the Story of a Young Horse

Conversations with the Horse

Horse Anatomy Colouring Book

Discover all Elaine Heney’s books at www.elaineheneybooks.com

iPhone & Android Horse Apps:

www.poleworkapp.com

www.horsestridesapp.com

www.dressagehero.com

www.rideableapp.com

The Mayfield Horse

Elaine Heney

Copyright © 2022 by Elaine Heney

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

First Edition May 2022

Published by Grey Pony Films

www.greyponyfilms.com

ABOUT ELAINE HENEY

Elaine Heney is an Irish horsewoman, film producer at Grey Pony Films, #1 best-selling author, and director of the award-winning 'Listening to the Horse™' documentary. She has helped over 120,000+ horse owners in 113 countries to create great relationships with their horses. Elaine's mission is to make the world a better place for the horse. She lives in Ireland with her horses Ozzie & Matilda. Discover Elaine’s books at her online book: www.elaineheneybooks.com

Online horse training courses

Discover our series of world-renowned online groundwork, riding, training programs and iPhone and Android apps. Visit Grey Pony Films & learn more:www.greyponyfilms.com

Table of contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 1

Clodagh waved goodbye as the train slowly began to pull out of the station with a little hiss.  In the window of her carriage, Mrs.  Fitz waved back, smiling a little sadly.  Clodagh bit her lip and swallowed hard as the train gathered speed.  Pip’s head popped up looking happily out through the glass, her pink tongue lolling out and making Clodagh smile just a little.  The train began to clack along the tracks and Clodagh waved again, not stopping until Mrs. Fitz and Pip disappeared out of sight.

Come on love, Ma said, putting her arm around Clodagh and pulling her into a hug.  It’s not for too long.

Clodagh hoped so, but a small part of her wasn’t so sure.  After the manor had caught fire and Mrs. Fitz had been taken to hospital she had worked for days with Ma, Dad and Sam to fix up the old groom’s cottage for when the old lady was released.  The manor wasn’t going to be habitable for a while, but the groom's cottage was perfect.  They had cleaned it, painted walls, even found the old wooden floor and polished it.  She had been super excited when Dad had told them the hospital was allowing Mrs. Fitz to come home and then she hadn’t.

The doctors had suggested she recover somewhere stress free with plenty of fresh air.  Clodagh could understand that and the manor was certainly not a stress-free environment at the moment.  One half was still blackened and a little ruinous, the other still damp and smoky, no matter how nice the cottage was, seeing the manor that way was definitely going to be stressful for Mrs. Fitz.  Not to mention Dad working on the bits he could, hammering and banging all day long.

Clodagh remembered back to the day she had visited Mrs. Fitz in the hospital and found out she wasn’t coming straight home.  It had been a week ago now, and almost two weeks since the fire.

The hospital room had smelt of bleach and cleaning things, but not the nice floral scents that Ma used at home, this was more clinical and made her nose tickle a little.  Although it had been bright and airy, the pale blue walls and white curtains had made everything look clean and ordered, but somehow intimidating as well.  When she thought of Mrs Fitz, Clodagh always thought of tweed, saddle soap and heavy drapes. Seeing her in the hospital had seemed wrong and made her feel just a little uncomfortable.  Though at least her grey hair had been done in its usual, immaculate bun.  The old lady had been sitting in her bed and had smiled brightly as Clodagh had walked in with a bunch of flowers followed by Dad, Ma and Sam.

Those are lovely flowers, but I’m afraid they aren’t allowed nowadays apparently, too many people are allergic, Mrs Fitz had said a little unhappily.

Clodagh giggled and turned the vase full of bright, sunny yellow flowers, upside down.  They’re silk held in resin.

Mrs Fitz had smiled.  Well, they certainly can’t complain about that now can they, she said taking the vase from Clodagh and feeling the yellow flower petals with her fingers.  To be honest they could do with some proper flowers, I think. She lowered her voice conspiratorially It would make the place smell a bit nicer.

Everyone smiled.  Mrs. Fitz’s eyes landed on Sam and she smiled at him.  And how is my Pip doing?

Attached to Sam at every turn, Dad put in before Sam could say anything.

Sam smiled and shuffled his feet a little, stuffing his hands into his pockets and smirking. She won’t go for a walk with anyone else, he said a little shyly, but proudly.

Not even Ozzie and I, Clodagh added, before Ma accidentally discovered that Pip slept on Sam’s bed as well. She knew Dad couldn’t keep that secret forever.  Sam winked at her.

And how is master Ozzie?  I hear he is the real hero in this sorry mess, Mrs. Fitz said.

Clodagh nodded.  Ozzie had been the one to raise the alarm.  If he hadn’t shouted Clodagh would never have looked out of the window that night and seen the fire.  She’d never have alerted Dad and who knows what would have happened to Mrs. Fitz, Pip and the manor.  Ozzie really was a hero and they’d all treated him accordingly since.

He’s ok. His foot is better now, no sore spots at all.  We’re going to go for a little ride later,  Clodagh said. She was relieved that all his trotting around the field the night of the blaze hadn’t made his bruised hoof any worse. But she’d still given him a good couple of weeks' rest.

Are you looking forward to getting out of here and coming home? Ma asked.  She was as keen as Clodagh was to show Mrs. Fitz the groom's old cottage.  They had decided to keep it a secret, a surprise for when she came home.  Dad had, of course, told her the state the manor was in, so she knew staying in the big house would have been difficult, though Clodagh suspected Dad hadn’t gone into too much detail, just that only part was habitable.

Well, I might not be just yet, Mrs. Fitz had replied, sliding the vase onto the bedside table next to her.  She straightened the white sheets on the bed almost as if she was nervous and took a deep breath.

Are they keeping you in? Ma asked, looking concerned as she pulled up a chair.  Dad found some others stacked in a corner and handed them to Sam and Clodagh before taking one for himself.  They all sat expectantly.

No, no, I get out Friday as planned.  But the doctors were saying it would be good to go and stay somewhere with plenty of fresh air and no stress and my cousin Margaret has been inviting me to her house for a while now. She paused for a second and smiled.  I thought it might be a good time to take her up on her offer and go stay for a little while.  She lives by the sea you know. A very nice little house, plenty of fresh air and walks through the dunes.  She’s on her own now too you know so it would be good for her to have some company as well.  It sounded nice and Clodagh smiled a little, imagining what it would be like living by the sea.  She loved visiting the beach, though she didn’t do it very often.

It sounds like a lovely place and a very good idea, Ma said with a smile.

"I was hoping I might ask