August Story Contest

Once A Champion
By: Dollie
Age: 13

"Woah boy go steady now" I said as I lead the horse out of the grassless muddy field, stepping slowly to make sure he didn't slip over the thick sludge protruding his hooves and climbing up his legs, he walked in time with me shivering nervously at every move I made as we made our way to the long arduous road to recovery. 
 
The horse had been badly abused ever since his jumping career came to an unforeseen end two years ago. Yes, Serene Sheen had been very successful in the show jumping world, going out to competitions every weekend in high-class places with his rider Betty Campane, he was the top of his game jumping one meter twenty rounds with ease. He never knocked a pole down.  
 
But, one day Sheen and Betty were at home training with the owner of the horse Randy Soloman. Randy was known in the horse world as being an evil trainer with a greed for money, he was willing to do whatever possible to make a horse do as he wanted, despite the consequences, he had lost many customers over the years, big investors willing to pay a lot of money for his horses all due to his evil ways, and now Sheen was his reputation repairing horse. Or so he thought. 
 
In the training session, Randy decided he wanted to do bigger courses with Sheen. Betty knew that one meter twenty was Sheen's limit, but she was too scared to speak up against Randy. As he was busy building up a one meter thirty course of five jumps with blue poles and large red fillers under them. Betty began to attempt at warming Sheen up but he just wasn't himself, Betty kicked him and that sent him crab-stepping down the arena she kicked again and he reared throwing her out of the saddle. As Betty scrambled back to the saddle clinging onto Sheen's mane desperately, Randy stopped what he was doing and ran for the spark whip. 
 
The spark whip was a whip that Randy had made himself, it was long and black with three blunt spikes on each side. Only used in extreme circumstances and not as a minor punishment. But regardless of this Randy ran at Sheen with the whip. Sheen bolted round the sand school with Betty hanging on for dear life, but Randy was cunning and new his way around a horse so he maneuvered himself into a good position and lashed out with the whip as it connected with the horses strong hindquarters he let out a wail of pain and stood still quivering beneath his rider. Meanwhile Betty was stunned to silence tears streaming down her face. She jumped off to check Sheen's legs, three wounds on the side of his leg where the canon bone is, no blood but definitely scars.  
 
"Get back on Betty and ride him around use your legs on him hard and don't let him get away with anything" ordered Randy. Betty obeyed obediently and sprung herself into the saddle, she kicked Sheen into a canter, pushing his head down into an outline. Sheen followed Betty's instructions without much fight and settled down to a nice steady trot. "Take him over the jump's now Betty and if he refuses I’ll spark him" said Randy. Betty's heart froze at the thought of Sheen being sparked again so she decided she was going to ride him to the best of her ability. 
 
As Betty cantered Serene Sheen up to the jump she gave him a sharp jab with her spurs she counted down in her head as he approached the jumps...One, two and three! Sheen stopped dead throwing Betty out of the saddle and Randy hit him hard on the rump with the spark whip. Sheen let out a loud squeal of pain. Betty stood up and ran over to Sheen checking the wounds, again a line of three wounds stood out on the top of his rump, this time they were bleeding. Randy didn't care. "You were not riding him right Betty, I told you to kick, use your spurs harder and your whip too otherwise ill find him a new rider!"  
 
Sheen was shivering as Betty sprung into the saddle for what would be the final time she tried to soothe him with her voice, but the damage was done, Betty glanced back at the wounds streaming with blood all down the horses leg and felt sick. She kicked him on again and made him canter turning him sharply into the jump, as she approached Betty closed her eyes. Sheen cantered steadily to the jump and attempted to jump it, Betty opened her eyes beaming with pride and then everything went black.  
 
Serene Sheen, once a champion show jumper, ridden by a talented rider, always winning, never knocked a pole, friendly on the yard and then now a nervous, timid horse scarred for life with six circle shaped wounds on his body and a broken leg. Sheen's leg has healed now but the shade of his past has not. I, Olivia Campane saved him from Randy Soloman's field, my sister Betty Campane along side me, she is in a wheelchair now and his paralyzed from the waist down due to the irresponsible actions of an experienced horse owner who only cared about money and as for Randy he has been banned from keeping horses for the rest of his life and his reputation is well and truly in ruins. Now Sheen's road to recovery begins with a new rider, me, and my sister will be coaching me all the way, she truly regrets not standing up to Randy but she can more than make up for it now.  
 
The End.  
Dollie