“Hi, I’m Amanda…”
“Hello Mandy, come on through we’re just finishing off the yard and will soon have whatever has been left cooking for our dinner!” She giggled, walking through into the living area. “Jane, ‘Chell, Sue, Liz. This is Mandy, she’s a newbie. Treat her gently!”
The girls mobbed around me, making me feel welcome, we ended up laughing at our shared situation.
“You see, none of us is here by choice. I mean, look at the place, who would be!” Sam giggled again in her infectious way. “I don’t think anyone ever set out to work in a rundown stable under a railway line in the middle of the city. But yet, here we all are. The hours are long, the pay is crap, but we look after our own, ‘cos it’s sure as hell no one else will.”
“Hi there, I’m Jane.” The wiry, brunette girl grabbed and hugged me. Like the others she was wearing breeches, her riding boots were obviously old, worn on the insides where they had rubbed against countless saddles. The stitching fraying on the soles, they were flecked with scurf and mud. I was unused to this level of personal contact, but was starting to like it. “Christ you’re freezing cold girl!” She shook her head and dragged me over to the dining table. “Have some soup, I saw that there was some on the hob.” She ladled out a bowl of lumpy soup which had an oily scum floating on the surface. I hungrily spooned it up. “Wow… When did you last eat?”
The staff gathered around the table, chatting and laughing as we ate the soup and stew which had been bubbling in a second pot. I started to feel warmer and full, surprised how well the others had welcomed me into their number. We lounged on the faded and torn sofas watching the flickering television set as Michelle, a shorter girl with cropped brown hair and a boyish frame, picked up the dishes and started to wash them. I had been dragged back down in my seat as I had offered to help. “It’s her turn…” Liz had said and we had turned back to the set. I don’t know how long I had been sat that, however, the long day had taken its toll as I felt myself being gently shaken. I woke with a start.
“Mandy? It’s an early start so you had better get some sleep, we’re all going to bed now.”
The bedroom was warm, filled with the creaking of the old beds and snoring from one of the grooms. “Good night all…” Jane reached out and clicked off the light. I lay for a moment in the darkness. When I had first seen the stables I had been tempted to turn on my heel and run away, however, as the girls had made me feel so welcome I started to look beyond the wear and tear. I yawned, rolling over I closed my eyes and was asleep in a moment.
***
I woke unaware where I was, it took me a moment to remember where I was. The bedroom was silent, sitting up I saw all the other girls had left. Dressing quickly, I dashed out onto the yard.
“Hiya!” Sam smiled. “We left you to sleep, I don’t think you had a great night, you were tossing and turning.” She gently punched my shoulder. “Don’t worry, they won’t find you here!”
“What do you mean?” I gasped; my face drawn in shock. She dropped her broom taking my hands.
“Wow!… Just a joke Mandy!” She paused, adding quietly. “Look, we all have a past, you’re safe with us. I promise you. Okay! Mucking out, let me show you where you can find a bent and rusty pitchfork. I am presuming you are skilled in the fine art of shit shovelling?” She giggled and led the way to the dark tool-shed.
***
“How’re you settling in?” Anne leaned over the stable door as I groomed a lanky bay called Jack.
“Very good thanks.” I paused, stepping towards the door. “The others have made me feel so welcome, and thank you for taking me in.”
“They’re all good girls. You know, I’d trust them with my life. I know we don’t have the best premises, but this is Central London, no one can afford that. We survive, we pick our way through life and we offer an escape for people who want to ride horses in the city and horse people who need somewhere safe to go. Look, I suppose I had better see if you can ride. Why don’t you tack up Jack here and come to the school, we can have a look at what you can do.”
Whereas it was true the buildings were ramshackle, the horses and tack were immaculate. The tack room was warm and welcoming with the familiarly pleasant mingling smells of leather and horses. Picking up Jack’s saddle and bridle I quickly tacked him up and led him to the indoor school, an old shed which had clearly once been part of the garage by the look of the dark grease stains and spray paint on the walls. The floor had been lined with a thick layer of sand and letters had been painted roughly on the walls. I mounted up and started to warm up the horse, starting with walk exercises before trotting, turning circles and serpentine’s.
“Well, I see I needn’t have worried.” Anne smiled as she stepped into the arena. “You’re a great rider.” She laughed as she watched me blush. “Don’t get all bashful now, show me what you can really do!”
3
Back Stories
I was sitting in the tack room with a bridle
