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Troubador Publishing Ltd - Carl Hester

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55 pages

English

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The second book in a series for children that tells the real-life story of Valegro, informally known as Blueberry. Valegro! Everyone has heard of the most famous dressage horse in the world, star of two Olympic Games, known at home as Blueberry. The second book in The Blueberry Stories documents his phenomenal rise to fame, brought to life by his trainer and co-owner, CarlHester, told to equestrian author Janet Rising. The little brown horse has to learn his craft and it isn't long before Carl has him entered for some important competitions. But will Blueberry be able to display his amazing potential? WillCarl be pleased with his pupil and continue training? Or will the prejudices of the other horses he encounters, who look down on him because of his lack of height, affect Blueberry's confidence?Valegro - The Early Yearscontinues Blueberry's story in his own words and not only tells his life before he became famous, but gives an insight into one of the world's top dressage yards, together with all its inhabitants. Follow Blueberry's amazing journey as he works hard to follow his dream of becoming the best dressage horse the world has ever seen.This book continues the series and includes learning and technical aspects to pass on some equestrian knowledge and morals in a fun and friendly way, edited to Key Stage 2 making them suitable for use in schools and learning programmes. Ideal for readers aged 7-12, the young at heart and all animal lovers.

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Children's

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Publié par	Troubador Publishing Ltd
Date de parution	28 juillet 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781788031523
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

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Valegro

The Early Years

The Blueberry Stories: Book Two

Carl Hester MBE with Janet Rising
with illustrations by Helena Öhmark
Copyright © 2017 Valegro Blueberry Limited
Front cover and illustrations by Helena Öhmark

The moral right of the authors 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.

Matador
9 Priory Business Park,
Wistow Road, Kibworth Beauchamp,
Leicestershire. LE8 0RX
Tel: 0116 279 2299
Email: books@troubador.co.uk
Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador
Twitter: @matadorbooks

ISBN 9781788031523

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd
This book is dedicated to Gertjan and Anne van Olst, and to Joop and Martje Hanse, who own Blueberry’s sire and dam, and played such an important part in his early years
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
Chapter fourteen
Chapter fifteen
Chapter sixteen
Chapter seventeen
Chapter eighteen
Blueberry extras
Glossary of equestrian terms
Chapter one

Blueberry couldn’t tell how many people were watching him – they were far away and their outlines were blurred, making the audience seem like a single, multi-coloured mass – but he could hear them calling his name. Not his stable name, Blueberry, given to him on his arrival at Brook Mill Stables, but his registered name. Valegro! The crowd chanted, waved and clapped. ‘ The dancing horse,’ they cried. Blueberry arched his neck and felt his feet tingle as he lifted them higher, high like The Silver Dancer, higher even than the inspirational metal sculpture could achieve. This , he thought, this was what he had always wanted; to dance like no other horse had ever danced, to perform dressage better than the crowds had ever before witnessed, to be the best dressage horse the world had ever known…
“What are you grunting about?” The voice was far away, but insistent. “Stop twitching, you’re causing a draught!”
The cheering grew fainter and fainter and the crowd faded away to nothing as Blueberry opened his eyes to find himself lying in his stable at Brook Mill, his friend Lulu, the little tan-coloured dog, looking at him crossly with her one eye as the last of the cheers faded in his head.
“Oh,” said Blueberry, sighing.
“Dreaming again?” asked Lulu, a little more kindly this time.
Blueberry nodded. “It was wonderful,” he sighed. “I was performing piaffe even higher than The Silver Dancer and everyone was cheering.”
“Hmmmm,” grunted Lulu. “I think you’ll find kiddo that, when you do begin competing, things won’t be quite like your dreams – not for a while at least. You won’t be doing any Silver Dancer movements for a couple of years. I’ve told you that – and as for performing better than The Silver Dancer, well, that would be something to see.”
“I know,” said the little brown horse. “I haven’t been to any competitions yet – but I can’t wait. When do you think Carl will take me?”
“When you’re ready, kiddo, when you’re ready,” Lulu told him. “Now shake those wood chippings off your forelock and go back to sleep. A top dressage horse needs quality shut-eye in order to be refreshed for his work!”
As Lulu closed her one eye and drifted back to sleep, Blueberry looked up to the dark square which was the top, open half of his stable door. He could see the stars twinkling above them both, hear the occasional rustle of the other horses in the stables around him and the strange night sounds he couldn’t identify – maybe a fox or a badger passing by, an owl landing on a tree or one of the stable cats on a night prowl. The leaves on the nearby trees rustled softly in the breeze and Blueberry thought back to his dream.
Some people think animals don’t dream, that it is something only humans experience, but you only have to watch a dog asleep on a rug, his legs twitching, whimpering softly, to know that he is chasing imaginary rabbits, or swimming in the sea or enjoying any number of the things he loves to do, to know for certain that he can only be dreaming. Upon waking, a dog will seem surprised to find he is at home in front of the fire, before lying down again with a sigh, hoping to return to his wonderful sleepy world.
Horses rarely experience deep sleep. Mostly, they take short naps throughout the day and night, standing upright, one back leg resting, always ready to flee from predators because, even though many now live in the safety of a stable or a secure field, the instinct is still there. It is only occasionally that a horse will lie down and fall into a deep sleep and when they do, just like you and I, they sometimes dream.
This wasn’t Blueberry’s first dream. When he had gone back to Holland, when Carl had decided the little brown horse wasn’t big enough to ride in competitions himself, Blueberry had dreamed of returning to Brook Mill Stables, dreamed of being reunited with his friends Lulu, the big dog Willow, his equine friends Orange and Uthopia and his groom Lydia and, of course, Carl. That dream had, miraculously, come true. Carl had brought him home, given him a second chance to train hard to achieve his ultimate aim; to be a top dressage horse, to emulate the inspirational pose of The Silver Dancer (Carl’s amazing metal sculpture lit by coloured lights) dancing forever in piaffe, the most difficult and beautiful of all the dressage movements.
If that dream – the seemingly impossible dream of returning to Brook Mill and Carl – could come true Blueberry thought, then maybe his dream to become a top dressage horse stood a chance of coming to fruition, too. The success of this dream, Blueberry knew, rested entirely with him. Only he could make it happen, together with the help of his friends. He had Carl, one of the best dressage riders in the world, to train him so there would be no excuse if he failed. The little brown horse was determined to work harder than any horse Carl had ever trained, to learn all he could and do his very best. Only this way, Blueberry realised, would he achieve his ambition.
Resting his muzzle on the snowy wood chippings, and hearing the soft snoring of his friend beside him, Blueberry closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
Chapter two

Since his return to Brook Mill Stables, Blueberry’s world had changed completely. He remembered all his previous lessons when he had been carefully backed and ridden by Carl’s trusted trainers and riders, and had continued to learn under saddle in the indoor school and outside arena – under Carl’s careful instruction. Now Carl had decided the little brown horse which showed so much promise was destined to stay, progress in his education continued in earnest. Not that the training seemed arduous to Blueberry, even when he was ridden and schooled in the indoor or outdoor arena, under Carl’s eagle eye.
All the horses at Brook Mill were schooled by Carl’s pupils and riders who worked at the yard, as well as Carl himself. It wasn’t possible for Carl to ride every horse on his yard, every single day, and his pupils and riders enjoyed riding fantastic horses and benefited from Carl’s experience and teaching. They learned not just to ride all sorts of horses – from those just backed to those competing at the highest level – but they also learned how to teach their mounts, to school them in the basic training so important if they were to further their career. Then, as the horses’ muscles developed and they understood what was wanted, they could progress to the more advanced movements. The greatest riders are those who can not only school horses, but those who listen to the horses they are riding and learn from them. ‘If you want to be great riders,’ Blueberry often heard Carl telling his pupils, ‘learn from each and every horse you ride. Every horse has something to teach you, and sometimes you don’t realise what that lesson is until years later!’
Blueberry enjoyed his lessons in the school and hearing what Carl had to say but, at first, he didn’t really understand that he was actually learning . To him, it felt as though he was just being ridden around. He already understood that he needed to go forward when he felt his riders’ legs close around his sides, but gradually his riders – especially Lucy, who often rode him now – taught him to listen for ever-quieter signals, known as aids, from their legs. It wasn’t very long before Blueberry sprang forward or increased his pace whenever he felt even the slightest thought from the legs wrapped around his sides, and he slowed down and paid attention if he felt the merest vibration on his mouth from the bit, through the reins in his rider’s hands.
Blueberry learned to move straight, his hind hooves overlapping the tracks made by his front hooves which, he came to understand, was very important. If he wiggled a little, or his body wasn’t straight, or if his hind hooves made an impression on the sand surface next to those made by his front hooves instead of in front of them, Blueber