Alira Compliquer

Susie Sewell

Description

Owning a horse was just a dream; or was it? Lucy and Ingrid made it come true and were immediately swept into a lifestyle that found them living the dream, which sometimes became a nightmare, at other times was incredibly exciting, always gruelling, inspiring, rewarding, worthwhile. Their mare was a winner, but achieving their ambitions for her was fraught with difficulties that they could never have imagined. Mother and daughter laughed and cried together and remained best friends, their very special horse the catalyst. Alira Compliquer changed their lives forever and this is the story of an emotional journey whilst they learnt about both her eccentricity and her brilliance.

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 28 juin 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528964401
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Alira Compliquer
Susie Sewell
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-06-28
Alira Compliquer About the Author About the Book Dedication Copyright Information Acknowledgement Part 1 Chapter 1 New Beginnings Chapter 2 Dreams Do Come True Chapter 3 Finding ‘The One’ Chapter 4 Getting Their Impossible Dream Chapter 5 What Had They Bought? Chapter 6 The Outsiders Chapter 7 The Stud Farm Chapter 8 Horsey Men Chapter 9 Pocket Rocket Chapter 10 The Big Snow Chapter 11 Alira Goes Missing Chapter 12 Disaster Strikes Chapter 13 Debut Chapter 14 Complicated She Is – Leaving Ainsty Chapter 15 Summer of Indecision Part 2 Chapter 16 Finally! Off They Go Chapter 17 Slow Progress Chapter 18 Prizes! Chapter 19 Outrageous Fortune Chapter 20 The Ultimate Outcome Chapter 21 More Slings and Arrows Chapter 22 Calm in the Field Chapter 23 Mervyn Beats the Odds Chapter 24 Another New Year Dawns Chapter 25 She’s a Star! Chapter 26 Feeble Deception Chapter 27 A Professional Yard Part 3 Chapter 28 Dark Clouds Gather Chapter 29 Mysterious Malaise Chapter 30 Too Dangerous for Dressage Chapter 31 A Warning Chapter 32 A Danger to Herself Chapter 33 Ups and Downs Chapter 34 How Much Longer? Chapter 35 Poor Alira Chapter 36 Back to Where It All Began Chapter 37 The End
About the Author
Susie Sewell has spent a lifetime loving horses and writing about them, having a longstanding ambition to write a book. Having taught for 20 years and brought up two children, she spent a lot of time encouraging her youngest daughter’s interest in dressage, when she was not looking after her eldest daughter’s little boy; at this time, she was working to help students write good English and her love of language is reflected in her style of writing. Every day she would go to college with tales about a horse she had bought, a horse which actually fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition to own her own dressage horse. She had taught riding, worked in stables, borrowed horses, schooled horses, but never had her own. The tales she told were greeted with such enthusiasm by her friends that it gave her the idea to write a book and share the dramatic events that befell Alira Compliquer.
About the Book
Owning a horse was just a dream; or was it? Lucy and Ingrid made it come true and were immediately swept into a lifestyle that found them living the dream, which sometimes became a nightmare, at other times was incredibly exciting, always gruelling, inspiring, rewarding, worthwhile. Their mare was a winner, but achieving their ambitions for her was fraught with difficulties that they could never have imagined. Mother and daughter laughed and cried together and remained best friends, their very special horse the catalyst. Alira Compliquer changed their lives forever and this is the story of an emotional journey whilst they learnt about both her eccentricity and her brilliance.
Dedication
To my husband, who has supported all my endeavours; and to my two daughters, who are so precious to me.
Copyright Information
Copyright © Susie Sewell (2019)
The right of Susie Sewell to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528925709 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528964401 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgement
To the people who have been kind and interested because they appreciated the beauty of my horse and to all the professionals who helped care for her.
Part 1
Chapter 1

New Beginnings
The grey mare shied dramatically across the road as the pheasant clattered out of the hedgerow and glided away, oblivious to Lucy’s frustration with the erratic but beautiful young horse she was riding. Now the mare was trotting forwards, ears pricked, alert as she danced sideways again, spooked by a drain rushing with water from recent rain, then on she went, her great dark eyes searching the way ahead for hazards.
Traffic was not too big a problem in this remote and scenic area of Northern Britain which Lucy was traversing via one of the many lanes and tracks through green fields, farmlands that raised cattle, sheep and horses. Pheasants were abundant because she was riding through an estate where they were bred to be shot and then grace a table at some local pub or accompany the duck and beef at a stately home nearby. But now it is a partridge that triggers another violent shy, pain shot across Lucy’s back and she clenched her teeth, for this pain happens every time and is becoming almost intolerable.
A few weeks later, Lucy, Sophie and Ingrid are in the front room of their bungalow home, on a small farm which belongs to Lucy’s father. The radio was on, but the mood was unusually sober, a house that was normally full of chatter and activity is somehow sombre, even the fire burns low in the grate. Forever after, Lucy and her daughters called it The Crying Song, for there was the grey mare being ridden out of the yard, her delicate half Arab, half Connemara head held high, but someone else on her back. The radio played a sad song about love and loss; Lucy choked back the tears that she thought would never stop flowing.
All her life she had wanted a horse, but always ridden for others, never owned and held onto one. Now this beautiful little horse was going too, never to dance along the lanes with her, gallop over the fields with her, never again to jump the boughs and becks and troughs they had jumped or grace the field outside the house.
They all cried and hugged each other. Lucy made tea and they continued to pack, for they were moving house that day too. She thought her heart would break, because it was probably the end of her riding career. Too many changes afoot, too little money, too much pain, physical and emotional; too many hours on the chiropractor’s couch, neck bones crunched, back clicked, days after riding when she could not straighten up, could not bend down.
The love of horses, the freedom to ride, had sustained Lucy through a turbulent, restless life, where she could not settle. Now, it may not be possible to ride anymore, she was leaving behind the option of keeping a horse and they were facing an uncertain future, burning their bridges; the family was setting out alone.
Ingrid, the younger of the two girls, felt the departure of the mare and leaving the farm most keenly. She felt for her mother, seeing her tears, knowing about the pain which her mother hid from her family much of the time. Ingrid knew that fear of her grandfather’s anger kept her mum working hard out on the farm to pay the rent and keep their little house. Indeed, as soon as her dad was home from work, he would be out there too and Ingrid and Sophie would amuse themselves or work as well.
She, like her mum, loved the animals, the feel of thick sheep’s wool between her fingers, the smell of new-mown hay, the soft eyes and big ears of the cattle. Lucy had tried to impart her love of horses to both her daughters, Ingrid, who was 10 years old and Sophie, who was 16. Both had ridden since they were small. Lucy had gone on too long working on the farm, hard physical work which tore damaged muscles and pushed her past her limits. So, Lucy and James left the farm and the little house, to rely on their own jobs to try and set up home far away.
Chapter 2

Dreams Do Come True
Fast forwards fifteen years. An older Lucy stands in an indoor school, watching a powerful little Warmblood mare being carefully schooled by a slender, elegant young woman who sits motionless in the saddle, guiding the fiery horse by imperceptible aids from her legs and sensitive hands on the reins. She and her horse are in harmony; Lucy admires the fluent canter, the dynamic trot, the crossing of forelegs and hind legs as the mare yields to the left and then to the right, an accomplished rider in the saddle.
Why would her daughter not be gifted in the equestrian art? Ingrid had to have inherited some gift, some gene that had kept all the ancestors of this woman fascinated by horses, bound to them down the generations. Lucy calls Ingrid to her side and smiles as the sweating horse comes to a gradual halt beside her, then stands obediently, chewing her bit and slightly tossing her expressive head, her bay neck arched, her forelegs and hind legs placed square, her muscled body held in readiness for the next command.
She is the dream. She is the epitome of all the frustrated desires of three generations of horse lovers and the culmination of an amazing journey; she carries the standard which is a tribute to determination, belief and love. Ingrid rides a horse which when they left the farm was an impossible dream for her and her mother and now is a successful dressage horse, but to get here there have been many, many trials and barriers to cross.
Lucy cannot ride anymore, it is too late for her, but she enjoys this horse and Ingrid’s success vicariously, as coach, groom, assistant and confidante. This book is the story of the journey, the ecstasy and the agony that is part of owning such a very special horse.
Time had passed since they left the farm and hard work of a different kind had enabled Lucy and James to successfully keep a home and educate their children. Lucy’s husband left the army and trained to teach driving and Lucy herself had utilised a hard-won Open University degree to teach in Further Education. Sophie was working in London and Ingrid had be