Jessica and Jewel (2 page)

I'm quickly writing this while everyone's getting their stuff unpacked

Can you believe it? Me and Tegan have been put in a room together, because we're sisters! All my sleepover plans are completely ruined and it's going to be just like it is at home (i.e. BORING!).

When everyone started arriving Jody showed us all upstairs and there were these three really lovely older girls and three younger, and I thought, oh good, two rooms of four, so I can go in with the older ones. But then it turned out there are actually three rooms and that I'm sharing with Tegan.

I really wanted to ask if I could go in with the older ones instead, but I didn't want to seem a fusspot, and anyway there are no spare beds in
there, so I tried to act like I didn't mind. As well as our bunk bed there's a single bed by the window. Jody said it was her daughter Millie's and I cheered up 'cos I thought,
Well at least we'll be sharing with someone else
. But then she said Millie's away this week staying with her auntie, so it really is only going to be me and Tegan. All my imaginings about midnight feasts and whispering girly secrets went
poof
out of my head and I just stood there feeling glum, until Tegan brought me back to reality by making a big thing about having the top bunk.

Unpacking my stuff on the bottom bunk did cheer me up a bit, though. I kept thinking,
Wow, I'm actually here at Pony Camp – and staying for a whole week!
I don't suppose sharing with T will be all that bad. Maybe when she goes to sleep I'll be able to sneak into the older girls' room for midnight feasts so I don't completely miss out. I'm definitely not going to let it stop me enjoying this week, anyway. After all, I can't wait to meet my pony, and there's the trail ride to look forward to, and all the lessons and mucking in on the yard (and mucking
out
– urgh – hee hee!).

Oh, we're being called downstairs now – time to go and meet the other girls properly, and find out which pony I'm getting!

Pony Camp is FAB!

I’ve really REALLY cheered up now ’cos I’ve had the most fantastic day!

I’m writing this in our free time after tea. We were supposed to go swimming next, but the sky looks a bit grumbly-thundery. Jody wants us to hold off for a while to wait and see what the weather does, so I’m sitting at one of the picnic benches outside the barn. Claudia, Bailey and Dannii (the three older girls I mentioned before) are here with me, writing in their Pony Camp Diaries, too!

The younger girls are in the games room doing something (I’m not quite sure what), but Tegan’s here with us. She didn’t want to write in her diary ’cos she’s not that fast at writing,
and she’s already done a pic of her pony, Twinkle, so she’s making a giant daisy chain on the grass instead. Oh, there’s such a lot to write – I’d better go back to where I left off.

We got down to the yard and Jody introduced us to Sally, the other instructor and Lydia, the stable girl who’ll be helping us with our ponies this week. Then Sally got us to say our names to each other, and our ages and where we’re from. Claudia is 12 and from London, Dannii’s actually 13 and from London, too. (How cool, I wish
I
was from London!) I was really surprised when Bailey spoke because I was expecting her to be English, but in fact she has an American accent. She’s 10 and a half, like me, and she’s flown over here specially for Pony Camp this week (all on her own, how brave!) ’cos she wanted to go to a proper English riding school like she reads about in pony books.

When it was Tegan’s turn she gave me a panicky look, so I introduced both of us. She’s not really shy or anything, but she does get a bit tongue-tied with new people. When Dannii said she liked my top I felt great ’cos she’s about the coolest girl I’ve ever seen apart from on telly. I love her swishy sideways fringe and the leather bracelets she wears all up her arm. And I love the way she spells her name, too. I’ve been trying out a few different ways of spelling Jess on my hand (and even my full name, Jessica), but it doesn’t really work.

The younger girls are called Summer and Alisha, who are both just 8, and Lola, who is still 7.

Tegan should have slotted in perfectly with them ’cos of being 7 too, but she clung on to me the whole time, even when Sally showed us round the yard and gave us the safety talk. But luckily then Lydia brought her pony out (a gorgeous yellow dun called Twinkle). Tegan fell completely in love with him and forgot I existed!

Then I met my totally
gorgeous
pony, Jewel. Here’s her profile:

NAME: Jewel

AGE: Sally’s not exactly sure but she thinks about 8.

HEIGHT: 13.2hh

BREED: part-Welsh

COLOUR/MARKINGS: Gorgeous
conker-shiny
chestnut with a flowing mane and strong white blaze that arches cutely over one of her eyes.

Sally says Jewel came from her friend Western Bob’s ranch as a loan for the final week of last summer. It worked out so well they decided to have her back again this year. She’s only here for a week and I’m the lucky girl who gets to ride her! Sally also mentioned that Jewel is trained as a western pony (although she totally understands what I’m asking for when I ride her the English way, too).

This is who everyone else got paired up with: