Carnival - Part 3
By BH
Copyright January, 2002
All TB characters are, of course copyright to Pearsons/The Bill.
Mickey balanced himself carefully using hiscrutches, then freed his hand to look at his watch. The cross country was due to start in just five minutes. The Carnival ground was almost deserted - everyone appeared to be watching the Parade. He'd agreed to meet Vik by the hotdog stand opposite the Ferris wheel, but Vik didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. The grounds looked cold and lonely without the buzzing crowds and the noise. In charge of "Ricky's Hotdog Stand" was an enormous blob of a man, covered by tattoos and a dirty white singlet, fast asleep and snoring louder than a pneumatic drill. The Ferris wheel was silent. The electronic sounds coming from the amusement arcade tent were the only other noise to be heard. Then Mickey smelt cooking sausages. He moved further along the sideshows and finally spotted Vik, who was buying a hotdog slathered in mustard from a second stand about twenty yards away from the Ferris wheel. Vik spotted him and waved, then dug in his pockets for the cash to pay for his hotdog. Mickey limped forward, getting into the rhythmic pattern of crutches, foot, crutches, foot. Vik walked towards him, aiming to meet with him halfway. Mickey could see that he looked much chuffed.
"She won!" Vik shouted gleefully as soon as Mickey was in earshot.
Mickey frowned in confusion.
"Who won?" he asked, still swinging forward on his crutches.
Vik stopped walking as Mickey caught up with him, then he turned around and they headed in the direction of Canley Fields where the cross-country was set to start.
"My niece - she won the egg-and-spoon race in the gymkhana!"
Vik glowed with pride upon this declaration. Mickey grinned.
"Good on 'er," he said.
"She's over the moon - "
"And so are you, by the look of it, Sarge!"
Vik paused, and then laughed.
"Well, yeah, I suppose I am! It was a fantastic race - very closely matched - she won by about two inches! She's only been riding for six months, and some of the kids taking part were amazing."
"I always thought that gymkhanas were kids crashing into things on little Thelwell ponies with the judges trying to keep 'em under control," Mickey said. "And failing miserably," he added.
"Oh, no, it's nothing like that!" Vik chuckled. "These kids know what they're doing - there's lots of different events like clear round jumping and zig-zagging in between poles. I don't know the names for everything - I think the pole thing is called 'bending'. Stefanie tried to explain it all to me but it's like another language, really. She was raving on afterwards about how amazing two of the girls were riding in the classes - they scooped up a lot of prizes between them, actually, though they went up to Stefanie and congratulated her upon winning the egg and spoon race as if she'd won the whole gymkhana! Lovely girls they were - interesting thing was that they were identical twins!"
Mickey almost fell off his crutches.
"Twins?" he asked in surprise. "Did they have red hair?"
Vik nodded. Mickey stopped for a second, taking this in, then he suddenly burst out laughing, almost falling off his crutches a second time. Vik looked at him in bafflement.
"What's so funny?" he demanded.
"They'd have to be…it couldn't be anyone else…"
"What?" Vik repeated, still baffled.
"Those twins are the DI's nieces!"
Vik stared at him, bafflement replaced by astonishment.
"The DI's nieces?!" he echoed.
"Yeah! His sister's daughters."
"Oh…"
Vik was momentarily lost for words. Then he shrugged.
"Oh well, no reason why he can't have nieces," he said reasonably. "Only it seems impossible to think of him as an uncle!"
Mickey recovered from his laughing fit and started moving again.
"Our DI has hidden depths," he said mysteriously, then checked his watch.
"Hell! The cross-country started a minute ago!" he cried, then started swinging his crutches as fast as he could.
Vik followed him towards Canley Fields, the Landrovers, horses and people visible in the distance.
******
In spite of their earlier misgivings, the CID officers on the Sun Hill float were actually enjoying themselves. The float itself was spectacular - Reg had put a lot of thought into its design, with a giant police helmet in the middle and a set of handcuffs draped across the blue-painted deck-boards. The helmet had stairs cut into its sides and Kate Spears was racing up it now, pursued by Paul Riley who was grinning like a maniac. Only Debbie McAllister was refusing to get into character - she stood by the side of the helmet in burglar costume, watching the others running around. However, Danny Glaze dressed in his police uniform prodded her with a truncheon.
"Start running, Sarge!" he laughed, and then thwacked her on the arm with the foam truncheon.
"Danny!" Debbie tried to protest, but received further whacks for her trouble. "Stop it!"
She moved back in an effort to get away from him, but Danny still kept attacking her with the truncheon. Debbie finally gave in and started running from him.
"That's the spirit, Sarge!" Danny called, still in pursuit.
Debbie pounded up the stairs, reaching the top and descending down the second set. She could hear people in the crowd laughing and couldn't help smiling to herself at what they were seeing. She reached the bottom of the stairs and dashed around the side of the helmet, then unexpectedly turned on Danny and snatched the truncheon from his hand. She thwacked him on the head, knocking his police hat down over his eyes.
"Pay-back time!" she cried triumphantly.
Danny ducked, covering his head, turned around and ran. She followed, dealing further blows and laughing loudly. Paul Riley joined in with the chase around the float, and the crowds alongside the main road cheered them on with a roar as the float passed them.
*****
"Try looking around at the start," Mickey puffed, as he and Vik hurried towards the wooded area where the jumps had been set up. "He might've already started - I'll wait by one of the jumps or something. Ring me if you hear him being called or if you see him!"
Vik nodded and ran off in the direction of the start, while Mickey continued his slow progress towards the outskirts of the wood, aiming to reach the small crowd of people that had congregated along the course-side to watch. There wasn't a great deal of shouting or cheering going on, and Mickey could see that the majority of people watching were wearing riding jodhpurs or worn, hay-seed covered trousers. They were obviously from the horse-riding community, and were observing what appeared to be the correct protocol for watching cross-country jumping - making little noise in order to avoid frightening the competing horses. However, Mickey could feel the air of excitement and anticipation around him as he joined the group waiting for the competitors to ride past. Noting his disabled condition, people courteously made way for him, allowing him to reach the front. A long, frayed, blue tow-rope kept the spectators from spilling onto the course, but Mickey had a clear view of the jumps on this stretch of the route.
One of the jumps was made out of a wooden gate and a section of fencing. It seemed very out of place in the middle of the wood. Two conifer bushes were planted either side of it and the fencing section had a stile set into it. There was a fair amount of space between it and the next jump, which consisted of a stack of wooden logs. Following the stacked logs were a succession of three jumps that were set very close together - a hay manger, a water trough and a dry-stone wall that was set slightly further away from the other two. There were none of the brightly painted pole-and-fence jumps that Mickey had seen in some of the roped off show-rings on his way to the course. He wondered why these jumps were different, for surely if they were bright colours the riders would be able to see them better.
A steward stood beside the manger jump with a clipboard, looking down the course at the bend which each horse-and-rider team would approach from. The manger and trough were so close together that Mickey wondered how on earth the competitors were supposed to jump them with such little space in between. He heard the dull drumming of hooves on ground in the distance. Some of the people behind him were conversing amongst themselves and he heard their comments:
"I think this 'un's Terry Macarthy - did you see the Welsh cob that he bought a few weeks ago? Yeah, that liddle sod - he's riding on him in this, just see how much he's improved!"
A minute later Mickey saw the chestnut horse rounding the corner of the course at a gallop. The rider's face was obscured by his helmet, but Mickey could glimpse his intent expression, eyes fixed on the log jump ahead. The horse slowed to a canter and popped over the jump easily, in spite of its height - Mickey guessed it was about 2'6" or so - and galloped towards the manger. The rider had a whip in his hand, and lightly touched the horse's rump with it as they approached the manger. However, the horse skidded to a stop and attempted to turn his head away from the jump. There was a disappointed mumbling from the crowd, but the rider steered the horse around in a circle and went for the jump again. The chestnut's forelegs left the ground and its hind legs propelled it forward as it rose up, forward and over both the manger and the water-trough, landing with a thud on the opposite side of the jump. The crowd cheered as the rider spurred the cantering horse on to the wall jump. Mickey wasn't quite sure what signal the rider had given to the horse, but its leg movements seemed a lot less stretched out. Yet there still didn't appear to be enough room for the horse to jump, which was confirmed when the chestnut again tried to shy away from the jump. The rider was undeterred, though, and steered the horse at the jump again. The lack of room forced him to approach from an angle, but this time the wall was successfully cleared. The steward made tick motions on his clipboard with a pen as the rider disappeared into the distance.
"That's a nasty jump, that combination," Mickey heard the people behind him mutter. "No wonder the poor thing refused - they really shouldn't have it, not on a novice course!"
"Lucky he didn't have a run-out, there. Poor horse looked like he wanted to."
"Good control he's got, though - he wouldn't let it happen."
Mickey felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
"It's Mickey, isn't it?" he heard someone ask.
He recognised the accent and turned to see Ellie-Jean Mackenzie smiling at him.
"Oh, hi!" he said.
"Come to watch Alex?" she queried. "Didn't think of you as a horsey person. How's your ankle?"
Mickey nodded, grinning with the realisation that his and Vik's hunch had proved correct.
"Yeah - thought he'd be riding in this. I've got a friend standing at the beginning looking out for him. The ankle's okay, 'cept the crutches are taking some getting used to."
Ellie nodded.
"Look out for number sixty-two, that's Alex, but he's not due round for a while yet. He's riding Bluey - did he show you her?"
"Yep - nice horse."
"She's an absolute gem, really she is," Ellie said proudly. "Alex has done so well in training her, and she loves jumping. She has a lovely gait as well - watch her as she goes past - she's got a long gallop that eats the ground, and she's ideal for cross-country."
"I don't really know a lot about horses, to be honest," Mickey said. "Nor cross-countries - it's interesting to watch, though."
"It is," Ellie agreed. "I can explain a bit of it for you, if you like. It helps if you understand the rules because then you know what happens when horses knock down jumps and suchlike - whether they get penalised or not"
Mickey was glad that she'd offered - he had little idea of how cross-countries were run, or what happened when horses refused jumps like the chestnut had. He hated it when there were things that he couldn't understand, though he also hated looking stupid by asking.
"That'd be great," he said, meaning it. "Are your daughters watching this?" he asked as an afterthought, remembering the twins. "I heard that they won a lot of classes in the gymkhana."
Ellie laughed.
"Hannah's at the finish, but Lorna's back at the trailer with my cousin seeing to the horses - Hannah's got Alex's mobile and she's going to ring me to tell me what time Alex finished the course. They're both overjoyed about how well they'd done - they never expected to have such success! Alex and I are so proud of them, especially as they trained their horses themselves."
"Really?"
"Yes - it's a wonderful achievement for both of them. Hannah has a Fell pony, Monty, who was going for meat at the sales. Alex and I were only there to get tack, but she begged me to buy him. I was worried that she might end up getting bored with him but it was definitely a worry unfounded - she dotes on him. Lorna had been wanting a horse for a long while, but we didn't have enough money to get her one till some time after, but every evening after school she was out in the field helping Hannah school Monty. Then we were offered Tilly. She'd belonged to our friend's daughter who was growing too big to ride her - she's only a Dartmoor, which is a rather small breed - and Lorna fell in love with her at first sight."
"Sound like nice kids - caring," Mickey remarked.
Ellie smiled.
"They love animals of all types, especially horses - they're Cullens through and through."
There was another drumming in the distance.
"This is the next rider," Ellie said.
"They take a long time to come round," Mickey observed. "I thought they all started at the same time."
"Good heavens, no!" Ellie chuckled. "It'd be absolute bedlam if they did! They send each competitor off at five minute intervals - this is a novice competition, so the organisers are allowing for the fact that it may take riders a while to go through the course. It doesn't matter if there are two riders on the course at once - it's just a safeguard to make sure that two riders don't take the same fence at the same time. Watch this woman as she jumps the log pile - there's only enough room for one horse."
Mickey looked in the direction of the log pile. A woman riding a deep grey horse approached the log pile and cleared it. As she did so, Mickey noticed how narrow the jump was. Indeed there was only room for horses to jump it single file. The horse thundered towards the manger, cleared it and the trough to a cheer from the spectators, but when it landed on the other side it attempted to avoid the wall altogether. The steward standing close to the wall jump quickly hurried out of the way as the woman struggled to prevent her horse from running off the course.
"That grey doesn't like walls," Ellie commented. "That was a refusal, so she's just had twenty points added onto her score. If there're three refusals at one fence it means elimination."
The woman finally succeeded in controlling the horse's skittering movements and urged it toward the jump again. The horse again tried to detour around the wall, but the rider steered it around once more. There was a complete silence as the horse cantered up to the fence - everyone seemed to be holding their breaths. This time the rider gave her mount a hard tap with her whip as they hit the takeoff point, but the horse refused the jump a third time. The steward held up a hand, signalling. There was a sympathetic 'Awwwwww' from the crowd.
"Has she been eliminated, then?" Mickey asked as the woman dismounted and led her horse back in the direction she had come from.
Ellie nodded.
"It's a nasty jump, that one. The hay manger, water trough and the wall are all one jump - it's called a combination. The manger and the trough are meant to be jumped together, and the stone wall jumped separately, but the distance from the trough to the wall is tricky to negotiate, which is why there's been a lot of refusals. Standard jumps are set apart from each other in strides, which are the number of steps required by the horse to get from the landing point of one jump to the takeoff point of another, but the wall is actually a half-stride extra away. That means that the horse has to shorten its stride in order to be able to clear the jump properly - it's a challenging task for both horse and rider. This jump doesn't really belong on a novice course - I'll be surprised if many manage to clear it without at least one refusal."
Mickey studied the combination. It looked rather innocuous, but having seen the reactions of the horses trying to jump it and heard Ellie's explanation, he knew that it was a rather complicated setup. The now-familiar drumming of hooves on earth signalled the approach of the next horse.
"D'you think the G…that Alex will clear that?" he asked.
Ellie frowned at the combination jump, and then shrugged.
"He's put Bluey into a lot of training - I don't think on a combination like that, though I've seen Alex jump her over half-stride jumps before. Never as high as that, though. If he jumps it, he jumps it, and if he doesn't, he'll keep Bluey trying till they either clear it or get eliminated. You're allowed five refusals for the whole course, provided it isn't three at one jump. It's just a case of stick at it and you'll get there - giving up isn't very sporting unless you're worried about your horse's health being affected by continuing the course. You can't compete without a full vet. certificate anyway, so that doesn't happen very often. It's the triers who win."
Mickey nodded and then winced as the oncoming horse reared at
the sight of the log-jump, throwing off her rider who hit the ground with
a resounding thud and lay there, still. People in the crowd alongside the
log pile ducked under the rope and went to assist the steward, who was attempting
to catch the frightened horse who was skittering about in her attempts to
get away from the jump. Some other spectators were assisting the fallen rider
to her feet. She appeared to be unharmed and headed straight for her horse,
which had been caught. The steward talked to her for a minute or so, then
he ticked off a square on his clipboard and she remounted her horse, riding
slowly towards the jump. The spectators who had helped out quickly ducked
back under the rope to join the other watchers and everyone gave the rider
a rousing cheer when she cleared the log pile with several inches to spare.
To be continued