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Against All Odds - The Story of Bronze - Part 1
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So you all remember the stories of Polo, Choc and Finola, and I’m sure you’ve all been thinking "But what about Bronze? Doesn’t Bronze also deserve a story?"
Yes, he does. This is a story I have been planning to write for well over a year – but I have been biding my time and waiting – waiting for an incident to complete the story... Don’t hold your breath – you’ll have to wait until the end to hear that one – and this story promises to last for quite some time.
A tall horse, after all, deserves a tall tale.
And with that, we begin our story.
It starts a long time ago – nearly seven years, in fact. It starts, to be exact, in November of the year 2004. Now, if this section of Bronze’s story invokes some sense of Déjà vu, I am sorry – but since his, Choc’s and Finola’s stories all begin much the same, I’m afraid it cannot be helped.
November 2004. I was ten years old – in the saddle for just over one of them. I knew very little, but I knew this: Riding was, and still is, and always will be – my entire life. For a child who seemed to belong nowhere else, I was at home in the saddle. At this stage, I owned two horses: Astro, the old SPCA pony, and Polo – my little equine soulmate, who at this stage was still at war with me, and had yet to forsake the murderous glint in her eye.
One day, whilst paging through a newspaper – which in itself was an oddity, since I never have and never will be fan of newspapers. I think that they smell awful, and feel even worse to the touch. All the same, I happened to come across a tiny advertisement. I don’t remember the exact words, but it stated that an entire stud farm of racehorses were being rehomed, and that if you bought a mare, you got her foal for free!
Naturally, I was excited beyond belief. I had never seen a foal up close, and dashed instantly to tug on my mother’s sleeve, and show her the advertisement. "Please, Mommy!" I exclaimed delightedly, "Can’t we go look at the little foals?!"
My mother’s reply, I believe, is one of the worst mistakes she has ever made, though I highly doubt she regrets it.
"Yes, but only if you phone."
Why was this a mistake? Well, she thought she knew me – but in all honesty, I am too unpredictable a creature to ever truly ‘know’. It is a fact that I am cripplingly shy, and much as I loathe interacting with other people, I loathe it all the more if it is over the phone. My mother, banking on this fact, did not expect me to pick up the phone.
I did.
The man’s name was Alfie. He was an elderly, kindhearted man – and I arranged with him to see the horses, then told the plan to my mother, who was forced to go along with it, bound by her own promise.
We arrived at the farm a few days later, and Alfie told us the story. His brother, Phil, had died recently. Though without a will, nobody knew what was to become of Phil’s stud farm, or the many, many horses residing upon it. Alfie had bravely taken it upon himself to find homes for Phil’s horses, despite knowing very little about the creatures himself.
He showed us to the paddock of mares and foals. There were three there: Country Cousin – a bright Chestnut, with her bay colt who would later come to be named Country Flight. Mistress of Song - a stunning dark bay mare, with her foal, and Zannie – who was later renamed Cappuccino, with a shy but spirited little creature at foot – a beautiful bay filly, who would grow up to become the magnificent creature now known as Choc.
This was the animal that first caught my eye. She saw us, and dashed for cover – peeking curiously from under her mother’s tail, and snorting in a spunky mixture of fear and defiance. Her little face was adorned with the most beautiful blaze I had ever seen, and she had a cute little toilet-brush of a tail that switched energetically from side to side. Her dam was a sweet, placid seven year old. She was a similar light bay colour to Choc, with deep black in her legs and muzzle, and an untidy stripe stretching from her forehead to her muzzle. She, like the rest, was a little underweight and riddled with ticks – but relatively happy and healthy all the same. We spent some time talking to the horses, picking the ticks from Cuppi while Choc determinedly avoided any contact with us. With her ticks removed, Cuppi devoted the rest of her time to following us around the paddock – little Choc following at a cautious distance. The little bay colt who grew to become Country Flight was the friendliest. He let me hug and pet him, nibbled at my hair, and treated everybody with friendly curiosity. You’d think, as a child, he would be the one I wanted – but no. For some reason, I was drawn to the shy little filly with the fire in her eyes. I couldn’t explain to you why. Maybe it was her pretty facial marking? Maybe, just maybe, she reminded me of myself a little? Whatever it was, I knew I had to have her.
With the adorable charm that only a child can muster, I smiled and pouted and sulked and pleaded until my mother gave in, and Cuppi and Choc were to be my own.
How does this story relate to Bronze, you ask? Well, the answer is simple: Wait and see! Read on next time to find out! |
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19 days ago
• 7,023 views
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Simplicity
Aww, you left us hanging!
Aww, you left us hanging!
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19 days ago
• 6,771 views
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FreeRein
Holy crap!!!!! Amazing detail! absolutely amazing! I will defiantly follow this story!
Holy crap!!!!! Amazing detail! absolutely amazing! I will defiantly follow this story!
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19 days ago
• 6,770 views
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19 days ago
• 6,771 views
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Spaztastic
What DOES it have to do with Bronze ?? :)
What DOES it have to do with Bronze ?? :)
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19 days ago
• 6,791 views
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kingfisher
You are so lucky! I want your horses! *Steals horses from Polo*
You are so lucky! I want your horses! *Steals horses from Polo*
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18 days ago
• 6,771 views
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Stay Untamed
Can't wait to read the rest!
Can't wait to read the rest!
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18 days ago
• 6,808 views
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All That Jazz
Love it! So much detail :)
Love it! So much detail :)
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17 days ago
• 6,775 views
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ImaCoolCowgirl
finally got to read it!!!! Awesome as usual! Can't wait to read the next one!!!
finally got to read it!!!! Awesome as usual! Can't wait to read the next one!!!
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17 days ago
• 6,769 views
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SMFponies
AWW so cute. I would love to have a baby pony of my own
AWW so cute. I would love to have a baby pony of my own
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16 days ago
• 6,820 views
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