The Prize Read Online Free PDF Page A

splashed about happily in the water jump, pawing at the water so keenly that Georgie worried for a moment that she might actually try to drop down to her knees and roll for the sheer fun of it. At the staircase, the riders had only had one chance to tackle the jump when Tara called it a day.
    â€œWe’ll have to leave it at that I’m afraid,” Tara told the class. “There’s an assembly for first-year pupils this afternoon. Can you all take your horses back to the stables and then meet me at the indoor arena in fifteen minutes, please?”

    â€œWhat’s this about?” Daisy demanded as the girls headed for the indoor arena. “We’re missing a whole hour of class.”
    â€œI don’t get why we’re going to the indoor arena,” Emily said. “If it’s school notices or something Tara could have just told us out on the cross-country course.”
    As they entered the arena the girls noticed other first years also arriving. Georgie spotted dressage riders Mitty Janssen and Isabel Weiss already seated with their classmates in the tiered seats facing the sawdust arena.
    â€œThe Westerns are here too,” Alice noted as she spied Tyler McGuane and Bunny Redpath making their way up the stairs to sit with Jenner Philips and Blair Danner.
    The eventers were nearly the last ones in so they sat in the front two rows. Georgie, Alice, Daisy and Emily crammed into the end seats of the second row right behind Alex and Cam.
    Cam was looking worried. “What if they’re going to spring a test on us?” he fretted. “I haven’t studied!”
    Alice sighed. “It’s our first day back, Cam. None of us have studied.”
    The last students to arrive were Kennedy and Arden. They made a pointed display of sitting as far away as possible from Georgie and the Badminton girls.
    Suddenly the overhead lights in the rig above the arena popped and crackled into life, casting a white glare over the sand. Voices could be heard in the wings of the main entrance and a moment later Tara Kelly strode in accompanied by three other members of the Blainford teaching staff – dressage teacher Bettina Schmidt, showjumping master Trent Chase, and Hank ‘Shep’ Shepard, the head of the Western faculty.
    Walking alongside them wearing stiff brown tweed was Mrs Dickins-Thomson, Blainford’s headmistress.
    If she were a horse, Mrs Dickins-Thomson would have been a rangy Thoroughbred. Her long face was dominated by a Roman nose and a mane of chestnut hair. Formidable and stern, the headmistress possessed a commanding presence – and the first-year students fell respectfully silent as she cleared her throat to speak.
    â€œFor many years now Blainford Academy has built a reputation as the premier equestrian institute in the world. Our pupils go on to become world champions in every field. But to maintain that status we must move with the times and adapt. We have to ensure that the skills that you are learning at the school are directly applicable to the workforce.”
    Mrs Dickins-Thomson paused. “And that is why, for the first time, we are introducing the new first-year apprentice programme.”
    The bewildered faces of the young riders stared back at her.
    â€œHey, does she mean like that TV show with Alan Sugar?” Cameron whispered.
    Alice kicked his seat to make him shut up.
    â€œThe Blainford apprenticeship programme utilises the resource of former pupils, alumni of the Academy, who have kindly agreed to take a current pupil under their wing,” Mrs Dickens-Thomson explained. “You will spend one term as their apprentice and your performance will be assessed as your final exam for the year.”
    Alice boldly raised her hand. “Do you mean that they’re going to be, like, our private instructors?”
    Mrs Dickins-Thomson shook her head. “No, Alice, not your instructors. They are your employers. This is not a classroom