Taylor Russell - Part 1

by Lucinda
(NZ)

Taylor Russell's was flicking her pencil across her desk not hearing a word her teacher was saying.

"Taylor are you listening?" Asked her teacher.

"Yeah!" replied Taylor.

"Really? Well then repeat what I just said," she said.

Oh I'm going to fail for sure! Like I care ha! She thought and laughed.

"What do you find funny about this?" She snapped at Taylor.

"We were doing book reports right?" Asked Taylor.

"Yes, could you tell us about the book you read?" she asked.

hmm "Yes okay then," she coughed, "the book I have read has given me a thought. A thought so powerful that I may never think again indeed the thought is so powerful I have forgotten what it is," she said grinning from ear to ear.

The teacher was blank, "class dismissed!" She said.

"Yeah!" Everyone shouted and everyone with hats threw them up. It was the holidays.

"Well done!" Said her boyfriend coming up to her.

"Thanks," she said still grinning and they rode the bus home. She walked inside her house and said goodbye to her boyfriend.

After that she saw her parents grinning. "Darling we have brilliant news," they said, "you are going to Canada!" They said.

Taylor screamed. "But that means I'll be away from my boyfriend!" She said her face flashed with anger, "how could you!"

"We have sent you there to..." her parents started but Taylor had already gone...

Note from Sydney:
Hi Lucinda, I published your story with a temporary title. A lot of story submissions have no titles and it is hard for me to keep track of them so I named yours Taylor Russell. Just let me know when you've thought of a title and I'll republish it with the new one. Thanks!

Taylor Russells - Part 2 (please comment if you want part 3)

by Lucinda
(NZ)

Hi Readers sorry it hasn't come out for ages well enjoy :)
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Taylor Russells was on the plane, she was watching a kid movie something about a flying dog and its little girl owner. The movie had a horse name for shying "bolt," she thought it was called but she couldn't really remember because now she was fast asleep.

"Madam!" Someone shouted at her.

"What?" She said still half asleep.

"It's time to get off." Said the person.

Taylor woke up to see, it was one of the women that served her food.

"Oh, thank you," she said as she got up she picked up her suitcase and waved to the women.

Later

Taylor was looking for someone with a sign with her name on. She waited for five minutes till finally someone held up a sign saying Taylor Russells. She ran over to them.

"I'm Taylor Russells." She said to them.

"Good, I'm Tom Stevens," he said.

Taylor Russells - Part 3

by Lucinda
(NZ)

"Where have I heard that name before?" Thought Taylor until she saw the name Steven Farm on the taxi guy's car.

"Of course! This guy was the owner of the stables, though he is quite young to be the owner. Hmm.. maybe he is the owner's son or brother."

"This way," he said. So she followed him to the car. He took her suitcase and bag and put them in the boot while Taylor climbed into the front seat. He then joined her in the driver's seat.

The journey took an hour but finally she was there. Tom lead her to three other girls about her age. "Girls shall we take a tour of the farm? Pick your horse and groom them before tacking them up," he instructed.

As the girls picked there horses there were a lot of sighing, as some picked a horse that someone else wanted. When it was Taylor's turn she picked a dapple bay gelding, it was a big one - yes, it stood 16'2" hands high which would be comical if it stood next to Taylor's sister's mini at home.

Taylor felt a twang of homesickness but still pushed it out the way because she wanted riding the gelding for some fun.

Taylor Russells - Part 4

by Lucinda
(NZ)

I know its realllllllyyyyyy long but still :)
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Taylor walked over to the dapple grey and led him to the post where she tied him up before giving him a good groom.

He was so kind natured but he did not like one of his hooves to be picked up. Taylor wondered why, until she spotted a stone crammed underneath the mud.

"Good boy." she said after she had got it out and patted him.

One of the girls, a blonde who wore a pink outfit, all round a pink jacket, shirt, jodhpurs even boots(!) smirked, and Taylor glared at her protectively (even though her horse was a horse she still believed somehow he would understand) until she suddenly realised something, she was becoming horsy! She quickly started to tack her horse up.

"What is his name?" she asked Tom who was standing nearby.

"His name's Dreamer." he said. Taylor smiled at the name.

"Hey Dreamer, you're mine for the summer holidays." she murmured to Dreamer, he nuzzled her shoulder as if to say, "I'm glad it’s you."

Taylor looked at the blonde; it said that her name was Angela. Taylor knew exactly what Dreamer meant; she had just finished tacking him up.

"Right everyone done? good!" said Tom, he gave each of the riders a leg up, when he came over to Taylor he raised his eyebrow at her before helping her up and getting on his own horse.

"Follow me, newbies go beside me and eldest riders at the back." Taylor rode up beside him she was the only one though, luckily Angela went at the back so she was well away from her.

Suddenly Taylor heard a shrieking so she backed up to the middle and casually galloped to the noise as if she did this every day. She continued galloping until she found the screamer, it was a foal, Taylor realised she couldn't leave it here the foal wasn't hurt but it's leg was wedged in between a tree trunk.

She dismounted and walked over to the foal. She tried pulling it out but it didn't work. She could only think of one thing more to do, she didn't know if dreamer did dressage but she hoped he did.

"Come on boy don't fail me now." she said to him. As she mounted up she sighed. "Would this work?" She thought, "It will!!! it has to..." She put her foot in front of the girth and kicked him on, Dreamer reared up thrashing his hooves, she told him to go forward so he did and he started attacking the tree soon though the tree loosened and the foal came free.

"Good boy!" she cried to dreamer "Taylor!!!" she heard someone shout, she froze.

What was she going to do? she could either hide the foal behind the tree or give in and ask him for help she didn't really have time to hide the foal now though because tom had just pulled up in front of the foal with a shocked face "I see" he said "please help me hide it please it can't stay out here its leg was suck in the tree so me and dreamer had to do dressage to get the tree loose..." started Taylor but tom interrupted her.

"Taylor it’s okay I understand, look I may be almost an adult but I’m still horse crazy and I would never leave a foal out without a herd... or any horse the only problem is I don't know where we can keep it though first, what gender is it???" he said Taylor looked under the foal "a colt" she said she suddenly admired the foal he was completely snow white and it was glossy.

"I think we should call him cloud" said Taylor tom nodded. "It suits him," he said, "you go back to the farm and put him in one of the loose boxes and stay with him in-case my uncle or my dad comes in and we can't keep him forever in there so try and think of places we can keep him I'll meet you in the twelfth loose box in an hour," he said.

Taylor nodded and tom helped her lug the foal onto the front of her saddle, "here's a halter, it looks like it should fit him," he said passing Taylor a small light blue halter.

"Thanks for everything," said Taylor gratefully he nodded before turning and galloping away. Taylor put the halter on the foal so if he fell of at least she would still have hold of him, so she started cantering back to the ranch when she reached it she took her jacket off and put it over cloud so no one would see him Taylor carefully rode into a loose box that said dreamer on it she took cloud off dreamers back after dismounting.

She quickly ran into the twelfth loose box with dreamer still tacked up in his stall luckily though she saw a groom and asked them to un-tack her horse they nodded and began their work.

An hour and fifteen minutes later Taylor was still waiting but soon sure enough Tom came in carrying a grooming box full of brushes, two buckets(one for food one for water) and two foal sized covers (a stable rug and a waterproof cover) all of these were cyan blue which matched Cloud's halter and lead rope.

"There was a sale on at the tack shop," he explained, "5 items and if all are under 20$. I get them all for 30$ so I got them," he said smiling "oh and I almost forgot if you want to accessorize his halter there is a sewing machine in everyone's room."

"Thanks," said Taylor before looking at the clock, "wow time has passed fast!" she thought, the time was 6:30! Tom looked at the clock "3..2...1," he mumbled.

"Dinner in 10!" A voice called out from the main house.

"You get dreamer some hay and I’ll do my horse then I'll show you what food we give to orphan foals," said tom in a rush.

Taylor ran to dreamer's stall and gave him some hay before meeting up with tom in clouds stall "you put in boiling water in here then 40 grams of foal formula in the bottle and mix it then put the lid on and shake it for two minutes and wait for it to cool down till you give it to cloud. He may not like it at first because his mother’s milk was probably quite a lot sweeter than this but I’m sure soon he will be too hungry to mind," explained Tom and started doing the milk.

When it was Luke warm he gave the bottle to Taylor. "He will be more likely to drink it if, you give it to him as he doesn't trust me much yet" Taylor nodded and gave the milk to the foal.

For a few minutes cloud did not want it until he carefully eased his neck so it stretched over and could drink the milk soon he wanted more though so Tom went and got a milk feeder which allowed loads and loads of milk in it. Taylor and Tom put about 3 litres of milk in it.

"That should get him through the night but just before you go to bed you must come down and put his stable rug on as foals are used to their mothers warmth around them," he explained.

"Dinner is now!" A voice called out. "We'd better go," he said and walked out the door. Taylor stayed with the foal for about ten seconds just hugging it, "goodnight cloud I'll see you in a hour," she said then hurried off and closed the gate before catching up with Tom.

An hour later Taylor rushed outside, "hey cloud I've come to put your rug on for the nigh,t" she said as cloud nickered a greeting before she put it on him she took some of clouds fur off and rubbed it on the cover so it smelled like him (cloud is moulting she didn't actually pull it off :))

First she held the cover up over him so it wasn't actually on him but it was touching him he seemed okay about this she gently let it go onto his back and did up the straps.

"Good boy," she said and stroked his head and took his halter off the hook before giving dreamer a carrot and going back to the house, she found some white cloth in a basket under the sewing machine in her room she cut it in to cloud shapes and used the sewing machine to sew it on.

Taylor Russells - Part 5

by Lucinda
(NZ)

Taylor walked down the stable corridor. It was the day after she had gotten Cloud and was now checking up on him and Dreamer.

She went over to Dreamer and gave him a carrot and some oats and hay and giving him a scratch on his broad head. Taylor walked into the twelfth loose box smiling. Suddenly her smile faded as she saw two of the girls next to cloud.

"I wonder who he is?" Said the brunette.

“I don’t know but I wish he was mine, I’m guessing he’s Angela’s. She’s such a spoiled brat and is always getting new horses so I’m sure this is one of the...” started the other brunette but she stopped when she saw Taylor.

"Why are you in here?" Asked Taylor. They looked at each other.

"You were never here okay?” Said Taylor sternly. They looked at each other.

“Where did you get him?” They both asked.

“I found him, now get out.” She rushed over to her foal, she was very protective of the ones she loved.

“Why are you being so mean? You’re almost as bad as Angela,” said one of them. Taylor sighed as she realised they were right.

“I’m sorry I guess he’s a new-born and I’m protective of him and all,” said Taylor apologetically.

“It’s okay but tell us where you got him. Oh and I’m Ally and this is Phoebe,” said the first one.

“I’m Taylor and this is cloud. I found him with his leg wedged in a tree trunk!” Said Taylor

“You mean... he’s wild?” asked Phoebe, Taylor looked at Cloud she had never really thought about that before.

“Yes, I suppose he is. I never really thought about that before, he is so sweet-hearted to me,” she replied.

At that moment Tom walked in...

“Err do they know?” He asked.

“Yes they do,” said Taylor.

“Tom's been helping out and teaching me the basics of having a foal,” she explained.

“Oh,” they both said. Cloud sensed someone was coming so he backed up to the back of the stables.

“Someone’s coming,” whispered Tom. Sure enough everyone heard Angela’s loud bragging voice.

“I bet I have the best horse in the stables,” she bragged.

“Oh no you don’t,” whispered Taylor, “well Angela everyone’s horses have fair stats so going the long mile they're all the best,” replied Mathew who was Tom's father and the head of the stables.

“That’s NOT true!” Shouted Angela and she stormed out of the stables.

“No it's not,” said Taylor as Matthew walked out of the stable.

“Angela does have the best horses,” said Taylor.

“Are you serious?” asked Tom. “Can’t you see the muscle that Cloud has already? It’s amazing he could be trained into a champion!”

“Yeah but so could Angela’s horses” said Taylor.

"Tto be honest with you Taylor you’re all wrong. Angela’s horses have grown up and have they ever achieved anything? No.” Said Phoebe.

"How do you know that?”

"We were here the year that this opened. We were nine and Angela was there too and she never achieved anything to this day,” said Ally.

“Yeah,” said phoebe “but if you want to believe you're right then sure you can, but it’s not the truth. Angela’s the worst rider I have ever seen,” said Ally.

“Oy!” Taylor heard Angela’s voice, “we had better go,” she said they all stumbled out of the stall landing on top of each other.

“What were you all doing in there? Oh nevermind! Okay so two of you must tack my horse up and two must get my clothes okay?” She said.

“You’re not the queen,” said phoebe and they all collapsed again in laughter and sniggering.

“No!” Said Angela embarrassed, “but my daddy is an estate agent and he can pull down all of your houses in that.” She clicked her fingers.

“Oh bog off,” said Ally. Angela glared and ran after a groom as it ran away from her obviously hearing the conversation.

“That was close!” Said Taylor.

“Yeah!” Agreed Tom. Taylor quickly ran back into the stall.

“Cloud is really scared of her.” She said as she watched the foal shiver.

Later, that night to be exact, Taylor got a phone call, it was from her Dad.

“Taylor I’m so sorry darling your mother...she...she died. We were in a car crash and I only have a broken arm but she’s dead!”

Taylor screamed, threw the receiver down and cried on her bed.