Sophie and Shine Read Free

groom, so we all got to see how it was done.

    The ribbons looked very smart tied on the end of the plait and Lydia did it really, really neatly, so now we all want our ponies to look like that for the gymkhana! She borrowed Shanice’s lovely brushes for the grooming demonstration and then when we did our own ponies, everyone was asking if they could borrow them too. I brought Shine into the barn to be with the other ponies (most of them are turned out at night), and after we’d given them a thorough groom we had a go at the tail plaiting. It was much, much harder than it looked and mine came out a bit wrong, but Courtney helped me to sort it out. She was really good at it and her fingers were flicking over and under and the plait got longer andlonger at lightning speed. I even had to get her to slow down so I could see what she was doing. She said that her mum does French plaits for weddings and they’re not all that different to tail plaits for ponies! There’s still plenty of time for me to practise before Friday, luckily!

Tuesday, it’s our free time after dinner (we had sausages and mash!)

    Oh dear, another strange thing has happened and now I don’t know what to think. Millie and Beth are on washing-up duty at the moment (I’m on tomorrow with Shanice), so I’ve got a bit of time to write about it in my diary.
    But first, let me just write about the fab pony stuff we did this afternoon. To start with we had a lecture about road safety and first aid, and what to do if you get lost on a hack (which is find a landmark if possible and then call the yard for help), and then we actually went out on one all together! Me, Millie andBeth chattered all the way round, apart from when we had to concentrate on trotting up the hills and going through this river without coming off and getting very wet! I really wish Millie and Beth lived near me so we could hang round together all the time. And I wish Shine could be my pony for ever!

    Then, when we got back, the strange thing happened. After the hack, we were untacking and doing yard duties, and when I went to put Shine’s bridle back in the tack room, I found Daisy searching through her tack box with Grace and Shanice. They explained thatTwinkle’s ribbons had gone missing. Daisy looked a bit upset so I gave her a hug and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll find them.”
    While they searched all over the tack room and the yard, I went back to the barn where we’d had the demonstration in case the ribbons had fallen into the straw. As I stood there, I remembered something that hadn’t seemed at all important this morning. I’d noticed that while we were packing away, Daisy’s ribbons did fall into the straw. I was about to go and get them for her when Courtney picked them up. I turned to get my hoof pick from Grace and of course I just assumed that Courtney put them back in Daisy’s tack box, but what if she hadn’t? They certainly aren’t there now. What if Courtney thought no one was looking and sneaked them into her pocket instead? Oh, that can’t be true, can it?
    Suddenly I found myself thinking about Izzy’s purple silk as well, which still hasn’t turned up. Courtney was the one who tried it on her hat when we were swapping stuff yesterday. But surely she couldn’t have taken it – and Daisy’s ribbons. Could she?
    When I got back to the tack room the ribbons still hadn’t been found, though.

    â€œListen, don’t worry, Mum’s got a big box of ribbons for everyone to use for the gymkhana,” Millie was telling Daisy. “If yours don’t turn up, you can choose some new ones from there. We’ll let you have first pick, won’t we, girls?” We all nodded and Daisy cheered up a bit after that.
    Millie seems convinced that Daisy’s ribbons just got lost somewhere, but I’m not so sure.
    After dinner just now, when we were allclearing the plates away, I