For my horsey friend Evie. A.L.
For Annabel, for the horse poses. R.H.
First published in 2007
Copyright © Text, Alison Lester, 2007
Copyright © Illustrations, Roland Harvey, 2007
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National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Lester, Alison.
The shadow brumby.
ISBN 978 1 74114 890 9.
1. Horses – Juvenile Fiction. I. Harvey, Roland, 1945–.
II. Title. (Series: Bonnie & Sam ; bk. 1).
A823.3
Cover and text design by Sandra Nobes
Set in 14 pt Berkeley Oldstyle by Tou-Can Design
Printed in China by Everbest Printing Co., Ltd
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
www.bonnieandsam.com.au
The
Shadow Brumby
Bonnie and Sam knew all the horses and ponies in Currawong Creek. They were horse-crazy!
Sam’s real name was Samantha. She lived with her dad, Bill, in an old house that overlooked the creek. Bill Cooper was the local policeman.
Bonnie – Bon for short – lived just outside town on a huge farm called Peppermint Plain. Bon’s parents weren’t interested in horses, even though Peppermint Plain was the perfect place for riding. Her mum, Woo, was a painter, always busy in her studio. Her dad, Chester, loved riding around the farm on his motorbike.
But Bonnie and Sam lived for horses.
Bonnie could talk a special horse language that she was sure they understood.
Sam was strong and horsey. She could tell, just by looking at a horse, if it had a stone in its hoof or needed a drink.
Sam’s dog, Pants, followed her everywhere. Pants was short for Smartie Pants, because she thought she knew everything.
Bonnie and Sam didn’t have a horse of their own, but they managed to ride nearly every day.
Their favourite horse was Whale, who belonged to Bon’s Aunty Birdy. Whale was huge. He was long and wide and tall. He was so broad that Bonnie and Sam could sit face-to-face and play poker on his back.
Whale shared his paddock with Bella, a tiny skewbald pony whose mane came down to her knees. When Sam sat on Bella, she could reach the ground with both big toes. Bella had been Bonnie’s first pony, but the girls were far too big to ride her now. Instead, they spent hours grooming her and plaiting her mane.