“Whoa!” I heard Hugo yell beside me. All we could do was watch in horror as we saw Tommy's mare clock the height and girth of the wall too late. With no one aboard telling her she needed to slow down and collect herself, telling her anything at all, in fact, the mare lost her confidence and ducked out at the last minute, swerving violently. As the horse went one way, Tommy went the other, flying out of what is colloquially known as the side door. He'd comprehensively cut up the rest of the field, but Mum and Babs, who were committed, somehow managed to avoid him, the young farmers swore violently and got over too, and the rest of us held hard since jumping on top of someone is not actually in the rule book.

As the rest of the field, with much cursing, fled down the hill to jump the wall elsewhere, Lucas disappeared after Tommy's horse. That left the three of us, who straggled to a halt around Tommy, who was still on the ground. Hugo leaped off and I held his horse as he ran up. Shona threw me her reins, jumped down and ran too. Badly winded, Tommy struggled to his feet.

"I'm fine, just fine! Stupid horse refused - where is she?"

"Lucas has gone after her.” Hugo told him as, away in the distance, we could actually see someone else had caught the gray and was handing her to Lucas to ride back with, the saddle pretty much slipped right over to one side. A couple of people who usually rode at the back anyway had ridden across to help. Lovely Liz Price, who was a nurse at the same hospital as Shona's mum, so that was always a bonus, and her sister Kim who ran the local kennels.

"Everything all right?" Liz asked, eyeing Tommy's very white face as he staggered a bit.

"Everything is fine and if everyone would stop fussing I'll just get back on my horse! Stupid animal."

Lucas was amongst us, handing him the reins.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," said Liz with a frown, as the gray, thoroughly overwrought, circled manically around Tommy, tossing her head. Froth was pouring from her mouth as he tried to keep her still. "You look a bit concussed to me. I should hop back on but ride quietly home."

"I'll take him," Hugo told her.

"I don't need any nursemaid – we're riding on!"

He shoved the saddle back into its rightful position without undoing the girth, which frightened the horse. She was going up now, lifting her front hooves off the ground, preparing to rear, eyes rolling with fear and anxiety, her sides sodden, steam pouring off her, pink nostrils flaring.

Shona was still on the ground.

"If you're determined to carry on you really need to ride Barney," she told him earnestly, helping him hold the mare down, grabbing the reins on the other side.