It didn’t take Lauren long to put her horsey jeans on. She brushed Twilight over, tacked him up and they set off into the woods. ‘Let’s go to the banks,’ Lauren said to him.

There was an area of the woods which had lots of steep banks and little hills. Lauren loved riding Twilight up and down them. Sometimes she and Jessica and Mel put small jumps at the bottom of the less steep hills.

As she drew near, she heard the sound of familiar voices.

It was Lauren’s friends, Jo-Ann and Grace, from Orchard Stables. They were a few years older than her but she got on really well with them. She clicked her tongue and let Twilight trot on.

‘Hi, Lauren!’ Grace called as Twilight entered the clearing. She was sitting on her grey mare, Apple. Jo-Ann, her best friend, was riding up and down the hills on Beauty, her bay pony.

‘Hi!’ Lauren called back. She rode over. ‘How’s Currant?’

Currant, Apple’s foal, was also a secret unicorn. He belonged to Grace and she

was also his Unicorn Friend. She couldn’t ride him yet because he was too young but she often turned him into a unicorn and played with him at night-time. ‘He’s fine,’ Grace grinned. ‘We’ve been having lots of fun.’ She dropped her voice. ‘He’s getting loads better at flying now, Lauren…’ She broke off as Jo-Ann and Beauty cantered over.

‘Do you want to join in with us, Lauren?’ Jo-Ann asked, reining Beauty in beside Twilight. ‘We were going to time ourselves to see how fast we could get round four of the hills.’

‘Cool,’ Lauren said. She’d have loved to have carried on talking to Grace about unicorn stuff but they would have to wait. ‘Of course Twilight and I will join in. Which hills are they?’

Jo-Ann pointed out a short course. The three girls took it in turns to canter round the course and time each other. Jo-Ann always won, but that was no surprise. She was a very daring rider and Beauty was very fast. Lauren didn’t mind. It was just fun joining in.

After going round three times each they gave the ponies a break. ‘Your cousin, Hannah, is coming tomorrow, isn’t she?’ Grace said.

‘That’s right,’ Lauren replied.

‘Mum told me she’s going to borrow Magpie,’ Grace went on. Her mum owned Orchard Stables. ‘Do you want me to bring him over tomorrow, late afternoon? I can ride Apple and lead him.’

‘Yes please!’ Lauren said. ‘I bet Hannah’s going to love having him to look after and ride. We haven’t told her about it yet. It’s going to be a surprise.’

‘Magpie’ll enjoy it too,’ Grace said.

‘He’s a bit lively for the riding school so he doesn’t get used much but your mum said that Hannah’s a really good rider so I’m sure she’ll be able to handle him.’

‘She’s brilliant,’ Lauren nodded. ‘She’s been riding since she was three and she does lots of showjumping.’