I had just finished high school and was spending a few months at a riding academy along with twelve other girls. We stayed in ‘dormitories’ which were old, converted buildings in the stable yard. Our hot water came from a drum outside the bathroom that had a wood fire built under it in the evenings. If the fire went out, so did the hot water. Talk about roughing it. But we didn’t care, we were there for the horses, we were there to learn everything we could.
About two weeks into the course, we had all settled into the routine of stables and horses. Something woke me up in the middle of the night. I lay in bed and listened. All was still in the heavy darkness. Nothing stirred. The crickets and frogs had ceased their singing. Dogs were quiet. All the horses were asleep.
‘Clop, clop, clop’
Were those hooves on the concrete walk?
‘Clip clop, clip clop.’
Was that a horse out of his stable?
Who could be wondering around at this time? Who was out?
Peering out the window, nothing could be seen. All was quiet. Surely if a horse was out, the other horses would all be calling?
Maybe that sound could have been water dripping from the water trough?
“Did you hear that too?” My one friend whispered.
“I think there might be a horse out, we should go check.”
I could not go back to bed until I had gone out to see that everything and everyone was fine.
“I will come with you.”
We dragged on our boots, hauled on our jackets and grabbed a flashlight.
Glad for the company of the dogs, I kept the flashlight lowered and moved quietly from stable to stable – not too quiet so as to startle the sleeping horses, not too noisy either – same reason. We peer over the doors, all is peaceful, all is calm.
The heavy sighs of the horses as they slept, the slow chewing of those enjoying a midnight snack of hay. A dribble of water from a sleepy wet muzzle.
All were present and accounted for. Nobody was even thinking about taking a midnight stroll. We headed back to bed, relieved that all is as it should be.
We climbed into our beds. Closed our eyes………’Clop, clip, clop, clop. ‘
There it was again. A horse walking slowly down the center aisle of the barn. What was going on?
Peering out the window, all is the same as before, dark and still.
‘Clop, clop, clop……….
Hang on a moment – Was that a shadow at the back of the barn? Was there something moving down there? I leaned closer to the window, flattened my face against the cold glass, I strained to see into the deepest shadows, tried to catch the faintest sound.
Next morning at breakfast, I could not stop yawning, bleary eyed and tired from a night filled with strange sounds.
“You didn’t sleep well last night?” Our boss lady asked after we had yawned for the tenth time.
“We kept hearing a horse out, but everyone was all fine when we checked.”
“Must have been ‘Mr. Fortune’.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Fortune. He often wonders around the yard at night.”
“Wasn’t that the old showjumper who died ten years ago?”
“The very same.”
“Thanks for telling us! If I had known that last night, there would be no chance on earth that we would have gone out in the middle of the night to check on the horses.”
“Well, if you ever do that again, be sure to take a carrot offering for him – otherwise he might suddenly look over your shoulder – and that would really freak you out!”
We heard him often during our stay at the stables. Although we felt quite comforted that old Mr. Fortune was watching over us, patrolling around, there was still no way that you would catch any of us out of bed at that time.
Good Night!
Sharlene Frances 