Pony Ranch

Chapter four

“Neither of them broken to the saddle”, Penny said thoughtfully, alternating her gaze between Goldie’s stall and Beauties, then settled on Goldie, seemingly impervious to that look of intense hatred he was giving her, which was hardly surprising. Why should the golden-haired stallion worry her when her own Goofy could outdo him many times over in the angry looks department? Besides, what could the animal do anyway other than glare at us with an impotent fury? 

“Goldie’s still pretty new”, I reminded her. “Hardly even broken to his stall yet, let alone anything else. Beauty I’ve had a bit longer, plus I ran her a few times as a cart pony when I was at Mandy’s.”

“How did she take to that, and no, I don’t mean it as a silly question?” Penny turned to me, stopping the flippant reply I’d been about to say, stone dead. 

“Well,” I considered, thinking back a few weeks to my time at Mandy’s delightful estate. “Better than I expected. She was a bit too frisky and skittish initially, and it took two of us to get her harnessed to the cart safely the first few times. Once we’d done that, there was not much she could do once secured between the shafts.  To be honest, I was surprised how quickly she adapted” I looked thoughtfully over at my female pony. “I suppose that there wasn’t much she could do other than move and obey once she felt my whip kissing her rump, she’s not a stupid animal by any means”. 

“Few of them are,” Penny murmured, deliberately meeting Goldie's angry eyes and boldly staring him down. “I don’t think I’ve ever come across a real dullard, but that’s hardly unexpected considering their rather unique breed!”

I nodded and grinned but quickly changed my expression when I realised she was being perfectly serious and not at all frivolous. Unique breed?  A good term, I thought as I watched my Russian ex-Mafiosi’s eyes break contact with the imposing young woman. She did have a whip in her hands, and my stallion had learned how painful my arsenal of corrective implements could be on his hide when wielded by a merciless female hand! 

“I did have to use the whip a lot to get her moving initially, " I added, eyeing what she was carrying as I followed her to Beauties stall.

Penny shrugged. “Par for the course. Whip and reins are perfect for demonstrating who’s boss to a rebellious untrained pony. Some favour more sophisticated devices such as cattle prods and similar. They have their uses when controlling these wild beasts, but most of us favour the more traditional methods. Whip, crop and cane.” She smiled and tapped the riding crop tucked into her belt. “Also, I feel more intimate than poking them with a metal rod and pressing a button. Also, far more satisfying!”

This time I did grin, for I knew exactly what she meant even though I’d never used, never even seen one of the devices she was talking about. Were they even legal in the UK, I wondered? I eyed Beauty, noting the latest marks my corrective implements had left on her proud udders and rump with a sense of personal satisfaction tinged with that familiar clit tingle. Would a cattle prod leave such delightful marks of one’s absolute power over the creatures, I wondered?

“How’s her hoof work? Does she high step decently as a proud pony should?” I thought I detected a slight note of sarcasm in the question.

I coloured slightly, feeling a touch embarrassed and shook my head. “No, not really”, I admitted. “I’d started her along those lines, but I wasn’t very experienced, a case of the blind leading the blind training-wise. Everything started happening fast, or so it seemed. It felt as though I’d hardly got her stalled and in harness when suddenly I was whisked off to Mandy’s place. I thought we’d be doing that, that….” I paused, searching for the correct terms. “The basic stuff like that there, but Mandy had told Sarah to get me mobile, so the girls concentrated primarily on doing that”, I shrugged, adding, “So she kinda missed out on that dainty high-stepping stuff, so she’s not the most graceful of animals at the moment”.

Penny laughed. “Don’t sound so apologetic. Not your fault, and to be honest, it’s not something to get paranoid about. I’ve got a decent filly back at my stable for cross-country races or used to use her that way. She is the ugliest beast in my stable but has legs like steam pistons. She runs like the wind even with me atop her and has unbelievable endurance. Melons would get laughed straight out of a dressage ring, but she’s got a shitload of rosettes pinned up in her stall, firsts, seconds and thirds, mostly firsts!”

“Melons?”

Penny laughed. “That’s the one thing she lacks,” she said, hanging the coiled whip on a peg, opening the stall, and pulling her crop from her belt. “Or two things I should say,” she added, tapping each of Beauty's prominent udders. “Got the sort of upperworks many top models have, all chest and no decent bumpy lumpy’s. Not like you, eh girl?”

Beauty, I noted, made as though to shy away from this new intruder but then didn’t. I could guess what was running through the animal’s mind; why bother? There was a solid brick wall just a few feet behind her, and my whips had already taught her what happened to disobedient ponies. Her big udders were there for Penny to do with as she wished, and Beauty had sense enough to know that. Besides, why should she shy away from a newcomer anyway? She’d been handled by all the girls when quartered in Mandy’s stable, so a strange pair of hands was nothing new!

She seemed a bit more skittish than usual, and I discerned a worried look in her lovely eyes as they flickered towards me more than once.  I thought it cute, like a nervous puppy, at the vet, smiling at her. However, my intention was not to be very reassuring, and I was sure she realised that. The beautiful animal was obviously scared of Penny. Well, I expect any pony would be scared when faced with a strange handler, given our absolute dominance over their lives and the intense pain that could be afflicted upon them at a mere whim!

Animal instinct or human intuition, I wondered, both probably. Penny shared that same sort of aura that I’d noted about Mandy. The woman radiated a certain something that I lacked as yet, a sense of power and commanding presence, along with absolute confidence in herself and her ability to handle these captive creatures. I’d even felt it myself a little earlier when Penny had strode into the kitchen for her breakfast. Tall, elegant, immaculate, gorgeous with only the barest hint of makeup. Tan cowboy boots, skin-tight riding leggings, a crisp short-sleeved white shirt and a neck bandana. A stylish leather cowboy hat further enhanced the western look. 

“Yee haw!” Suzy had cried aloud after one look and promptly had her blonde head rapped with the butt end of a riding crop and told, ' Can it, junior or I’ll spank your butt good and hard!’

I thought so simple yet so stylish, watching her run her hands all over Beauty, twisting the pony this way and not being over gentle about it. She’d done that the other day when I’d first shown her my livestock, but this time her examination was far more detailed, and Penny was paying a great deal of attention to the animal’s legs, squeezing and running her hands up and down in what looked a very expert manner. I shook my head as Beauty twisted her body to look at me. If she were looking for reassurance, she’d get none from me; by now, the silly creature should know that!

I decided that hat suited Penny, but I knew I’d have merely looked silly in it. Then again, Penny was one of those women who could have poked a few holes in a black plastic bin liner for her head and arms and still looked chic. Life was so unfair, wasn’t it? Then I heard Beauty squeal a muted protest as a hand explored between her legs and reflected on how it could be very unfair indeed for some! 

“Melons?” I said again as Penny straightened up, wiping the damp fingers of her right hand down her leggings and giving Beauty a final pat on her rump before rejoining me outside the stall.

“Eh?”  Penny muttered, closing the stall door and eyeing Beauty appraisingly from head to hoof.

“Melons”, I repeated. “You’d started telling me about her”.

Understanding flared in her eyes. “Oh yeah, that one.” She switched her gaze to me and shrugged. “No big deal. I was on the lookout for a suitable filly, and being in London for a modelling job, I attended the London marathon. Events like that are a damn good place for picking out likely stock—lots of young, healthy bodies in excellent tip-top physical condition. Even a goodly selection of not-so-young but still fit and healthy” She grinned. “I don’t know about them, but I shed the odd pound that day dashing from one place to another and on and off the tube, keeping up with those I’d picked out as likely candidates!”

“Just like that?”

Penny laughed. “Kind of like that. I picked out a half dozen or so potential ponies from the group starting behind the elite athletes. Four of them were still up-front, setting good times by the finish. I’d used my contacts to get a couple of the official neck badges and neck lanyards and had a press accreditation card.  The UK sports rep for the Washington Post, no less! I flashed that with a big beaming smile and got to interview all four beyond the finish line. It wasn’t hard, although I had to run around persuading them to wait for me to finish with the others. Couldn’t do all four at once, could I?”

She paused and nodded at Beauty. “Even though I now have a lot of useful contacts, there is a certain thrill in stalking and bagging your own wild stock, as you well know”.

“Risky”, I observed, thinking back to my endeavours, but I appreciated what she meant about the thrill. I glanced over to where Beauty and Fluffy had lain in the dirt after dragging them from my car and shivered as I experienced a familiar tingle at the memory. Even now, I couldn’t believe that I’d actually done that. I recalled my semi-sleepless night afterwards, partly guilt and worry, but mostly I realised later, sheer bloody anticipation at the pleasures awaiting me the following day!

“Yes and no”, Penny shrugged. “Don’t forget that there were thousands of people all milling around, and it wasn’t as if I grabbed one and bundled her into a van….or a car”, she grinned, looking at Beauty again before turning around.

“I didn’t bundle her into my car!” I protested in mock indignation as I followed her over to Goldie’s stall. “She got in entirely of her own free will, both her and Fluffy, bags and baggage as well.  I told you how I got them, remember?”

Penny nodded absently, drumming her long slim fingers along the top of the stall door. Nice nails, I noted, and all her own, just like me. I’d never been to a nail boutique in my life and never intended to patronise one. I wasn’t the least bit religious but very much subscribed to the ‘go with what God gave me’ brigade and eschewed all the available addons and other body decorations that had multiplied in the last decade or so!

“Amazing how much people will blurt out about themselves when you stick a microphone in front of them and have a good friend hefting an official-looking shoulder camera.” Penny continued, then paused, looking thoughtful. “I’ll bet a good ninety per cent gets edited out before the viewer sees it, or maybe I just asked questions that aren’t normally asked,” she laughed. Then she added, “my interest in them was along very different lines to the normal sports reporter after all! Not bad for its age” she nodded towards my angry stallion. “but for now, I think we’ll go with your Beauty. You’ve got a few months work ahead of you with this beast before we can throw a saddle over him! C’mon, let's walk the filly up and down outside in the daylight and have a good look at her”.

I followed her back to Beauties stall, absently admiring her butt in those tight jeans.  I wasn’t surprised at that decision. Goldie was proving a very different proposition, and I could imagine what she meant by a ‘few months' work. Goldie wasn’t even broken to his stall and harness, yet being foolish enough to think that his present situation was just a temporary aberration, silly animal! Beauty, while by no means broken, was a good deal more bent! Anyway, knowing Penny intended to work on Goofy alongside Beauty would putting two such angry stallions together have been a good idea!

“So, who was the friend with the camera?” I asked, still intrigued by her story. And how did you grab one, then? 

Penny paused just as she was about to flick open the latch on Beauties stall door and grinned back at me, raising a finger to her lips. “Don’t ask about that ‘how’,” she winked. “Strictly need to know on that one. You’ll probably want to fill those two stalls I’m borrowing at some point.  Go see Mandy; I’m sure she will help you meet the right contacts”.

“Like that, is it?”

“Yup, unless you want to join them” She waved her hand towards the occupied stalls. “You’re a member of a very unique and privileged little clique now, Honey. Don’t forget that nor” she made the same gesture towards the captive ponies, “that as a group, we are not very nice people, none of us. Those animals could tell you that…if we let them,” she laughed, her face immediately losing all trace of the solemnity of a second before.

My eyes followed her into the stall as she busied herself, freeing Beauties tethers. Penny was a lovely girl with a delightful personality, but just like Mandy, there was something decidedly chilling about her sometimes. One glance at my pony's body language confirmed that my animal's thoughts were probably running along the same lines. There was one big difference, though, wasn’t there, I thought, joining Penny in the stall and running a propriety hand down Beauties trembling flank. I wasn’t the one wearing a harness and terrified of the whip!

*****

The standard wooden picnic table just beyond the farm buildings and parking area was the first of Tony's thoughtful additions around my little empire. Likewise, the small rough lawn. Well, not really a  lawn, just a level area they’d cleared and turfed, then added the picnic bench and several posts and hitching rails. Beauty was tied to one of the latter while Penny and I took our morning coffee sitting at the former. It was a work day for Sally, and young Suzy had borrowed my car and headed for the city. There was a branch of a clothing chain she favoured there, and the girl wanted to check out the latest seasonal range. ‘Probably also needs her Big Mac fix,’ Penny had added maliciously as the girl drove off. 

I had spent the last hour walking Beauty up and down or making her walk, trot and canter on the end of a long lunge line under Penny’s critical eye. She’d briefly returned to her camper van and armed herself with a long dressage whip that she’d used along with various verbal commands as I’d put Beauty through her paces. Nor had she been the least reticent about using it whenever she felt necessary.

“She really lives up to her name!” Penny observed looking at Beauty tossing and turning as if something, possibly an insect, was bothering her. 

I nodded with a certain propriety sense of pride. “Yes, I kind of sensed that from the first. I didn’t get a good look at her until I had her secured in the passenger seat of my old car that first evening but somehow, when I saw her by those old caravans, I knew she was the one,” I smiled. “My first, anyway”.

“What happened to the farmer? Did he…oh no,” she paused and giggled. “Silly me, it was you making that phone call, and there were no immigration people on their way!”

“Still there, I imagine. The caravans are, and I’ve seen people by them when I’ve driven past. He’s probably still bending the rules so far as employing illegals goes! I smiled at my guest. “Somehow, I don’t think I will need to go down that route again. So, you never finished telling me about Melons. Who was your friend with the camera?”

Penny smiled as my pony gave a series of jerks, pranced about twisting from side to side, and even turned to us, kicking up her hooves as though in a muted appeal. Neither of us was inclined to get up and see what her problem was, and anyway, it wasn’t as if we had any poisonous snakes or insects to worry about. The odd bee or wasp sting wouldn’t kill her, would it if that’s what was bothering the creature?

“That was Trudy, an old school friend”, she paused, “well a bit more than that, my only true les experience, but I was very young at the time.  We’ve known each other since we were about eight, parties, same schools and all that stuff. True Besties. We should have gone to the same Uni but split on our gap year. I went off travelling, and she took a job in her dad’s company for work experience. I ended up with a modelling contract and got into that scene full time, whereas she went to Uni, got a first-class honour and now runs her dad’s company. Twenty times bigger now, of course, and she’s voraciously gobbled up most of the competition. Specialist electronics and all that stuff, half of it for the defence industry, all hush hush and vastly profitable”.

I waited patiently while she took a swig of coffee and ran an appraising over Beauty yet again. A tad too appraisingly, I thought and wondered if she was considering opening her chequebook or whatever these people used. I knew what my answer would be if she did!

Penny turned her attention back to me. “We get together every so often to chew the fat and for Trudy to amuse herself in my stable. She’s a surrogate aunt to the twins, of course, adores them, but they still take second place to my poor ponies when she visits.

“Poor?”

Penny gave a wicked laugh. “Oh my, yes. Her life is incredibly stressful. Entirely a self-made problem, I tell her. Apart from her own demanding business, she’s more fingers in commercial pies than she has on her hands, silly girl!  She always has some cute little dolly parked back at her London apartment to help relieve executive stress, Trudy having found our experimental little teen sapphic fling far more to her taste than I had!”  she looked back at Beauty and laughed. “They say animals are good for stress because they can help some sick people!”

“Stressful for your ponies, though”, I observed, guessing what she meant.

Penny chuckled and nodded towards the stable. “Goofy would agree with that. I hadn’t even had him forty-eight hours when Trudy turned up on the doorstep needing an ‘executive detox’! Well, almost, like, only giving me two hours' notice. She brought Issy with her as well”.

“Issy?”

Penny didn’t reply but clicked her tongue and got up. “What is it with that wretched pony?” She stalked over to Beauty and stood hands on her hip, watching her for a moment and then seemingly realised she’d left her crop on the table, grabbed Beauties bridle, hauled her forwards, and then delivered three hard slaps to her left rump cheek. “STAND STILL, ANIMAL! She released her hold and pointed a finger. “Stay and stand still unless you want me to fetch my crop. Stay still, you fucking animal. You’re irritating me, and you will get stung prancing about like that!”

“Bees?” I inquired as she sat down. There was a beekeeper in a cottage a mile or so down the road.

“Wasps or maybe hornets must be a nest nearby. I saw a half dozen or so” Penny shrugged and then grinned. “Maybe I should go look for it? Goofy might appreciate a change of scenery,” she giggled.

“Well, certainly a change from bamboo and leather across his rump! Or you could see if any of Sally’s special mixture is left. The one she uses to attract the bugs.”

She pulled a face. “Yeah, but what’s the betting my big strong, angry stallion would be allergic to stings or something similar? All that money I paid for it, and then one teeny little pinprick by some wretched flying bug kills the bloody animal!”

Maybe I should move Beauty, I thought, but then again, what were the chances? She was a big healthy animal; besides, I hadn’t finished my drink. “I thought you got him at a bargain price?”

Penny smiled. “I did, but when buying decent human equines, even at bargain basement prices, they still come with a good number of zeros before the decimal point. Way too many for an impoverished model to allow some bug in a stripped jersey to terminate my investment! If they decided to swarm, that might be just as bad!”

“It would certainly put him out of commission”, I agreed and added an emphatic “NO, not yet!” 

Penny looked surprised. She was about to get up, even half-raised off her seat, when I took hold of her arm, pulled her back down, and pointed a finger at her. “Sit, stay, still!” I cautioned and refilled her mug from the cafeteria coffee pot. “Melons, Trudy and Issy, who or whatever that is!”

Penny laughed, swung a long slim leg back under the bench, and reached for the mug. “You’re almost as inquisitive as Mandy; you know that! Issy is Isobel, a lovely kid and seems to be Trudy’s permie these days rather than a casual bit of fluff to keep her happy in bed. The only one she’s ever brought with her to my place. I was a tad concerned, but the girl didn’t bat so much as a false eyelash when I showed her around the stable! Trudy must have briefed her, but even so, she was pretty damn cool about it.”

“I suppose your friend would not have brought her otherwise”.

Penny nodded. “True”, and then pointed to a nearby camera watching us with its impersonal cyclops eye. “But the one thing all of us have in common is a touch of paranoia!”

“Hardly unexpected”, I stabbed a finger towards Beauty, “and I know precisely what you mean!”

There must have been something in my voice, for it made her laugh loudly and reach out to touch my hand reassuringly. “Oh, I don’t think you’ve got much to worry about, Honey. Your security tech is awe-inspiring. I know Suzy thinks so, and she’s a bright kid.” She paused and grinned at me. “You needn’t tell her I said that, though!” 

“Only if you finish telling me about, Melons,” I told her.

Penny laughed. “Not much to tell. I knew she was the one almost immediately, even before Trudy gave me a discrete thumbs up. Like I said, not the prettiest filly I’ve owned, but a damn sight better looking than that big horror of Sally’s back there.” She jerked her head. Perhaps describing her as the ugliest creature in the stable was a touch unfair. Let’s say the least attractive. She was a tall girl, lithesome but big built and had her fair share of problems” she paused again to consider. “Or should that be her unfair share of problems, anyway,” she shrugged.

“Problems?”

Penny grinned. “Poor pony’s a bit boss-eyed. You know, squinty,  I wasn’t sure if she was looking at me or the camera half the time when I was interviewing her. It is even more noticeable when she’s in a harness, something to do with the bridle. As you know, with much of their faces covered, it’s the eyes you notice first” she paused and giggled. “Then with the fillies, it’s invariably the udders, and she’s a bit lopsided there as well. Not a great deal to look at anyway, and what there is noticeably different both in size and shape, so like I said, no chance of impressing the judges in the dressage ring no matter how flawless her routine!”

“Not your scene anyway,” I said.

“Nope,” Penny shook her head. “Mandy is keen on that, but I haven’t the patience, at least not in that direction. I’ll admit that it looks pretty and sexy, but I prefer something more active. Standing still and cracking a whip as your animal performs its routine to music is way too passive for me. Racing a pony cart, yes, but it still feels a little, too; how can I put it? Too remote for me. I like the feel of a big sweaty beast between my legs as I push the creature to the very edge of exhaustion. Mistress and captive beast in perfect harmony as it obeys my crop and spurs!”

I smiled. “Now you’re making me get all hot!” I told her with an exaggerated shiver that wasn’t entirely false.

“Wait till you try it, girl”, she laughed. “and think yourself lucky!”

“Why?”

Penny nodded towards Beauty again. “On two counts. You’ve got yourself a big strong pony over there, a good-looking one as well. How much do you weigh? Oh yes, you told me the other day! Well, my advice is to watch the calories. Leave the greasy takeaways to young Suzy and Sally, those lucky little bitches seem immune to weight gain, but you and I need to be careful. You more than me, I suspect. One of us is approaching the borderline when it comes to real pony riding, and it’s not me.” She poked me gently with a finger and gave me a little wry smile to emphasise her words.

I looked at her, then over to Beauty for a few seconds, and finally back to Penny, who nodded and sighed before continuing.

“I’ve had a few at my stable that I’ve had to say no to and the odd one that I’ve allowed to do a few slow circuits in my training arena on a suitable mount. Just to give them a little taster, you understand” she smiled. “Two of the younger ones then shed pounds so they could enjoy the full experience of riding a captive human equine” She paused and laughed. “A far more entertaining reward than starving yourself for months merely to indulge yourself in a chocolate binge and the like!”  

“I’ll keep it in mind”, I promised.

“You won’t have to. Once you’ve been out a couple of times atop that animal, it will become virtually automatic. It works that way with me. People imagine that because of my build and figure, I’m no different to that human garbage pail called Suzy! I’m not, and I have to watch myself like a hawk. You noticed me telling Sally I wasn’t that hungry the other evening and dividing all my chips between her and Suzy and leaving half my battered fish for your Raven? Likewise, spurning the biscuit plate after my first day! Noble sacrifice for my hobby, Honey!”

“Melons?” I said once more.

Penny shrugged. “Not much more to it. She was the second prospect I interviewed, but she was the one I wanted, and it only took a few questions to confirm that I would have her. She had all the physical attributes I was looking for, plus she was single, had no boyfriends, grew up in various care homes and had no family. Her first marathon and only recently moved to London, hoping to meet similar-minded people and perhaps make some friends. No wonder Trudy was discreetly giving me a thumbs up. I got the impression the poor thing would have talked to us all day if we’d let her!”

“Sounds like the fly couldn’t have knocked much harder on the spider's web door, " I mused.

“Almost. My interviews with the other two I’d had my eye on were somewhat abbreviated. Then it was simply a case of contacting….of contacting certain people, paying a fee to have the fly stick to the web and then taking delivery.”

“Just like that?”

She repeated that little wry smile and shrugged her shoulders again. “Not quite, but not too complicated, not for me anyway. The Melons part came after I’d unwrapped and harnessed my new filly. I’d been rather nastily considering names based on her visual defect but not settled on anything. Then, of course, I got the full frontal which hadn’t been apparent beneath her running vest and sports bra—nothing like your Beauty’s udders and, like I said, different in size and shape. Kinda weird and cute at the same time, and for some unknown reason, ‘Melons’ popped into my mind and sort of just stayed,” she chuckled. “Believe me, I know of far worse names!”

“I can imagine.” I looked at Beauty, thinking she had nothing to complain about name-wise, unlike poor Goofy. “Did she live up to your expectation?”

Penny gave me a double thumbs up. “Yup, did and still does. A lot of mileage in that filly yet. I’ve switched to barrel racing with her rather than cross-country because she’s so agile.”

“What’s that?” I pulled a face trying to remember something I’d once read. “Something to do with those, what do you call them, Rodeo thingy’s they have in America. Chasing cows or something?”

Penny laughed. “Not quite. Your right about the US and Rodeo connection but no cows! Basically, it’s a speed trial event. You ride around a set course marked out by three barrels against the clock. There are several variations, but they are similar and based on the size of the area available in our case. It hasn’t caught on over here in the world of real equines but has become very big in our circle. You don’t need a huge racetrack as you do for carting or a large estate for cross-country events. I’ve even hosted a couple in my ‘hanger’ building. It's big but not big compared to the facilities they have in the Middle East and some other countries for pony events”.

“Sounds fun”, I replied, eyeing Beauty speculatively.

Penny laughed. “Oh, it is and very exhilarating. That animal certainly has possibilities.  Your Goldie, I fear, is a bit too long in the tooth for anything other than riding about your estate when broken and trained. Whereas that big filly has the potential for more interesting and competitive activities. Come on, high time we got started. Let's move her down near my van. I brought several saddles and a heap of tack with me, so let us see what fits the beast best”.

We both rose to our feet and headed for my pony, who was blatantly ignoring Penny’s orders.  The big filly was again franticly throwing herself about, tossing her head and trying to kick out with her legs. “Steady girl”, I cautioned and then giggled. She did look so funny jerking herself about like that. 

“I think we chose the wrong place to hitch her for a little break”, Penny laughed, waving a hand in front of her face to fend off the buzzing insects as we gazed at the many red blotches decorating the unhappy animal's exposed skin. “Very pretty. It looks like you’ve got yourself a pink and white spotted pony, Honey!”