Children & Education
Animal Tales My Best Friend It was a Sunday morning; the sun was beaming. I had been up since the sun started to roll in the sky and I took a gentle stroll down to see my horse, Popcorn. She is a golden brown thoroughbred. I have had her for 6 years now; we have done jumping and cross-country. I never know why, but she prefers jumping to cross-country even though they both involve jumps. She hates the water jumps though! We practised for the cross-country competition we had later in the week. I checked the plans of each jump. The one time I need to do well there is a water jump involved, typical! We practised so hard, it was going so well, but suddenly she changed ... I checked: it was the water jump. I took a deep breath and went for it, but Popcorn wasn’t having any of it. She came to a sudden halt, throwing me to the floor, damaging my hip, breaking two ribs and breaking my leg. The doctor told me I wouldn’t be able to ride for at least six months due to the damage! This stopped me in my tracks. I had to stay in the hospital for two weeks. I finally got to go home and the first thing I did was go and see Popcorn. I slowly walked to the gate and Popcorn turned and ran to me. I broke down into tears, knowing my dream of going to the show with my best friend was over. Every day I took my lunch and spent the day with Popcorn in the field, watching her run around. Time had passed, and everything was going well: my leg was better and I was able to ride again. I wanted to ride but I was terrified of falling off. Then suddenly one day I plucked up enough confidence to get back on Popcorn. We could apply for the showjumping competition that was coming up in four months. We started by working on her confidence for the water jump. It took every day for about a
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month, but we did it – she was able to jump it without being scared. We then worked on the rest of the jumps. I decided we would try a full course practice, including the water jump. It all was going well until we were done. I got off Popcorn and realised she was limping. I could tell straight away that something was wrong, so I called her vet who gave me the worst news possible: she had broken her cannon bone and possibly wouldn’t recover. The vet said that I had to decide Popcorn’s future: either sell her to someone who could afford the treatment, or she would have to be put down. In the end I came to the devastating decision that she would be put to sleep. Telling the vet this broke my heart into a million pieces. I hadn’t only lost my horse; I had lost my best friend. By Chantelle Gee Student at Derby College – Broomfield Hall
Private Tuition
available in Psychology and Sociology for individuals and groups I have taught Psychology and Sociology to GCSE, AS/A Level, BTEC to HND, Access to HE and undergraduate level within the classroom setting and in private tuition both on an individual and a group basis. I am qualified to B.Sc.(Hons) and M.Sc. level in the Behavioural sciences which is a joint degree in Psychology and Sociology and hold a PGCE with over 15 years’ teaching experience. Hourly rates:
£30 per hour for individuals £25 per student per hour in groups Contact Steve 01773 821228 / 07718 109136 Email sjclaridge30@hotmail.com
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