Page 53 of Young at Heart

Epilogue

Romeo

I t’s been eighteen months since that first night when Billy got ill. Today I am stood outside the arena, camera poised to watch my girlfriend jump in the open class for the first time.

It took a few days before he was through the colic attack. Thankfully, it has been a one off. It took another six months of feeding him up before Juliet could get in the saddle, I’ve still not ridden him. My life has changed so much since that day. My apprenticeship with Sean is going really well, so well he is actually talking about keeping me on to work with him once I pass all my exams. I never thought my life would revolve around horses. I just wish my mum was here to see it.

Juliet got the qualifications she needed for her college course. Once her parents accepted that having a horse and a boyfriend wasn’t going to stop her studying that came around to us seeing each other. I’m so proud of her, she works so hard to balance everything, I’d worried that she would have to go away to study, but it turned out we actually study at the same place.

Billy is definitely her horse, he loves her to pieces, almost as much as I love her. I have learnt to ride, but I stick to borrowing Diamond or one of the school horses. I am a confirmed happy hacker according to Juliet and my aunt.

Today I am here to cheer them both on. My aunt took the ribbon this morning in the dressage test, so I am hoping Juliet and Billy win this one.

“The next horse will be Shakespeare’s Last Sonnet ridden by Juliet Smith.”

The announcement brings a smile to my face as I watch the girl I love ride confidently into the arena. I click the button to record and watch in awe as she comes alive over the jumps.

This was never the path I would have chosen for my life but it’s true that sometimes you end up on the path you need to be on instead.