Lucan walked into the stables to find Jacko bending down with the horse's hoof in his hands. "There you are, Jacko," he called. The horse jerked at the sound of his voice.

"What the fuck, Lucan?" Jacko scowled. "You don't come in shouting the place down. Some of these horses aren't good with loud noises and such."

With a coy look, Lucan said, "Sorry, Jacko. I didn't realise."

Nudging his head, Jacko said, "I guess that'll be lesson one. Never go rushing or shouting and carrying on around horses you don't know."

"Yeah sure," Lucan grimaced. "Didn't think about that. The pit ponies never made a fuss. Poor bastards just put up with all the goings on."

"This horse ain't no pit pony. I call her Claire. She's a nice quiet mare about six years old and a good one for you to learn on." Jacko rubbed his hand down the horse's neck, and then walked to the wall and took hold of a leather strap. "Lesson two. This is a bridle." He held it for Lucan to see and strolled back to the horse. "You put the reins over the horse's neck to hold her steady then slip the bridle over her nose and press the bit against her mouth." Jacko looked at Lucan to make sure he understood, and then continued, "Give it a wiggle and if she won't open her mouth put your thumb between her teeth and push. Then pull the bridle higher over her ears and do up the throatlatch." Jacko stood back to show Lucan. "To take it off, just undo the throatlatch and pull it down her nose. She'll open her mouth to let go of the bit."

He handed the bridle to Lucan. "Your turn."

The horse moved its head up and down which made the job difficult. Jacko laugh. "She knows ya don't know what you're doing. They're not stupid so you'll have to be more confident. Here let me show you again." Jacko took the bridle from Lucan and slipped it over the mare's head, and then removed it. He patted Lucan on the back. "See, easy as that. Let's take a walk outside and come back in a minute to give her some time to settle cause she'll get sick of it if ya don't get it right."

They went to the water tank and had a drink. When Lucan approached the horse again, he held out his hand and let her sniff him then rubbed his palm down her neck. Once she seemed to accept him, he positioned the bridle and slid it over her head.

Jacko grinned. "Not so tricky, was it? We'll take her for a walk." He opened the stall's door.

Lucan led Claire outside.

"Walk her around, Lucan. No, no." Jacko flapped his hands. "Stand on the left side, just remember it's the left side that you get on and off, forget the right side." Again he waved his hands to indicate where he wanted Lucan to stand. "Now give her a pat to let her get to know you and don't pull on the reins when you walk on" Jacko watched Lucan do what he was told. "Yeah. That's good. How does that feel?"

Lucan nodded to let Jacko know he was comfortable. He walked the horse, stopped and moved forward again.

"It's best not to tie a horse solid unless there are a lot of people or it's busy." Jacko took the reins.  "If they get startled they can hurt themselves if they're tied too tight." He looked at Lucan and added, "I'm sure you can tie a rope so ya won't need ta have a go." With a grin, Jacko added, "You can tie a rope can't ya, Irish?"

Lucan sniggered, "How about I tie a noose for ya?"

"Just checkin'." Jacko laughed. He led the horse into the stable. "I always give them a brush before I put the saddle on. Any grit can make 'em pretty unhappy. Here you have a go. I'll be back in a minute." He tossed the brush to Lucan.

Jacko came back with a saddle and cloth. "Righto I'll do it first and you watch me." He threw the saddle cloth over the horses back, and then positioned the saddle. He explained each step to Lucan and when he was finished he stood back so Lucan could see the end result. "Your turn," he said as he removed it.

Lucan mimicked what Jacko had done. He got the saddle on the horses back, let the stirrup and girth down, and then bent under the mare to reach for the girth. The horse moved forward a fraction. Startled, Lucan jumped back. His sudden movement made the horse shy. The saddle slipped onto the floor. The loud thump caused the horse to shy again.

Grabbing the reins, Jacko said, "Whoa there, girl. Easy." He ran his hand down her neck. "I reckon you're the first person I've ever seen spook this horse." He shook his head and grinned at Lucan. "Thank fuck I didn't choose a horse with a bit more go."

Lucan raised his eyebrows and smirked at Jacko. "Want me to tie that noose yet?"

"Come on do it again." Jacko chuckled as he patted Lucan on the back.

It didn't take Lucan long and he had the girth done up. He put his fingers between it and the horse to make sure the saddle wasn't too tight, and then stepped back so Jacko could have a look.

Winking, Jacko cocked his head and said, "Not so Irish after all hey, Lucan."

"That'd be the gypsy coming out in me," Lucan said with a grin.

*****

The following week Jacko was waiting for Lucan in the stable. "So ya think you can saddle and bridle Claire?"

Lucan nodded and went to it.

Puffing out his chest with pride, Jacko said, "I must be a good teacher."

Lucan gave Jacko a light punch in the arm and winked. "Could be I'm a good pupil."

"Could be." Jacko slapped him back. "Lead her outside and I'll show you how to mount."

Once outside Jacko said, "I'll hold her the first few times." He held the reins near the horse's mouth to keep her steady. "Righto hold both reins in your left hand and gather them with a tuft of mane."

Lucan did as he was told.

"Turn the stirrup so the leather lies flat when you're sitting in the saddle. Place the ball of your foot comfortably on the bottom of the stirrup and grab your saddle with your right hand. Push off the ground and swing ya right leg over."

As Lucan placed himself in the saddle the horse moved slightly backwards and forwards under his weight.

"Hold on to your reins," Jacko urged. "But don't pull tight she should just stand for you. I'll fix ya stirrups."

Lucan had long legs so Jacko let them down. "Here, ya see what I'm doing because if ya don't have your own saddle you'll probably have ta change them yourself." He let Lucan fix the right stirrup and looked up at him saying, "How does that feel?"

"Yeah, good," Lucan said nudging his jaw.

"Take her for a walk around the yard." Jacko rubbed his chin. "You hold the reins in the middle with one hand if ya want. Not out either side." He held his arms out to show Lucan what he meant. "When you want to turn her just pull the rein in the direction you want her to go. Don't jerk hard, she'll get the message. Use both ya lower legs to squeeze her lightly near the girth area and push forward then tell her to walk on. If she doesn't move just tap ya heels lightly. Depending on the horse if ya tap too firm they could take off on ya." Jacko chuckled and shook his head. "You shoulda seen Thaiter the first time he sat a horse. Bolted on him and he landed flat on his arse. He couldn't walk for a week."

Lucan sucked in a breath. "You sure she's quiet, I don't want that ta happen to me."

"She'll be right, away ya go." Jacko grinned. "I reckon you're a natural, Lucan. We might go for a ride."

Jacko saddled a horse for himself and took Lucan out along the road. "Best to get straight into it. We'll go toward Herberton. You can have a go at trotting and cantering in the open."

The day was clear and sunny as most of the days were in Irvinebank. Lucan enjoyed the quiet ride out of town. As they rode down Jessie Street a lot of the townsfolk acknowledged him. He felt like he belonged and the pain of Kat's death had lessened. He thought of her now and wondered if she would have liked living in Irvinebank. The harsh environment and heat from the sun could be gruelling some days. He thought it must be worse for the women who had to wear thick petty coats and dresses.

He came to the conclusion Kat probably wouldn't enjoy living here but he knew she'd have tolerated it without complaint because of him. He pictured her here in the sun. It left him with a warm glow in his heart.

"You ready, Lucan? The mare will probably follow my horse so sit tight cause when I go it'll be straight into a canter. Get your arse snug in the saddle and your feet firm in the stirrups."

Lucan did as he was told. As soon as Jacko took off so did Claire. As she lunged forward he panicked expecting to find it difficult to balance much like the trot but he was pleasantly surprised how comfortable to canter was.

Jacko looked back at him and called, "You right, mate."

"Yeah this is pretty good." Lucan nodded and grinned. He found the feel of wind in his face exhilarating.

After a while Jacko pulled his horse up and slowed to a walk so Lucan followed. The mare was very easy. She had obeyed every slight pull on the reins. Lucan ran his hand down her neck to reward her.

"Do you want to sell me this horse, Jacko?"

Jacko shook his head. "Sorry, Luc, she's one of my best. I'll lend her to you for your tin scratching trip." He laughed. "Thaiter has big ideas. He's done this before. You'll be back in a month."

"I can't be gone too long with the lads," Lucan chuckled back. "So that's a good thing."

"What are you going to do with them?" Jacko walked his horse beside Lucan's.

"Covey's going to stay with Missus Scott. He's got school. I promised that teacher of his he'd go regular. Riley's coming with me. Thaiter says the Ludlow's have a camp and the Missus won't mind watching him when I can't."

"Nice family." Jacko nodded approval. "I don't know how that poor woman puts up with being at Wild River for so long every year. They only come in when it's wet but so far this year we ain't had much rain."

They turned around and headed back to town. Lucan nudged the mare into a trot with his heels. He had another go at getting the rhythm but only managed every now and again.

"Bugger that," Jacko called and kicked his horse into a canter.

The mare followed. Lucan felt energized. "I like this horse riding, Jacko. Thanks for teaching me."

"Anytime." Jacko grinned and yelled, "I love it too."

They unsaddled the horses and put them back into their stalls. "Are you coming to the pub, Luc?"

Lucan shook his head. "Got to get home to the lads. Thaiter'll be pretty parched by now."

"Same time next week?"

"Will I be able to walk by then?" Lucan laughed and rubbed his backside.

Photo is Australian actor Jack Thompson in the movie, The Man From Snowy River. Copyright Alamy Stock.  Great movie if you want to see some extreme horse riding.