It was early when the float made its way up our tree lined drive, allowing me from my vantage point upstairs, only peeps of it. And it was with trepidation not joy that I ran across the lawn to the stables to meet it. 
During the two days, Lightning was in transit, a problem had arisen. My friend's husband, the friend who had pointed out the advertisement 'Lightning For Sale' and who had said categorically her family did not want the pony, had rung to discuss another horse matter. I excitedly told him that I had purchased the Gisborne bush pony and that he was in fact to be delivered the very next day. He was a bit taken aback, and said the family now wanted him after all and that they had planned to go to view him in Gisborne next weekend. It wasn't until later that I realized this family may have been the family, Jim was talking about who were planning to view Lightning the following weekend. In any case, I'd said without hesitation (but with a sinking heart) to my friend's husband that I wouldn't allow a pony to come between friends and when Lightning arrived, he would be available to be viewed and for their purchase.
What I hadn't factored in was that I had already informed my grandson that I had bought him a pony and since then he'd spoken to me over the phone on several occasions desperate to visit and see him get off the float, and could he help put him in a stable and put a cover on him and give him a carrot and brush him and could he have his own new brushes and not dirty ones that I'd used on other horses. "And no one else is going to ride my pony, aye Granna!" he'd said.
Pictured here is Fergus meeting Lightning for the first time, offering him a carrot. Lightning didn't know what to do with carrots or hard feed but he soon learned and he was very interested in Fergus right from the start.
My friend was unsure when they would make the trip to Auckland to view Lightning. It was a long way to travel and they would coincide the trip with collecting another horse that wasn't ready yet. So we got on with settling Lightning in to his new surroundings. He was startled and shaken when he got off the float. Ordinarily, he has the most beautiful enormous soft kind eyes but on this morning they were wild and he studied me suspiciously with the whites flashing. A young girl who visited daily to feed our competition horses wintering on the farm, exchanged his rope halter for a leather one of ours then she took to him with warm water and shampoo, scrubbing him until he was squeaky clean then she groomed him until he shone. He settled a little with the attention. She found a cover to fit him and she introduced him to a friend, a mare of mine, who had saved my life after I'd suffered a serious head injury (another story) we decided would take the best care of him. We turned him into a paddock with her and waited for my daughter and Fergus to arrive, all the while knowing we must not get attached.

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