AMANDA ANISHA ASSESSOR BIANCA CALEB CAROLINE DAN HAMISH HEATHER ISSIE JAKE JUDGE KENNY MIRIAMA MITCH NATASHA OFFICIAL SAM STELLA TOM ISSIE What’s wrong with her? TOM The wound’s infected, but she won’t let me clean it. TOM You could help, it would be good practice. ISSIE Practice? DAN Yeah, I’m training to be a vet. MITCH Do you have any idea what Hexronn’s gonna do to this town? ISSIE What are we talking about? MITCH Sam. Your mother’s fancy footing with him. ISSIE You’re here again. What do you want from me? TOM Issie. What are you doing? ISSIE Look Tom, she’s doing it. ISSIE Other way Blaze. STELLA How did she do that? TOM If you want to help, it’s gonna be a lot of work. Every day. TOM Hey. ISSIE Blaze looks much better today. TOM Yeah, she’s healing up pretty good. Could you go and help the others set up for the family fun day? ISSIE Oh, yeah. Ok. So, after that, I was wondering if, maybe it would be a good time to, ride her? TOM Ride her? ISSIE Yeah. Blaze. TOM You don’t just get on her. You got to get her used to the saddle. Start her slowly. Saddle cloth. ISSIE Mmm hmm. Ok. Ok yeah, sounds good. So, should we do that then? TOM If I say yes, will you leave me alone? ISSIE Done. TOM No, no, no, no, no. Try it again. Remember you can’t creep up on a horse, you’ve got to stay in her eyeline. ISSIE Yeah, yeah, ok. TOM Ok slowly, slowly, set… TOM …just let her settle, try again. ISSIE This isn’t working, we’ve been here for ages. TOM I told you, it takes time. You need patience with horses. CAROLINE Yeah cos horses can tell everything you’re thinking. CALEB Everyone can tell what you’re thinking Caroline, it’s always coming out of your mouth. ISSIE It’s ok Blaze, you can trust me. CAROLINE Wipe out. ISSIE I got it on though. TOM That’s not the point. This isn’t something you win. It’s a partnership. ISSIE Well, maybe Blaze doesn’t like saddle cloths, why don’t I try riding bareback? TOM Issie, this isn’t gonna happen. ISSIE Oh, but Tom. TOM No, you haven’t even sat on a horse yet. ISSIE Thanks for letting me do this. Once Tom sees me riding, he’ll have to let me ride Blaze. No offence Blue. DAN Can’t be long though, Kayleigh’s on her way. ISSIE Who’s that? Girlfriend? DAN Student. Yeah, she’s in an event at the family fun day tomorrow. Alright, foot in the stirrup. ISSIE Let’s do this. Let’s get this riding thing nailed. ISSIE See, easy. DAN Alright. ISSIE Why aren’t we going anywhere? DAN Kick him on. DAN Shorten your reins, like how I showed you. ISSIE I have. DAN No you haven’t, look at them. ISSIE Look, I don’t think it’s the reins. DAN What? ISSIE I think Blue just doesn’t get me. DAN Just, tell him what you want him to do. ISSIE Ok, fine. Go on Blue, gallop, go on. DAN No. Do what I showed you. ISSIE I did. It’s not, working. DAN You didn’t and… look, hop off, I gotta go. ISSIE But we haven’t got anywhere yet. DAN Yeah, that’s not my problem. I’m being assessed tomorrow and it’s my last chance to work with Kayleigh. ISSIE Assessed, for what? DAN A teaching qualification. ISSIE Yeah, good luck with that. DAN What’s that supposed to mean? ISSIE Well you didn’t teach me anything. DAN Yeah, ‘cause you’re not listening. ISSIE Well maybe it’s because you’re not a very good teacher. DAN It’s a two-way street Issie. Oh, and for the record, if you think Tom’s ever gonna let you ride Blaze, you are crazy. ANISHA I mean, if you ask me, it sounds like Tom’s totally playing you. ISSIE Really? ANISHA And like, it’s outrageous he won’t let you ride your horse. It’s like, weren’t you the only one who could get her in the stall and basically saved her life? ISSIE Exactly. ANISHA Sounds to me like everyone’s just jealous cos you’re gifted. ISSIE D’you think? ANISHA Totally, you should show them. MITCH What are you up today, love? ISSIE Going to the stables. MITCH You gonna be at the Family Fun Day? ISSIE Yeah. I guess. AMANDA Morning. MITCH Back on the job hunt today? AMANDA No. MITCH Oh. AMANDA I didn’t realise that my law degree would count for basically zero. MITCH Oh, that’s a headache, love. AMANDA Actually, I might, pop along with you to, Fun Day, if that’s ok? MITCH Have you done your hair? AMANDA No. MITCH I didn’t think horses were your thing. AMANDA Yeah, well I mean, you know? MITCH No. AMANDA What do you, what have you got there exactly? MITCH Nothing. AMANDA What’re you up to? MITCH What’re you up to? ISSIE Why is my family so weird? CALEB No, Caroline, come on, everyone’s getting ready. Hurry up. CAROLINE Here? CALEB Line it up, no, this way, this way. CAROLINE It’s fine. CALEB This way… CAROLINE Let’s go get ready. DAN Mum, where’s my logbook, I need it for the assessment. MIRIAMA Yeah, it’s in the bag. KENNY Yeah, I’m not gonna be racing, I’m not gonna be riding any horses today. BIANCA This place is, the worst. We’re gonna totally destroy them. BIANCA Ah, Hamish, hi we’re like really big fans, can we please have a photo with you? HAMISH Yeah, of course. STELLA Hamish’s matches always run late. HEATHER Don’t worry ok? We’ll be here. STELLA That’s what you always say. HEATHER We’ll be back in time for your race. Go get ‘em. HAMISH Hey Stel. HAMISH See you later, stink bomb. STELLA Don’t drop the ball, fish face. ISSIE Hey Blaze. You and me, we’re good right? Ok. ISSIE All right, stay, Blaze. ISSIE Blaze. Ahh. ISSIE Blaze. Stop. Stop, Blaze, Blaze. TOM What are you doing? ISSIE She just went nuts. DAN You tried to ride her. TOM I told you she wasn’t ready. ISSIE But, I… TOM Come on, woah girl. TOM Woah, woah, woah. Come on. That’s it. ISSIE What? You done gawping at the freak show guys? NATASHA Excuse me? ISSIE Why don’t you all run along to your pathetic, lame little pony show. NATASHA I’m sorry but if anyone’s pathetic it’s you… TOM Alright you lot, go and tack up. NATASHA But. TOM Go. Now. TOM Not you. ISSIE Look Tom, I don’t know what happened. But it really wasn’t my fault. I’m ready to ride her, I know I am. TOM Just because you want to ride her doesn’t mean you’re ready. I’ve had enough of your selfish attitude. ISSIE What? TOM You’ve got an ego problem, you don’t listen so you’re dangerous, you’ve got no place being around horses. ISSIE But Tom. TOM I don’t want you here. Go home Issie. SAM Julia, you’ve still got some quite, major questions and I can’t get a straight answer out of anyone, so I would really appreciate it if you just give me a call back. Please. AMANDA Sam, hi, hey. SAM Hello. AMANDA Can I, get you, coffee? SAM Oh no, no, you’re alright. AMANDA Um, listen, I’m sorry about the other day, sorry if I was a bit, weird, I think I was over-caffeinated. AMANDA Oh, there I go again. Stand back. Yeah. Um, what it was, was that my mum, she was like winding me up saying that our coffee was actually a date, which… SAM Which would be, terrible? AMANDA No, no, um, it’s just that I, I wasn’t sure if I was sort of, like, quite ready and then, I just, I got myself into a bit of a, state. Sorry. SAM So just to be clear, you don’t want to go on a date? AMANDA No. No, yes. Yes, I don’t, I don’t not, want to go on a date. I mean, I do want to go on a date if you, if you, do? SAM Ok. Ok. AMANDA Yeah. Ok. SAM How about I buy you a drink and then we’ll, we’ll call this a date? AMANDA Yes. Yes, let’s have this date. Ha, ha. SAM Another one of those? AMANDA Better not. KENNY Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome along to the Kauri Point Family Fun Day. KENNY Thanks mum. And for those of you who don’t know who I am. Where have you been? I’m Kenny Burford, your friend, and Mayor. Now, before we get started, I wanted to introduce you to a great friend of mine, a great guy, and sponsor of this event. Mr Sam Tucker. SAM Hi there. Thanks everyone for coming. Please feel free to help yourself to a bottle of water, courtesy from the good folks at Hexronn. SAM I, I know there was a bit of talk when I decided to merge with such a big company, but, I can assure you that this will be fantastic for our community and Fantail Pure Water will continue to be a company that puts the environment first. KENNY Well said Sam. He’s a handsome bloke, isn’t he? Look out ladies. Hey nice pants, where did you get those from? NATASHA Poor Blaze. Issie’s so full of herself. She really believes she’s got some special connect. TOM Well she does have something. NATASHA Really? I mean she doesn’t like even ride. TOM She doesn’t do herself any favours, that’s for sure but she’s got raw talent. Your race is starting soon. Don’t be long, eh. NATASHA Why does everyone think she’s so freaking gifted? NATASHA Woah, I didn’t mean to scare you, easy. Calm down Blaze, it’s ok. NATASHA No Blaze, no. Come back. MITCH Issie. Issie. ISSIE Gran? MITCH Over here. In the loo. ISSIE What are you doing? MITCH This town is in serious jeopardy, Issie. ISSIE Ok. MITCH If you want people to sit up and take notice you gotta give them a little razzmatazz. Problem is I’ve got myself hooked on the flusher. ISSIE Look Gran, I need to go, if Tom catches me… MITCH I need you to pull me out. Give me a good yank. MITCH That’s it, that’s it. MITCH That was like being born. MITCH You’re gonna have to flip me over Issie. ISSIE Roll over. MITCH That’s it, that’s it, now pull, pull. MITCH Now, I need your help Issie. ISSIE Ok, fine. Where do you want to go? MITCH That’s my girl. Right, come on then. ISSIE Oh Gran. Careful. KENNY Ok, ready for a spot of jousting. Sounds painful. The riders are taking to the pitch, court, arena, whatever it’s called, not really a horse man myself, more of a sports car man. CAROLINE Dad. NATASHA Kenny’s on fire. CALEB Yep, so proud. KENNY …and looking very smart there, the Dulmoth ladies and gents, it’s quite hard to tell under those hats. Henry the Eighth was in fact a, wonderful jouster, just speculating there… CAROLINE Who are you looking for? STELLA My family. CAROLINE Oh, does that mean Hamish is coming? MITCH Ok. Listen up everybody. Hexronn are stealing our water. KENNY Hang on, what’s going on here? ISSIE Gran, stop. CAROLINE Is that Issie? NATASHA She’s such an attention seeker. MITCH And, that’s the man, there. Sam Tucker, who’s letting it happen. AMANDA Oh mum. MIRIAMA Some people really appreciate the jobs you know, Mitch. KENNY What are you supposed to be Mitch? A pencil? JUDGE I think she’s a bottle. KENNY Oh yeah, you’re a bottle, oh, very clever. MITCH Hexronn are gonna take ten times the amount of water. That’s ten times the trucks, it’s ten times the carbon emissions. KENNY Come on Mitch, put a cork in it. MITCH This is our water, and nobody has asked us what we think. My granddaughter deserves a future. MITCH When I say Hexronn, you say, no. Hexronn. KENNY No. MITCH That’s the spirit Kenny. KENNY No, I’m saying no, ‘cause I want you to stop. MITCH Hexronn, no. MITCH Issie, run. KENNY This is exciting. ISSIE Gran, what are you doing? MITCH Get away. That was a legal protest… JAKE Here we go. MITCH Help, help, I’m being silenced. No. Get off me. KENNY Thank you officials. I’m sure we all agree that she certainly had some bottle. Hah. MITCH Get your hands off me. I need to look after my granddaughter. KENNY Anyway, let’s get back to the race. I’ve got a sports massage at six and it’s non-refundable. On your marks, set… KENNY And they’re off… KENNY …Dulmoth Park looking very good, but Kauri Point, did they hear the thing? NATASHA Aramis. NATASHA Go, go, go. KENNY Oh, there they are, no, they’re off too. That’s Natasha Tucker, finally galloping towards the target. Each rider must knock these targets down and then return to the team as quickly as possible. MITCH I feel I’ve been on fire. Oh, hey, you’re not going anywhere, you stick with Grammy. That’s my girl. NATASHA Come on Caleb. KENNY And next out of the gate for Kauri Point is Caleb Burford, and yes, no coincidence he’s my son. MITCH Are you ok love? ISSIE Yeah, I think, just got a bit of a headache. KENNY Would you believe it? Kauri Point are neck and neck with Dulmoth Park, six times champions. CAROLINE Yes Caleb, yes, yes, yes. CALEB Stella. Stella. CAROLINE Stella, are you ok? What are you waiting for? STELLA My family, I don’t want to ride until they’re here. KENNY Kauri Point in some trouble there. ISSIE Oh no. KENNY Heavens to Betsy, a rare mistake from Dulmoth Park. CAROLINE Go, go, go. CALEB Come on, we need you. Come on Stella, yes. Stella takes off. KENNY And she’s off. ISSIE Come on, come on. KENNY And Dulmoth Park have got it back folks. KENNY Smash goes the target. Kauri Point have lost valuable time, can they still do it? KENNY Oh, it’s a beautiful handover to Bianca Radcliff of Dulmoth Park, and she’s fast folks. KENNY But here comes Caroline Burford. Oh, Dulmoth Park smashes it. ISSIE Go Caroline. KENNY Go Caroline. She’s gaining, it’s neck and neck, go, go, go, go Caroline. KENNY Yes. Oh my goodness, that was a buttocks clenching finish. KENNY And massive news. Kauri Point, first equal, that’s right Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s a tie, and fastest time goes to Caroline, my daughter, yes. CALEB Yes, Caroline. CAROLINE Oh my gosh, that was so much fun out there. DAN You were flying. CALEB That was the best I’ve seen you Stella. STELLA Yeah right. DAN Seriously, you should be pumped with your performance. ISSIE Hey. I just wanted to, I was watching, and, well done. NATASHA Gawping at the freak show were you? ISSIE I’m really sorry, about, about before, about what I said, about Blaze, about everything. Did you see the Dulmoth Park girl’s face? After the race? She was livid. CALEB Yeah, she was so mad. I thought she was gonna lose it. ISSIE She was like, ah. NATASHA You alright Dan? DAN Yeah, I’m just trying to find out where Kayleigh is. CAROLINE Hey, are you coming to watch the New Rider? ISSIE Um. STELLA Yeah, you should come with us. ISSIE I’d like to, but, I don’t know. TOM Well done you lot. Great teamwork, I’m proud of you. Stella, you had me worried there for a moment. STELLA I know. TOM But you pulled it back, I was impressed. Nice riding. STELLA My family wasn’t there. TOM No. But we all were. We saw what you did. It was a great job. TOM You really don’t know how to leave, do you? ISSIE I’m really sorry Tom. TOM I’m sure you are. Listen mate, it’s bad news I’m afraid. Kayleigh’s sick, her mum’s just taken her home. DAN Wait, so I don’t have a new rider? What about the assessor, what’s she’s going to assess? TOM She could come back at another time, but it won’t be for a couple of months. DAN A couple of months? TOM Sorry son. CALEB Oh, tough one bro. NATASHA Yeah, sorry. ISSIE Why is this so important? DAN Because if I can’t charge for teaching, then I can’t afford the internship. ISSIE Aren’t I a new rider? And, aren’t you like my teacher? Technically? CAROLINE Ok, what do you think? ISSIE Wow. I couldn’t look more ridiculous. ISSIE Oh wait, I was wrong. Why is Dan so hung up on this internship thing anyway. CAROLINE He’s always been obsessed with being a vet, and it’s at this really cool hospital in Sydney. STELLA It’s like, the top place for horses. CAROLINE One for the KP Stables website. ISSIE Take it and I’ll break it. KENNY Let’s have a big hand now for all the new riders coming into the ring. Don’t they look lovely. On their little horses. KENNY They look kind of weird don’t they, those horses are really small. ISSIE I’m not going in with them, am I? OFFICIAL Ah, there’s no jewellery. ISSIE I’m not wearing any jewellery. ISSIE Oh no, I’m not taking that out. OFFICIAL Then you can’t ride. ISSIE There you go. KENNY And leading the pack is Ruby Williams on Scruffles. Ah, Ruby’s got a birthday on Friday, she’ll be seven years old and she’d like a unicorn cake mum, or dad of course, anyone can bake that cake. DAN Alright, keep your heels down. ISSIE They are. DAN Issie. ISSIE Sorry. KENNY And hulking over the rest of the pack is a rather mature candidate, Issie Brown. ISSIE Oh, kill me, kill me now. AMANDA And there’s me thinking my mum dressed as a foam bottle was the biggest surprise of the day. SAM Well, you’re a family of surprising women. KENNY And giving out the awards now, first prize goes to Ruby Williams, who was always gonna win that one, with a gorgeous jacket like that. DAN Issie. ISSIE What? DAN Take the rosette. ISSIE Oh. DAN You ok? ISSIE Yeah. Did I win something? DAN Well they don’t like you little ones to go home empty handed. So. ISSIE You know, I could still tell the assessor that you’re rubbish. DAN Hey, um, thank you, for everything. STELLA Well done Issie, you were amazing. ISSIE Stop, stop it. CALEB Well it was definitely surreal. ASSESSOR Daniel. Congratulations, well done. DAN Thank you. MITCH Why don’t you climb in the back and lie on it? ISSIE Why don’t you climb in the back and lie on it? MITCH Because I’m a frail old lady. ISSIE Yeah right. TOM Mitch. Enjoyed the entertainment. MITCH Anytime Tom. TOM Where are you going to? You’ve got a horse to look after. ISSIE Thank you. TOM Da, da, da, da. ISSIE Thanks. ISSIE Blaze? ISSIE I just don’t understand, how did she get out? CAROLINE We’ll all look for her. TOM Split up, cover more ground. DAN Come on. Let’s go. DAN Issie? Issie, you ok? You went somewhere. ISSIE What do you mean? DAN You did it before. What’s going on? ISSIE What? Nothing, I, the bridge. DAN What about it? ISSIE This way, just trust me. DAN Ok. DAN Which way? ISSIE I don’t know. ISSIE Um, is there a swing? Like a tyre one? DAN Yeah, there’s… ISSIE I think it’s red. DAN This way. DAN It’s just up ahead. DAN Ok, so, what are we doing here? ISSIE I don’t know. DAN Blaze? I’ll text Tom. ISSIE Good girl. DAN Wait, how did you know she was here? DAN Look it wasn’t just a guess. How did you know? And what is going on with you? You’ve been acting really weird. Come on, please. Tell me. ISSIE I don’t know how to, cos I don’t know myself. I see things. DAN Ok. ISSIE Like, visions. DAN So, what, you’re psychic? ISSIE No. Not really. I have, a see a horse. It’s kind of mystic. DAN Mystic? ISSIE Yeah. Like, ghostly. You think I’m nuts, don’t you? DAN I mean, yeah. But also, no, like it’s not weird to feel connected to animals. ISSIE Really? DAN Yeah. My nan thinks that the eels down at the creek know when someone in my family is gonna die. But she also thinks I have a beautiful singing voice. DAN Look, maybe you should see it as a gift. ISSIE A gift? DAN Yeah, it’s a good thing. This Mystic horse helps you find Blaze right? Maybe you shouldn’t be afraid of it. TOM Good job, how’d you find her? DAN Oh, Issie, had a hunch. TOM You lead her. ISSIE Come on Blaze. What’s going on with her? I don’t get it. What does she want? Does she want me to… do you think she’s ready? TOM That’s the first time you’ve asked the right question. Give it a try. NATASHA What? CAROLINE No way. ISSIE You’re home now. 27