CHAPTER 1: GOING DOWN
Whipped Cream claimed that a good centre attack pony at the Buenos Aires PonyGirl Polo Club can hear the ball as it falls towards the centre spot at the start of a chukka and can thus anticipate the moment her player will set her to the gallop with the whip. When pony and player are in perfect harmony, the ball is as good as won. In the stillness the before the game as the referee throws out the ball for what is know as 'The Drop' I can almost believe it as every player, pony and spectator seems to hold their breath with anticipation of the explosive action to follow.
The sound of the bounce comes a fraction of a second too late to be of any use to a harnessed, bridled and hooded pony girl. The decision of when to move is thus up to the player driving her but the pony must be poised, ready for the off...must 'know'.
If the bounce was audible, I didn't hear it and I very much doubt my pony did either; when I saw the scuff of dirt as the ball struck earth I laid the whip across Bryony's buttocks and she lurched forward in an explosion of adrenaline; within five metres she was half way to full gallop, by ten she was there with matching red welts forming a V-shape across her straining buttocks.
Eighty yards away and closing, The-Cat-That-Got-The-Cream was racing towards us with equal fervor, driven on by her mistress, Whipped Cream.
*
It's hard to express the exhilaration of driving a well trained pony girl, watching as she strains in harness in front of you blind, helpless and obedient; her body perfectly honed and utterly under your control; and if that wasn't enough, there's the visceral thrill of the acceleration and the connection to her through the harness and reins; the creak of tack, thundering hooves (ok, I exaggerate), jingling harness clips; the smell of sweat and leather; the kiss of the whip on bare flesh.
Sometimes, it's better than sex.
Bryony is certainly a well trained pony girl. I know this because I trained her myself.
The fact that she's also small and pert with a mane of red hair (which I'm glad to say had grown back over the year I'd since my first race with her) and intensely submissive are just the icing on the very rich and beautiful cake that life has recently cut me a slice of.
Who says a man can't have his cake an eat it!
It helps that Bryony is a superb athlete; determined, focussed and very, very fit (in every sense of the word). She's a pretty fair sprinter though middle distance would be her forte if she competed in more conventional events. Most importantly, for pony girl racing and, indeed PonyGirl Polo, she has strong legs (I know; as well as seeing her perform, I've had them wrapped round me enough times) and a gritty determination so that, even encumbered by my weight in the chariot her acceleration and stamina are impressive.
Of course, having me whipping the hell out of her arse as I drove her towards that ball was a pretty good incentive too.
*
Tearing my eyes away from my beautiful pony, I looked up; we were a little over twenty yards out from the ball and I could see The-Cat pounding towards us; hooded, harnessed, bridled and clearly just as determined as Bryony to get her driver, or 'player' as Cream called us, to the ball first. 'The-Cat-That-Got-the-Cream' was taller than Bryony, giving her longer strides but she was younger, her body less toned, lacking Bryony's wiry strength and, while the Goose had done a pretty thorough job training her in Cream's absence, the blonde wasn't a match Bryony. I was thus disappointed to see that, as we closed to within about ten yards, The-Cat and her Cream were a little closer to the ball than us.
The girls had a slight downhill advantage but even uphill they seemed to beat us and I couldn't for the life of me work out what to do about it. The reason they beat us to the ball was simple, Whipped Cream (I'll tell you the story of her name later) had been playing PonyGirl Polo for six months with the best team (The Caballeras Azuls) in one of the top competitions the world (The Buenos Aires PonyGirl Polo Club) even if I hadn't heard of them until two months ago. The delightfully perky blonde knew just when, where and how to drive her equally delightful, perky blonde pony and, try as I might, I just couldn't get the same level of performance out of Bryony.
My beloved pony might be the undisputed champion of the mares' race but polo was a different thing entirely.
We were just under ten yards apart, both still lashing our ponies to keep them at full gallop as we bore down on the ball when The-Cat turned.
Convention dictates that, players pass the ball to their right hand sides allowing the first player to reach it to scoop it up with her (players are usually girls and, usually, just as pert as their ponies) dominant hand. This, however, is only convention. Cream, it appeared, had decided to go left or, perhaps, I realised with a jolt, just slam her pony straight into us.
PonyGirl Polo is very much a contact sport.
*
It is, at this point, probably time to say a little more about PonyGirl Polo. It is played by teams of four (just as conventional polo) using a ball about the size of a football. The ponies are, obviously, two legged and pull gigs that resemble para-Olympians' wheelchairs, small and compact and very light; with shorter shafts than the standard 'Mares' chariot. The shorter shafts put the player quite close to the ponies and they thus use shorter whips. Ponies are driven hooded meaning that all tactics are entirely the remit of the player but rely on the athletic prowess of the pony and, of course, complete connection between player and pony.