Malua’s team was dashing down the road with their usual effortless lope. I looked over my shoulder and Judy, my second radiance, was keeping up with no effort at all. One of those large butterflies was nearby but had not settled on her. We passed through an area of vines that Malua explained were vanilla beans. The smell was wonderful.

"Well Jim, now that you have a team, we need to talk about training," offered Malua.

"Yes, I am sure that my two will need some work; but they sure look fast," I replied.

"I was thinking about your training," Malua said in a firm thoughtful voice. "You have never driven a team and surely don’t know how to use the whip with such fine beauties as these."

She was right, I had been so overwhelmed by the Island, the gorgeous females, and the thoughts of my own team, to say nothing of the fact that I now actually had a team that my own, that my role had been forgotten.

"Yes, you are right, can you begin to teach me on the way home?" I asked.

"Well I couldn’t start you with my monkeys and a No. 4 harness as it would be way too easy for you to injure them," she replied. "What you must do Jim, is to stop watching the scenery and my team and focus you attention on my driving."

That was not going to be easy, but I tried for the next several miles. There were several things she was doing. The reins, only two, were in her left hand. These she held up at the middle of her body and she made only the slightest movements to guide the team. Her hand moved slightly right for a right turn and just slightly increased the tension on the left-outsider. This also allowed a little more slack in the right outsider’s rein so that it drooped and touched her shoulder. They responded instantly – how the center pony got the message was not clear, but they acted as one. I never saw her pull back, which would have levered those somewhat fearful bits, but she must have, as she had full control of our speed.

She kept the whip out and in her right hand. She would flick it over the heads of the team and they would give a little more speed. I noticed that she was snapping more over the left outsider's head than the others.

"I see you are giving Gail a little more encouragement than the others. How do you decide?" Was my eventual question.

"Simple," Malua replied, " You have to watch the traces – when they go slack you know that the pony is not pulling. The other ponies know this as well as they feel the extra load, so a loafing pony, if uncorrected, can quickly spoil a whole team."

"Do you ever touch them with the whip?’

"Yes, you have to when breaking in a team – after they get its taste they usually respond to just the sound."

"Where or how is that done?" I asked hoping for a demonstration.

"I wouldn’t want to spoil my team just to show you. There are several ways for the outsiders, but the center can only be reached over a shoulder, by landing the switch on her chest. Of course if they’re really bad you tell the groom and she takes care of punishment in the stalls."

I thought about those remarks for some time. And we arrived back at Totts.

Joanne brought out Suhanee and the riot began. She shrieked, kicked and tried to butt Judy. Joanne jerked her back by her bridle before she could do any harm but she continued to struggle and kick about.

"Joanne get a muzzle and a yoke," commanded Malua, eyeing Suhanee with a cold glare. "Will not have any of that and they will start learn to work as one right now!"

The muzzle reduced her protest to groans, but the yoke was more interesting. It consisted of two wide belts connected by a substantial wooden bar. These were belted about Suhanee’s and Judy’s waists and snugged firmly. The section of the wood was segmented and a pin was used to fix the distance between the two. This was set at the maximum to prevent kicking. Suhanee’s bridle was attached to the back of the gig and we headed home with Joanne running beside.

When we arrived home, Pop and Wendy were on the veranda and came down to look at our acquisitions.

Joanne held their heads as the couple gave them a thorough inspection. This included running their hands down the legs of the Radiances, and forcing them to lift and flex each leg. Each had her hair stroked and brushed. Finally, Wendy examined Judy’s teeth just as she might a mare.

"Gave you a bit of trouble did they," Pop said observing the muzzle and yoke. "They look sound and its quite a sight to see a Radiance pair again after so many years. How did the auction go?"

"It turns out that Jim here is an old horse trader – we got Suhanee for a song, She dropped a heel and it almost looked to me like she and Jimmy had made some sort of agreement. We got Judy out at her place, not at Totts. Roz says she’s real fast but has never had much interest in being a pony." Malua related the day's events before I could get a word in. "Looks as though Suhanee thought she was going to have Jimmy all to herself – she threw a fit when we got back to Tott’s with Judy in tow."

"Lets go in, have a drink and make some plans," Wendy said as she led the way back to the house.

I looked back to see my little groom leading two much larger ponies off to the stable – oh what heads of hair they had.

After everyone had a drink, Malua told her folks about the rest of the auction – who bought which ponies and how much they paid – and who had a team that was likely to be a contender in the upcoming races. This led to long discussion of past races and teams and even a blood line discussion that would have been familiar at any horse-racing track. We finally got back to my team.

"I realized on the way home that Jim doesn’t even know how to drive a team, much less all of the other skills that will be needed to get those two beauties ready for race day." Malua offered, to start the conversation.

"That’s right," said Pop, "Not growing up on the Island puts you quite a ways back in handling stock. My racing team is in pretty good form so I have a little time to help. Do you have any ideas for turning them out my dear?" he asked turning to Wendy.

"Well let me think now," Wendy said and put her hand to her head. "The last radiance team was turned out by the Wextons – you know down by the mill. I may run out and ask it they still have the harness – it was such a great match as I remember."

"Was it the Wextons? – been so long, but your right it was quite a showpiece – copper or bronze of some form was it not?" mused Pop. "If you're busy, send Mutt and Geoff out there and see if a loan can be made."

"Is that new groom Joanne?" asked Wendy. And when Malua nodded, she added "It’s been so long since I seen her I barely recognized her. Do you think she’s up to the task of settling down such a high strung pair?"

"We'll know in the morning," said Malua. "They gave her plenty of reason for a firm hand tonight. "

"Now about Jimmy’s driving," Wendy said. "Pop could you get along with just a pair of a day or so, and let Victoria pull a light cart for Jim to learn on?"

Pop had to think about this for a bit before he replied, "Don’t like to break up a team but they are so good it shouldn’t hurt for a day or two."

"Who’s Victoria?" I quizzed, finally able to get into the conversation where so much about my team was being decided.

"Oh, that’s Pops center blond – you saw her this morning," said Wendy as she refilled glasses.

I remembered the tall, dignified pony at the center of Pop’s team and wondered what it would be like to hold her reins, or any reins for that matter. Holding a whip was much more intimidating. What would Pop do if I returned his lead pony with marks. I also continued to wonder how a poor sailor was supposed to remain in control when in the presence of exquisite female beauty, bound and helpless and often offering coy smiles and flirting eyes. All this of course while wearing next to nothing.

Mutt and Geoff barged in with the usual rush and noise and we all went into dinner.

After dinner Malua and I went out on the veranda for a smoke. It was quiet and peaceful, with just the night insects and a waning moon. I asked Malua to explain the training process for a new team.

"We'll start those two in a ‘stepper’ harness," she said.

"I guess you just strap them up like in a three legged race," I ventured.

"No, that would not allow them to be in step, which of course is vital to both form and speed," she explained. "There is a special cart and ankle cuffs which link left to right legs of each pony. A series of pulleys back on the cart allow this to work. The right leg of one can be moving forward while the left leg of the other is on the ground. Fight the stepper and it tosses you on your face. We leave their hands free to catch the fall and have them practice on soft grass till in comes naturally. The length of the connecting lines can be adjusted from a great deal of play to start with. When they are done with the stepper, they will be able to walk, trot and run with almost no slack. "

"Next we move them to the synchronizer’" she continued. "It’s a most fearful looking rig and you will wonder if your team is really inside buried under all that gear. It has a twofold purpose; first to let the pony know that they have lost all control and independence of movement. The second is to force them to move as one."

"The ponies are laced into short but well boned corsets. Shoulder braces and a single-glove are used to brace back their shoulders and lash the arms firmly to the middle of the spine. Complex headgear, including long neck-corsets and bearing reins, fixes the head in relation to the body. Yoke bars join the corsets and necks.

"In front go the bells. It's hard to explain, but a bell is balanced on a ledge that projects from the front to the corset. A rod is fixed to the corset top between the breasts. A series of light strings runs around and between the two. With synchronization, the bells stay put. With out it, the bell is launched off its perch and its weight is taken by a nipple string. This gives the pony a little jerk and the bell rings.

"We can usually take a team that wants to learn through these two steps in less than a week," she concluded.

It was an awful lot to think about and once more forced me to consider how little I really knew. That took me back to another fear.

"I am afraid to touch the ponies like I saw your parents do today," I admitted..

Malua looked at me from under those long eyes lashes with a half smirk and finally said, "You have to treat them just as you would a horse. First use the bridle and reins, second adjust the pony so that she is able to perform. This will mean adjusting hair, making sure the harness is adjusted properly, and taking care of your ponies' physical needs. Water is most important. Make sure they eat lightly at mid-day and then don’t run them too hard for an hour. Be sensitive to limps and check to see that neither has picked up a splinter or strained an ankle."

After a pause she went on, "You may also get a runaway. This usually happens when they step on a bee or wasp. They think that they have stumbled onto a nest and run out of fear, often without the rest of the team knowing why. It leads to a fearful mess. Don’t worry about that tomorrow, as we will be on a grass practice track that is well used. "

Malua gave me a friendly goodnight kiss and we headed for bed. I was awake for sometime thinking about all there was to do, and my fears of being able to learn everything. Yet the night brought some wonderful dreams.