Saddle the Wind

The spooky storm held a dark secret. Few people imagined the thunderstorm that wrought havoc to an isolated church on an ancient road could stretch across three hundred and sixty-two-years. Resolving a terrible injustice restoring balance to a divided community. The unforgettable date Sunday, October 21,1638. The church. Widecombe's St Pancras. That night the storm struck, thunder, lightning, tears at the roof. A fireball blasts open a window, rebounds through the church. Outside, the vicar George Lyde's horse is sucked up and disappears into the night. Its scorched Saddle ripped off, tumbling through the night, eventually crashing into Buckfast Abbey's roof. Another stallion at the church pinnacles gallops off with two mounted riders; one-a, a gambler clutches his playing cards. He drops four aces; four fields resemble; a diamond, heart, spade, and club, near the ancient public house whose log fire has burnt since. The other rider is said to be the devil (maybe use just an unsavory character). Both horses have scorch marks on their backs and rumored to be immortal, roaming Dartmoor's desolate windswept regions. Then fate takes a hand after farmer Bill Elliott buys an old saddle at the Abbey fundraising day from local vet Elizabeth-a relative of the vicar that day; she has moved from America, taking up her inheritance. (A US lady for the American audience) Bill gives this Saddle to his 12-year-old granddaughter, Amanda, who doesn't like this old style with scorch marks. And the other Saddle? Some say it does not exist, and some are certain it does. So who can we believe? Centuries ago, Elliott's were the most extensive landowners on Dartmoor. How the Rogers got it; has irked every Elliott generation since. Bill's sure the Rogers 'stole' their estate centuries ago, but his investigations stall when foot and mouth strikes. With years of low returns, Bill faces foreclosure. When Amanda and horse Ebony jump at the Widecombe fair, she cannot have known how an innocent event can throw up a seemingly unrelated spatter of malicious scheming,sheer magic, and a mystery that's entangled her family for generations. It was another stormy night, October 21, 2000, when two horses appear a mare in foal at Elizabeth's and a stallion at Bill's farm. A scorch mark appears as the mare gives birth; the colt has the same scorches in the same place. Bill lays the Saddle on the horse; the scorches line up. The stallion bears the identical placed scorch mark. Amanda discovers her Saddle flies when sitting in it, her thoughts guiding it. On Ebony's back, Ebony's hooves glide above the ground. Amanda can win with the race; will she use her Saddle? Tempting, as landowners, Penelope Roger's father spends a fortune with her trainer and mount Hellfire. One day, Ebony takes off, stopping at the castle ruin on Roger's land - once the home of ancestor Buery. Rogers charges him for holding up their stagecoach. The Rogers threatens small tenanted farmers who farm on his property.Found guilty, Buery gets ten years and loses his estate. At the castle ruin, the mounted ghost of alleged highwayman ancestor Buery leads Amanda to a fallen headstone, then Buery and his horse fade away. His horse is identical to the stallion that appeared at Bill's. Folklore says Buery took a fortune and his title deeds to his grave. One evening, Amanda takes Bill and Holly to the headstone; Bill digs and finds an oak chest. Inside are family treasures and land deeds. The Rogers are bankrupt; the estate contents are auctioned, but not before the race; Amanda doesn't use her magic saddle, knowing Ebony can beat Hellfire. On the last bend, Penelope tries forcing Amanda into the rails. Buery appears on Majesty and shields her; Ebony recovers and wins. Bill buys his estate, the money secured, waiting for the court's expected favorable verdict. Amanda's best pal, Holly, also a horse rider, happily tags along with Amanda. Then Holly finds a tatty saddle in a boarded-over old hayloft in a derelict barn. Both recognize the scorches and wonder. They climb aboard and are soon flying to an even more impressive second adventure. A cosmic shortcut wizzes them back to 1638 and Into The Past. From across the mists, the faint hoof beats of a phantom horse and rider return to right an ancient wrong. The ghost of her ancestor, alleged Highwayman, appears to solve the centuries-old Dartmoor secret.