Hobbyhorse (6 page)

“O
KAY
, A
DAM, HERE
’
S
Calypso for you,” Lisa said, handing the mare’s lead rope to him. She shut the gate. It had only taken a few minutes to round up all the horses and get them to their riders, but to Lisa it felt like a few years. She couldn’t wait to talk to Carole.

Amelia hovered near Max’s side. “Who am I going to ride now, Max?”

Lisa looked at Stevie, who nodded and came over to her side. “Are we finished?”

“I think so,” Stevie said. “Except for Patch.” They walked closer to Max and Amelia.

“Patch will be okay now,” Max was saying. “He settles down pretty quickly.”

“But he’s too scary! I can’t ride him now, I’m too afraid!” Amelia again seemed on the point of tears. “Can’t I ride Prancer?”

Max sighed. Lisa thought he was starting to look a little tired of Amelia. “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “Why don’t you take Delilah instead of Patch? She’s a very nice mare, and she’s still in her stall, so you can go inside and start tacking her up right away.”

“Is she like Prancer?” Amelia persisted.

“She’s a palomino,” Max said. “Her coat is golden blond, and her mane and tail are almost white. Her stall is the third one on the right, and her saddle, bridle, and grooming bucket are marked with her name in the tack room.”

“Oh, I like palominos! Thank you, Max!” Amelia skipped into the stable.

“ ‘Is she like Prancer?’ ‘She’s a palomino’?” Stevie repeated quizzically. “Max, that makes absolutely no sense. Prancer isn’t a palomino.”

“It seemed like the easiest answer to give,” Max said. He shook his head ruefully. “What a ruckus. Let’s go talk to Carole and get to the bottom of this.”

To their surprise, Carole was not waiting in Max’s office. Lisa and Stevie checked Starlight’s stall and found the gelding alone, contentedly munching on a rack of new hay.
Carole’s soaking bucket and package of salts had been cleared away, and all her grooming tools, which had been scattered across a hay bale in the aisle, were gone.

Lisa and Stevie met Max coming out of the tack room. “She’s not with Starlight,” Stevie said. “Did you check the locker room?”

“Yes, and she isn’t there,” Max said. “And her coat is gone and her cubby door is closed. But did you see this?” He pointed to the
brat
spelled out on the hat rack.

Stevie flinched. “I didn’t do it, Max. I would have, but I didn’t have time.”

“I know you didn’t,” Max said grimly. “But you’ve spelled things in the past. I’m sure that’s where Carole got the idea.”

Lisa was horrified. “Oh, Max, Carole didn’t do that! She wouldn’t!”

“I agree, Lisa, it isn’t like Carole at all,” Max said. “Nor is it like her to spook a horse on purpose.” He marched back to his office, and the girls followed him.

“You can’t believe Carole did that,” Stevie protested. “Max! This is Carole. Not me, not Veronica,
Carole.
”

“I don’t believe it.” Max sat down in his chair and shook his head. “I know that had to have been an accident. But she really frightened Amelia—and no wonder—and she should at least apologize for that. Accidents happen, but I don’t want Amelia becoming too afraid to ride.”

“Max!” Lisa couldn’t believe the way the conversation was heading. “Amelia is not going to be afraid. She’s horrible, she always has to have her own way—”

“Did you see what happened?” Max asked.

“No,” said Lisa. Stevie shook her head.

“You’re forgetting that Amelia is only nine years old,” Max said. “She’s a little girl, and Lisa, I would expect you to show more patience toward your own cousin.”

“I didn’t ask for her to come here this week,” Lisa said.

Max sighed. “As for Carole,” he said, continuing as though Lisa hadn’t spoken, “it bothers me that she left without talking to me first, especially after I asked her to stay. When you next talk to Carole, tell her that if she still wants to be an assistant instructor this week, all she has to do is apologize to Amelia, and we’ll consider this whole incident over.”

“Apologize to Amelia?” Stevie was astounded. “Max, you’ve got to be kidding!”

“Do you really mean Carole can’t be an assistant instructor anymore?” Lisa asked. “That’s not fair!”

“What if one of you kids had gotten hurt when the horses stampeded?” Max asked in return.

Lisa opened her mouth to protest further when Amelia’s sweet voice trilled down the aisle: “Lisa? Can you help me? I found Delilah’s saddle, but it’s on one of the top racks and I can’t reach it.”

“Go on,” Max said, with a wave of his hand. “Help her, and then you two tack up, too. We’ve had enough discussion. I’d like for you kids to ride sometime today.”

Stevie let the door slam behind her as she and Lisa walked out. “I can’t believe it!” she said.

“Neither can I,” Lisa said. She was so upset that she was trembling. How could Max doubt Carole? It wasn’t fair that Amelia should always get her own way! “I’ll see you outside,” Lisa told Stevie. “Tack up fast.”

Stevie nodded. Every problem looked better from the back of a horse.

“H
ERE
,” L
ISA SAID
, pulling Delilah’s saddle off its rack and thrusting it roughly into Amelia’s arms. She grabbed Prancer’s bridle and slung her saddle over her arm.

“I found Delilah, and I groomed her and got her all ready except for the saddle,” Amelia said cheerfully, following Lisa down the aisle. “She’s very pretty, just like Max said.”

Lisa didn’t respond. She went into Prancer’s stall and hugged the mare hard, breathing in her delicious horsey smell.

“Max said Delilah was every bit as good as Prancer,” Amelia prattled on. “I agree. In fact, I think Delilah’s better-looking.”

Lisa began to curry Prancer with big, sweeping strokes. “Oh, certainly,” she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm.
“Delilah, she’s the number one horse in the stable. The absolute best. In fact, I’m sure she’s a lot like Star the Wonder Horse at your stable. I can’t believe Max is letting you ride her. You’re really lucky, Amelia.”

Delilah was a good mare with a lovely disposition, but she certainly wasn’t the best horse in the stable. Thinking about it, Lisa realized that there probably was no “best” horse at Pine Hollow. They were all good at different things. Starlight could jump incredibly well, Calypso and Prancer both had fine pedigrees, Topside excelled at dressage. Tiny Quarter, one of the ponies, could jump a fence higher than his height, and he absolutely loved to be ridden cross-country. Old Patch was so sweet and careful that sometimes it seemed as if he, not Max, were teaching people how to ride. All these qualities were valuable. There was no one best horse any more than there was one best person at Pine Hollow.

Lisa leaned down until she was looking Amelia right in the eye. “If you don’t tell Max the truth about that bucket, you’re going to have a very long week,” she said. “Now go tack up your horse, and leave me alone.”

Amelia gave Lisa a small, slightly nervous smile. “But I did tell Max the truth about the bucket,” she said. She trotted off to Delilah’s stall. Lisa shook her head and turned back to Prancer.

*   *   *

O
NCE SHE WAS
in the saddle, Lisa’s day started to improve. Prancer seemed to sense Lisa’s mood and even seemed to be trying to cheer her up—the mare was being sweet and responsive. By the time they had jumped their first fence, Lisa felt much better. They flew over it with good style, and Lisa gave Prancer a pat.

“That was nice,” Stevie whispered as Lisa got back in line.

“Thanks,” Lisa whispered back. From the way the tense look had faded from Stevie’s face, Lisa guessed that Stevie was also grateful to be riding. Best of all, Lisa reflected, they didn’t have to deal with Amelia.

All the younger, less experienced riders had been put into a separate group, and Red was working with them on transitions. He was having them play a familiar game: When he said “Canter!” the last rider to canter had to stop and come into the center of the ring. In the end there was only one rider left. Lisa nearly fell off Prancer when she looked over and saw that it was Amelia.

“Look at her!” she said to Stevie, jerking her head in Amelia’s direction. Red started the game over, with all the young riders at the rail. Amelia was much better than an average beginner. She kept her hands soft and her legs steady, and she was listening carefully to both Red and Delilah. Delilah, in turn, was listening to Amelia.

“She’s an awfully considerate rider,” Lisa said. Beginning
riders were often inconsiderate of their horses, not because they meant to be, but because they didn’t yet have good balance and couldn’t control their legs and hands well enough. Amelia seemed both balanced and gentle.

“I’m glad to see that she’s considerate about something,” Stevie snorted. Privately she thought that she had never met such a self-centered, manipulative whiner as Amelia.
And considering my brothers and their friends
, Stevie thought,
that’s really saying something.

By the time the lesson was over, Stevie and Lisa felt rejuvenated. As they walked their horses to cool them, they discussed what to do about Carole and Amelia.

“Poor Carole,” Lisa said. “I mean, we can ride and feel better, but with Starlight lame she can’t even do that.”

“I don’t want to upset you, Lisa, but I think this is more Amelia’s fault than Carole’s, no matter how the accident with the bucket happened.” Stevie looked around. Amelia was walking Delilah near the Pony Tails and their ponies.

“Oh, I completely agree,” Lisa said. “I’ll make her shape up if I can. But whatever we do, we’ve got to fix things between Carole and Max.”

“We need to talk to Carole,” Stevie said.

“That’s right,” Lisa agreed. “We’ll figure out something.”
She looked toward Amelia and the Pony Tails again. “Are they arguing? I can’t believe it!”

“I can,” Stevie said.

A
MELIA HAD RUN UP
Delilah’s stirrups and loosened her girth and was hand-walking her up and down the driveway. She passed the Pony Tails, who were walking their ponies the opposite way.

“You did well in our lesson,” Corey said tentatively. “You won two times out of five.”

Amelia smiled. “That’s just because I was riding Delilah. She’s such a nice horse, she makes everything easy.”

“Good horses are like that,” May said.

“Yep. It’s too bad about your pony, Corey.”

“What do you mean?” Corey asked.

“Well, I mean, he’s so funny-looking,” Amelia said. “And my cousin Lisa told me he was really strange.”

Corey’s mouth dropped open.

“He is
not
funny-looking,” May retorted hotly. “
You’re
funny-looking.”

Amelia’s eyes filled with tears, but then she blinked them back and took a deep breath.

“And I bet Lisa never said that,” May continued.

“It doesn’t matter,” Amelia said calmly. “Anyway, Max gave me Delilah because he recognized what a superior
rider I am, even though I haven’t been riding as long as some people. My cousin Lisa said Delilah was the best horse in the barn and only very special people get to ride her.”

“Oh, give me a break,” Jasmine said. “You just make stuff up. Delilah is a great horse, but you don’t have to be someone great to ride her. I rode her for my very first lesson ever.”

Lisa walked up just in time to hear what Jasmine said. She sighed. She could guess that Amelia was bragging about herself, her riding skill, and her horses again, but she decided to ignore it. She’d been thinking during her lesson, and she’d decided that what she really needed to do was somehow inspire Amelia to behave. The problem was, she couldn’t come up with anything inspirational to say.

To her amazement, Amelia turned on her before she could even open her mouth. “You lied to me!” Amelia said. “You said Delilah was a great horse, just like Star!”

“She probably is like Star,” Lisa said. “And what difference does it make? You liked her, and you had a nice ride. And while we’re on the subject of lying—”

“You’re not nice, Lisa! I’m going to get you for this!”

“Oh, brother,” Lisa said. “Who cares?”

“Not me!” Amelia pulled on the reins and led Delilah
into the stable. Lisa stared. After only one day in Amelia’s company, she was entirely drained of energy.

Stevie walked up and shook her head. “Is she going to have to be a Saddle Club project?”

Lisa nodded. “Is she ever.”

B
Y THE TIME
Lisa got Prancer untacked and settled, her mother had arrived to drive her and Amelia home. Lisa was silent during the trip. She wanted to tell her parents all about Amelia’s behavior, but she wasn’t comfortable bringing it up in front of Amelia. The girl would probably start World War III, and Lisa didn’t have the energy for combat just then.

She wished she’d had a moment to talk with Stevie before she left. She hadn’t come up with any good ideas for dealing with Amelia, but Stevie’s creativity could usually be counted on.

“I’m going to change,” Amelia said, running up the stairs of Lisa’s house. Lisa followed more slowly. Amelia shut the door of Lisa’s room and locked it.

“Hey!” Lisa shouted. “Let me in!”