Horseshoe (11 page)

“T
HE
H
ORSE
W
ISE
drill-team demonstration will begin in fifteen minutes in the west arena,” a voice announced over the fairground’s P.A. system. “Please come to the west arena for a drill-team demonstration.”

Lisa hurriedly packed the scarves and tablecloth into a box while Carole and Stevie took down the tent. “Fifteen minutes! We haven’t got much time!”

Judy Barker was loading the adoptive animals back into CARL’s van. “You can put your stuff in here for now if you want to,” she offered. “I’m going to move to the arena and set up there. I want everyone who comes to know about CARL.”

The girls put their boxes into the van and helped Judy put the rest of her things inside. Judy drove them to the edge of the corral before going on to park at the arena. The girls thanked her and hurried out.

Their saddles and bridles were stacked neatly on the ground near Max’s horse trailer. They hurried to gather them and their grooming buckets—the horses would be dusty after standing so long in the corral.

Almost all of the other riders were already there. “What took you so long?” May asked them. “You didn’t forget about the drill, did you?”

“Of course not,” Carole said, patting Starlight gently before beginning to groom him. “You knew we wouldn’t. Is Jessica here?”

“Yes, she’s almost ready. Guess who isn’t here, though? You’ll never guess.” May shifted her weight from one foot to the other and grinned. “In fact, he told Max he didn’t think he really wanted to be part of Horse Wise. He quit! It was Michael Grant!”

“Really?” Stevie straightened from checking Belle’s feet. “That’s weird—I wonder why he quit.”

“I don’t know,” said May. “Maybe Veronica was bugging him too much. She’s been following him around. But I don’t care if he’s gone, because it makes us even again, and that’s a lot easier for the drill.” Stevie knew what she meant. With an odd number of
riders in the drill, the one unpaired person always looked like a leftover.

Stevie grinned. “I guess I won’t miss him.”

“Nope.” May went back to Macaroni, and The Saddle Club finished tacking up their horses.

“How do I look?” Carole asked.

Lisa tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her friend’s left ear. Even after hurrying in the dusty weather, Carole’s show clothes and boots were immaculate. “Great.”

“We’d better mount up,” Stevie said. “I can see Max getting ready to make an announcement.”

They swung into their saddles and rode out of the corral. Outside the arena they got into line in the order in which they would begin the drill. A good-size crowd had gathered in the stands, and The Saddle Club could see Judy standing outside the van with its large banner reading
COUNTY ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE
, talking briskly and handing out brochures. When Max carried a microphone into the center of the arena, the crowd quieted.

“Welcome,” he said. “I’m glad to see so many people here today for the Horse Wise drill-team demonstration. There’s no charge for this event, but afterward, if you’ve enjoyed watching, we hope you’ll
make a donation to CARL, the County Animal Rescue League.

“Horse Wise is a local Pony Club based at my stable, Pine Hollow, right here in Willow Creek. Our members vary widely in age and riding experience, and you’ll see most of them performing in the drill today. These young riders have worked very hard for the past few weeks on this drill, and I think you’ll find they’ve put their efforts to good use.

“The County Animal Rescue League has been putting their efforts to good use for several years here in Willow Creek. I’m sure that most of you are familiar with the work they do, but if not, please stop by the van parked near the entrance to the arena for more information after the drill.”

Max paused and Stevie thought she saw him smile in their direction. “Today a few of my riders forecast good futures for some of you here at the fair. After our drill I hope that you will all help see to it that the animals at CARL have good futures too.”

Max strode out of the arena and the music began.
Bump-ba-da-da-dum-dum, bump-ba-da-da-dum-dum
. Waiting at the gate, Stevie counted slowly under her breath; next to her, she could hear Jackie counting too. At the exact right moment, at the exact same
time, they signaled their horses and cantered into the ring.

Lisa had been against the idea of starting the drill at the canter. It was flashy, it caught the audience’s attention from the start, and it fit perfectly with the start of the music, but it was difficult for some of the riders to make their horses canter exactly on cue—starting at the walk or trot was much less risky. Now, waiting her turn at the back of the line, Lisa was glad that she’d been overruled. The horses were behaving well and everyone was riding perfectly. The cantering start looked fantastic.

Carole hadn’t forgotten her earlier trouble with the paired circles. Now, even though Starlight was performing beautifully, she didn’t let herself get caught up admiring him, or let the thousand little movements that made up every larger movement distract her from the drill as a whole. She kept her ear tuned toward the music and tried to help Starlight move with it. She remembered the whole sequence of the drill, and more important, she remembered to watch her “little sister” out of the corner of her eye. She kept Starlight’s movements on scale with Outlaw’s.

Jasmine, too, was helping Outlaw move as largely and expressively as he could so that his gaits would more closely equal Starlight’s. They completed their
circles perfectly this time—round and even, and exactly half a circle apart. We’ve learned to work together, Carole realized. We’ve really become a team.

Stevie had not wanted to admit to anyone that she had been nervous about Belle. She loved her horse devotedly, and she had always felt that they made a terrific pair—that Belle listened and responded to her and that they trusted each other. But Belle was still new enough to Stevie that she hadn’t been sure how the mare would respond to the commotion of the parade and public performance. Practicing in the ring at Pine Hollow was one thing, but this was quite another. Stevie’s old mount, Topside, had been a champion show horse, and she always knew that he loved crowds.

Now, to Stevie’s delight, Belle was showing the same sort of response that Stevie would have expected from Topside. The crowd had seemed to make her more alert, yet steadier—she waited for Stevie’s commands as if she sensed their extra-special importance. And Stevie couldn’t help but feel that her horse was trying to show off. Surely Belle had never arched her neck so elegantly or strutted so proudly before!

Movement by movement the drill progressed. Finally they reached the cross through the center. Carole thought of Jessica, and her heart constricted. So
much had gone right for Jessica today—could she pull this off too? Carole remembered how close Jessica had come in their last practice. She didn’t dare turn her head to see Jessica start, but as soon as she and Starlight were through their corner she looked sideways to the center of the ring.

Jessica was crossing through the center with a gigantic smile on her face. Penny, little Penny, was absolutely flying—trotting with enormous ground-swallowing strides that kept her right on speed without breaking gait! They’d done it! Carole wanted to cheer. But she turned her eyes forward and her attention resolutely back to the next part of the drill. They’d all done so well—she didn’t want to mess up now.

As the final strains of music ended, the riders halted squarely in a row facing the grandstand. To their surprise, the audience erupted into applause. Even Max looked elated. “That was better than our best practice!” he told them as they rode out of the arena. “Am I proud of you!”

“Am I proud of you!” echoed Stevie. She dismounted and flung her arms around Belle’s neck. The mare turned her head and drooled on Stevie’s jacket.

Carole and Lisa felt the same way. They also dismounted
and gave their horses plenty of pats and hugs. The other riders did the same. They were all thrilled with their success.

Carole walked Starlight over to where the little girls were chattering excitedly. “Great job, all of you!” she said.

“Thanks!” chorused May and Jessica.

“Thanks,” said Jasmine. “You did pretty well too, Carole, on those circles.” She grinned mischievously.

“I guess Outlaw can keep up with Starlight,” Carole agreed, grinning back. “At least, that is, when you ride him that well.”

Jessica and Jasmine laughed, but May grew indignant. “Outlaw’s nothing special compared to Starlight,” she said. “Starlight’s beautiful.”

“Outlaw’s beautiful too,” Jasmine defended him staunchly. “He’s the best pony ever.”

“Jasmine’s right,” Carole said, trying to calm them down before they really started to argue. “And how about you, Jessica? You had Penny really moving out there.”

Jessica’s face shone. “I just thought and thought about what it should feel like,” she said. “And then when I rode I made it feel the same way.”

* * *

C
AROLE RETURNED TO
her friends. “I’d say this day has been just about perfect,” she said.

“It’s entirely perfect,” Lisa replied. “Look!”

Carole looked. Before the drill had started, Max had put white buckets reading
DONATIONS TO CARL
near the exits of the stands. Now, as people were leaving, almost every one of them dropped something into the buckets. Some of them also stopped to talk to Judy. More people had come to the drill than they expected—CARL was going to make a lot of money!

“It’s super.” Just as Carole was saying that, someone hugged her hard from behind. “Hi, Dad,” she said. “What did you think?”

“I think,” said her father, “that for once Stevie was absolutely right. I am proud of you!”

L
ISA SLID INTO
their favorite booth at TD’s, an ice cream parlor not far from Pine Hollow. “Whew! When I think about all the work we’ve done today, I know I need some ice cream!”

“Ice cream and a Saddle Club meeting,” said Stevie.

Carole only nodded. For the moment she felt too tired to speak. After the excitement of the drill, they’d had the work of cooling out the horses, untacking them, loading them and all their gear onto the horse trailer, and then, back at Pine Hollow, unloading them and settling them for the night.

“When I think of all the work we have waiting for
us tomorrow—” she began. All of her tack was filthy, and would have to be cleaned and oiled. Starlight would need a good grooming, her boots needed polishing—

“Don’t,” said Stevie.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t think. At least not about tomorrow. Whatever we have to do then we’ll still have to do whether we think about it or not. For now I think we should enjoy today.”

“Here, here,” Lisa said weakly. Maybe a double sundae would revive her.

The waitress came to take their order. It was the same waitress they had had many times before, and she frowned when she saw them. “You again,” she said by way of greeting.

“Us again,” Carole agreed. “And we’re tired. I need something invigorating—I’ll take a banana split.”

Lisa raised an eyebrow, considering. Bananas? No. “I’ll have a large turtle sundae with extra whipped cream,” she decided.

The waitress swiveled to face Stevie, her face set. Lisa and Carole smiled. This was always fun.

“I think I’d like a sundae to commemorate my horse,” Stevie said. “She was awfully good today.
She’s a light-colored bay, almost chestnut. Do you have any chestnuts?”

“Absolutely not,” the waitress said.

“What’s the closest thing you have?”

“We’ve got chopped peanuts, whole peanuts, almond slivers, cashews, pecans, and walnuts in sauce.”

“I’ll take all of those,” Stevie said. “And caramel sauce, since that’s almost chestnut colored, and marshmallow sauce, since that sort of starts out the same as ‘mare.’ Let’s see—all that on, make it fresh peach ice cream.”

Carole choked. The waitress looked grim.

“And don’t forget the cherry,” Stevie said.

“I never do.” The waitress stalked away.

“That was mean,” Lisa said. “How could you order something like that?”

“I always eat it, don’t I?” Stevie asked. “Besides, I don’t think she really minds—I add color to her life.”

“I’m not talking about the waitress,” Lisa replied. “I’m talking about Belle. How could you commemorate her great performance by ordering a sundae that’s completely nuts?”

Carole burst into laughter. Stevie looked appalled. “I didn’t think of it that way.” She thought hard. “We just won’t tell Belle about it, okay? I wouldn’t want her to get the wrong idea.”

“Horses don’t understand English, Stevie Lake,” Carole intoned. It was something that Max said to them often.

“I just don’t want to take any chances,” Stevie replied.

Their sundaes arrived and they dug in happily. “I’m beginning to feel better,” Carole announced. “Actually, I’ve been feeling fine, but I’m beginning to feel awake. I have to say, I didn’t think things could possibly go so well today.”

“Perfect,” said Stevie. “They were perfect.”

“They really were,” Carole replied, “and I didn’t think they would be. I really didn’t think our crazy scheme would work.”