Mary and Jody in the Movies (7 page)

10

Twister Mounts Up

“TWISTER, WE CAN watch you ride, can’t we? Our parents aren’t coming to pick us up for another hour at least.” Mary and Jody
were determined to see which of the new horses were going to appear in the movie.

“I reckon it won’t hurt,” Twister said. “And since you’re so keen on stayin’, you can help me get the three saddles and bridles
out of the trailer and bring ‘em down here to the barn.”

“We’ll help you, Twister! And we can help you put the saddles on, too. Willie showed us how,” Mary said with confidence.

Twister chose to tack up Augie and Hoppy and the gray mare first. Only once did Jody have to ask Twister for assistance with
the cinch on Hoppy’s saddle. Mary had to think hard to remember how the strap worked on the mare’s cinch, but she figured
it out without asking Twister’s advice. All the while, Star gazed curiously in from the paddock, his head over the Dutch door
of the stable, stretching his neck and longing to sniff noses with the newcomers.

“It’s OK, Star,” Jody giggled. “I know you think we’re ignoring you, but we’re busy right now! We’ll come down and groom you
later if we have time.”

When the horses were tacked up and ready to go, Twister led Augie from his stall and took Hoppy’s reins from Jody’s grasp.
“I’m goin’ to lead these two out of the barn, and Jody, I want you to take Stumpy off his crossties and put him in Augie’s
stall,” Twister instructed. “Then we’ll all walk up to the ring together.”

“Oh, Twister, do you think I could lead Star up to the ring so he can come up and watch with us? We really have been ignoring
him lately!”

“Well, I reckon I can take these two up. Will is meetin’ us up there, and he can hold Hoppy outside the ring while I ride
Augie. If Mary holds the mare, I guess you can hold Star. It’ll be nice to see if these horses get distracted by him or not.”

Jody quickly released Stumpy from his crossties and led him into the stall vacated by Augie, and then grabbed a lead rope
and attached it to Star’s halter.

“Come on, boy! This is going to be fun!”

Jody and Star followed Mary and the mare out of Lucky Foot Stable and up to the ring, where Twister stood with Augie and Hoppy,
waiting for Willie to appear. As the girls got closer, they were shocked to see Mary’s mother and Jody’s father standing by
the gate, along with Vicki Beaumont and Brian McVey!

“Mom! What are you doing here already?” Mary gasped. Still embarrassed by the memory of her outburst upon meeting Brian, she
avoided looking at him altogether.

“Well, Jody’s dad and I had dinner together, and we came up as soon as we were finished. We want to see the new horses too,
you know!”

“And aren’t they nice!” Vicki cooed, rubbing her hand gently on themare’smuzzle. “What’s her name?”

“Oh, we haven’t named her yet!” Mary replied, suddenly remembering that they had to come up with a suitable name. “Let’s think!”

“Wow, this guy’s handsome,” Brian said, turning to Star and scratching him on the forehead. “Is he going to be in the riding
scene?”

“Oh, no,” Jody squeaked, blushing. “He’s too young. We just brought him up here so he could see what’s going on.”

“I know the perfect name for her,” Vicki whispered to Mary, as if it were their own little secret. “I think she has an exotic
look, with her dark-rimmed eyes. How about Shalimar? I always wanted to name a horse Shalimar.”

Mary was silent for a moment, thinking to herself that Shalimar didn’t sound much like a Western horse, but she wasn’t about
to disagree with Vicki Beaumont. “I think it’s beautiful,” she whispered back, patting Shalimar on the shoulder.

Willie suddenly appeared ringside, holding a half-folded piece of paper in his weathered hands. He pulled on his earlobe and
then took off his hat and scratched the side of his head.

“Willie, what’s that?” Mary asked, cutting her eyes to the paper and trying to see what was listed there. “Is that the list
of peoplewho got parts in the riding scene?”

“Now, don’t be so nosy,” Willie admonished, folding the paper over once more so that the names could not be read. “I’ll read
them off after we watch these horses go around.”

Mary was busting to see the names on the list, but she knew that Willie would only share them in his own good time, so she
turned her attention to the matter at hand, watching Twister ride the new horses.

Willie silently took Hoppy’s reins from Twister’s hands and stood back when Twister placed his boot in the stirrup and swung
up on Augie. The big buckskin stood quietly, gazing curiously around the ring with his enormous eyes. Suddenly a shrill whinny
sounded from the direction of Lucky Foot Stable. Augie and Star both responded at the same instant by stretching their muzzles
to the sky and whinnying back.

“I guess old Stumpy don’t like bein’ left in the barn by himself,” Willie chuckled. “He misses his buddies already, and they
only just met.”

Twister gathered the reins in one hand and nudged Augie forward with his boot heel, focusing the quarter horse’s attention
away from Stumpy and back on the business of riding. From then on, Augie responded only to Twister. Jogging and loping smoothly
around the ring in both directions, the stocky buckskin never took a bad step. Twister reined him in and grinned widely at
Willie.

“Looks like you got a champ here,” Twister said admiringly. “He sure knows what he’s doin’. Quiet, too.”

Willie simply nodded. Twister dismounted and handed Augie’s reins to Willie, taking Hoppy’s reins all in one motion. In an
instant, he was putting Hoppy through the same drill, jogging and loping both directions of the ring. Hoppy cooperated almost
as well as Augie but shook his head up and down several times, chomping on the bit. Once, he even threw his head down, almost
pulling the reins from Twister’s hand.

“This one might need a hackamore,” Twister commented after reining him to a stop. “He don’t seem to like the bit much.”

“Man was ridin’ him with a bosal in the ring,” Willie acknowledged. “Must be what he’s used to.”

“What are they talking about?” Jody whispered to Mary, never having heard such words before.

“I don’t know, but I can’t wait to go home and look them up,” Mary replied gleefully.

“They’re words for different kinds of Western bridles,” Vicki offered, having overheard the conversation. “I had to learn
them myself so I could sound like an actual Western riding instructor. I’ve been doing a lot of horse research. I’ll be in
the ring with you girls tomorrow, so if I say something wrong, let me know, OK?”

Mary and Jody simply grinned and nodded, flabbergasted that the famous Vicki Beaumont was actually asking for their advice.

“All right, ready for the mare?” Willie asked Twister. Then he turned to the girls. “Have you come up with a name for her
yet?”

“Yes, Willie. Her name is Shalimar,”Mary responded grandly.

“Shalimar? Who ever heard tell of a crazy name like that for a Western horse?” Willie harrumphed.

“Um, Willie, Miss Beaumont came up with it,” Mary replied. Vicki smiled and winked at her as the other adults stifled grins.

“Oh, well, I reckon it’s OK, then,” Willie replied, pulling on his earlobe in embarrassment. “But I’m goin’ to come up with
a nickname for her right quick.”

“That’s fine, Mr. Riggins,” Vicki grinned. “I know Shalimar is kind of a silly name, but I always liked it.”

Vicki smiled and winked at her

as the other adults stifled grins.

Willie simply nodded as Twister mounted up on the gray mare and put her through her paces around the ring. She was a little
spooky at first, eyeing the audience at ringside warily and sidestepping when Finnegan suddenly flew past the ring, barking
at a squirrel.

“That’s the fastest I’ve seen Finney move in awhile,” Mary commented wryly.

Twister spoke quietly to the mare, rubbing his hand along her neck as he urged her gently forward. Responding to his voice
and touch, she soon settled down and loped easily around the ring, coming down from the lope with just a gentle tug on the
reins.

“This one’s a little worried, but I think she’ll be OK once we get her used to the ring,” Twister commented as he dismounted.
“I think these three will do all right.”

“What about Stumpy?” Mary asked. “You didn’t ride him yet, Twister.”

“I’ll get around to it,” Twister replied nonchalantly.

“Mary, we have to get home,” Mary’s mother chided. “Frank and I both have to work tomorrow, and you girls need to get to bed.”

“That’s right, Mrs. Morrow,” Willie interjected. “I was just told that the call time is 6 a.m.”

“Oh, Willie, I almost forgot! You didn’t tell us who is in the riding scene yet!” Mary blurted.

“Hold yer horses, hold yer horses,” Willie answered, taking the folded piece of paper from his pocket. After carefully smoothing
the wrinkled missive against his jeans, he raised it to his face and squinted as he read it over to himself. Mary jiggled
impatiently but knew it was no use hurrying Willie when he didn’t want to be hurried.

“Well, we’ve got five names here and one alternate,” Willie said.

“Nerve-wracking, huh?” Brian McVey said to Mary, nudging her with his elbow. Mary responded by blushing beet red.

“At the top of the list we have the names of Mary Morrow and Jody Stafford,” Willie announced. Mary and Jody grinned, and
their parents smiled at them proudly.

“We already knew we made it, Mom,” Mary whispered.

“And then we have Jeffrey Hunt, says he likes to be called Jeff,” Willie continued.

“Oh, a boy,” Jody grimaced.

“And then, Jenna Day.”

Mary and Jody looked at each other, remembering that Jenna Day was the girl who forgot to tighten the cinch.

“And last in the main group, Krystal Warren.”

“I don’t remember who that is, do you?” Jody whispered to Mary.

“No, we’ll probably remember her when we see her,” Mary replied.

“And an alternate,” Willie looked up from his paper and then down again.

“The alternate is Annie Mooney.”

11

Annie Has Trouble

MARY AND JODY hardly slept a wink that night, so worried were they that they might oversleep and miss the 6 a.m. call time.
They tossed and turned, waking up each hour and staring at their alarm clocks before falling into a brief and fitful sleep.
Mary thought about calling Jody on the phone, but she was afraid Jody would be asleep, and she didn’t want to wake her. Down
the road, the same thoughts were occurring to Jody. When her alarm finally sounded at 5 a.m., she jumped from her bed like
a shot. Mary didn’t even wait for her alarm to ring. Her feet hit the floor at 4:55, and she lingered by the bed only long
enough to turn it off.

At precisely 5:45, Mary and Jody were inside Lucky Foot Stable, having led Lady and Gypsy in from the big pasture, and were
grooming them meticulously in anticipation of their big day. Star nickered impatiently from the paddock as if to say, “Hey!
Why isn’t anybody paying attention to me?”

“Star, I promise, as soon as we finish this movie scene, I’ll take you out for a nice long walk, up to the pigeon house and
back,” Jody called, concentrating on a particularly tough knot in Lady’s mane.

“Jody, can you believe Annie is going to be the alternate?” Mary blurted. When the names were announced the day before, Mary
and Jody had made no comment, but Mary just couldn’t hold her tongue any longer.

“No! I honestly don’t think she ever rode a horse before the riding test. Maybe they picked her because of her red hair.”

“Ain’t you got those ponies tacked up yet?” Willie called suddenly from the back doors of Lucky Foot Stable. “They need to
be up to the ring in fifteen minutes.”

“We know, Willie, we’re almost ready,” Jody replied, forgetting about Annie Mooney long enough to throw a saddle pad on Lady’s
broad back. Mary was a little ahead in the tacking up process, having already tightened the cinch on Gypsy’s new Western saddle
just the way Willie had shown her.

“Willie, where are the other horses?” Jody asked, lifting Lady’s bridle from the peg on the wall. “They weren’t in the stable
when we got here.”

“Twister’s got ’em up at the ring already,” Willie said. “We were in here groomin’ an hour ago so’s we could make room for
your old plugs to come in.”

Mary and Jody were too busy putting the bridles on to take offense at Willie calling the ponies “old plugs.” Mary looked up
just long enough to notice Willie tugging on his earlobe, the way he always did when about to say something important.

“Willie, what is it? Do you want to tell us something?” Mary asked curiously.

“Well, I just want to remind you that it’s goin’ to be a long day, and you better get ready to do things over and over again.
It’s not like ridin’ for fun, ya know.”

“Oh, we know, Willie. You told us that already,” Jody said nonchalantly, leading Lady toward the stable doors and followed
closely by Mary and Gypsy.

“And one more thing,” Willie said, not moving from his position near Gypsy’s stall. “I don’t want to hear no remarks behind
anybody’s back about anything at all, especially about anybody’s ridin’ ability.”

Mary and Jody stopped in their tracks and looked at each other in silent understanding before turning to Willie. “We know,
Willie,” they said in unison, and then turned and continued on their way to the brand new ring.

Inside the ring, Hoppy stood with his halter fastened over his bridle, a lead rope securing him to a fence post inside the
ring. His head was turned just far enough to watch the other two horses going through their paces. Twister was mounted up
on Augie, walking him along the rail and leading the gray mare behind. Stumpy, an alternate just like Annie, stood quietly
away from the ring, tethered to the lowest branch of the old horse chestnut tree. And standing next to Stumpy was Annie’s
brother Jimmy, one arm looped over Stumpy’s neck, chewing on a piece of straw. When Jimmy saw Jody and Mary approaching the
ring, he turned and smirked at them.

“I guess you think you’re movie stars now,” he snorted.

Mary and Jody chose to ignore this statement by striding past Jimmy to the gate to await Willie’s instructions.

“You girls can go on in, but stay on the far side of the ring and be quiet around those other horses. Go ahead and mount up,
and walk on the rail and get Lady and Gypsy warmed up.”

“But, Willie, where are the other riders?” Jody asked, looking around as she tightened Lady’s cinch.

“They ain’t here yet,” Willie replied as if Jody should have known. “We got to get these horses warmed up and ready to ride
before they get here. Their call time ain’t ’til seven o’clock.”Willie replied.

“Seven o’clock? But that’s almost an hour away!” Mary grumbled.

“What’s the matter, didja have to get up too early?” Jimmy sneered from just outside the ring, where he had quickly placed
himself the moment Mary and Jody entered the gate.

“Don’t you have to go milk the cows or something?” Mary retorted, swinging her leg over Gypsy’s back.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do. Some people have to do a little work around here.” Before Mary could open her mouth in reply,
he turned and was gone.

By the time the other riders arrived at the ring, Lady and Gypsy were thoroughly warmed up, and the crew had set up the camera
and other equipment, being very careful not to spook the horses. Augie, Hoppy, and Shalimar stood next to Twister and Willie,
lazily switching their tails at flies, ready for the first shot. The three actors, two girls and a boy, and Annie Mooney,
the alternate, bided their time outside the ring, awaiting Willie’s instruction. But before addressing the group, Willie approached
Mary and Jody, tugging on his earlobe once again.

“What now, Willie?” Jody asked. “You look worried about something.”

“Well, I’m just gettin’ an idea,” he said. The girls waited patiently to hear what the idea might be, but Willie said nothing.
Finally Mary spoke up.

“What kind of idea, Willie?”

“Well, I’m thinkin’ it might be best for the scene if you two girls rode these new horses and let a couple of the others ride
Lady and Gypsy,” he said.

Mary and Jody were dumbfounded for an instant, their mouths hanging open in disbelief.

“Now, shut yer mouths, yer catchin’ flies,” Willie said, repeating one of Twister’s favorite phrases. “The point is, I know
for a fact that Lady and Gypsy will behave themselves, and I’m fairly certain these new horses will too. But I know you girls
could handle it if one of them decides to act up a little. I don’t know enough about these other riders to know if they could
handle any horse problems.”

Mary and Jody closed their mouths and looked at each other, suddenly feeling very proud that Willie had so much confidence
in them.

“Well, Willie, if you think that’s best, we can ride the new horses,” Mary volunteered.

“Oh, Willie, can I ride Shalimar?” Jody pleaded. “I think she likes me.”

“I’ll ride Hoppy!” Mary fairly shouted. In their excitement, they almost forgot to be upset about other riders handling Lady
and Gypsy.

“Well, that didn’t take much talkin’ into,” Willie mumbled to Twister. He didn’t mention the other reason for switching horses.
The movie scene called for riders taking their first few riding lessons on horses they hadn’t ridden before, and he thought
that Mary and Jody would look much too comfortable on their own ponies.

“Well, then, I reckon those two horses would be a good fit for you two,” Willie agreed. “Now let’s get started.” Willie and
Twister turned to the group by the rail. “You kids can come on in,” Twister instructed, “except Annie, if you don’t mind,
stay just outside the gate and listen.”

Annie, who was already halfway through the gate, nodded and turned back, propping her arms on the top board of the ring fence.
Mary and Jody glanced at each other, almost feeling sorry for her.

“Now, we’re goin’ to assign your horses to you,” Twister announced, “and then we’ll take a few turns around the ring until
you’re comfortable on your mount. Remember, this is supposed to be one of your first riding lessons, so try not to look too
good. I know all of you can ride, but this ain’t the time to show off your abilities. Just think back to when you first started
ridin’ and try to imitate the way you did it back then.”

“When I call your name, step up and take your horse’s reins and lead them away from the group, but don’t mount up until we
tell you to,” Willie continued. “First, let’s have Jenna Day ride Lady.”

As excited as Jody was about riding Shalimar, she still felt a sudden twinge of anxiety when Jenna Day took the reins from
her hands. It was just too strange that someone else would be riding her pony!

“And Jody Stafford will ride Shalimar,” Willie announced immediately, noticing Jody’s dismay and trying to take her mind from
it quickly. Jody smiled bravely as she took the reins from Willie’s grasp.

“Jeff Hunt will be riding Augie,” Twister continued, handing the reins over to the boy, who smiled and patted Augie vigorously
on the neck before leading him off.

“Mary Morrow, your mount is Hoppy,”Willie said, leading Hoppy a few steps toward Mary. At the same time, he announced the
last rider.

“And last but not least, Krystal Warren will be up on Gypsy.”

At the same instant Willie surrendered Hoppy’s reins to Mary, Mary handed Gypsy’s reins to Krystal, therefore not giving Mary
any time to have second thoughts about someone else riding her pony.

“Now that everybody has the correct mount, we’ll come around and tighten your cinches, and then we’ll get started. Miss Beaumont
will be here shortly, and then we’ll start shooting the scene, so we don’t have much time to get used to our horses.”

Although Willie didn’t say so, his intention was exactly that. He didn’t want the riders to get so comfortable on their mounts
that they would look too practiced for the “beginner rider” scene.

Cinches were tightened, and riders were instructed to mount up. Mary and Jody both had a bit of trouble putting their left
feet in the stirrups, as Shalimar and Hoppy were quite a bit taller than the ponies they were accustomed to. But determined
not to ask Willie for help, they struggled until they were both seated firmly in their saddles along with the other riders.
Twister and Willie silently surveyed the group for a moment, and then Twister began giving instructions.

“All right now, let’s put Jeff and Augie in front, and the rest of you fall in behind. Walk your horses along the rail single-file
twice around and then we’ll pick up a slow jog.”

Mary and Jody grinned at each other, each knowing what the other was thinking. It was a new sensation, riding a horse rather
than a pony! It was certainly further from the ground, and almost scary! To keep from glaring at the girls up ahead riding
Lady and Gypsy, they focused all their attention on their own mounts, waiting for the next command, which came a little sooner
than expected.

“Now, let’s jog,” Twister instructed loudly. The group of riders picked up the jog almost in unison.

“Go ahead and let yourselves bounce some,” Willie called. “Remember, you don’t really know how to ride at this point. You
can let your reins have a little slack, too.”

Jody was having no trouble “letting herself bounce,” as Shalimar’s jogging gait was much rougher than Lady’s. Up ahead, she
could see Mary having the same trouble on Hoppy. Just when she thought her teeth might jounce out of her head, Twister gave
the command to walk.

“Good job, everybody,” Twister said. “Let’s walk to the gate and halt in a straight line across the ring.”

Turning Shalimar’s head toward the gate, Jody looked up to see Miss Vicki Beaumont standing between Twister and Willie in
the center of the ring, looking beautiful in light-tan jeans and a white riding shirt. Jody turned silently to Mary and pointed,
trying not to be obvious, but Mary had already seen the actress, as had the other riders, all of whom had grins on their faces
as they brought their horses to a halt.

“Good morning, everyone,” Miss Beaumont smiled brilliantly and waved. “Oh, there’s my favorite horse!” she continued, striding
directly up to Shalimar and stroking her neck. “How does she ride, Jody?”

Twister and Willie silently surveyed the group for a
moment, and then Twister began giving instructions.

Jody nearly fell from Shalimar’s back in shock when Vicki Beaumont called her by name, but she recovered in time to reply.

“She rides fine, Miss Beaumont. She’s really good, actually.”

“I knew she would be. And Mr. Riggins, have you gotten used to her name yet?”

“No, ma’am, I just call her Sally,” Willie replied, scratching the side of his head.

At this statement, Jody and Mary giggled until Willie glared at them, prompting them to cover their mouths and try and look
serious. They were saved by the appearance at ringside ofMr. Gordon, the director.

“Are we about ready to shoot, Will?” he asked.

“I believe so, Mr. Gordon. We don’t want to rehearse too much and wear everybody out. We’re ready whenever you are.”