Horse Care (2 page)

“I was pretty stunned myself when my mom told me,” Lisa said grimly.

“Explain,” Stevie said simply, picking up the grooming tools.

“My mom made a new friend at one of her volunteer committee meetings,” Lisa said. “Her name is Mrs. Mills, and she lives over in Colesford.” That was the name of a town about twenty miles from Willow Creek, Virginia, where The Saddle Club lived. “She invited my parents to some kind of fancy all-day charity auction and party next Saturday.”

“What does that have to do with you?” Carole asked. “If your mom is worried about your being home alone, you can come and stay with me.”

“Great idea,” Stevie said. “Why don’t we make it a sleepover? We can make popcorn, watch movies …”

“Talk about pirouettes,” Carole supplied. “Maybe
call up Phil and taunt him about not being able to do one.”

Stevie grinned and tossed a rub rag at Carole. “And figure out where to find Carole a boyfriend who’s even horse-crazier than she is,” she teased. “If that’s possible. Which I doubt, unless you’re talking about a member of the Olympic Equestrian—”

“Stop!” Lisa interrupted, a little upset. Her friends already seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be talking about. “That’s not the problem. The problem is that I’m supposed to go to Colesford with them and spend the day hanging out with Mrs. Mills’s daughter, Marguerite.”

Carole looked confused. “Why?” she asked. “You don’t know her, do you?”

“Of course not!” Lisa felt frustrated. Sometimes the three members of The Saddle Club seemed to know each other so well that they could read each other’s minds. This clearly wasn’t one of those times. “Don’t you get it? My mom is so impressed with Mrs. Mills that she’s sure Marguerite is just the right kind of friend for me to have. So she volunteered me to go riding at Marguerite’s stable in Colesford and then hang out with her all evening until the adults get back from their fancy party—even though it means I’ll miss Horse Wise
and
our jump lesson afterward.”

Carole wasn’t sure why Lisa looked so angry. It was definitely disappointing to have to miss a day at Pine
Hollow—especially a day when they would be learning something so interesting. But the alternative didn’t sound as horrible as Lisa seemed to think it was. “At least Marguerite is a rider,” she offered tentatively. “It might be fun to try a new stable.”

Stevie nodded. “And you never know,” she added. “Marguerite might be nice.” She shrugged. “I’m sure Max will forgive you for missing one Horse Wise meeting. Maybe. If you muck out about a million stalls and promise to mix the grain for an entire year.”

Lisa could tell that her friends were trying to cheer her up. Maybe they had a point. Maybe she was making too much of this because she was angry that her mother hadn’t consulted her. She shouldn’t take that anger out on Marguerite Mills—or on the rest of The Saddle Club, either.

Lisa did her best to smile. “Well, maybe you’re right.” She bent to retrieve a dandy brush that Stevie had missed and tossed it into the bucket. “My mom said she told Mrs. Mills about how I like to ride, and Mrs. Mills says Marguerite spends just as much time at her stable as I do here.”

“Where does she ride?” Stevie asked.

“Fox Crest Farms,” Lisa said. “I’ve never heard of it, have you?”

Carole shook her head. “I guess they’re not on Judy’s list of patients.”

“Well, my mom seems to think it’s
very
exclusive.”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “It’s very small and probably outrageously expensive.”

“Really?” Stevie said, looking interested. “Hmmm. Maybe we can convince our favorite local snob to start riding there instead of here. What do you think?”

Both of her friends knew exactly whom Stevie meant—Veronica diAngelo. Veronica came from one of the wealthiest families in town, and she thought that made her better than everyone else. She was always bragging about her expensive horse, Danny, or showing off her overpriced, custom-made riding attire.

Stevie continued without waiting for a response. “That could be the perfect solution,” she said. “I mean, sure, Colesford is a bit of a drive from here. But I’m sure Veron—Hey! Ow! What did you do that for?”

Carole had just elbowed Stevie in the ribs. She did it again. “Shhh,” she hissed. Then she nodded toward the end of the stable aisle. Veronica herself had just come around the corner.

Veronica spotted them immediately and frowned. “What are you three still doing here?” she said in her usual unpleasant tone. “Shouldn’t you be in the ring sucking up to Max by now?”

Carole and Lisa didn’t bother to respond. They didn’t care if Veronica thought they were teacher’s pets. They knew it was only because she was so careless about her responsibilities around the stable. Max expected all his riders to help out with chores, but Veronica had a real
talent for making herself scarce whenever there was work to be done.

Stevie couldn’t let the snobby girl’s comment pass, though. “Hey, Veronica,” she said. “Didn’t you just wear those boots yesterday? I thought you had a new pair for every day of the year.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Is that supposed to be funny, Stevie?” she said with a sneer. “That’s pretty weak, even for you. Anyway, you’d better be a little nicer, or I might not tell you the fantastic news I just heard.”

If there was one thing Stevie was sure of, it was that Veronica couldn’t keep her mouth shut when there was gossip to spread. Usually her gossip was boring stuff about who was having a party or about the latest new couples at school. Still, Stevie thought, it was just faintly possible that Veronica had actually managed to find out the secret topic of today’s meeting.

“What is it, Veronica?” Carole asked. Stevie could tell that her friend was thinking the same thing she was.

Veronica smiled. “Oh, it’s no big deal,” she said in a casual tone. “It’s just that I heard we’re getting a new student today. A boy. And I hear he’s
incredibly
cute.”

Stevie snorted. “Stop the presses,” she said dryly. She glanced at Carole and Lisa. “Come on, we’d better get over to the ring. I think Judy’s talk will be more interesting.” She turned around to give Belle a good-bye pat, purposely ignoring Veronica.

Veronica looked annoyed. “Fine,” she said. “I should
have known you three were too immature to appreciate my news.” She spun on her heel and stomped away, not even pausing to look in on Danny, who was in a stall nearby.

“Do you think we’re really getting a new student?” Lisa wondered aloud as Veronica disappeared around the corner.

Carole shrugged. “Who knows? She hardly ever gets her facts straight.” She grinned. “If there really is a new boy joining Horse Wise, he’s probably six years old.”

“Good point,” Stevie said. “After all, most of those younger kids really
are
pretty cute.”

“Veronica seemed pretty excited about the whole idea of a new boy, though,” Carole mused as the three started walking down the aisle toward the indoor ring. “I wonder if that means she’s lost interest in Simon already.” Recently Veronica had dated a Pine Hollow rider named Simon Atherton. When Simon had first come to the stable, he had been an awkward, gangly, nerdy boy who could barely stay in the saddle. Then his family had moved away. When Simon had returned a few months later, his riding skills hadn’t improved much. But the rest of him had. He had become a tall, broad-shouldered, good-looking boy who could barely stay in the saddle.

Lisa gave Carole a look of disbelief. “You mean you actually haven’t noticed?” she said. “Veronica gave up on Simon weeks ago. I guess she decided his family isn’t socially prominent enough.”

“Either that, or Simon finally realized what Veronica’s really like,” Stevie said. She turned to Carole with a grin. “Hey, that gives me a great idea. We were just talking about getting you a boyfriend. And Simon is free. What do you think?”

“
You
were just talking about getting me a boyfriend,” Carole corrected. “And I think I’ll pass on Simon. He may be a lot cuter now than he used to be, but his personality hasn’t changed much. He’s still kind of annoying.” She giggled. “Maybe I’ll take that cute new six-year-old instead.”

Suddenly Carole noticed that Lisa was looking distracted again. “Lisa?” she said. “Are you still with us?”

Lisa sighed. “Yes,” she said. “I was just thinking, that’s all.”

“About how Carole will be going off to college while her boyfriend’s still in middle school?” Stevie guessed.

Lisa didn’t even notice the joke. “No,” she said. “I was thinking about how my mom still doesn’t understand how important Pine Hollow is. Not just riding, but riding
here
. She thinks that just because I’ll be in the saddle next Saturday, I’ve got nothing to complain about.”

Carole nodded sympathetically. She knew exactly how Lisa felt. She had ridden at lots of different stables, and Pine Hollow was special. “Did you explain that to her?”

“I tried,” Lisa said, “but she just kept talking about
this charity auction. She’s really excited about it. I guess it’s a big deal to be invited. Socially, I mean.” She sighed.

As the three girls reached the end of the stable aisle, a horse looked out of the extra-large box stall on the corner and let out a whinny.

Carole paused to pat the horse. “Hi there, Calypso,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

“She’s probably excited,” Stevie guessed. “I bet she already has her baby’s name all picked out.”

Calypso, a young Thoroughbred mare, was due to foal in the next few weeks. Max had bought her to breed with his stallion, Geronimo. The Saddle Club had been following the course of Calypso’s pregnancy for months.

“She seems a little bored,” Carole said, looking worried. “Maybe we should spend some extra time with her after the meeting.”

Lisa gave Calypso a pat, too. “Good idea,” she said. “But right now we’d better get going. If we’re late, the only thing we’ll be spending time with afterward is a manure fork.”

“O
KAY
, I’
LL START
with an easy one,” Judy said at the Horse Wise meeting. The topic had turned out to be equine pregnancy and foaling. “Who knows how long the average mare’s gestation period is?”

Carole’s hand shot up immediately. She had seen a lot of pregnant mares and assisted at several births, so she knew quite a bit. For one thing, she knew that when Judy asked about a mare’s gestation period, she was talking about the length of her pregnancy.

All around the room, a lot of other hands were also waving in the air. The question was a pretty basic one. Judy pointed to Polly Giacomin.

“Polly?” Judy said.

“Eleven months,” Polly said. “Approximately.”

“That’s right,” Judy said. “Gestation typically lasts a little more than eleven months. Anywhere from around 320 to 360 days can be considered normal.” She turned and glanced toward the doorway of the indoor ring. “Just a second,” she said. “It looks as though our special guest has arrived.”

Carole turned to see Red O’Malley standing just inside the doorway. He was holding a lead line with Calypso at the other end.

“Bring her in, please, Red,” Judy called.

The stable hand led Calypso slowly toward the spot where Judy was standing. The Saddle Club exchanged glances. Carole smiled as she shifted to a more comfortable position on the sawdust-covered floor of the indoor ring. She could tell that her friends were thinking the same thing she was—now they didn’t have to worry about Calypso being bored!

A few Horse Wise members scooted aside to give Calypso room. She moved slowly, and Red let her choose her own pace. The mare seemed to place every hoof carefully as she walked.

“Wow,” Simon Atherton commented loudly. “She looks even huger out here than she does in her stall, doesn’t she?”

A few of the other students snorted or giggled. It was just the kind of ridiculous comment that Simon always made. Still, Carole had to admit that she knew what he
meant this time. Calypso looked gigantic. Her belly was taut and swollen and looked ready to explode.

Carole studied the mare, observing the way she moved and trying to see whether her udder had begun to increase in size, which would be a sign that the foal was coming soon. But she couldn’t see any such changes yet.

Before long Calypso was standing at the front of the group. Red kept a good grip on her halter, but the mare didn’t seem interested in acting up. She stood quietly, her ears flicking back and forth.

“All right,” Judy said. “I think you all know Calypso, our resident mother-to-be. And I hope you’ve all been following her progress during the past few months.”

Carole nodded. She had made a point of looking in on the mare as often as she could. All around her, she could see others nodding, including Stevie and Lisa.

“Good,” Judy said. “I’ve been following this pregnancy closely, too. And it looks like Calypso’s gestation is going smoothly this time.”

For a second, Carole just nodded again. Then she frowned.
This time? What did Judy mean by that?
Calypso was a young mare, and this would be her first foal. Carole exchanged glances with her friends. A few other students were murmuring as they, too, wondered about the comment.