Horse Guest (2 page)

“I’ll go fill a tub with hot water,” Stevie volunteered, heading down the aisle.

Carole was examining the gelding’s bandages. Several of the ones on his sides and forelegs were frayed around the edges or hanging loose. A couple were gone altogether.

“He’s still fussing with his bandages,” Carole said, bending closer to peer at an uncovered wound. There were a few specks of straw and dirt embedded in it already. She sighed. “We’ve got to figure out how to stop him. Otherwise we’ll never be able to keep these wounds from getting infected.”

Magoo had turned his head to see what Carole was doing. He snorted and tried to move away from her probing fingers.

“It’s okay, boy,” Lisa said soothingly, going to the horse’s head. “We’re here to help. Even if you don’t seem to believe it.” She rolled her eyes at Carole. “Who could have guessed Magoo would turn out to be such a problem patient?”

Before Carole could answer, Stevie reappeared with the tub. She added some Epsom salts to the hot water, then helped her friends convince Magoo to put his injured foot into it. The horse seemed suspicious at first. He lowered his head toward the water, then jerked his leg away as Carole tried to lift it. Eventually, after several tries, the girls succeeded in getting his hoof into the tub.

“It feels good, doesn’t it?” Stevie said to the gelding as he relaxed a little. “If you could just remember that from day to day, we wouldn’t have so much trouble.”

While Magoo’s foot soaked, The Saddle Club set to work cleaning his wounds with an antibiotic and replacing the bandages. As they worked, they talked.

“I can’t believe the gymkhana is next Saturday already,” Lisa said. In December, Max had announced that the first big event of the new year at Pine Hollow would be an informal horse show known as a gymkhana. All the young riders at the stable would divide into teams of four to compete in all sorts of fun and exciting games and races that would test the skills they had been practicing in their riding classes.

Stevie looked up from her examination of the scabby wound on Magoo’s right knee. “I can’t believe we haven’t
come up with any good ideas for events yet,” she said, sounding a little grumpy.

Carole and Lisa exchanged glances. They knew that when Stevie said “we,” she was really referring mostly to herself. Stevie had a quick and amazingly creative mind. She was famous for inventing interesting and original ideas for gymkhana games. But this time she hadn’t managed to come up with a single one yet.

“Don’t feel bad, Stevie,” Lisa comforted her. “We’ve been a little busy lately.”

Stevie didn’t look comforted. “I mean, practically everybody else has given Max tons of ideas for wacky games,” she said. “Adam came up with an ice-cream-sundae-making race.” She frowned. “That one should have been mine.”

Carole laughed. “True,” she said. “And what about Polly’s idea for a backward obstacle course? That one will really be challenging.” Adam Levine and Polly Giacomin were both in The Saddle Club’s riding class.

“That’s a good one,” Lisa agreed. “But can you believe that even Veronica diAngelo came up with a good idea?” Veronica was The Saddle Club’s least favorite person at Pine Hollow. Her family was extremely wealthy, and Veronica thought that made her better than everybody else. She took a lot more pride in her expensive wardrobe than in her riding skills, although she was a better-than-average rider in spite of that. Her horse, a blue-blooded
champion named Danny, had cost more than Carole’s horse, Starlight, and Stevie’s horse, Belle, put together.

Stevie made a face at the mention of Veronica’s name. “It figures her game has to do with shopping,” she said. “It’s her favorite activity.” Veronica had suggested a race in which players had to match merchandise with the correct receipts and then return them to the right “store” to win. Max had seemed a little doubtful, but he had agreed to add the game to the gymkhana as long as Veronica promised to supply the props.

“There’s still a week until the gymkhana,” Carole told Stevie, reaching for a clean bandage. “I’m sure we can come up with some good ideas before then.”

“Okay,” Stevie said. “Let’s start now. I was thinking about doing some kind of race where two riders have to cross the ring together while tossing something back and forth between them.”

Lisa grinned. “That sounds hard. But fun.”

“What would they throw?” Carole asked. “Tennis balls or something?”

Stevie shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about that,” she said. “I guess tennis balls would work. But that seems kind of boring. Maybe we could use ripe tomatoes. Or raw eggs.”

“Ugh,” Lisa said, picturing egg yolk and tomato innards splattered everywhere. “I’m not sure Max will go for that. This gymkhana is going to be inside, remember?”

“Hmmm,” Stevie said. “That’s too bad. It would be a lot more fun if the riders had to go back to the starting line if they dropped the ball—or whatever—instead of just chasing it down. Eggs would work perfectly. So would water balloons, I guess. But that’s been done to death.”

“How about snowballs?” came a soft voice from nearby.

The three girls looked up in surprise. They hadn’t realized that anyone was close enough to hear their conversation. A slender girl with reddish brown hair and freckles was standing just a short way down the aisle. She had approached so quietly that The Saddle Club hadn’t noticed her until she had spoken. Only Magoo had been aware of the girl’s approach. His ears were pricked toward her curiously.

“Oh, hi, Britt,” Carole greeted the newcomer.

Stevie didn’t bother with greetings. “Snowballs!” she exclaimed. “It’s brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that?”

The girl just smiled timidly. Brittney Lynn had been coming to Pine Hollow for less than two weeks. She and her mother had just moved to the area, and Britt was riding at the stable on a trial basis. If things worked out, she would become a permanent member of The Saddle Club’s riding class.

So far, The Saddle Club could tell that Britt was a very good rider—almost as good as Carole. Other than that, they still didn’t know much about her. The new girl was painfully shy, which didn’t make getting to know her very easy. But they were trying.

“Have you been out on the trail, Britt?” Lisa asked. She had just finished rebandaging a gash on Magoo’s hind leg, so she stood and stretched her back.

Britt shook her head. “I was riding Diablo in the indoor ring,” she said, her voice so soft that Lisa had to lean forward a little to hear her. “Max wanted me to try him out.” Since Britt was new to the stable, Max was letting her try several of his horses before deciding which one she would ride in class.

“What did you think of him?” Carole asked. She had ridden Diablo herself in the past, and she knew that he was an appropriate choice for a rider of Britt’s ability. But the gelding could be feisty, and Carole wondered if his strong personality might intimidate such a shy girl.

“He’s a nice horse,” Britt said.

Carole exchanged glances with her friends. Was that really all Britt had to say about Diablo? Now that she stopped to think about it, Carole realized that Britt didn’t ever have much to say about anything. If someone had asked Carole what
she
thought of Diablo—or any other horse she’d ever met—her answer could easily have gone on for most of the day. Stevie and Lisa would have been almost as bad.

Britt didn’t seem to notice the glances. She was looking at Magoo, who was starting to get fidgety again. “How’s he doing?” she asked. Everyone at Pine Hollow knew Magoo’s story by now.

That took Carole’s mind off of Britt’s shyness immediately.
“He’s a little better,” she said. “But not much.” She went on to explain exactly why, in quite a bit of detail.

Lisa let her talk for about five minutes while she and Stevie finished cleaning and bandaging Magoo. Then she decided it was time to rescue Britt. “Carole,” she said sharply, interrupting a monologue about applying poultices to an infected area, “I think you’ve already told Britt what she wanted to know.”

“And more,” Stevie added with a wink at Britt.

Carole stopped talking. For a second, she looked annoyed at the interruption. Then she grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, Britt,” she said. “I guess I was getting a little carried away.”

“Maybe you should add ‘college professor’ to your list of possible careers,” Stevie suggested. She turned to Britt. “You see, Carole knows she wants to work with horses when she grows up. She’s just not sure whether she wants to be a competitive rider, a trainer, a riding instructor, a vet, a breeder—”

“Or all of the above,” Lisa finished for her.

Britt looked a little confused. She smiled uncertainly but didn’t say anything. There was a moment of awkward silence.

Suddenly Stevie remembered something. She glanced at her watch. “Oops,” she said. “I didn’t realize how late it was getting. I’ve got to get home.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Lisa said. “Your grandmother is coming tonight, isn’t she?”

Stevie nodded. “We’re having an early dinner, then we’re all going to meet her plane at the airport.” Stevie couldn’t wait to see her father’s mother again. Grandma Lake had moved from Pennsylvania to Arizona more than five years earlier, and this was her first trip back to the East Coast. She would be staying with Stevie’s family for two weeks. “It will be fun having her here,” Stevie added with a smile. “I don’t remember too much about Grandma—I was kind of young when she moved—but I know I was always crazy about her. So she must be pretty cool, right?”

“I’ve got to go, too,” Britt murmured, slipping away before the other girls could answer. She had almost reached the end of the aisle when someone came barreling around the corner, slamming into her.

“Watch where you’re going!” the newcomer exclaimed angrily, glaring at Britt. It was Veronica diAngelo.

Stevie frowned, momentarily forgetting all about her grandmother’s arrival. She dropped the rolled bandage she was holding and hurried toward the site of the collision. Britt, rubbing her elbow where Veronica had bumped it, stared wide-eyed at the other girl.

“Why don’t you take your own advice, Veronica?” Stevie said angrily. “You’re the one who wasn’t looking where you were going.”

“Mind your own business, Stevie,” Veronica said. She glared at Stevie, then turned her angry gaze on Britt. “Just watch it next time. Or else.” She stomped down the aisle
to Danny’s stall, which was right next to Magoo’s, and let herself in.

“Sorry about that, Britt,” Stevie said, making sure that her voice was loud enough for Veronica to hear from inside Danny’s stall. “But don’t worry. Most of the people at Pine Hollow aren’t that rude and obnoxious.”

“It’s no big deal,” Britt said in a voice that was practically a whisper. “I’ve got to go.” She hurried away.

Stevie was still scowling as she returned to her friends. “Veronica is such a jerk,” she muttered. “If we don’t watch out, she’ll scare Britt away from Pine Hollow for good.”

Carole and Lisa weren’t paying attention to her. They had hardly noticed the incident. Lisa was at Magoo’s head, trying to keep him as still as possible while Carole dabbed red liquid from a small glass bottle onto a few of his bandages.

“What are you doing?” Stevie asked.

Lisa looked up. “Mrs. Reg suggested it,” she said. Max’s mother, known to one and all only as Mrs. Reg, helped to run the stable, just as she had done when Max’s father was alive. She had a lifetime’s experience collecting good ideas for taking care of horses, and she was always willing to share them with the young riders at the stable.

Carole held up the bottle so that Stevie could see the label. “We’re putting a little hot pepper sauce on the bandages he’s been pulling at. The taste should make him leave them alone.”

“What a great idea,” Stevie said. “My mom did the same thing to keep the cat from eating her houseplants. It worked like a charm.”

“Be careful not to get any of it on his skin,” Lisa said worriedly, watching as Carole moved on to the bandage on Magoo’s knee. “If that stuff gets in his wounds, it will really sting.”

Carole just nodded and concentrated on her job. A few minutes later, she was finished. “Okay, that should do it,” she announced, screwing the cap back on the bottle and putting it in the grooming bucket. “And if I’m lucky, my dad won’t even notice that I swiped a bottle of his favorite super-spicy taco sauce.”

The others laughed, then helped return Magoo to his stall. They had already cleaned it and removed some of the straw to avoid another pileup under his belly. The gelding looked around his home carefully, then returned to the front of the stall to watch the girls as they hurried down the aisle.

When they reached the student locker room, Stevie sat down on a bench in front of her cubby and started to change out of her riding boots. Carole and Lisa sat down nearby to keep her company.

“I wonder if Britt likes it here,” Lisa mused. “It’s hard to tell, isn’t it?”

Stevie glanced up. “That’s for sure,” she said. “I mean, it’s hard to believe anyone
wouldn’t
like it here. But then again, Veronica could make anyplace look bad. I hope her
obnoxious attitude doesn’t scare Britt away before she gets to know some of the nice people here.” She grinned. “Like us, for instance.”

“I know one thing that could help make her happy,” Carole said. “Our latest Saddle Club project.”

“Definitely,” Lisa and Stevie agreed in one voice.

When Britt had first come to tour Pine Hollow with her mother, Ms. Lynn had asked The Saddle Club to help find her daughter a horse. Britt had had her own horse back in Ohio, but he had retired to pasture just before the family’s move. Ms. Lynn wanted to surprise Britt if possible, and The Saddle Club had agreed to keep the project a secret. They were planning to arrange for Britt to ride a number of different horses until she found one she really liked, without telling her what was really going on.

“Actually, I was thinking about stopping by Hedgerow Farms tonight,” Lisa said. “I have a ballet lesson, and Hedgerow is on the way to the studio. They have so many gorgeous horses—I’m sure we can find the perfect one for her there.”

Stevie nodded as she tossed her riding boots into her gym bag. “You may be right,” she said. “Although I also wouldn’t be surprised if we found Britt’s dream horse right here at Pine Hollow.” Most of Max’s horses were for sale if the right buyer came along. He was always pleased to match a rider to a “perfect” horse.