Rocking Horse (2 page)

“So will I,” Stevie said, “provided our best includes
beating Veronica—and Phil. Just kidding,” she added hastily when her friends frowned. Phil Marsten, Stevie’s boyfriend, rode with another Pony Club. He and his friends A.J. and Bart would also be a team at the rally. Stevie could get very competitive, and in the past she had nearly broken up with Phil because of it.

“I’m kidding about Phil,” she said, “but not about Veronica. I want to blow her team off the map.”

“Fortunately,” Lisa said as she watched Veronica take the last fence just as well as she’d taken the first, “it’s not all jumping. It’s not even all riding.”

“No. And I think Miss Perfect might have a little trouble with the horse care and stable management,” said Stevie.

“We can only hope,” Carole added with a wry grin. She didn’t worry much about winning, it was true, as long as she and Starlight did their best and learned from the experience. But she did want to best Veronica. It always bothered her how little Veronica seemed to care about her horse.

“We’ll be great,” Stevie said emphatically. She wished she felt as sure as she sounded. Danny was so stupendous, and Stevie had had some trouble with Belle lately. They just couldn’t jump coop jumps.

“Betsy’s going to take Coconut,” Lisa reported. “I heard her ask Max if she could.” Like Prancer, Coconut was a lesson horse. Betsy rode well, and Lisa
knew they weren’t going to be easy to beat. She just hoped Prancer didn’t act crazy at the rally.

“Quiet over there!” Max reminded them again. He spoke to Veronica about her ride, then sent Adam out on the course.

“And the week after the rally, there’s the dance!” Stevie whispered. “I can’t wait for that, either!”

“It’s not your dance,” Lisa whispered back teasingly. “What if you don’t get invited?” Willow Creek Junior High was hosting a big spring dance, outdoors, under a giant tent on the football field. Lisa and Carole both went to school there, but Stevie—and Veronica—went to Fenton Hall, a nearby private school.

“Of course I’m invited,” Stevie said a little indignantly. “Lisa, how could you forget? I’m your date, and Phil is Carole’s.”

Lisa laughed. “That’s right.” It was an open dance, which meant that the students could invite anyone they chose.

“After all, it’s not like we have other dates,” Carole said. “There isn’t any boy that I even half want to invite—right, Lisa?”

“Uh, right,” Lisa said. She adjusted the strap on her riding helmet to hide the fact that she was blushing a bit. In fact, there
was
a boy Lisa at least half wanted to invite—Phil’s friend Bart. He was very quiet, and Lisa didn’t know him that well, but she
was quiet too so they probably would be a good match. Bart was tall and cute, and he certainly rode well. So far Lisa hadn’t had the guts to admit her feelings to her friends. They weren’t very strong feelings, after all.

But why not invite him?
Lisa argued with herself.
The worst he can do is say no
.

And if he says no I’ll just die
, she admitted. Plus, how could she ever get up the nerve to ask Bart when she couldn’t even talk about him to her two best friends?

“Stevie, come ahead,” Max said. Stevie clucked to Belle encouragingly and they started out. The first three fences went fine, but the fourth was a coop. Coops were double-paneled fences often used in hunt country to cover part of a wire fence and make it jumpable. To Stevie, jumping a coop was like jumping an A-frame house sideways: It looked huge. Stevie Lake didn’t like to admit she was afraid of anything, but coops really bothered her.

She knew Max’s coop was not even three feet tall, shorter than many of the jumps in his field. She knew Belle could jump any three-foot obstacle with ease. But as Stevie turned the corner to the coop, she felt her own muscles tense. She held her breath and tried to make herself urge Belle forward while at the same time bracing herself for Belle to stop.

Across the field, Carole groaned. “C’mon, Stevie,” she whispered. “You can do it.”

“She’s telling Belle to stop at the same time as she’s telling her to jump,” Lisa whispered. Stevie’s legs were saying go forward, but her seat, shoulders, and hands were all saying whoa.

“I know,” Carole said. “Guess which one Belle is going to pick?”

Sure enough, Belle slid to a halt right in front of the coop. “Stevie, that was your fault,” Max said sternly.

“I know,” Stevie said miserably. Belle wasn’t truly afraid of coops—yet. But if Stevie convinced her that they were a problem, Belle might have a phobia for life. “I’m sorry, darling,” she whispered to her horse.

“Come again,” Max said. “And mean it this time.”

“Right.” Stevie licked her lips and circled Belle toward the fence. She tried really hard to tell Belle to jump—but Belle stopped.

“Keep breathing,” Max said patiently. “Look over the jump. Don’t look at it. Just think about being on the other side.”

This time Carole and Lisa could see that Stevie approached the jump much more confidently. But Belle had gotten into the habit of stopping in front of it, and she stopped again. Stevie tapped Belle encouragingly
with her crop and tried again. Belle stopped again.

“Oh no,” Lisa groaned. This was getting ugly. She felt so sorry for Stevie.

Suddenly Prancer’s ears went flat as Veronica cantered Danny by without warning.

“We’ll just give you a little lead,” Veronica said in her most annoying syrupy voice. She clucked to Danny, who breezed past Belle and jumped the coop as effortlessly as though it were a pole laid on the ground.

“The nerve of her!” Carole grumbled. Veronica hadn’t asked Max if she could help—she’d just butted in, as always.

Stevie held Belle in place with trembling hands. “Show-off!” she spit. She circled Belle, drove her heels into her flanks, and launched her over the coop. Belle cleared it easily.

“That’s enough!” Max said. “Both of you know better. Veronica, when I want your help, I’ll ask for it. Stevie, you know better than to lose your temper during a lesson. Take it again.”

Stevie jumped the coop again, but already some of her bravado was gone. Belle started to refuse and then jumped at the last minute, tossing Stevie awkwardly back into the saddle. Stevie jumped the rest of the course with her mouth set in a straight line, and Carole and Lisa knew she wasn’t over her problem
with coops. Veronica had more likely been a hindrance than a help—which was probably, Lisa realized, exactly her intention.

When Stevie finished jumping, Max gave them all a lecture. “You know I expect the proper Pony Club spirit from all my riders, whether in lessons or in competition,” he said. “That spirit includes cooperation, respect, and good sportsmanship. I’d better see it in action this weekend.”

“Yes, Max,” they chorused.

“As long as Miss Goody Two-shoes can be a good sport about losing,” Stevie muttered. From the look on Max’s face, she knew he had heard her. She didn’t care.

“ ‘T
HREE STABLE SHEETS
,’ ” Carole read from the list of equipment in her hand. It was Friday afternoon, and she, Lisa, and Stevie were making final preparations for the Pony Club rally.

“Check,” Lisa said, putting the folded sheets into Carole’s tack trunk. The Pony Club ran its events under very strict rules, and at rallies every team had to bring all its own equipment. If a team was found to be missing something important—a horse first aid kit, for example—it would be given penalty points.

“Next we need coolers, and then our saddles,”
Carole said. “Two can go in this trunk, and the other one can go in Stevie’s. Where is Stevie, anyway?”

“She’s helping Max get the ponies loaded,” Meg called from across the tack room, where she and Betsy were packing their team’s trunks. “Nickel was giving Jessica a hard time.”

“Oh,” Carole said understandingly. There were actually two rallies going on that weekend: one for younger, less experienced riders, and one for older riders such as The Saddle Club. Horse Wise, Pine Hollow’s Pony Club, had two teams entered in each competition. Since Max’s van could hold only eight horses, he was taking the younger kids and their ponies to the show grounds first, then coming back for The Saddle Club, Meg, Betsy, Veronica, and their horses.

“Here’s your saddle,” Lisa said, gently placing it in the trunk. “Do you have extra stirrup leathers?”

“Sure.” Carole’s brow creased in concentration. “Where did I put them?” She lifted the lid of the trunk they’d already packed and peered inside.

“Hey,” Stevie called to them as she came into the room. “The little kids are on their way, and Max will be back in forty-five minutes for us. We should be ready, he says.”

“Has anyone seen my lucky crop?” Veronica strolled into the tack room, elegantly dressed as always. She didn’t look ready for a weekend rally. Veronica
gave The Saddle Club a disdainful glance as she walked over to Meg and Betsy. “I thought I put it near my new show coat. I just can’t imagine going to a show without it—not, of course, that I’ll need luck.”

“No, of course not,” Stevie said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Veronica ignored her. “Have you seen it, Meg dear?” she asked. “It’s the one with the sterling silver top.”

“Didn’t you put it in your duffel bag?” Meg asked. “With all your other clothes?”

“Well—no. But maybe the maid packed it for me. I gave her explicit instructions. I’ll go check.”

“Grab that bridle hook from the office while you’re out there, will you?” Betsy asked. “Max said we could borrow that one. Is Danny ready to go?”

“I’ll ask Red,” Veronica said as she disappeared.

“She’ll ask Red?” Stevie asked in amazement. “Red knows if her horse is ready, but she doesn’t?”

Lisa elbowed Stevie in the ribs to silence her. Even though Meg and Betsy were pretty nice, they had both been Veronica’s friends for a long time. Stevie rolled her eyes but nodded. She took her saddle off its rack and tucked it into her tack trunk, then checked Carole’s list and added some baling twine and a pair of scissors. They would need them to hang buckets and feed tubs in the horses’ stalls.

Veronica came back in. “Good news!” she said. “My crop was in my suitcase! That silly maid tucked it in between my shirts, so I couldn’t find it before.”

“Silly maid,” Lisa said, shaking her head. “It’s so hard to find good help these days.”

“That’s great, Veronica,” said Betsy. “Do you have the bridle hook?”

Veronica looked blank. “What bridle hook?”

“The one Max said we could use for the rally.”

Veronica sighed. “I’m afraid I’m not exactly sure what you’re talking about,” she said. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to make sure Red finished oiling my bits.”

Betsy looked at Meg and shrugged. “I’ll go get it,” she said. Neither girl seemed to mind doing all Veronica’s work.

“How could she not know what a bridle hook is?” Carole asked. “Even for Veronica, that’s pretty obtuse.” Bridle hooks looked like miniature anchors. They couldn’t be mistaken for anything else around a stable.

“C’mon,” Stevie said with a snort. “Bridle hooks are used for cleaning tack, and we all know Veronica’s never done that in her entire life.”

“With a horse like Danny,” Meg said loftily, “she shouldn’t have to.” She shut her tack trunk with a click and walked out of the room.

“Poor Meg,” Lisa said. “She and Betsy always stick
up for Veronica, but Veronica never even seems to notice.”

“Meg chooses to do it,” Carole said. “Nobody makes her.”

“Well,” said Stevie, checking Carole’s list one last time before closing her trunk, “I’m sure she thinks that having Danny on her team is enough of an asset to make up for having Veronica. But unless Danny’s learned to take the horse care test or set up and clean up his own stall, I’m not sure he’ll make enough of a difference.”

As in all combined training events, the rally would put every horse and rider through three different riding tests: dressage, cross-country jumping, and show jumping. Any mistake made in competition would cost the pair penalty points. Rallies differed from other competitions, though, in that they required the teams to be able to care for their horses as well. Once at the show grounds, each team would be wholly on its own. The Saddle Club couldn’t ask Max for any help or advice except during their one official cross-country course walk. Adult inspectors could penalize them at any time for any infraction of the rules for horse care, tack care, organization, or cleanliness. The riders would also answer questions about different aspects of horse health.

Carole loved rallies. She loved being tested on everything
she knew, and she loved being totally responsible for Starlight. Of course, if she or Starlight was injured or became sick, Max and the other officials would help her right away. But as long as they were still competing, they were on their own.

“We’re a great team,” Carole said. “That’s the best thing about us and the worst thing about a person like Veronica. She won’t even think to help Meg and Betsy. They’ll end up carrying her all weekend.”

“They can’t lose too many points for horse care,” Lisa said glumly. “Danny’s in glorious condition, and I saw Veronica’s tack before Meg put it in her trunk. Red must have been up half the night cleaning it. It looks great.”