Show Horse (2 page)

“Well, after this many months you can be fairly
certain that it’s healed, but there are some other signs. First of all, she’s not showing any indication of lameness. All the swelling is gone and has been for a while. There’s no tenderness anywhere—I mean she doesn’t flinch or pull back when I hold and examine her foot. That’s enough to know it’s healed.”

That made Carole feel pretty good. What did that Cam know?

“And one more thing,” Judy continued. “I x-rayed it yesterday, just to be sure. It’s fine.”

“Oh,” Carole said. It was all she could muster. Cam had been right!

Lisa made a final adjustment on the stirrups and announced she was ready. Stevie opened the stall door, and Carole handed her the reins. Lisa proudly led Prancer to the door of the stable and stood on the mounting block to get into the saddle of the very tall horse. Then, following one of Pine Hollow’s oldest traditions, she touched the good-luck horseshoe. No rider who had touched that before going out on a horse had ever been seriously hurt. Lisa didn’t think she was going to need any more good luck than she already had, though. What could be better luck than just to have the chance to ride this beautiful bay Thoroughbred? She took a deep breath, sighed contentedly, and signaled Prancer to begin.

Prancer seemed eager. She had spent most of the last few months in a box stall or being walked sedately around a paddock. Now she had a rider on board, and everything seemed back to normal. Prancer almost
sighed herself with contentment as they entered the schooling ring. She picked up an easy walk and within a few steps was trotting.

Lisa loved every step. She could barely believe the smooth and rapid gait. She hadn’t even told Prancer to trot, and now the horse was doing it, exactly as she wanted her to. Maybe Prancer just knew!

Lisa posted to Prancer’s trot, rising slightly with every other beat of the gait. She could feel the wind brush her hair, and she was only vaguely aware of the posts and rail of the fencing as she and her mount sailed by them. Even her friends, who stood and watched, faded into the blur that was the world beyond herself and Prancer. It was wonderful.

“Try a canter now,” Judy said.

Lisa began to slide her outside foot back to ask Prancer for a canter, but the horse had heard the word and knew what it meant. Prancer’s canter was, if possible, even better than her trot! Lisa sat easily in the saddle and rode with the gentle rocking motion, feeling completely at one with her horse.

“Now walk again,” Judy said.

Lisa tightened up on her reins and sat more deeply in the saddle. It should have been enough to bring Prancer back to a trot and then a walk, but Prancer was having too much fun cantering.

She gripped more tightly with her legs and pulled gently on the reins. The canter slowed, but it didn’t stop.

“A walk,” Judy reminded her.

Quickly Lisa wrapped the reins around her hands to draw on them some more. She fairly pulled herself into the saddle by gripping more tightly with her legs, and then she yanked at the reins. Prancer got it. She slowed to a trot and then a walk. Lisa completed her circle of the ring and brought the horse to a stop where Judy and her friends were standing.

“That was
wonderful
!” she declared.

“We could tell already—by the gigantic grin on your face,” Stevie joked.

“Doesn’t she have marvelous gaits?” Carole asked.

“Absolutely,” Lisa said.

“She was a little hard to control, though, wasn’t she?” Judy asked.

Lisa shrugged. “Not really,” she said. “Poor old Prancer’s been cooped up for so long, she just wanted a chance to let it all out. I can understand that, can’t you?”

“Oh, sure,” Judy said. “I can understand it, but you can’t let her get away with it.”

“I know, I know,” Lisa said. One of the things she both loved and hated about horseback riding was that everybody always seemed to notice everything she did wrong. She knew that almost all riding mistakes were mistakes made by riders, not horses. Prancer hadn’t made the mistakes, she had. She hadn’t tugged hard enough or fast enough to get Prancer to stop. It wouldn’t happen again, though. And the next time she rode Prancer, it would be a perfect ride, because
there was absolutely no doubt in Lisa’s mind that Prancer was a perfect horse!

“So how’s the patient doing?” Max asked Judy as he joined the group. He hadn’t been there to watch Lisa’s ride, but he could tell it had been a success in Lisa’s mind.

“The patient appears totally fit,” Judy assured him. “Everything is clear and clean, and she’s showing no signs of any lingering problems. I declare Prancer ready for a full load of work—riding and a lot more training.”

“Well, that’s just wonderful news,” Max said. “And that means this is a day just full of good news.…”

Stevie glanced at her friends, and the look on her face was a clear I-told-you-so. She’d earned it.

“Yes?” Carole asked expectantly.

“I’ve just heard from the Briarwood Horse Show. They’ve invited me to send some of my students to compete the week after next.”

“
Young
students?” Carole asked.

Max smiled. “Yes, young students. All the Junior riders are there by invitation, and they said I could pick four riders.”

There was a moment of quiet while the information sank in. On the surface it sounded awfully good, but four was an ominous number. Would Max send all three of them? If not, then who? And who else?

Sitting in the saddle of a Thoroughbred horse, Lisa felt bold. “Any idea who you’ll send?” she asked, speaking for them all.

“Well, I’ve had to think about it for a long time,” Max said. “There are a lot of considerations. First of all, I need to send riders who have something to offer a competition. Then, I also want riders who will learn something from it. I told the man at Briarwood that I have this obstreperous threesome who think they know everything and who are always coming up with wild schemes and who get themselves into trouble and that they also talk a lot in class …”

“Max!” Stevie said. She just couldn’t stand the suspense.

“But he said to send them along anyway. He promised to teach them a thing or two.”

“You mean us, don’t you?” Carole asked.

“Of course he means us!” Stevie snapped. “Who else is obstreperous and talks a lot in class?”

Max laughed and shook his head. “I told the man. He’s been warned! So, right after class, come into my office and let’s talk. But don’t be late for class. It starts in ten minutes!”

Carole snapped a salute. “Aye, aye, sir,” she said. Max clicked the heels of his boots together and left the girls to get ready.

There wasn’t time to talk while they hurried to tack up their horses. They didn’t want to be late for class. And they didn’t want to talk in class because, although Max had joked about it a little bit, he really didn’t like it, and this was no time to make him angry. Each of them found this frustrating because there was so
much
to say.

Carole was thrilled with the idea of competing at Briarwood. It was a very famous horse show. She didn’t think her friends knew what an honor it was to be able to be there. She could hardly wait.

Stevie was itching to find out who the fourth young rider from Pine Hollow would be. There were a lot of pretty good riders, and there were some who weren’t so good but who might do well in a beginner class. There was only one person she didn’t want there: Veronica diAngelo. Veronica was a snobbish girl who owned a purebred Arabian and who cared more about her horse’s pedigree than about her own riding skills. In spite of that, Stevie had to admit that Veronica was a pretty good rider.

Lisa was still so excited about her ride on Prancer that it was almost all she could think about. She’d been assigned another horse, Barq, to ride for class, though she would have preferred Prancer. She kept trying to pretend that Barq
was
Prancer. Barq was a perfectly nice horse, but Barq was no Prancer. Still, if she closed her eyes…

“Lisa? Are you asleep?” Stevie asked just before they entered the arena for class.

“No, just dreaming,” she told her friend, and it was true. She was dreaming about the magic moment when she and Prancer would enter the ring at the Briarwood Horse Show.

S
TEVIE GROANED INWARDLY
. It would have been impolite to do it out loud, but it was very tempting. She was standing in Max’s office, between her two best friends. Next to Lisa stood the fourth member of the Pine Hollow team going to Briarwood—Veronica diAngelo. Max didn’t seem to notice Stevie’s unhappiness. At least he wasn’t paying any attention to it. He was very busy explaining what would happen at the horse show.

“All right now, here’s how it works,” he began. “You are all Intermediate riders in the Junior Division. There are five different classes for you each, and each class stresses different skills and talents. Don’t assume that because you’re good riders you will do well in all of the classes. That’s not always the case.”

Carole thought he was talking to her. She did think of herself as a good rider and hoped she would do well in all the classes, but she wasn’t sure she
expected
it of herself.

Lisa’s mind leapt in another direction. She felt that Max was telling her that although she was the newest rider of the group, it didn’t mean she couldn’t succeed at the show. She smiled to herself, glad that Max was giving her such assurances.

Stevie, on the other hand, thought it was interesting that Max had found such a subtle way to tell Veronica she wasn’t going to sweep the ribbons. After all, nothing spurred Stevie to excellence like competition. This show was going to be a wonderful opportunity for Stevie and her friends to humiliate Veronica!

Veronica just stood and smiled smugly while Max spoke.

“The first class of the day for you will be Fitting and Showing. You’ll lead your horses into the ring without any saddles on them. The judges will be looking for grooming, conformation, and manners. The second class is Equitation. In that, you will be showing your riding skills. You’ll follow instructions about gaits, directions, turns, and gait changes. These will be many of the same things we cover every week in class. If you have been listening to me, rather than daydreaming or talking among yourselves, you will do well in this class.”

Lisa squirmed uncomfortably. She’d daydreamed a lot in the last class. Max had had to tell her twice to
trot, and he’d spoken to her several times about keeping her heels down. Although he often told her she was making a lot of progress as a rider, he still managed to point out four or five of her riding faults at a time! She was going to have to work hard to be worthy of this horse show. She promised herself she’d stop daydreaming altogether. As of now.

“The next class is a Pleasure class. That’s just what it sounds like. There are no tricky maneuvers expected, just good, solid riding and a good relationship between horse and rider. This is the class where that’s the most important. If you work well with your horse and if you both enjoy it, you’ll do well in this one.”

In spite of her vow only a few seconds earlier, Lisa’s mind wandered at the mention of the word “pleasure.” Prancer was a pleasure. Prancer was wonderful, and riding Prancer was a joy.…

“… over poles and around cones, as if they were actual obstacles …”

“What?” Lisa asked, startled back to reality.

“Trail class,” Max said patiently. “It takes place in a ring, but the route that you ride will be set up like a pretend trail. There may be a few low fences—perhaps six inches high—just so the judges can see how you prepare your horses for obstacles like that.”

“Oh,” Lisa said. She wondered if she’d missed anything and made a note to ask Stevie and Carole about it later.

“And then, finally, there is the Jumping class. It’s hunter jumping, and the jumps won’t be over three
and a half feet. What the judges are looking for here is style. They want to see you riding at an even gait, going over the jumps smoothly, with takeoff an appropriate distance from the jump—again, everything you’ve learned in class with me over the past few years. I’ll schedule some special prep classes for the four of you before we go so you can each put your best foot forward at Briarwood. I want you to remember a few things, though, and one above all. This may be a chance for you to show off skills and win a ribbon or two, but most of all, it is a chance for you each to learn. You will learn from your own mistakes, and you will learn from other people’s talents and skills. Keep your eyes and your minds and your hearts open at all times.”

He looked at each of them solemnly as he spoke. With that look, the girls found themselves readjusting their initial reactions to going to the show. Carole wasn’t so sure then that she would do well in every event. Stevie wasn’t positive she’d do better than Veronica. Lisa decided that she had to find a way to surpass everybody’s expectations.

“Now then, you will each need a permission slip signed by your parents. Here you go,” he said, handing them out. “I’ll need them back by next week, at the latest. And I need you each to tell me officially which horse you intend to ride in the show since you are entered as a pair. Carole?”