Jasmine drew on the reins and sat into her saddle. Outlaw returned to a walk.
“Good boy,” she whispered, and she patted his neck to thank him. It was bad enough that one rider had had to leave the ring. Jasmine didn’t want to be the second!
Somehow Jasmine and May got through the demonstration. When it was over, the riders all lined up in the middle of the ring facing the audience. The music stopped, and the audience stood and clapped and cheered for them. Jasmine gave a smile and a little nod to her parents. May waved to her sisters. The audience cheered more loudly. May and Jasmine could see Doc Tock and Mr. Takamura in the stands. Both were clapping, but both also had worried expressions on their faces. Where was Corey?
Max walked proudly into the ring and took a bow. Then he turned to his riders and gave them the signal to file out of the ring. The first part of the demonstration was over. After a short break, the six riders would do the special drill. Jasmine wondered if Corey and Sam would be able to perform.
The riders trotted their horses and ponies out of the ring and into the stable. In May’s ears, she could still hear the crowd clapping for them. But in her head, all she could hear were the words, “Where’s Corey?” She looked at Jasmine. She didn’t have to ask. Jasmine was wondering the same thing.
They could see that Sam was in his stall. His girth had been loosened and he was munching on hay. He didn’t look ready to perform in the special drill, and there was no sign of Corey.
The girls put their ponies in their stalls, then met at Sam’s stall. Max was there, too. He was looking at Sam.
“What about the small group demonstration?” May asked. “We’ve got to tell Corey it’s time!”
Max shook his head. “I don’t think Sam here is in any mood to perform for anybody.”
“I bet Corey isn’t, either,” said Jasmine.
“I think you’re right about that,” Max agreed. “The rest of the riders will go ahead without her.”
May and Jasmine exchanged miserable glances. After all her hard work, all those weeks of training, Corey would miss the special drill? This was terrible.
Max shrugged. “These things happen, girls. Everybody who works with horses knows that there are days when the horses just don’t work. Or sometimes it’s the riders. Right now what Corey needs most is a couple of friends. Do you know of any?”
May and Jasmine looked at one another.
“I think we know just the girls for the job,” said Jasmine.
Max smiled. “See you later.” He left to get the other five riders ready for the small group demonstration.
All around them in the stable, riders were busy and horses were excited. There was a lot of work to do in a short time.
The five riders who were going to proceed with the special demonstration were especially busy. They had to figure out how to do their performance without Corey.
“I don’t think I can watch this, anyway,” said May. “Not without Corey.”
“I know what you mean,” said Jasmine. “Let’s find her.”
They looked everywhere they could think of. They checked the loft. Corey wasn’t there. They looked in the tack room. She wasn’t there, either. They searched the feed room, even opening all the grain barrels. There was no sign of Corey.
Jasmine went out to the hay shed. May looked in the gardening shack. Together they checked Max’s office and the locker area. Corey wasn’t in any of those places.
They could hear the music of the demonstration. And when it was over, they heard the audience clapping. Then they heard a voice on the public address system. It was Judy Barker, the veterinarian who took care of the horses and ponies at Pine Hollow.
Judy thanked everybody who had come, then thanked everybody who had made a donation to CARL. She told them that they’d made a lot of money that afternoon. There was more applause.
“Hooray,” Jasmine cheered softly. May made a thumbs-up sign. Both of the girls were happy that they’d helped the animals of CARL. But both of them were also sorry about Corey’s ride. Maybe the news about the money would help cheer her up. The girls decided they had to find her.
“Maybe she went home,” Jasmine suggested.
“Maybe,” May agreed. “She’s supposed to go to her father’s tonight. Maybe she found him and they went to his apartment.”
Since her parents had divorced, Corey spent half her time at her mother’s house, which was between May’s and Jasmine’s homes. The other half she spent at her father’s apartment, which was near Pine Hollow and school.
“I don’t think so, May,” Jasmine said suddenly. “There’s her father now.”
Mr. Takamura was hurrying into the stable. “Where’s Corey?” he asked.
“We don’t know,” May said. “We thought maybe she was with you.”
Then Corey’s mother arrived at Sam’s stall. “Have you seen her?” she asked May and Jasmine.
May shook her head. “We’ve looked everywhere.”
“She was so excited about being chosen for the special demonstration,” said Mr. Takamura. “It’s a shame that Sam acted up.”
“Maybe Corey got too excited,” said Doc Tock. “Sam is very sensitive—he could have felt the pressure.”
“Corey did seem a little nervous,” said Jasmine thoughtfully. “She really wanted to help the animals from CARL.”
May nodded. “She helped calm us down. But she made herself more nervous!”
Doc Tock looked worried. “I think we’d better find her,” she said. “Could you girls take care of getting Sam home?”
“Sure,” said May.
“Of course,” Jasmine echoed. That had been the plan from the beginning. May’s father would bring Sam home in his horse trailer, along with Macaroni and Outlaw.
May and Jasmine got right to work. First they took off Sam’s tack. He still seemed high-strung and nervous. But when they began to groom him, the pony relaxed. The more they brushed and rubbed, the calmer he became.
“It’s almost as if we’re brushing the anger and tension out of him,” said May.
“He really was tense, wasn’t he?” said Jasmine.
“Sure was. And that made Corey nervous,” May said.
“Or maybe, as Doc Tock said, it was the other way around,” Jasmine suggested.
“Are you girls grooming Sam for Corey?” Red O’Malley asked.
“Yes,” May told the stablehand. “Corey … uh …” Her words trailed off. She wasn’t quite sure how to explain it.
“It’s a shame about Sam,” Red said with a shrug. “Just wasn’t his day. I tried to tell Corey not to take it so hard.”
“You saw her?” Jasmine asked. “Where was she?”
“I saw her after she put Sam in his stall,” Red explained. “Like I said, I tried to tell her not to take it so hard. The poor kid was crying too much to listen. She mumbled something about never riding again. Then she wandered out of here, as if all she could think about was getting away from that pony of hers.”
“Did you see where she went?” May asked.
Red shook his head. “No. After she left I went back to my favorite chore.” He grinned. “Mucking out stalls.”
“Thanks, Red,” Jasmine said. “We’ll see you later.”
The two girls groomed Sam in silence for a few minutes.
Finally Jasmine spoke. “Did you hear that, May? Corey told Red she never wanted to ride again.”
May nodded solemnly. “It’s terrible. We can’t let her do that. How can one of the Pony Tails give up riding?”
“But what can we do?” Jasmine asked. “We can’t make her get on Sam again.”
“You’re right,” May said slowly. A second later her face lit up. “I’ve got an idea.”
“Uh-oh.” Jasmine put her hands on her hips and stared at her friend. “Is this one of your little ideas, or a big one?” she demanded.
“A big one,” May went on, sounding more and more excited. “Remember the first time Macaroni threw me?” she asked.
Jasmine nodded. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“A lot,” May replied. “After that I felt just like Corey feels now. I was so mad at my pony, I didn’t want to be with him. I even told my father I never wanted to ride again.”
“But you got back into the saddle,” Jasmine pointed out.
“That’s right,” May declared. “And that’s because my father didn’t force me.”
“Huh?” Jasmine was confused. “Your father’s a horse trainer. I thought riding instructors always made you get right back on the horse.”
“Dad thinks it’s best to let the rider decide that,” May replied. “That’s what we have to do with Corey,” she said firmly. “Let her decide.”
Jasmine stared at her friend. May’s father knew a lot about horses. If he said the best thing to do was to leave it up to the rider, then that was what they should do.
The problem was, Jasmine knew a lot about May. And one thing she knew about May was that her big ideas sometimes went haywire. Corey was very important to the Pony Tails. They couldn’t afford to make a mistake where she was involved.
“Are you sure about this, May?” Jasmine asked. “We shouldn’t talk to Corey about Sam or the drill?”
“That’s right,” May said as she swept the brush over Sam’s flank. “The best thing we can do is not say a word about ponies to Corey.”
“But if we can’t talk to her about ponies, what are we going to talk about?” Jasmine asked.
“We’ll think of something,” May answered cheerfully.
Jasmine wasn’t so sure. The Pony Tails not talking about ponies was like … grooming a pony without a curry comb. Impossible!
As she began combing out Sam’s mane, Jasmine decided to go along with May’s idea. But one more worry was nagging at her.
“Has your father tried this with lots of riders?” she asked May.
“Yup,” May replied.
“What does he do if the rider won’t get back on the horse?” Jasmine went on. “What if she never rides again?”
“Listen, Jasmine,” May replied. “Corey’s pony-crazy, just like us. She can’t give up riding forever. We have to be patient, that’s all.”
Jasmine finished her part of grooming Sam, then dropped the tools into Corey’s grooming bucket. She hoped May was right. But Red’s words were still playing inside her head:
Corey mumbled something about never riding again.
4 Corey’s New Friend
The goat lifted his head to look at Corey. She couldn’t figure out what he was doing in his cage in the middle of the paddock.
She wiped the tears off her cheek. “What’s the matter, little goat?”
As if to answer, the tiny kid nuzzled something in the torn newspaper that lined the bottom of his cage. Corey watched as he bit firmly at something, then lifted his head. It was his bottle. It was full of milk, but he couldn’t get any of it. The bottle was supposed to be propped in a special holder. He’d obviously been so hungry, he’d pulled it out of the holder. Now he couldn’t get a drop of milk out of it.
“I can help you,” Corey said. She’d been useless with Sam, but she knew how to help the goat.
The goat blinked at her curiously. In spite of her tears, she smiled back. The little goat was very cute.
Corey had helped her mother take care of many orphaned animals like this one. All she had to do was clip the bottle back into the rack.
She opened the cage and reached in for the bottle. The kid nuzzled her hand.
She patted him softly and then scratched his neck. After a few seconds, he moved his head so that she could scratch the other side of his neck.
“Oh, so you’re the boss now?” she teased him. She could have sworn he nodded.
Then he stepped back and leaned down toward the bottle. His message was clear.
Corey picked up the bottle. She was about to snap it back into the rack when the kid stuck his head out of the cage. He wanted her to feed him!
Corey helped the baby into her lap. Then she laid him down on his back in her crossed legs, his head resting on her left knee. She held the bottle in her right hand and offered it to him. He reached up eagerly, grabbing the nipple between his lips and sucking hard. Some of the milk dribbled out of his mouth and onto Corey’s riding pants. Corey didn’t mind. Most of it was getting where it belonged. That was the important part.
In a few minutes, the kid released the nipple. His little eyes shut and, before Corey knew what was happening, he fell sound asleep—right there in her lap!
She looked at his face. She saw nothing but trust and joy. She’d done everything right with this goat—how different it felt from being with Sam today!
Corey sighed. She loved Samurai—she really did. But sometimes he could be so stubborn and naughty.
Once not too long before, Sam had run away for a whole week. Then for five days last month, he’d refused to jump when everyone else in Pony Club was practicing jumping. And today he’d ruined the drill for everyone—the audience, the Pony Club, and Max. Corey wondered how Max had handled the special drill. It was supposed to be done with six riders, not five!
As she thought about today’s performance, Corey got furious all over again. Then she remembered what her mother said: Training ponies was a long, hard job that required patience.
Well, I’m totally out of patience! Corey thought. Sam’s on his own now!
In her lap, the goat stirred. Corey patted him gently, then glanced back over at his cage. This time Corey noticed the big red letters stamped across his paperwork. ADOPTED, they said.
That’s good news, Corey thought. It meant he’d have a loving home.
But inside Corey felt a prickle of worry. Why had someone just left the goat here? Corey had fallen in love with this tiny creature. She couldn’t bear it if he hadn’t found a good home. Lots of people who adopted animals didn’t know how to take care of them. What if the people who were adopting this goat didn’t take care of him properly? He was still a baby. What if they let him get sick or—Corey could barely say the word to herself—die?
“Oh, no, Alexander, that’s not going to happen to you,” she said. Without realizing it, she’d just given the kid a name. “No way. I’m going to take care of you myself!”
Then, without another thought, Corey took the sleeping kid in her arms and stood up. She had to get him home and she had to do it right away. In a matter of minutes, the riding show would be over. The goat’s new owner would probably be looking for him.
Corey slipped Alexander back into his cage and clipped the door shut. She tore the adoption papers off the cage and ripped them up. She added the tiny pieces of paper to the newspaper in the bottom of Alexander’s cage. She picked the cage up by its handle and hurried out of the paddock, away from Pine Hollow and away from the crowd around the arena. The only thing on her mind was that she had to get home before her father got there. Otherwise, she’d never get Alexander into her room.
5 Back Home
“Okay, Sam, it’s time for you to go home,” May said to Corey’s pony. She and Jasmine had already unloaded Macaroni and Outlaw from the van. Now it was Sam’s turn.
Whenever Corey stayed at her father’s apartment, May and Jasmine took care of Sam. They loved Corey’s pony almost as much as she did. They took very good care of him.
May took his lead. Jasmine patted his flank. He stepped forward and was out of the van in a flash.
“Very good!” said May.
“I think he’s trying to make up for being naughty this afternoon,” said Jasmine.
“I don’t think that was really his fault,” said May. “He can’t help it. It’s in his nature to get into trouble.”
Jasmine laughed. “Isn’t that exactly what you told your teacher about yourself last week?” she teased.
May nodded. “Sam and I have a lot in common,” she said. “We both do things we don’t mean to sometimes.”
She hugged him. “Don’t worry, Sa
m. Tomorrow will be better. And we’ll take good care of you until Corey gets back,” May promised.
She took his lead rope and he followed her right into Corey’s backyard, where his stable was. Corey’s mother was there, waiting for them.
“I thought you’d want to know we found Corey. She’s at her father’s apartment. I just talked to him. She went straight there from Pine Hollow.”
“Is she still feeling bad?” asked Jasmine.
“Her father says she’s fine—though she’s spending a lot of time in her room,” Doc Tock replied. “I’m sure she’ll be herself again by tomorrow.”
“Sam too,” Jasmine added.
Doc Tock nodded. “They’ll both be okay.” A frown crossed her face. “I wish I could say the same for one of the CARL animals.”
“What’s the problem?” Jasmine asked. “I thought lots of animals got adopted today.”
“They did,” Doc Tock said. “But a goat we brought to the demonstration is missing. It’s very strange. The owner left the goat in its cage in a paddock at Pine Hollow. When he came back to get it, the goat and the cage were gone.”
“That cute little black-and-white one?” May asked.
“That’s the one,” said Doc Tock. “Some of our volunteers spent a long time looking for it after the show was over. There wasn’t a sign of it, though.” The vet sighed. “The goat is very young—it can’t survive on its own. If someone took him, I hope he or she knows how to care for him.”
“He’s so cute!” Jasmine said. “I hope nothing happens to him.”
“We can look for him some more next time we go to Pine Hollow,” said May. “We’ll tell our friends, too.”
“Good,” said Doc Tock. “That will be very helpful. Thank you. And thank you, too, for looking after Sam.”
“No problem,” said May.
“We’re the Pony Tails,” Jasmine reminded her.
“Corey is lucky to have such nice and pony-crazy friends,” Doc Tock said.
It didn’t take long for the girls to settle the pony. They put a sheet on him and gave him fresh hay and water. Sam chomped on the hay happily.
Pony Tails 06- Corey in the Saddle Page 2