by Annie Bryant
Meanwhile, Mrs. Fields was explaining in a calm voice to Kelley what lay ahead. “You girls are so lucky. I’ve never ridden a horse,” her grandmother said. “But I always wanted to. When I was your age, I had friends who rode. Oh, the stories they told. Riding on trails through the woods and going to horse shows.”
Kelley clapped her hands, “Ha! I will ride a horse today.”
Mrs. Fields looked fondly at both of her granddaughters.
Katani refused to respond and instead turned to stare out the window. She wasn’t ready to admit how the lush green trees and stone walls appealed to her finely tuned sense of style.
When they got closer, Grandma Ruby passed the directions to Katani. Grandma Ruby was famous for getting lost, and Katani didn’t feel like driving around for an extra hour or two.
Katani was relieved when she saw a small sign that read High Hopes. She shouted, “There it is, Grandma! Turn here.”
Grandma Ruby rolled onto a country road that was surrounded by big maple trees. On the corner was a big old shingle-style house that looked like it was once a hotel. Just past the house was a small riding stable. As they pulled in, Kelley began to bounce up and down. There were horses in the paddock. Curious, they stuck their heads over the fence to stare at Big Blue. Katani put her fingers to her mouth to keep from smiling. She figured the horses had never seen anything like Big Blue before.
Katani had imagined a huge pasture, white fences, and lots of thoroughbred horses running around. What she saw instead was a small brown weathered barn that looked like it might blow over in the next strong wind. There was a fence, but it was brown, not white. And there wasn’t an endless pasture area, just a ring with a clump of grass in the middle. The recent rain had left the area muddy, and the ruts in the driveway were filled with water. Not the stuff of TV, Katani thought.
“We’re here!” Grandma Ruby sang out. “Come on, girls.”
“Ooooo!” Kelley said when she opened the door. She pinched her nose closed with her fingers.
Kelley was right. It was smelly. Katani promised herself that she would take a half-hour shower when she got home. Okay, maybe an hour.
“Look Katani. Horses!” Kelley yelled, and pointed to two horses in the tiny ring. Two more horses were tied up to the side of the barn. “Just like on the carousel. I want to ride a pink-and-lavender one. Do they have a pink-and-lavender one?”
“These are real horses,” Mrs. Fields explained to Kelley. “Horses are brown, and black, and white, and gray. Some even have spots.”
Suddenly, one of the horses in the ring let out a big snort and stamped his foot on the ground. Kelley jumped about a foot in the air and grabbed hold of her sister. Katani felt like jumping too. Those horses were big!
Mrs. Fields led her reluctant granddaughters to the fence. Something had spooked the horses and they began a slow trot around the ring, their manes flying behind them in the wind. The horse with a white splotch on its forehead held its tail high. Katani had to admit that he looked beautiful and proud. She leaned her head over the fence to get a closer look
“Oooh,” Kelley exclaimed as the horses moved closer. Suddenly, the one with a splotch on its forehead stopped and reached its head over the rails. Kelley jumped back. Unafraid, Grandma Ruby stuck her flat palm out and let the horse nuzzle her.
“You are one lucky girl, Kelley. You’re going to learn to ride!” Kelley looked at her grandmother with a comical face that seemed to say, “I’m not too sure about this.”
“This is a great opportunity for you, too, Katani. Not everyone gets a chance to do this type of thing.”
Katani knew better than to roll her eyes in front of her grandmother, but she didn’t smile either.
Yeah, Katani thought. I hope I don’t ruin my jeans.
The horse continued to paw the ground and snort. Katani wondered what that horse wanted.
“I want to go home now,” Kelley said. “I don’t want to ride real horses. I want to ride on the carousel.”
Before Grandma Ruby could respond, a young woman walked over. She had short, curly blonde hair and big, friendly, blue eyes. She was wearing jeans, a bulky sweater, a vest, and some kind of mud boots. Katani thought she looked like an ad in a magazine.
“You must be Mrs. Summers,” the woman said, offering her hand to Grandma Ruby.
“No, I’m Kelley’s grandmother, Mrs. Fields,” Grandma Ruby said, taking the woman’s hand and shaking it.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Claudia McClelland. You must be Katani. And YOU must be Kelley. You girls can call me Claudia. So, have either of you ever been on a horse before?”
This woman is all business, thought Katani, who shook her head no. She knew she was supposed to be the brave one, but she didn’t feel particularly brave at the moment.
“I rode a horse once. It was pink and lavender. It was pretty…so pretty,” Kelley enthused.
“It was on a carousel,” Katani interrupted. She didn’t want Kelley to go off on a tangent about pretty pink-and-lavender horses.
Claudia nodded like she knew all about the episode last Saturday. She reached up and patted the horse’s head.
“Well, I see you met Sadie here,” she said as Sadie nuzzled her hair. Katani made a face. There was no way she wanted some hungry horse sticking its face in her hair! Claudia gently pushed Sadie’s head away. “Let’s head to the stable. I have some horses to introduce you to.”
Katani slowly followed Claudia to the side of the stable where the two horses were tied up. Katani thought the brown, shiny leather saddles were beautiful.
“Katani, you’re nice and tall,” Claudia observed.
If she says anything about basketball I’m going to scream, Katani thought. Everyone she met assumed she played basketball, just like her sister Patrice. But the truth was, Katani wasn’t very good at basketball, or even that interested in sports. She was always the kind of girl who stood in the back hoping that the ball wouldn’t come to her.
But Claudia didn’t say a word about basketball.
“Your long legs will go well with Penelope here,” Claudia said, patting the rump of a tall brown horse. “And I’ve got a special little guy for you, Kelley. His name is Wilbur. Would you like to come over and say hello?”
“Wilbur. Wilbur. Wilbur,” Kelley chanted as she approached the little gray horse with the big soft eyes.
Claudia laughed. She knew that repeating Wilbur’s name was a good sign. Tentatively, Kelley reached up and touched Wilbur’s soft nose. He let out a soft whoosh. Kelley turned. “He’s talking to me.”
Mrs. Fields smiled. “Perhaps he is, sweetheart.”
“We’re going to start by grooming the horses,” Claudia said, grabbing a box of brushes.
“Grooming?” Katani asked.
“Yes. First, we’re going to curry their coats.” Claudia slipped a brush over her hand.
“Curry? Isn’t that a spice?” Katani asked.
“Yes, but this is a different kind of curry,” Claudia explained, handing Katani an oval brush about the size of her hand. It had a wide band on the back and Katani slipped her hand inside.
“Are you left-or right-handed?” Claudia asked Kelley.
Kelley pulled away.
“She’s left-handed,” Katani said. She held up her hand to show Kelley how the curry fit over her hand.
“Before we ride the horses, we brush them all over,” Claudia said.
“Why?” Katani asked.
“It’s relaxing for us, but especially the horses. Also, it gets rid of any dirt or grit from the paddock. Besides, it doesn’t feel good if the horse has grit or dirt between the saddle and their skin. It could rub ’em raw when we are riding.”
Katani didn’t want poor Penelope to have raw skin because she hadn’t done a good enough job of grooming.
“Don’t worry, Katani. Penelope here knows you’ll treat her just right. Why don’t you start brushing her neck?”
As soon as Katani touched Penelope’s neck, the h
orse shivered. It was freaky. Katani wanted to pull back her hand. She wanted to run from the stable and climb back into Big Blue and lock the door, but she was supposed to be setting a good example for Kelley. So, she put her hand back on the horse’s neck and softly stroked it with the curry brush. The horse turned its head and its huge, bowling ball eye rolled sideways to see what her new friend was doing.
Katani took a step back.
“It’s not going to bite me, right?” she asked softly, under her breath, hoping that Kelley couldn’t hear her.
She did. “Bite. Bite. Bite away little horsie,” Kelley repeated in a sing-song voice.
“No!” Claudia assured her. “Penelope here is a real lady.” Claudia reached over and gave the horse another pat. “She’s just getting used to you, just like you’re getting used to her,” Claudia said. Katani stepped forward and began patting Penelope’s neck. “Okay, girl, you’re going to be my friend.”
Claudia showed Kelley how to make long, strong strokes and told her to always brush the hair in the same direction. Claudia had Kelley come up and stand next to her. Together they brushed Wilbur, who stood perfectly still like the little gentleman that he was. When Kelley was finished, she threw her hands around the horse’s neck and laid her head down on him. “Wilbur, Wilbur, Wilbur,” she sighed.
Meanwhile, Katani paused as she reached Penelope’s rump. “You want me to brush back here?”
Claudia chuckled at Katani’s expression. “Don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of warning. But be careful to never stand directly behind a horse. They can’t see back there and if they get scared, they might kick.”
“Whoa.” Katani made sure that she stayed to the side of Penelope as she brushed her rump with long, strong strokes.
As they brushed, Claudia told them that the girls would eventually learn to clean the hooves and saddle the horses. And of course, they would have to clean out the stalls, too.
Clean out the stalls? But there’s HORSE GUCK in there and stuff, Katani grimaced. Brushing a horse was one thing, but shoveling horse poop was quite another.
But before she could think too much about this, Claudia called for two of her assistants to come and help the girls get started.
“We’ve got to get these horses saddled and get you girls mounted up.”
“Mount…Mountain grown—the richest kind,” Kelley mimicked one of her favorite commercials.
Claudia chuckled as two women in jeans joined her. “Girls, I’d like to introduce you to our volunteers today—Samantha and Catherine.”
“Hey! I’m Sam,” the older of the two said, raising her hand.
“Hi. Nice to meet you,” Catherine said in a quiet voice. She held her hands behind her back. She seems a little timid, Katani thought.
“Catherine is new,” Claudia explained. “But Sam’s been with us a long time, right?”
“Right!” Sam said with a big smile.
“You first, Katani,” Claudia said, dragging a wooden box over to the side of the horse. “This is an English saddle, so you don’t have a horn to grab onto, but with your long legs, I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. Step up on the box. Put your foot here in the stirrup and swing your other leg up and over.”
Katani stood still as if she were rooted to that one spot.
“Sam and Catherine will make sure that Penelope holds still for you, not that she’s one to be fidgety. Penelope is a good ol’ girl.”
Penelope acted like she knew exactly what Claudia had said. She snorted and pawed the ground. Kelley jumped back and grabbed onto Katani. “I don’t want to ride a real horse. I want to ride on the carousel. I want my pink-and-lavender horse. I don’t like Penelope one bit! No, sir, not one bit!”
“Don’t you worry about a thing, Kelley. Katani’s going to show you just how easy this is. Before you know it, you will be riding like a real champ,” Claudia said. “Come on, Katani. Step right up here on the box.”
Katani was trying to act brave for Kelley, but the truth was, she was scared to death. Brushing Penelope was one thing—but sitting on top of her was a whole ’nother thing. Suddenly, Penelope looked huge…super huge. She looked over at her grandmother, hoping for a reprieve. But Mrs. Fields only mouthed the word “courage.”
Katani tried not to think about how nervous she felt and instead concentrated on Claudia’s directions. Katani put her left foot in the stirrup and swung her right leg over the horse, found the other stirrup, and settled into the saddle. She leaned forward, straightened her shoulders, and pressed her heels down in the stirrups.
“Hey, would you look at that?” Claudia said, letting loose with a long, low whistle.
“What?” Katani asked.
“You sure you’ve never been on a horse before?”
“No. Why?”
“You look good up there, Katani. Look at that, Sam,” Claudia said, motioning to Katani.
“Yup, I see,” Samantha said, smiling up at Katani.
“See what?” Katani wanted to know.
“Come here, Catherine, I want to show you what’s going on here,” Claudia said, pulling Catherine closer to her.
Katani looked around, wondering what they were talking about.
“Now Katani here has what we call a ‘good seat.’ See how she’s sitting with her spine straight? And notice her legs. They’re bent at just the right angle. I think we might have a natural horsewoman here, girls. Katani, it usually takes me weeks—sometimes months—to teach students to sit the way you’re sitting right now.”
Katani was stunned. No teacher or coach had ever called her a natural at any sport. She reached down and patted Penelope’s neck. She almost felt like crying. She saw Grandma Ruby’s beaming face out of the corner of her eye. Kelley clapped her hands.
“Time to mount. Time to mount,” Kelley said again.
“Yes, it’s your turn, Kelley,” Claudia said.
Kelley backed away.
“Come on, Kelley. It’s okay. It’s fun,” urged Katani. Suddenly, she really did feel like a natural. Even Penelope’s raising her hoof and twitching didn’t bother her.
Kelley didn’t have a box to stand on. She had a whole staircase with a railing on either side to help her up.
Katani also noticed that Kelley’s horse didn’t have an English saddle. It had a padded, bucket-shaped saddle that would keep her from falling out. With both assistants gently steadying and guiding Kelley, they eased her up onto Wilbur. Wilbur snuffled softly as if to say “Welcome aboard.”
“Now Kelley, I’m going to lead your horse. Catherine and Sam are going to run alongside Wilbur so you don’t have to be afraid. Okay?”
Kelley’s eyes widened and she nodded. She looked frozen with fear, but as the horse began to move, a hint of a smile was creeping onto her face.
But what about me? Katani thought. Who’s going to lead my horse? Who’s going to run alongside me?
“Now Katani, you need to make a giddyup sound,” Claudia demonstrated, making a clicking noise with her tongue. “Then gently kick Penelope’s sides with your heels.”
“But won’t that hurt? Will it make her mad?” she asked.
“Mad? Oh my goodness, no. Your legs and heels are one way you communicate with your horse; sounds and reins are the others. Now hold the reins loosely in your hands. Pull them this way to go right and this way to go left. Gently pull up on the reins to ask Penelope to slow down or stop.”
“But…I’m not sure…I mean, I don’t know….” Katani stammered. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like a natural anymore.
“Go ahead,” Claudia prodded. “Just make a cluck-cluck sound with your tongue and nudge her with your heels.” The whole idea that an animal that was so big would listen to Katani and do what she wanted her to do sounded absurd. But Katani did what Claudia suggested.
She clucked her tongue and nudged Penelope’s sides with her heels. As she did, she pulled the reins to the right. Immediately, Penelope lifted her head as if saying “I understand” and start
ed moving toward the ring, happy to follow Wilbur and Kelley. Catherine and Sam walked alongside Kelley, encouraging her every step of the way.
Kelley shouted out to Katani, “I’m riding! I’m riding! Good Wilbur,” she repeated proudly.
Katani had to smile. Maybe this would be really good for Kelley after all.
Once in the ring, Claudia called out to Katani to tell Penelope to stop.
Katani pulled gently back on the reins and Penelope slowed to a stop. It worked. The horse was actually doing what Katani wanted. Claudia jogged over to Katani with a big grin. “You are doing fabulously, Katani. I don’t often get the autistic kids on the horse their first day,” Claudia said. “But Kelley is lucky to have such a great peer role model.”
Katani was pleased, even though she hated being referred to as Kelley’s peer role model. It sounded so goofy. But, she listened intently as Claudia explained about how to use her thighs to grip the horse beneath her. Then she told Katani to go around the ring a few times and try out her skills.
The first time around felt awkward, but as she and Penelope started the second trip around the ring, Katani was filled with an exhilaration she had never felt before. This was fun! She reached down and patted Penelope on the neck. Claudia asked if she wanted to trot. Katani nodded yes. Claudia told her to press her heels into Penelope’s side and say “trot.” Penelope obeyed immediately. At first, Katani was bouncing up and down, but Claudia ran beside her and told her to lean forward and move up and down, using her legs to help. Within a minute, she was moving in rhythm with Penelope’s gait. Katani focused her full concentration on what she was doing. This was the most excited she had been in her entire life. Katani heard herself laugh out loud when Kelley yelled, “You go, girlfriend!”
CHAPTER
9
First…and Last Time?
Mom. Mom! I rode a horse. All by myself,” Kelley said, bursting through the back door.
“I know you did, honey, and I want to hear all about it. But first, girls, go wash up. Dinner is on the table,” Mrs. Summers said. She winked at Katani. They both knew that Kelley needed to settle down before telling her story or she would be dancing all over the house all night long.