The parade was more of a grand march than a parade. All of the contestants were in it, dressed in their fanciest, best cowboy clothes. Their horses were as shiny clean as any horse-show horses The Saddle Club had ever seen. The whole place was afire with bright colors, gleaming leather, and lively horses. It was wonderful!
“Barrel racers, go!” the Master of Ceremonies yelled out.
Kate touched her spurs to Spot’s belly and the horse spurted through the gate into the arena. Carole, Stevie, and Christine followed, and Lisa brought up the rear. Behind her, three more barrel-racing teams pranced into the arena. The last was the team from The Dapper Dude. Lisa had noticed them in their stylish cowgirl outfits when they’d arrived. Then she’d decided that the less she thought about them, the better she’d feel. It wasn’t easy to not think about them. It wasn’t easy to feel good, either, until she entered the arena.
As soon as she was in, she forgot everything but the parade and the crowd and the rodeo. It was magical!
The parade was planned to snake all around the arena in a complex design, marked out by rodeo judges. The line of horses crossed itself several times, meaning that the riders had to take turns going through the crossing point. It was the sort of exercise Stevie, Lisa, and Carole had done a lot of when they’d worked on their drill-team routine. They were pretty good at it and not one of them made a mistake in the parade. The crowd cheered. The riders waved. Lisa spotted Kate’s and Christine’s parents in the stands. The Bar None Riders waved at them especially hard.
The parade organizer had designed the route so that they all rode around the arena single file and then exited, circling outside the arena, and then reentered in ranks of four for the finale and the singing of the national anthem. The first section of the parade was done at a lope, the final entry was at a trot. And all of this was done without any practice at all!
It seemed that the parade was over in no time. Before she knew it, Lisa was sitting in the saddle with her hand over her heart, singing with the crowd and gazing at the American flag. When the last note died out, the parade moved out of the arena and the rodeo began.
* * *
THERE WERE SIX main events in the Two Mile Creek Rodeo. First, there were the men’s events: saddle-bronc riding, bareback riding, calf roping, and steer wrestling; then came the girls’ barrel racing, and finally, bull riding. There was a lunch break between calf roping and steer wrestling, and during the lunch break, there would be demonstrations of nontraditional rodeo events—wild-cow milking, buffalo riding, and clowning.
“I can’t believe how much is going on today!” Christine said, checking the timetable in the program. “And we’ve got to corral our horses right away so we can be back in time for Eli’s first event.”
Carole smiled to herself. Ever since they’d registered for the barrel-racing event and the woman had handed them the schedule, Christine had been like a mother hen. It wasn’t so bad, though. After all, somebody had to know everything that was going on and get them to places on time. It seemed that the woman had known what she was doing when she’d given the materials to Christine. Carole hated to think what would have happened if she’d given them to Stevie!
The girls put their horses in their assigned corral, stowed their tack, and went to find Eli so they could cheer him on.
“… and he’s out!” the P.A. blasted. The first saddle-bronc rider was on his way.
The girls ran over to the fence to watch. The horse sprang out of the gate, bucked and twisted sideways, and the cowboy flew over his head and into the dirt.
“Eli can do better than that,” Kate said. The other girls agreed.
The next cowboy did better. He stayed on his bronc for the full ten seconds, but the horse wasn’t giving him much trouble, either.
“According to this,” Christine explained, once again consulting the booklet they’d gotten from the registration lady, “the cowboy and the horse are both judged equally, so the cowboy who is on a wild horse can get a lot more points than a rider on an easy horse. All the riders want the toughest horses. That’s true in saddle-bronc and bareback riding.”
“Bull riding, too?” Stevie asked.
“I don’t think so,” Kate said. “From what I’ve heard, all the bulls are hard to ride. They are mean.”
“I’m glad Eli’s not in that one, then. I wouldn’t want him to get hurt,” Lisa said.
Just then the girls spotted Eli. There were only a few riders left ahead of him. They walked over to cheer him on. He was talking with another cowboy, while Jeannie stood at his elbow.
“I rode Jester two weeks ago at a county rodeo,” the other cowboy was saying. “He’s a good one. Bucks straight, true, and hard. You can score on him. Watch out, though. He’ll yank at the rope, so you got to let him have some length or you’ll end up eating dirt.”
“Thanks,” Eli said, and Carole could tell he really meant it.
“Don’t mention it,” the cowboy said. “You’ll do the same for me.”
“That’s nice of him,” Kate said to Eli when the other cowboy left.
“Everybody around here seems like that,” Eli told her. “Everybody’s got advice for everybody else and most of it seems to be good.”
“Four eighty-three—you’re up next!” a starter said, calling to Eli.
Jeannie yanked at his arm. Carole noticed that she was being a bit of a mother hen herself. As usual, though, Eli didn’t seem to notice one way or the other.
“Push your hat back a bit,” she said.
“Then it won’t stay on my head,” he protested.
“That’s the idea, see. If your hat flies off, it makes it look as if you’re riding out the tough bucks, no matter what’s happening.”
Eli grinned. “Clever!” he said, pushing the brim of his hat up, just a bit.
The girls all climbed on the fence of the saddling area where Jester was being prepared for Eli. Faster than they’d ever seen a horse tacked, the wranglers cinched the saddle and put on the halter with the lead rope that Eli would hold.
A tired, bruised cowboy limped back to the edge of the arena. The P.A. announcer told the crowd that Eli Grimes was next. In a matter of seconds, Eli lowered himself onto Jester’s back, slid his boots into the stirrups, took hold of the rope that served as a rein, measured a length that would allow Jester to yank, but would give him some control, and went out.
“Spur him! Spur him!” Jeannie yelled, as if Eli needed the reminder.
Jester bucked into action. He pulled forward, yanking at the rope, and flung his rear legs up into the air, tossing Eli forward. Eli’s hat flew off. The crowd went “Ooooooh!” The girls clapped wildly. Jeannie just grinned.
Eli swung his legs forward and back with the bucking movement of the horse. It was just what he was supposed to do. Jester bucked high and hard, but he bucked regularly, rhythmically. Every time the horse rose, Eli rose with him, landing hard, but balanced, staying in the saddle, more or less, feet in the stirrups, free hand held high and waving for balance.
At last, the buzzer sounded. One of the pick-up men helped Eli off the bronc and onto the back of his horse while the other released the bronc’s flank cinch. Jester calmed down immediately and returned to the corral. The crowd clapped wildly, especially when Eli picked up his hat and put it back on his head. He walked proudly back to the fence where his biggest fans were waiting, and tipped his dusty hat to the crowd while they applauded his score.
“Nice job!” Jeannie said proudly, basking in the glory of the moment with Eli.
“Thanks,” he said. “And thanks for the tip about my hat. I think the crowd liked it.”
“The crowd loved it,” Carole declared.
When Eli’s score flashed on the board, it was clear that the judges loved it, too. Eli and Jester had both scored well, and Eli was now in first place. There were only four more riders in the event.
“At least I’ll place,” Eli said. “I’ve got to place in all my events. It’ll mean money for the
ranch, but mostly it’ll give me a shot at that scholarship.”
“You won’t just place, you’ll win,” Stevie said.
“Not likely,” Eli told her. “See, the best riders and horses seem to be coming up behind me in this event. Unfortunately I’ve just given them a score to shoot for. I’ll do okay here. My best event is calf roping. The one I’ve got to worry about is steer wrestling.”
“Me, too,” Stevie said.
Carole looked at her. It was a funny thing for Stevie to have said. It was an odd way to put it, but she knew exactly what Stevie meant. They were all worried about the steer wrestling.
The Bar None group found a place to stand by the edge of the arena to watch the final riders in the saddle-bronc contest. They were really good.
“This one’s been doing this for years,” Eli said. “He’s a shoo-in for first place.”
Carole watched closely. Eli was right. In ten seconds, the cowboy showed the crowd and the judges just how good good really could be.
“He outspurred me, outstyled me, and outrode me,” Eli said. “And, his horse was tougher.”
“But his hat stayed on!” Jeannie observed.
It turned out that the judges agreed with Eli. The experienced cowboy outscored Eli, but he was the only one who did.
“You got second!” Stevie said, giving him a congratulatory hug.
“And I’m satisfied with that,” Eli said. The girls decided they would be satisfied, too.
“Look, I’ve got to ready my ropes for my next event. Why don’t you all wander around and check out the rest of the rodeo, watch the bareback riding—whatever.”
“You tired of your adoring fans?” Stevie teased.
“Naw,” Eli said. “Never get tired of that. I’ve just got to work now. See you all later, okay?”
Apparently Jeannie didn’t think that “all” applied to her. She followed Eli to the corral, leaving the girls to themselves.
“Want to check out the souvenirs?” Christine asked. “My mother is selling some of her pottery today.”
Since there was a break between events, the girls decided it would be a good time to check out all the booths. Carole had noticed on the way in that there was a large selection of western gear, everything from turquoise jewelry and boots to saddles and kerchiefs. She wanted to examine some of the things. And besides, she wanted to see Mrs. Lonetree’s pottery selection. She did such beautiful work. Carole hoped she’d find something her father might like.
However, before they even got to Mrs. Lonetree’s booth, they saw something even more interesting than Indian pottery, cowboy belt buckles, or bright red kerchiefs. They saw Derek.
“Shhh!” Stevie said, holding her arm out to stop her friends. They all saw Derek at the same instant and they flattened themselves against a wall where he couldn’t see them, but they could hear him. The reason they did that was that he was talking to someone, and that someone was none other than Rule-Book Marshall from The Dapper Dude.
“You ready for this afternoon?” Marshall asked.
“Easy as pie,” Derek said.
“Doing it’s easy, making it look good isn’t,” Marshall cautioned.
“Don’t you worry,” Derek said. “That guy’s never going to get within ten feet of his steer. I’ve got a hundred ways to make it go bad. He’s only seen ninety-nine of them so far!”
“I’ll take care of you later,” Marshall said. “After I win the event.”
The two shook hands and parted. Fortunately, neither of them walked past where the astonished girls were standing. Neither of them saw five girls getting angry, and neither saw five girls determined to get even.
“WE’VE GOT TO tell Eli!” Carole said as soon as Derek and Marshall were out of earshot.
“No way!” Stevie said. “It would just upset him, and he doesn’t need that right now.”
“But we can’t let Derek ruin the event for him!” Kate said, her voice rising with concern.
“And he won’t, either!” Stevie told her friends. “What we have to do instead is to fix the situation so that Eli never knows what went right. Later, like tonight, we can tell him everything. Maybe. But not now.”
“So?” Lisa asked expectantly.
“I don’t know yet,” Stevie said. She seemed a little annoyed. Carole suspected she was actually annoyed with herself. “It’s only been about fifteen seconds since we learned what the problem was. I don’t have a solution yet, okay?”
“Okay, okay,” Christine said, trying to calm Stevie down. “Take as long as you want. As long as you come up with something!”
“I always have, haven’t I?” Stevie asked.
Carole slung her arm across Stevie’s shoulder. “One of the things The Saddle Club has been able to rely on is that when some crazy scheme is called for, Stevie will be the one to come up with it.”
“Yeah, and one thing I’ve been able to rely on is that when one of my crazy schemes needs some crazy people to carry it out, The Saddle Club has always come through,” Stevie said. “That’s what friends are for, right?” They all agreed. “So, let’s go watch the bareback riding and see Eli take first prize in the calf roping. That’s sure to clear my head enough to figure out how to solve this problem, which actually seems more like two, no, three problems.”
“Three?” Christine said, surprised.
Stevie nodded and counted them off on her fingers. “One is getting rid of Derek. Two is getting Eli a hazer he can trust. And three is getting him to notice Jeannie and preferably fall in love with her.”
“And four is solving all of these problems without Eli being aware that we’re doing it,” Carole reminded her.
“Hmmmmm.” Stevie looked thoughtful.
Carole knew that meant the wheels were turning. It was a good time to leave Stevie to let her figure it out herself.
“Come on,” Carole said. “I think Phyllis and Frank have saved us some seats. Let’s go watch the next event.”
Bareback riding, it turned out, was quite a bit like saddle-bronc riding except there was no saddle and no rein at all. There was just a rig around the horse’s belly called a surcingle that provided a handle at about the same place the pommel would have been on a saddled horse.
It was wild riding all right. More than one cowboy ended up in the dirt. One man was thrown so badly that he had to hobble off to the ambulance that was parked by the main corral.
“Thank goodness that didn’t happen to Eli,” Phyllis remarked.
“I’ll say. He’d be useless as a wrangler with a couple of broken ribs!” Frank chuckled.
“Daddy!” Kate cried.
“I’m joking. I’m just joking!” Frank said quickly.
“I don’t think the girls found it funny, Frank,” Phyllis told him.
“I got that message, too. However, there’s another message here and it’s that rodeo riding is a dangerous sport.”
“Don’t worry, Frank,” Carole said. “That one came through to us loud and clear.”
They were quiet then as they enjoyed the remainder of the bareback riding. When the last competitor was finished and the final standings were announced, Stevie made an announcement as well.
“I’ve got it,” she said.
“So, tell,” Kate said excitedly. “What is it?”
“We don’t have to do anything until the lunch break. I’ll tell then. Besides, I still have to work out the details. For now, just enjoy the show. It’ll be good, but the show this afternoon will be even better!” There was a grin on Stevie’s face and a twinkle in her eyes that told her friends that they could, indeed, relax. Stevie had a plan and it was sure to be a great one!
Lisa leaned forward to get the best possible view of the calf roping. After all, this was Eli’s strongest event. She didn’t want to miss anything.
She couldn’t believe how good some of the cowboys were, and she couldn’t believe how intricate all the equipment was. At first, all she saw was the cowboy’s swinging lariat. With the help of
an experienced fan sitting next to her, she began to see that the event had a lot more to it than that. The cowboys actually had three ropes. One was the lariat. Another was the small rope he used to tie up any three of the calf’s legs once the animal was down. The third rope was a complicated rig that went from the cowboy’s waist around the pommel of the saddle and through the horse’s bridle. As the cowboy ran forward to the calf, this rope tightened, putting pressure on the bit. That, in turn, signaled the horse to back up, making the rope from the saddle to the calf taut, and keeping the calf on the ground so the cowboy could tie his legs.
“Wow!” Lisa said when she finally understood what all the rigging was about. “That’s something!” She shared her new knowledge with her friends. “Boy, if the whole thing is off by just a few inches, it doesn’t work at all.”
“This event is really a partnership between the cowboy and his horse,” Carole observed.
“And that’s why Eli’s so good at it,” Kate said. “Nobody in the world is better with horses than Eli. It’s like he can really talk to them.”
“A lot of cowboys talk to their horses,” Christine remarked wryly. “It gets lonely out there on the roundup trail!”
“Talking is one thing. Making them understand is another,” Kate said. “Eli is just plain good.”
“And Eli is just plain up next,” Lisa said, quieting her friends.
The buzzer sounded. A calf dashed out of the chute and Eli was right behind it. Almost as soon as Lisa could see Eli, she could see his rope lofting in the air toward the calf. The calf seemed to run right into the loop. Then, like clockwork, Eli was on the ground, running toward the calf, while his horse was backing away from him, tightening the calf’s rope and keeping the animal on the ground.
Eli leaned over the calf, grabbed one of its legs, looped the short rope around the ankle, grabbed two other legs, circled them with the end of the rope, looped it into a knot, and raised his hands in triumph.
“Wowee!” the announcer yelled, obviously impressed. “I think we’ve got a winning time here, folks. Mr. Eli Grimes of The Bar None has just broken the record for the Two Mile Creek Rodeo. His new record is eight point seven-eight seconds! Let’s give this man a hand!”
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