“I’ve got to teach him better manners,” Cam said, shaking his head ruefully. “But for now, I guess we’d better get going, since it’s a good four miles home. So I’ll call you soon.”
Carole watched as Cam turned Duffy and set off at a brisk walk. About halfway down the driveway he glanced back and waved. “Bye, Carole!” he called.
Carole put up a hand. “Bye, Cam!” She turned to Starlight. “Did you have a good time, too, boy?” she asked. In response Starlight, who was staring after his new friend, let out a long, shrill whinny.
Carole gave him a hug. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, laughing.
FOR THE SECOND time that day, Carole burst into the tack room, dying to see Stevie and Lisa. To her relief, they were inside soaping saddles. “Phew! I thought maybe you guys would have left already, and I wanted company while I cleaned my tack.”
“Leave Pine Hollow before dinnertime on our second day back? Please!” Stevie said with mock disapproval. She paused, eyeing Carole curiously. “So, let’s hear the details.”
Carole was about to begin, but Lisa stopped her. “Stevie, is there anything you need to know that you can’t tell from the look on Carole’s face?” Lisa asked.
Stevie looked at Carole again, this time taking in her huge smile, her extrabright eyes, and her glowing cheeks. Then she smiled, too. “I’m glad you had a great date, Carole,” Stevie said.
Although Carole admitted that Lisa was right—she was sure her happiness was written all over her face—she couldn’t resist filling her friends in on a couple of details. “And you know what the best thing was?” she asked when she had finished.
“No, tell us,” Lisa said.
“I really think Starlight and Duffy liked each other, too,” Carole said.
Lisa and Stevie looked at each other and groaned good-naturedly. “Only you, Carole Hanson, would care if your horse got along with the guy’s horse!” Stevie cried.
“Anyway, we’re glad Starlight didn’t try to bite Duffy or anything,” Lisa said. “Now grab a sponge and we’ll help you because we’re almost done.”
Carole obediently did as she was told, and before long she had placed her saddle and bridle alongside her friends’ clean ones. For good measure, the girls soaped a couple of school saddles and tidied up the room a bit. When they were almost done, Meg Durham came in to put her tack away. Although Meg was about the same age as The Saddle Club girls, they didn’t spend a lot of time with her. She was perfectly nice except for one thing: She was one of Veronica diAngelo’s admirers. For some reason, a few of the girls who rode at Pine Hollow just couldn’t seem to figure out that Veronica was about the worst person in the world to be friends with.
As soon as she saw them, Meg began chattering animatedly. “Hey, guys! Welcome back,” she said. “Have you met Danny? What do you think of him? Isn’t he gorgeous? Aren’t we lucky to have such a beautiful boy come to Pine Hollow?”
Stevie, who had been trying to get a word in edgewise, piped up at once. “What beautiful boy? We didn’t see any beautiful boys.”
“Anyway, he couldn’t top Cam,” Carole whispered to Lisa.
“You haven’t seen him yet?” Meg asked. “Boy, are you three ever in a fog.”
“I’m not sure I’m so interested in seeing a beautiful boy,” Stevie said. “ ‘Beautiful’ isn’t a very boyish adjective. How about ‘cute’? I’d be more interested if he were cute.”
“I’ll remember to tell Phil that, Stevie,” Lisa joked. Phil Marsten was Stevie’s boyfriend. He lived in a neighboring town and belonged to Cross County Pony Club. Phil and one of his friends, A.J., were honorary members of The Saddle Club. “I’ll tell Phil you’re interested in seeing cute boys, okay?” she added.
Before Stevie could respond, Meg continued. “Cute? He’d never be just cute with his breeding. And I doubt Veronica’s family would want to pay that much money for a horse that sounded like a backyard pony. Honestly, ‘cute’!”
The Saddle Club thought for a minute. Suddenly a few things were becoming clear. One of them was that Danny was not a boy—at least, not a human boy. “Are you saying that Danny is a horse?” Carole asked.
Meg gave her a funny look. “What did you think I was saying?”
“Never mind that,” Stevie said. “The more important thing is that I thought I heard the name ‘Veronica’ a second ago.”
“Of course you heard the name ‘Veronica.’ Danny is Veronica’s Christmas present,” Meg explained. “There was a picture of him under the tree for her Christmas morning. They trailered him over to Pine Hollow today.”
“Christmas present? You mean she got a horse for Christmas?” Stevie demanded, incredulous. “What happened to argyle socks and leather gloves?”
“Obviously Veronica didn’t need socks or gloves,” Meg said, missing Stevie’s joke entirely. “She has all that stuff.”
“But she didn’t need a horse, either,” Lisa pointed out sensibly. “She has Garnet.”
“Oh, this isn’t just any horse,” Meg said. “Danny is …” She paused to search for the perfect word. “Perfect, I guess you could say.”
“Perfect?” The Saddle Club said in unison.
“Yeah, practically. He’s an incredibly gorgeous Thoroughbred gelding, he has perfect manners, he’s been schooled by some of the best trainers on the East Coast, he’s hunted and evented and done dressage, and his show record is amazing. I’ve never seen such a wonderful horse. I mean—”
Before Meg could rave any more about Danny, Stevie cut her off. “All right. Let’s go see this wonder horse,” she said, her voice suspicious. For some reason, Stevie couldn’t believe that the diAngelos could have found a horse as great as Meg was describing.
Meg, Stevie, Lisa, and Carole all piled out of the tack room to go and meet the new arrival. They didn’t have to go far. A few people were gathered outside one of the stalls, oohing and aahing.
“But that’s the mare-and-foal stall,” Carole protested.
“Right. Since none of Max’s mares is expecting this season, the diAngelos have rented out that stall for Danny. They don’t mind paying extra because they want him to be completely comfortable,” Meg said.
Carole nodded but didn’t say anything. She knew she wouldn’t be able to reason with Meg, who was obviously quoting Veronica. But, as a good horsewoman, she thought it was stupid for people to lavish unneeded luxury on their horses. Danny would have been just as comfortable in a normal stall. It was clear that the diAngelos just wanted to make sure that everyone would notice their new purchase, and putting him in the double-sized mare-and-foal stall would draw more attention.
Together The Saddle Club peered into the stall at Danny. He was in the far corner finishing a flake of hay. Almost in unison, the three girls gasped. He looked like everything Meg had said and more, even just standing in his stall. He was an amazingly attractive horse. A tall, well-muscled dapple gray with a fine Thoroughbred head, he looked a little over sixteen hands high. He was perfectly filled out and conditioned. When he raised his head from the hay he gave his admirers a bored look out of his huge, dark eyes. Then he went back to eating.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a great-looking horse,” Lisa said in awe.
“His breeding must be fantastic,” Carole breathed. “A horse like this can cost as much as a small house.”
Stevie gritted her teeth and said nothing.
“It’s funny, though, with Garnet …” Lisa let her voice trail off, remembering that they weren’t alone. She didn’t want to go on in front of Meg about Veronica’s silly decision to get a new horse when she already had a perfectly good one. Meg would think they were just jealous.
Lisa could tell that Stevie and Carole were thinking the same thing, though. After all, it wasn’t as if Veronica had physically outgrown Garnet, the way younger kids outgrew their ponies—as May Grover had with Luna. But Veronica also hadn’t outgrown Garnet abilitywise: She wasn’t so good that she needed a more challen
ging mount, as when Lisa had gone from riding Pepper to Delilah and then to Prancer, Garnet was still suited to Veronica’s needs. The horse was pretty, well-behaved, and experienced, and, as far as they knew, Veronica wasn’t interested in higher-level competition that might require a more athletic or spectacular horse. Of course, Veronica didn’t always win at horse shows, but that was because she made mistakes, not because her horse was holding her back.
As The Saddle Club was considering all this, Veronica walked in. Seeing the appreciative crowd outside her horse’s stall, she beamed. There was nothing Veronica liked better than being the center of attention, especially when it meant being able to show off.
Not wanting to listen to her bragging, Stevie turned and was attempting to slip away unnoticed when Veronica stopped her. “You don’t have to rush off, Stevie. I don’t mind if you want to look at my baby. He is a beautiful sight, isn’t he?” she prompted.
Stevie nodded, her mouth set in a grim line. The most annoying thing about Veronica’s conceited tone of voice was that this time nobody was going to be able to tell her that she was exaggerating. The horse was gorgeous.
“He’s the most perfect show horse Daddy could find, and believe me, he searched long and hard. Here, boy, come say hello to Veronica.” Veronica stuck out a manicured hand and waved it at Danny. Not surprisingly, the horse ignored her and kept munching. Stevie stifled a grin. Even the most perfect animal in the world knew better than to come when Veronica called.
Carole didn’t want to encourage Veronica any more than Stevie, but she had to know about the horse’s background. “Where did you find him?” she asked.
Veronica was only too eager to tell the story. “We bought him from a farm in Oakley, Maryland, that specializes in hunters and jumpers. Of course, you all probably wouldn’t have heard of the place since it’s kind of, well, out of your price ranges, but—”
“Oh, you mean Happy Vale Stables?” Carole asked nonchalantly. Since she read every horse magazine there was, she knew all about the famous show stables.
Veronica gave her a condescending look. “My, my, so you have heard of it. Isn’t that a surprise? Anyway, he’s a purebred Thoroughbred with bloodlines that include Secretariat, and he belonged to the champion East Coast junior rider of the past two years. The only reason she sold him was that she needed a horse for the Olympics. And he already has points toward qualifying for the American Horse Show.”
The Saddle Club was agog. Nobody said anything for a minute as they all tried to absorb the information. Secretariate, a son of Bold Ruler, was one of the most famous racehorses of all time. And the American Horse Show was the premier riding event in the country. They had gone to it once—to watch. It was almost unbelievable, but it sounded as if Veronica was implying that she intended to ride in it.
“Do you mean that you’re going to take Danny in the show?” Carole asked, her eyes wide. It was something that she herself thought about only in her wildest dreams.
“Wouldn’t you have to change your life completely? I mean, you’d have to go to all the major shows, all spring and all summer, and do really well if you want to qualify for the American,” Lisa pointed out.
Veronica glared at them. “I’m perfectly aware of the qualification requirements for the show,” she said icily. “And even if I don’t do it this summer, I may later on. Who knows? Danny’s only eight. And with a horse like him, anything is possible.” She turned to Meg. “Did I tell you his show name yet?”
Meg shook her head. “No, but I’ll bet it’s good.”
“It sure is since it really says it all: He’s registered as Go For Blue.”
Stevie snickered. “Gopher Blue? That’s funny, I’ve never seen a blue gopher.” She knew what Veronica had said, but she couldn’t resist baiting her.
“Go For Blue as in ‘go for a blue ribbon,’ obviously,” Veronica said with a sneer. “Anyway, Daddy really likes the name, too, because it was his idea that I get a proven champion. It’s about time I had a really good horse to ride.”
“But what about Garnet?” Lisa asked.
Veronica shrugged. “Garnet’s a sweet horse, but I’m through with her.”
“What do you mean, ‘through’?” Carole demanded.
“I’m selling her. Didn’t you see the sign by the office? It isn’t that my parents couldn’t afford to let me keep two horses, it’s just that when you have a horse like Danny you really aren’t interested in one like Garnet. Stevie, perhaps you’ll want to think about buying Garnet. She’d be a big step up from Belle. At least Garnet is a purebred.” Veronica smiled sweetly and turned back to Meg.
Stevie was so mad she couldn’t speak. It wasn’t just that Veronica had a new, perfect horse and was casting off Garnet without a second thought. And it wasn’t her insulting Belle, who was an American Saddlebred–Arabian cross. It was the stupidity of her comment: Everyone who knew anything about horses knew that some of the best horses for showing and eventing were mixed breeds. Half the Olympic team rode Thoroughbred or warmblood crosses, for heaven’s sake! But to Veronica the brand name was everything—in clothes and in horses. To her “purebred” was a label that she could throw around to impress people.
Seeing Stevie’s face grow red and her hands clench into fists, Carole and Lisa guided her away from Meg and Veronica. Veronica ignored them, leading Danny out to the cross-ties and cooing over him. “You’re my perfect little horsey, aren’t you, Danny-boy?” she murmured.
“Oh, gag,” Stevie muttered.
As The Saddle Club walked down the aisle, they passed Garnet’s stall. All three of them stopped to look at the mare. “Boy, Veronica really knows how to get a horse into condition for being sold, doesn’t she?” Carole said sarcastically. In contrast to Danny, who had been groomed until he was immaculate, Garnet was a picture of neglect. Her mane was long and unkempt, and she had a large manure stain on one of her hind legs. What was worse, her stable sheet had become so twisted that she was almost entangled in it. Shaking her head in disgust, Carole said she would fix the blanket.
“I wouldn’t bother if I were you,” Stevie said, almost sputtering. “Veronica doesn’t deserve our help.”
Lisa and Carole exchanged glances. Clearly Stevie was so angry that she didn’t know what she was saying.
“Veronica doesn’t deserve our help, but her horse does,” Carole said quietly.
Almost at once Stevie realized how harsh her own words had sounded. “You’re right, Carole—I just can’t put up with Veronica any longer!”
“So let’s focus on Garnet,” Carole said. She entered the mare’s stall to check the horse over more carefully. First she gave Garnet a good pat, noticing that she seemed edgier than usual. The stall’s bedding was dug into ruts from her constant pacing, a clear sign of boredom. As Carole carefully unhooked the sheet, straightened it, and rebuckled the straps, she scratched Garnet’s back and spoke to her soothingly. “You’re probably bored out of your mind, aren’t you? I would be, too, cooped up in this stall … I wonder how long it’s been since anyone paid attention to you.” Carole knew that with their busy schedules, Red and Max could hardly be expected to exercise Garnet. No doubt they had mentioned the horse’s boredom to Veronica, who had probably laughed it off.
It made Carole’s blood boil to see a nice, well-behaved horse like Garnet left to rot in her stall. “Maybe Garnet’s getting sold will end up being a good thing: Somebody who deserves her might buy her,” she mused aloud.
“But who on earth would buy a horse who looks like Garnet does?” Stevie asked.
“Yeah, she looks like nobody cares about her,” said Lisa.
Carole frowned thoughtfully. “She may look like that, but it’s not true.”
“What do you mean?” Stevie asked.
“I mean, somebody does care about Garnet,” Carole said. “Three somebodies, in fact, and you know who I mean.”
“Us?” said Lisa, catching on.
“Us,” Carole said firmly.
O
N THE FOLLOWING Tuesday afternoon, the girls had their usual group lesson. Or at least Stevie, Lisa, and Carole were expecting the usual lesson. What they got instead was a “Veronica and Danny” exhibition. From the moment Max called the group to order to the moment he told them to dismount, Veronica and Danny could do no wrong.
Watching them trot and canter perfect circles and figure eights, halt on command, leg-yield down the long side of the ring, and lengthen and shorten stride at the trot, Lisa drew even with Carole and Stevie and whispered, “They’re perfect, aren’t they? Really and truly perfect.”
“You mean Danny’s perfect,” Stevie corrected her. “All Veronica has to do is sit there and look pretty. Danny’s the total push-button horse.”
“Push-button?” Lisa repeated.
Stevie nodded. “It’s just what it sounds like: a horse that behaves like a machine. You push the buttons and it performs perfectly.”
Carole looked around cautiously before responding. Normally Max would have yelled at the three of them the minute they started talking, but today even he was caught up in watching the new arrival. “I have to agree,” Carole said, glancing at Danny as he made another perfect transition, “and a push-button horse is exactly the kind of horse Veronica should be riding. As we all know, she doesn’t want to take the time to get involved with actually training a horse.”
After about forty minutes of flat work, Max set up a few simple fences to end the lesson with some jumping. If anything, Danny was even more unbelievable over fences. Veronica hardly moved in the saddle, but they took each jump from the exact right spot and sailed over in a perfect arc Danny snapped his knees up athletically and settled right down upon landing. It was obvious that the two-foot, six-inch schooling jumps were child’s play for such a great jumper. After every fence, Veronica gave Danny a huge pat and acted as if he had just cleared a six-foot oxer.
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