Stevie glared at Lisa. “It’s a matter of principle,” she said.
Lisa sighed. Stevie was known for her competitive streak—and so was Phil.
“We’ll do our best,” Carole said soothingly.
Stevie brightened. “And our best is pretty good.”
HOWEVER, THE DAY did not go well for anyone from Pine Hollow. The first race was the flag race. One by one, each rider on each team had to trot or canter up to a wooden stand, insert a flag in it, and race to the finish line to hand over the pony to the next rider. Once all four flags were flying, the team members had to do the same thing backward, taking the flags out one at a time.
Penny, a Pine Hollow pony, was being ridden by a team of young but good riders: Matthew, Jasmine, May, and Corey. Matthew rode first. He grabbed a flag and urged Penny into a trot. Penny took off at a flying gallop. She ran past the flag stand, ran past the finish line on the other end of the playing field, and galloped madly out into the open field beyond that.
Matthew shouted at Penny and tried vainly to slow her down. Max shouted instructions to him. Eventually Matthew got Penny turned—and the mare galloped back the other way, across the finish line, past the flag stand, across the starting line, and through the field on the other side.
All the other horses were made nervous by Penny’s galloping. Most of the other teams stopped their horses until Matthew managed to halt Penny. The little boy looked fiercely angry. “She’s not listening to me!” he said.
“I can see that,” Max said gently. “It’s not your fault. Try starting out at the walk, and see how she does.”
Matthew kept Penny at a tight-reined walk and finally got his flag in his team’s stand. He handed Penny over to Jasmine. Jasmine mounted, and Penny took off with Jasmine across the field.
Next Penny took off with Corey and then with May. By then the entire game was in an uproar. Jasmine was in tears because she was furious. Jessica Adler, a little girl on another team, was in tears because she loved Penny. Worse yet, all of the Cross County riders were laughing.
Stevie was riding Dime, who seemed upset by Penny’s antics. He was refusing to obey any of Stevie’s directions. When Stevie told Dime to turn left, he tried to turn right. Stevie had ridden the pony many times before, and she had never known him to be quarrelsome.
“This is a disaster,” Lisa moaned.
“Tell me about it,” Stevie said, gritting her teeth. She pushed Dime across the finish line and held him while Lisa mounted. Just then Max called for a time-out.
“Let’s stop and get reorganized,” Max said. He held the side of Penny’s bridle with one hand, and with the other he patted Jasmine’s shoulder. “Carole, could you come here?”
Carole went to Max’s side.
“Take Penny out in that field and teach her a lesson,” Max said quietly. “Make her walk, make her trot, and then make her canter until she wants to trot. Make her listen to you. She’s got to start behaving before she hurts one of these kids.”
“Of course, Max,” Carole said. She adjusted Penny’s stirrups so that they would fit her longer legs. She felt proud that Max had chosen her. Of course, he was too big to ride Penny, or he probably would have schooled her himself. But Carole knew how important it was that Penny not get away with her bad behavior. Every pony had a bad day once in a while, but usually Penny was very good-natured, so Carole felt sure she would get over her problem soon.
Carole mounted and gathered up the reins. She made Penny walk slowly until they were well away from the playing field and could no longer bother the other horses. She made her walk in two tight circles, one in each direction. She made her walk a slow circuit of the open field.
She could feel Penny’s resistance—the mare still didn’t want to be good. Carole pushed her into a trot. She would trot and then canter, just as Max had said.
Penny had other ideas. As soon as Carole told her to go forward, she took off like a miniature rocket. Carole pulled hard on the reins, but the bit Penny wore was mild and she ignored it entirely. Penny galloped for the far side of the field as fast as she could, and when she got there she spun around and galloped back. Carole nearly fell off when Penny wheeled. She grabbed a handful of Penny’s mane and fought to keep her balance. Suddenly they were almost back at the playing field! Carole knew she couldn’t let Penny rush across it once more. She pulled on the left rein with all her might, and Penny turned and galloped across the field again.
They went back and forth like a bumper car out of control. Carole fought to keep her balance and to slow Penny. In the end, when Penny dropped to a walk, Carole was so out of breath she was almost dizzy. Her arms hurt from trying to control the stupid pony.
“Make her canter again,” Max commanded.
“I can’t,” Carole whispered to herself, but she had never said that to Max, not once, and she had vowed she never would. She turned Penny and grimly cantered her the length of the field. Penny stretched out her nose, grabbed the bit in her teeth, and tried to run again. Carole hauled her back.
When she returned to the playing field, everyone except Lisa, Stevie, and Max looked ready to burst from smothered laughter.
“That’s some feisty pony,” one of the Cross County riders said, and the whole Cross County club exploded with laughter.
Even Jasmine was giggling. “Thank you, Carole,” she said. “I don’t feel so bad about not being able to ride her if you can’t.”
Carole’s face was flushed and her eyes were dark with anger and shame. Stevie could imagine how humiliated Carole felt. Penny was being a beast, and that wasn’t Carole’s fault; and Stevie knew that even the smallest ponies were physically stronger than any rider, but still, this had to be a huge blow to Carole’s pride.
Stevie started to walk toward her friend when behind her she heard Lisa shriek, “Dime! You brat!”
Stevie whirled just in time to see Dime leap into the air and perform a truly impressive series of bucks. Lisa fought to get his head up so that he couldn’t use it to counterbalance his flying heels, but within seconds she was sitting on the ground and Dime was flying toward the same open field Penny had frolicked in moments before.
Penny plunged and whirled, trying to join him. Carole hung on to the reins grimly. Max grabbed Penny’s bridle and soothed the excited mare. “Lisa, are you hurt?” he called.
Lisa was already on her feet, dusting off the seat of her breeches. “No,” she answered. From the tone of her voice, her friends knew she was as angry and humiliated as Carole. Every rider fell off occasionally, but to be bucked off by the gentlest pony in the barn, in front of a huge audience of kids your own age—that was special.
“I’ll go get him, Max,” Lisa said. She wanted to get away from the other riders, if only for a moment. She hadn’t been this embarrassed since the first week she started riding, when Stevie had played a practical joke on her. Angry tears came to her eyes.
“Thank you, Lisa,” Max said gently. Unlike Penny, Dime had stopped galloping at the farthest edge of the field. He was now eating grass as though he didn’t have a care in the world—or a saddle on his back. Lisa walked slowly toward him. She knew better than to rush at any horse, but she also wanted to give herself time to regain her composure. At least when I get back my face won’t be red anymore, she thought.
Dime cocked a wary ear toward her. Lisa slowed her steps even more. “Whoa, Dime,” she said softly. “Good pony. Steady, good boy.” Dime relaxed his ear and continued grazing. “Stupid moronic pea-brain,” Lisa crooned, in the same gentle tone. “Fluff-headed idiot.”
Dime relaxed still further. Lisa gave a small snort of laughter. Max had always told them that horses couldn’t understand English. Now she knew it was true.
Dime’s reins were still looped around his neck. Lisa cautiously went up to his side and reached for them.
Dime leaped sideways. Lisa’s fingers closed on empty air, and Dime galloped, bucking and plunging, all the way back to the playing field. Fortunately, Carole h
ad already dismounted from Penny, and she and Stevie managed to catch him.
Max called another time-out while he consulted with the Cross County leader. Finally he put both Penny and Dime back on the horse van. Horse Wise borrowed a horse from Cross County, and the riders reorganized themselves into eight teams of five. Polly joined Veronica’s team, Jackie went to Penny’s old team, and a rider named Liam joined one of the Cross County teams. Jessica Adler joined The Saddle Club and Meg.
Jessica was still upset over Penny’s misbehavior. “She was awful,” she said. “And I love her so much. Why would she be so bad?”
“Maybe she isn’t feeling well,” Carole suggested. “We’ll check her when we get back to Pine Hollow.” Personally she believed Penny felt fine. Any pony who galloped that much could hardly be sick.
“Maybe she just woke up on the wrong side of the stall,” Lisa suggested, putting her arm around the little girl.
Phil brought a big ugly gray horse over to them. “Here, you guys can ride Joker,” he said. “Don’t worry, he won’t run away with you. He can’t move that fast.” Phil flashed a devilish smile at all of them and returned to his team.
“Maybe Penny’s got a brat of a boyfriend who wants to get his own way all the time,” Stevie spat. “Maybe she’s just really tired of putting up with him.”
“Stevie!” Lisa said.
Stevie looked at her friends. They were having a bad day, too. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Jessica, try not to worry about Penny. I’m sure she’ll be her own nice self the next time you ride her. Meanwhile, let’s give old Joker a try.”
Meg looked at Joker critically. “I bet this old horse couldn’t gallop if he wanted to,” she said. “We’re not going to win a thing.”
They never found out if Joker could gallop or not. Only Carole could even convince him to canter. They did discover, however, just how the horse had got his name. In the flag race, as soon as Stevie had put her flag in the stand, Joker reached back and pulled it out with his teeth. In the spoon race he flipped his head right before the finish line, and the egg broke all over Jessica’s breeches. And in the balloon-popping race he actually popped a balloon with his hoof. Max had to disqualify their team.
“It wasn’t just the horse,” Carole said with a groan on the drive back to Pine Hollow. “We weren’t exactly stellar riders, either.”
“Don’t remind me,” Lisa said. She’d gotten tangled in a clown suit during the costume race and had fallen off again when she’d tried to dismount. “Twice in one day. Aargh.”
“At least you were trying to dismount the second time,” Stevie said. “You just dismounted a little faster than you’d planned. Everybody in Cross County saw me miss my balloon.” She’d had to circle around and try again.
In the back of the station wagon, Betsy giggled. “I’ve never seen you guys have so much trouble. Jessica was the best rider on your team.”
“Thanks,” Meg said shortly.
“Sorry,” Betsy said to her friend. “But it was funny, really. Veronica and Simon were so busy trying to show off for one another that they both rode really well. Adam did a pretty nice job, too. You’ve got to admit, he looks pretty good on a horse.”
Carole and Lisa rolled their eyes at one another. Betsy had to be smitten to consider Adam attractive.
“He sure does look better on a horse,” Stevie said. “When he’s wearing a riding helmet, you can hardly see his face.”
Betsy and Meg lapsed into sullen silence. The Saddle Club did, too. No one spoke until they pulled up at Pine Hollow and got out of the car. Then Stevie said, “Oh, no! Will you look at that!”
“What?” asked Lisa.
Stevie pointed to the office window. “That Mr. Stowe! He’s in there bugging Mrs. Reg again!”
THE SADDLE CLUB stared. There indeed was Mr. Stowe, standing in the open office doorway talking to Mrs. Reg.
“She’ll never get the dance decorations planned at this rate,” Stevie muttered. “Not that it matters, if Phil can’t bother to come.”
“It matters to us,” Lisa replied sharply. Her hip was sore from falling off Dime, and she was getting sick of Stevie’s complaining. “We might not have boyfriends, but we’d still like to have a decent time.”
“Oh, really!” Carole sounded exasperated. “As if Mr. Stowe talking to Mrs. Reg for five minutes is going to mess up the Valentine’s Day dance!”
“He may have been bugging her for hours,” Stevie pointed out.
Carole couldn’t decide whether or not she truly believed Mr. Stowe was making a nuisance of himself. On the one hand, Mrs. Reg looked pretty cheerful. On the other hand, she always complained when students, even adult students, wasted their time gossiping when they had work to do.
“You’re right,” she said to Stevie grimly. “We’ll have to do something about him.”
Max pulled up with the horse trailer. Behind him, Veronica, Simon, and Adam piled out of the diAngelos’ Mercedes. Veronica waved her fingers airily at The Saddle Club. “So sorry none of you could control those ponies today,” she trilled. “Was teeny little Penny just a bit much for you, Carole?”
Carole pressed her lips together. “Come on,” she said to her friends, ignoring Veronica, “let’s help Max unload.”
“I really think you ought to let us do that,” Veronica suggested. “Given the way games practice went for your team, you’ve probably done enough with the ponies. Dime might get away from one of you and run all the way back to Cross County. Why don’t you all clean their tack?” She looked at Simon admiringly. “Simon can unload the ponies. He’s so nice and strong.”
“Forget it,” Stevie said, starting forward. “If you think—”
“Stevie.” Lisa pulled at Stevie’s jacket. “Let’s do what she says.”
“I’m not giving her the satisfaction,” Stevie said. “Dime running away from us! Give me a break! We can do some things right.”
Carole agreed with Lisa. “Nothing’s gone right today so far. And anyway, if we’re in the tack room, we can’t see Veronica laughing at us.”
“Besides,” Lisa said, “my hip is sore. I’d like to sit down. And if I don’t see that rotten Dime again for a week, I won’t be sorry.”
Stevie gave in. “At least after we clean the ponies’ tack, we can take our own horses out on a trail ride,” she suggested. The others agreed gladly. After the morning they’d had, they needed a trail ride.
They took the ponies’ sweat-soaked saddles and bridles out of the cab of Max’s truck and carried them into the stable. On the way to the tack room they passed Mrs. Reg’s office. Mr. Stowe still stood in the open doorway. Apparently he had been telling jokes, because when they walked by they heard him say, “And what about this one: How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb?”
Stevie stopped to listen. She liked dumb jokes.
“Only one,” said Mr. Stowe. “But the lightbulb has to really want to change.”
Mrs. Reg laughed, but Stevie didn’t understand what was funny. She felt a wave of annoyance wash over her. How was Mrs. Reg ever going to take care of the dance decorations with this old man telling pointless jokes all day? “Mr. Stowe, why don’t you come with us,” she said abruptly. “We’re going to clean tack.”
Mr. Stowe turned and smiled. “Why, hello, Stevie, Carole, Lisa,” he said. “How nice to see you again. Did you have a nice time at Cross Country? Elizabeth told me you were playing games with them.”
“It’s Cross County,” Stevie corrected. “And we were playing games against them, not with them.”
“And we didn’t have a very nice time,” Lisa added, thinking that Stevie’s fierce tone required some explanation. She told them about Dime’s and Penny’s awful behavior.
“How strange,” Mrs. Reg commented. To Mr. Stowe she added, “Normally they’re both very sweet and dependable.”
“So now we’re cleaning the tack we used,” Stevie said. “Come on, Mr. Stowe. You can help us.”
Mr.
Stowe smiled gently. “I wouldn’t be much help, I’m afraid. As far as I remember, my uncle didn’t clean his tack at all—at least not while I was around. I don’t know the first thing about it.”
“We’ll show you,” Carole said. “It’s not hard, but it is important. Mrs. Reg’s always telling us so, aren’t you, Mrs. Reg? You’re supposed to clean your tack after each ride.”
“Didn’t you clean Delilah’s bridle yesterday?” Lisa asked.
Mr. Stowe looked embarrassed. “Well, no—”
“I guess it’s not that important,” Lisa said hurriedly. She turned to Mrs. Reg. “I mean, I know it is, Mrs. Reg, but I don’t think you should get upset with Mr. Stowe. He just didn’t know.”
“That’s okay, Lisa, I’m not upset,” Mrs. Reg said gently.
“I’m very sorry,” Mr. Stowe said in confusion. “I didn’t realize. If I was supposed to clean tack, then I’d better start cleaning. Thank you, Carole. I’ll accept your kind offer.” He tipped his hat to Mrs. Reg, took one of the two bridles Carole was carrying, and accompanied The Saddle Club to the tack room.
They had to teach Mr. Stowe everything. It turned out he didn’t even know how to take apart a bridle! “I just never messed with this stuff before,” he said apologetically. “But it’s important to Elizabeth, eh?”
“Very important,” Carole said firmly. She showed him how to open the tab buckles that fastened the reins to the bit. “In the first place, salt from a horse’s sweat can damage the leather, and tack is expensive, so you want it to last. In the second place, it’s healthier for the horses if everything is kept clean and supple. And in the third place, it just looks nicer. Mrs. Reg likes everything neat and clean.”
“Runs a tidy ship, does she?” he asked. “I thought so. Everything around here seems brushed and raked and straightened. Still, I wouldn’t call her too neat—not too fastidious—would you?” He looked around at all of them.
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