Secret of the Stallion

by Bonnie Bryant

  The next horse entered the arena. Lisa tried to concentrate on what was happening. On one level, it was obvious that the horse was going to go through the exact same set of movements as the previous horse. The program, or test, was identical for all competitors. The horses followed a course of circles, figure eights, reverses, and turns at different gaits. At all times, the judges were looking for manners in the horse and instant response to nearly invisible commands from the riders. It was intricate and intense, but it had to look effortless.

  By the time 231 made a final bow to the judges, Lisa realized she was holding her breath. The audience applauded, and so did Lisa.

  “That one was better than the last, wasn’t he?” she asked when she breathed.

  “Yup,” Stevie concurred.

  The next horse did well, too. Then came Nigel on Sterling.

  “This is going to be the best of all,” said Lisa.

  “We’ll see,” said Stevie.

  Nigel and Sterling entered the ring with a dignified elegance. Sterling was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. Nigel’s eyes quickly scanned the competitors’ section of the seats, and when he saw The Saddle Club, he winked at them. They waved back discreetly. He drew to a halt in front of the judges and tipped his hat. It was time to begin.

  It was immediately clear that dressage wasn’t Sterling’s event. Nigel’s control was smooth and effortless, but Sterling’s responses weren’t. He made it through the test, but not without protest. The applause was scattered and unenthusiastic, except from The Saddle Club. Their loyalty made them cheer their favorite rider almost raucously.

  “What went wrong?” Lisa asked Stevie the moment Nigel and Sterling turned to leave the ring.

  “It’s not his event,” said Stevie.

  “Then what’s he doing here?” Lisa asked.

  “A three-day event is a chance for horses to show off their strengths in different areas,” Carole reminded her. “It’s a very rare horse that excels in all three. Sterling’s a stallion. That means he’s going to be feisty and strong-headed. Those skills should stand him in good stead in the next two events—the cross-country and the stadium jumping. But it’s exactly that quality that makes the demanding precision of dressage so hard for him.”

  “Poor Nigel,” said Lisa, looking at him as he paused just outside the ring to talk with a man who was standing there. “He must feel awful.”

  “Not at all,” said Stevie. “He did a very good job, under the circumstances, and he’ll make up for lost scoring on the next two events. Nigel knows it and so do other people who know these events.”

  “I don’t think that man knows it,” Lisa said. She pointed to the man talking to Nigel. The man had a very angry look on his face. He was even shaking his fist at Sterling.

  “Well, then, that man’s a fool,” said Stevie.

  Nigel, Sterling, and the angry man moved inside the stables, out of the view of The Saddle Club. The next rider entered the ring. The show continued.

  An hour and a half later, The Saddle Club plus Veronica (who had arrived late but perfectly groomed) found themselves at the entrance to the show ring. Veronica hadn’t offered any excuse for her lateness, and The Saddle Club didn’t ask. They already knew. There was a glow of excitement on Veronica’s face that only jewels could cause! The girls didn’t even look at one another for fear they’d laugh and give themselves away. Besides, there was something more important to think about right then. It was time for the first portion of their mounted games demonstration.

  Carole was thrilled to be there, entering the same ring where championship horses had just performed. The crowd seemed as eager to watch them as it had been to see the dressage. They cheered loudly as the teams were introduced.

  “Horse Wise, Willow Creek, Virginia, United States of America!” the public address system announced. That was their cue. In they went!

  The rules of the demonstration provided that there would be four races on each of the three days of the event. The team that won each race got four points; second place earned three points; third place received two points; and last place just one point. The award would be given on the third day.

  The riders didn’t know what the races would be. They were explained before each race began. The Saddle Club had talked about the possibilities. Stevie was famous for coming up with wild and crazy horseback relay races. When Stevie was in charge, races were likely to include eggs, squirt guns, buckets of feathers, and Jell-O mold salads. In other words, they were very Stevian. Instead, today’s races included flags, batons, and ropes. In other words, they were very normal races. They tested riding skills like speed, accuracy, and the ability to stop and turn. Those were exactly the skills the girls had admired in the horses that Tessa loaned them.

  Tessa was there, of course. She and Mrs. Reg were sitting in the competitors’ section. They cheered loudly as the girls entered the ring. Max was waiting in the stabling area with the other coaches.

  The first race was explained. The first rider had to pick up a flag from the far end of the ring, bring it back, and give it to the second rider, who rode the course, returned, and handed the flag off to the third, who did the same. The fourth rider had to return the flag to the far end and ride back across the finish line.

  Stevie led off. Copperfield’s speed put their team in front before she’d even picked up the flag, and they were never out of first place. Veronica had no difficulty on Nickleby, even though she’d never ridden him before. Pip behaved like the perfect gentleman he was—when he had the right bit in his mouth—and Carole practically flew through her leg of the race on Miss Havisham. Not only did the team come in first, but they even had time to watch the Dutch and English riders finish up.

  “Nice job, Lisa,” Enrico said.

  “Thanks,” she answered.

  “But perhaps you will not always come in first,” he said, teasing.

  “Perhaps,” she said, accepting the jest.

  The next race was very similar, only this time it was a baton instead of a flag and it didn’t go quite as well for the Horse Wise team as the first race had. Stevie knew they were in trouble as soon as the handkerchief dropped and the race started. Copperfield absolutely flew across the starting line. He was so sleek and speedy that riding him was an utter joy. Stopping him was something else. Both Stevie and Copperfield got carried away and overran the course. That put the team behind. They ended up in second place behind the English team. The Italians were third, the Dutch fourth.

  The next race was a rope race. This required pairs of riders to circle the course next to one another, holding a short length of rope between them. It meant they had to ride close to one another at exactly the same speed. If one let go of the rope, they both had to stop, return to the place where it happened, and pick up the race again. If they dropped the rope altogether, both riders had to dismount, pick it up, remount, and begin the course again.

  Everything started out fine. Stevie’s and Veronica’s horses matched one another stride for stride, and the first pair returned way ahead of any of the other teams.

  Lisa grasped her end of the rope.

  “Let’s go!” Carole said. They were off.

  Lisa and Pip were on the inside. Lisa found that it took an enormous amount of concentration and control to maintain an even pace and stay next to Carole. Pip seemed to think it was a race against Miss Havisham, and he wanted badly to win. Lisa held the reins firmly with one hand and kept him under control while she clutched the rope tightly with the other. It worked for a while, but when they got to the turn, it stopped working. Pip’s ability to make tight turns put him way ahead of Miss Havisham at the turn, and try as she did to hold on to the rope and the reins, one had to go. It was the rope. She couldn’t stop Pip for another five strides, and then she had to turn him around. Fortunately, Miss Havisham had stopped as soon as the rope had dropped and Carole was waiting for Lisa’s return. Lisa came back and took her end of the rope, and there was no more trouble for the r
est of the race.

  They came in second.

  “I’m sorry,” Lisa said to Carole.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Carole assured her. “No race is perfect.”

  But their next one was. It was a simple race of gaits. They were to trot their horses down to the far end and canter them back, no gallop, no walk, just trot and canter. It was a breeze of a race for this foursome. Their horses were well trained and obedient and had fluid, swift gaits. Horse Wise finished the afternoon with the same feeling of satisfaction that they’d had with the first race.

  In fact, it seemed as if the hardest thing they had to do was to keep from yelling with joy until they left the ring. They were—all four of them—immensely pleased with themselves and proud of the job they’d done.

  “BRILLIANT! YOU WERE all brilliant!” Tessa greeted the Horse Wise riders while they cooled their horses in the paddock by the stable.

  “Oh, you’re just saying that because they’re your horses!” Lisa teased.

  “Even the most brilliant horse needs a brilliant rider!” Tessa declared.

  Max agreed. He stood next to Tessa, glad of the opportunity to thank her for the loan of the horses.

  “You did a good job, girls. I’m proud of the team for winning two races and coming in second two times, but I’m even prouder of the horsemanship and teamwork I saw out there.”

  “See? Just as I said: Brilliant!” agreed Tessa.

  As soon as the horses were cooled, the girls dismounted and walked them back to their stables for a good grooming and a well-deserved snack of hay and water and a few carrots.

  The girls slipped out of their riding habits and into jeans for grooming. When they came out of the dressing room, they found some of the lads there, offering to help groom. The Saddle Club demurred. Veronica accepted. She explained that she had an important errand in town and wanted to be sure to get there before the shops closed.

  “Do you think she’s in such a rush to get to a clothing store?” Tessa asked Lisa as she watched Veronica rush out of the stable.

  “More likely hardware or garden supplies,” Lisa said.

  “To buy some flowers?” asked Tessa.

  “No, a shovel,” said Lisa with a sly grin. The girls explained that Veronica was in search of a treasure trove.

  “The duke’s jewels!” Tessa said. “What on earth makes her think she’s going to find that after all these centuries?”

  “She’s already found a piece of it,” Lisa explained.

  “A pearl,” Carole supplied.

  “From the Duke of Cummington’s cache?” Tessa asked, clearly astonished.

  “No, more like the Duke of Woolworth’s,” said Stevie.

  “Oh, dear me, you three have been up to something and I’m afraid I’ve missed the best of it,” Tessa said, clearly understanding their prank.

  “Oh, not necessarily the best,” said Lisa. “Just the first.” With that, she put down her currycomb and reached into the pocket of her jeans. She pulled out the rhinestone button she’d picked up from the street when she’d been walking with Enrico.

  “What’s that?” Stevie asked.

  “Well,” Lisa said, looking at it carefully. “Right now, it’s a rhinestone button, but in a minute—” She leaned over and searched through the grooming bucket until she found what she wanted. She brought out her hoof pick and probed under the rhinestone with the pointed end. There was a small crackling sound and the rhinestone popped out of its plastic bed. “In a minute,” she repeated. She reached into her purse, brought out an emery board, and carefully filed the bottom of the rhinestone, removing traces of plastic and glue. “In a minute, we have …”

  “A diamond!” Stevie declared.

  “Perfect,” said Carole.

  “Brilliant,” said Tessa.

  “The plot thickens,” Lisa said.

  They hurried to finish the grooming. They had to be sure to plant the “diamond” before Veronica returned with a shovel.

  When the last flake of hay was secured in the horses’ stalls, the girls exited the stables and returned to the scene of their crime. The dressage tests had resumed, so all the spectators were in the stands and the grounds of the castle were deserted. The girls slipped the rhinestone under an inch of earth near where they’d put the pearl and looked for a hiding place. The tree was fun, but risky. They were going to have to be farther away. Their only choice was behind the canvas of the stabling tent. They scurried back to the tent, hid themselves, and waited.

  “Here comes someone,” Stevie whispered.

  “Veronica?” Tessa asked.

  “I don’t think so,” said Stevie. “Walking too slowly.”

  Lisa peered around the tent flap. “Definitely not Veronica,” she said. “It’s a man and he’s got a limp.”

  “What’s he doing?” Carole asked.

  “He’s looking at the stable,” Tessa said.

  “Why isn’t he looking at the horses in the ring?” Carole asked.

  “Not everybody loves dressage,” Stevie said.

  “Shhh,” said Lisa.

  “He can’t hear us,” Stevie said. “And besides, he’s walking away.”

  “Maybe he just took a wrong turn,” said Carole.

  “Well, he’s going now,” said Lisa. She watched the man’s awkward pace as he followed the road back to town.

  For a while nothing happened. Lisa thought maybe Veronica couldn’t get a shovel and wouldn’t return.

  “No way,” said Stevie. “I saw that look in her eyes. She’d dig with a spoon if she had to. A silver spoon!”

  The girls giggled, but their giggling stopped when Veronica appeared. She had a small garden spade in her hand. She looked around furtively and, seeing no one, began examining the earth under the oak tree carefully.

  It didn’t take long. She scratched around in the earth for a few minutes with the spade. Then she stopped suddenly.

  “We’ve got her!” Stevie whispered.

  “Shhh,” the three other girls answered.

  Veronica reached down to the ground. She picked up something. She looked at it. She caressed it. She looked around and, seeing she was alone, stuck the object in her pocket. She grabbed her shovel and ran back toward the town.

  “Perfect!” Stevie declared, and nobody could disagree.

  The girls collapsed into giggles in the stable tent.

  “But what comes next?” Stevie asked.

  “Probably earth-moving equipment!” Carole said.

  “Oh, not yet. This is too much fun. Do you think we could find an opal or an emerald or a ruby?” Stevie said.

  “Not likely,” said Lisa.

  “I say, have you girls ever heard of something called pyrite?” Tessa asked.

  “Fool’s gold!” Stevie said. “Can you get some?”

  “Well, my brother has a mineral collection. I don’t suppose he’d miss a very small chunk off of his pyrite,” said Tessa.

  “You mean you’d steal from your brother just for this?” Lisa asked.

  “Of course!” Tessa responded.

  “Aren’t brothers wonderful?” Stevie said, giving Tessa a glance of renewed admiration.

  That was the only time Lisa and Carole had ever heard her express such an idea, and they told her so.

  “Well, now I know for sure that being willing to steal something from a brother doesn’t keep one from being a lady!” Stevie exclaimed with glee.

  “Not at all,” Tessa agreed conspiratorially. “I’ll do the deed tonight at home and then bring it back tomorrow.”

  Lisa looked at Carole and Stevie. “Didn’t I tell you she was wonderful?”

  NIGEL HAWTHORNE SAT proudly at the head of the table. He was having dinner with the Horse Wise team and seemed very pleased to have the four girls as his guests. He had wanted to include Tessa in the invitation, but she’d had to get back to Dickens. She had a very important errand there.

  “Oh, do have another slice,” he said to Stevie.

&nb
sp; “Thank you, Nigel, but I couldn’t,” Stevie said, more truthfully than she and her friends wanted to admit.

  “Well, I know Americans think theirs is the best pizza in the world, but I thought you’d like to have a taste of English-style pizza while you’re here.”

  Veronica started to say something. Carole didn’t like the look on her face, so she started talking instead.

  “It’s delicious,” she assured him. “It’s just that all the excitement of the show and all—you know.”

  “Oh, I do,” Nigel said, taking another slice of pepperoni pizza for himself. “I must say, aside from watching your team perform brilliantly, my favorite part of the day was hearing my personal fan club cheer me from the competitors’ section.”

  “Were we clapping too loudly?” Stevie asked.

  “Not at all,” said Nigel. “I truly appreciated it. In fact, it seemed as if it was the only appreciation I got all day.”

  Carole remembered the man who had greeted Nigel so unpleasantly at the exit gate of the arena. “Was that Lord Yaw—what’s his name?”

  “Just call him Yaxley,” Nigel said. “And yes, it was. He’s none too happy with me and Sterling.”

  “But you were wonderful and Sterling was doing his best,” Stevie said.

  “Apparently my wonderful and Sterling’s best are not good enough for Yaxley. He explained to me in clear tones that he’d been hoping for better.”

  “He’s tougher than Max,” Carole said.

  Nigel laughed. “Much. And more unreasonable, too. Still, I reminded him that dressage isn’t Sterling’s event. He’ll do better tomorrow, and better still in the jumping. A stallion like Sterling is too high-strung for the discipline of dressage.”

  “And we’ll cheer for him even more loudly, then,” Lisa promised.

  “I’ll be listening for it,” Nigel said. “And I’ll be cheering for Horse Wise at the mounted games, as well.” Nigel lifted his glass to the team, and they lifted theirs to him. Veronica didn’t say a word about English pizza—or any other pizza. Any time Veronica didn’t say something was a good time as far as The Saddle Club was concerned.