Secret of the Stallion

by Bonnie Bryant

  When dinner was finished, Carole asked Nigel if he could drop them off at the stables so that they could be sure their horses were properly bedded down for the night.

  “I’d be pleased to do that. I wish I could come with you, but my own team is having a meeting. I have an early start time tomorrow. Will you look in on Sterling while you’re there?”

  “Definitely,” Carole said. “In fact, I brought an extra carrot just for him.”

  Nigel led the girls to his car. “Next stop, the stable.”

  “Could you just drop me at the hotel?” Veronica asked. “I have a little more confidence in the lads at the stable than my teammates do, and I’m so tired …” She stretched her arms out as if to prove a point that nobody believed anyway.

  A few minutes later, Stevie, Lisa, and Carole hopped out of Nigel’s car at the stable, thanking him sincerely for a wonderful dinner and the ride.

  “See you tomorrow!” Nigel said.

  “Good luck!” called Stevie. Nigel waved and off he went.

  The long summer twilight was finally turning to darkness as the girls entered the stable tent. ’Ank sat with his feet propped up on his desk, sound asleep. Behind him, a horse snorted. ’Ank woke up with a start.

  “Well, what are you doing ’ere?” he demanded when he saw the three girls in front of him.

  “Just checking on our horses,” Lisa said.

  “Ay, the Dickens ’orses, Oi remember,” he said. “You know the way. Get on with it.”

  The girls took that as permission and made their way down the aisle. Their first stop was Sterling. He seemed relaxed, as if he knew that the hardest part of the event was over for him.

  Carole slipped him his carrot and patted him. He remained aloof, as if seeming grateful were undignified.

  “Oh, come on, boy. Everybody loves a carrot!” Carole teased. She held out her hand to pat him. Finally he gave in. He stepped over to the door of the stall and allowed Carole to give him a pat and then a hug. Then, as if he were embarrassed by his show of affection, he stepped back into the corner of the stall.

  “Good night,” Carole said. She turned to her friends. “He’s just bashful,” she explained. Lisa and Stevie agreed.

  Their next stop was to check on their own horses. They were fine and in good spirits and all welcomed the late-night snack. Nickleby enjoyed his as much as the others did.

  “We’re sorry you got Veronica,” Stevie said. “She’s too selfish to come here herself, but we promise to take as good care of you as we do the other horses. We’ve gotten good at making up for her shortcomings!” Nickleby seemed unconcerned. He was just happy to have a sweet carrot to munch.

  “I think it’s time to get back,” Lisa said. “We’ve got to work out our costumes for tomorrow night.”

  “Oh, right. It’s only Veronica who is having something expressed across the Atlantic, isn’t it? We have to do something.” Stevie sighed.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Carole said, giving Miss Havisham a final pat.

  They said good night to ’Ank and began the pleasant walk back to their hotel. The girls chatted about their costumes as they walked, trying to decide exactly what to do with their hair so that they’d look like Roundheads.

  “Mousse,” said Stevie. “That can hold it flat.”

  “Gel,” Carole suggested.

  “Why don’t we just wear ponytails?” Lisa asked. “I don’t think they had mousse in the sixteen-forties.”

  “But they had greasy stuff. I’m sure,” Carole said.

  “Did you bring some gel?” Stevie asked.

  “Uck, no. I hate the stuff,” said Carole.

  “I do, too, but I brought it anyway,” said Stevie.

  “I brought mousse,” Lisa said. “But I still think ponytails will do it—as long as we can make our hair lie flat.”

  “Look, here’s what we can do,” Stevie said. She wanted to demonstrate how to brush and comb their hair so that it would come out perfectly. She stepped in front of her friends and began walking backward rapidly so that they could see what she was doing.

  “If we brush it upwards and then—”

  She didn’t mean to walk -right into the man in the trench coat, but she never saw him, and because he had a limp he couldn’t get out of the way fast enough.

  Both of them fell to the ground. Stevie popped right up.

  “Oh, I’m sorry!” she said.

  The man just grumbled as he struggled to right himself. “Here, I’ll help you,” Stevie said, offering him a hand. He took it grudgingly.

  “I really didn’t mean to do that,” Stevie said.

  The man just glared. Then he limped on slowly. He never said a thing to Stevie.

  “How rude,” Stevie muttered as the girls continued their walk.

  Carole and Lisa agreed. Even though Stevie shouldn’t have bumped into him, she had helped him up and had apologized.

  “Some people,” Stevie said finally.

  “Some people shouldn’t walk backwards in the dark,” Carole said.

  “I know,” Stevie conceded. “But I do have this great idea for our hair. Still, I guess I’m going to have to wait until we’re back in the room.”

  A few minutes later in their hotel room, Stevie had the chance to demonstrate. It involved ponytails, gel, and mousse.

  “It looks pretty awful, but very roundheaded,” Lisa admitted.

  By the time Stevie was finished with her hairdressing demonstration, Lisa had assembled an outfit that would work for all of them. “If we go as boys—you know, the apprentices who were the first ones to sign up with the Roundheads—then we can really just wear our riding clothes, breeches, high boots, loose blouses, and no jackets.”

  “And then if we get a chance to buy some orange ribbon, we can add orange sashes. That was what the Roundhead soldiers wore,” said Carole.

  “Perfect,” Lisa agreed. “And that’s that.”

  “Except for masks,” Stevie said. “What are we going to do for masks?”

  “Do you think we could get hold of some Groucho glasses—you know, nose and mustache?” Carole asked.

  “Not what I had in mind,” said Stevie. “For this kind of costume ball, you’re supposed to have the kind of mask that you sort of hold up to your face.” She scrunched her face in thought. “If only we had some cardboard—any cardboard.” Then her eyes came to rest on the desk, where a booklet about the hotel’s amenities lay. “Ah!” she said. “The room service menu!”

  Ten minutes later, each girl had a small mask cut from the room service menu. Lisa and Carole agreed that nobody but Stevie would have thought of that.

  “A good night’s work,” Stevie declared.

  Her friends agreed. It was time to sleep. Tomorrow would be another very busy day.

  Cummington Castle

  July 20

  Dear Diary,

  Today I found the first of the duke’s treasure. I truly did! I can hardly believe it myself, but here, sitting in front of me, are two jewels, a pearl and a diamond. There’s only one explanation for their presence under the oak tree by the castle. And this is just the tip of the iceberg! I’m bursting to tell somebody, but I can’t. It has to be my secret until I’ve found it all, every last gem. I can’t wait!

  Speaking of things I can’t wait for, tomorrow’s ball is one of them. My dress will arrive tomorrow. The poor other Pony Clubbers who won’t have proper ballgowns will have to go as boring old Roundheads. I shall be a glamorous Cavalier and I intend to look the part. My appearance will surely appeal most to one who is used to fine and beautiful things. And won’t he just love the tiara?! ! ! !

  Love, soon-to-be-rich-even-beyond-my-wildest-dreams,

  Veronica

  “COME ON, LET’S get going. No dawdling,” Carole said the next morning, sounding more like a parent than she’d meant to. She herded her two friends through the village and over to the stables. “We don’t have any time to waste.”

  “For someone who can be flaky about
a lot of things, you certainly are being organized this morning,” Stevie said, trailing after her friend.

  “We have to be there for Nigel,” Carole reminded Stevie and Lisa. “He said he’s got an early start time for the cross-country jumping and he needs us to cheer him on. We can’t let him down!”

  Lisa and Stevie both began walking faster.

  They found Nigel at Sterling’s stall, doing a final check on the stallion’s grooming. Standing next to him was the man they knew was Yaxley. He didn’t seem any happier this morning than he had been yesterday afternoon. The girls didn’t want to get in the way. They stood nearby, trying to appear as if they weren’t listening. Yaxley paid no attention to them. He just scowled while Nigel talked, and nothing Nigel said seemed to please him.

  “We’ll do our best, sir,” Nigel said.

  “Your best wasn’t good enough yesterday,” Yaxley grumbled.

  “Dressage isn’t Sterling’s event,” Nigel said. “He’s too spirited for it.”

  “And what about today’s cross-country? What are you going to be saying to me after that?”

  “I’m going to be saying that we’ve done our best, sir,” Nigel said.

  “Hmph,” Yaxley remarked. Then he stomped off.

  “How can you stand that?” Stevie asked Nigel when she was pretty sure Yaxley was out of earshot.

  “It’s the price I pay for being able to ride a fabulous horse like Sterling. It’s not the stallion’s fault that his owner is a wretch.”

  Carole rubbed her hand along the horse’s face. He responded by nodding, as if he remembered the carrot she’d brought him the night before.

  “How strange to have such a dreadful man own such a wonderful horse,” she said, smoothing the stallion’s silvery coat.

  “In a way, I understand,” Nigel said. “Horses are a business for him and he sees this fellow as an investment—an expensive one. He had his hopes set on Sterling.”

  “As a show horse?” Stevie asked.

  “No, as a breeder. But to be a valuable breeder, the horse first has to show that he’s got the stuff of champions. Unless he does, he’ll never be a valuable stallion be cause the public will not be clamoring for his offspring. I want the horse to succeed, but I also want to succeed for Yaxley. Years ago, he was one of the first owners to let me ride his mounts in the competition ring. I owe him a lot.”

  “Well, you’re giving him a lot, too,” Carole said. “And I don’t think he understands how much.”

  “He doesn’t have to understand, really. It’s my job to win for him.”

  “And we’ll be cheering you on, too!” Lisa said brightly.

  “Where are you going to be on the course?” Nigel asked.

  “Everywhere,” Stevie assured him. She pulled a course map out of her pocket and showed him how they’d all figured they could dash around the course and watch Nigel several times during his trial. “We call these checkpoints,” Stevie explained. “If we’ve got the timing right, we should be able to see you in the woods, in the swamp, and at three jumps that are near each other.”

  “Plus at the finish, of course,” Carole said.

  “Every time you hear cheers, it’s us,” Lisa promised.

  “So good luck!” Carole said. The girls gave Nigel and Sterling final pats and hugs.

  “Thanks, girls,” Nigel said. “Your support means a great deal to me—”

  “And to Sterling?” Carole asked.

  “And to Sterling,” Nigel assured them.

  The Saddle Club had seen cross-country courses before, but they’d never seen one this rigorous. Pine Hollow sponsored a three-day event every year, but three-day events varied tremendously in their difficulty, particularly in the cross-country section. In this case, the course was expected to take each rider about fifteen minutes to complete, including a section through a hilly wooded area, one through a swampy section, and another, the easiest to watch, over a serpentine of hazardous jumps. It was expected to be exhausting to the rider and the horse. One look at the first few riders covering the course and the girls knew that these expectations were completely accurate.

  “First stop: the hillside!” Stevie declared and then led the way.

  “This can’t be right,” said Lisa a while later when Stevie stopped to check her map. They were standing at the base of what seemed almost like a cliff—a rocky obstacle perhaps five feet high—leading up to a path that snaked through the woods.

  “No way,” Carole agreed.

  Twenty minutes later, the first horse arrived. The rider, seeing what lay ahead, took a good running start, and up the horse went, scrambling up the cliff onto the trail.

  “Whew!” said Carole. “I’m not sure I would have thought it was possible.”

  “What number was that?” Lisa asked.

  “Seven-oh-six,” Carole said.

  “Two more and then Nigel.”

  The next competitor appeared a little while later. As with the previous one, the rider decided that the way to get up the hill was at a gallop. The horse agreed. They reached the base of the cliff and the horse crested it in two long strides. Unfortunately, the rider didn’t make it at all. She remained on the ground below, stunned by her fall.

  She shook her head to clear it. Then she tried to stand up. Her ankle collapsed under her and she fell again.

  She was out of the race and the competition. An official retrieved her horse while a medic helped her off the course and into an ambulance.

  It was a sobering scene that prepared them for what was to come. The next horse refused the obstacle repeatedly, and he and his rider were eliminated.

  Then came Nigel. Lisa and Stevie held their breath as they watched Nigel. Carole didn’t take her eyes off Sterling. The horse’s muscles shivered with anticipation. His nostrils flared. His gait changed from an easy canter to a tearing gallop. His head came forward, chin jutting almost determinedly. His ears lay back. His tail flicked. He was ready. He never hesitated as he approached the cliff and he simply flew upward, landing smoothly on the ground above. Nigel beamed with pride.

  “Yoweeeee!” Stevie cried out. Carole and Lisa joined her in cheering on their favorite rider. Nigel and Sterling were magnificent. And then they were gone, dashing along the course to their next obstacle.

  Stevie checked her map. Their next checkpoint was on the other side of the hill. The girls ran around the hill as quickly as they could, arriving at the swampy area just in time to see the white stallion sloshing through the water at a raging clip.

  The girls had to hurry to get to their next checkpoint so that they could watch Sterling jump.

  It took them several minutes to make it back to the jump serpentine. By then they were tired from jogging, taking shortcuts across the course. The horses and riders had gone the long way at a gallop most of the time and had to be near exhaustion. And then they had to jump. The girls couldn’t wait to see how Nigel and Sterling did.

  Just as they found a perch where they could view three of the jumps on the course, horses started thundering through one at a time. The horse before 706 arrived, splattering mud everywhere.

  “This isn’t a neat and tidy event, is it?” Lisa asked, removing a gob of mud from her forehead.

  “No, it’s pure rough-and-tumble,” Carole said, grinning with excitement.

  The first jump they could see appeared to be a regular white fence. However, on the far side of it was a small pool of water. The horses would land in the water and then scramble up out of the pool.

  “That’s one way of getting the mud off,” said Stevie, wiping splashed water off her course map.

  By the time they’d dried themselves off, horse number 706 was ready to soak them again. They’d gotten smarter, however, and were now standing back a few feet. It was a good thing, because 706 was a magnificent jumper and soared right over the fence. His splash was tremendous. Apparently the rider was unaware of the water; she shrieked in surprise. The horse, however, was unflappable. He just kept on going.


  “That’s a great horse,” said Carole.

  “Not a bad rider,” Stevie said.

  “What a pair!” Lisa said, smiling to herself. She was feeling wonderful. There she was with her two best friends, watching beautiful horses do seemingly impossible things. It was a nearly perfect combination. Only one thing could make it better.

  “Here comes Nigel!” Stevie announced.

  A look at Sterling made the girls realize that number 706 had been merely a horse. Sterling was a magnificent steed.

  Nigel approached the jump at a smooth speed and at just the right instant signaled Sterling to jump. The stallion flicked his tail, rose in the air, and soared over the jump. He flew so well and so far that he landed on the other side of the water. He never splashed a drop.

  “That ought to keep Yaxley happy!” Stevie said.

  “Yeah,” said Carole.

  Minutes later Sterling and Nigel reappeared, ready for the next jump in their view.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen jumping like that,” Carole said, watching him take the next jump. Sterling made it over, but he stumbled as he landed. Clearly he was getting tired. He refused the third jump once, but flew right over it on the next try. And then it was time for the girls to race to the finish line.

  The last part of the course was open and flat except for a final triple combination of jumps right before the finish line. The Saddle Club found Max, Mrs. Reg, Veronica, and Tessa waiting for them. Tessa winked as The Saddle Club arrived in the stands. Stevie knew the signal. It meant she had the pyrite. The three girls joined their group and waited for Nigel and Sterling’s finish.

  “Where have you been?” Veronica asked.

  “Out on the course watching Nigel,” Carole said. “How’s he doing?” Max asked.

  “Brilliantly,” Lisa told him.

  “Well, we did see Sterling refuse a jump, but he made it the next try,” said Carole.

  “That can happen on a cross-country course like this,” Max said.

  “Here he comes!” Stevie announced, spotting the speeding silvery horse.

  The actions of the horse and rider were so smooth as they cantered that Nigel and Sterling seemed to flow across the final mile of the course rather than ride it. No matter how tired the horse was, his motion appeared effortless. Carole hoped that would be true of the final jumps as well.