“Their project for the craft fair.”
“Oh, right,” May said. She was trying to pretend that she knew all about the project. But she didn’t know anything about it.
Mrs. James must have noticed that something was bothering May because she asked, “Is anything wrong?”
“Nothing at all,” May said. “Everything is totally great. I’ve got this new pony I’m training. How could anything be better?”
“I’ll tell Jasmine and Corey you were here,” Mrs. James said. “I know they’ll be excited to hear that you’re training a new pony. I’m sure they’ll go over to your house to meet him.”
But Jasmine and Corey never came.
That night May wrote in her diary:
Dear Diary,
Yesterday I was worried because my life seemed boring.
Here’s a list of what happened today:
Macaroni came down with a limp.
He has a corn and can’t be ridden for a week or even longer.
I met the biggest snob on earth. Her name is Kimberly.
I’m training Kimberly’s pony. His name is Zeus. The only problem is that I don’t know how to train ponies.
Corey and Jasmine are doing a craft project. Without me.
They have forgotten I exist.
I wish my life would go back to being boring.
5 Training with Dad
It was barely light when May opened her eyes. Usually when she woke this early, she rolled over and went back to sleep. But Zeus was in the barn. There was pony training to do.
She got dressed and went down to the kitchen, where she filled a bowl with cereal and poured herself a glass of milk.
Mr. Grover ambled into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
“May,” he said, “what are you doing up at this hour?”
“A pony trainer has to get up bright and early,” May said.
Mr. Grover looked at his watch. “I like your attitude,” he said. He walked over to the toaster and popped in an English muffin. Then he turned on the coffee machine. The machine sputtered, and in a few minutes the kitchen smelled of fresh coffee.
“So where do we start?” May said.
“We have to find out how much Zeus knows,” Mr. Grover said. “We’ll have to start with the longe line.”
May had been looking forward to riding Zeus, but she knew her father was right. They had to start slow and easy.
“I never handled a horse on a line,” she said.
“It’s easy,” Mr. Grover said. “You’ll be good at it.”
May waited while her father drank his coffee and ate his English muffin. Finally he said, “Let’s go.”
They walked out to the barn and into the tack room.
“I guess we need the cavesson,” May said. That was a special halter with a metal ring in the center of the strap that went across the pony’s nose.
“That’s right,” said Mr. Grover.
“And the longe line,” May said. That was a long leather strap that was attached to the ring on the cavesson.
“And the whip, and the gloves.” May picked them up. She knew that if she didn’t wear gloves, the line would hurt her hands. And if she didn’t have a whip, Zeus wouldn’t know when to move.
“All set,” she said.
“One more thing,” Mr. Grover said. “A riding hat.”
“But I won’t be riding Zeus.”
“When you’re working with a new horse, you should always wear a hat because you can’t tell what’s going to happen,” said Mr. Grover.
May got her black riding hat and put it on.
She went into Zeus’s stall and showed him the cavesson, the line, and the whip. “I know this seems like a lot of equipment,” she said to him, “but this is what we’ll be using.”
Zeus seemed curious.
May took off his halter and put on the cavesson. Then she snapped the line onto the cavesson ring. She led Zeus out of his stall and into the ring.
Mr. Grover was leaning on the fence, waiting.
“Give him about twelve feet of line,” he said.
May unlooped the line from her left hand.
“Ask him to walk,” Mr. Grover said.
May shook the line.
Zeus looked at her with interest, but he didn’t move.
She realized it was time to use the whip. She gave Zeus a small tap on his rear.
He started to walk.
“So far so good,” she said to her dad.
After Zeus had walked around the ring twice, Mr. Grover said, “How about a trot?”
She tapped Zeus on the rear. He burst into a snappy trot, lifting his knees high.
“Nice trot,” Mr. Grover said. “This is a pony with talent.”
May felt proud for Zeus. “I knew you were great,” she said to him.
“He’s been ridden by someone who knows and cares about ponies,” Mr. Grover said. He smiled at May. “Just like you.”
A few minutes later Jasmine and Corey appeared on the other side of the fence. They climbed up and leaned over the top.
“You’re training a pony,” Jasmine said.
“I’m just a beginner,” May said modestly. “But it’s really interesting.”
“How do you know what to do?” Corey asked.
“My dad tells me.” May was about to launch into a speech about how important it was to wear a hat when you were working with a new pony. But then she noticed that Corey and Jasmine weren’t paying attention.
“Purple eyes don’t go with a green mane,” Corey said.
“They do!” Jasmine said.
“Purple eyes with a pink mane would be much better,” Corey said.
“They would not!” Jasmine said. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“I’ll show you.” Corey climbed off the fence. Jasmine climbed down after her. They headed toward the Jameses’ house.
Well, May thought, at least I can be a good pony trainer. She turned back to Zeus. “Okay,” she said, “let’s work on that trot. I want to see high knees.”
Half an hour later May noticed that Mr. Grover was watching from the outside of the ring.
“You and Zeus are doing so well, I think it’s time to saddle up,” he said.
“For real?” May said. The truth was that her left arm was getting tired, and she was getting dizzy from watching Zeus move in circles around the ring. “Like right now?”
“Right now,” Mr. Grover said with a smile.
May led Zeus back to his stall.
She got the bridle and saddle Mr. Grover had brought over from the Randalls’ stable. Naturally, they were new and expensive. But Zeus deserved them.
When May put the bridle and saddle on him, Zeus frisked in his stall, ready to go.
She led him outside, mounted, and walked him twice around the paddock. Zeus was already warm from his work on the longe line, but May didn’t want him to get the idea that he could go straight into a trot.
After Zeus had walked around the paddock twice more, May pressed her knees against his sides and loosened the reins. Zeus broke into a light, airy trot. It felt wonderful and exciting.
Macaroni’s trot was solid and comfortable. Macaroni was totally surefooted. She could trot him anywhere and not worry that he would fall.
Her first pony, Luna, had a slow, rocking trot. Riding Luna had been like sitting in a swing.
All ponies have different gaits, May thought. And Zeus’s are wonderful!
Corey sat on the floor cutting out ponies. Jasmine was at the sewing machine sewing them together.
At first Corey had had trouble following the pattern, but she had gotten better. In fact, now she was having fun. Mrs. James’s scissors were sharp. If Corey held them right, they seemed to fly through the fabric.
“I think we’re actually going to be able to make these pony pillows after all,” Jasmine said.
“At first I wasn’t sure,” said Corey. “But now I think you’re right.”
Corey finished the pony shape
s she’d been cutting and carried them over to Jasmine at the machine. She went back to the heap of fabric to look for another big scrap.
Corey picked up a checkered print with cutouts of ponies sewn to it. She touched one of the ponies and saw that it was sewn to the fabric by hand.
“Will you look at this?” Corey said.
Jasmine rubbed her eyes. “Sewing can really make you cross-eyed,” she said. She looked at the piece of fabric.
“That’s my old dress,” she said. “My mother made it for my sixth birthday.”
“It’s beautiful,” Corey said.
“When I outgrew that dress I thought I was going to cry,” Jasmine said. “I loved that dress.”
“Don’t worry,” Corey said. “It will make the best pony pillow ever.”
6 Zeus the Wonder Pony
Two days later May couldn’t believe the progress Zeus had made. To get him to trot, all she had to do was close her legs around his belly and slightly loosen the reins. The minute she did, Zeus pranced forward. When she wanted him to stop, all she had to do was to press down firmly through her seat and pull lightly on the reins.
This did not mean that Zeus was perfect. He was a young pony, after all. Sometimes he didn’t obey her. Once he trotted sideways across the ring. But it was clear that he wanted to learn.
“Zeus has a natural talent for learning,” May said to her father. “I can’t believe how smart he is.”
“You have a natural talent for training,” Mr. Grover said. “You’ve done wonders with him.”
May wished she could tell Corey and Jasmine about the training. But they didn’t seem interested.
They had promised to take her mind off Macaroni’s sore foot. Instead, they were ignoring her. On Wednesday, during their riding lesson at Pine Hollow, all they’d been able to talk about was sewing.
May had been planning to go to the craft fair on Friday with them, but now she wasn’t even sure she was invited.
She was thinking about the fair as she led Zeus into the barn. Suddenly she heard a very lonely whinny from Macaroni’s stall. She saw him peering out at her.
Talk about being ignored! May realized she’d spent hardly any time with Macaroni since Zeus had arrived.
As soon as Zeus was settled in his stall, May went back to see Macaroni.
“How’s your foot?” she asked.
Macaroni raised his foot as if he’d been dying for her to ask. It looked much better since the blacksmith had removed the corn two days earlier, but it was still swollen—he obviously couldn’t be ridden.
May put her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy.”
Macaroni stuck his nose into her hair and nickered. She rubbed her cheek against his soft coat. “I love you, Mac.”
She stood back so that she could smooth Macaroni’s forelock, which he especially liked. It seemed to her that his brown eyes were sad.
May felt terrible. Was Macaroni jealous of Zeus?
“I love you best, Mac,” she said.
He still looked sad. May had a horrible thought: Maybe he was right to be jealous. She had been enjoying Zeus. In fact, she’d been enjoying him so much she had almost forgotten about Macaroni’s sore foot.
May went back to the house, feeling terrible. She poked at her food during dinner. As soon as the meal was over, she went upstairs and got out her diary.
She wrote:
Dear Diary,
Macaroni and Zeus are both great. But they’re different. Macaroni is gentle. Zeus is adventurous. Macaroni is loyal. Zeus is smart.
May looked at what she’d just written. She felt confused. She decided to make a list.
MACARONI
Gentle
Loyal
Patient
Reliable
Neat
ZEUS
Intelligent
Adventurous
Good sense of humor
Independent
Brave
May sat back to read what she had written and was shocked. Macaroni came out sounding like a total nothing.
She had meant to highlight the differences between the two ponies. She had meant to point out that each pony was wonderful in his own way.
But was that true? When she rode Zeus, she could imagine galloping across a windswept meadow, or crossing a wild, rolling stream.
When she rode Macaroni, she usually thought about warm, comfortable things. Like Mrs. James’s cookies.
Could Macaroni be dull?
7 The Terrible Truth?
As May rode Zeus the next morning, she felt guilty. She couldn’t stop thinking about her diary. Her list made Macaroni sound like a bore.
Macaroni was not a bore.
On the other hand, maybe she and Macaroni weren’t meant for each other. She knew that this happened sometimes. At Pine Hollow Stables, Max Regnery often talked about how important it was to match pony and rider. Sometimes, according to Max, they just didn’t fit. Then it was necessary to find a new combination.
Her first pony, Luna, had been kind of poky. It had been a relief to move from Luna to Macaroni. Maybe now it was time to move from Macaroni to a pony like Zeus.
No way, May thought. She loved Macaroni, and she would love him forever.
She wished she could talk it over with Corey and Jasmine. But they were never around anymore. It was as if the two of them had disappeared from her life.
May looked up at Jasmine’s bedroom window. Corey and Jasmine were probably sewing on buttons or yarn right this minute. And they didn’t need May’s help.
Looking at Jasmine’s window made May feel sad. She turned Zeus’s head and rode toward the other side of the paddock.
“We’ll never finish in time,” Corey groaned as she stuffed the leg of a pony pillow. She brushed her black bangs out of her eyes.
“We have to,” said Jasmine grimly as she sewed eyes on the pony that had been made from her old party dress. “Mom is counting on us.” She wrapped the thread around the button, pulled the thread, and snapped it.
The button fell off.
“I can’t even sew,” Jasmine moaned. She picked up the pony pillow. Someday it would be beautiful—if she ever finished it.
“I’m incredibly slow,” Corey said as she stuffed the leg. Mrs. James had showed her how to use a crochet hook to push in the stuffing, but it was tricky. If Corey pushed too hard, the leg became stiff. If she pushed too gently, the leg stayed as limp as a noodle.
Corey’s back ached. Her head ached. “How much time have we got?” she asked.
Jasmine looked at the clock over her desk. “Seven hours and twenty minutes.”
“We’ll never make it.”
“Yes, we will,” Jasmine said firmly. “But it’s going to be close.”
“I’ll be glad when we’re done,” said Corey with a sigh.
“Me too,” said Jasmine. “Twenty-four pony pillows is a lot.”
“Sam probably doesn’t even remember who I am,” Corey said.
“Outlaw probably thinks I deserted him,” Jasmine said.
“I miss May,” said Corey. “We haven’t talked to her in ages.”
Corey put down the pillow. “First it was Macaroni’s foot. Then it was Zeus. I know May loves ponies, but she never seems to have time for us. Sometimes I feel like she’s avoiding us.”
“No way,” Jasmine said.
But Corey couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something was wrong. She got up from the bed and walked over to the window.
Down in the paddock May was sitting on Zeus looking up at the window.
Corey raised her hand, but May must not have seen her. May turned Zeus’s head and walked him toward the other end of the paddock.
Corey opened the window and called, “May!”
But May was too far away. She didn’t hear.
Corey turned back to Jasmine. “I have the feeling that May misses us as much as we miss her. A second ago she was looking up at your window.”
Jasmi
ne got up and went over to look.
At the far end of the paddock May and Zeus seemed small and lonely.
“I really miss her,” Jasmine said.
Corey looked back at the bed, which was littered with pony pillows. She remembered now that May had tried to talk her and Jasmine out of doing a sewing project.
“She didn’t want us to sew,” Corey said. “We weren’t listening.”
Jasmine nodded. “We could have picked something she liked.”
“Remember when we didn’t stay to watch her give Zeus a lesson?”
“We ran off,” said Jasmine.
“At class on Wednesday we didn’t talk about anything but pillows,” Corey said.
“Some friends we are,” Jasmine said.
“We don’t even know if she’s coming to the fair tonight,” Jasmine said.
“What are we going to do?” Corey said. “The Pony Tails are supposed to solve problems. But this one is tough.”
Suddenly Jasmine started to smile.
Corey wondered how Jasmine could smile at a moment like this.
“I’ve got a great idea,” Jasmine said. “And I think it’s going to work.”
8 The Gift
May was grooming Zeus when she heard a sound.
“May?” said Jasmine’s voice.
May felt a sudden spurt of happiness. Jasmine and Corey hadn’t forgotten her after all. But then she realized that they’d probably come to talk about their craft project and how many pony pillows they’d finished.
“What?” said May, realizing that she sounded grumpy.
“Can you come out a second?” asked Corey’s voice.
“Well, okay,” May said.
She finished grooming Macaroni. She put the rubbing cloth back in the grooming carrier and picked the carrier up.
“See you, Mac,” she said, putting her hand on his neck. These days even grooming Macaroni wasn’t fun because it made her think about the entry in her diary.
She let herself out the stall door.
Corey and Jasmine were staring at her, grinning.
What is there to grin about? May wondered.
She noticed that Jasmine was holding something behind her back.
“We have something for you,” Jasmine said.
It was probably something dumb, May thought. Like a spool of thread.
Pony Tails 08- May Rides a New Pony Page 3