Horse Magic

by Bonnie Bryant

  “Oh, come on, Phil!” exclaimed one of them. It was Dinah’s voice.

  “No, I’m serious,” Phil’s voice came in return. Then he laughed softly. “Anyway, I’m sure she has no idea. Now come on, we’d better get out there before someone gets suspicious.”

  Lisa’s eyes widened. Whatever they were talking about, it didn’t sound like magic—black, white, or otherwise. And it didn’t sound like good news to Lisa. She quickly backed away from the stall and tiptoed back across the aisle. Seeing that Prancer was now munching placidly at her feed bin, Lisa gave her a quick pat and hurried away around the corner of the U-shaped stall area. She didn’t want Phil and Dinah to know she’d caught them once again. And she also didn’t want anyone else to know this time. She wasn’t ready for another lecture from Carole.

  Lisa paused when she was a safe distance away and leaned against the wail, wondering what to do. If Dinah and Phil really were up to no good behind Stevie’s back, wasn’t it Lisa’s duty as a friend to tell Stevie about it? She wasn’t sure. And the worst part of it was, she wasn’t sure Stevie would believe her even if she did tell her. It was just her word against Dinah’s. Lisa knew that Stevie trusted her, but she seemed to trust Dinah, too, and she’d known her a lot longer than she’d known Lisa.

  A snort from the stall behind her interrupted Lisa’s thoughts. A second later, a soft nose pushed at her head. Lisa turned around and couldn’t help smiling in spite of her dark thoughts. “Hi, Belle,” she said, patting the friendly mare. “How’s it going?”

  Belle snorted again and backed away. Lisa peered into the stall after her and caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar gleaming object in the feed bin. Lisa sighed and unlatched the stall door. “Looks like our friendly neighborhood poltergeist has been at it again,” she muttered, taking the cordless phone out of Belle’s feed bin and heading down the hall to return it to Mrs. Reg’s office.

  “I’M NOT SURE she’s ready for this,” Lisa said worriedly, stopping in front of Prancer’s stall and looking in. “She seems fine now, but I’m afraid that having a lot of strange kids around might spook her again.”

  Carole nodded, reaching out to stroke Prancer’s smooth neck as the mare came over to greet them. “I don’t blame you for being worried,” she said. “Prancer is still very young, and these kids aren’t used to being around horses. They could spook her and not even realize they’re doing it. It wouldn’t be safe for them or for her.”

  “I know.” Lisa sighed. “I’d really love to ride her today—I’d really love to ride her just about any day of the year—but I think this time I’d better not.”

  “Don’t worry,” Carole said with a smile, giving Lisa a friendly squeeze on the arm. “She’ll be here for you to ride tomorrow.” She could sympathize with her friend’s disappointment. Carole hated to be deprived of riding Starlight for even one day. He was relatively young and inexperienced, too, but thanks to Carole’s hard work with him she was confident he was up to the task ahead. But she couldn’t say the same about Prancer, and she knew that Lisa was making the right decision.

  “I guess I’ll go ask Max which horse I should ride instead,” Lisa said. “Then we can tack up so the horses will be ready when it’s time to start.”

  “Tell you what,” Carole said. “I’ll ask Max for you and then tack up both horses. That way you can get the costume box ready. I think that’s the last thing we have to do before the kids get here.”

  “It’s a deal,” Lisa said. “Thanks.”

  “No problem,” Carole said. “That’s what friends are for, right?” She hurried away in search of Max.

  Half an hour later, Lisa stepped back and admired her handiwork. She had just finished taping the sign she’d made onto the large cardboard costume box, which was sitting in the middle of the locker room. “Okay, I think that’s everything,” she said to Stevie, Phil, and Dinah, who were watching her. “We’re ready for them.”

  Carole walked in and announced that Starlight and Barq were tacked up. She looked at her watch. It was almost one o’clock. The Saddle Club, Dinah, Phil, and all the others had been working furiously all morning, stopping only long enough to wolf down the sandwiches Max’s wife, Deborah, brought them for lunch. But finally everything was done. The stable was sparkling clean and neat as a pin, except for the spooky Halloween decorations Meg Durham and Adam Levine had hung everywhere. The costume box was ready. Treasure stuffed in two large shopping bags stood waiting for Stevie to scatter throughout the woods. And two of Pine Hollow’s ponies were groomed to perfection and stood in their stalls waiting to be tacked up for the riding lessons. Everything was ready.

  “We still have one more thing to do, you know,” Carole reminded the others.

  “What?” Stevie asked.

  Carole grinned. “Our costumes.” She leaned over and grabbed a brown paper shopping bag out of her locker. “I’ll be right back.”

  “When did she get so modest?” Stevie wondered as Carole disappeared in the direction of the bathroom.

  “This must be the big surprise costume she’s been so mysterious about,” Lisa said. She opened her locker and grabbed the duffel bag that held her own costume.

  “I left my magician costume in Mrs. Reg’s office this morning,” Phil said. “I’d better go get it.” He left the room.

  Stevie sat down on the bench in front of her locker and reached down to open the door. “I wonder what Carole …” Her voice trailed off.

  “What’s wrong, Stevie?” Lisa asked.

  “The poltergeist has been at it again,” Stevie replied, pointing.

  Lisa and Dinah hurried over to look. Stevie’s locker was packed full of currycombs.

  “This is really weird,” Stevie said. She took the currycombs out of the locker one by one, piling them on the bench next to her. “I just looked in here half an hour ago. I had that poltergeist book in my back pocket and it was getting in the way, so I stuck it in here. And the only things in the locker then were the book and my costume. Well, and my spare breeches, and my low boots, and half an apple, and a few other things …”

  “We get the picture, Stevie,” Dinah said. “The question is, who could have done this? Everybody has been in and out of this room a million times today. Anybody who tried to do this would have been caught for sure.”

  “Anybody human, you mean,” Lisa said darkly.

  “Surprise!” Carole cried at that moment, rushing back into the room.

  Stevie gasped. “Carole! You’re a jockey!”

  Carole grinned and twirled around so they could see the whole costume. She was dressed in genuine blue-and-white jockey silks, complete with a cap, goggles, and a riding crop. “What do you think? I borrowed the whole outfit from Stephen, Mr. McLeod’s jockey.” Mr. McLeod was the owner of a local Thoroughbred racing stable. Max had bought Prancer from him.

  “It’s an amazing costume,” Lisa said, and she meant it. Carole looked perfect.

  “And the most amazing thing is that the clothes fit perfectly,” Stevie said. “It makes you realize just how small jockeys have to be.”

  “I know,” Carole said. “I was worried the pants would be too big and I wouldn’t be able to ride in them. But they’re just my size.”

  “Everybody ready?” Max shouted from the corridor outside. “The kids should be here any minute.”

  “Oops!” Dinah said. “We’d better get dressed too.” She began pulling on the Paul Revere costume she had borrowed from Stevie’s brother.

  Lisa tried not to watch. She was still annoyed that Stevie had given away the costume without asking her. Lisa had decided to be a cowgirl. She was going to wear jeans and a Western hat.

  Stevie finally got all the currycombs out of her locker and reached for her costume, which was wedged behind them. She had decided to dress as Betsy Ross—partly because it would go with Dinah’s costume and partly because her mother had a reproduction of a Revolutionary War flag that she had reluctantly agreed to let Stevie use.

  “What�
�s with the currycombs?” Carole asked.

  “Take a guess,” Stevie replied, unfolding the flag and hanging it over a bench. “Our friendly neighborhood poltergeist has struck again.”

  “It does seem to be picking on you, Stevie,” Carole said.

  “I know,” Stevie replied. She quickly pulled on her long colonial dress and tied a bonnet over her hair. “I think I’ll take a quick look at that book. I don’t remember reading whether they like to single out one young person to bother, or if they just pick on everyone as long as there’s a young person around.” She rummaged around in the bottom of the locker for a moment, then sat back on her heels with a frown. “That’s funny,” she muttered.

  “What’s wrong?” Lisa asked.

  “The book,” Stevie said. “It’s not here.”

  Before the others could answer, Mrs. Reg stuck her head into the room. “Come on, girls,” she said. “The bus just pulled into the drive. Let’s get out front and welcome the kids.”

  All talk of poltergeists was forgotten immediately. The girls straightened their costumes and hurried out to the head of the driveway. There they met Phil and the other Horse Wise members.

  “This is going to be fun,” Meg Durham exclaimed, yanking at the skirt of her witch costume. “I love Halloween.”

  The others agreed. They watched as the bus pulled to a stop in front of the stable and a harried-looking young man disembarked and went to speak to Max. On the bus, elementary-school-age kids were peeking out the windows, looking excited.

  A moment later the young man returned to the bus, and a second after that the kids began pouring off. For a while, pandemonium reigned. There were only a dozen city kids, but from the noise they were making there could have been twice that number. The boys and girls, all of them between the ages of six and ten, were obviously restless after their long ride from Washington. As soon as their feet touched the ground they started running around excitedly looking at everything—the stable building, the horse van, the outdoor ring, even the mailbox—shouting and shrieking the whole time. Susan Connors, the woman who had spoken to Horse Wise the week before, got off the bus with the kids. Despite her best efforts and those of the young man, the kids were completely out of control.

  But before things could get really out of hand, Colonel Hanson stepped forward and raised his hand. “Atten-shun!” he shouted at the top of his lungs in his most official-sounding military voice. Instantly all the kids fell silent and turned to stare at him, wide-eyed.

  “Whoa!” said one little boy with large dark eyes and long lashes. “He’s like a real soldier or something!”

  Max flashed Colonel Hanson a grateful smile and then turned away to confer with Susan Connors and the van driver about what time they should return for the kids.

  Colonel Hanson stepped toward the boy who had spoken and saluted. “That’s Colonel Hanson of the United States Marine Corps to you,” he barked. “What’s your name, private?”

  “I’m Joe,” replied the boy, returning the salute as best he could. “My uncle used to be a Marine too. But now he’s a policeman.”

  Carole giggled. “He’s adorable!” she whispered to Lisa.

  Within minutes Colonel Hanson had found out all the kids’ names and introduced them to everyone from Pine Hollow. Then, with true military precision, he had them line up in front of Max. “Mr. Regnery is the commanding officer around here,” he told them sternly. “You listen to him.”

  A little girl named Lulu raised her hand timidly. “When do we get to see the horses?” she asked.

  Max laughed and tossed Colonel Hanson a rather sloppy salute. “I think that’s my cue to take over, Colonel.”

  Colonel Hanson smiled and saluted back. “Yes, sir!” He stepped back to join Carole and her friends.

  “Now, to answer your question, young lady,” Max said to Lulu. “You’re going to get to see some horses right now. Is everyone ready to learn how to ride?”

  There was a chorus of excited yells from the kids.

  “I think they’re saying yes,” Stevie commented to her friends.

  Max nodded to Carole and Lisa, who stepped forward. “First of all,” he said, “we’re going to break up into two groups, and then you’ll get to see how we get horses ready for riding. It’s called ‘tacking up.’ ”

  The group moved over to the outdoor ring, where the ponies were contentedly nibbling at some hay. “I think it’s time for me to head for the woods,” Stevie told Dinah and Phil as Max began dividing the kids into two groups. “Belle and I have got to plant the stuff for the treasure hunt.”

  “We’d better go finish setting up,” Phil said. Dinah nodded. The three friends hurried off on their respective errands.

  When Stevie arrived at Belle’s stall, she stopped short. “Oh no, not again,” she muttered. She stooped to pick up the poltergeist book, which was leaning against Belle’s stall door.

  Meanwhile, Red and Carole were leading one of the groups of kids toward a small paddock nearby that would serve as a second ring. Carole greeted the small gray pony inside with a pat on the neck. “This is Nickel,” she told the kids. She gestured to the saddle and bridle that were waiting, draped over the fence. “In a minute I’m going to show you how to tack him up. But first, Red is going to go over a few very important rules that you have to remember when you’re around horses.”

  Red nodded and cleared his throat. “Thanks, Carole,” he said. “First of all, as you can see, horses are big, strong animals—even a relatively small one like Nickel, here. The horses here are very well trained and under normal conditions are gentle and obedient. But you have to remember that a sudden movement or a loud noise could frighten them, and then they can be dangerous. You always have to be aware of your horse’s mood. One way you can do that is by watching his ears.” He pointed at Nickel’s ears, which were relaxed but alert. “You can see that Nickel’s ears are perked forward. That shows that he’s paying attention and isn’t nervous or scared. If he were, his ears would most likely be flattened back against his head.”

  Red continued to discuss horse safety for a few more minutes, then turned and nodded to Carole. She stepped forward. “Now that we know a little about our horse and his moods, we’re ready to start tacking up,” she said. She clipped Nickel’s lead line to the gate, then picked up the saddle and showed it to the kids. “We’ll put the saddle on first. That’ll give it time to warm up and settle while we put the bridle on.”

  She demonstrated how to position the saddle and the pad underneath it, sliding them back from the withers to be sure the pony’s hair underneath was lying flat and smooth. Then she fastened the girth.

  Red handed her the bridle. “First, we take off the halter—that’s what this thing he’s wearing is called,” Carole explained. She quickly removed the halter and pulled the bridle on, sliding the bit into the pony’s mouth and gently pulling the headstall over his ears. She adjusted the brow band and fastened the throatlatch and noseband, explaining what she was doing at each step.

  “There,” she said, giving the pony a pat. “Now all we have to do is double-check that girth. Sometimes when you tighten it, the pony holds his breath. Then when he lets his breath out the girth is too loose! After you check it again, you’re ready to go.”

  “But first Carole is going to go get her horse,” Red said. “She’ll be showing you how to mount him.”

  “You have your very own horse?” asked a little girl in awe.

  Carole nodded, thinking how lucky she was. It wasn’t the first time she’d thought that, but looking at these kids, most of whom couldn’t keep a puppy, let alone a horse, made her feel even more fortunate. “His name is Starlight,” she said quietly. “I’ll be right back.”

  Inside the stable door, she almost collided with Lisa. “How’s it going so far?” Lisa asked.

  “Great,” Carole said. “How about your group?”

  “Oh, they’re wonderful,” Lisa said with a smile. “That little boy Joe is a real charact
er. He can hardly stop talking about his uncle the policeman. It turns out he’s a mounted officer in Washington. He even taught Joe a little bit about riding.”

  “That’s great,” Carole said. “It’s nice to know that even in the city there are still horses around.”

  “Of course there are,” Lisa reminded her. “Don’t you remember when we went riding in Central Park in New York City? And my parents once took me to watch a polo match on the Mall in Washington. There are horses everywhere!”

  Carole grinned. “And that’s the way it should be. But right now, we’d better get a move on so there will be horses out there!”

  Lisa couldn’t argue with that. Both girls hurried off.

  A short while later, after demonstrating mounting, dismounting, and proper riding posture on Barq, Lisa watched as Max helped one of the kids onto Penny’s back. She knew the lessons were going well, and she could tell that the kids were enjoying themselves. That was important to Lisa. Although riding was a lot of work in some ways, it was also a lot of fun. It occurred to her that this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of the kids. That made her sad, but in her opinion once in a lifetime was at least a little better than never.

  Lisa stepped forward to take Penny’s lead and keep the pony still while Max helped the first rider find the stirrups. Max smiled gratefully at Lisa for knowing exactly what to do. She smiled back proud of herself for doing so well as assistant instructor. It was clear that Max was proud of her, too, and that made Lisa feel even better. The only thing she would have changed if possible was the horse she was riding during the lesson. She loved Barq, but she missed Prancer. Still, she knew that it was for the best. The mare would learn and improve with time, just as Lisa herself had. Right now Prancer just wasn’t ready for this kind of situation.

  The rest of the hour flew by. Each of the visitors had a chance to ride one of the ponies at a walk and a trot. Before Lisa knew it, it was time to put Nickel and Penny away and start the treasure hunt. Stevie had returned from hiding the objects, so that meant everything was ready. Lisa dismounted and watched as Adam Levine led the two ponies inside for a well-deserved grooming. She noticed that Adam had some carrots stuffed in his back pocket for the ponies, who’d been good as gold during the lesson.