“Whoa there.” Jodi held up her hand in a halting motion. “Who said I was going to go along? I’ve got Mark Carey coming over here in a half an hour for a stable lesson in tacking up.”
There was a new sparkle in Dinah’s eye. “Uh-huh. I just bet that’s why he’s coming over here.…”
Now it was Jodi’s turn to look embarrassed. It was obvious that Mark was either Jodi’s boyfriend, or somebody she wanted to be her boyfriend. Stevie’s mind raced.
“Tacking-up lesson? Boy, I sure could use some pointers on that. If we can’t ride, why don’t Dinah and I just join in on that lesson? I forget,” she continued rapidly. “Which is it you put on first, the saddle or the bridle?”
Jodi gave Stevie a withering look. She knew she’d hit pay dirt. The last thing in the world that Jodi Hale wanted was to have two girls join in on her “lesson” with Mark Carey.
“And how do you keep the horse from biting your fingers when you put on the bridle?” Stevie pleaded.
“I just had a thought,” Jodi said. “Although you need an experienced rider on the trail, it doesn’t have to be me. From what Betsy said yesterday, Stevie here is a pretty experienced rider. You’ve done a lot of trail riding, haven’t you?”
“Pretty much,” Stevie said. “And not long ago I was on a five-day pack ride in the Rockies. Does that count? Of course, it was a dull trip, unless you want to consider the forest fire we had to get away from.” She scratched her chin thoughtfully. “I guess I’d have to say I am pretty experienced.”
“Well, then, why don’t you two go out alone?” Jodi suggested.
“On the Rocky Road Trail?” Betsy pleaded.
“Anything!” Jodi said, obviously more than a little frustrated with Stevie and Dinah. That was exactly what Stevie had had in mind.
“I’ll take Goldie, and Stevie can ride Evergreen?” Dinah asked.
“Yes,” Jodi said.
“Then let’s tack up,” Stevie said. She didn’t want to give Jodi time to change her mind.
“Good idea,” Jodi said, showing no signs of changing her mind. She really wanted Stevie and Dinah out of there before Mark arrived. “Saddle first,” she added wryly, letting Stevie know that she knew that Stevie knew perfectly well how to tack up a horse.
Stevie winked at her. Then she saluted, just the way Carole had taught her. “Aye, aye, ma’am,” she said.
“I’ll show you the tack room,” Dinah said. They were off.
JUST AS THE girls were about to ride out of the paddock and into the forest, Jodi emerged from the stable with a worried look on her face. She seemed to be having second thoughts.
“Hey, please be careful,” she said. “I mean, I know you’re a pretty good rider, Dinah, and Betsy tells me Stevie’s really experienced, but don’t do anything silly, okay?”
“Okay,” Dinah agreed. “You don’t have to worry about us. We won’t get hurt.”
“It’s not just that,” Jodi told them. “It’s also that Mr. Daviet would kill me if he knew I’d let you go out alone. The trail has been closed for the winter, and Mr. Daviet doesn’t want anybody on it until he has a chance to check it out later in the week. It can be slippery in this kind of weather. Be careful and keep your mouths shut.”
“We won’t tell—ever,” Dinah said.
“I promise,” Stevie added.
“Thanks,” Jodi told them. Then there was the sound of a car pulling into the stable driveway. Jodi disappeared as quickly as she’d appeared.
“I guess her ‘student’ is here,” Stevie said, smiling.
“So we’d better get out of here,” Dinah agreed. They began walking on a well-worn trail into the woods. “We’re no longer welcome, right?”
Stevie nodded and they began their ride. Stevie loved riding in the snowy forest. There wasn’t usually much snow in Virginia, even in the coldest winters. In Vermont you could count on a lot, especially in this mountainous area. Snow made the world feel different, smell different, sound different. This wasn’t new snow. It wasn’t even very fozen snow. It was a time of year when it was freezing at night, but in the daytime it was above freezing, and warm enough for snow to melt.
“Perfect sugaring weather,” Dinah had told her. “Just perfect.”
The snow was heavy and grainy. Every step of the horses’ hooves brought up dark black mud from under the snow. In some places, where the snow was particularly deep and wet, the horses had to labor to make each step, picking their feet up out of the moist blanket of snow.
There was a loud thumping sound. Evergreen jerked in surprise but didn’t try to run.
“What was that?” Stevie asked.
“Just a clump of melting snow falling from a branch,” Dinah told her. “You’ll hear a lot of that at this time of year. The horses won’t even notice it next time.”
As if on cue, another clump of snow fell off a nearby branch. Evergreen didn’t flinch.
“There’s a turn up ahead,” Dinah said, looking back at Stevie. “The path goes three different ways. The trail we usually take is to the right. That stays in the valley and is pretty but kind of boring. Since Jodi said we could go on the Rocky Road Trail, we’ll go to the left. Is that okay with you?”
Stevie was surprised Dinah even thought she had to ask. “Of course it is,” Stevie said. “I love steep trails. I love to ride on mountains. I love to ride in the woods. And I promise never to tell anybody—except maybe all my best friends at home.”
“I’m sure our secret will be safe with them,” Dinah said, taking the uphill trail to the left.
The trail was steep, reminding Stevie of the lesson she’d received the day before about Ver-mont. The woods were thick and didn’t provide a view yet, but Stevie had the feeling that once they had ridden into an open field they’d be looking out across the mountainous countryside. The challenge was to get that far through the snow, which seemed to deepen with each step.
The girls chatted contentedly as they rode, Dinah in the lead, Stevie close behind. Since Dinah hadn’t been in Willow Creek for almost two years, she was eager for news of her friends, and Stevie was always glad to talk. Dinah also wanted to hear about Max and everything that went on at Pine Hollow. There was plenty of catching up to do.
Evergreen and Goldie both seemed familiar with the area and walked up the rocky trail willingly, finding firm footing with each step. The most important thing Stevie had learned about riding on steep trails was the need to lean forward, almost parallel to the horse’s neck, while it was climbing upward. The other thing was that once she’d told the horse where she wanted to go, she had to let the horse do the work and find his own way. He would be the best judge of a safe route. So she relaxed and let Evergreen do the walking. It worked nicely.
Ahead of Stevie another clump of snow fell off the trees, this time landing on Goldie. He didn’t like it. He started bolting away. Dinah did just the right thing. She held the reins securely and put pressure on his belly with her legs. The movements said, “I’m in charge.” Goldie reverted to a walk immediately, swishing his tail to rid himself of drips of melted snow the same way he did for flies in the summer.
Stevie found herself oddly relieved. It was as if, deep down, she hadn’t really been confident that Dinah was a good enough rider for this trail. Now that she’d seen her in action, she was pretty sure she was good enough. Stevie relaxed.
They continued their conversation. Stevie was telling Dinah about Carole’s horse.
“His name is Starlight,” Stevie began. “He’s a bay gelding with a white star on his face. He’s pretty young and hasn’t finished his training, so Carole works with him all the time. She’s there almost every day. Of course, she loves it. She’ll make him into a championship horse.”
“And she’s going to be a championship rider, too, I just know it.”
“So do I,” Stevie agreed. “One of these days we’ll be watching her at Madison Square Garden, or in the Olympics.”
“Probably both,” Dinah said.
For a while the path continued just as it had been. Then Stevie sensed that it was changing. Most of the trees were evergreens, and there were fewer of them.
“Now we get a chance to show our stuff,” Dinah said. “There’s a big open area ahead. We can trot in it. We can even canter.”
“On the frozen ground?” Stevie asked. Stevie loved to canter, loved the feel of the horse’s fast gait, rocking across an open area. However, it was dangerous to ask the horse to canter when it was so cold that the ground was frozen. For one thing, it could damage the horse’s hooves. For another, the horse couldn’t get traction on frozen ground and was more likely to slip.
“Oh, right,” Dinah said. “Okay, then, let’s just try a trot.”
They come through the woods and into the open area Dinah had promised. As Stevie had suspected, they also had a spectacular view. She halted Evergreen just to look.
“It’s something, isn’t it?” Dinah asked.
Stevie just nodded. It seemed that they were miles from anything that appeared to be civilization, completely surrounded by snow-covered mountains, which were themselves dotted sparsely by evergreens. The sky above was blue and clear, spanning the vast mountainous wilderness. For the first time Stevie felt alone, felt the presence of the wild, felt vulnerable.
“Let’s go,” Dinah said. “Goldie’s ready for a little trotting, aren’t you?”
Without waiting for an answer from Stevie, Dinah signaled Goldie to move. Soon the horse was trotting obediently, though he had more than a little difficulty managing it in the deep snow. Still, he did what he was told. Stevie got Evergreen walking and then trotting as well. It was an odd gait in the snow, slower than usual, yet somehow smoother than usual. Stevie had been prepared to post, but found that in the snow she could sit the trot better than she could post. Since the snow was deep and the ground was hard, she knew it was difficult for the horse to move quickly, and she thought it was an imposition to ask him to do it.
“Let’s just walk,” she called ahead to Dinah. Dinah slowed down, but when she glanced over her shoulder at Stevie, there was a frown on her face.
“It’s too hard on the horses,” Stevie explained.
“Aw, come on,” Dinah said. “They can make it. They’ve been cooped up in the stable for so long.…”
“That’s not a good reason to let them do something dangerous,” Stevie countered. She was surprised at how much she sounded like Carole. She was also surprised at how much Dinah had sounded like Stevie!
“All right,” Dinah relented. “We have to stop now anyhow. The trail goes back into the woods here.”
She turned Goldie to the left, reentering the forest and heading straight around the mountain. Unlike the first part of the path, this was relatively level and open. Dinah explained that the path merely circled the top of the mountain here, rejoining the lower path at the other end of the field they’d just left.
Boom! came another sound of a clump of snow hitting the ground. It was followed by a cracking sound.
“What’s that?” Stevie asked.
“That’s the sound of the ice melting,” Dinah explained. “See, up here you can get big icicles on things in the winter. Sometimes on tree branches, sometimes on rocks. As the weather warms, the water in the icicles expands—remember that lesson in science class?—and the ice can crack as it melts. You can get the big booming sounds when it freezes as well. The pond by our house sometimes makes that noise. It’s weird.”
It was weird, and Evergreen thought so, too. He began flinching with each loud noise in the forest. And every time Evergreen flinched, Goldie started. Stevie kept a tight rein on Evergreen. He seemed to appreciate it and ironically relaxed a little.
As they continued along the path, Dinah gave a sort of guided tour.
“I’ve never ridden this before,” she said, “but I’ve walked it a lot. In the summer we sometimes have picnics up here. There is a great rock formation up the mountain, just ahead.” She pointed, holding both her reins in one hand. “We climb on it in the summer, and it seems like we can see forever. We won’t be able to see it under the snow, but I’ll tell you when—”
Boom!
Then, as Stevie watched in horror, Goldie took off! Dinah had been holding his reins with only one hand when he fled, and he was jolting her around so with his awkward terrified gait that she couldn’t even grip the reins with both hands. Her left hand grabbed for his mane. That steadied Dinah, but it didn’t do anything to slow Goldie down.
Stevie didn’t know what to do, but she knew that sitting there on Evergreen wasn’t going to do her or Dinah any good.
“Hyaaa!” she said to her horse, signaling him into action. He understood instinctively. He began moving as fast as the snow would allow.
“Stevie!” Dinah yelled.
“I’m coming,” Stevie yelled back. “Hold on!”
“I’m trying!” Dinah said.
Then, just when Stevie thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did. Suddenly the woods were filled with the booming sound of cracking ice and melting clumps of snow, but there was something else, too. There was the sound of wood breaking, and rocks skittering and crashing against one another. Stevie’s mind raced even faster than her horse galloped. There was only one thing it could be. There were rocks rolling down the hill! It had to be the rock formation Dinah had been talking about. It was like an avalanche, and Dinah was riding right into the most dangerous part of it!
“Stop him!” Stevie yelled as loud as she could to be heard over the sound of the tumbling rocks.
“I can’t!” Dinah called back.
It couldn’t be true, Stevie thought. This beautiful place, these wonderful horses. How could there be such danger? How could—
Then, thirty yards in front of her, Goldie, now even more terrified by the fearful threat, reared. It was a sight Stevie would never forget. Small rocks tumbled down the mountainside through the snow, kicking up puffs of snow and mud. In the middle of it was Dinah clutching the horse’s mane for her life, her fingers desperately twined through the thick pale hairs at Goldie’s neck. The horse, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the worst place in the world for him was right where he was, stood majestically on both his rear legs, whinnied, and screamed in horror, his front legs trembling with fear. It was as if the whole scene were in slow motion—until the moment he landed. As soon as his forelegs touched the ground again, he took off.
Stevie knew full well how hard it was for the horses to move quickly in the snow, but Goldie didn’t seem to be having any difficulty at all. And as he bolted off, Dinah flew from the saddle, landing right in the path of the oncoming rocks!
“Help!” she cried, rolling over in the snow to protect her face. She also managed to crawl over toward a boulder to give herself some protection from the continuing shower of rocks.
There was nothing Stevie could do to help her. She had to protect herself and Evergreen until the rocks passed, until it was safe for Dinah to get up—if she could. Stevie heard herself think those last three words and then shut them out of her mind. But her thoughts of the isolation and wilderness kept haunting her. What if? she asked. She forced the question back and out of her thoughts.
Evergreen stood, frozen in fear. Stevie’s eyes were riveted to her friend, now curled up in fright. The stones continued tumbling down the mountainside, only now there were larger ones as well. Then Stevie’s worst suspicions were confirmed. This kind of rock shower had to have been caused by something big, and she could see it coming.
The big rock was about three feet in diameter; it lumbered slowly but relentlessly down the hill, following the path of the smaller rocks before it, heading straight for Dinah!
“Move!” Stevie shrieked.
Dinah moved as she had never moved before. She shot out from behind the rock, dashing for safety.
“Faster!” Stevie yelled.
The boulder bounded downward, picking up speed, narrowing the distance, shifting now slightly t
o the left, then slightly to the right. Evergreen backed away. Stevie halted him. She had to stay by her friend.
“Help!” Dinah called.
“Here! This way!” Stevie called back. It was the only help she could give.
Dinah pulled herself through the snow, apparently unable to stand up. The boulder came closer. Dinah was moving, but she wasn’t moving fast enough. Suddenly Stevie knew what she had to do. She kicked Evergreen and he courageously bolted forward, quickly moving into a lumbering canter. Stevie and Evergreen headed straight for Dinah.
“Give me your hand!” Stevie cried out. Dinah looked at her, terrified
“Your hand!” Stevie repeated.
Numbly Dinah reached up, sticking her hand in the air. Stevie shifted both reins to her left hand and leaned over to the right. Closer and closer. Stevie strained, shifting Evergreen’s direction ever so slightly with signals from her legs. The horse understood the urgency and responded instantly. There was Dinah, frozen in horror, with her hand reaching, reaching.
An inch more, that was all it would take. Stevie strained. At the last possible second, her hand met Dinah’s, grasped it, pulled. Dinah nearly flew up out of the snow, propelling herself upward, pulled by Stevie’s grip.
Dinah clung to Evergreen’s saddle with one hand and to Stevie with the other. She somehow managed to haul herself up onto the horse’s rear. That was when Stevie dared to look up the hill again.
The boulder struck a tree, ricocheted to its right, crossed the trail just behind Stevie, Evergreen, and Dinah, and lumbered menacingly downward, hitting the rock Dinah had used as her hiding place. It shattered chunks of Dinah’s safe haven and then continued down the mountain until it entered the flat meadow below, where it rolled to harmless stop.
The woods were once again silent.
It was over and they were safe. Stevie let out her breath. The only other sound she heard was Evergreen’s snort of relief and the soft whimpering sounds coming from Dinah. She was hurt.
Snow Ride Page 4